Time flies.
A week passed in the blink of an afternoon.
In the afternoon, Lu Chen arrived at a small studio called Maisui Music.
The exterior of the shop was not large, but inside there were three professional recording studios. Well-known singers who emerged from the Huizhou region were all said to have recorded their breakout hits in this studio in their early days.
Over time, this place had become a sacred ground in the hearts of Huizhou singers.
Whenever there was a new song, many people would think of recording it here to capture some good luck.
"Well, if it isn't Xiao Chen?"
"You haven't been to see me in a long time. How have you been lately?"
An old man wearing reading glasses pushed down on the bridge of his nose and peering down at a newspaper looked up. When he saw that it was Lu Chen walking in, an undisguised joy appeared on his face.
"Grandpa Han." Lu Chen bowed respectfully to show his respect. The expression on his face was no longer as aloof as it used to be.
He placed the two bottles of Huadiao wine he was carrying onto the front desk and said, "I have to trouble Grandpa Han again this time."
The person before him was Han Wenlong, who could be said to have watched him grow up.
The reason he had embarked on the path of music in the first place was because he often listened to Grandpa Han singing when he was a child, which made him fall in love with music.
Back when Grandpa Han was young, he was quite a well-known rock band lead singer around the Huizhou region. Later, his voice was ruined by illness, so he opened a recording studio in his hometown to live a peaceful life.
Han Wenlong glanced at the wine on the table without picking it up, and shook his head with some reproach: "I've told you so many times, you are welcome to come and record songs, but you don't need to bring me things. Besides, I heard about your situation from Xiao Zhao. If you have money to buy things for me, you'd better save it to find a wife."
"Look at you, not so young anymore, and you still don't have a partner to this day. Tsk tsk tsk... Back in my day, wherever I went, there were always hordes of young girls chasing after me—"
Whenever he started talking about the past, Han Wenlong would become brimming with high spirits, leaving Lu Chen with an awkward expression.
"Um... Grandpa Han, how about you help me record the song first, and then we can chat?"
"Oh, right, right, business first."
Han Wenlong straightened his expression and took the USB drive.
The two of them went into the recording studio. Looking at the lyrics displayed on the screen, Han Wenlong glanced over them and smiled: "Xiao Chen has improved a lot. It's rare for you to step out of your comfort zone to write a love song, and the quality is very good. Based on my experience, next month's monthly top ten charts will definitely have a spot for you."
Lu Chen shook his head and said, "Grandpa Han, you flatter me. How could I write a love song of this standard? I bought this song from someone else."
"Bought it?"
Han Wenlong asked, "Was it Xu Fanghua, Zhan Hao, or Three Chens?"
"Pfft... Grandpa Han, stop joking. Where would I even get the money to hire them? Besides, even if I had the money, they probably wouldn't write songs for an unregistered singer like me."
Lu Chen smiled bitterly: "I bought the song from an amateur."
"So it's an amateur!"
Han Wenlong nodded slightly.
Since ancient times, masters have hidden among the common people, and it was hardly a novelty in Hua Nation for an unknown newcomer to occasionally write a good song.
He stopped asking and began tuning various recording equipment and lines.
When everything was ready, Lu Chen walked into the sound booth and began to try it out.
Outside the sound booth, Han Wenlong, wearing monitoring headphones, nodded frequently as he listened to Lu Chen's singing.
A good song. Xiao Chen's voice was simply too suited for this song.
Based on his own experience, he believed that a new spring in Xiao Chen's career was probably about to arrive.
He was genuinely happy about this.
The two of them kept busy in this small room, and Lu Chen sang more than a dozen times, gradually finding the state that suited him best.
An hour later, Lu Chen drank some water to moisten his throat, rested for a moment, and then stood up to enter the sound booth once again.
He stood inside the sound booth and made a gesture toward the glass wall.
This meant he was ready to begin official recording.
Han Wenlong nodded and turned on the equipment.
Soon, a warm voice full of narrative feeling rang out in his headphones.
"When you look at me, I haven't spoken yet and you've already guessed it."
...
He closed his eyes. At this moment, he felt as if he had returned to his twenties.
The first time he got his own electric guitar.
The first time he formed a band with good friends.
The first time he performed as a resident singer in a bar.
The first time he attended a music festival.
The first time he met a female fan who pursued him and fell in love with her.
The first time he broke up...
So many, many firsts kept surfacing in his mind.
If anyone were outside to see, they would find that Han Wenlong's expression was like being possessed, shifting between joy, sorrow, and anger...
It wasn't until the melody reached its climax and end that Han Wenlong finally opened his eyes, unable to snap out of his recent state for a long time.
Lu Chen walked out of the recording booth and greeted him: "Grandpa Han, I'll have to trouble you with the post-production."
Han Wenlong nodded mechanically without speaking.
Until Lu Chen had already left, he suddenly paused, scratched his head, and looked around to the left and right.
Where did he go?
At that moment, the door of the recording studio was suddenly pushed open.
"Hey, Xiao Chen... Xiao Zhao?"
Han Wenlong raised his head abruptly, thinking it was Lu Chen, but it wasn't.
"Puff, puff... Uncle Han, where is Xiao Chen?"
"Him? It seems he already left."
When he received word that Lu Chen's new song was finished and ready to be recorded, Zhao Tianyu had rushed over without stopping. Little did he know there would be a traffic jam halfway, and he was late after all.
Although he didn't see Lu Chen, Zhao Tianyu didn't really mind.
He knew that Han Wenlong must have gotten the lyrics and composition for the new song.
He asked eagerly, unable to help himself.
"What theme is it written about?"
"Love, I suppose."
"That's good." Zhao Tianyu let out a long sigh of relief.
He had really been afraid that Lu Chen wouldn't listen to his arrangements and would cook up another campus folk song for him.
If that really happened, unless the quality of that song was exceptionally, extraordinarily good, dreaming of using it to compete on the charts was sheer delusion.
"By the way, Uncle Han, how did it sound to you after listening to the song?"
"Extremely good."
Having said that, feeling that this comment wasn't enough, Han Wenlong added: "Originally, after looking at the lyrics and composition, I thought Xiao Chen had a chance to fight for the top ten of next month's charts. Now, after listening to him sing it, the top three are secure."
"Uncle Han, you didn't drink, did you?"
Zhao Tianyu widened his eyes. Before coming in, he had indeed seen the two bottles of Huadiao wine placed on the table.
"Bulls***!" Han Wenlong instantly got defensive. "When have you ever seen me drink while recording a song?"
"Forget it, it's useless to tell you this. Listen to it yourself."
Han Wenlong operated the recording equipment and then played the previously recorded song out loud.
When the song ended, Zhao Tianyu was even more dumbfounded, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "Is... is this sung by Xiao Chen?"
"Who else?" Han Wenlong gave him a sideways glance.
Zhao Tianyu was thrilled.
As expected of Xiao Chen, he hadn't misjudged him back then; he truly had talent.
He had thought that with him pushing so hard, given Lu Chen's ability, it wouldn't be certain he could finish it before the chart battle. Now it seemed he had still underestimated Lu Chen's talent.
"Right, let me ask you something."
Han Wenlong turned off the equipment and, as he stood up to leave, asked out of curiosity, "Xiao Chen said he bought this song from an amateur. Do you know him? If you know him, you can bring him over to meet. This person will definitely achieve success in the music industry in the future and shouldn't be buried."
"Ah, an amateur?"
Zhao Tianyu froze on the spot, completely dumbfounded.