Superstars of Tomorrow

There was a distinction between being a regular student and a disciple.

Carter had taught countless students throughout his career, but he would only categorize about a dozen of them as his disciples, apart from his master’s and PhD students.

Academia placed a premium on passing the torch.

It had been years since Carter had accepted a disciple. There was no shortage of standouts at HuangArt. He got the itch to accept another disciple every year. The only thing was that he’d realized that the older he got, the more careful he had to be about accepting disciples. He was worried that the reputation and stature he had spent so many years building might be destroyed overnight. He had seen this happen in the music industry several times. When one was young, they recruited disciples based on talent. But at a more advanced age, talent wasn’t the only criterion—character was equally important. Folks who were more conservative even valued character more than talent. Their disciples didn’t necessarily have to be top-notch, talent-wise.

As far as regular students were concerned, all Carter had to do was lecture, answer their academic questions, and pass on technical knowledge. Beyond that, Carter was circumspect. He had limited resources. The connections that he had accumulated, the ideas and insight he had refined over time, if all went according to plan, he would only pass on to his disciples. If his disciples performed well, it would also reflect well on him, their master.

So for Carter to consider Fang Zhao now was a rare occurrence.

In fact, Carter had considered accepting Fang Zhao as a disciple when Fang Zhao had been first admitted to the Twelve Tones program. It wasn’t only Carter. Some of the senior professors at HuangArt had also had the same idea. But everyone had decided to wait and see so they could observe Fang Zhao’s character. Too many geniuses had vanished after succumbing to the tests of time and worldly temptations, not to mention the fact that Fang Zhao was already an active member in the entertainment industry. That had prompted the old professors to proceed cautiously.

But now, given the quality of Fang Zhao’s paper and work, Carter felt he couldn’t wait any longer. If he did, he was worried that someone might beat him to it.

He had asked around already. Fang Zhao hadn’t been accepted as a disciple by anyone else. That old fella Xue Jing was a solid academic, but he and Fang Zhao had different styles. Even if Xue Jing wanted to train Fang Zhao, he couldn’t manage it. He had even needed Fang Zhao’s help when he’d been writing the textbook "New Voices in Symphonic Composition." So Carter’s only immediate concern was Mo Lang.

Mo Lang was his teacher. In terms of stature and talent, he was also top-notch. Carter could tell that the old man had long been interested in Fang Zhao. The only thing stopping Mo Lang was his earlier vow not to take on any new disciples. He was conflicted. It was time for Carter to step in.

You had to hand it to Carter—he knew Mo Lang well.

Mo Lang was indeed torn when he got the call from his disciple.

Initially, Mo Lang had taken the position that if he refused to take on any new disciples, his disciples could forget about it too. Whoever thought otherwise was quickly reprimanded.

But now, Carter’s spiel helped him come around. What a waste to pass on such a budding talent! I can’t live with that!

Better that he comes under my lineage than is poached by someone else!

Carter was his own student, after all. Mo Lang himself wasn’t in a position to take any more disciples because of his previous vow, but Carter could do so! Let Carter take on Fang Zhao on his behalf, then he could instruct Fang Zhao personally. That could work too! A slight detour!

Mo Long was wearing his poker face during the videoconference, but in fact, he was secretly pleased with himself. I’ve grown more cunning with age!

On the other end of the call, Carter was a respectful, attentive student, but in fact, he had long had Mo Lang all figured out.

"I’ll inform Fang Zhao later. Also, Carter, were you hired for a new project? Remember to let Fang Zhao work on it. Also, Fang Zhao is quite young. Make sure your students take care of this junior disciple," Mo Lang instructed.

"Got it. Don’t you worry. Why don’t you call Fang Zhao first and I’ll follow up with another call. Then it’s decided. As for my students, I will make sure they help Fang Zhao out. Isn’t Fang Zhao attending the Corale Film Festival? It’s his first time at a film festival. I’m worried that Silver Wing Media isn’t taking good enough care of him. It happens that I have a few students and friends at the festival. I’ll ask them to keep an eye on Fang Zhao."

Mo Lang was satisfied. He cut his conversation with Carter short and called Fang Zhao.

Fang Zhao was quite surprised by the call. The old man wasn’t planning on attending the film festival. Why the call?

"What’s wrong, Teacher Mo?" Mo Lang was also an instructor in the Twelve Tones program. The students addressed him as "Teacher Mo."

This particular greeting of "Teacher Mo," however, felt exceptionally good to Mo Lang.

"Fang Zhao, have you considered studying further under a specific teacher?" Mo Lang’s tone was quite serious, but he was still significantly friendlier than during the call with Carter.

Fang Zhao arched his eyebrows. "I have, but I haven’t decided on a teacher yet."

"Uhm, let me recommend one." Mo Lang paused briefly. "I’m quite old and only have so much energy. Plus, I’ve stated publicly that I won’t take on any new students. But my senior disciple, Douglas Carter, your composition and arrangement instructor, he’s halfway decent. If you run into problems, if he’s not being clear on certain points, you can reach out to me."

Who knew what outsiders would think if they found out that the head of the composition department at HuangArt, a full professor, a PhD supervisor and Twelve Tones instructor, was dismissed as "halfway decent."

Naturally, Fang Zhao caught Mo Lang’s drift. Mo Lang wanted to take on a new student, but he could only have Carter do so on his behalf because of his public vow. Meanwhile, Carter was keen on taking on a disciple too.

"If Teacher Mo and Teacher Carter are willing, of course I’m willing to study under you."

Fang Zhao sounded quite excited and passionate, which delighted Mo Lang. The usually taciturn musician flashed a rare smile and rocked his chair. What did I say? With me personally making the offer, there was no way Fang Zhao could refuse. But if Carter had approached Fang Zhao himself, who knows how long it would have taken. Carter is regressing!

Carter had no idea how little Mo Lang secretly thought of him. When Carter got word from Mo Lang, he gave Fang Zhao a call as well. The matter was settled. If another old geezer at HuangArt approached Fang Zhao in private, Fang Zhao could only refuse the offer.

After hanging up on Carter, Fang Zhao relaxed.

He was definitely happy, but not as excited as he had appeared on the phone. People who survived the Period of Destruction had a different outlook, after all.

Fang Zhao knew that even though he’d won a Supernova and had made a name for himself, he was still quite junior in the industry. There were many projects he would never be exposed to. Only if he became an official student of one of these masters would he get to work on bigger projects and gain more experience.

It wasn’t only the teachers doing the observing during the Twelve Tones program. The students were observing their teachers too. Students from prominent families had their own connections, but for students like Fang Zhao who weren’t born into the arts world, all they could do was rely on their own ability. Fang Zhao had been eyeing Carter as a master too. That was why he had been so proactive in writing papers. More often than not, people created their own opportunities.

Now, a prime opportunity had come calling.

Fang Zhao walked toward his hotel window and looked outside.

The number of movie fans flocking to Corale had grown exponentially in the past few days. Fans wearing clothing emblazoned with the names or pictures of celebrities from all continents could be easily spotted everywhere. The buzz was growing across the archipelago. If the local government hadn’t set a quota on visitor numbers and enforced special regulations during the film festival, these fans would have arrived even earlier.

To maintain some semblance of normalcy during the film festival, the Corale government reserved car lanes for local residents. The number of permits authorizing use of these lanes was also limited. Each family was only entitled to one permit. Traffic was also redirected elsewhere. The airspace was completely off-limits. Only ambulances, police, and fire rescue vessels and the like were allowed in the air. The pilots of any private flying transports that took off without extenuating circumstances were subject to heavy fines that could eat up their annual income.

Luckily, Nanfeng had done his homework. Even though he had never attended the film festival before, he had asked around in advance. Fang Zhao’s transportation for all his festival events had long been in place.

Over at HuangArt.

Carter was in a good mood, having accepted a new disciple. Remembering that Mo Lang had asked him to have his students keep an eye on Fang Zhao, he sent his students a message. These few students had told him a few days ago that they planned on attending the film festival. Carter was going to ask them to take care of their fellow disciple, their junior.

But before he could send the message, Carter got a call from one of the students.

"Teacher, we just arrived at the Corale airport. There’s an important premiere in about an hour and we can’t get transportation. Do you know anyone here who could help us out?" A slightly overweight middle-aged man examined the traffic from behind the French windows of a coffee shop inside the Corale airport as he mopped the sweat dripping from his forehead. "There’s a face-off between the fans of some award-winning actor from Jinzhou and the fans of another award-winning actor from Jizhou, which has created a traffic jam. The police are on-site. Word is that it will be another five minutes before the situation is resolved. It’s insane! I think other fans were affected by the standoff and had to take a detour. They’ve taken all the taxis. The rentals are all out too. The entire fleet of cars at our hotel is engaged. I haven’t been able to find anyone else who can help."

A five-minute wait didn’t seem like a long time, but the delay meant it was harder for them to hail a car. When they had first exited the airport, they had seen five empty cabs, but those cabs had been gone in an instant. Now, they had to get in line, and just the size of the queue was overwhelming.

Carter’s students didn’t follow the entertainment industry, so they didn’t know much about these two award-winning actors. At most, they might recognize the names and the faces might strike a chord. They never would have thought that they would one day be blocked by the two actors’ fans in Corale.

Carter’s good mood vanished instantly. "You’ve been to the Corale Film Festival before, haven’t you? Don’t you know that you have to show up early?"

The middle-aged man mopped the sweat pouring down from his forehead again. "I never ran into a situation like this on prior visits, so the importance of arriving early never occurred to me. I arrived two days late this time around because of a conference. Who could have known that two days would make such a big difference!" Oh, how he regretted his decision now. If he had only known, he would have blown off the conference. It hadn’t been an important meeting anyway. The problem was that he hadn’t given much thought to the logistics at Corale and had underestimated how passionate the fans were.

Carter took a deep breath and blurted out, "Wait for my call!"

"Yes... yes, sir! Sorry to impose on you!"

Inside the coffee shop at the Corale airport, after hanging up, the middle-aged man accepted a piece of tissue paper from one of his students and wiped his face. He attributed the nerves in part to anxiety and in part to Carter’s tone on the phone. He had to keep his composure in front of his students, but the instant he turned his head, he started sweating profusely again. Now he knew why all the celebrities showed up early. It wasn’t just for the media exposure. They also wanted to avoid peak traffic. Otherwise, they’d be mobbed by fans when they arrived at the airport.

Meanwhile, over at HuangArt, Carter reached out to his contacts immediately. The thing was, the closer to the prize ceremony it got, the busier his contacts at Corale became. The folks he contacted were swamped. While they promised Carter they’d see what they could do, it was unclear how long they would keep Carter waiting.

The minutes passed as Carter browsed his contact list. His gaze lingered on Fang Zhao’s name. He paused before hitting the dial icon.

Carter had barely done anything for his new disciple, and now he needed to ask a favor first. It felt unbecoming. His face was beet red during his conversation with Fang Zhao.