To talk about Yang Yuying, we must first rewind to the 1990s. Back then, the girl still named Yang Gangli took her savings and left Nanchang for Guangzhou to pursue her dreams. Cramped in a rental apartment of less than 15 square meters, she practiced singing against the wall during the day and performed as a resident singer in nightclubs at night—messing up a single line could cost her the job.

要聊杨钰莹，得先把时光拨回九十年代。那时候还叫杨岗丽的姑娘，揣着点积蓄从南昌跑到广州闯江湖，挤在十几平的出租屋里，白天对着墙练声，晚上去歌厅驻唱，唱错一句都可能丢饭碗。



Luck can be mysterious sometimes. The album Wind Carries Affection, Water Smiles originally prepared for Li Lingyu fell into her lap due to scheduling conflicts. No one expected this album to sell 1 million copies directly, setting a mainland record. Her song Tea Mountain Love Song was heard everywhere, and even CCTV played her songs daily. The company's boss thought "Yang Gangli" sounded too rustic and renamed her "Yang Yuying"—a name that spread to audio-visual stores across the country along with the tapes.

运气这东西有时真玄乎，原本给李玲玉准备的专辑《风含情水含笑》，愣是因为档期问题砸到了她头上。谁能想到，这张专辑直接卖了100万张，刷新内地纪录，街头巷尾全是她的《茶山情歌》，连央视都天天播她的歌。公司老总嫌“杨岗丽”土，改名“杨钰莹”，这名字跟着磁带传遍了全国的音像店。



Later, the "Golden Boy and Jade Girl" duo she formed with Mao Ning pushed her to the peak. When their 1993 song Heart Rain was released, it immediately became a must-sing at KTVs and remains a favorite love song for many middle-aged couples to this day. Her 1994 concert in Shanghai was a sell-out with 10,000 seats filled. At that time, Shanghai audiences were not fond of mainland singers, making her appeal simply extraordinary. Mao Ning later recalled with amazement: "Albums sold millions of copies effortlessly—it was a frenzy."

后来和毛宁组的“金童玉女”组合，更是把她推上巅峰。1993年的《心雨》一出来，直接成了KTV必点曲，直到现在还是不少中年夫妻的定情歌。1994年在上海开演唱会，一万个座位座无虚席，要知道那时候上海观众对内地歌手可不感冒，这号召力简直逆天。毛宁后来回忆都咋舌：“专辑随随便便卖百万张，简直卖疯了”。



While she shone brightly on stage, Yang Yuying harbored a deep longing for family. Backstage at a 1994 performance in Xiamen, she met Lai Wenfeng. He was generous—sending a Mercedes-Benz convoy to pick her up and arranging flower baskets made of 100-yuan notes—winning the heart of the 23-year-old girl. Their passionate love was truly sweet: they milked goats together in the countryside, rode donkey carts along fields, and even planned to have three children, saying the back seat of the car could just fit them. Yang Yuying was also bold enough to announce her retirement at the height of her career in 1996, giving up Spring Festival Gala invitations and advertising contracts to become a good wife and mother.

舞台上风光无限，杨钰莹心里却藏着对家庭的渴望。1994年厦门演出后台，她遇上了赖文峰，对方出手阔绰，又是奔驰车队接机，又是百元大钞编花篮，把23岁的姑娘哄得动了心。两人热恋时是真甜，一起回乡下给山羊挤奶，骑驴车逛田埂，甚至规划着生三个孩子，说车子后排刚好能坐下。杨钰莹也是真敢拼，1996年事业最火的时候，直接宣布隐退，放弃春晚邀约和广告合同，就想当个贤妻良母。

Unfortunately, the sweetness didn't last long. They broke up in 1997 due to personality differences. Worse still, in 1999, the "Yuanhua Smuggling Case" broke out, and Lai Wenfeng was imprisoned for his involvement. Although the police confirmed she had broken up long before and was unrelated, rumors exploded: "Jade Girl involved in the case," "received a million-yuan Porsche"—all kinds of slander poured in. All partners terminated contracts, concerts were canceled, albums shelved, and even variety show contestants dared to humiliate her to her face. Helpless, Yang Yuying quietly returned to Nanchang, living with her mother in an old house, buying vegetables in the market in cotton clothes—completely different from the diva she once was. This silence lasted for ten years. As for the gossip about her and Mao Ning being a couple, she clarified years later: they had a pure sibling-like bond. Mao Ning didn't have the courage to confess, and she only regarded him as a friend. Although this misunderstanding boosted their popularity, it also delayed their respective love lives.

可惜甜蜜没撑多久，1997年两人因性格不合分手。更糟的是1999年，“远华走私案”爆发，赖文峰涉案入狱。尽管警方查明她早分手且无关，但谣言还是炸了锅：“玉女涉案”“收百万保时捷”，各种脏水泼过来。合作方全解约，演唱会取消，专辑搁置，连综艺选手都敢当面羞辱她。没办法，杨钰莹只能悄悄回南昌，和母亲住老房子，菜市场买菜穿棉布衣服，跟当年的天后判若两人。这一沉寂，就是十年。至于和毛宁的“金童玉女”绯闻，多年后她才澄清：两人是纯粹的兄妹情，毛宁没勇气表白，她也只当对方是朋友。这误会虽帮他们涨了人气，却也耽误了各自的感情。

At the 2012 Hunan TV Spring Festival Gala, Yang Yuying, in a white dress, sang Heart Rain with Mao Ning again. The comment section was flooded with "Youth is back," marking her official comeback. But she no longer chased fame and fortune; instead, she lived a new life. Now 54, she resides in Shenzhen with her mother. She owns a villa valued at 60 million yuan but chooses not to live there, preferring to tinker with the 30-square-meter terrace on the roof, transforming it into a small vegetable garden.

2012年湖南卫视春晚，杨钰莹一袭白裙和毛宁再唱《心雨》，弹幕瞬间刷爆“青春回来了”，这才算正式复出。但她没再追流量，反而活出了新样子。如今54岁的她定居深圳，和母亲住在一起。名下那套估值六千万的别墅不住，偏偏爱折腾楼顶的三十平露台，改造成了小菜园。



She knew nothing about gardening at first and learned from her mother, a "gardening expert." Now, chili peppers, tomatoes, and kidney beans thrive—red chili peppers hang on branches like small lanterns, surrounded by bougainvillea and Chinese roses, making her a true "gardening enthusiast." She waters the plants and watches dewdrops in the morning, and sits by the garden to admire the sunset in the evening. This life is much quieter than the stage. She also secretly engages in charity. In the spring of 2024, she took 500,000 yuan to a mountain village in Jiangxi and personally donated a piano to the classroom of left-behind children, saying no one taught her to sing when she was little, and she didn't want the children to hum songs under the covers either.

刚开始啥也不会，跟着“园艺高手”妈妈学，现在辣椒、西红柿、豆角长得旺，红辣椒挂枝头像小灯笼，周围还种满三角梅和月季，活脱脱一个“种菜达人”。清晨浇水看露珠，傍晚坐菜园旁看夕阳，这日子比舞台清净多了。她还悄悄做着慈善。2024年春天，揣着50万去江西山村，亲手给留守儿童教室放了架钢琴，说自己小时候没人教唱歌，不想孩子也躲被窝里哼歌。

She named the classroom "Meet Jiangnan Music Corner," derived from her studio founded in 2023. Instead of acting as a boss, she became a teacher, signing new artists who sing folk songs about mountain breezes and rice waves. On her birthday, she receives big bouquets of roses. In daily life, she accompanies her mother and dog, reads in the study, and drinks tea in the tea room—living a plain yet fulfilling life. Without marriage or children, she has managed to make her life rich and meaningful.

她给教室起名“遇江南音乐角”，来自自己2023年成立的工作室，没当老板倒当起了老师，签下的新人唱的都是山风稻浪的民谣。生日时会收到大捧玫瑰，日常和妈妈、狗狗作伴，书房看书，茶室品茶，日子过得平淡又踏实。没有婚姻和孩子，却把生活打理得有滋有味。

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