Chapter 54: Two Requests, Fulfilled at Once

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"Stargazer" is a foreign film about teaching in rural areas. The male lead, after facing setbacks in life, goes to teach in the countryside and eventually falls in love with the place, choosing to stay. This was an international masterpiece from the late 20th century. Although it has been remade multiple times domestically, none of the versions have captured the original’s unique style.

Yu Wei looked over the script and realized there was truly nothing left to change this time. Yesterday’s script happened to align with his memory of the iconic scenes, but it was clear he wouldn’t be so lucky this time around. Life isn’t always full of coincidences. After hesitating for a while, Yu Wei returned the script to Lin Yi.

“This storyline is complete; I won’t embarrass myself by trying to improve it.”

If Yu Wei remembered correctly, this was the film that won the Oscar for Best International Feature. Any forced changes would only be superfluous.

“No worries,” Chi Leying chimed in immediately, as if ready with a prepared peacekeeping line. Lin Yi smiled and nodded in agreement.

It’s well known that domestic adaptations often involve heavy modifications; many great films get distorted beyond recognition under the hands of some directors. Usually, remakes are attempted by mid-level or cross-disciplinary directors who tend to impose their own styles or agendas. Yet, in this case, the final scene of "Stargazer" remains untouched — no one dares to alter it.

The main reason is its classic status. Any changes would strip away its essence.

“This scene is indeed hard to change. It’s fine; you can still write your own piece. You’ve heard of ‘Scissors,’ right?”

Lin Yi had originally planned to have Yu Wei write a song for her. The script was a last-minute idea; it was understandable that such an international classic was difficult to alter. She wouldn’t make things difficult for him.

Yu Wei had never heard of it.

Since arriving here, he rarely listened to music; when he did, it was mostly songs by Chen Ping, the international superstar rumored to be a time traveler who altered the world’s timeline. Chen Ping—if you add the character "An"—would be a perfect protagonist template. Unfortunately, lacking that “An” led to an early departure...

Still, Yu Wei had never listened to Mr. Chen’s songs before; clearly, he wasn’t from Earth.

Returning to the topic, Lin Yi’s song “Scissors” metaphorically compares time to scissors, cutting the silk of life bit by bit, serving as a poignant metaphor for the relentless passage of time.

Yu Wei listened to it three times under the pretense of auditioning for a role before he understood why Chi Leying had been moved to tears.

This song resonates with urban dwellers’ "time anxiety"—workplace pressure, life planning, and other real-life issues. Watching time slip away helplessly under stress easily brings tears.

He glanced unconsciously at Chi Leying, who just smiled knowingly, seemingly unbothered by his slightly inquisitive look.

If it were Qi Luoan, she would have straightforwardly asked, “What are you looking at?” But this wasn’t Qi Luoan, and Yu Wei didn’t know why he’d suddenly thought of someone unrelated.

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Perhaps, the song was just too emotional.

“Who were you thinking of just now?”

Chi Leying was so perceptive. Yu Wei’s fleeting gaze clearly showed his thoughts had drifted.

“I was thinking about what kind of song to write to compete with this one.”

There were quite a few excellent songs about time. This subject is considered a high achiever in Chinese-language music; it seemed any random choice would be fitting.

As for which one to pick, the style of the song mattered most. “Scissors” contemplates what time actually is—this kind of abstract theme is rare.

Most songs about time focus on the helplessness of looking back in old age or center on parent-child relationships, essentially the theme of “children wish to care for parents but parents don’t wait.”

Songs that specifically focus on the abstract concept of what time really is are few. After pondering, Yu Wei finally recalled a song called “Time Thief.”

Also exploring the essence of time, this song likens time to a life robber, using the metaphor of a “thief” to represent time’s merciless theft, emphasizing the fleeting nature of youth and memory.

This aspect coincides with “Scissors,” and both serve as movie theme songs, lending comparable storytelling power.

Compared to Lin Yi’s song, “Time Thief” carries a more wistful and resigned tone. The original is sung by a woman, but there are many male covers; as long as the emotion is sincere, the chances of success are high.

After choosing the song, Yu Wei felt his creativity surge and immediately found a corner to start writing on his phone.

Chi Leying watched, speechless. Last time he would sneak off to write behind closed doors, but now he didn’t even bother hiding anymore—was he giving up on acting?

She couldn’t just stand there waiting, so she took the opportunity to audition for a scene from “Stargazer” and was actually selected.

This scene depicts the male lead’s girlfriend urging him to return, but he has already fallen in love with the rural village’s simple life, far from worldly noise.

More importantly, he refuses to abandon the children, so he resolutely chooses to stay and teach, leading to their breakup.

“Stargazer” symbolizes the male lead sowing hope among these children.

In the final moment, the female lead descends the mountain with a resolute expression but bursts into tears upon hearing the male lead and the children sing a local folk song for her. She forces a smile through tears, looking up at the male lead on the mountaintop—a visually striking and truly classic cinematic moment.

The lead actress’s performance is outstanding—from reluctance to struggle, then acceptance, and finally respect—all conveyed vividly through a single glance.

Chi Leying’s performance wasn’t particularly great, mainly because the others were so poor. Some of the other actresses struggled even to cry; crying is a fundamental acting skill.

“Writing feels so satisfying when you’re in the zone.”

After posting a new chapter, Yu Wei felt completely refreshed. If only he had a soda to go with it, it would be perfect.

“Is the dog author finally going to take on the old artist?”

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“Lin Yi was my childhood goddess; how can you bring yourself to do this?”

“Once you start, you start. Childhood goddess or not.”

“This song is really tough to challenge. It’s still on my playlist; I listen to it now and then. It’s definitely not comparable to ‘Scarlet’ or ‘Dust.’”

“Can you hurry up and release the song? I’m itching to hear it.”

“Time for some earwax cleaning, brother.”

The comment section remained as lively as ever, but Yu Wei had the impression that the number of comments had dropped significantly.

He didn’t have time to ponder this. Coming to a variety show didn’t mean he could just write; he had to do something productive. The reason Yu Wei came to the “Stargazer” crew was to try his hand at acting.

Before filming, he had watched the original version of four films, and this one interested him most—especially the final farewell with the Irish folk song and the children’s choir that was very moving.

Actually, the domestic three versions all failed in this area. Actors, lines, and plot could be localized, but the final song remained impossible to adapt.

The first remake used the original tune directly. The melody was excellent, but it felt out of place in a domestic rural setting—having village kids sing an Irish folk song was quite an odd choice by the director.

The next remake was smarter and added Chinese lyrics to the original tune. Although the style became more appropriate, the foreign musical flavor was lost, and many viewers said they preferred the original.

The third remake’s director realized the problem and deliberately chose a local folk song to replace the original. While it was localized enough, the two songs’ styles differed completely, and this remake received the harshest criticism.

The more they tried to fix it, the worse the backlash—understandable why some directors choose to give up...

The more Yu Wei thought about it, the more tempted he felt. If he could write that foreign folk song into his book and create a similar style local version, wouldn’t casting on the show become much easier?

More importantly, he was about to start the next round of competition. Good songs were hard to find, and this one was perfect.

A traditional folk song with an unknown original singer—no one would be offended.

Including this song would also help domestic directors solve a longstanding problem. Not only would it avoid offending anyone, but it would also be a great achievement.

Who says I can’t change the script? I’ll just change the soundtrack.

This set is the right place—solving the plot for two songs at once.