From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Shock, bewilderment, surprise.

Lily, Connor, and Miles each wore different expressions, but they were largely the same.

Miles was the first to react. "But if they like our band, it's because of our unique style. Why would the record company do something so stupid as to change our style when we're recording the album?"

Anson shook his head. "Essentially, record companies don't care about music. They care about using music to generate revenue and open up the market. Music is just a tool."

"So, if necessary, they can change the music style based on their judgment. The album producer plays an important role in this process."

"Of course, I'm just saying this is a possibility. Things might not happen, or they might happen in a gentler, more unexpected way."

"Here's a hypothetical: the album producer thinks the cello is a good idea. What about adding some classical instruments? A violin? A classical piano? Then our band evolves into six people."

"It's not that the violin and classical piano are bad, maybe we ourselves think we should add some instruments; but it's that things quietly deviate from the track, and we have less and less control, even before we realize it, we've already become Barbie dolls."

Miles opened his mouth slightly, his chest puffed out. Thousands of words were on the tip of his tongue, "How can they..."

Anson smiled. "Again, this might not happen. I'm just saying that if we conceive the album's theme and style in advance, we can avoid this kind of thing to the greatest extent possible. There's no need to panic before it happens."

"However, this is the problem you have to face when signing with a major record company. There may be overlap between your own style and the market's positioning, or there may be misalignment. Every album collaboration requires a tug-of-war, including legends like The Beatles and Queen, let alone us."

Miles finally understood—

Whether it's using the cello as the main instrument or incorporating instrumental charm into the performance, the band's talking point that sparked widespread discussion was precisely the groundbreaking innovation. This may become the band's magic weapon to attract record companies, but it may also become an excuse for record companies to abandon the band.

After all, what they are trying now is a path that has not yet been explored, and every step forward is full of countless possibilities.

Then, Miles looked at Anson again, "So that's why you wanted to sign for one album, instead of two or three."

They saw the signing numbers, while Anson saw the band's unique characteristics.

Anson's advocacy for signing one album wasn't because he, as an actor, refused to be tied down and might leave at any time, but precisely because he genuinely liked the band and was thinking from the band's perspective.

Suddenly, Miles felt a warmth in his chest and turned to look at Lily and Connor.

However, neither of them reacted.

The amount of information was really too much, a mess in their brains. Everyone focused on slightly different points, so the directions of their thoughts also diverged. They needed some time and space to digest it.

"Lily?"

But Anson wasn't surprised and spoke first.

"Tea? Coffee? Or alcohol?"

Standing up as the host, the drinks were just an excuse. The real intention was to give them space to think. He wasn't going to stay here and put pressure on them.

Lily was stunned, "Water. Water will do. Uh, thank you."

Miles smiled, "I don't need anything. Connor?"

"Connor!"

After calling out for the second time, Connor suddenly raised his head, looked around慌慌张张地, with a bewildered look of "Who am I, where am I, what am I doing", then rubbed his cheeks hard with both hands, making a gurgling sound deep in his throat.

Anson couldn't help but chuckle, "Okay, I got it. I'll bring you some surprises."

After joking a little, Anson got up and left the hall.

But instead of going into the kitchen, he came to another room at the end of the hall, a small utility room with a view of the side garden through the window.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Anson saw an old piano here.

Then he remembered that this piano belonged to this old Spanish-style house. It was originally placed in the living room, but later, to make room for parties, they moved it to the utility room.

Looking at it this way, the utility room wasn't that small.

He didn't know how long this piano had been quietly sitting here, maybe it even needed to be retuned. Anson couldn't help but gently stroke the surface of the piano, carefully feeling the resonance from the wood, like a softly weeping wind, whispering stories hidden in time.

"Spider-Man" was a success—

Just like in his previous life. To be precise, it was even more successful than in his previous life. The world of the parallel universe was being completely changed by a butterfly.

But what was the cost?

A Hayden. A Brad.

That wasn't quite accurate either. Hayden's matter was still a mystery to this day, and it couldn't be 100% confirmed what the reason was behind it; however, judging from the timeline, it was likely related to "Spider-Man" and "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones", but he didn't know what happened.

From his previous life to this life, Anson had always clearly known the complexity of the Vanity Fair, just like the book described, "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People", the price of fame and fortune was often unscrupulous means, everything became a tool, until everyone turned against you. He had heard similar stories more than once or twice.

But the problem was that when you really experienced it firsthand, your mouth was full of bitterness—

He understood the reasoning; the emotions were another matter.

Moreover, "Spider-Man" had only been released for two weeks, it hadn't even completely exploded in popularity, and Hollywood had already shown the true face behind the glitz and glamour:

A piece of ice.

Therefore, Anson didn't blame Connor and Lily's hesitation. They had the right to waver and the right to be confused.

Life was like this, constantly moving forward in encounters, understandings, and departures. After all, only a few people could share the same aspirations and work together. At one fork in the road after another, they embarked on completely different paths of development because of different choices, but in the end, they all needed to be responsible for their choices and bear all the consequences that came with them.

If those choices were decisions made by Hayden and Brad after careful consideration, he hoped that they could continue to move forward firmly and finally reach the shore of their dreams—

After all, everyone's blueprint for their own life was different.

Carefully, Anson opened the piano, his fingertips hovering over the black and white keys, slowly wandering, feeling the time and light flowing between his fingers, and vaguely seeming to feel a kind of summoning, a soft murmur surging in the depths of his throat, and his fingertips fell down.

Ding.

The crisp sound of the piano keys collided with the melody swirling in his mind, evolving into golden notes, dancing between the keys.

"Oh, oh, oh..."

Softly, Anson began to hum softly.