Chapter 49 : Looking at the Song, or Looking at Me?
Chapter 49 - Looking at the Song, or Looking at Me?
Actually, from the lyrics, she could roughly guess the song title.
But having it come from Chen Ran's mouth still made her mind wander.
Because things with the company had put her in a bad mood lately, and Chen Ran had always known this.
When the two of them chatted, they occasionally mentioned why she became a star.
Zhang Fanzhi had once said that ever since junior high, she had always liked singing, so she secretly worked summer jobs to sign up for training classes.
Like most people who like singing, her dream was likewise for more people to hear her voice.
A very simple, yet relatively distant dream.
During high school, she participated in a school gala and sang a song about graduation and parting.
Because of the atmosphere at the time, many students were moved to tears, even leading to everyone singing along together; from then on, she became even more determined in her idea of becoming a singer.
She liked sharing her voice; she liked others being moved by her singing.
This was her initial dream.
……
The next day, Chen Ran woke up and found his throat a bit sore and his voice somewhat hoarse.
Drinking some boiled water could alleviate the dryness in his throat, but when swallowing things, it hurt as if a hook were scraping down.
He was quite depressed, also feeling that he wasn't cut out for singing; he should do this less in the future, lest he lose his voice at a young age—that would not be a good thing.
Upon arriving at the TV station, Director Wu Jin heard that his voice was off and said, "Do you have a cold?"
Chen Ran shook his head: "No, just singing; my throat hurts a bit."
"Went to a KTV?"
Chen Ran hesitated: "Something like that."
Director Wu Jin laughed: "Impressive. I used to be like that often, but now that I'm older, I don't really dare to anymore."
Chen Ran gave a sheepish smile; it seemed Director Wu used to be a wild horse too.
Director Wu Jin patted his shoulder and said, "Go get some throat lozenges during the break; you'll feel better."
"I know. Thanks, Director Wu," Chen Ran said with a smile.
The sore throat didn't affect Chen Ran's work, but it was uncomfortable nonetheless.
He found a thermos, brought some boiled water, and followed the others to the backstage of the recording studio.
Today was scheduled for recording the third episode; preparations were currently underway.
At this time, he unexpectedly received a call from Director Zhang.
Chen Ran was a bit puzzled; Uncle Zhang usually looked for him after work, what could be the matter now?
Director Zhang asked right away, "Hello, Chen Ran, where are you?"
"I'm here at the recording studio; the program is recording the third episode," Chen Ran replied.
"Hmph, I was wondering why I couldn't find you at the Entertainment Channel. If you're not busy, wait for me at the entrance of the recording studio for a moment." Director Zhang said.
"I'm not busy right now, but Uncle, why are you looking for me?" Chen Ran asked.
"The elevator signal is bad; I'll tell you when I get there." Director Zhang finished speaking and hung up.
Chen Ran went to the recording studio entrance, and before long, Director Zhang arrived.
"Uncle, what's so important that you made a trip down? Is there a problem with the Zhaonan Focus program?" Chen Ran asked curiously.
Director Zhang snorted, "It's early morning, kid, say something nice. The program is steady and stable; what problem could there be!"
As he spoke, he handed a box of medicine to Chen Ran and said:
“This is for you from Zhizhi. Throat lozenges. She specifically reminded me this morning to give them to you as soon as I got to the station, saying your throat was sore."
Director Zhang even complained, "A daughter's heart always leans outward. I've been smoking all these years, and I haven't seen her give me a single box."
Chen Ran looked at the throat lozenges being handed over and was momentarily dazed; he hadn't expected Uncle Zhang to run all the way over just for this.
"How did she know my throat was sore?" Chen Ran was slightly puzzled.
Director Zhang said, "Alright, alright, I have to rush back; there's a meeting starting soon!"
Chen Ran nodded, "Okay, Uncle, take it slow."
Returning to the backstage, Chen Ran tore open the packaging and sucked on a throat lozenge; his throat felt much more refreshed.
He sent a WeChat message and asked, "How did you know my throat was sore?"
Zhang Fanzhi replied to the message quickly: "Guessed."
You can even guess that?
Chen Ran thought of the recording he sent over; his voice was a bit raspy. For someone professional like Zhang Fanzhi, she was very sensitive to voices, so it wasn't surprising she could hear it.
"Thanks," Chen Ran sent, then thought about it and typed another line:
"I don't think it's good to trouble Uncle Zhang like this. If there's a next time, it would be quite nice if you delivered it yourself."
Zhang Fanzhi replied: "There won't be a next time."
Chen Ran was about to put his phone away when he saw her send another:
"I woke up late; I couldn't go."
Woke up late—was it because she slept late last night?
Considering her situation, if Chen Ran encountered a song like that, he probably would have found it hard to fall asleep too.
……
The program was recorded very smoothly.
Having prepared for so long and mastering all aspects, everything was within a controllable range, so recording was generally very smooth.
Because the second episode was being edited, they couldn't get off work early today.
The final product for the second episode was still very satisfying.
A bit past eight o'clock, Chen Ran and several people from the program crew walked out of the TV station.
"I feel the quality is no worse than the first episode."
"The performance of the lead singers was very stable."
"It's about to premiere; I'm feeling a little excited."
While they were discussing the program, everyone suddenly paused for a moment.
Chen Ran was walking with his head down. Seeing everyone go silent, he looked up.
He happened to see a slender figure wearing a mask, looking at Chen Ran and the others.
Although her face couldn't be seen clearly, she had a great figure and an outstanding aura; her eyes were very bright, as if she were wearing decorative contact lenses.
Lin Fan had seen Zhang Fanzhi before. He sighed inwardly once again and hurriedly said to Chen Ran:
"Your girlfriend has come to pick you up."
Chen Ran naturally saw Zhang Fanzhi too.
He muttered in his heart: It's already past eight; what is she doing here?
Chen Ran smiled at his colleagues, said "I'm heading out first," and then walked toward Zhang Fanzhi.
Several colleagues were surprised: "Chen Ran has a girlfriend?"
"I've never heard of that!"
"A few of the 'wild women' in the channel were still thinking about how to get close to Chen Ran. Tomorrow, I'll tell them and see if they fall into despair."
"You're too wicked! Watch out or they'll put a curse on you!"
"Not telling them is what's truly wicked. This is for their own good! Look at Chen Ran's girlfriend—that figure, that aura. How could those few shut-in girls compare? I plan to sacrifice myself and save them from their misery!"
Several colleagues teased him from behind.
Chen Ran slipped into Zhang Fanzhi's car and asked, "How come you're here?"
Zhang Fanzhi said, "To see if your throat is better."
"It's mostly better."
Chen Ran added, "I also have your throat lozenges to thank. Thanks a lot."
Zhang Fanzhi turned her head to look at Chen Ran and hesitated slightly:
"Since your throat is mostly better, then can we go and discuss... writing out the song?"
Chen Ran let out an "ah," paused for a moment to react, and looked at Zhang Fanzhi.
"I'm starting to suspect—are you here for the song, or for me?"
Zhang Fanzhi said with a straight face:
"The main thing is to show concern for your throat; writing the song is incidental."