Chapter 41 : Considering You a Friend
Chapter 41 - Considering You a Friend
Zhang Fanzhi left the next morning.
The last time she left, she had only sent Chen Ran a WeChat message. This time was slightly different; she actually made a call.
After spending these past few days together, the relationship between Chen Ran and her was no longer as stiff as before. Regardless of what she thought, Chen Ran now considered her a friend.
Chen Ran didn't have many friends. Elementary, junior high, high school, and university had all been in different locations, so the people he knew were always different. Over time, they were now scattered across the world, and they rarely contacted one another.
A few university classmates, because they didn't work together, would send a message during the holidays or make an occasional phone call, but at other times, it was as if they had vanished.
Your twenties are a busy time; everyone is off pursuing their own future.
Initially, Chen Ran had thought Zhang Fanzhi was difficult to get along with—bad-tempered, cold, and exhausting to be around. Now, he felt she was alright. Aside from her occasionally saying things to spite him or frequently pulling a long face, she didn't have many significant flaws.
At least, that was how it felt for now.
Zhang Fanzhi said, "I'm just letting you know—go to my house for dinner when you're free; my parents quite like you."
Chen Ran said, "I would go even without you telling me."
"Alright, I have to check my ticket," Zhang Fanzhi said, then hung up.
Assistant Xiao Qin watched Zhang Fanzhi put her phone away before saying in a low voice,
"Sister Xiyun, I just spoke with Sister Lin on the phone. She said she won't be back in Huahai until evening and wants you to wait for her once you arrive. Don't go to the company first."
Zhang Fanzhi said expressionlessly, "Is she still afraid I'll go to the company to cause trouble? Heh, am I that kind of person?"
Xiao Qin really wanted to nod but was afraid of losing her job. It wasn't just once or twice that Zhang Fanzhi had talked back to the higher-ups at the company; she was used to it.
"It's time to board." Zhang Fanzhi didn't leave all the luggage to Xiao Qin alone; she pushed a suitcase herself.
Xiao Qin looked at Zhang Fanzhi with difficulty. She still didn't know if Zhang Fanzhi would agree or not. Sister Lin had told her to stop Zhang Fanzhi, but how could she?
Seeing that Xiao Qin hadn't moved, Zhang Fanzhi turned her head, saw her troubled expression, and said indifferently:
"I'm not an idiot. I still have two years left on my contract with Fanxing. Only brainless people would go straight to the company to cause a scene."
Xiao Qin immediately beamed and hurried to catch up.
Zhang Fanzhi didn't want to cause a scene; she wanted to negotiate. She had debuted at Fanxing, so there was some emotional attachment after all. If they really couldn't reach an agreement, that was another story.
Naturally, given the current situation, it would be basically impossible for the company to seek a contract renewal once it expired. There were still two years left on the contract; during this period, she had to release an album no matter what.
In any case, that was the bottom line for the negotiation. If it didn't work, then let the company freeze her; being a singer wouldn't be interesting anymore anyway.
……
Chen Ran didn't know for certain that Zhang Fanzhi was going to negotiate with the company this time, but he could more or less guess.
His intention in borrowing the guitar from Zhang Fanzhi was quite simple: to see if he could come up with some songs for her. Given his relationship with Uncle Zhang, if he had the ability, he would help her however he could.
Unfortunately, he had very little time these past few days. Moreover, he still had to slowly recall the songs and try to play and sing them on the guitar. Seriously, with his half-baked level of skill, it was far too demanding.
He had been busy with work these past two days and had gone to Zhang's house for dinner in the evening, so he returned home late and hadn't messed around with the guitar much. He thought about finding some tutorials online to study properly whenever he had time.
This stuff wasn't exactly easy to learn. If one started as a child, they could follow a score and sing it out later. But now that his way of thinking was fixed, seeing numbered musical notation didn't register as "Do Re Mi," but rather as "1 2 3."
As for turning the melodies in his head into musical notation, Chen Ran could only say he was incapable of it. He would go back and practice the guitar well; as long as he could manage to play and sing passably, surely Zhang Fanzhi would be able to understand when the time came?
Of course, these matters had to take a back seat; Chen Ran still had to focus on his work first. Even if he considered Zhang Fanzhi a friend, he couldn't let work fall by the wayside because of her.
"Chen Ran, come over here for a moment..."
Director Wu Jin was resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought; clearly, he had some kind of idea. Chen Ran didn't dally and went over to discuss it together.
……
In the blink of an eye, several days passed.
Because the program had to be rushed to take over the time slot, the higher-ups pressured them again and again. Consequently, the team worked around the clock, and preparations progressed very quickly.
During this period, promotion for the program began, and posters were put up outside KTVs.
The sponsor was Diamond Chain KTV. The television advertisements also specifically noted that the program’s selections were being held at Diamond KTV locations.
A young lady entering the KTV saw a poster pasted outside and called over a waiter to ask,
"Excuse me, what kind of event is this?"
The waiter replied, "It's a joint event held by our KTV and the Entertainment Channel. If you sing in our KTV, you might be randomly selected to go on television and participate in the program."
"This I Love Remembering Lyrics?" The young lady pointed at the poster.
"Yes. By participating in the competition, not only can you be on TV, but there are also cash prizes and gifts. Every person selected to be on television will receive a 'Hi-Sing' card from our KTV worth 2,000 yuan."
"That's singing on TV... but won't it be embarrassing if one sings poorly?"
"The program is mainly about remembering lyrics. Regardless of whether you sing well or not, as long as you can sing the right lyrics, you're fine."
"That sounds quite interesting..."
Similar questions and answers occurred almost every few moments.
The KTV had placed the posters in extremely conspicuous locations; there was a large one outside, and another one pasted right at the front desk. It was impossible not to see them.
Not everyone was like that young lady, knowing nothing about the program.
Quite a few people who used singing apps were slightly surprised to see the posters. "I didn't expect this program to be real."
Several singing apps were holding lead singer selection competitions for the show. Some of the people they followed were participating, so they had been paying a bit of attention.
This was only the preliminary promotion, limited to KTVs. External advertisements hadn't been launched yet, but because many people have the habit of posting on their social media Moments, the program had already gained a bit of fame before recording had even begun.
At this time, the lead singer selection within the singing apps had also reached its preliminary completion.
Director Wu Jin invited two musicians over to help, intending to pick qualified candidates from these voices and then have them come in for an interview.
"Our requirements are relatively strict. Good singing ability is one thing, but the voices must each have their own distinctive features—they cannot be homogenized. Most importantly, they must be stable during live performances. I’ll have to trouble you two teachers to help screen them," Director Wu Jin stated the requirements.
The two musicians clicked their tongues. "Your requirements are quite high. Can such people really be found?"
Director Wu Jin said, "We ran events on several singing apps, and those with the highest popularity all participated. There will definitely be people who meet the requirements."
The two musicians nodded and began their selection.
Since the program was being prepared quickly, they needed results within these few days so they could invite the contestants for interviews and select the qualified lead singers on the spot.
Director Wu Jin followed the requirements set by Chen Ran.
Actually, Chen Ran had initially included requirements for physical appearance for the lead singers as well, but after thinking it over, he canceled that item. As long as the voice was good, that was enough.
Sometimes, the contrast between one's appearance and their voice could produce an unexpectedly effective result.