บท 47: Chapter 47 – Recording & Rent~
Translator: Vian
Editing: namio, celes
When Rong Xu sang for the second time, he didn't know that Zhao Kun had ordered the staff members to record the song. His left hand gently rested on the microphone, seeming to be touching it but actually separated by a slightly undetectable distance.
Most singers had small habits when recording. For Rong Xu, he liked to be a bit closer to the microphone. This way, he was closer to the device that was supposed to record his voice. The closer he was, the better it could grasp his voice.
Last week, Zhao Kun gave the "Lost Wings" demo to Rong Xu. During the past week, whenever Rong Xu finished filming and returned to the hotel, he would repeatedly listen to the demo, look through the music sheets, and practice singing.
No matter how good of a singer one was, they still couldn't do it all at once.
Being able to sing a song perfectly just by glancing through a music score was definitely something that only happened in dramas. How to deal with the enunciation between the lyrics, how to grasp the rhythm of one's breathing; both were things that required multiple attempts to get results.
However, there was still a difference between singing live and recording in a studio. Light and gentle music flowed through the headphones. Rong Xu recalled several mistakes from the first recording, pondered for a bit, and made some corrections.
Just like before, the youth's voice was still clear and clean like early morning rain, washing away all the impurities in the world, leaving only the purest, fresh air. The techniques were also skillfully handled. Even many singers who had debuted for four or five years didn't have such excellent singing skills.
As Zhao Kun seriously listened to this "Lost Wings", his gaze towards Rong Xu gradually deepened.
He did not believe that someone could have such skills without any professional training. The voice was innate, but skill was acquired. If you let a layman sing, how can they perfectly grasp the rhythm of exhalation and inhalation? How can they smoothly handle the curve at each transition?
But Zhao Kun didn't mention this. Rong Xu definitely received professional training, but that was Rong Xu's matter. He only valued the results.
Outstanding looks, already acted in some good works, and high popularity…
It was said that good actors can also sing; although this child's popularity has not reached the level of many first-tier stars yet, he could definitely release an album with just this voice!
In the recording room, Rong Xu gently closed his eyes and continued to softly sing. He had already sung the chorus of the second verse. Outside the thick sound-insulating glass window, the two audio tuners quickly adjusted the controls on the soundboard. Their fingers swiftly moved, removing noises big or small, even removing the sound of Rong Xu's breathing, eliminating all extraneous sounds.
It was at this time that Qin Cheng entered the studio.
He had just opened the door by a small crack when he heard a clear, low-pitched voice coming from inside the room.
Qin Cheng's action suddenly froze. The gentle singing lingering with a trace of nostalgia and melancholy entered his ears. This voice wasn't anything gorgeous nor was it especially unique. It was just extremely simple and pure, pure as if it was a sheet of white paper, softly singing beside your ear.
Almost immediately, Qin Cheng recognized this voice.
During filming, Rong Xu also sang often. However, there wasn't any good recording equipment then, he just simply sang. But now, with the best equipment and audio tuner, the advantages of his voice were infinitely magnified, while the few shortcomings were nowhere to be found.
At this time, Xu Jin finally caught up and reached the outside of the recording studio. He had just wanted to ask, "How come you're not going in?" when he also heard the singing.
His mouth slowly closed, and Xu Jin also stood by the door, quietly listening. When the last lyrics were over, he quietly turned to peek at the man beside him, only to see that Qin Cheng's handsome face appeared to have loosened a bit. The originally cold countenance seemed to have inexplicably softened.
The next second, Qin Cheng pushed open the door and entered, seeing the youth who had just finished singing and still had his eyes closed.
The people in the room didn't expect that Qin Cheng would suddenly appear here. Luo Zhentao and the two staff members' eyes widened in surprise. And although Zhao Kun knew that Qin Cheng would come, he didn't expect him to come so early.
The soundproofing of this room was very good, to the point that Rong Xu didn't even hear the sound of the door opening. When he opened his eyes and saw the other party, his face also had some surprise.
What happened next was simple. Qin Cheng only came to observe the music recording for "Black Clouds". Through the glass, he calmly nodded towards Rong Xu then sat down on the sofa.
When the two people greeted each other, Qin Cheng's face still had facial nerve paralysis as if he was really just here out of professionalism in paying attention to the details in the movie he took up. It was just that his gaze had been fixated on the youth on the other side of the glass. Only when the youth closed his eyes and softly sang did his lips faintly curve up, and he quietly listened.
By noon, Zhao Kun had made several suggestions for Rong Xu's recording, and they were busy the whole afternoon.
The two staff members had planned for a long-term battle, but they didn't expect that by four in the afternoon, after Rong Xu had finished singing another time, Zhao Kun looked at Rong Xu who was inside the recording room with a subtle gaze. After a long time, he nodded slightly and finally smiled: "Very good, the one just now passes."
Upon hearing this, everyone present let out a sigh of relief.
The song, "Lost Wings", is very nice to listen to, and Rong Xu also sings very well, but if you had to listen to it seventy or eighty times… then that's just torturing people into going crazy.
Xu Jin had already long gone to hide since the afternoon break. As Rong Xu's manager, Luo Zhentao couldn't simply leave and could only obediently stay inside the studio.
But what was strange was that Qin Cheng actually stayed in the studio without leaving, seriously listening for six to seven hours.
After getting an affirmative from Zhao Kun, Rong Xu finally took off the bulky headphones and walked out of the recording studio. On the other side, Zhao Kun was telling the staff to deal with the few small details. Rong Xu took the jacket Luo Zhentao handed over and walked over to Qin Cheng.
The evening air during early spring still had a hint of coolness.
Qin Cheng was wearing a thin, dark black coat with a light beige-colored wool scarf. There was no expression on the handsome and noble face, appearing cold and difficult to get close to. Upon seeing the other, Rong Xu couldn't help but smile: "I thought that since you had already finished filming, you wouldn't be in S-City anymore. Have you not returned to B-City at all, Qin Cheng?"
Not far away Zhao Kun heard Rong Xu's words and looked over at them with a surprised expression, apparently not expecting that that Rong Xu and Qin Cheng had such a good relationship.
The old seniors in Huaxia Entertainment knew that Qin Cheng wasn't an easy person to get along with. Even if it was an actor who had worked with him, it wasn't certain that they could become good friends—— for example, Xia Muyan. She and Qin Cheng worked on a movie before and recently, they cooperated again in "Disciple" that would soon be released, but the two seemed to have nothing to do with each other in private.
Golden sunlight spilled down from the window behind Qin Cheng and fell upon the youth's body, reflecting a layer of light gold. Perhaps the sunlight was too soft, but his exquisite face that the sunlight shone down on seemed like a beautiful illusion.
Qin Cheng looked at Rong Xu as he put on his jacket.
This youth seemed to like wearing white sweaters. This sweater was different from the one Qin Cheng saw before. The tall collar blocked the slender clavicle and only revealed a small, pale neck, causing people to have fanciful thoughts.
Only sweeping through with a faint glance, Qin Cheng then swiftly turned away his gaze, his tone even as he spoke: "It just so happens that I had to deal with some small matters in S-City these two days." Pausing, he saw that Rong Xu had fully put on his jacket and his voice couldn't help but drop a few degrees: "You sang very well."
When he heard such praise, Rong Xu slightly smiled: "I hope that Director Liang will be satisfied. He told me before that if I couldn't sing this song well, he would fly into a rage."
The two chatted a bit longer and soon, the staff finished processing the song that they had just recorded and played it, letting Zhao Kun review one last time.
As he listened to his voice in the song, Rong Xu carefully listened for his mistakes as he followed the beat of the music. After listening to it three times, Zhao Kun finally nodded.
Everyone released a sigh of relief, Zhao Kun also smiled towards Rong Xu, sincerely saying: "This song is truly beautiful. It is the best song I have heard in the past two years."
Hearing these words, Rong Xu was slightly startled but smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your praise, Zhao ge."
Zhao Kun waved his hand and had an expression like he didn't care, but the two staff members beside him were completely shocked.
To be able to get this kind of evaluation from Director Zhao… this Rong Xu was seriously amazing!
A good song didn't just depend on the composition and lyrics, but also on the one who was the one singing it. Good songs had always been works that had matching singers. Zhao Kun would produce a large number of works every year, and there had been no lack of works whose sales had reached millions among them, but he actually said that this "Lost Wings" was the best song he had heard in the past two years.
For some time, the two staff members' gazes as they looked at Rong Xu changed.
And Zhao Kun was also looking at Rong Xu with smile, his eyes appearing to wander, but his thoughts were a mystery.
For the next three days, Rong Xu spent all his time in the studio. The song he needed to record wasn't limited to just "Lost Wings" but also eight other songs that appeared in the movie along with the theme song. The theme song was naturally "Black Clouds". The difficulty of this song was even higher due to the genius Ling Xiao in front. Being able to show another version of "Black Clouds" was extremely challenging.
"Black Clouds" also took the whole day to record from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon. After singing once again, even Rong Xu felt that he must've done something wrong for him to be unable to make Zhao Kun satisfied.
On the other side, it was unknown when Xu Jin had moved closer to Luo Zhentao. The two quietly whispered back and forth: "What do you think about how he sang?"
Luo Zhentao naturally defended his family's artist: "Amazingly!" His voice was sincere, with no lies anywhere.
Xu Jin also fiercely nodded: "Right, I think it's already really good. I heard Ling Xiao's version many times and it's also very good, but your family's Rong Xu's version also has its own merits. In terms of voice and skill, there might still be a gap between Rong Xu and Ling Xiao but it's not much worse ah. You say, do you think he still needs to sing a few more times before we can end this?"
The moment he heard this, Luo Zhentao immediately put on a bitter face: "Xiao Xu isn't a professional singer, how can he compete with Ling Xiao. And even if he's a professional singer, the entire Chinese music scene only produced a single Ling Xiao. If Director Zhao really treats Xiao Xu according to Ling Xiao's standards… we probably won't finish recording tonight?"
"Black Clouds" was the Ling Xiao's signature song and was also a perfect song that Zhao Kun rated a ten.
If he really wanted Rong Xu to sing it at that level for it to pass, then that's beyond just making it difficult for people!
When Rong Xu sang it for the ninety-seventh time, a certain man who had been sitting on the sofa the entire time finally couldn't sit still.
Qin Cheng slowly stood up and stepped forward to Zhao Kun. Currently, Zhao Kun was suggesting some revisions to Rong Xu. Rong Xu nodded to show his agreement and took another sip of water to moisten his throat.
The gentle prelude played again as Rong Xu slowly closed his eyes and waited for the first lyrics. Outside the recording room, a man's low and magnetic voice interrupted the melodious music: "If Rong Xu's state isn't optimal today, why not record it tomorrow?"
Zhao Kun looked at Qin Cheng with surprise: "Rong Xu's state isn't good?"
The pair of phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, Qin Cheng insipidly replied: "If he is in a good state, would he need to sing ninety-seven times?"
Zhao Kun was stunned and unconsciously asked: "How do you know this is the ninety-seventh time?" How many times was the song sung? Which normal person would count; they would've already forgotten long ago.
Luo Zhentao and Xu Jin heard this question and also silently turned around to stare at that man, only to see Qin Cheng calmly look back and reply in a casual tone: "I have a good memory."
Luo Zhentao: "..."
Xu Jin: "..."
Zhao Kun: "..."
… Even if you have such good memory, how much free time do you have to remember how many times Rong Xu sang ah!
Although his explanation was like this, Zhao Kun vaguely found that Qin Cheng's attitude seemed to be subtly… unhappy. Zhao Kun completely had no idea why the other party was unhappy. However, considering that this person was one of the shareholders of Huaxia Entertainment and that his identity and status wasn't something that could easily be ignored, he held back his temper and explained: "We are almost finished recording."
Without waiting for Qin Cheng to respond at all, Xu Jin asked, confused: "Eh, you're almost done recording? What's the difference between these few dozen times and the previous ones? I couldn't hear the difference at all ah."
Luo Zhentao also wanted to express his agreement, but he hadn't even opened his mouth yet when a clear, beautiful voice sounded, interrupting his words.
In an instant, Qin Cheng's whole body went stiff and slowly turned around to look at the youth on the other side of the glass. Zhao Kun's eyes shone even more brightly as he stared at Rong Xu in surprise. He listened carefully to every sung note, and when he heard the ending of the first line, his head couldn't help but follow the beat.
"Summer has passed once again, and the time I have waited for you increased another year."
"Black clouds drift over the horizon, I look back to be greeted by your smile…"
The beautiful and elegant youth lightly supported the mic with his right hand, and with a voice full of gentleness and love, slowly sang this song of first love. There was a faint tremor in his voice, seeming to hold a hint of youthfulness belonging to a teen and not so perfect that one couldn't find any flaws like before.
But it was precisely this sense of youthfulness that caused Zhao Kun's eyes to grow brighter and brighter.
Qin Cheng looked at the youth across the glass in a slight daze. When he sang to "Maybe one day, we can go to life's last stop", Rong Xu slowly opened his eyes, his gaze coincidentally meeting that pair of deep and profound eyes.
He was a bit surprised at first, but soon, Rong Xu's lips rose into a smile and his beautiful brows gently curved. As he sang the second chorus, he gave Qin Cheng a small smile.
This smile didn't have any complicated meanings behind it, but those bright, clear eyes put Qin Cheng into a daze, unable to return to his senses for a long time. Even when Zhao Kun excitedly announced that the recording was officially finished, his mind was still replaying "Black Clouds" and that gentle smile.
"We can go to life's last stop."
That evening, Qin Cheng and Rong Xu boarded the same flight and returned to B-City.
Originally, Luo Zhentao had thought about asking Zhao Kun to have a meal together and build a good relationship, but who would have thought that Zhao Kun was extremely busy with the music production for "Black Clouds" and rejected his invitation. When he sent Rong Xu out of the company, Zhao Kun grasped his hand and meaningfully said: "Perhaps we will have another chance to meet in the future. Rong Xu, you are very good at singing."
A certain light quickly flashed through his eyes, and Rong Xu smiled and nodded: "Zhao ge, you are also a great director."
Zhao Kun laughed out loud and didn't say anything else.
***
The silver plane took off from Hongqiao Airport and soon disappeared into the dark night. When the four people arrived at the Capital Airport, Luo Zhentao originally wanted to leave directly, but Xu Jin brought them over to the VIP channel with a self-satisfied smile. They quietly avoided the flow of people and left the Capital Airport.
It was Rong Xu's first time taking the Capital Airport's VIP channel. After getting off the elevator, they were in the underground parking lot.
Xu Jin took out his car keys as he walked, and he carefreely said: "There's no banquet in the world that doesn't end, we'll part ways here then. Xiao Luo ah, properly send Rong Xu back; be careful of the paparazzi. There's a lot of paparazzi near the Capital Airport so there might be some in the parking lot. You make sure to watch your surroundings."
Listening to this, Luo Zhentao was surprised: "I'm sending Xiao Xu back?"
Xu Jin's steps stopped and turned around to look at the surprised Luo Zhentao. On the contrary, he smiled and asked: "What, if you're not sending your artist home, could it be that you want me to send him home?"
Luo Zhentao hesitated for a moment, but he hadn't opened his mouth yet when he heard Qin Cheng's low voice say: "Give me the key."
Xu Jin froze.
Qin Cheng glanced at him, calmly saying: "Give me the key. You ride on Luo Zhentao's car and go with him, I'll go back with Rong Xu."
Xu Jin: "..."
A moment passed, Xu Jin couldn't help but ask: "You're going back with Rong Xu? Where are you going back to?"
Luo Zhentao reflexively interjected: "Xu ge, could it be that you didn't know that Xiao Xu rented Mister Qin's apartment and is currently living with him?"
Xu Jin: "...!!!" None of you guys said anything, who the hell would know ah!
Xu Jin's face suddenly turned all sorts of colors. He looked at Luo Zhentao, but Luo Zhentao had an expression of "Qin Cheng is your artist, don't you care about him at all?" He then looked at Rong Xu. This seemingly gentle and easy-to-get-along-with youth had been maintaining a soft smile, but he had no idea what he was thinking at all. As for a certain man…
No need to even look ah! He didn't discuss renting out his apartment with his own manager, why should he look at this kind of person?
Xu Jin's mood was depressed and frustrated as he got onto Luo Zhentao's car. The car hadn't even moved yet, but you could hear his complaints through the window: "What you do know, I really envy you. How good is your family's Rong Xu, it's only been half a year, but he's already taken so many films, so diligent and dedicated. How's he like him, only taking a movie a year and even showing me a bad expression all day. Now he doesn't even mention renting his apartment. You tell me if I'm not suffering and tired…"
Qin Cheng: "..."
Rong Xu couldn't help but let out a laugh. Qin Cheng immediately turned to look at him. The youth held back his laughter, replacing it with a cool expression.
Qin Cheng lowered his gaze, his tone quiet as he said: "Xu Jin has always complained a lot, no need to take it seriously."
Rong Xu nodded solemnly: "En, I didn't take it seriously."
Qin Cheng: "… There's really no need to take it seriously."
Rong Xu looked up at him and even more solemnly replied: "I really didn't take it seriously."
Qin Cheng: "..."
Qin Cheng's car was a black Bentley Mulsanne. It seems that because his faults were exposed by his own manager in public just now, Qin Cheng had a steady expression and didn't talk the whole way.
After waiting till they returned to the apartment and took the elevator up, Rong Xu opened his mouth to ask: "When should I pay you my rent for next month?"
The elevator "ding——" and came to a stop. Qin Cheng was slightly shook inside, but he still showed an indifferent expression outside.
Rong Xu smiled: "I can't not give, how about I pay you next week?"
Qin Cheng turned his head to look at Rong Xu. Looking at this smiling youth, he was clearly thinking in his heart, "You really don't need to pay," but when it came out, it turned into this: "How about two weeks later." As soon as the words came out, Qin Cheng pursed his lips and his fingers hidden in his pocket twitched.
… How come you couldn't say it out loud again!
Rong Xu smiled and nodded. He wanted to reply, "Two weeks later then," but the words hadn't even come out of his mouth yet when a sharp female voice yelled in an inconceivably loud voice: "Rent?! You actually want my little darling Rongrong to pay you rent? Qin Cheng, is this how you take care of my family's lovely darling? Rongrong's already living with you, but you actually dare make him pay rent!!!"
Qin Cheng: "..."
Rong Xu: "..."
The author has something to say:
Auntie Qin: My family's sweet darling is so cute, how can you be willing to accept his rent!
Qin Orangeorange: ... (Actually, I also think he's very cute)
Rongrong: Actually, some people are also very cute ^_^~
Translator's Corner:
celes: Well, I applaud Qin Cheng for actually sitting that long to listen to Rong Xu sing. And Auntie Qin's as amusing as usual. Also, what are the chances that she happens to be there right when he says that?
Vain: *peeks at next chapter* uhhh… like…ly..y(?) I guess(?)
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