Chapter 29 Love Letters: Their Love Songs
During the day, Chen Jingchi was busy with a photoshoot for a newly signed endorsement deal. During a break, Du Heng told him that the production team of a modern drama that was about to be released had contacted him, asking if he could do a theme song.
The other party used the word "do" instead of "sing," indicating that they wanted to take on both songwriting and composition.
Upon hearing that it was a love song with a romantic theme, Chen Jingchi refused without hesitation: "I can't write this kind of song."
Du Heng didn't press the issue, and asked, "If they give you the lyrics and music, will you sing it?"
He didn't seem too willing either.
“I know you want to sing what you like, but if you want to increase your popularity, singing movie and TV OSTs is definitely the first choice.” Du Heng advised him, “This drama is adapted from a very popular IP, and it’s airing during the New Year, so it’s bound to be very popular. It would be good for you to become a familiar face.”
For singers, popularity and influence are not the same thing. The various commercial collaborations brought about by the outstanding success of his debut album are precisely the way to convert popularity into influence; otherwise, Chen Jingchi wouldn't be so busy every day. It's normal to be swayed by interests when making various choices. As he said in a previous interview, he hasn't reached a point where he can do whatever he wants and completely do what he likes.
Seeing that he was starting to waver, Du Heng pressed on: "If you want to sing, just write your own. Love songs aren't hard, are they? Just create a fictional person you like and imagine confessing your feelings to her."
He has always defined himself as a music creator, and he would definitely want to seize any opportunity to showcase his talents. However, he has never tried this style before and is not particularly interested in it, so Chen Jingchi is not confident that he can do it well.
Even though he knew that the mainstream style in the market was all about love, and that it was only a matter of time before he embraced it.
"How do you fabricate it?" Chen Jingchi looked at him, intrigued. "How about you tell me your love story?"
Du Heng coughed and said, "If you listen to me, it will turn into a sad love song when you write it. You'd better not."
Just as he finished speaking, Du Heng thought of something and changed his mind: "You don't necessarily have to write the music first. Let Zhou Yu write the lyrics first. She will definitely write love songs."
Remembering Zhou Yu's earlier statement that she had never been in a relationship, Chen Jingchi's expression became slightly subtle: "How do you know she definitely will?"
“Girls are emotionally sensitive and have rich imaginations; these things come naturally to her,” Du Heng said logically and confidently. “If you don’t believe me, just ask her.”
Chen Jingchi disagreed. He was quite familiar with Zhou Yu, but he hadn't seen her express her emotions very vividly. Most of the time, she was quiet and reserved, only showing interesting reactions at a few moments that he intentionally created.
After finishing his work during the day, there was a brand live-streaming gala in the evening. It was already past nine o'clock when he finished work. On the way back, his phone rang a few times, and Chen Jingchi picked it up and glanced at it.
Zhuo Wencheng shared two links in the group chat, but Chen Jingchi wasn't interested in clicking on them. He was also reminded of the incident Du Heng had mentioned.
Upon arriving at the apartment building, Chen Jingchi checked his unread messages in the group chat while waiting for the elevator. He saw that Zhuo Wencheng had posted three pictures, and he casually opened the last one.
My eyes were drawn to the words above.
I have counted many stars in the dead of night.
Peeking into the secrets of the clouds
In the long river of moonlight
The drifting boat finally reached the shore.
He already had a general idea of what this gossip was from the previous chat history. Seeing the familiar handwriting, Chen Jingchi frowned slightly and typed a question mark in the group.
I saw her handwriting when we signed the contract last time, and it was really impressive. I don't think I'm mistaken.
Once inside the apartment, he saved the picture of the postcard and sent it to Zhou Yu.
I didn't even have the patience to wait for her reply, so I dialed her directly for a voice call.
They answered quite quickly.
"Wait a minute!" The voice on the other end sounded urgent, followed by footsteps.
Zhou Yu was surprised that he would call directly, so he quickly got up from his chair, pushed open the door, and went to the balcony.
Chen Jingchi didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "Who did you write it for?"
Zhou wanted to close the balcony door. She could sense a hint of force in his tone, but she didn't have time to think about it. She just wanted to explain things clearly as soon as possible.
“I wrote it, but I wrote it for a friend.” Zhou Yu spoke a little faster. “I don’t know that guy.”
There was a pause of a few seconds, then the question was asked, "Did you come up with those four lines?"
There was no denying this, and Zhou wanted to admit: "Yes, but I was responding to Shen Congwen."
She read the original poem to him, and Chen Jingchi listened quietly, thinking that what Du Heng said made sense.
He asked, "Can someone write love poems without ever having been in a relationship?"
Hearing this, Zhou Yu choked for a moment, unsure whether his focus was on "dating" or "writing love poems." Even if he hadn't experienced love, he could still confess his feelings; everyone has a romantic streak.
She didn't know how to answer him, and after thinking for a long time, she finally said, "I just wrote it randomly."
"It's well-written," Chen Jingchi blurted out again. "Could you write one for me too?"
For a moment, Zhou Yu thought that there were too many people talking outside the balcony and the noise made her mishear.
"There's a modern drama that needs a love song as an insert song," Chen Jingchi added. "Can you write one?"
As soon as those words were spoken, time seemed to resume its flow. Zhou Yu loosened his grip on his sleeve, his breathing quickening slightly: "What love song?"
"It's similar to the poems you wrote," Chen Jingchi said. "The production team provided the background setting, I'll send it to you later."
Zhou Yu hesitated. Those four lines of poetry were a direct correspondence to Shen Congwen's original poem, and he felt no burden when he thought about it, since he was writing it for a friend. But if he were to write a song, the situation would be quite different.
Her creative style leans towards immersion, producing works that are inseparable from her current feelings. She can only write highly fitting lyrics in specific contexts. The reason she avoids the theme of love is simple: she's afraid that her lyrics will reflect her own experiences and be seen through by perceptive people.
Zhou Yu didn't want to take such a big risk; she would rather have one less collaboration.
She reached up and grabbed the railing, whispering, "I've never tried it before..."
“I don’t have one either.” Chen Jingchi didn’t listen to her finish speaking before saying, “At first, I was also hesitant about whether to accept or not. If you don’t write, I will just sing. If you write, I will compose and sing.”
"Think about it."
He frankly and openly listed his conditions, and Zhou Yu's original firm refusal began to waver.
She never imagined she could become a part of Chen Jingchi's decision. If she hadn't written it, plenty of people would have wanted to make money from it, and Chen Jingchi would have sung it anyway. The only difference would be who owns the copyright to the song.
The copyright of the song does not belong to the singer, but to the lyricist and composer. If she is willing to write it, then this love song will belong to her and Chen Jingchi.
It's an open and aboveboard collaboration, so even if there's a hidden agenda, it can be legitimately explained as a requirement of the storyline.
Faced with temptation and risk, Zhou Yu became a gambler for the first time.
She didn't keep Chen Jingchi waiting long. Gazing at the deep night, she said, "Okay."
Chen Jingchi chuckled, as if he had anticipated her agreement. He didn't ask anything else, but changed the subject: "Did you get the postcards back?"
Zhou Yu glanced into the dormitory through the glass door of the balcony. Fan Xin wasn't there; she must have gone out. She replied, "A friend went to get it."
“Okay,” Chen Jingchi said. “I’ll take those four lines and write them in the song.”
He forcefully seized ownership of those four lines of poetry, but Zhou Yu refused, saying, "Then everyone will know that I wrote the postcard."
Chen Jingchi hummed in agreement, his voice casual: "Didn't you think about the consequences when you wrote it?"
Zhou Yu choked again. Who could have imagined that such a terrible thing would happen? She was just trying to help out.
She remained silent, so Chen Jingchi asked again, "I really like it, what should I do?"
They deliberately made things difficult for her.
Zhou Yu had no intention of giving in. Her original intention was not to reject him, but simply not to get involved with that scumbag.
She deliberately asked, "You want one that's written for someone else too?"
Provoked, Chen Jingchi didn't back down: "Isn't this a response to Shen Congwen?"
"..."
Zhou Yu: "I'll rewrite it for you."
He didn't speak.
Zhou gritted his teeth: "It's even better than those four lines."
Chen Jingchi then laughed: "Just kidding, don't worry about me."
Having said all that, how could I not care about you!
Zhou wanted to mutter a few complaints to himself, but after hanging up the phone, he saw that Chen Jingchi had sent him a document containing the drama's setting.
Seeing the title "Before Sunset," Zhou Yu felt like she'd heard it somewhere before. Returning to her dorm from the balcony, she searched for the show online and saw Zhu Qi's name in the cast list. Then she remembered that this was the drama Tan Bei had mentioned Zhu Qi was about to air.
Fan Xin mentioned it during a previous chat in the dormitory.
The notification sound rang again, and Chen Jingchi pushed a business card over.
Chen: [This is the producer; he'll send you the contract.]
Zhou replied "Okay" and sent a friend request. While waiting for the other party to accept, he carefully read through the document.
This drama is adapted from a novel. You can't understand the whole picture just by looking at some of the drama's settings, so Zhou Yu simply took a few days to read the entire novel from beginning to end.
This is an urban drama about a man and a woman who secretly love each other but miss each other for many years due to a misunderstanding. Zhou Yu has always thought of herself as not a very emotional person and has not read many romance novels before. She did not expect it to have such a strong impact. She was moved to tears when she saw the man and woman confess their feelings to each other and confirm their relationship.
It's said that reading novels makes it easy to immerse oneself in the story. After finishing the novel, Zhou Yu couldn't shake off the protagonist's love story. Withdrawal symptoms have both advantages and disadvantages. She wrote down the lyrics while her emotions were still running high.
It was titled "Evening Star Falls".
When Chen Jingchi received the lyrics she sent, he was with Du Heng and showed him the document.
"What did I tell you? She could definitely write it, right?" Du Heng laughed and asked, "So, did you feel any stirrings of romantic feelings after reading it?"
Chen Jingchi did not comment, but the lyrics were very atmospheric and could indeed evoke emotions. Even he, who had been single for nineteen years and had never experienced love, could see the heartwarming feelings of unrequited love in them.
After arriving home, Chen Jingchi began composing the music. He had thought that such a tender and melodious love song would be difficult to write, but the process was unexpectedly smooth. Zhou Yu's lyrics gave him a strong sense of imagery, making him feel as if he were there. He could feel the ripples that a glance could create, and the emotions that a kiss could evoke. He felt as if he had experienced them firsthand, and the music was born naturally.
The next morning, he packaged the lyrics and music and sent them over.
The production team quickly arranged the music. Chen Jingchi had a very busy schedule this month, and he finally managed to squeeze out half a day to go to the studio to record. However, two days later, Du Heng received a message from the production team informing them that the song had been changed to a duet.
The female lead in the drama took the initiative to ask to sing a duet with Chen Jingchi.
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