HDRDTH -Chapter 42 The “Faces of All Beings” Beneath Black and White Silhouettes

Basement Level Three of the CCTV building.

A place that rarely saw sunlight, next to the power distribution room and a firewater reservoir that gave off a damp, rusty smell mixed with mildew.

Yu Xian sat cross-legged on a small folding stool he brought himself.

His washed-out hoodie was tightly wrapped around him.

His signature flip-flops were still on his feet.

In his hands was a shabby bamboo fishing rod—no one knew where he had gotten it.

A red string was tied to the tip, hanging into the stagnant water of the fire reservoir.

The surface didn’t even ripple.

The only sound was the faint howl of ventilation ducts.

“Mr… Mr. Yu…”

A passing crew member, Xiao Li, hugged a stack of boxed lunches tightly, pressing himself against the wall, afraid to even breathe.

“Shh.” Yu Xian didn’t even turn his head. He raised a finger to his lips. “Don’t scare my fish away.”

Xiao Li glanced at the crystal-clear reservoir with absolutely nothing inside, and his mouth twitched.

“You’re… doing this?” he asked carefully, swallowing hard as he took a small step closer.

“Training my state of mind,” Yu Xian replied in a low voice.

“Loners in the Dark requires absolute despair and silence. I’m trying to find that feeling.”

Xiao Li sucked in a sharp breath.

He nodded repeatedly, eyes full of admiration.

“I get it! Mr. Yu, you’re experiencing the loneliness of hiding in darkness! So professional!”

He carefully backed away, afraid to disturb the “master’s cultivation.”

Within half a day—

The rumor that “Mr. Yu was enlightened beside a fire reservoir” spread throughout the entire CCTV building.

Everyone believed that true experts were simply different.

Some even suggested placing a plaque beside the reservoir for people to admire.

Only Yu Xian himself was silently cursing.

If he had known Beijing would be this boring, he never would’ve taken this job.

Fishing big grass carp in Jiangcheng’s reservoir sounded a hundred times better.

He even considered buying a couple of snakehead fish from a seafood market just to throw into the tank and at least hear some water movement.

Footsteps echoed from the stairwell.

Feng Dagang rushed into the basement, dark circles under his eyes, panting heavily.

He stumbled to the reservoir and grabbed Yu Xian’s arm.

“Brother Yu! Big trouble!”

Yu Xian shook him off and steadied his fishing rod again.

“You scared my fish away.”

Feng Dagang slapped his thigh in panic, spitting as he spoke.

“Forget fish! Those old fossils upstairs have spoken!”

Yu Xian asked calmly, “What did they say?”

“They watched the rehearsal footage and said the stage is too depressing, too heavy! They insist that during the chorus climax, we must overlay red lanterns and Chinese knot effects across the entire screen!”

Feng Dagang pulled at his hair in frustration—what little he had left.

“They say: no red lanterns, no Spring Festival Gala! It must be festive!”

“Not only that—they want kids in red padded jackets dancing on stage! And two lion dances too!”

“I argued until my throat was blistered, it was useless! They’re the leaders—one word and they can kill the entire program!”

Yu Xian threw the bamboo rod onto the ground.

“Red lanterns? Chinese knots? Kids dancing? Lion dances?”

He let out a cold laugh.

“So what, they want Loners in the Dark turned into Opening the Door to Good Fortune? Or maybe a duet performance from a comedy troupe?”

Feng Dagang wiped his sweat with a handkerchief, wiping his face randomly.

“It’s tradition… it’s New Year’s after all… they say audiences want something lively.”

Yu Xian stood up and brushed dust off his pants.

“Go tell them this.”

“This song is about faint light. About struggle in the mud. About people staring at the stars from inside sewer pipes.”

“If they dare add a single red lantern, or shove a dancing child on stage—remove my name from the credits right now.”

“I refuse to acknowledge this song.”

Instead of panicking, Feng Dagang actually clapped his hands.

“Perfect! That’s exactly what I needed!”

He spread his hands, the panic gone in an instant, replaced by a cunning smile.

“I’ll tell them the composer is threatening to quit and will absolutely refuse any changes. Let’s see who dares touch my stage now!”

He turned and left quickly, his steps much lighter than when he came.

The old fox was clearly using Yu Xian as a weapon.

He didn’t want to compromise, but also didn’t dare offend the higher-ups—so he simply threw the “troublemaker” label onto Yu Xian.

Yu Xian didn’t bother with the politics.

He bent down, picked up the bamboo rod, snapped it in two, and threw it into the trash.

Some frustration had to go somewhere.

Half an hour later.

Stage Design Department Meeting Room.

More than a dozen staff members sat around a long table, all looking exhausted and worried.

They had just been informed that the entire stage plan might be revised again.

Yu Xian pushed the door open.

“Bang!”

A thick stack of photographs slammed onto the table.

They were collected overnight by Wang Dafu’s network across the country.

No filters. No lighting. No celebrities.

“Look at these,” Yu Xian said, tapping the table.

The team leader, a man in his thirties, picked up the top photo in confusion.

A coal miner.

His face covered in black dust.

But his teeth—shockingly white—gleamed as he smiled.

He was clutching a shriveled steamed bun so tightly that his fingernails were filled with black mud.

A weak mining lamp flickered above his head.

Second image.

A street at minus twenty degrees Celsius.

An elderly sanitation worker pushed a garbage cart forward, his eyebrows and beard covered in frost.

His orange safety vest looked especially thin in the blizzard.

Third image.

A border line battered by wind and snow.

A young soldier stood upright, his cheeks cracked from the freezing cold.

He gripped his steel rifle tightly in his hands.

Behind him were thousands of warm, lit homes; in front of him, an endless barren wasteland.

Fourth image.

A hospital corridor outside the emergency room.

A doctor in a white coat had fallen asleep against the wall, still clutching half of a cold boxed meal.

There were faint specks of blood on his coat.

Fifth image.

A crossroads in a torrential downpour.

A delivery rider pushed a broken-down electric scooter as rainwater streamed down from his helmet.

The delivery box had a torn corner, with plastic bags exposed.

Not a single image was professionally retouched.

All of them had a rough, grainy texture—some were even out of focus and blurry.

“I want these,” Yu Xian said, pointing at the photos.

“No retouching. Keep them raw.”

“When Su Xi sings ‘Who says only those standing in the light are heroes,’ I want these images flooding the entire big screen!”

The conference room fell into a deathly silence.

Only heavy breathing could be heard.

The stage design team leader’s hands trembled slightly as he held the photos.

In an era of glittering effects and exaggerated visuals, this extreme raw realism shattered all pretentious polish with a brutal impact.

A girl with a ponytail sitting nearby covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face.

She thought of her father, who was still farming back home.

“Yu… Yu teacher…” The team leader took a deep breath, his voice hoarse.

“I’ll take this plan. Even if the higher-ups fire me, I’ll still put these images on stage!”

He suddenly stood up and slammed his fist on the table.

“Brothers, get to work! Delete all those red lantern effects!”

The room instantly erupted into activity.

Yu Xian nodded and pulled out a chair to sit down.

“Speed it up.”

In distant Jiangcheng.

Wang Dafu stared at the data on his computer screen, his chubby face full of wrinkles.

After Xingmang Entertainment collapsed, he moved quickly.

He directly registered a new company—“Salty Fish Pictures.”

Taking advantage of the chaos inside Xingmang, he brought lawyers and bodyguards straight into Xingmang’s headquarters.

He stripped away their best resources, several promising artists, and a few core publicity teams—cleanly and completely.

Those who refused to cooperate were bought out with crushing contract termination fees.

In just a few days, Jiangcheng’s entertainment industry underwent a massive reshuffle, with Salty Fish Pictures becoming the dominant force.

He grabbed his phone and dialed a number.

“Dad! Everything at home is settled!”

Wang Dafu shouted into the phone so loudly that the teacup on the table trembled.

“Those Xingmang bastards are completely done for! All their resources are ours now! The whole internet is waiting for Xixi’s Spring Festival Gala debut!”

He picked up a purple clay teapot and took a big gulp of tea.

“Dad, don’t worry. I’ve got the logistics covered. I’ve already bought the trending searches. Once midnight hits, we’ll dominate the charts!”

Yu Xian leaned back in his chair, legs crossed.

“Well done on the important work. Anything else?”

Wang Dafu chuckled, lowering his voice slightly.

“Miss Qin asked me to pass you a message!”

“Speak.”

“She spent a fortune hiring master craftsmen from Europe to custom-make a top-tier lure fishing set!”

“There’s only one set in the world! Full carbon fiber, hand-polished, with a reel made of pure titanium alloy!”

“She’ll personally give it to you on the first day of the Lunar New Year!”

Top-tier lure fishing gear.

Globally limited edition.

Pure titanium alloy.

Yu Xian suddenly sat upright.

The gloom from days of empty catches in the basement vanished instantly.

This was far more interesting than any Spring Festival Gala program.

“Now you’re speaking my language—I’m suddenly wide awake.”

The corners of Yu Xian’s mouth shot up uncontrollably.

“Tell Xiao Qin that when I return to Jiangcheng, I’ll personally cook her Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Unlimited servings!”

He hung up the phone.

Yu Xian walked to the window and pushed it open.

Snow in Beijing drifted down softly.

It landed on distant red walls and green tiles.

Cold wind poured in and hit his face.

He tightened his hooded sweatshirt and looked at the vast white world outside.

New Year’s Eve was almost here.