April 25th, Monday. Clear skies.
At 7:45 a.m., Meng Jiancheng stood on the subway platform, waiting along with the sea of commuters heading off to work, another busy week about to begin.
Capital City was vast, but the people were even more numerous. During rush hours, the subway cars were packed tight as sardine cans, one of the city's most familiar "features."
Meng Jiancheng had long grown accustomed to this life. Seven years ago, after graduating from university, he chose to stay in the capital. He was fortunate to land a position at a foreign company, decent pay, stable benefits.
Three years ago, with years of savings and financial help from his parents, he managed to buy a two-bedroom apartment near a subway station along the Fifth Ring Road. With that, he'd finally put down roots in this sprawling city.
Now, nearly thirty, both he and his parents shared the same wish, that he'd quickly find a wife, settle down, and start a family.
He wanted that too. But women in the Capital City tended to be practical. With only a small apartment and a mortgage still hanging over his head, he clearly wasn't the dream catch for many.
Still, Meng Jiancheng took it all in stride. He believed that when fate arrived, the right person would naturally appear.
And when fate hadn't yet come, forcing things would only end in disappointment.
So on weekends, he often invited a few close friends to go cycling or hiking in the suburbs.
In truth, he'd always had a dream: to take two years, or more, to travel across the country, to see the mountains and rivers of his homeland, to witness the beauty of the land from north to south. To live a life without regrets.
But reality suppressed that dream and the artistic yearning within his heart.
Standing in the crowded platform, his gaze unconsciously drifted to the LCD screen hanging on the nearby pillar.
Those 19-inch multimedia screens were common in subway stations. Aside from public safety tips and lifestyle trivia, they mostly ran advertisements, one of the subway company's main revenue streams.
With two minutes left before the next train arrived, Meng Jiancheng didn't bother pulling out his phone. He idly watched the ads.
A shampoo commercial had just finished. The model's unnaturally shiny, jet-black hair made him snort in amusement, same old tricks. Every ad seemed cut from the same template, as if all the ad designers had graduated from the same unimaginative school.
Then suddenly, the screen went black, and the speakers fell silent.
The next instant, a new scene faded in: blue skies, white clouds, an endless green grassland stretching to the horizon. A long, winding highway appeared, faint at first, then sharpening into focus. Music began to play, its melody mingling with the hum of the station around him.
🎵 "Wandering… on the road… are you leaving, via via. Fragile and proud… that was once me too…" 🎵
As the voice sang, a white SUV appeared on screen, gliding smoothly across the road. The aerial camera followed it closely as the scenery shifted, grasslands gave way to snowy mountains, deserts, rocky gorges, and open coastlines.
🎵 "I've crossed mountains and seas,
And crowded seas of people.
Once I had everything,
But it all drifted away like smoke.
I've been lost and hopeless,
Until I saw that being ordinary
Was the only answer." 🎵
The lyrics appeared at the bottom of the screen. Meng Jiancheng was certain this was his first time seeing this car commercial and hearing this song.
Amid the bustling, noisy platform, something deep inside him stirred.
He stared blankly at the screen, his heart following that SUV as it journeyed to the ends of the earth, to deserts and grasslands, chasing the wind, chasing freedom, chasing the dream he'd long buried.
Something within him had broken free, sprouting, growing.
The ad was long, its aerial landscapes breathtaking. The soundtrack, the song, and the imagery fused seamlessly together. It wasn't a loud, aggressive pitch trying to force your attention, it was gentle, like a spring breeze that soaked into your soul without you even noticing.
Mesmerized, Meng Jiancheng thought: This isn't the most creative ad I've ever seen… but it's definitely the most beautiful.
And he wasn't the only one. Around him, other commuters waiting for the train were also watching, listening, feeling the quiet power of the music and the images.
In the final scene, the SUV returned from its thousand-mile journey to a bustling city. The car stopped; its door opened.
A young man stepped out, standing tall in front of the vehicle.
His figure was upright and confident. His smile was bright and magnetic, perfectly complementing the brand-new car.
Lu Chen.
Meng Jiancheng recognized him instantly.
He was a fan of pop music and knew about this rising star in the industry, a young singer-songwriter who'd recently taken the music world by storm.
He'd listened to Lu Chen's songs. He'd even bought his official album.
Meng Jiancheng had always been a fan of Lu Chen's folk-style music. He'd listened to the My Old Classmate album countless times. So when he heard this commercial song just now, the sense of familiarity made perfect sense, Lu Chen's distinctive style was unmistakably present.
The screen faded to black again. Four large handwritten characters, "Ordinary Road", appeared in a flowing calligraphic font. Beneath them, the Zhonghua Auto logo, the model name "R100," and the words "Grand Launch on April 23rd" appeared in sequence.
This ad is really well done!
Meng Jiancheng's profession had some overlap with the advertising industry, so his ability to appreciate a good commercial was a bit sharper than most people's. In his opinion, everything about this ad, from concept and cinematography to the choice of music, was top-notch.
A good advertisement doesn't need to shout at its audience. Those aggressive, brain-piercing ads that try to force their message into your head only make people feel annoyed.
A truly good ad should be gentle and persuasive, like rain nourishing the earth silently.
Unconsciously, Meng Jiancheng took out his phone.
But just as he was about to look up the Zhonghua R100 online, he suddenly realized there were far fewer people around, he had missed the subway that had just arrived.
He chuckled to himself, not too bothered. The next train would arrive in ten minutes anyway, and he still had plenty of time to get to work.
After typing in the keywords, browser ads immediately popped up.
The Yuanjing R100 was Zhonghua Auto's newly released travel model, now available at all their 4S dealerships. What made Meng Jiancheng's heart stir was that, despite its impressive exterior and solid features, the car's base model started at just 120,000 yuan.
His annual salary exceeded that amount, and the R100 could even be bought in installments, with very low interest rates!
Meng Jiancheng had been thinking about buying a car for some time. Partly for commuting convenience, but mostly because he loved traveling, having his own car would make that so much easier.
And once he had a girlfriend, weekend trips would be effortless. During the Lunar New Year, he could even drive home. The travel model's trunk space was huge, he could easily fit a bicycle in the back. No problem at all.
He didn't want to admit it, but this advertisement had really touched something deep inside him, stirring up a restless desire!
He opened a new tab, filled in his personal details and phone number, and signed up for a test drive.
At that very moment, Zhonghua Auto's Yuanjing R100 commercial "Ordinary Road" was appearing across major media platforms nationwide, high-speed rail stations, subway and bus terminals, TV screens, newspapers, and magazines.
The creative concept for this ad came directly from Lu Chen, who also composed and performed the theme song. Though the contract had been signed back in February, the ad only aired now because the shooting process had taken over a month.
Zhonghua Auto had poured a massive budget into this production. Multiple film crews traveled across China to capture authentic on-location shots, with most aerial footage done using high-end drones. The raw footage alone totaled hundreds of hours.
The final ad was edited into several versions: a 2-minute 30-second version for subway and bus station screens, and shorter 30-second and 15-second versions for TV broadcast.
The company's goal was clear: to capture the urban middle-class market, especially the younger demographic that valued lifestyle and emotional resonance.
The same ad appeared across major web portals, and its theme song, "Ordinary Road," quickly went viral among Lu Chen's fans.
Many fans had no intention of buying a car, yet they adored both the ad and the song.
Lu Chen had been focusing most of his time recently on filming his TV drama, and he hadn't released any new songs for a while. Lately, he'd only helped Chen Fei'er produce her new album, without releasing any of his own work.
"Ordinary Road" was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for fans. Even though it was technically a commercial song, its rich folk flavor, slow emotional rhythm, and Lu Chen's heartfelt performance gave it a distinct charm, it was a work of true sincerity.
That same day, Lu Chen uploaded a lossless audio version of "Ordinary Road" on his personal blog, offering it as a free download for fans. Within just two hours, downloads had surpassed 100,000!
Meanwhile, Chen Fei'er's new album "Flower Woman" continued to soar on WeChat Music and crowdfunding platforms, with total sales exceeding one million copies, setting a record as the fastest-selling domestic pop album in nearly a decade!
But Chen Fei'er wasn't content to stop there. Instead of rushing to hold a celebration party, she continued her national promotional tour, determined to push the album's sales to even greater heights.
In truth, her achievements were already awe-inspiring. Even those who once looked down on her had to admit that with "Flower Woman," Chen Fei'er had pulled off an incredibly successful transformation.
From now on, the title of "Sweet-voiced Diva" could rightfully be replaced with "Queen of Love Songs."
As the chief contributor to the album's success, Lu Chen's name now carried even greater weight and influence across the Chinese pop music scene.
(End of Chapter)
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