After finishing the song "Those Years", Chen Jing stepped out of the recording studio.
"How do you feel about it?" Zhang Yadong asked.
"It still needs a bit of work. I just recovered from a fever these past two days, and my body isn't in top shape yet," Chen Jing replied.
Zhang Yadong nodded. "No wonder your breath control was a bit weak. Take care of yourself in the next few days and avoid getting sick again. At the same time, keep practicing so you can get back into your groove as soon as possible."
"Got it, I will," Chen Jing said, nodding at the stern-faced Zhang Yadong.
He had been smiling all this time, but now he was all business. It seemed Zhang Yadong would be keeping a strict standard during the album production.
That was fine, too. After all, this was his first album since going solo, so he needed to make it as close to perfection as possible.
"I'm going to discuss the arrangements with the arranger. You stay here and get into the zone. I'll have a professional sound engineer come and give you some pointers, but you need to get your physical condition back on track ASAP," Zhang Yadong instructed.
"No problem," Chen Jing nodded quickly.
After Zhang Yadong left, Chen Jing went back into the recording studio to continue practicing and finding his rhythm.
During the lunch break, Ge Feng sought out Chen Jing. "The Elves have been asking about your recent schedule. They want to know what you've got coming up."
"Then just tell them," Chen Jing said. "By the way, what's my schedule like lately?"
"From the 25th to the 29th, you have 20 commercial appearance gigs," Ge Feng said, checking her schedule. "In between, you'll need to shoot a promotional ad for Weibo, and then fly to Star City on the 30th for the rehearsal of Xiangnan Satellite TV's New Year's Eve concert.
The 31st is the New Year's Eve concert itself. Then in January next year, you'll be shooting commercials for the five products you endorse all in one go, followed by interviews and magazine cover shoots."
Chen Jing nodded as he listened. It was a pretty packed schedule, but it was all for making money, after all.
"Right, do me a favor," Chen Jing said suddenly.
"What is it?" Ge Feng asked.
"Go contact the authors and companies behind these novels and games I wrote down. I want to buy their film and television adaptation rights." Chen Jing pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to his assistant.
Ge Feng took it and said, "I can contact them, but I have no idea how to negotiate prices."
"Just try negotiating first, and then let me know the results," Chen Jing said.
"Okay, I understand," Ge Feng said.
After finishing his meal, Chen Jing took a short nap before heading back into the recording studio to practice. With such a full schedule ahead, he had to make the most of the present moment.
"Those years of missed heavy rain,
those years of missed romance.
I yearn to embrace you,
to embrace the courage we let slip away.
I once wanted to conquer the whole world,
only to look back in the end and realize,
every single drop in this world is you...
..."
After singing through it once more, Chen Jing stepped out of the recording studio for a break, picked up the water his assistant had prepared, and took a sip.
"That sounds so good. Is this a new song for your album?"
Hearing the voice, Chen Jing stopped drinking, looked down, and saw a young woman smiling up at him. "Tianbao-jie?"
"You know me?" Yang Tianbao asked, looking surprised and pleased.
"Of course," Chen Jing nodded. After all, she was worth 80 million!
"I heard that Little Sprite came to Huayi to record a new album, so I came over to take a look," Yang Tianbao smiled.
"Tianbao-jie came to see me?" Chen Jing asked.
"Yeah, I'm a fan of yours," Yang Tianbao said.
"Huh? You're too kind," Chen Jing smiled. "I remember you liked G-Dragon from Bigbang, right?"
"Haha... You know about that," Tianbao laughed. "He's my biggest idol, but that doesn't stop me from liking you, right? You're so handsome, and you sing so well—super awesome."
"Then I'm truly flattered," Chen Jing said, still thinking Yang Tianbao was just being polite.
"Hah, you won't believe me even if I tell you," Yang Tianbao said helplessly. "Never mind that, come take a photo with me!"
With that, Yang Tianbao sidled up next to Chen Jing and snapped over a dozen selfies.
As she scrolled through the photos on her phone, Yang Tianbao said, "When your new album comes out, I'm definitely buying a copy."
"No need to go through the trouble, I'll just give you a copy directly," Chen Jing smiled.
"I'll take a free copy, but I'm still going to buy one to support a singer I like," Yang Tianbao said. "Oh right, what's your cell phone number? Let's exchange contact info."
"Sure!" Chen Jing had no objections.
After exchanging contact numbers, Tianbao chatted with Chen Jing for a long while before finally leaving.
Watching Tianbao's retreating figure, Chen Jing frowned slightly. Could this be the butterfly effect?
Shaking off the thought, Chen Jing went back to practicing.
The next day, Chen Jing came to Huayi Music to practice his singing once again.
This time, Tianbao didn't show up, but someone Chen Jing hadn't expected appeared instead.
"Hello Chen Jing, my name is Zhao Xiaoying. I, I'm a fan of yours!"
Looking at the young girl before him whose smile revealed dimples and a ingratiating expression, Chen Jing couldn't help shaking his head. Did he really have this many fans?
"Then do you know what my fans are called?" Chen Jing asked with a smile, looking into Zhao Xiaoying's eyes.
Hearing this, Zhao Xiaoying froze for a second, clearly having no idea. "I, I... I'm sorry to bother you."
With that, Zhao Xiaoying turned right around and walked away, looking very flustered.
"Wait a minute!" Chen Jing called out.
Zhao Xiaoying stopped at the sound, though she didn't turn back around.
"Did you come looking for me because you need something?" Chen Jing asked.
Only then did Zhao Xiaoying hesitate and turn back. She glanced at Chen Jing and immediately lowered her head. "I, I heard you were releasing a new album."
"That's right," Chen Jing nodded. "And?"
"And so I thought, maybe you need a female lead for your music video!" Zhao Xiaoying said. "So, I..."
"So, you decided to pitch yourself?" Chen Jing smiled upon hearing this.
Thinking about it, Zhao Xiaoying had already been at Huayi for years by this point, yet she had never landed any significant roles and was still playing bit parts.
She must have heard that Chen Jing was recording a new album and mustered up a huge amount of courage to give it a shot.
Success wasn't guaranteed, but if she didn't try, she definitely wouldn't succeed, would she?
Seeing the smile at the corners of Chen Jing's mouth, Zhao Xiaoying bit her lower lip and said, "Y-yes."
Chen Jing chuckled, recalling how in his past life, when he was still an extra, he had acted in scenes opposite Zhao Xiaoying—by which time she was already a top-tier starlet, while he was a nobody.
Now, their positions had completely flipped. Life truly was unpredictable.
Seeing that Chen Jing was silent, Zhao Xiaoying felt a growing bitterness in her heart. Although she knew the chances of success were slim, experiencing another failure still stung, so she turned to leave.
"Let's exchange contact numbers first!" Chen Jing said suddenly.
"Ah? Really?" Zhao Xiaoying lifted her head in disbelief, looking at Chen Jing.
"Go ahead, type it in yourself." Chen Jing handed his phone to Zhao Xiaoying.
Zhao Xiaoying blinked in a daze, then immediately stepped forward, grabbed the phone, punched in her number, let it ring to make sure, and entered her name. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Chen Jing smiled. "I don't know when the MV will actually be filmed yet, but once I get the details, I'll recommend you."
"Okay, okay," Zhao Xiaoying bowed deeply in gratitude. "Thank you, thank you truly!"
"Let's hope we get to work together!" Chen Jing smiled.
Zhao Xiaoying poured out a profusion of thanks before finally leaving.
As soon as she stepped into the elevator, Zhao Xiaoying couldn't help touching her wildly pounding heart. "It actually worked! This Chen Jing is way too easygoing! But wait, what if he's just brushing me off? Like, pretending to agree and then just forgetting about it?
Still, I've got his number now. I just don't know if he'll ever reply to me in the future!"
Zhao Xiaoying quickly saved Chen Jing's phone number, alternating between hope and anxiety.