Chapter 13 Love Letters: He's struck gold.
The two started talking about other topics. Zhou Yu took a new notebook from the bookshelf, put on his headphones, and transcribed the lyrics of the second song.
Even after starting university, Zhou Yu maintained the habit of recording fragments and life insights by hand, a habit her high school Chinese teacher had required. This most primitive method often brought her unexpected inspirations, something that typing on a phone keyboard could not match.
As she walked along, Zhou Yu had constructed many images in her mind. She connected and overlapped the flashback scenes, and fragmented keywords popped up one after another. Soon, she put pen to paper and wrote down the first word.
That evening, Zhou wrote down the first draft. As he listened to the melody and went over the lyrics again and again, he seemed to hear Chen Jingchi singing the lyrics along with the melody.
Zhou Yu believes that a rich imagination can be considered an advantage in most cases, but to the point of having auditory hallucinations is probably a sign of some kind of mental problem.
She put down her pen and transferred the text from her notebook to her phone's notes app, intending to polish it further over the next few days.
On Tuesday evening, while receiving his final IV drip at the school clinic, Zhou made minor revisions to the initial version of the lyrics.
Since her last discussion with Chen Jingchi about "Invitation to the Night," Zhou Yu has gained a general understanding of the connection between the lyrics and the music. Beyond the most basic expression, the arrangement of the lyrics also needs to consider the singer's pronunciation and rhyme scheme. Before finalizing the version, she hopes to minimize the risks the lyrics pose to Chen Jingchi's performance.
Although she never doubted Chen Jingchi's singing skills, or perhaps these could all be cleverly handled with blurred tones.
But she wanted to do her job to the best of her ability; otherwise, why would a few hundred words be worth such a high price?
After making the changes, Zhou wanted to send a message to Chen Jingchi to ask if he would be at school the next afternoon.
One minute later.
Chen: [In]
Thinking of what he had told her during the phone call yesterday, Zhou Yu did not reveal the progress, but only told him that the lyrics were being written and asked if they could meet.
Chen: [I'm recording the school song at the school recording studio tomorrow afternoon.]
Zhou Yu: [What time will it end?]
Chen: [It's hard to say]
October marks the 60th anniversary of Jiangxi University of Media and Communications. I had previously heard from An Kejia that the school would be having a few students record a youth chorus version of the school song, and sure enough, Chen Jingchi was among them.
Zhou guessed that Chen Jingchi was short on time and would be the first to record, so he planned to rush over after class in the afternoon.
After the first long class on Wednesday afternoon, An Kejia and Fan Xin packed their things and set off to catch the high-speed train, while Zhou Yu rode his bike directly to the school's broadcasting building.
Upon arriving at the recording studio, Zhou Yu realized what Chen Jingchi meant by "it's hard to say".
As a member of the school community, the opportunity to hear the school song is extremely rare. Several people were sitting together outside the booth learning the song, but Chen Jingchi was not among them.
Zhou Yu walked to the door of the monitoring room and peeked inside. He saw through the glass that Zhou Yu was recording a song in the studio, and then he felt relieved.
It seems she timed it quite well.
Zhou Yu stood aside and waited. The group of people practicing singing had almost finished. A girl noticed her in the corner and came over to ask, "Are you waiting for Chen Jingchi?"
When Zhou Yu looked up, she noticed that the other boys and girls who had finished singing practice were all looking at her. She didn't like being the center of attention, so she decided to go outside to wait.
Before she was about to proceed, the girl told her, "He's been inside for quite a while, he should be done soon, just wait a few more minutes."
"...Okay, thank you."
Since she had already said that, Zhou Yu couldn't back down now, so he could only lower his head again and try to make himself less noticeable.
Clearly, the others didn't notice her avoidance. Several people came forward and surrounded her. One boy asked, "Are you Zhou Yu? We're in the same class as Chen Jingchi."
Zhou Yu always maintained a distance from strangers, regardless of whether they were Chen Jingchi's classmates or not. She simply nodded in response.
The girl asked, "You knew Chen Jingchi before? I heard you two are from the same hometown."
"I don't know him," Zhou denied.
"Oh, you two are making pretty good progress," the girl said with a smile. "You've both come to visit the set."
Zhou Yu was startled, and alarm bells rang in his mind.
She knew these onlookers loved gossip, but she never expected a single sentence to make their relationship so ambiguous. It was hard to tell from her tone whether it was a joke or not, but Zhou Yu knew this absolutely couldn't be allowed to get out and be misunderstood.
Just as she was about to explain, the door to the listening room was pushed open from the inside, and someone came out of the corridor. Everyone's attention was drawn to them; it was Chen Jingchi who had finished recording.
"Who's next?" the sound engineer asked. "Hurry up, time is tight."
The girl standing in front of Zhou Yu volunteered: "I'll go first, my segment is the shortest."
Zhou Yu noticed that Chen Jingchi's gaze was already on her, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the girl's figure disappear behind the door. She felt a suffocating feeling, as if she couldn't catch her breath.
"Let's talk outside," Chen Jingchi said to her.
Zhou Yu followed behind him for a few steps, feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He felt it necessary to clarify his position and let Chen Jingchi know his stance.
After all, they were classmates. If the girl said something in front of him, he would be in deep trouble.
Zhou Yu quickly stepped forward, shortening the distance between them, and lowered his voice to remind them, "A girl just misunderstood our relationship."
Chen Jingchi immediately stopped and turned around to look at the people behind him: "Who?"
Zhou Yu could feel the gaze on her back. She didn't turn around, but simply said, "The one who just went to record."
Chen Jingchi frowned and asked, "What did she say?"
Zhou wanted to repeat what the girl had said to him, and then added, "I was just about to explain when you came out."
Not only should they clarify their own stance, but they should also shift a portion of the responsibility onto him, demonstrating that they are actually on the same side.
Chen Jingchi looked away, and Zhou Yu looked up at him. His clear black and white eyes were filled with innocence and purity, as if the words "I have nothing to do with this" were written all over his face.
This inexplicably reminded Chen Jingchi of their first formal meeting at Starbucks, when he had the same expression when he said his phone was dead and wouldn't turn on.
He decided to retract his stereotypes about her; the term "insensitive" might not be appropriate for her.
Chen Jingchi chuckled inexplicably: "I'll explain to her later."
Zhou Yu was relieved and sent him the lyrics file on her phone as she went downstairs, saying, "I've finished writing the lyrics, take a look."
As Chen Jingchi unlocked his phone, he casually asked, "Any plans for National Day?"
Zhou Yu didn't understand why he asked that: "No."
"Why the rush?" Chen Jingchi glanced at her. "Are you better?"
Zhou Yu could dismiss a simple expression of concern over the phone as mere pleasantries, but now that he was right beside her, his sudden inquiry about her illness left her no time to prepare.
Fortunately, you can look down at your feet when going down the stairs.
"It's almost done." Zhou Yu didn't want to steer the conversation too much towards herself. She asked, "Is there anything that needs to be changed?"
Chen Jingchi opened the file and saw that Zhou wanted to name the song "Second Quadrant".
-
A small, undisturbed space
Isolate the noise
Put on headphones and play old movies
Tranquility spread around
Darkness pressed the pause button for me
Stretched memory line
Slowed-down time
Capture the frozen moment
Along with memories and time overlapping
Outline the shape
Constructing a virtual second quadrant
Finding the real me
Restoring the true nature
A constant stream of flickering images
Cut into small pieces
The light is diffused
Dust particles are tiny yet as vast as smoke.
Drifting freely without restriction
As the wind travels through all things
An adventure that ends a short life
In the most humble posture
It landed on a flat surface.
A clear line between black and white
The connection between troughs and peaks
Increasingly blurred boundaries
Cannot see clearly but can hear clearly
gentle drumbeats
Melodious chords
How to distinguish between a dream and an illusion?
It is the starting point of fearlessness.
Embrace the unknown tomorrow
-
Chen Jingchi read it carefully and understood.
If the previous song "Invitation to the Night" was a coincidence, this time, Chen Jingchi has confirmed that the concept of resonance and soul connection is not just theoretical talk, but something that can actually exist in reality.
This piece was composed shortly after he started school, when he had just become famous at the school.
In the variety show "I Hear Your Voice", Chen Jingchi had a smooth and successful career, making it all the way to the top six. However, he announced his withdrawal from the competition at the height of his popularity. Then, when everyone thought he would fade into obscurity, Sheng Yu Hua signed him for a high price, pushing him back into the spotlight.
Within a short month, he went through a rollercoaster of ups and downs, from qualifying to withdrawing from the competition to signing a contract, which shrouded him in mystery and everyone wanted to uncover the truth.
The wave of praise wasn't the only thing that came his way. Chen Jingchi allowed for different opinions to exist around him, but too many of them could easily affect his mindset and judgment.
When he has a moment to catch his breath, all he wants is to find a quiet place to stay, cut off from all sound, and return to the simplest way of life he used to live, where he was only accompanied by music.
Emotions are the most private, subjective, and personalized products of thought. Yet, someone I've only known for a short time, someone I can't even call a friend, can describe his state of mind when he wrote the melody in a short lyric of just over two hundred words, perfectly capturing it without being overly flamboyant, yet instantly relatable.
Zhou Yu uses simple strokes and minimal ink to express his innermost feelings in every word, interpreting with extreme precision the desires buried deep within his heart that even he himself has never touched.
This is what he lacks most, and it is also the shining point of Zhou Yu that he admires most.
He's struck gold.
Seeing Chen Jingchi looking down at his phone and remaining silent, Zhou Yu's heart began to pound. He wondered whether Chen Jingchi's silence indicated satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Zhou Yu had no choice but to stand as punishment at the stairwell.
She didn't dare to look at his face too often.
After scanning the room two or three times, Chen Jingchi finally spoke up: "I'd like to know how you write lyrics."
“Write it based on your music,” Zhou Yu replied formally. “Write it according to the feeling it gives me.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Jingchi completely overturned his previous thoughts. The lack of emotional expression actually made Zhou Yu have a very high level of subtlety and sensitivity in emotional empathy. From this moment on, he began to look forward to what kind of surprises she could bring next.
Chen Jingchi realized that Zhou Yu had immense untapped potential, and limiting her to established song frameworks might not be a good thing.
He was increasingly grateful that he had seen the email from Zhou Yu at the crucial moment.
He put away his phone and asked, "Have you ever written lyrics before? Before the lyric contest?"
Zhou Yu did not avoid his gaze and denied it: "No."
Chen Jingchi nodded and finally got to the lyrics: "There's nothing that needs to be changed, you wrote them very well."
Zhou Yu used two poems to prove to Chen Jingchi that even if there were minor adjustments needed, the person who should make the changes was him, not Zhou Yu.
Chen Jingchi considers himself a perfectionist, but with Zhou Yu, he can change the rules for her.
Zhou Yu was surprised that Chen Jingchi had brushed it off so lightly with just one sentence, thinking that he wasn't the type to be polite. Watching him quickly go downstairs, she followed, unsure how to ask him, and ultimately chose the safest approach: say less, say nothing.
Upon arriving on the first floor, Chen Jingchi turned around and asked her, "Where are you going? I'll take you there."
Seeing that Chen Jingchi didn't intend to discuss the lyrics, Zhou Yu didn't dwell on it any longer and replied, "Back to the dorm."
Zhou Yu only realized what he had said after it was out of his mouth.
How to deliver it?
She looked over in confusion and saw Chen Jingchi walk towards the parking lot next to the building. Then his gaze was drawn to a cool motorcycle parked in a parking space.
The entire vehicle has a dark mecha style, with powerful lines and a striking blue sci-fi trim around the inside of the wheels.
Zhou Yu had never been in contact with motorcycles before and didn't know what brand this was, but he thought it was cool and stylish.
After Chen Jingchi straddled the car with his long legs, he started the engine and roared, as if awakening a beast that had been sleeping for a long time.
A few seconds later, the person and the car stopped in front of her.
"You don't need to come looking for me anymore. You decide the lyrics." Chen Jingchi raised his hand to put on his helmet, his voice crisp. "Get in the car."
A note from the author:
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Thank you for wishing me all the best in my exams! [heart emoji]
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