novelraw Chapter 80 Cai Jianya's Concert Scene
Chapter 80 Cai Jianya's Concert Scene
Before Dima Creek could even step out of the rehearsal room, a series of hurried footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.
A burly man in a dark gray suit strode in, speaking rapidly in Kazakh.
Dima Creek's agent.
Song Ze had seen this person once before, when they brushed past each other in the corridor. The other person had a straight face the whole time and didn't even glance at him.
The agent rushed up to Dima Creek, grabbed his shoulder, and spoke a long string of words in a low voice.
Dimash nodded obediently and put the guitar back on the shelf.
The milk tea is gone.
Dimaxi was half-pushed and half-dragged towards the door, but he stopped the moment he stepped out the door.
He turned his head.
The two people stared at each other for a second, three meters apart.
Dimaxi didn't say anything, but made a fist at Song Ze and smiled, revealing her tiger teeth.
The meaning couldn't be clearer: see you in the first competition, he's the champion.
Then, his manager dragged him away and they disappeared around the corner of the corridor.
Song Ze stood still, putting his hands back in his pockets.
"Yo."
Xiao Jingteng stood up from the sofa, patted his pants, and swaggered over to Song Ze's side.
"It's good to be young; even issuing a challenge is so passionate."
Song Ze glanced at him sideways: "Brother Xiao, don't you want to compete for first place?"
Xiao Jingteng looked down at his right hand, his tone unusually serious.
"Song Ze, I have something to tell you."
"Um?"
"The most difficult thing about Dimash isn't his wide vocal range. It's his incredibly stable performance. Did you notice? When he sang 'Daida U' just now, his heart rate barely changed from beginning to end. People like him are so calm and composed on stage; they're born to be on stage."
Song Ze did not respond.
Hsiao Ching-teng is right.
In her previous life, Dimash never faltered in any of her seven performances on "Singer" due to performance issues. She consistently delivered a high-quality performance in every single show; the only difference was whether she hit a bang or not.
"So the song you're preparing," Jam Hsiao patted his shoulder, "has to be even more explosive than his."
Song Ze nodded: "Understood, Brother Xiao."
Jam Hsiao reverted to his usual nonchalant demeanor, grabbing his jacket and draping it over his shoulder: "Alright, I'm off. I have to go into the studio to work on some songs tomorrow. You should go home and get some rest too."
He walked to the door and then turned back: "You owe me a cup of milk tea."
"It's clearly Dima Creek that I want to drink."
"He's gone, and the debts have been transferred."
The door closed.
Song Ze stood in the empty rehearsal room for a few seconds, then picked up his phone and glanced at the system panel.
Singing, expert level, over 7,500.
That's enough to take down most people.
However, Dima Creek is not included in "most people".
He turned off the control panel, packed his things, and left.
It was already 9 p.m. when I got back to the hotel.
Zhang Juan was in the next room processing the scheduling of announcements when Song Zegang finished showering and sat on the bed when his phone rang.
Godmother.
Song Ze answered, "That sister."
Na Ying's loud voice boomed from the receiver: "Son! Are you free on October 29th?"
"What is it?"
"I've secured you a guest performer spot at Cai Jianya's Yanjing concert. Are you coming?"
Song Ze paused for a moment.
Tsai Chien-ya, a three-time winner of the Golden Melody Award for Best Mandarin Female Singer.
"Sister, I'm not familiar with Sister Cai."
"Nonsense, you only need to get to know someone if you're not familiar with them. You're currently very popular, just show your face, sing a song, and you're done." Na Ying's tone was casual, but her logic was very clear.
This is paving the way for him.
"Okay, I'll go."
"That's right. I'll take you backstage later, so don't embarrass me."
The phone hangs up.
Song Ze stared at the ceiling and thought for a moment.
Cai Jianya possesses expert-level singing skills and a style that blends folk and pop elements in her creative work.
If we could extract a batch on-site—
October 29th, Yanjing, backstage at Wukesong Arena.
Song Ze was wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a dark gray coat, and Na Ying dragged him through the corridor.
"Come, let me introduce you to someone. Teacher Cai, this is Song Ze, my godson, the one who wrote 'Cool Down'."
Cai Jianya stood in front of the vanity mirror, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and looked him up and down.
"That sister's godson... so what will you call me from now on?"
Song Ze: "Sister Cai?"
Cai Jianya pushed up her glasses and winked at Na Ying: "Na Ying is my... you know?"
Na Ying rolled her eyes at her: "Can't you speak like a human being?"
Cai Jianya laughed and waved her hand, "Forget it, let's just call her Sister Cai. I'm afraid you'll curse me in your heart if I call her Auntie."
Song Ze did not ask any further questions.
The concert went smoothly.
Song Ze, as a guest performer, sang a section of "Liang Liang" on stage, which received a warm response from the audience. After leaving the stage, he stood on the side of the stage to watch Cai Jianya's performance.
Playing guitar and singing.
The breath control is precise, the emotional progression is natural, and every note transition has just the right amount of articulation.
Expert level, without a doubt.
Song Ze waited in his heart for that familiar electronic notification sound.
Five seconds.
ten seconds.
Thirty seconds.
The song is finished.
The system did not respond.
There was no "ding". There was no "target detected displaying skill". Nothing at all.
He waited for another song.
still none.
He leaned against the iron frame of the side curtain, staring at Cai Jianya on the stage, quickly going through the possibilities in his mind.
It's not that Tsai Chien-ya isn't good enough. A three-time Golden Melody Award winner, she's definitely an expert.
It's not that the trigger conditions weren't met. She was performing live, demonstrating her skills clearly.
The only explanation is that his understanding in this direction has approached the upper limit that the system can extract.
While the narrative singing style and emotional infusion are only at the beginner level, the underlying understanding of the main skills has already covered Cai Jianya's core techniques.
The system determined that there was nothing new to learn.
This is the first time.
This is the first time since I got the system that I've encountered a situation where I can see something but can't learn from it.
After the concert, Na Ying chatted with Song Ze and Cai Jianya backstage for twenty minutes.
They discussed their arrangement ideas and breath control. Tsai Chien-ya shared her habit of repeatedly refining a single breathing point in the recording studio, while Na Ying chimed in, saying she used to do the same when she was younger, but is now too lazy.
Song Ze listened very attentively.
It's not for the system, it's for myself.
He began to realize one thing: the system could only extract proficiency from people whose skill level was no lower than his own. To reach the master level, he would have to work on every note himself, or he would need to find a true master singer.
On the way back, Song Ze leaned back in the back seat with his eyes closed, his mind filled with this matter.
Zhang Juan was sitting in the passenger seat, looking down at her phone as she replied to a message, when it suddenly rang.
She answered the phone, listened for a few minutes, and then sat up straight.
"A meeting for all the initial singers? When?"
The person on the other end said a string of words.
Zhang Juan hung up the phone and turned to look at Song Ze.
"It was Hong Tao calling. The production team informed us that all the initial singers must attend a meeting in Changsha at 2 PM the day after tomorrow. They didn't say the specifics, only that there were important rule adjustments."
Song Ze opened his eyes.
Here we go again.
Two days later, in the conference room on the third floor of Hunan TV in Changsha.
Eight people sat around a long table.
Lin Yilian, Tan Jingjing, Dimash, Du Lisha, Xiao Jingteng, Yuan Yawei, Guang Liang, plus Song Ze.
The executive director stood in front of the projection screen, holding a remote control pen in his hand.
"Dear teachers, the reason for notifying you to come today is to add a new activity."
He opened the first page of the PowerPoint presentation.
"The production team has decided that all the initial singers must each shoot a personal theme trailer before December 25th. The platform has added an extra five million yuan to the budget, and the trailer will be broadcast simultaneously across the entire network on that day."
There was a two-second silence in the conference room.
The executive director turns to the next page.
"The number of views for the pilot episode will be used as the basis for determining the performance order in the first round of competition. There will be no more random draws."
Hsiao Ching-teng leaned back in his chair, making a screeching sound.
Lin Yilian put down her thermos and looked up at the director.
The executive director continued, "The pilot episode isn't just promotional material. It's about defining character personas, securing a ranking, and gauging public opinion. Whoever explains themselves clearly first gets to claim their spot."
As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere in the conference room visibly changed.
Several veteran singers froze for a moment.
They came to sing, not to film short videos.
Song Ze leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly twice under the table.
His first reaction was not excitement.
This segment didn't exist in the previous life. In the previous life, the order of appearance in the first episode was determined by 500 audience judges voting in advance on "the singers they most look forward to performing," arranged from lowest to highest expectation, with the lowest expectation leading to the first performance and the highest expectation leading to the last.
Now it's changed to a preview episode ranking.
The competition was brought forward by half a month.
The Butterfly Effect.
It's both exhilarating and frustrating. The exhilarating part is that he is indeed changing the course of the world, but the frustrating part is that every change means that he has one less piece of his past life's experience to use.
The executive director was still going over the details: the filming team could choose their own shots, the length could be three to five minutes, and the content was unlimited.
Song Ze was no longer listening.
He was thinking about something else.
The pilot episode, ranked by number of views.
This isn't about singing skills; it's about popularity and buzz. It's about who can hold the audience's attention for three minutes.
Dima Creek has the gimmick of being an exotic genius, Tan Jingjing has the aura of being a national team member, Lin Yilian has the background of a diva, and Jam Hsiao has a knack for variety shows.
What about Song Ze?
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
He glanced down at it.
Tian Xiwei's message: Bro, the production team just notified me that the partners also need to cooperate in filming the pilot episode's behind-the-scenes footage. What exactly does that mean?
Song Ze turned his phone over and placed it face down on the table.
The executive director turned off the projector and scanned the eight people in the room.
"One last thing..."