Hearing Zhong Lan's greeting, Lu Chen merely raised his head, glanced at her indifferently, and lowered it again.
Clink, clink, clink—
The guitar sounded a few times. He frowned slightly, switched chords, and continued trying, looking completely devoid of any desire to converse with Zhong Lan.
That was because he was under immense pressure.
Especially late last night, when Brother Yu had called him again.
Brother Yu told him that his former classmate, Fang Bin, seemed to be releasing a new song next month, preparing to vie for the October monthly charts and accumulate achievements for his promotion to a gold-tier singer. Not only that, but Brother Yu had also heard that Fang Bin's agency, Aurora Entertainment, had even hired Dong Hong, a double gold-tier composer and lyricist, to write a song for him.
Lu Chen understood Brother Yu's meaning: he wanted him to pull his weight and catch up to Fang Bin's pace as soon as possible, rather than stagnating like he had before at the company.
However... when it came to songwriting, how could it be that easy?
He had once thought about buying songs, but his current financial situation did not allow him to do so.
"Oh my, you even play the guitar? That's so impressive!"
Yet, Lu Chen clearly underestimated Zhong Lan's rebellious streak.
Instead of leaving, Zhong Lan took a few light steps and walked right up to him.
Lu Chen raised his head, his bright eyes revealing confusion and a hint of irritation.
He clearly could not understand why, even with such obvious hints, this woman still had the nerve to come over and say hello.
"Instead of hurrying up to wash up and go out to prepare for the movie shoot, what are you doing over here?"
"Well... hehe, Lu Chen, can I ask you a question?" Ignoring Lu Chen's question, Zhong Lan pressed on, "Tell me, are you that idol singer?"
Seeming afraid of a misunderstanding, Zhong Lan quickly explained.
"I don't chase after stars; I just saw something about a contract termination in the news yesterday, and the photo looked a lot like you, so I was just curious."
"Oh."
Both his attitude and tone remained cold.
This response neither confirmed nor denied it, which meant it was true.
After satisfying her own curiosity, Zhong Lan couldn't help recalling his singing voice from last night, and asked again, "Do you have a direction for your new song? Can you sing a couple of lines for me to hear? I can give you some reference feedback."
She said it quite rightor-wrong—well, rather, quite confidently.
It wasn't that she was bragging; in her past life as an advertisement director, she naturally had to be familiar with background music. Over time, she had also developed a certain musical aesthetic.
Because of this, she had once bought a folk guitar and taken classes for a period of time.
"You?" Lu Chen raised his pitch, sizing up Zhong Lan with a look that seemed to say he was looking at someone mentally deficient.
"Hmph, don't look down on people."
"Songs written by yours truly are definitely better than yours."
Zhong Lan could least bear that kind of look and immediately retorted.
Only to be met with Lu Chen rolling his eyes.
I'll believe that when I see it, you scheming old hag.
As the saying goes, every trade has its own conventions.
He conceded that Zhong Lan had a certain talent for scriptwriting. But writing scripts and writing songs were two entirely different matters.
He had no idea where this woman got her confidence.
"Fine, fine, playing it like this, are we?"
Zhong Lan snatched the guitar. "Lend it to me."
"You can play the guitar?" Lu Chen's eyes were filled with even greater confusion.
Yet, seeing Zhong Lan's confident and firm gaze, a seed of doubt sprouted in his heart.
Could she actually know how?
So Lu Chen let go, allowing Zhong Lan to take it, though right before releasing his grip, he couldn't help warning her, "Be careful, it's very expensive."
"Pfft, I have money, I can afford to pay for it!"
With that, Zhong Lan took the guitar and sat down on a small stool nearby.
The guitar was made of solid wood and felt great to the touch. The fret positions had clearly been adjusted, and pressing the chords with her left hand felt very smooth.
She rolled her round eyes, her mind beginning to rummage through the memories of her past life to see what songs she knew.
With a skeptical attitude, Lu Chen watched Zhong Lan without blinking, feeling quite like he was waiting to watch a joke unfold.
"Clang!!!"
The first note rang out, very loud and jarring. When the subsequent melody followed, it was disjointed and halting.
"Pfft—"
Seeing Zhong Lan's clumsy playing, Lu Chen instantly lost his composure, and his aloof face couldn't help but crack into a smile.
"What are you laughing at? I just haven't practiced in a long time, let me get familiar with it."
Zhong Lan's cheeks burned hot.
How humiliating.
Zhong Lan took a deep breath, gradually calming her nervous little hands.
"Jingle-dong—"
"Jingle-dong—"
Every time her right hand plucked the strings or her left hand switched chords, there was always a noticeable stutter, clearly showing her lack of familiarity.
However, as the guitar music gradually swelled, all the notes slowly began to connect.
Unwittingly, Zhong Lan closed her eyes. The early morning breeze was still refreshing, blowing her shoulder-length black hair back and forth.
At this moment, she felt as if she had returned to the guitar classroom from her past life, the melody flowing smoothly under the teacher's guidance.
In her mind, the very first song she had ever practiced singing and playing emerged.
"When you look at me, I haven't spoken and you've already guessed."
"Still unsure, still not meeting your demands."
"Is it just me overthinking?"
"Or are you dodging me too?"
……
"This song..."
When Zhong Lan sang the very first line, Lu Chen couldn't help but stand up.
He looked down from above at the short-haired woman before him.
He suddenly realized that he didn't seem to understand her at all, and had wronged her.
To be precise, Zhong Lan's voice didn't belong to the very sweet category. At times, her singing even drifted slightly out of tune and cracked.
Yet, it was brimming with emotion, carrying a strong sense of storytelling.
With her eyes closed, Zhong Lan was unaware of Lu Chen's movements.
She remained immersed in her own world.
This was the first love song she had ever learned, and the first time she had ever played the guitar. The reason she chose this song back then was because her first love in her past life had sung it to her in a KTV, leaving a deep impression on her memory.
Oh right, may he rest in peace in heaven—bah, what a scumbag!
"Oh~ The first time I, when I said I loved you."
"Breathing was hard, my heart kept trembling."
"Oh~ The first time I, held your two hands."
"Lost our direction, not knowing where to walk."
"That was the reason we loved each other."
"That was to stay together forever."
……
As the first half of the chorus ended, Zhong Lan abruptly stopped what she was doing, opened her eyes with a smug look, and said, "How is it compared to your songs?"
"It's gone?" Lu Chen opened his eyes as well, blurting out anxiously.
"What's gone?" Zhong Lan asked.
"The second half of the song!"
"Oh, my throat is a bit dry, don't feel like singing."
"Wait for me."
Before Zhong Lan could react, Lu Chen dashed into the kitchen in a flash, picked up a cup, filled it with water, and ran back at top speed. "Sing."
This sight left Zhong Lan dumbfounded.
But she recovered immediately, a smile blooming across her face. Looking quite pleased with herself, she took the cup, took a sip, and smiled. "Wanna hear it?"
Lu Chen immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
Zhong Lan put down the cup, raised her head with an air of haughty pride, and tapped her fingers on the guitar. "Call me Big Sis!"
Lu Chen: "..."
……