Chapter 3 Love Letters: How high is her success rate?
Backstage at the auditorium.
Having just finished his performance, Chen Jingchi leaned casually against the door frame, looking down as Xu Yue packed his guitar into a bag.
The rest of the band members were going to have dinner with the main group, so the two of them decided not to join in.
Xu Yue looked up and saw him lost in thought, so he reminded him, "It's almost time. You'd better check your space to make sure nothing goes wrong."
Although the submission guidelines were given to the other party in detail, the accounts are currently being operated by students, and there is a concern that something might go wrong.
Chen Jingchi wasn't worried about that; he was thinking about something else: "Are my standards really that high?"
“It’s not a matter of high or low, it’s just not to your taste. Preferences are subjective.” Xu Yue slung his guitar bag over his shoulder and said to him, “But if you’re still not satisfied with the lyrics I submitted this time, then there’s really nothing I can do.”
After signing with Sound Island Music, Chen Jingchi's only wish is to release an album with his own unique style as soon as possible.
After withdrawing from "I Hear Your Voice" in mid-August, Chen Jingchi thought he would disappear like other eliminated contestants. He never expected that his song "By My Own Will" would change his fate. Looking back on what happened recently, he still feels it's unreal.
Since his debut, he has not had any decent representative works. The company also considered maintaining his popularity and provided him with three lyrics, but Chen Jingchi did not like any of them.
When he offered to write the lyrics himself, his manager, Du Heng, immediately called him with a voice message: "This first album is just a small test, don't go all out right away."
The tone of his voice conveyed more fear than persuasion.
How could Chen Jingchi not understand his meaning? After all, it was with this sword that he opened the door to Shengyu and ushered in a turning point in his life.
There was no other way but to compromise and back down. He communicated with the company's lyricist several times, but the two had different ideas and could not reach an agreement.
They are all creators, with very different personal styles and each sticking to their own opinions. No one can convince anyone else, and in the end, they can only give up.
The lyricist wasn't in a hurry, but Chen Jingchi was.
Ultimately, it was Xu Yue who came up with this emergency solution for him.
“There are so many talented men and women in our school’s School of Humanities, there’s bound to be someone you get along with,” he said. “Besides, they’re all around the same age, so it’s easier to communicate with them than to offend people at the company by acting rashly.”
Since he was forbidden from taking action and the existing words couldn't be changed, Chen Jingchi had no choice but to try Xu Yue's advice, even if it was just a trial.
Posting a call for submissions wasn't difficult; the challenge lay in reviewing them. The announcement on the campus wall was posted at 8:00 AM sharp, and within minutes, Chen Jingchi's email inbox began receiving submissions.
Although the announcement clearly stated "AI disabled, plagiarism prohibited," it couldn't stop some people from trying to take shortcuts. Lyric writing also requires considerable effort and is even influenced by inspiration and the desire to express oneself. Chen Jingchi had no desire to even open the emails he received in such a short time.
He had become somewhat famous at school during this period. Although he had anticipated the impact of publishing his email address, he had no choice but to take the risk.
“I’m starting to doubt whether this is the right decision,” Chen Jingchi said. “We need to come up with an alternative plan as soon as possible.”
The deadline for submitting suggestions is one week. If there is still no effect, the time left for him is too tight.
“Showing the sword won’t work,” Xu Yue joked, following behind him. “Let’s show the sheath.”
*
Fan Xin had explained the poem contest to her on the school bus, and it wasn't until they got to the dormitory that Zhou Yu finally saw the details of the announcement.
To maintain secrecy, Chen Jingchi did not release any information about the album. The lyrics, themes, and styles were all left to his own interpretation, and the format of writing the lyrics first and then composing the music was adopted. The selected person would not only receive a reward of 10,000 yuan immediately, but would also receive royalties for participating in the album production, and even have the opportunity to work with Chen Jingchi for a long time.
The benefits are indeed generous, and not only the School of Arts, but many people are eager to try it out.
For college students, 10,000 yuan is a huge sum of money. Even if it's not for cooperation, but just for the reward, many people would flock to it.
Zhou Yu's gaze fell on the four words "lyrics first, music later" in the announcement.
In other words, the lyrics of the chosen artist will directly determine the style and genre of Chen Jingchi's debut solo album.
An Kejia removed her makeup at the sink, asking, "Are you participating?"
"Of course we have to give it a try, since it's zero cost anyway." Fan Xin was quite excited. "If we're selected, we'll not only get paid, but we can also work with Chen Jingchi. That's too tempting."
An Kejia had already started daydreaming: "Right, if I want to discuss lyrics with him, I can definitely add him on WeChat, right?"
"Meeting in person isn't a problem, let alone WeChat," Fan Xin chuckled. "If things develop a bit more, then..."
Zhou Yu blurted out out of the blue, "Aren't you afraid of men?"
"...I'm all talk, that's all." Fan Xin's shoulders slumped. "I might not even be chosen."
"Let's not think about that for now, we need to think about how to write the lyrics." An Kejia rinsed the foam off her face and turned around to say, "Who knows what kind of people Chen Jingchi likes? We have to cater to his preferences."
“Oh, right.” Fan Xin said with difficulty, “He didn’t give any hints and just let us guess. It’s just like a final exam without any key points. How are we supposed to guess the answers?”
The three were silent for a few seconds. An Kejia thought of something and said, "Isn't 'By Myself' written by him? We can use it as a reference."
“If we borrow too much from this one poem, wouldn’t that be plagiarism? The consequences would be serious.” Fan Xin sighed. “You should think of something yourself.”
"Too."
Fan Xin got up to remove her makeup. As she passed Zhou Yu, she saw her staring blankly at her phone. She waved her right hand in front of Zhou Yu's eyes and said, "Zhou Zhou, what are you staring at your phone for?"
She made a move to come over and look, and coincidentally, the phone screen turned off automatically at that moment.
Two seconds later, Fan Xin's gaze swept over a few lines of text, which looked like lyrics. She smiled and said, "You've already started researching? Wasn't it supposed to be a one-week time limit?"
Zhou Yu did not deny it: "Let's see first."
After washing her face, An Kejia suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh right, I added a few music students on WeChat today. Once I've built a good relationship with them, I'll ask them about some things!"
Fan Xin paused in her tracks: "Are they familiar with Chen Jingchi?"
“They said they were in the same class,” An Kejia replied. “I don’t know exactly how close we are.”
Fan Xin thought about what the shop assistant said at the milk tea shop tonight and felt that there was little hope. However, she had no other way to learn about Chen Jingchi, so she could only place her hopes on An Kejia.
They're classmates after all, so they should be more familiar with each other than with these strangers.
After washing up and returning to bed, Zhou Yu stared at the lyrics on her phone screen for a long time until her eyes could no longer withstand the bright light. She put down her phone and looked at the dark ceiling, as if she were about to be sucked into this bottomless black hole.
No one spoke; the only sound in the silent dormitory was the hum of the air conditioner. Yet, Zhou Yu could faintly hear fragments of familiar music, which pulled her thoughts outwards without end.
If we're talking about familiarity...
In the entire academy, probably no one knows Chen Jingchi better than her.
However, this is only relative. Zhou Yu's understanding of Chen Jingchi is limited to his music. In reality, the other party doesn't even know his name. They are only different from strangers because they are "alumni" who are unknown to anyone.
However, this alone has become an advantage.
Zhou Yu vaguely thought that An Kejia was right; to write lyrics that suited his taste, one still needed to understand his personal style.
"By My Own Will" became so widely sung in Jiangchuan that everyone knew it could be used as a reference, thus losing its uniqueness.
Zhou picked up his phone again, and after unlocking it, the screen froze on lines of text in the memo.
The record is dated November 13th of last year.
After entering her senior year of high school, the academic pressure increased significantly. Zhou Yu would stay in the classroom a little longer after evening self-study to review her lessons until most of her classmates had left before she would pack up and go downstairs.
She has never liked crowded places and didn't want to join the commotion of everyone crowding out of the school gate.
On a late winter night, nearing lights out, there were few pedestrians on campus. As Zhou Yu passed by flower beds and bushes, he heard a familiar voice speaking in a low voice.
She looked over in confusion and saw a tall figure standing a few meters away, talking on a cell phone, with a slightly pungent smell wafting from him.
There were no streetlights on the path, and Zhou Yu couldn't see his face clearly; only the flickering lights could be seen.
Zhou had no intention of probing the content of his words, and did not deliberately stop, but he was standing on the only road he could pass, so he had to slow down.
Noticing someone approaching, the conversation stopped, and the person at the end of the narrow path looked at her.
Stepping out of the bushes and into the area illuminated by the streetlights, Zhou Yu finally saw his face clearly.
She didn't need confirmation; she could recognize him completely by his voice alone. The art college entrance exam was next week, and he was at school at this time—Zhou Yu couldn't guess why.
Silence spread. Zhou Yu had no intention of talking to him, but she noticed a lit cigarette between the boy's fingers hanging at his side.
It is the source of the smell.
In that instant, all other thoughts vanished. Zhou Yu frowned and looked at him, reminding him, "Smoking is not allowed at school."
The school is very strict in terms of discipline; even after evening self-study, there are teachers patrolling the campus.
The boy chuckled softly, seemingly casually, and retorted, "Mind your own business."
He turned and left, in a different direction from Zhou Yu. One last glance back revealed him extinguishing his cigarette and tossing it into the trash can.
That was the first time Chen Jingchi had ever truly met her.
From a conversation he overheard, Zhou Yu gleaned crucial information.
Chen Jingchi has prepared an original piece, which will not be used in the unified exam but may be used in the school's entrance exam.
As lucky as Zhou Yu was, she heard the original song that Chen Jingchi had used to prepare for the college entrance exam, but ultimately didn't get to use.
I've met Chen Jingchi before he became famous, and I've also heard his works before his debut.
If we take that into account, how high would her success rate be?
A note from the author:
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