novelraw Chapter 77: Guangliang Discusses "Fairy Tales" and "The First Time"
Chapter 77: Guangliang Discusses "Fairy Tales" and "The First Time"
"the day after tomorrow?"
Tian Xiwei's smile froze on her face, and she almost dropped the microphone in her hand.
Song Ze took Zhang Juan's phone and glanced at the time—October 24th, 10:47 PM. The day after tomorrow is the 26th, which means he must fly to Changsha tomorrow.
"Okay, got it." Song Ze handed the phone back to Zhang Juan, then turned to Tian Xiwei, who was still processing the information. "Tomorrow morning's flight, from Shanghai to Changsha. Meet in the VIP lounge."
Tian Xiwei nodded vigorously. Her mind, which had been a mess from the kiss, was finally brought to a head by the words "rehearsal the day after tomorrow."
She clutched the Digital 9000 microphone, her ears still red, but there was something different in her eyes.
"Senior brother, I'll arrive at six o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Seven o'clock is fine, don't roll it up."
That evening, everyone went their separate ways. Song Ze returned to his apartment, lay on his bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while.
The lingering sensation on his lips made him turn over and bury his face in the pillow.
After more than twenty years and two lifetimes of being single, I was suddenly attacked by a nineteen-year-old girl.
He rubbed his face vigorously, forcing himself to refocus on the important matter at hand.
Starting tomorrow, it will be real fighting.
Early morning of October 25th, VIP waiting room at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport.
When Song Ze arrived, Tian Xiwei was already huddled in the corner of the sofa.
Her baseball cap was pulled down to her eyebrows, and her mask covered her eyes; she looked like she wanted to fold herself into the gap between the seats. The boarding pass in her hand was crumpled from being squeezed.
Song Ze walked over and sat down opposite her.
Tian Xiwei's gaze snapped away, staring at the helipad outside the floor-to-ceiling window, her neck stiff as if it were in a cast.
Song Ze didn't say anything, but took a cup of hot milk out of his bag and placed it on the coffee table in front of her.
"Have a drink, there's still a tough battle ahead after we land."
Tian Xiwei reached out to take it, her fingertips trembling slightly the moment they touched the paper cup.
"Thank you... thank you, senior brother."
The sound was muffled inside the mask, almost like a mosquito's buzz.
Song Ze took a printed document out of his briefcase and handed it over.
"This is my 'Partners Avoiding Pitfalls Guide,' with a focus on pages three and seven. During the final rehearsal, the production team will deliberately create unexpected situations to test your on-the-spot reactions. Don't panic, just follow the response logic I've marked."
Tian Xiwei took the document and turned to the first page.
Throughout the entire conversation, Song Ze did not mention a word about what happened last night.
It was as if that kiss had never happened.
Tian Xiwei breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I felt a small emptiness in my heart.
But the dense annotations on the document quickly captured her attention—Song Ze even wrote three contingency plans for "what if a singer changes the song at the last minute, causing a conflict in the process".
Her eyes cleared from panic as she turned the pages, becoming more and more focused.
Song Ze leaned back on the sofa, glancing at her gradually straightening back out of the corner of his eye, and said nothing more.
Good.
Tian Xiwei in her work mode is much easier to manage than Tian Xiwei in her socially withdrawn mode.
At Changsha Huanghua Airport, a business vehicle from Hunan TV was already waiting at the exit.
In the car, Song Ze gave his final instructions: "If you encounter something you're unsure about, stall for time and don't make a decision on the spot. If you really can't handle it, send me a message."
Tian Xiwei took off her mask and gave a serious "hmm".
At the entrance of the TV station building, the two parted ways at the elevator.
Tian Xiwei pressed the button for the seventh floor, and Song Ze pressed the button for the third floor.
Just before the elevator doors closed, Tian Xiwei suddenly poked her head out: "Senior brother!"
"Um?"
"I will be very good."
The elevator doors closed.
As Song Ze watched the floor numbers change, he wondered: Will she pass? The timeline is different now than in his previous life.
Third floor, Music Director's office.
Liang Qiaobo's team had already laid out the tracks for "The Lone Warrior" on the mixing console. Song Ze sat down and immediately switched to the low-frequency part of the verse.
「80Hz以下的低音下潜再收3个dB，120Hz到200Hz的胸腔共鸣频段做个1.5dB的窄带提升，Q值给到2.8。」
Liang Qiaobo's mixing engineer looked up at him, then looked at Liang Qiaobo again.
Liang Qiaobo nodded: "Just like he said."
Song Ze continued: "In the interlude before the chorus, the piano's sustain pedal duration is shortened to 1.2 seconds to give the vocals more space. The bass drum in the drum kit uses felt mallets instead of plastic mallets, and the attack should be a bit muffled."
Liang Qiaobo leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the armrest.
"Are your ears made of calipers?"
Song Ze smiled and said, "Teacher Liang, you flatter me. I've just been spending too much time in the recording studio."
Leung Kiu-pok immediately approved: "You can use Rehearsal Room 2 from today until the first recording. Get the key from Siu Chan."
October 26, Changsha hotel.
Song Ze sat cross-legged on the bed, his laptop screen covered with analysis tables of voting data from previous seasons of "Singer" by the public jury.
The phone screen lit up.
Video invitation. Tian Xiwei.
connected.
A flushed face popped up on the screen, against the backdrop of an empty partners' lounge, the fluorescent lights illuminating her excitement.
"Senior brother!!!"
Tian Xiwei lowered her voice, but the volume control was practically non-existent.
"I signed it! The contract is signed!"
She held up three fingers and waved them at the camera.
"Thirty thousand for a single game! Thirty thousand yuan!"
Song Ze leaned against the headboard, looking at the face on the screen that was about to burst into laughter.
"Great, congratulations."
"Senior brother, do you know, the most red envelope I've ever received for Chinese New Year is 1,200 yuan?" Tian Xiwei's eyes shone brightly. "Thirty thousand yuan! I'm going to treat you to dinner! To the best seafood restaurant in Changsha! I'll make up for all the French food and roast lamb chops I owe you!"
Song Ze raised an eyebrow: "Thirty thousand yuan, after deducting income tax, I'll get twenty-four thousand. Then deduct the company's share—"
"Stop calculating! Stop calculating! Stop calculating!"
"I should get enough to treat the crew to a round of Starbucks. Medium cups."
Tian Xiwei glared at the screen through gritted teeth.
"Song Ze, you just wait."
The video call ended.
Song Ze looked at the blacked-out phone screen and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
Then it converged and opened the system panel.
[Singing: Expert Level (5512/10000)]
The numbers hung silently in view.
It's sufficient, but not stable enough.
The first round of competition saw eight contestants advance to seven. Standing opposite them were Tan Jingjing, Lin Yilian, and Dimash.
Each of them is an expert.
He closed the control panel and reopened the data spreadsheet on his computer.
Tomorrow, we'll have a rehearsal with microphones.
On the afternoon of October 27, in the corridor of Rehearsal Room No. 10 of Hunan TV.
Song Ze, wearing a monitoring headset, walked towards the rehearsal room. Before he even reached the door, he could hear piano music coming from inside.
Song Ze paused for a moment.
The distinctiveness of this voice is unmistakable.
He knocked on the door and went inside.
The person in front of the piano stopped playing and turned around.
bright.
The Prince of Love Songs himself, wearing a baseball cap, a yellow short-sleeved T-shirt, and jeans, smiled gently at Song Ze.
"Song Ze? Did I take up your time? I'm so sorry."
"No, no, no, I'm too early." Song Ze quickly waved his hand. "Brother Liang, please continue."
Guangliang glanced at the clock on the wall, then got up and closed the piano lid.
"I just finished practicing, you can use it."
He tidied up the handwritten sheet music on the music stand, his every move exuding the composure of someone who had been immersed in the music scene for twenty years.
As they reached the door, Guangliang suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Song Ze, and smiled slightly.
"By the way—your song 'Cooling Down' is now universally recognized as the ultimate breakup anthem in our circle, you know?"
Song Ze was stunned for a moment.
"My assistant broke up with her boyfriend last month and listened to your song on repeat for three whole days." Guangliang shook his head. "Three days. I could hear it playing next door when I went into the recording studio."
Song Ze laughed: "Brother Liang, if we're talking about tearjerkers, your 'Fairy Tale' is the real tearjerker. Every time my manager goes to karaoke and sings this song, he cries his eyes out, and then he has to sing three more Liang Jingru songs to calm down."
Guangliang pretended to think seriously for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow.
"If Liang Jingru can help her recover, then the injury wasn't deep enough."
He paused.
"Go back and tell her that next time after singing 'Fairy Tale,' she should immediately follow up with my 'The First Time.'"
Song Ze cooperatively replied, "Why?"
Guangliang leaned against the door frame, his smile holding something more.
"After listening to 'The First Time,' you'll realize that you've never even had a proper first relationship. This song isn't written for people who have never been in a relationship; it's written for people who have been in one but didn't understand it."
The two looked at each other for a second, then laughed at the same time.
Guangliang patted Song Ze on the shoulder.
See you in the first competition, Xiao Song.
He turned and walked out of the rehearsal room with light steps.
Song Ze watched his retreating figure, and just then, that familiar notification sound rang in his ears—
[Ding! Target detected displaying expert-level "emotional injection" skills. Extract?]
Song Ze had a sudden thought and clicked confirm: How wonderful! I've met an expert-level singer and can extract proficiency points. It should be possible for me to win the championship in the first round of "Singer"!
【提取成功！演唱熟练度+1000，当前进度：专家级（6512/10000）。解锁子技能——情感注入：入门（1/100）】
The moment the numbers started flashing, my phone exploded in my pocket.
Zhang Juan.
Song Ze answered the phone, but before he could speak—
"Xiao Song! Something's happened!" Zhang Juan's voice was urgent and strained...