Chapter 519: Wen Ming 9
"Those with a ’checkered past’... is that the right term?" Old Yan knocked on the table. "Some people with a checkered past want to cover it up, but the company only has one Music Director position. Everyone’s fighting tooth and nail for it."
"It’s now escalated to self-inspections and everyone scrambling to report each other," Old Huang said with a laugh. "You wouldn’t know without looking, but once you start digging, you find out some people really aren’t clean."
Tan You waved her hand. "Then let’s let the bullets fly for a bit. I’ll focus on getting Aze’s album done first."
Old Yan said, "Only someone as loaded as you would insist on a 12-song album. Everyone else does 10."
Tan You replied, "I’m quite fond of the number 12. It represents a full cycle, and also a brand-new start. My future albums will basically all have this many songs. You can consider it a sign of my sincerity."
Old Yan asked, "So for the company’s other artists, are you planning to give them the same treatment as Aze?"
"No, that would make me seem too arrogant about my talent," Tan You waved her hand. "We’ll see when the time comes, unless there’s a voice that truly captivates me. But honestly, hearing Aze’s voice makes me really want to produce a duet album of love songs."
"It’s just that I’m no good at singing love songs myself, but I’m not willing to let someone else have the opportunity either."
Tan You certainly cherished talent, but she wasn’t so generous as to produce an album for just anyone she met. Her stance remained the same: it all depended on fate, first impressions, and ability.
Old Yan pointed at Tan You. "With your rocky love life, you should be able to channel those feelings easily. And yet, the one thing you’re worst at is love songs. How does that make any sense?"
Tan You said caustically, "I’ve sealed my heart and locked away love; I’m just not wired for it anymore. Besides, who would spend all day reminiscing about someone who’s already in the past? An ex isn’t worthy of wasting any of my emotions on. He should just stay in the past, like a dead man."
"You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?" Old Mo chuckled. He wanted to smoke, but then remembered Tan You was in the office and pulled a piece of candy from his pocket instead. His brow, however, remained tightly furrowed.
Tan You looked at Old Mo, her eyes suddenly lighting up. "Mr. Mo, can you still sing?"
Old Mo gave a wry laugh. "With a voice like mine, who would listen?"
Seeing that Tan You wasn’t laughing, Old Mo’s hand tightened. "I can sing, sure, but it’s not what it used to be."
Old Yan sighed. "Old Mo used to have an excellent voice. It’s a shame he was schemed against, and his voice ended up like this."
As he spoke, he took out a cassette tape. Soon, a very distinctive voice filled the office. It had a metallic quality without being harsh—in short, a voice with a lot of texture.
Tan You propped her head in her hand. "Your old voice was good, but your current one isn’t bad either. I can’t sing love songs, but Mr. Mo can. With a smoky voice like Mr. Mo’s, singing those love songs... it’s so evocative. How many people would be captivated by that?"
"Aze will be done recording in a little while. Why don’t you go in and give it a try, Mr. Mo?"
Honestly, since joining the company, two people had made the biggest impression on Tan You. One was Aze, and the other was Old Mo. From the moment she first met Old Mo, she felt his smoky voice had a story to it.
Old Mo was a little excited. "Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Give me the songs."
Tan You was especially generous this time, pushing her laptop directly over to him. "Take your pick."
"Whoa, Teacher Wen is being so generous this time?" Old Huang exclaimed. He loved to stir the pot. "Old Mo, you’ve really hit the jackpot. If the other singers at the company saw this, how jealous would they be?"
"Get lost," Tan You scolded with a laugh. "Am I usually stingy? It’s that they lack the ability, and on top of that, they’ve all got skeletons in their closets. Would I let someone like that waste my blood, sweat, and tears?"
Seeing Old Mo bury his head in the lyrics, the recording engineer next to them grew excited too. He wished he could also worship Tan You’s laptop, but Old Yan and the others were blocking the view completely. He could only force himself to calm down and focus on recording Aze.
When Liuu Yize came out after finishing his recording, he saw a few heads huddled together. Tan You and the recording engineer were sitting calmly to one side, occasionally discussing something in low voices.
Liuu Yize was curious. "What’s going on?"
Tan You smiled. "They’re strategizing for Mr. Mo. They’re trying to pick which song is of higher quality."
Over there, they reached a conclusion. Old Mo picked one song first. "I’ll try this one first. We’ll see about the others later."
Tan You was indifferent. "Alright. Want to give it a try, Mr. Mo?"
Seeing Old Mo walk into the booth, the recording engineer shrugged. "Mr. Mo... it’s really a shame. His voice used to be so good."
Tan You’s lips curved. "Exactly. When you’re in this business, you have to be extra careful at social events and not trust people too easily."
’Just like Wen Ming. Wasn’t it because she trusted others too much that she stumbled over men time and time again?’
Liuu Yize also found a place to sit down. Tan You glanced at him and simply pressed the speaker button. A somewhat raspy, world-weary voice echoed through the studio. Just listening to it was like watching a painting unfold before your eyes.
Jiang Hua shivered. "You know, you’re right. Old Mo’s voice really sounds like it’s telling a story. It perfectly captures the mindset of a middle-aged man."
"It would probably be really popular as a car CD. Men in that age group have been through it all. They’ll hear their own stories in his songs."
Tan You said lightly, "I told you Mr. Mo would be great for love songs."
Before the company’s singers could even finish competing for the top spot, news had already spread from Tan You’s side. Following Aze, she was going to tailor-make an album for Old Mo.
Once this news broke, none of the company’s singers dared to object. Old Mo was a company shareholder, which basically made him their boss. When the boss wants to release an album, do the employees have any room to disagree?
Perhaps because he had found a second spring in his career, Old Mo became especially dedicated. The man who usually smoked and drank without a second thought was now taking care of his voice, going to bed early, waking up early, and focusing on his health.
Tan You’s movements couldn’t be hidden from others. Her album was already out, and countless people were now paying attention to her. If her talent were only a tiny bit greater than others, then what would be waiting for Tan You would surely be an all-out siege from every direction.
But if a person’s talent was so great that it had to be looked up to, then when people looked at her, the only feelings that would surface were admiration, envy, and so on. As for jealousy, it simply couldn’t take root.
Tan You released her album in September. Liuu Yize’s album was produced with everyone working overtime, and it was officially launched in mid-October. Releasing an album at this time was undoubtedly an unwise move.
This was because the annual album awards began their selection process in November, with the awards ceremony held before the end of the calendar year. No matter how good the quality of Liuu Yize’s album was, it would be difficult to make it into this year’s awards.
Liuu Yize was philosophical about it. "It was never about winning an award in the first place. To be able to sing such excellent songs is already a great honor."