After several in-depth discussions with the music director at Canxing, Qin Tian finally made the executive decision to record an album titled *Secret Crush*.The album would feature nine heart-fluttering songs: "Chaser of Light", "Mercury Record", "Always Very Quiet", "What a Pity It Didn't Happen", "Heavy Fog", "Gentleman", "Wait for You After Class", "Secret Crush", and "Your Eyes Are Like Stars". Nine songs in total, symbolizing everlasting love. The title track was named after the album, *Secret Crush*.In addition, music videos were planned for two of the hit tracks, "Chaser of Light" and "Mercury Record".
The lyrics and melodies had already been submitted to the company, and after rounds of careful deliberation and communication regarding the arrangements, the entire recording process was expected to take two full months to complete.With time tight and the workload heavy, Qin Tian consulted with the music director and decided to first focus on recording three songs: "Chaser of Light", "Mercury Record", and a special extra-album track, "Your Eyes Are Like Stars".
Once the three songs were recorded, Qin Tian specially bought an MP3 player and stored "Your Eyes Are Like Stars" on it all by itself. Everything was ready, waiting only for Naza's arrival.
Next came notifying Naza regarding the recording arrangements. The director had been arranged with the help of Canxing; although they were unwilling to invest funds, they were willing to provide whatever support they could to the singer. After all, a great music video would be a significant boost to the album's sales.
Before Naza's arrival, Qin Tian needed to work around the clock to prepare the script for the music video. This drove Qin Tian to despair, and he lamented, "Sigh! I can't even find a suitable script to plagiarize! Originality is just too hard, and my cheat code has failed me." In truth, Qin Tian knew nothing about shooting music videos; the only reason he came up with the idea was to pursue a girl and create an excuse to meet her.
Eventually, Qin Tian decided to abandon complex plotting and simply follow the lyrics—straightforward, clear, and requiring zero brainpower. After all, why use your brain if you can avoid lifting a finger?
...
"Hello, Gulnazar Baytiyar. It is an absolute honor to invite you to film the music video for my song," Qin Tian said nervously.
"Hahaha, Qin Tian, you're so funny. You're just a high school student, why are you talking like an adult?" Naza said with a smile.
Qin Tian instantly flushed red, his ears burning crimson. He stammered, completely at a loss for words.
After all, this was the first time he was meeting a celebrity he liked. Elders didn't count, because they were just elders, and Qin Tian harbored no improper thoughts toward them. As a lifelong single, whenever Qin Tian met someone he liked, he grew too nervous to speak.
Right before him, Naza's large eyes blinked brightly, her high bridge of the nose was straight and pretty, and her oval face was exquisitely delicate, carrying a hint of heroic spirit.
Her skin was white as jade, her willow-leaf eyebrows curved like the moon, and an exotic charm washed over her, making her look like a goddess stepped straight out of a painting. Dressed in casual sportswear, she looked even more vibrant and spirited. The corners of her eyes held a smile, making her look pure and adorable, so much so that people couldn't help stealing a few extra glances.
At that moment, Qin Tian's little heart thumped wildly; he felt as though the sound of his heartbeat could be heard loud and clear right across from Naza.
The girl standing before him was the very goddess he had thought of day and night ever since his rebirth. Now that she was so close, Qin Tian was so nervous he swallowed back even the greeting he had prepared.
"Haha, just joking with you! Because I feel like we're about the same age. I watched your appearance on *The Voice* and really liked your songs. By the way, how did you know my full name, Gulnazar Baytiyar?" Naza asked in surprise.
As for the shyness Qin Tian displayed, she was already used to it. After all, as the most beautiful campus belle at the Beijing Film Academy, she had seen far too many boys grow too self-conscious to confess their feelings in front of her.
"Uh... I accidentally let it slip. After all, you're not famous yet, so your full name probably isn't even on Baidu Baike," Qin Tian thought to himself, but out loud he said, "I noticed you ever since auditions for *The Last Supper*, but back then I was just a middle school student preparing for my entrance exams. I never expected I'd be all grown up now. Oh, and I also watched *Xuan-Yuan Sword* that you filmed last year, where you played Xiaoxue. Your innocent and kind personality feels just like you in real life. Uh... I mean your fans—no, no, no, I mean I am your fan, you know what I mean?"
Actually, Qin Tian had thrown in a little trick here, deliberately making his words sound disjointed, yet managing to convey everything he wanted. He expressed his attention toward Naza while shaping his persona into that of a pure, innocent Boy.
After all, the persona of a pure boy easily stirs a girl's maternal instincts, making her unlikely to ruthlessly reject you or let you feel awkward.
Stripping away any romantic bias, Naza actually liked Qin Tian quite a bit. After all, he was handsome and talented; looks were justice, talent was justice, and justice plus justice equaled double justice! Furthermore, she could tell that Qin Tian was her fan and had been paying attention to her for a long time.
Sometimes women were just that superficial. If an ugly guy liked her, she would find it annoying; but if a talented and handsome boy liked her, it was a pleasant surprise.
"You're not nearly as confident as you were during the competition!" Naza teased.
"It's mostly because running into a pretty girl makes me a bit nervous!" Qin Tian scratched his head sheepishly.
"Are you always this smooth? Did you have tons of girlfriends back in high school?" Naza asked with curiosity.
"How could that be? I've been single for eighteen years since birth!" Qin Tian hurriedly denied.
"What does 'single since birth' even mean?" Naza asked in puzzlement.
"Ah? That term hasn't appeared yet! Never mind!" Qin Tian explained, "It just means I've been single ever since my mom got pregnant with me!"
"You're hilarious! Hahahaha." Naza was amused by Qin Tian's humor.
She felt it had been quite a long time since she last met such an interesting younger boy. Suddenly bumping into someone so amusing still made her quite happy.
"Sister Naza, hehe!! I dare guess you're older than me, so I took the liberty of calling you sister. Since you just arrived, you should go rest your feet first—our grand filming enterprise doesn't officially kick off until tomorrow!" Qin Tian added with a grin.
Standing to the side, Sun Qian was practically roasted to a crisp inside and out; she never expected Qin Tian to have such a "youthful and starry-eyed" side. So adolescent boys all liked this routine, hahaha! Any observer with half a brain could tell Qin Tian's state of mind was off today.
Still, Qin Tian was overwhelmingly satisfied with this newly met Sister Naza, liking her so much he could barely suppress it.
"Naza, look over there. That singer seems to be totally smitten with you!" Naza's little assistant teased playfully.
"Don't talk nonsense, he's just a little kid," Naza replied with a smile.
"Pfft, you just happen to have the most attraction for little kids," the assistant continued poking fun.
"I'm going to seal your mouth shut!" The two of them laughed and wrestled playfully. Although students from arts academies matured early, at the end of the day, they were still young people in their early twenties, brimming with vitality and youthful energy!
...
Filming Location:
With only five days to shoot the music videos for two songs, time was tight and the workload heavy, requiring vast amounts of footage to be shot every day. "Chaser of Light" told the story of a male lead falling in love at first sight with a female lead. To him, she was a beam of light in his heart, yet they had never truly met—he kept searching for her only to miss her time and time again. There were no spoken lines throughout, which was an absolute piece of cake for Naza, who possessed rich modeling experience.
Qin Tian, on the other hand, was the one dragging down the pace, though fortunately the music video wasn't overly difficult, and they managed to grind through it somehow. In his heart, Qin Tian secretly swore: I am never acting in anything ever again!
The first scene featured Naza wearing a white dress, her hair draped loosely over her shoulders, taking a leisurely stroll by the seaside. Suddenly, someone set off fireworks, and the female lead turned her head to look at them. At that moment, a young man standing on the shore caught sight of the scene and fell in love with her at first sight.
The original purpose of designing this scene was to capture Naza's beauty, but it was clear I had overthought it—Naza's beauty was 360-degrees flawless, purely natural, and required no embellishment.
The second scene was much harder. After putting down what he was holding in his hands to go find the female lead, the male lead discovered she had already left. Then, relying solely on the impression from that single glance, he began searching for her, only to brush past each other every single time. This scene tested Qin Tian's acting skills to the absolute limit.
As it turned out, Qin Tian had zero acting skills. Fortunately, this was his own music video, so they could take their time grinding through it.The second music video, "Mercury Diary", was much more relaxed. There was no plot; it was essentially a travel video of Naza, with the sole requirement being that she looked gorgeous—gorgeous enough to make hearts flutter!
Shooting proceeded very smoothly. After just a few days of spending time together, Qin Tian and Naza grew increasingly familiar with each other.