Although the Zidishu has been lost, it has another name, called "Old Drum Lyrics."

What does that mean? Here, "drum lyrics" refers to drum songs.

Later forms such as Jingyun Dagu, Lihua Dagu, and Henan Zhuizi, when they were first created, inherited some of the rhythms, rhymes, tunes, and texts from Zidishu, which is why Zidishu is also called "Old Drum Lyrics."

Zidishu can be considered a partial predecessor to these drum songs; the two are closely related.

Many of the original lyrics of the drum song "Why Bother with the Western Chamber," including the vocal style, were actually adapted from Zidishu.

—So, it's not that Samuel Parker's singing style resembles Dagu, but rather that Dagu resembles the Zidishu sung by Samuel Parker!

As for the so-called traces of the Mu school Dagu mentioned by the string master Old White, that's even simpler.

Both Zidishu and drum songs absorbed elements of opera during their development, and Samuel Parker had formal training in opera from a young age, in the same school—how could there not be traces of it?

At the end of the song, Samuel Parker added two more lines: "From unofficial histories, all loyalty and righteousness are seen; with new lyrics, all deep feelings are expressed!"

These lines also come from Zidishu. By this point, he and the musicians seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, cooperating seamlessly. Although they were strangers, the tune had a set pattern.

At the final word, only the sanxian was left, accompanying Samuel Parker's leisurely ending note, as the mellow and clear sound of the strings rolled down.

Old White stopped playing, feeling a sense of unfinished enjoyment. At the same time, under the spotlight, he saw Samuel Parker actually turn back and give them a slight nod.

Old White and the others responded with a smile. Although no words were exchanged, they had completed a beautiful collaboration.

……

After the concert ended, Samuel Parker originally wanted to chat with the string master, but was dragged backstage by Carter-Thompson, unable to escape.

After all, both Henry Carter and William Thompson were shocked by Samuel Parker's performance. They felt that Samuel Parker's state was as if he had been reborn!

Henry Carter has been in the industry for so long, she could fully sense the aura Samuel Parker had on stage—calm and composed.

By comparison, she herself was nowhere near that level when she debuted. It took her several years of struggle to find her place.

As for Parker's singing skills, she only knew a little about Dagu singing, and just thought that Parker might have practiced it. What she cared more about was—though it might not sound good to say this about her own son, Parker's previous performances lacked spirit.

But today, it was completely different.

Could it be that he suddenly had an epiphany overnight?

When William Thompson told Henry Carter that Samuel Parker truly wanted to do crosstalk, Henry Carter was stunned again.

"Parker, I can see you like these... performing arts, but crosstalk might not suit you," Henry Carter said tactfully. "You could release an album; those lines you just sang were really good."

Samuel Parker objected, "But that's not my true calling."

Henry Carter: "You haven't even been in the industry for half a year—your true calling is being a student, right?"

Samuel Parker: "......"

Samuel Parker: "...Right, what I mean is, it's the career I truly love."

Henry Carter waved her hand repeatedly, "When you first joined the show, you said you wanted to be an actor on your own, and now your dream has changed so quickly. Let's talk about it later."

William Thompson meant the same, but was more reserved: "Let's just see how things go."

After hearing this, Samuel Parker could only say, "As long as you give me a chance, I'll prove it to you."

Time will tell. It was late today, but there would be a time for them to see.

Henry Carter and William Thompson looked at each other. The kid seemed sincere, but they really couldn't imagine Samuel Parker doing crosstalk...

……

There was no official recording released of Henry Carter's concert, but some audience members recorded clips on their phones and uploaded them online, including, of course, the duet version of "Why Bother with the Western Chamber" by Henry Carter and Samuel Parker.

At first, everyone was just repeating the golden quote from the lead singer Zhang Yue of Fudu Guanshan: [After listening, he really looks good!]

There were also fans of Samuel Parker who rushed in, praising their bare-faced idol under the stage lights from hair to eyelashes, lip color to fingertips, complimenting every detail.

Later, some people started to notice the singing, timidly commenting: [Why do I feel like the singing is actually pretty good? This part is really catchy.]

[I think so too. This part really adds to the whole song, and it feels quite authentic.]

After all, everyone had a preconceived impression of Samuel Parker, so even if they thought it sounded good, they still lacked confidence.

However, the vast majority of people don't understand Dagu. Even insiders like the string master couldn't tell that this wasn't Dagu but Zidishu, so it was even harder to stop some half-knowledgeable people from commenting: [Calling it authentic is hilarious. Where did you buy this knockoff singing style? You can't even tell what kind of Dagu it is—it's neither here nor there.]

But these were the minority. Most people either couldn't tell if they were fans or haters and just said, [As usual, you guys listen to the song, I'll admire the looks], or they discussed how Samuel Parker actually made a self-deprecating joke before the performance and even dragged his own mom into it.

...Could it be that Henry Carter found a ghostwriter for her son, trying to change his image?

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Pineapple Media Building.

Today's work was a photoshoot. With Henry Carter's influence, at least no one made things difficult for Samuel Parker.