Translator: Vian
Editors: namio, celes
"Black Clouds" was the most anticipated biographical movie of the year. Huaxia Entertainment naturally invested in it and received a share of the benefits.
This was the first time Rong Xu came to this city. There were some differences between this world's city and his last world's, but the strange thing was, some of the landmark buildings were somewhat similar. Huaxia Entertainment's branch office was located at the top of a skyscraper known as the "bottle opener" and occupied twelve floors in the middle of this building's top.
The elevator steadily stopped on the thirty-second floor. When Rong Xu and Luo Zhentao stepped out of the elevator, they saw a stylishly dressed middle-aged man. The other appeared to be in his early forties and was wearing a stylish black overcoat which was boldly paired with a dark green scarf. His hairstyle and appearance were very clean.
When he saw Rong Xu, this handsome middle-aged uncle smiled and walked towards them, saying: "You arrived ten minutes ahead of the appointed time. Fortunately, I had some matters today and arrived early, otherwise, wouldn't I be making you wait?" This one sentence brought the two sides' relationship closer.
Rong Xu raised his lips into a small smile, looking at this seemingly amiable fashionable uncle, and his smile widened: "Zhao ge, it just happened that there wasn't much of a traffic jam today, I also didn't expect for us to arrive so early. Nice to meet you, I am Rong Xu."
Rong Xu was only eighteen years old this year, while Zhao Kun was already fifty-three. He maintained himself well and appeared quite young, but his age was actually older than that of Rong Xu's father, yet Rong Xu called him "Zhao ge".
The smile on his face turned more sincere, and Zhao Kun laughed: "Then let's immediately go to the recording studio."
There were many vocal parts in "Black Clouds". According to Director Liang's thoughts, he planned on letting Rong Xu sing all of them when filming. Since the movie was using the original voices instead of dubbing, if the singing voice was Rong Xu's and could give the audience a sense of it being a good substitute, it would make the movie even more perfect.
Zhao Kun was a well-known music producer from Huaxia Entertainment and was also the Music Director that Director Liang specially hired for "Black Clouds". He was responsible for all of the soundtracks, including the interludes and accompaniments. As for the songs that had lyrics, all of them were Ling Xiao's own work.
These songs all have an original tune that could be listened to and imitated, only "Lost Wings" has a single music score.
Zhao Kun spent three days making the demo of "Lost Wings" and sent it to Rong Xu last week. The main task for these two days was to complete the recording of all the songs in "Black Clouds", and the most important of these songs was the ending song: "Lost Wings".
Zhao Kun brought Rong Xu and Luo Zhentao to Huaxia Entertainment's recording area. From time to time, staff members found them and stared at Rong Xu in surprise. But once they saw Director Zhao, they immediately withered and could only silently watch as Rong Xu left, afraid to come forward to ask for an autograph.
These little details were seen by Luo Zhentao. Rong Xu also looked thoughtfully at the disappointed staff members.
Rong Xu and Luo Zhentao looked at each other, the two appearing to come to the same understanding: This Director Zhao, they're afraid, isn't as amicable as he seems on the surface and is a rather sly character.
Zhao Kun was a member of Huaxia Entertainment's S-City branch. This was also Luo Zhentao's first time meeting the other.
Soon, the three arrived at the recording studio where several staff members were already waiting. Zhao Kun handed a score to Rong Xu and asked: "Can you read a music score?"
Rong Xu smiled and nodded.
Zhao Kun nodded, pleased: "Good, you've probably never recorded a song before. You can go in and try singing for a bit, and we'll start from there."
Not long after, everything was ready. Rong Xu sat inside the soundproofed studio that was separated by a thick layer of glass and made an "OK" gesture towards Zhao Kun. Zhao Kun didn't think that this child would actually speak to him with gestures according to the rules of the music circle. He was slightly astonished but then nodded.
The staff started adjusting the audio frequency. Luo Zhentao stood not far from them, and before the third tone was adjusted, he heard one of the staff members ask Zhao Kun: "Director, do we need to record it?"
Zhao Kun shook his head and unconcernedly said: "No need, this round is just to let Rong Xu try singing here and get a feeling for it. It's enough if you just add the music, no need to tune it. Let me hear his raw singing voice. You guys will have to work hard today, add in another shift. We need to finish recording "Lost Wings" today."
Once that staff member heard that sentence, he suddenly slumped down, muttering: "Letting an actor who never sang a song before finish recording such a difficult song in one day… we won't make it even if we do overtime ah…"
Zhao Kun glanced at this person. This person seemed to be very familiar with this look and immediately put on a happy smile to laugh it off.
Standing at the side next to them, Luo Zhentao listened to their conversation and felt particularly distasteful inside.
Who said Rong Xu wasn't good at singing and couldn't record a song in one day? Haven't you guys ever heard him sing, he sings beautifully!
For the first time ever, Luo Zhentao conjured such a feeling of "covering up his own people's shortcomings". He now especially wanted these music people to carefully listen to the song Rong Xu sang when he auditioned, along with the songs he often sang during filming. Such beautiful singing! It's much better than many of those idol singers and talent show singers alright!
In the middle of Luo Zhentao's depressed mood, a low, pleasant sounding slow prelude quietly sounded in the silent studio. The beginning of "Lost Wings" was a piano solo; the clear sound of the piano was like the light pitter-patter of rain hitting leaves, calming a person's mood, but there was a kind of unspeakable sadness.
Separated by a thick layer of soundproof glass, the warm yellow light shone down on the youth's soft hair, casting an enchanting layer of gold. Rong Xu wore a pair of large headphones which seemed to be even bigger than his face. He looked at the music sheet in his head, while his other hand gently touched the microphone.
This scene was peaceful and serene. The beautiful and delicate youth with the soft and warm environment, they complemented each other, as if they were standing aloof from the rest of the world.
However, Zhao Kun had no opinions on this. He only gave Rong Xu a deep and profound look before his gaze turned to Rong Xu's hand that was gently touching the recording microphone. He slightly frowned and silently thought to himself: Sure enough, he's an amateur. It would be troublesome if his hand accidentally made a sound.
But this was only an attempt. There would be no recording, so Zhao Kun didn't correct it.
A soft chord gradually merged with the piano, after a rush of the music building up, everything returned to the calm melody, leaving behind only the sound of the piano.
In the studio, Zhao Kun and the staff members appeared calm and very relaxed. Luo Zhentao's expression was solemn and fixed at the youth on the other side of the glass. In this silence where one could even hear a pin drop, in such a setting, a clear and melodious song slowly sounded.
"If, if there is a tomorrow."
"Then, will the you of tomorrow appear?"
"When the cool breeze passes by our window, who will still remember that memory…"
Luo Zhentao's eyes slowly widened, firmly looking at youth inside the studio. He saw that Rong Xu was softly touching the recording microphone with one hand, his narrow and beautiful eyes were closed as he gently sang the lyrics, not looking at the music sheet again, as if all the notes were embedded in his mind.
When the first verse was finished, he slowly opened his eyes with the soothing music. The splendid and soft lights shone down from the top of his head, catching on the fluttering eyelashes and casting a faint shadow on the delicate and fair face.
In the entire studio, there was absolute silence.
Luo Zhentao did not think that with the best audio equipment, the youth's singing… would sound even better! He clenched his fists in excitement, while the two staff members who were manning the soundboard console froze.
Zhao Kun had his hands crossed and mouth slightly open as he looked at the youth behind the glass in astonishment. He still hadn't reacted, when in the next moment, Rong Xu moved near the microphone once again, and gently sang.
"Looking at our songs."
"There is a song called Longing."
"It tells of a butterfly with no wings, no matter how high it flies, it cannot reach forever…"
When this verse ended, Zhao Kun immediately released his arms and walked straight over to the two staff members and questioned: "Didn't I say to not tune the voice, why are you tuning it? I want to hear his raw voice and his feelings this round, why are you guys tuning his voice?!"
The two staff members who were suddenly yelled at trembled.
One of the staff members muttered in a small voice, feeling wronged: "But Director… we didn't move any of the controls ah…"
Zhao Kun froze for a moment, before stiffly turning around to look at the controls on the soundboard, only to see that the two staff members had dutifully placed their hands under the soundboard and all the tuning switches were in their normal positions. The low, mid, and high range switches had no signs of being fiddled with. Then….
This sound was Rong Xu's real singing voice?!
Zhao Kun's eyes flashed with unconcealed surprise. On the other side, Rong Xu slightly lowered his gaze, softly singing the climax of the song.
Wings originally belonged to the bird that soared to the Ninth Heaven. The butterfly extravagantly demanded a pair of wings, but in the end, it was not a bird; it could not fly into the blue skies and neither could it reach forever. When it suddenly lost its wings, the butterfly fell down into the muddy soil, struggling over and over again, wanting to climb up, but it no longer had any strength.
Its life was related to that pair of wings. The butterfly who was without its wings, slowly fell onto the soil, consuming the end of its life. It became nutrient, rotting in this land; its wings cannot come back, and it will also forever, never come back.
When the song neared the end, Rong Xu softly sighed at the last note.
This sigh was very light, but it was like a tiny feather, gently sweeping through the hearts of everyone present. A kind of faint despair, a kind of grief without much magnificence; within this song, both were beautifully showcased.
The voice was clear and elegant, and the skills were even more exceptional. It was difficult to be picky.
Zhao Kun scrutinized Rong Xu who was on the other side of the glass, only to see Rong Xu make a gesture to him. Zhao Kun's expression turned a bit more dignified. He gestured back at Rong Xu. Rong Xu was slightly surprised then gently nodded and put on his headphones again, once again sitting in front of the recording mic.
This time, Zhao Kun placed one hand on the soundboard and in a serious tone, said to the staff: "His singing just now was already worth seven points. You guys will have to work hard for me and reach nine points, got it?"
Hearing this, Luo Zhentao's lip twitched. On the surface, his expression was still calm, but he was already speechless inside: His family's Xiao Xu sang so well just now, you even thought it was tuned. Now you dare say it was only worth seven points?!
And Luo Zhentao naturally didn't see the shocked expressions of the two staff members.
Zhao Kun's seven points, if applied to China's music scene, was already a level where one could hold a concert!
Moreover, among the active singers, many of them were scorned by Zhao Kun who ridiculed that they couldn't even reach three points.
In Zhao Kun's eyes, there was a long-lost spark as he looked at that clean and elegant youth.
***
At the same time, in Huaxia Entertain's S-City branch, the elevator slowly went up. In the elevator, a refined and cultured man pushed up the bridge of his glasses, and complained: "The filming is already over, why do you still want to come listen to some recording? I've been running back and forth between S-City and B-City these past few months. Qin Cheng, are you going to reimburse my plane tickets?"
Just after he said that, the elevator issued a "ding——" and stopped at the thirty-second floor.
The tall and handsome man stepped out, leaving his manager behind in the elevator. Xu Jin's mouth twitched and quickly followed after him. As they walked, a thought suddenly came to his mind: "Your care for Rong Xu… are you sure you're not going too far?"
A group of staff members saw Qin Cheng and all of them were stupefied in place. No need to mention asking for an autograph, they even almost forgot to breathe.
Qin Cheng took big strides towards the recording studio. When he heard Xu Jin's question, he slightly glanced to the side, and raised an eyebrow: "My mother wants me to take care of him, is there a problem?"
Xu Jin spread open his hands: "As long as you're happy."
Qin Cheng sped up his steps as he walked ahead and didn't discover that his first-class manager's expression slowly sunk as he looked at his back with a complicated gaze. Through his glasses, Xu Jin's eyes slightly squinted, and he profoundly muttered: "No problem? From how I see it… this seems to be a big problem."
The author has something to say:
Qin Orangeorange: Even Xu Jin can see that Baby has a problem, but Rongrong still doesn't know, he still doesn't know! QAQ!
Fuwa: …Logically speaking, if my Rongrong can figure it out with you being like this, then he can just go set up a fortune-telling booth in Tianqiao District okay!
Translator's Corner:
Vian: Sooo… how's the song? (*´︶｀*) Depressed? Crying?(｀∀´)Ψ
namio: looking at our songs, there's a song called longing ((CRYING INTENSIFIES)) LING XIAO !!!
Vian: Re-reading it now, the butterfly is probably Ling Xiao and Gu Mingxiu is his wings… so Butterfly Ling Xiao who lost his wings can no longer fly, only awaiting his death. ^-^
namio: namio dislikes this. Lost Wings… because Gu Mingxiu was his wings....................
celes: Okay yeah, in retrospect, this is kind of depressing. At times like this I both dread and want to see Ling Xiao's perspective. On another note, I do want to see Qin Cheng and Xu Jin's reaction to Rongrong's singing.