108: Chapter 108 Dilraba's Provocation: Is Boss Yang Under Pressure?

After lunch, Yang Mi took Reba and Tong Liya to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Lin Chen picked up his phone, sprawled out on the sofa, and opened Weibo to scroll through it for a while.

Seeing a few interesting comments, he was just about to reply and fire back when Dilraba suddenly ran over, her long, snow-white legs in motion.

"Hubby—"

Reba sat right down on his lap, wrapping her slender arms around his neck. Her little face slumped, her pink lips pouted high, and she put on a pitiful expression that said, "Baby has suffered a huge grievance."

"What's wrong? Did Boss Yang lecture you again?" Lin Chen pinched her cheek with a laugh.

"Let her lecture, I've already been letting it go in one ear and out the other for a long time."

Reba huffed haughtily, but immediately switched to a miserable expression. "I have something more important."

"Speak."

"Hubby, look, I'm at least a breakout newcomer in the music scene now, right? Even though the Golden Melody Chart championship was snatched by Sister Mi, I'm still firmly in second place! With this record, I can at least count as a famous singer, right?"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "So?"

"So…"

Reba extended a fair index finger and poked Lin Chen in the chest. "What famous singer relies on just one song to hold their own everywhere? That's too pathetic!"

"These past few days, I've been running errands and recording shows, and every single time I can only sing that 'myth'. Although the song is a masterpiece and fans love it, but…"

"Want me to write you a new song?" Lin Chen cut off her buildup directly.

Reba nodded repeatedly, biting her moist lower lip, and tentatively asked: "Hubby, is writing a new song… difficult for you?"

Lin Chen didn't speak, his brow furrowed slightly as if pondering some difficult problem.

Seeing this expression, Reba's heart skipped a beat, and she panicked.

Actually, she had mentioned the matter of wanting a new song to Yang Mi in private.

Yang Mi had warned her at the time, saying that even though it looks as easy as drinking water for Lin Chen to write songs, creation requires inspiration.

If he happens to be in a bottleneck period right now, wouldn't you just be adding unnecessary pressure by going to ask for a song?

Reba had taken that to heart at the time.

But she was young after all and couldn't keep things to herself. Just now, while washing dishes, she acted on impulse and blurted it out when she ran out.

Now, seeing Lin Chen look so troubled, she regretted it so much she wanted to slap herself twice.

She wasn't just afraid of Yang Mi coming out later to scold her; she was even more afraid of making Lin Chen unhappy and having him think she was being unreasonable.

In her anxiety, those beautiful big eyes instantly turned red, misting over with moisture.

"Writing a new song is, of course, as easy as drinking water. But the fact that you actually doubted your husband's ability just now makes me very unhappy."

Lin Chen suddenly smiled, his brow instantly smoothed out, and he reached out to flick her little nose.

Reba stood there with her mouth slightly agape, stunned.

Lin Chen looked at the tears swirling in her eyes and was also stunned: "No way? Is it really worth getting this upset over such a small joke?"

Reba finally realized she had been played and laughed through her tears.

She was both angry and happy, twisting and turning in Lin Chen's arms like a beautiful snake, acting coquettishly: "I hate you, I hate you! You're such a big bad guy, always bullying me! I don't care, I want to sing a new song! And it must be the best one!"

"Alright, stop wriggling. If you stir up trouble, no one will be able to leave the house this afternoon."

Lin Chen slapped her amazingly resilient thigh and stood up, walking towards the piano in the corner of the living room.

This piano was part of the furnishings Yang Mi had bought with the villa. To her, it was purely a high-end ornament, no different from the vase next to it.

After all, she didn't even know how to read simple musical notation.

Now it finally came in handy.

Lin Chen's slender fingers slid across the keys, from the bass section to the treble section.

A string of crisp, melodious piano notes poured out like flowing water.

This sound drew Yang Mi and Tong Liya, who had just finished wiping their hands, to the living room.

"There are plenty of new songs. But before that, I have to check if you've been slacking off in the few days I wasn't home," Lin Chen said, sitting on the piano bench.

Reba instantly puffed out her full chest, her face full of confidence: "Of course not! I've been practicing every day according to the vocal techniques you taught me!"

Lin Chen lifted his chin: "Sing it acapella for me to hear."

Accompanied by the piano music flowing from Lin Chen's fingertips, Reba began to sing her only hit song, 'myth'.

After the song was finished, Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction.

The progress was indeed rapid.

On one hand, this was because Reba had previously been entirely self-taught and had a very low starting point, so a little guidance made the room for improvement seem huge.

On the other hand, it was also clear that the girl had really put in the hard work in private.

"Hubby, how was it? Was it stunning?" Reba smiled until her eyes curved into crescents, like a puppy waiting for its owner's caress.

Lin Chen gave an objective evaluation: "The progress is indeed great, but don't get carried away. You still need to continue polishing your basic skills."

"Yes, sir! I promise not to embarrass you!"

Reba leaned close to the piano, resting her chin in her hands, and blinked her big eyes to cast a spell. "Then… what about my new song?"

Lin Chen didn't answer immediately but turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling window.

In the midsummer afternoon, the sunlight was blinding, and the shadows of the trees swayed.

A breeze blew past, causing the leaves to rustle, and the tireless chirping of cicadas could be faintly heard.

Lin Chen withdrew his gaze, placed his hands on the keys, and closed his eyes to ponder for a moment.

At first, the notes flowing from his fingertips were somewhat scattered, as if searching for a feeling.

But after only a dozen seconds.

A light, sweet melody full of summer vibes leaped from his fingertips.

"A tranquil summer, the sky is full of stars"

"There's some longing in my heart, longing for your face"

"I can pretend not to see, or I can miss you secretly"

"Until I can touch your warm face"

"The cicadas have fallen asleep, peacefully fallen asleep"

"In my heart, a tranquil summer"

...

Lin Chen played while humming softly.

The style of this song was extremely lively and cheerful, with a catchy melody that made people want to sway gently to the rhythm as soon as they heard it.

Reba was the happiest.

The unconcealable ecstasy erupted in those big eyes.

This was a new song tailor-made for her by her husband!

This meant that she could finally get rid of the embarrassment of having only one trick up her sleeve!

Moreover, she absolutely loved this song; the melody was just her style!

Just as Lin Chen stopped his movements, Reba asked impatiently: "Hubby, hubby! What's the name of this song?"

"'Ningxia'. The Ningxia from a tranquil summer," Lin Chen replied.

Reba nodded repeatedly, her eyes full of yearning: "It's so beautiful…"

"Hubby, teach me how to sing it! I want to learn it now!" Reba excitedly walked around the piano, hugged Lin Chen's arm, and shook it, unable to wait.

Lin Chen didn't dawdle either and began to teach her word by word and phrase by phrase.

A great teacher produces great students.

Lin Chen possessed Grandmaster-level Singing and grandmaster-level teaching skills. With this monstrous level of coaching ability, combined with Reba's decent talent and high enthusiasm, the teaching progress was shockingly fast.

In less than half an hour, Reba could already sing it completely and properly.

If we're talking about the technical level of Singing, Reba couldn't catch up to Lin Chen even if she rode a horse.

But strangely, when she sang this song, it had more flavor than Lin Chen's demonstration just now.

This was the magic of stylistic fit.

No matter how heaven-defying one's Singing skills are, it doesn't mean one can master every song.

Women's songs are meant to be sung by women.

No matter how superb a man's technique is or how abundant his emotions are, he can't sing with the coyness and sentimentality that belongs uniquely to a young girl.

The song 'Ningxia' focuses on being light and lively, carrying the playfulness and cuteness of a girl in the throes of first love.

Even if Lin Chen used his Singing skills to a god-like level, he couldn't sing with this kind of sweetness.

Just imagine, a big, muscular man over 1.8 meters tall, acting cute while Singing "longing for your face"—that picture is too beautiful; it would practically make people vomit their dinner from the night before.

"The tune and rhythm are basically fine, but it sounds like plain water right now; it lacks soul. You need to break up the emotions and put them into the Singing. Do you understand what I mean?" Lin Chen pointed out the problem.

Reba thought for a moment and suddenly realized: "I get it! Just like the method acting in theater, right?"

Lin Chen chuckled and nodded: "You can understand it that way. You need to feel the scenes in the lyrics, immerse yourself in them, and then release them through your voice. Come, close your eyes, let's go through it again."

The prelude played again.

This time, Reba completely let go.

Her identity as an actress worked wonders at this moment; she sang in the way she acted, and she immediately entered the zone.

She closed her eyes, her body swaying naturally with the light rhythm.

Sometimes she put her hands behind her back, like a little girl stepping into puddles.

Sometimes the corners of her mouth turned up, revealing a playful and sweet smile.

She completely threw herself into that "tranquil summer".

The effect was immediate.

Let alone Lin Chen, that cheater, even Yang Mi and Tong Liya, who didn't know music theory, could clearly feel that Reba's Singing this time had undergone a qualitative leap compared to just before, as if it had been injected with a soul.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

As the last note fell, Lin Chen applauded without reservation: "Fantastic! And I discovered today that you really have a hidden talent in Singing."

Reba suddenly opened her eyes, her face full of surprise: "What talent? Is my pitch very good?"

Lin Chen pointed to her chest: "Empathy. You can quickly capture the emotions required by a song, just like acting, and express them."

Reba curiously followed up: "Then is this talent impressive?"

Lin Chen laughed: "Very impressive; it can directly determine the upper limit a singer can eventually reach."

"Wow! So amazing?! So I'm not only beautiful, but also an unremarkable musical genius!"

Reba got carried away, turned her head, and provoked Yang Mi: "Boss Yang, do you feel the pressure from a genius?"

Yang Mi directly returned a big eye-roll, too lazy to bother with this goofball.

Lin Chen did not exaggerate just to make her happy.

Reba indeed had talent in this area, which was due to her professional background as an actress, giving her an advantage over average singers in emotional immersion.

Moreover, as Lin Chen said, empathy is indeed the key to breaking through a singer's ceiling.

But Lin Chen withheld one point.

The so-called "upper limit" is actually a very illusory term.

Theoretically, everyone's potential is infinite.

But in reality, those who can truly fully realize their talent are few and far between.

Just like the NBA draft, every year there are countless monster rookies who are called "gifted and once-in-a-century".

But a few years later, you can't even pick one out of ten who can truly play their way to fame and become a superstar.

Most of them are ruined by injuries or their mindset.

Therefore, talent is only talent if it's realized; if it's not realized, it's just a joke.

But Lin Chen didn't need to tell her these things.

Because with him as a human cheat code, and with the dual support of Grandmaster-level Singing and grandmaster-level teaching, even if Reba were a stone, Lin Chen could carve her into a piece of jade and squeeze her potential to the limit.