However, the other person was right about one thing: the original version of this song was indeed sung by a woman, and his own rendition did lack a certain flavor.
"Not for now, I've only written Watching the Murals. Why don't you cover it?"
Xu An was telling the truth; he really had only written this one song. At the same time, he was quite looking forward to seeing what her cover version would sound like.
"A cover... well, that's not out of the question."
Chu Xingjun touched her chin and pondered for a moment, feeling quite tempted by the idea.
"We're heading into the city to record later, so I'll listen to it again and think about it. But do you really not have any other good songs on hand? I won't take them for free—if the quality is high enough, I can offer a price well above the market rate."
Chu Xingjun was unwilling to give up, assuming he was deliberately holding back and refusing to sell due to money. She certainly didn't believe that Watching the Murals was a product of a sudden flash of inspiration. Being able to write such a song meant he definitely had the ability to write even better ones.
Xu An shook his head. "This isn't about money. Inspiration... is just inspiration, you know? I wrote this song after visiting the Dunhuang Grottoes and having my inspiration burst forth."
Hearing this, Chu Xingjun raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "Are you saying you wrote Watching the Murals right on the spot?"
Even her manager, the bespectacled woman sitting not far away, turned her head and looked at Xu An in disbelief. Such a flawless song was actually written on the spot? Are you kidding me?
Xu An shrugged his shoulders. "I really did write it on the spot. The makeup artist was still doing my makeup while I was arranging it."
Given this definitive answer, plus the makeup artist serving as a living witness, Chu Xingjun found it hard to believe, yet she had no choice but to believe it. This sort of thing was easy to verify—she just had to ask the makeup artist who was there. There were only a handful of makeup artists on the production crew, and asking them one by one wouldn't take long, so he had no reason to lie.
"You..." Chu Xingjun trailed off for a long time, unable to say anything else because she found herself completely at a loss for words. There was nothing she could do; his casual remark about writing it on the spot had completely derailed her train of thought. It was simply too astonishing. She used to scoff whenever she heard various lyricists and composers talk about inspiration, but now it seemed they might actually be telling the truth?
Meanwhile, Xu An's expression remained completely normal, without a blush or a shortened breath. He really had written and arranged it on the spot, so there was no problem at all. Why should he feel any guilty conscience?
"The next stop is Tangyin County, the hometown of Yue Fei. Do you... have a song prepared?" Chu Xingjun stared unblinkingly at Xu An, hoping he would nod, but she was hoping in vain.
Xu An shook his head without a moment's hesitation. "What is there to prepare? I was just grabbed by the production crew to make up numbers. How could I possibly know the route and write a song in advance? I only found out about this Tangyin County from the host a little while ago."
Xu An genuinely had no idea, though the most famous song about Yue Fei was undoubtedly Jingzhong Baoguo, and he had no intention of letting it go. It was just that his voice was too gentle and didn't suit that song, which was why he was still torn about it.
...
...
When Chu Xingjun and her companion stepped down from the camper, it was already pitch dark outside. All the lighting equipment had been cleared away, leaving only the bright moon overhead, casting scattered patches of moonlight.
With a dazed expression, Chu Xingjun walked toward her camper. Although she hadn't exchanged many words with Xu An, the blow she had taken was substantial. If this program were a competition format, Xu An's Watching the Murals tonight would undoubtedly have taken first place without a single controversy. If he had meticulously prepared the song beforehand, she would have accepted her defeat gracefully, but for him to claim it was written on the spur of the moment was a bit much for her to swallow.
The song Dunhuang that she performed had taken her a full week of thinking just to write. She hadn't used any ghostwriters, and she hadn't even brought along any lyricists or composers. She took pride in being a singer-songwriter herself, a halo that added plenty of points to her name, but compared to Xu An, it suddenly felt somewhat laughable.
"Sister Xingjun... are you alright?" Her assistant asked with a hint of concern. Ever since they came out of Xu An's camper, her expression had seemed a bit off. Could it be that she was traumatized?
Chu Xingjun shook her head, then raised her gaze to the bright moon in the sky. "Do you think geniuses really exist in this world?"
Upon hearing this, the little assistant understood immediately. "There are always some geniuses in this world, but after all, they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Take you for example, Sister Xingjun—aren't you a genius yourself? Becoming a little heavenly queen of the music scene at twenty-six is an honor every female singer dreams of."
At her age, coupled with that honor, she certainly surpassed a vast majority of her peers. Leaving aside her agency's management, individual strength and a stroke of luck were also crucial.
Having figured this out, Chu Xingjun took a deep breath, pulled her gaze back, and regained her confidence. "You're right. Xu An really is a genius when it comes to writing songs, but I'm not bad either."
"I'm glad you've figured it out, Sister Xingjun. Let's hurry up and move. It looks like the crew is about to get the vehicles rolling toward the city, and besides, it's so dark out here, I'm getting a bit scared..."
The little assistant tightened her collar, hunching slightly as she looked around from side to side, her pace quickening considerably.
"You really are a coward..." Chu Xingjun couldn't help smiling at her assistant's reaction. Then she glanced back at Xu An's camper, thinking to herself: I refuse to believe I'll lose to you in the next round!
With that, she also quickened her pace toward her own camper. This place really did feel a bit eerie and terrifying.
Around ten-ten in the evening.
A line of SUVs and campers pulled up in front of a music studio in the suburbs of Shazhou City.
The four singers walked in, accompanied by their managers, with only Xu An arriving alone. After stepping out of the car, Xu An stretched his back, looked around, and then followed the main group inside.
The music studio chosen by the production crew was, if nothing else, truly massive, boasting a full range of recording studios. Perhaps they had communicated with the studio owner well in advance, as the group was ushered into their respective recording booths by staff members the moment they stepped through the door.
Led by a female staff member in professional black attire, Xu An arrived at Recording Studio Number 6.
When he pushed the door open and stepped inside, the scene instantly brought a sense of familiarity. In his past life, he had been a producer, and he knew places like recording studios inside and out. The recording booth was isolated by transparent glass, with a microphone and music stand placed inside. Outside were the mixing console, a sofa, and everything else one might expect.
At that moment, a man who looked less than thirty years old was sitting in front of the mixing console. He stood up when Xu An arrived, and the two shook hands.
"Hello, I'm Zhang Liang, the tuner for Studio 6."
Quite handsome and tall enough—that was Xu An's internal evaluation.
"Hello, my name is Xu An."
After the introductions, the two let go of each other's hands. Zhang Liang asked, "Did you bring a flash drive or anything like that?"