Chapter 17: CH 17

Translator: Lynn

When Long Zichen received the call, Jian Jie was in his physical education class at school. This semester, he had chosen basketball as an elective and had just finished running a few laps on the court when his phone started ringing.

He answered the call, and Long Zichen’s cheerful voice came through the other end, “Xiaojie, I have good news for you. The singer we met last time, Ding Jiangyu, has a duet song, and I want to invite you to audition for it. It’s just a chance to practice, and you don’t have class on Friday afternoon, so I’ll pick you up then.”

“Sure, that works,” Jian Jie replied, agreeing to Long Zichen’s arrangement. However, he was curious about the song they would be singing, so he asked, “Mr. Long, do you know which song we’ll be singing together? Can you send it to me in advance for practice?”

“I already asked, and we’ll be singing the song ‘Start Again’ that you wrote. Don’t be too nervous; after all, we’re not competing against them directly, and success doesn’t solely depend on talent. It’s okay if you don’t get selected,” assured Long Zichen, understanding Jian Jie’s serious nature.

Jian Jie appreciated Long Zichen’s reassurance and agreed. After ending the call, his classmate Shui Xiaoren asked him, “Was that the music producer from your company?”

“Yes, Mr. Long just informed me about the audition with a singer on Friday,” Jian Jie replied.

“You’re doing well in that company. I can tell you’ve been in a good mood lately,” Shui Xiaoren said with a mischievous smile. Then he asked, “Are there many beautiful girls in the music company? Have you met anyone particularly stunning?”

Jian Jie thought about the artists in the company, nodded, and replied, “Well, they’re all pretty, but I’m not very familiar with them.”

“I knew it!” Shui Xiaoren shook his head with a sigh and teased, “You know what they say about being near the water tower, right? Before they become victims of unspoken rules, you should take advantage of your position, my boy! Don’t miss this opportunity! If you don’t mind, take me along to help you out!” Shui Xiaoren put on a righteous face for his friend.

Jian Jie firmly refused, saying, “I don’t want to get caught up in trouble because of you. What if all the girls in the company blacklist me? You’re the one causing all the trouble!”

As a child, Jian Jie had been a gentle and adorable girl, and everyone thought she was cute. Shui Xiaoren used her beauty to attract the attention of older and younger girls. He would cheat on candy and food during kindergarten and elementary school and deceive girls into going on dates as they got older. It was really mischievous.

When the embarrassing past was brought up, Shui Xiaoren didn’t panic and said disdainfully, “When you cried, didn’t I give you all the candy? You made me go back and get in trouble with my brother and mother. Who’s the crybaby now? I have every right to despise you!”

“…I’ll complain to my aunt tonight. I’ll tell her how you’ve been bullying me again!” Jian Jie smiled and played her trump card, causing Shui Xiaoren to immediately kneel down.

“Alright, I know my mother loves you. By the way, she’s been nagging for days, saying that you haven’t visited our house recently because you want to become a star and forget about us.”

“I didn’t forget. I’ve been practicing singing at home lately, so I’m planning to visit my aunt and uncle tonight. I also miss the meals my aunt prepares,” Jian Jie explained with a smile.

After making a phone call in advance, Jian Jie went to Shui Xiaoren’s house for dinner in the evening. After the meal, Aunt Shui asked him to sing some old songs. When she learned that Jian Jie was going to Ding Jiangyu’s place to record songs, Aunt Shui became excited. She had been watching a TV series starring Ding Jiangyu and was captivated by his performance. Aunt Shui grabbed Jian Jie’s arm and said earnestly, “Jie Jie, when you see him, ask me who the leader he played in ‘Decisive Battle’ ended up with!”

“Okay,” Jian Jie agreed, laughing at Aunt Shui’s enthusiasm.

“Mom, do you really want Jian Jie to become an adult and lose his innocence?” Shui Xiaoren couldn’t help but complain, only to receive a thunderous blow from Aunt Shui.

“Damn boy, I’ll slap you to death!”

With Aunt Shui’s fervent hope on their backs, Jian Jie accompanied Long Zichen to Leiting Company on Friday. In reality, it would have been enough for the agent to handle this matter, but Long Zichen made it clear that he wanted to take Tang Xiaohui’s role, so he insisted on taking Jian Jie himself. Tang Xiaohui had no choice but to agree and let Long Zichen proceed.

Leiting Company was located in a commercial building near the city center, so naturally, it was more grand than Xinghuo. On the way there, Long Zichen jokingly remarked, “After seeing the grandeur of Leiting, don’t underestimate our company for being too modest, otherwise I’ll be sad.”

“How could I belittle it?” Jian Jie felt completely misunderstood.

Long Zichen shrugged. “I’m just worried that your talent might get poached by someone.”

“…Don’t worry about it.”

Upon arriving at Leiting, Ding Jiangyu was rehearsing a new song in the recording studio. When he saw Long Zichen and Jian Jie enter, he asked them to sit down and had his assistant pour them two cups of tea. Ding Jiangyu smiled and said, “There was no need for Longda’s producer to personally bring your newcomer for a sound test.”

“I wouldn’t dare to disregard what Ding Jiangyu said. The newcomer in my family is introverted, and it’s his first time here. I wanted to make sure everything goes smoothly,” Long Zichen explained.

After exchanging pleasantries, Ding Jiangyu got to the point and said, “Today, I invited you here so that your newcomer can record the song ‘Start Again.’ Coincidentally, this song was written by your newcomer, so he should be familiar with it. The song is about revisiting the past, and Dongping suggested finding a younger singer to perform it with me, creating a contrast that represents the changes in life.” The assistant handed the sheet music to Jian Jie, and Ding Jiangyu continued, “I’ve tried a few newcomers before, but I wasn’t satisfied. Then I thought of the newcomer from your family. The song is excellently written, but I don’t know if it suits my voice. Let’s give it a try. You can sing the fourth verse for me, the part about going upstream.” He directed his words to Jian Jie.

“Stand over there and sing,” Long Zichen pointed out an open spot to Jian Jie. Jian Jie nodded and stood up.

Since he had written the song himself, both the melody and lyrics were naturally very familiar to him, and he could sing it without reading the score. Although the song was about reminiscing about the past, the rhythm was upbeat and lively, so it shouldn’t be sung with too much sentimentality. Having practiced it many times before, Jian Jie sang without much hesitation:

“Go upstream, where the flowing river finds its source. Start again, the blooming flowers become buds… Tomorrow has been gone for too long, I traverse through time, and remain in the best years…”

Jian Jie’s young voice was delicate and sincere, and Ding Jiangyu’s eyes lit up as soon as he heard a few lines. After Jian Jie finished singing, he couldn’t help but applaud and said joyfully, “As expected of the songwriter, the emotional expression was spot on. Xiaolong, you truly have a talented newcomer. Now, please sing the rest for me.”

Jian Jie sang the entire song as per Ding Jiangyu’s request, and afterward, Ding Jiangyu fell into contemplation. After a moment of silence, Long Zichen couldn’t help but ask, “Ding Jiangyu, do we still need to audition again, or should I take our newcomer back and wait for the news?”

“No need to wait. I don’t need to search any further when we have such a talented newcomer from your family,” Ding Jiangyu confidently replied.

Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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