236: Chapter 236 Heading towards the Golden Melody Awards!

When Lu Li came out after changing into that cyan-grey long gown, Jiang Cheng was just adjusting the camera position.

Shen Qingxue had also changed, and that moon-white long dress set against the green willows by the riverbank truly had a bit of the artistic conception of Jiangnan ink painting.

Jiang Cheng glanced through the viewfinder, without any extra words, and just made a gesture at them.

"You can start now."

The filming was even smoother than expected, even smoother than when shooting hair like snow.

Because the two of them already had experience, their cooperation was even more tacit.

Jiang Cheng occasionally stopped to adjust the camera position or angle, but most of the time it was continuous shooting, and the state was very smooth.

By nearly two o'clock in the afternoon, Jiang Cheng quickly browsed through the footage in the camera and then nodded.

"Alright, the footage is enough, wrap up."

Only then did Lu Li relax, stretching his somewhat stiff shoulders.

"How is it? Can today's footage be used?"

Jiang Cheng replied while packing up the equipment.

"More than just usable, a few segments are even better than expected. Wait for me to go back and edit them to take a look, the first version should be out in no more than two days."

"Alright."

After a brief farewell, Lu Li and Shen Qingxue left the shooting spot.

They didn't rush back to the hotel, but instead walked slowly along the riverbank for a stretch, not stopping until they reached a secluded corner with few people.

Lu Li found a bench and sat down.

Then he took out his phone, opened the memo, and then pulled out a pair of earphones from his pocket, handing one to Shen Qingxue.

"Since we have time right now, why don't you listen to the demo of this boundless oceans, vast skies?"

"Did you record it last night?" Shen Qingxue asked curiously.

"Right, it's a simple version I recorded last night, just guitar plus vocals. It might sound a bit rough, but you should be able to hear the general feel."

Shen Qingxue nodded, took it and put it on. Seeing this, Lu Li quickly clicked the play button.

A simple prelude sounded.

Just hearing this prelude made Shen Qingxue's eyes light up.

Sometimes, just based on a prelude, you can tell whether a song sounds good or not.

And boundless oceans, vast skies is one such example.

Before long, Lu Li's voice came out, and it was very obvious that he was deliberately holding back his voice while singing.

"Today I, watched the snow drift past in the cold night..."

"Drifting to the distance with a cooled heart..."

"Chasing through wind and rain, unable to distinguish traces in the fog."

"Boundless sky and sea, you and me..."

"Will it change..."

Shen Qingxue listened quietly, but the more she listened, the more she felt that this song was quite extraordinary.

Although Lu Li's Cantonese pronunciation was a bit non-standard, she felt that this did not affect the quality of the song.

More importantly, she also noticed that when Lu Li sang, there was a very special texture.

It was like carrying a sense of emptiness and freedom.

She listened very attentively until the song slowly ended. She took off the earphones and handed them back to him.

"This song... is completely different in style from all the songs I've played for you before, the stylistic span is very large."

Lu Li took the earphones, wound up the earphone cord, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Yeah, this song is written for Xu Ran and the others, and it fits the tone of their band... relatively well."

"Moreover, their foundation is indeed not bad, but they lack a good song, so I thought of giving this one to them to sing and let them try it first."

Shen Qingxue nodded gently without asking further.

The two sat quietly on the bench by the riverbank for a while, until the evening breeze began to bring a chill, and Shen Qingxue was the first to stand up.

But she suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Lu Li.

"Oh right, in a few days it will be the Golden Melody Awards, should we try to sign up? I see many fans online urging us to sign up for the Golden Melody Awards."

Lu Li was stunned by the question.

"The Golden Melody Awards? When?"

"The weekend after next, and the registration deadline is the day after tomorrow."

Shen Qingxue's expression became a bit more serious.

"I've studied the process before. Although our current scale is relatively small, if we take those hit songs to sign up, we might be able to get a nomination."

After hearing this, Lu Li was somewhat surprised. He had thought he would have to wait for a while longer, but he didn't expect it to come so quickly.

Moreover, can we even get a nomination?

"Alright then, I'll handle the registration before the day after tomorrow. We definitely have to win this nomination, right?"

Shen Qingxue nodded, then lowered her head to take out her phone, brought up a page, and handed the phone to Lu Li.

"This is the registration form. Just find some time to fill it out then."

Lu Li took it and quickly glanced through it.

Inside, it required filling in information such as the lyricist, composer, vocalist, and copyright ownership, none of which were difficult.

"Alright, I'll fill it out when we get back to the hotel."

"That'll do."

Afterwards, the two prepared to head back.

...

After returning to the hotel, Lu Li didn't delay much and directly started getting busy, preparing to refine the demo a bit more first.

Shen Qingxue sat on the sofa nearby, not making a sound to disturb him unless he needed help.

Lu Li was very engrossed in his work, his fingers switching back and forth between the keyboard and mouse, occasionally stopping to listen to a small segment before continuing downwards.

Shen Qingxue never spoke, just sat quietly to the side, occasionally handing him a cup of water during his rest intervals.

Time passed bit by bit.

Until Lu Li took off one earphone and turned his head to glance at Shen Qingxue.

"The basic framework is almost done, do you want to listen to the complete version first?"

Shen Qingxue put down her phone, got up and walked over, very naturally taking the other earphone and putting it on.

Lu Li pressed the play button.

Compared to the previous simple demo version, the vocal part of this version had a bit more delicacy.

And when the song entered the chorus, that grandiose listening sensation clearly came up.

Shen Qingxue stood beside him, listening quietly the whole way through until the last note fell, before she took off the earphones.

"If this song is sung by Xu Ran and their band, the effect might be even better than us singing it ourselves."

Hearing this evaluation, Lu Li's remaining bit of hesitation completely dissipated.

"Then... contact Xu Ran now?"

Shen Qingxue nodded.

"Sure, deciding early will also give them more time to practice."

Lu Li picked up his phone, found Xu Ran's WeChat, sent the audio file of the demo over, and added a sentence.

"This is a song written for your band. Listen to see how it feels. If you think it's suitable, we can make an appointment to talk about the details and go through it in person."

After the message was sent, the other side did not reply immediately.

Lu Li didn't rush either. He put down his phone, preparing to handle the matter of registering for the Golden Melody Awards first.

But within a few minutes, the phone vibrated.

Lu Li picked it up to take a look, and as expected, it was a reply from Xu Ran, consisting of only one line of text.

"Brother Lu, I've finished listening. Are you free right now? I'll come find you right now, is that okay?"

After reading it, Lu Li raised an eyebrow at Shen Qingxue.

"What do you say? Let them come over now?"

Shen Qingxue thought for a moment, then nodded faintly.

"Mhm... let them come over. Then should I avoid them at that time? Or..."

Lu Li picked up his phone to send a message, and hearing this, he nodded.

"That works too. Then you can avoid them then. As for the specific matters... I'll just chat with them, and you should rest early too."

"Alright."

Shen Qingxue didn't stay long and quickly left Lu Li's room.

And Lu Li also sent the hotel's location to Xu Ran.