Chapter 21
After signing the contract, Zhou Ting, the old man, left in a huff, and the three of them walked out together.
While waiting for the elevator, Song Yihuan checked nearby hospitals and hesitated whether to tell Chi Ran to make an appointment for the four infectious disease tests.
In the end, they didn't say anything, after all, Qian Yu was still around.
She has openly acknowledged her identity as a rogue, but this acknowledgment only allows her to be a rogue in front of Chi Ran, who already knows she is, but not in front of Qian Yu, who knows nothing about her.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Sister Ying came up just after dropping someone off.
"Don't go yet." Sister Ying stopped Chi Ran. "You've come all this way, go and listen to the demo. The recording engineer spends half a day communicating with you online every time. You're already here, so let him go home early."
Chi Ran nodded and said okay.
Song Yihuan could clearly sense that he had breathed a sigh of relief. He had deliberately kept his distance from her all morning, as if he was afraid that she would say something to him alone.
It was lunch break, and the sound engineer wasn't there, so Sister Ying brought them three boxed lunches for lunch.
The boxed lunch was of very good quality, consisting of three meat dishes and one vegetable dish, but it was still a bit greasy than homemade food, with even the stir-fried vegetables soaking in oil.
You can't force yourself to eat it, because you might vomit, and if you vomit, you'll have to go through the trouble of making up an explanation.
Song Yihuan hesitated for a long time but still didn't eat the vegetables. She dipped a few grains of rice into her chopsticks and chewed them slowly.
Her way of eating was such a waste of food. Sister Ying stared at her for a long time before finally asking, "Is it not to your liking?"
Song Yihuan casually made up a story: "I ate too much this morning."
"Oh right, I forgot to bring you some fruit." Sister Ying brought it in. "There are also two bananas and an orange. What are you three going to eat?"
Song Yihuan was busy swallowing rice, her mouth was full, and she couldn't speak immediately.
Qian Yu eagerly said, "Sister, I want a banana! I hate peeling oranges, it makes my nails yellow."
Sister Ying tossed him a banana.
“You still have to peel it,” Chi Ran said slowly. “I’ll eat the orange.”
Qian Yu resignedly took the orange, his face scrunched up: "Brother, I really didn't do anything."
Chi Ran politely said, "Thank you, Ma."
Song Yihuan chuckled, then realized with a start that she was actually another horse.
She was taking small bites of the sweet banana, and before she finished, the sound engineer returned from his lunch break. He greeted Chi Ran and then started working on the demo.
"What song is this?" Song Yihuan leaned over and asked Qian Yu. "It's quite nice."
"It's the theme song that Brother Ran wrote for the online game, sung by a young actor," Qian Yu said, giving a name.
Song Yihuan had heard of this person before, and she exclaimed, "Oh wow, handsome young man, are you coming today?"
"I'm not coming," Chi Ran replied without turning her head, sitting next to the sound engineer.
Although it was harsh, this was the first thing Chi Ran said to her today. How can it not be considered a thaw in their relationship?
"What a pity," she muttered to herself.
The singer who sang the demo had a voice that was far inferior to his handsome appearance. The whole song sounded like it was sung by an amateur, and he wasn't handsome at all.
"The chorus is too dry. Even if the song is called 'Withered,' it can't actually be sung like a withered tree branch, can it?" Chi Ran commented. "How did you pass Xiao Shuai's approval back then?"
"Xiao...Xiao Shuai's manager said he's rushing to a gig, and besides, it's best if this guy stays like this; his voice gets even drier when he's tired." The sound engineer was worried. "Should I add some reverb?"
"Add more? Adding more would completely ruin the KTV sound quality." Chi Ran frowned.
"Want to add some harmonies?" the sound engineer asked. "I'll have a girl come over."
The sound engineer pulled out the schedule and called the backup singers, then shook his head: "Before the deadline, only Xuan'er was available. Is she... okay?"
"Can it work?" Chi Ran sighed. "This guy's singing is dry, and Xuan'er's throat is tight. Is this some kind of mummy song, all dry and tight?"
The sound engineer quickly said, "I'll find someone else."
Suddenly, Sister Ying interjected, "Hey, Mengmeng! Can you help me out?"
Song Yihuan was taking small bites of a banana, crushing it with the tip of her tongue and slowly letting it dissolve in her mouth. When she was called, she couldn't even finish her sentence: "Senmo?"
"Hey, this lisp," Sister Ying said with a laugh, "Why are you trying to sabotage me?"
"No, no." Song Yihuan swallowed the banana in her mouth and replied clearly, "I can sing."
The sound engineer turned around as if he'd found a lifeline: "Are you a singer? Have you sung harmonies before, little sister?"
“Online singers,” Chi Ran added. The word “online” wasn’t particularly strong, but it felt like he was implying something.
"Oh." Half of the expectation in the sound engineer's eyes vanished, replaced by fear of auto-tuning. "Give it a try, little sister."
What's wrong with online singers?
Who do you think you are?
Song Yihuan tightened her grip, and the remaining half of the banana pulp squeezed out of the peel, turning into banana puree.
"Come!"
In a moment of euphoria, Song Yihuan didn't even ask about the payment before she was already sitting in the recording studio. She put on her headphones and expertly adjusted the in-ear monitor volume.
"So skilled?" The sound engineer's voice came through the earpiece. "Little sister, you've done studio recordings before."
Then came Chi Ran's voice: "Listen to it a few more times."
“Once,” Song Yihuan said nonchalantly.
Chi Ran demanded the same things from her when he taught her piano, which made her inexplicably unhappy.
She has perfect pitch and is incredibly smart. She can sing even a simple song like this in one take, let alone harmonies.
She couldn't learn to play the piano because of a neurotoxin; her hands weren't working properly, but her hearing and brain were fine.
After listening to it once, Chi Ran said, "Then let's do it."
There is a rectangular transparent glass between the recording studio and the control room. Song Yihuan is facing the glass sideways, and out of the corner of her eye, she can see the sound engineer raising his right hand high.
The sound engineer's voice came through the headphones: "Little sister, if you can't get the rhythm right, just look at my hands and let me give you the beat."
"Teacher, put your hand down." Song Yihuan turned her head and stared straight at the sound engineer, saying in a very stingy manner, "If you get tired, how will you fix the online singers' voices later?"
The word "internet" was emphasized very heavily.
The sound engineer lowered his hand, quickly turned off the microphone, and muttered to himself, "How come this young girl never suffers a loss?"
After venting, he turned on the microphone again, his attitude completely changing, and said with a forced smile, "I didn't mean that... Let's get ready, three, two, one!"
The sound engineer secretly glanced at Ran Ge's expression, afraid that he would be angered. When Ran Ge was working, he was known as the Miao boy; when he kept quiet, he was fine, but when he opened his mouth, he would spew out venomous words.
Fortunately, Ran Ge seemed to be in a good mood, leaning lazily against the back of his chair, tapping his fingers absently, with a slight smile on his lips.
However, "Ku" is not a song that you can listen to with a smile.
The prelude features a large number of clear and melodious guzheng solos, as if it were being lifted by water and gently swaying, while the clear flute sound blends in instantly, as if it were plunging into a crystal clear and sweet mountain stream.
The melody is mournful and gentle, with the interlude following the gurgling of a clear mountain spring. The clear spring water tinkles, like dripping water recording the passing of seconds. It is clearly beautiful, yet it is filled with the promise of fleeting beauty.
The music plays of springs, the song praises of water, yet every note speaks of desolation.
Like innocent lovers holding hands and humming a prelude to the dawn, unaware that the tune foretells the end of the song and the separation of lovers, a promise never to meet again.
The young star's voice was rather thin, which was originally very suitable for the youthful feeling in this song, but unfortunately his singing style was too dry, sounding bitter from beginning to end. He failed to convey the contrast between the abundant spring and the dried-up spring in the chorus, the regret and decay of time passing.
On the other side of the transparent glass, a pink-haired girl sat on a stool, wearing a loosely knitted off-white sweater. The moment the flute music stopped, she leaned closer and hummed along.
"The secluded spring reflects my detachment, peach blossoms drift and swirl on the water..."
"The gentle ripples wash away my dreams, and I indulge in pleasure day after day, until dawn again..."
"The water flows gently, the dust rustles softly..."
"Unconscious and unaware, slowly cooking and simmering..."
The girl's clear voice was like a refreshing spring splashed in your face, tinkling and flowing into the melody, without a trace of sadness, but rather carrying a touch of etherealness and freedom.
She sang of splashing water droplets, floating leaf boats, and swaying moon shadows. A handful of spring water entered her mouth; it was clear and sweet. After days of rain, the gushing water cascaded down with a rushing sound. And during the dry season, pebbles fell into the spring with a dull thud…
She sang neither a bountiful beginning nor a barren ending.
She sings about existence.
"Wow?" Sister Ying's eyes lit up. "What a great voice."
The sound engineer was so engrossed in the audio that he didn't want to make a sound but didn't want to offend Sister Ying, so he quickly gave her a thumbs up.
Chi Ran had already suppressed his smile and listened silently.
"...The vast expanse of misty waters, I raise my cup to you, but say nothing!"
Song Yihuan did not sing the harmony written by Chi Ran completely, especially the last line, which was too mournful and shrill in the original harmony, and she did not like it.
She shifted from a breathy voice to a soft one, humming a high note to soften the feeling of a tragic fate, and instead erased the period, leaving behind the four words "To be continued".
Until the song ended and the recording engineer stopped taking pictures for a long time, no one said another word.
"Hello?? Are you there??" Song Yihuan waited and waited, but there was no response, so she leaned out and waved at the glass. "Recording engineer—! Are you there? Is the audio editing finished??"
"Why are you so vengeful?" the sound engineer said with a laugh as he turned on the microphone. "I'll admit my mistake, okay?"
Song Yihuan happily swung her legs.
"The last two lines of the second chorus were a bit off, so we added those two lines," Chi Ran said.
The sound engineer played it back for her to listen to herself.
It was very hot in the recording studio. Song Yihuan kept her abdomen tense, and her back was soaked with sweat. She also felt that she was struggling when singing those two lines, but she couldn't be sure just by listening to the in-ear monitor.
As soon as the sound engineer played it, she could immediately hear the ethereal quality.
"I'm going out for a drink of water." She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, took off her headphones, and got up to walk outside.
The moment my hand touched the handle of the inner soundproof door, the door was slowly pushed open.
Chi Ran held the Wahaha bottle, just like when they first argued, and handed it to her with her hand outstretched, hovering right above her head.
Song Yihuan snatched it away with a snap, "Looking for a fight?"
"A blind man delivering water," he joked. "I thought you'd be moved."
"Waaah." She gave him a perfunctory cry.
Chi Ran gripped the handle of the soundproof door, turned her head and said, "I want to hear these two additional lines from inside."
Song Yihuan thought he should just listen, but then he realized that it was an imperative sentence, not a declarative sentence.
"OK."
After she finished speaking, Chi Ran closed both soundproof doors from the outside in. Only after closing the doors did she realize that the shed was quite narrow, and it would be a bit cramped if two people squeezed in.
Chi Ran turned around skillfully in the narrow space, her feet landing precisely on the crossbeam of the stool behind the recording booth. Without the slightest hesitation, she sat down, her movements swift and precise, without even missing a seat.
Song Yihuan turned on the water tap, took a few sips to moisten her throat, and said, "You seem to know this place very well? I feel like you move even faster than at home, you just zipped in here."
"Finish it first." Chi Ran reached out and touched the table in front of him.
Song Yihuan thought he wanted the headphones, so she handed him the over-ear headphones she was carrying. Chi Ran had just touched the earpiece when he raised his hand and slapped them back.
"You sing, I sing? What are you doing giving it to me?"
Song Yihuan glared at him fiercely, then patiently asked, "So what do you want?"
"I want another pair of headphones, the in-ear kind."
"No, right?"
She was sitting in a spot where the microphone blocked her view, so all she could see was half a table covered with an orange tablecloth. She swayed left and right but still couldn't see it.
"Alright."
Chi Ran sighed, then stretched out his arm and inch by inch along the table. After a while, he found a thin orange rope in his hand and sighed again.
Song Yihuan hesitated awkwardly for a while before finally saying, "No, the headphones and tablecloth are orange, I really didn't see them."
"If I had met you when I first went blind, I probably would have felt better by now," he said half-jokingly.
She could clearly sense that Chi Ran's attitude towards her had improved a lot, but she couldn't figure out why.
Could it be that... he was so captivated by her beautiful singing that he was willing to undergo the four infectious disease tests with her and fulfill her birthday wish?
If that's really the case, then people who play music really don't have normal thought processes.
Chi Ran slowly put on one earphone, holding the other one in her hand, and even mocked her:
"Such beautiful eyes, were they just meant to vent your anger?"
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