38: Chapter 38 Teacher Lin and Teacher Ruan

Once the backing tracks were finished, Ruan Xingyu quickly arranged a time with Zheng Hai.

Knowing that it was Lin Mo who was coming, Zheng Hai specially cleared his schedule and waited in the company conference room early in the afternoon.

Tianxing Company was located in a large park in the city center, and it owned an entire four-story office building there, which looked very impressive from the outside.

Lin Chuyan arrived quite early; he even had time to play with the stray cats in the park for a while.

When it was almost the appointed time, he followed the navigation to find the Tianxing Company building.

After entering the building and showing the appointment to the front desk, he was quickly invited into a small conference room.

There were only two people in the conference room. Ruan Xingyu was sitting to one side; she exchanged a glance with Lin Chuyan as he walked into the room, then looked away without saying anything.

But thinking of yesterday's date, both of their mouths twitched, unable to suppress a smile.

Zheng Hai was filled with shock and suspicion upon seeing Lin Chuyan.

"Holy crap, who are you, handsome? What happened to Teacher Lin Mo? And why do you look more and more familiar the more I look at you?"

"Teacher Lin Mo? No, wait, you are..."

Lin Chuyan reached out to greet him, "Hello, Teacher Zheng Hai. Let me formally introduce myself: I am Lin Mo, but I also have another name, Lin Chuyan."

It wasn't that he hadn't considered keeping his identity hidden, but after thinking about it, he realized that he would likely have to rely on Tianxing for his future album production, and since the other party was the boss of Tianxing, it was better to be as sincere as possible in their interactions!

Besides, this trip was for Singing, not related to Songwriting, so he didn't have to worry about his cover being blown.

He still had to keep the identity of Lin Mo a secret, but the target of that secrecy needed to change.

Zheng Hai was still in shock, "Isn't Lin Chuyan... that guy?"

"Holy crap, wasn't Lin Chuyan an idol who had disappeared for several years? Wasn't he a washed-up idol who couldn't sing, couldn't act, and was eventually forgotten by everyone?"

Of course, he hadn't watched a web drama like seven days of pursuit, so naturally, he didn't know that Lin Chuyan had started becoming active again recently.

"Yes, yes, that's the one, Lin Chuyan."

Zheng Hai ignored him and turned to confirm with Ruan Xingyu, "Xingxing?"

Ruan Xingyu held back her laughter, "Yes, that's him, no mistake. Lin Mo is Lin Chuyan, I'm sure of it."

Having received Ruan Xingyu's assurance, Zheng Hai suppressed his disbelief no matter how much he doubted it. He took a deep breath and shook hands with Lin Chuyan, "A pleasure to meet you, Teacher Lin. How does that saying go... one should look at someone with new eyes after three days of separation."

Lin Chuyan shook his head, "I am a newcomer in every aspect. Please guide me, Teacher Zheng Hai."

Zheng Hai smiled, "Teacher Lin is being modest. Why don't we try it out today? Since we have the backing tracks, I'll listen to them first, and then we can talk about other things."

In the end, Zheng Hai had only heard Lin Chuyan's Similar to Love. It was just that the image of Lin Mo in his mind had been powerful and mysterious, so he had naturally become expectant of his other registered but unreleased songs as well.

Now that he had suddenly turned into a washed-up idol, the gap was too large, so he naturally withdrew most of his expectations. This was just human nature, not necessarily snobbery or anything like that.

Ruan Xingyu spoke up enthusiastically from the side, "Brother, Lin Chuyan's Singing is very good. His pitch is excellent, and his tone is very pleasant, believe me."

"Better than you?"

"Emmm... not that good, hee hee."

Zheng Hai raised his eyebrows when he heard this. He had originally thought that Xingxing wouldn't speak so directly, but now it seemed that her relationship with Lin Chuyan was actually pretty good?

"Ah, just kidding. How could I compare to Teacher Ruan?"

Lin Chuyan couldn't help but tease her again with the words "Teacher Ruan".

"Teacher Lin, please don't say that. Your talent in Songwriting is something I cannot hope to reach."

"Teacher Ruan is being modest. The effort you have put into this is something everyone has witnessed."

Ruan Xingyu was indeed learning; there were quite a few relevant courses in the app she had shared with him.

"Teacher Lin is joking. I've heard those songs of yours, and I feel like I'll never be able to write such good songs in my entire life."

Zheng Hai watched the two of them going back and forth, and the more he watched, the more something felt wrong. What was going on with these two? They didn't look like enemies... why were they suddenly being sarcastic?

Zheng Hai couldn't have guessed in his wildest dreams that the two of them could get together, as there was a huge difference in their status within the industry.

He coughed a few times to bring the conversation back, "The recording studio is upstairs. Shall we head over now?"

"Alright, Teacher Zheng Hai, please. Teacher Ruan, please."

Ruan Xingyu bowed, "I wouldn't dare, Teacher Lin, please go first."

"..."

Zheng Hai really couldn't listen to it anymore; he took a big step and walked out first.

...

Lin Chuyan's current songs were I Am a Fish, courage, lonely season, and dear.

Frankly speaking, the production quality might vary, and listeners would have their own preferences, but it was undeniable that every single one was a masterpiece.

These were songs that had been verified in his previous life; he didn't believe they wouldn't work here. Could the aesthetic differences really be that vast?

It was just like Ruan Xingyu; if someone is good-looking, they are good-looking. Wasn't it the same principle?

Before coming, he had already allocated all his basic attribute points to Singing Ability. 37 points in Singing Ability made him feel more confident.

The system's boost to Singing Ability didn't just give him better technique; Lin Chuyan felt the most outrageous parts were the other two effects.

One was that it improved his pitch, which was something Ruan Xingyu kept praising him for.

Another was that it deepened his understanding of songs. This happened to be Ruan Xingyu's strength; in her own words, "Intuition, aesthetics, and understanding of music are often more important than Singing Ability."

After getting dear last night, he had practiced all night. Fortunately, the Singing difficulty of this song itself wasn't very high, and since he had memorized all the lyrics, he was able to sing it quite decently.

He didn't know how many times he had practiced the other songs. After Singing all four, Lin Chuyan felt that he had performed quite well.

Ruan Xingyu sat below, watching him sing with focus, and she just felt that he was pleasing to the eye no matter how she looked at him.

She was a good singer herself, but perhaps because her Songwriting ability wasn't very good, she appreciated those who were talented even more, not to mention that the man in front of her was someone she liked.

Among these songs, her favorite was lonely season; the feeling of faint melancholy was so intoxicating.

Zheng Hai didn't know what to say either. Holding the newly printed lyrics in his hand, he had only one thought in his mind: how great would it be if all of these were sold to him?

And these lyrics!

His favorite was the song dear.

It wasn't that there weren't good rap songs in the industry, but to be honest, he didn't like many of those lyrics.

But this one was truly different. The lyrics weren't complicated, but they had mountains, water, and scenery; they had people, love, and Singing voices. The imagery presented was very strong, and it was very comfortable to listen to.

And to be fair, Lin Chuyan was exactly as Ruan Xingyu had said: his pitch was frighteningly good, and his tone was very captivating. Coupled with his physical appearance, it was no wonder he wanted to come out and do his own Singing.

Earning royalties was one thing; although it was profitable, in the end, it was just doing work for others.

Being an artist was another matter; the benefits that fame could bring were far more varied.

Zheng Hai's biggest thought at this moment was only one: there was a new star in the Chinese Music Industry.

Based on his many years of experience as a gold-medal producer, coupled with the special status of Lin Chuyan as a washed-up idol, this was almost a two-hundred-percent certainty.

And thinking about Lin Chuyan's terrifying Songwriting ability, how long had it been?

Five masterpiece songs, all lyrics, composition, and arrangement done by him. And he wasn't even a professional; he was an actor. He had just asked, and the guy was still busy filming away during this time!

Damn, how terrifying!

After the four songs were finished, Zheng Hai immediately spoke up, "Teacher Lin, we didn't get to chat much earlier. What are your thoughts?"

Lin Chuyan had told him to just call him Xiao Yan, but after thinking about it, he decided against it; the other party was clearly a master of Songwriting, so he should still show some respect.

"My thoughts are very simple. If you think the quality is OK and are willing to help me release them, and if we can reach an agreement, then I won't go looking for other companies for these songs. I'll just cooperate with Tianxing. I'll be responsible for Singing the songs well, and leave the rest—production, promotion, and distribution—to you."

"It's a deal."

"?"

Fine, as expected of Zheng Hai, he really knew quality when he saw it.

Zheng Hai laughed it off, "We have a foundation for cooperation, and it was quite pleasant, right? Tianxing is also a top-tier company in the industry; there's no problem leaving it to us."

"In short, we can start preparing for the EP recording at any time. I suggest we also discuss the terms of the contract at the same time. What do you think?"

Lin Chuyan thought about it, "Let's get the contract settled first. Otherwise, I'll feel a bit embarrassed recording these songs. What if we can't come to an agreement? Wouldn't I be mooching off your recording studio for free?"

Zheng Hai waved his hand, "No need. If we can't agree, then we can't agree. You can use the recording studio as you please. Tianxing still has that much backbone."

Seeing that his tone was so firm, Lin Chuyan didn't refuse anymore. He nodded, "Alright then. I just finished filming, and I happen to be very free during this time, so I can come over to record songs often. The contract is easy to talk about; I will have my manager come over to discuss it."

Lin Chuyan knew these songs by heart and basically didn't need any further rehearsal.

Tianxing had the best recording studio in the industry, and the two agreed to come over three times a week starting next week.

And once the contract was finalized, they would also start having a director follow up on planning the MV shoots.

Zheng Hai could make direct decisions on these matters, which made communication between the two much easier.

And so, the matter was settled just like that.