Chapter 135: Requesting Songs to Honor One’s Parents

Chapter 135: Requesting a Song to Show Filial Piety

Listening to Zhang Le's inquiry, Feng Lei simply smiled and replied with a question that sidestepped the point, "I heard you wrote two songs for that guy Wu Xiaoyong? Just for him to pick up girls?"

The corner of Zhang Le's mouth twitched. He remained silent, merely casting a cold glance at Feng Lei. Given his understanding of this guy, there was bound to be more.

"You have no idea how arrogant that fellow was when I was drinking with him a couple of days ago. If I hadn't been drunk and relatively calm at the time, I really would have gone up and punched the bastard," Feng Lei continued.

Drunk and relatively calm?

Upon hearing Feng Lei's shameless remark, both Zhang Le and Tang Xiao rolled their eyes, wishing with utmost disgust to pretend they didn't know him. However, realizing that pretending was pointless since no one was watching, they dropped the thought.

"I'm asking you for a song or two. You won't turn me down, right?" Feng Lei finally stated his true purpose.

"Did a woman screw you over too?" Zhang Le asked with a smile.

"Do you take me for a half-wit like Wu Xiaoyong?" Feng Lei said dismissively. "He asks for songs to pick up girls, but I'm asking for a song to show filial piety."

"Filial piety?" Tang Xiao looked at Feng Lei and said, "Why does that sound a little spine-chilling to me?"

"Go on! Get lost!" Feng Lei snapped at Tang Xiao irritably, before turning his attention back to Zhang Le and continuing, "Didn't my dad invest in, direct, and produce a large-scale historical television drama? It's missing a theme song. You won't say no, right?"

"Is this your idea or your dad's idea?" Zhang Le asked.

"My dad hasn't mentioned it to me. But when I went home a couple of days ago, I heard my mum say that my dad's drama still lacks a theme song. I figure my mum was dropping a hint. So here I am!" Feng Lei smiled and said.

"A theme song, huh? No problem. When do you need it?" Zhang Le nodded and replied.

Zhang Le still had plenty of songs stored in his mind, so naturally he wouldn't refuse when Feng Lei made the request. Besides, back then, Feng Lei's father had made a cameo appearance as the boatman in *Flirting Scholar* without the slightest hesitation—something that arguably even compromised his dignity a little bit. Even if he weren't Feng Lei's father, Zhang Le wouldn't turn down a song request from him.

"There's no rush for that. His drama only wrapped up filming not too long ago anyway. But it probably won't air until August or September at the earliest," Feng Lei said.

"Then what is your dad's drama about?" Zhang Le asked with a trace of embarrassment. When it came to trends in the entertainment industry, he paid some attention to movies, but almost none to television series.

"I know this. His dad filmed the story of Koxinga. The title of the series seems to be *The Great Hero Koxinga*!" Tang Xiao chimed in.

"Ah, got it. I'll take care of this. But you'll have to tell Uncle Feng that the song will have to wait until I get through this busy period," Zhang Le said immediately. As he spoke, a song flashed through his mind—the theme song of a television series with the exact same name from his past life. However, due to certain reasons, it had later become the theme song for a completely different production.

Just a few characters in the song had been changed, yet the original meaning of the lyrics became completely inverted. The original song praising the anti-Qing hero Koxinga had been twisted into one that praised the Qing dynasty.

Whether in his past life or the present, Zhang Le truly had no fondness for the Qing dynasty.

Feng Lei was not surprised that Zhang Le agreed so readily, but he was still thrilled. As soon as he stepped out of Zhang Le's office, he eagerly called Feng Yuan to share the good news, feeling just like a child who had scored well on an exam and couldn't wait to run home and tell his parents.

"What are you doing? I'm busy! Are you so idle after finishing your film that you're going out of your mind? If you've got time to burn, come over to my set, help me out as a grunt, and show your face for a quick cameo while you're at it."

Before Feng Lei even had a chance to speak upon making the call, Feng Yuan launched into a barrage of complaints right off the bat.

"Come on, I'm calling to tell you good news, and yet I end up catching flak for it," Feng Lei said helplessly, feeling a mix of frustration and amusement. His father was the one person he feared the most; although they sometimes acted like chums with no respect for seniority, Feng Lei had a conditioned reflex that made him utterly incapable of defying Feng Yuan's words.

"Good news? What kind of good news could you possibly have! You didn't go and stir up trouble for me again, did you?" Feng Yuan demanded.

"Zhang Le..."

"Zhang Le winning an award—what does that have to do with you? You didn't even make a cameo appearance in *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*! Though I have to admire his eye; if he had let you act in that movie, you probably would have ruined it." Feng Lei had only managed to get out the name "Zhang Le" before Feng Yuan cut him off.

"Are you saying my acting skills are bad?" Hearing this, Feng Lei instantly flared up. He was already harboring some lingering resentment over not being cast in *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, and hearing his old man put it that way made him lose his temper completely.

Feng Lei knew very well that he wasn't suited for *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. If he played the male lead, he didn't have Jet Li's fame, let alone his martial arts skills. If he played a supporting role, aside from Luo Xiaohu, everyone else was just a passerby—even Guard Liu, who had a fair amount of screen time, was no exception. But Luo Xiaohu had intimate scenes with Yu Jiaolong, and the actress playing Yu Jiaolong was none other than Yang Xiner. Given his understanding of Zhang Le, that role was strictly off-limits to anyone else.

Not appearing in *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*, which was currently causing a sensation internationally, was already a source of regret for Feng Lei. To have his own father now attribute that missed opportunity to poor acting naturally stoked his anger.

His failure to appear in *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon* had absolutely nothing to do with his acting ability. Besides, he hadn't even been available at the time.

Given his relationship with Zhang Le, Feng Lei was undoubtedly a heavily promoted artist at Xinle Film and Television, yet he had missed out on the most glamorous film of all. Rumors and gossip had already put him on edge, and his father's words had clearly struck a raw nerve.

"What's wrong with your old man saying a few words about you? What, are you going to give me attitude now? I think your skin is itching for a beating," Feng Yuan's voice came through the phone. "Spit it out, why are you calling?"

"Now you're letting me speak? Weren't you just saying how busy you are?" Feng Lei curled his lip and said, "Zhang Le—don't interrupt—Zhang Le agreed to write the theme song for your lousy TV show."

"What lousy TV show! Wait, what? Zhang Le agreed to write the theme song for my show?" Feng Yuan had been angry and ready to chew Feng Lei out, but the words finally registered. He broke into a smile and said, "Got it!"

With that, Feng Yuan hung up the phone abruptly, turned to a staff member standing behind him, and said with a smile, "We don't need to worry about the theme song anymore. Someone's already written it."

"Director Feng, shouldn't we ask a few more people to write some options so we can pick the best one?" the staff member asked with a puzzled expression.

"Pick the best one? There really aren't many people who can write better than him! Besides, his profile is so huge right now, having a theme song written by him is a massive promotional gimmick in itself," Feng Yuan said with a smile.

"Who is it? That badass?" the staff member asked with curiosity.

"A friend of my son's," Feng Yuan replied with a grin.

"Xiaolei's friend? You mean Zhang Le?" the staff member asked in astonishment. Seeing Feng Yuan smile and nod, the staff member added, "Well, then we really don't need to look for anyone else. Writing theme songs is an absolute specialty of his in the industry."

"Got it! Just those four words? No thank you, no praise for me either. He actually hung up on me." Feng Lei held the phone, complaining with a grievance. Little did he know, Feng Yuan was thoroughly delighted by the whole affair.

Feng Yuan wasn't just happy because Zhang Le was writing the theme song for his drama; he was thrilled because Feng Lei was the one who had secured Zhang Le for it.