Chapter 12 Love Letter: "We are all creators."
Zhou Yu's fever subsided in the middle of the night, but she started coughing and had a runny nose the next day. As soon as she arrived at the classroom in the morning, several girls surrounded her. She used this as an excuse to tell them not to get too close, fearing that they might catch a cold.
Did Chen Jingchi really transfer 10,000 yuan to you?
"May I see the lyrics you wrote?"
Have you two added each other as friends yet?
"The class monitor was looking for you everywhere the day before yesterday. Was it because Chen Jingchi wanted to see you?"
"..."
The various foreseeable problems made Zhou Yu's head ache more and more.
An Kejia noticed that Zhou Yu was unwilling to discuss Chen Jingchi in detail, so she chimed in, "Don't ask anymore, she has a sore throat and can't speak."
"Do you know what? Tell us about it."
The barrage of criticism was focused on An Kejia, who immediately opened her phone's memo app and chuckled, "Look, this is the e-signature Chen Jingchi wrote for me. Should I forward it to each of you?"
"No need, no need, I can do it myself." The crowd finally dispersed.
“It’s true, why don’t they believe it?” Fan Xin laughed uncontrollably. “I should have recorded a video to prove it for you.”
An Kejia suppressed a laugh: "Zhou Zhou, I suggest you get one too."
Hearing this, Zhou Yu thought of what happened in the school clinic yesterday and, fearing he might get into trouble, shook his head: "Never mind."
They probably realized they wouldn't get anything out of Zhou Yu, and gradually lost their thirst for knowledge.
After a full day of classes on Monday, Zhou Yu weighed her options and ultimately went to the school clinic.
Whether it's powder or capsules, the side effects of cold medicine on Zhou Yu are very obvious. Less than half an hour after taking the medicine, she started to feel drowsy, with an effect comparable to sleeping pills.
Not long after starting her IV drip, Zhou Yu fell asleep leaning back in her chair, undisturbed by her phone notifications or conversations.
It wasn't until the doctor came over and patted her on the shoulder that Zhou Yu opened her eyes. She didn't know where she was for several seconds before she came to her senses.
She listened to the doctor and mechanically pressed the needle prick. She looked up at the clock on the wall; it was almost eight o'clock.
She was alone in the infusion room. Zhou Yu picked up her phone, and when the screen lit up, she saw three unread messages, all from Chen Jingchi.
19:02
Chen: [File][Track 2]
19:03
Chen: [Voice call][No answer]
19:05
Chen: [Call me back when you have time]
Zhou Yu only saw the latest message. After unlocking her phone, she subconsciously opened the phone app, switched to her contacts, tapped the name at the top, and clicked to call.
The moment the call interface popped up and Zhou Yu saw the three initials, he finally realized something was wrong. He immediately and frantically pressed the hang-up button, but his hand trembled and he missed. He had to press it three times before he finally hung up the phone.
The interface had been gone for several seconds, but Zhou Yu's heart was still pounding. His brain was instantly roused by the rush of blood, and a sense of lingering fear washed over him, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
She was still a little groggy when she woke up, and when she saw the word "phone" in the message box, she dialed the number without thinking.
After a long while, Zhou Yu opened his browser and searched for "how long after a phone call is made will the other party see the incoming call notification".
The search results may vary and may be affected by signal strength and location; the shortest display time is about 3 seconds.
Zhou Yu recalled her mistake just now. In her panic, she had lost track of time and didn't know how many seconds had passed before she hung up.
But she quickly realized that her phone number was an unfamiliar number to the other party, and even if it rang, they might just think it was an advertisement or a nuisance call and wouldn't pay much attention to it.
As she gradually calmed down and regained her senses, Zhou Yu warned herself that she should never reply to messages right after waking up, as it is easy to make mistakes when half asleep.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly. Zhou Yu couldn't imagine how she would handle the situation if the other party had answered the phone.
Upon opening Chen Jingchi's chat window, Zhou Yu first opened the file that Chen had sent an hour earlier. This file contained the melody of the second track from the new album, played on the piano.
Compared to the previous song, this song has a more relaxed rhythm. Whether it's the verse or the chorus, the emotional fluctuations are not very obvious. It's as if you are on a beach at sunset, with the sound of waves crashing on the sand, and the slightly salty and humid sea breeze carrying the heat of late summer blowing into every pore of your body.
Despite the peaceful and serene scene, Zhou Yu inexplicably felt a faint sense of loneliness.
It is a sensitive emotion that is easily overlooked, mistakenly thought to be well hidden, and only quietly emerges when one is alone, making it difficult to capture.
After listening to the melody demo, Zhou Yu's heart calmed down, and she made a voice call to Chen Jingchi.
While waiting for the call to connect, Zhou picked up his bag and left the school clinic. It was quite far from the student apartments and the location was too remote; he wouldn't run into many people on his way back.
When Zhou Yu heard Chen Jingchi's voice, he stopped and stood far away from the streetlights, trying to hide himself in the darkness.
"Did you listen to the music?" he asked.
"I listened." Zhou Yu's voice wasn't very loud, and it even had a muffled nasal tone. "Did you write this before?"
Chen Jingchi countered, "How long ago is considered 'before'?"
Zhou wanted to shut up, reflecting on how his fever had damaged his brain and how he had spoken nonsense.
Fortunately, Chen Jingchi didn't delve into it. He abruptly changed the subject: "You got sick from being in the rain?"
Zhou Yu's already slowed brain was about to crash from that sentence. He moved the phone away from his ear to avoid his heavy breathing reaching the receiver.
"It's okay, I'll be fine soon." This was the only sentence Zhou Yu could think of that was suitable for her to say at this moment.
"Take care of yourself," Chen Jingchi said.
Through the transmission of the electrical signal, his distorted voice sounded devoid of any extra emotion; it was just a very ordinary polite greeting.
Zhou Yu didn't know if this could be considered concern, or if it was just out of expectations for his partner.
She thanked him first, then promised him, "I'll give you the lyrics as soon as possible, and I'll start writing them when I get to the dorm. What style do you want?"
Chen Jingchi chuckled lightly: "Zhou Yu, you don't need to be in such a hurry. I'm not your client."
His voice was exceptionally clear in the quiet night: "We are all creators."
The streetlights outside the school clinic seemed to be in disrepair, and they flickered just as Chen Jingchi finished speaking.
"I wrote the music more than half a month ago. I had a lot of thoughts at the time, and there was no specific style. Just write it the way you want. I like the sparks of ideas that collide, rather than writing lyrics step by step." Chen Jingchi paused for a few seconds, then continued, "Just give it to me after National Day."
Zhou Yu looked down at her elongated shadow. She raised her foot to try and step on it, but missed.
“Okay, I understand,” she replied.
Even after hanging up the phone, Zhou Yu's mind was still replaying Chen Jingchi's words.
"We are all creators."
In music, lyrics, composition, and singing are complementary parts. However, in the early stages of creation, the dominant power to establish the tone of the entire song was actually in Zhou Yu's hands. She never expected that she would have such great power to determine the style of the entire album.
Chen Jingchi has already said to write it according to her wishes. It seems like he has no requirements, but in reality, it puts a lot of pressure on Zhou Yu.
She was afraid that if the song didn't meet his expectations, she would be kicked out and would never have the chance to collaborate with him again.
On her way back to her dorm, she took out her headphones and listened to the melody demo over and over again, trying to find some fragments of inspiration.
She was told to submit the lyrics after National Day, but unlike before, Zhou Yu wasn't very confident this time. She wanted to discuss the lyrics with Chen Jingchi in person, so she had to finish writing them before the National Day holiday.
After arriving at the dormitory, Zhou Yu sat down at his desk and overheard Fan Xin and An Kejia discussing celebrities on campus.
"Among the boys, Chen Jingchi is a sure thing. Among the girls, Zhu Qi is probably the most popular in our school; she debuted as a child star," Fan Xin said. "She just finished filming 'Before Sunset' this summer, and I guess it'll be released during the Chinese New Year this year?"
"There's been no word of it at all," An Kejia sighed. "Chen Jingchi has already stolen all the hype; the other stars from his generation are really having a tough time."
"Speaking of which, when is his new album coming out?" Fan Xin asked. "Zhou Zhou, do you know?"
Zhou wanted to tell them the truth: "The first song was used for composing."
"It should be soon, we can record it and release it." Fan Xin had just finished speaking when she realized something and asked, "How many songs are on the new album?"
“Three,” Zhou Yu said.
"So, should he find someone else or will you continue writing lyrics for him?" An Kejia asked curiously.
Zhou Yu didn't dare to make a guarantee, only saying, "The second one is mine."
"Twenty thousand yuan!" Fan Xin couldn't stop smiling. "Zhou Zhou, your earning speed has surpassed 90% of college students."
“Be bold, 99%,” An Kejia added.
“It’s not that exaggerated,” Zhou Yu said. “It’s charged per use, not by the hour.”
An Kejia's attention was elsewhere, and she asked, "I remember the previous call for submissions said that we could have a long-term collaboration with him, didn't it?"
"But Chen Jingchi is signed with a company, isn't he?" Fan Xin found the blind spot. "Why isn't his company contacting lyricists for him?"
"Then why did he even bother soliciting lyrics? I think he should have paid for it himself." After making her conclusion, An Kejia wasn't sure, so she looked at Zhou Yu for agreement, "Right?"
Her words reminded Zhou Yu of the 10,000 yuan from before. The fact that the money could be transferred in such a short time meant it could only be from his own account.
She didn't want to be so absolute about this: "I don't know either."
As for whether they can cooperate in the long term, Zhou Yu's attitude is to take it one step at a time. Some clever tricks can only be used once. From now on, she is no different from everyone else; they are all feeling their way across the river.
Chen Jingchi's words reminded her that on the path of creation, she doesn't need to cater to anyone's preferences; expressing her truest self and conveying her most sincere emotions is the original purpose of writing.
A note from the author:
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Thank you for the nutrient solution, babies!!
Reader "Always Passes Exams.", Watering with Nutrient Solution +5
Reader "Orange White" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the water.
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