63: Chapter 63 The Wind Rises; Only by Striving to Survive
the wind risesγ.
Exchange price: 200 Lifespan Value.
Jiang Fan clicked on the song details, playing the full demo from start to finish.
The first half was restrained, the second half explosive; the emotional progression of the whole song was clean and crisp, without a single superfluous note.
The key was the vocal range.
The low register needed steady breath, the mid-register needed a narrative feel, and the high register needed explosive power.
Shen Nian possessed all three.
This song fit her vocal conditions perfectly.
[Exchange?]
"Exchange."
[Deducted 200 Lifespan Value, remaining Lifespan Value: 18700]
The melody, lyrics, and Arrangement structure flooded into his mind all at once.
Jiang Fan climbed out of bed, turned on his computer, and pulled up a document.
When he got to the chorus, his fingers paused on the keyboard for two seconds.
"Walking against the light, letting the wind and rain beat down β"
This lyric, when placed on Shen Nian, was just too fitting.
Jiang Fan spent forty minutes typing out the complete lyrics, music, and the framework of the Arrangement.
He picked up his phone to check the time. 11:40 PM.
He scrolled to Shen Nian's WeChat, opened the typing box, then exited.
Forget it, let's talk tomorrow.
β β
Monday morning.
Fanyin Studio.
When Jiang Fan pushed the door open, Zhou Yutong had already brewed coffee and placed it on his desk.
"Good morning, Brother Fan."
Jiang Fan picked it up and took a sip; it was too sweet.
"Use less sugar in the future."
"Oh." Zhou Yutong pulled out a small notebook and made a note.
Before she even put the pen away, she had already leaned in front of his desk, her hands supporting the edge of the desk.
"Brother Fan, can I ask you something?"
"Ask."
"The day Sister Qingya came to the Studio... what did you two talk about?"
Jiang Fan opened his notebook without responding.
Zhou Yutong wouldn't give up: "I came to tidy up the Recording Studio this morning, and it was a mess inside. There was even a shoeprint on the piano pedal β it looked like a high heel."
She blinked, her expression full of curiosity.
Jiang Fan set down his cup.
"Have you finished your work for today? Do you want me to add some more?"
Zhou Yutong zipped back to her workstation.
At 9:30, Li Cheng pushed the door open.
He had a stack of documents tucked under his arm and was holding an Americano he'd brought from downstairs β he never drank the stuff Zhou Yutong brewed.
"Regarding the pre-trial mediation for Shen Nian's case, the opposing lawyer sent an official letter last night."
Li Cheng spread the documents out in front of Jiang Fan.
"Shenghai Entertainment has agreed to return the copyright for starry skyγ and pay compensation of 26 million. Regarding the form of Hua Xingyu's public apology β"
He flipped to the fourth page and pointed to it.
"The plan they proposed is to post a Weibo."
"Just one Weibo?"
Jiang Fan pushed the printed lyrics and music manuscript aside.
"Not enough. Have Hua Xingyu appear on camera himself and read an apology statement. Post it simultaneously on Weibo and Douyin."
Li Cheng ran his index finger over the details of the compensation clause.
"Shenghai Entertainment might not agree to an on-camera apology. They don't even want people to see Hua Xingyu's face right now."
"Then make that a non-negotiable prerequisite for mediation. If they don't agree, we'll see them in court."
"Fine." Li Cheng closed the file. "I'll touch base with the lawyer and add that condition."
Jiang Fan pushed the freshly printed manuscript over.
"Take a look at this."
Li Cheng picked it up and looked at the first page first.
Song title β the wind risesγ.
He flipped down.
When he got to the chorus, his hand stopped.
"I once turned my youth into her, and also plucked the midsummer from my fingertips. Whatever the heart desires, just let it follow fate β"
Li Cheng didn't say a word, finished reading the second half, and then flipped through from the beginning again.
"Is this for Shen Nian?"
"Yeah. The first song for The Sound of Nature."
Li Cheng placed the manuscript on the desk, his palm pressing down on the paper.
"How many good songs do you have in your head, kid?"
"More than I can use, anyway."
"I don't believe you."
Li Cheng carefully put the manuscript away and tucked it into a file folder.
"Should I notify Shen Nian to come over?"
"Yeah. Ten o'clock. Tell her to take her medicine before she comes."
β β
At 10:02, Shen Nian appeared at the Studio entrance.
She was wearing a gray and white striped shirt today, with her hair in a low ponytail.
Her complexion was still poor, but at least her lips had a bit of color.
Zhou Yutong waved at her from the front desk: "Sister Nian! Sit here! What do you want to drink? Coffee or tea? The coffee I brew is especially delicious β"
"Just plain water is fine."
Shen Nian walked in and sat down on the sofa.
Jiang Fan came out of the office with the printed lyrics in his hand.
"Take a look at this."
Shen Nian took it.
Her gaze swept down from the first line, her speed getting slower and slower.
When she saw the chorus section, her lips moved a few times, silently reciting the lyrics.
"Walking against the light, letting the wind and rain beat down."
Shen Nian finished reading the last word and looked up at Jiang Fan.
"Is this a song for me?"
"Yeah."
Shen Nian placed the lyric sheet on her lap, pressing her hands on the edges of the paper.
"Let's go to the Recording Studio." Jiang Fan stood up.
Shen Nian followed him down the hallway and pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the Recording Studio.
Jiang Fan sat in front of the piano and opened the lid.
"Let's go through the melody first. Don't rush. Listen to me play, and hum along."
He let his fingers fall, and the prelude flowed out.
The melody was very light, the narrative part of section A, with a gentle rhythm.
Shen Nian stood in front of the microphone.
She opened her mouth.
"Stopping and going along this journey β"
The moment she opened her mouth, there was a problem.
Her pitch was off, her rhythm couldn't keep up, and the voice that came out of her throat was hollow and powerless.
Jiang Fan stopped his fingers on the piano keys.
Shen Nian knew it wasn't right herself.
She gripped the microphone stand, keeping her head down, not speaking.
"How does it feel?" Jiang Fan asked her.
Shen Nian bit her lip.
"It doesn't feel like anything."
She told the truth.
The night of the duet battle, she was able to sing it because Hua Xingyu was sitting in the audience.
All her anger and grievances had a clear outlet.
But this song was different.
It needed something else β something she had lost for a long time, something she could barely remember.
"Again."
Jiang Fan played the prelude again.
Shen Nian sang it again.
It was a little better than the first time, but the emotion still didn't mesh with the melody.
The third time, it was even worse.
The more she tried to find the feeling, the less she found it, and her breathing began to get chaotic.
Shen Nian stopped, her hands gripping the microphone stand, her knuckles turning white.
The Recording Studio was quiet for about twenty seconds.
"Shen Nian." She looked up.
"How did you use to sing?"
This question stumped Shen Nian.
Used to?
In the past, she was sixteen years old, hiding in the school piano room, playing an old piano, singing until dark facing the playground outside the window.
Back then, she didn't know what breath control was, didn't know what vocal technique was; she just wanted to sing.
That feeling.
She had already forgotten it.
Jiang Fan turned back and pressed a chord on the piano keys with his right hand.
"Again."
The prelude flowed out again, the rhythm half a beat slower than what was written on the score.
"Don't look at the score. Look at me."
Shen Nian let go of the microphone stand, her hands hanging by her sides.
She looked at Jiang Fan's profile.
He was very focused on playing the piano, his fingers dancing on the keys.
When he reached the fourth bar, Jiang Fan spoke.
"Sing."
Shen Nian opened her mouth.
"Stopping and going along this journey, following the traces of the youth's drifting..."
This time, it was different.
She wasn't thinking about how her breath should move.
Her attention was entirely on Jiang Fan's piano playing.
That sound was tied to her; no matter which direction she drifted, she would be pulled back.
She looked at Jiang Fan's back.
It was this same back on the night of the duet battle.
His voice had pulled her up from the bottom of the water.
"I once turned my youth into her β"
The chorus arrived.
The piano chords thickened, the low notes on the left hand sank, and the melody on the right hand lifted.
Shen Nian's high notes came out.
After being suppressed for a year, she finally straightened her back.
"And also plucked the midsummer from my fingertips β"
Shen Nian's eyes grew hot.
The energy surging out from her body β it was exactly the same as when she was sixteen.
"Whatever the heart desires, just let it follow fate β"
The high note hung steadily at the highest point, and Shen Nian's breath didn't waver in the slightest.
She finished the last tail note.
Jiang Fan's fingers left the keys, and he turned around.
Shen Nian stood in front of the microphone, her eyes red, but she wasn't crying.
She clenched her fists. "I can still sing."
"Duh."
Shen Nian froze for a second, then laughed.
There were two more people at the entrance of the Recording Studio before anyone knew it.
Li Cheng was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest.
Zhou Yutong was squatting next to him, covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes rimmed with red.
Li Cheng said softly: "If this song is sung on The Sound of Nature β"
Jiang Fan closed the piano lid.
"From today on, the time in the Recording Studio is reserved for you. You practice on your own every afternoon from two to six."
Shen Nian nodded.
She folded the lyric sheet that had been crumpled by her grip and put it into her hoodie pocket.
"I will definitely sing this song well."
The entrance to the Recording Studio was quiet for a few seconds.
Zhou Yutong was still squatting on the ground wiping away tears, her nose sniffling.
Li Cheng looked down at her and kicked her calf with his foot.
"Get up. Get to work."
"Wuu wuu wuu Brother Li, you have no heart β"
"If I didn't have a heart, would I still be paying you? Get up!"
Zhou Yutong wiped her tears and climbed up, walking toward her workstation, but turned back after two steps.
"Brother Li."
"What is it now?"
"If Sister Nian becomes famous, can I be the president of her fan club?"
Li Cheng's temple throbbed twice.
"You are her staff member!"
"Can't staff members be presidents?"
"No! Get back to work!"
Zhou Yutong pouted and returned to her workstation. As soon as her bottom hit the chair, she took out her phone, created a new memo, and titled it "Sister Nian Fan Club Preparation Plan (Tentative)".
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