Singer

Chapter 15 - Differential Treatment

Translator: Lynn

Jian Jie used to believe that recording a song involved merely recording the soundtrack, but now she realizes the extensive preparations required.

The company initially devised three or four different arrangement plans in various styles for the song “Hope,” and Long Zichen made the final selection. The choice of musical instruments, vocal passages, and the sequence of Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang’s parts underwent extensive discussions before being finalized.

Professional musicians were also invited by the company to record the accompaniment. Since the song’s beginning is relatively low, Long Zichen wished to record a solo cello version for the prelude. With Jian Jie’s versatile talents, he took charge of playing the cello and piano parts, which saved a lot of trouble. It’s worth mentioning that this decision was not driven by stinginess; regardless of the work Jian Jie undertook, including songwriting, Long Zichen always compensated him adequately. They both knew that the company was not inclined to be miserly and intended to take advantage of this fact.

After the accompaniment was recorded, Long Zichen took Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang to the company’s modest recording studio to familiarize themselves with the accompaniment and practice singing. It was during this time that Long Zichen began to reveal his iron-willed and ruthless side, demanding a variety of techniques, auditions, different pauses, and varied singing styles.

Jian Jie managed well during the singing practice. Accustomed to being serious, he followed Long Zichen’s instructions meticulously, continuously improving his singing skills. However, Tong Liangliang struggled more. Being younger, he lacked the same level of patience and couldn’t help but quietly complain to the company staff during breaks, “This is just practice, not an actual recording. We don’t need to go through these drills so many times. It’s really exhausting!”

As soon as Tong Liangliang finished speaking, the Great Demon King Long Zichen’s anger erupted instantly. He furiously exclaimed, “Oh, practice is unimportant, is it? Fine, when we’re in the recording studio, I’ll let you forget the lyrics and practice for more than ten hours. After all, renting the recording studio only costs a few hundred yuan. It won’t matter if it gets wasted for an hour!”

Tong Liangliang was startled and hastily apologized, “I’m sorry, Director Long. I won’t do it again. I’ll practice diligently!”

“Hmph, just make sure you understand,” sneered Long Zichen.

Meanwhile, Jian Jie went out with a staff member and purchased plenty of drinks to quench everyone’s thirst. He returned just in time to diffuse the situation. Sensing something was amiss, he swiftly grabbed a bottle of drink and handed it to Long Zichen, saying, “Mr. Long, have a drink.”

When Long Zichen saw that it was his favorite fruit juice with the flavors of tomato, strawberry, and hawthorn, his anger dissipated instantly. He happily unscrewed the lid, completely ignoring Tong Liangliang.

Finally, after two days of intense practice, Long Zichen felt satisfied. During that time, Jian Jie felt as though he was about to reach a higher state.

However, their ordeal was far from over. On the weekend, Long Zichen generously took Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang to the finest local recording studio, Cedar Studio, and rented it for the entire day. This studio was renowned, ranking among the top ten in the country. Renting it for a day cost 7,000 yuan, and reservations needed to be made a month in advance. The equipment there was state-of-the-art, and each recording room was spacious and

 lavishly decorated, resembling a small stage. Five microphones were set up in the recording room, along with instruments such as piano, guitar, and bass. Professional musicians were also present to provide live accompaniment services.

After arriving at the recording studio past nine o’clock, Long Zichen and his team began tuning and rehearsing. Despite their prior intense practice, it still took nearly an hour to get ready.

Once prepared, Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang put on their headphones and positioned themselves in front of their respective microphones. The lyrics and sheet music were placed on the music stands before them. This marked the first time in Jian Jie’s life that he formally entered a recording studio to record songs, and he couldn’t help but feel a little excited. Through the thick glass wall, he caught a glimpse of Long Zichen, who had also donned monitoring headphones and was sitting in the control room on the other side of the glass observation window, appearing extremely focused.

After a brief discussion with the sound engineer, Long Zichen instructed Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang to start recording the song “Hope.” The cello’s sound slowly filled the headphones, accompanied by the piano, and Jian Jie began singing the verse. He sang the first section solo, while Tong Liangliang joined in the second section, singing alternately with Jian Jie. Together, they reached the high treble part of the first chorus, which Jian Jie completed. After that, Tong Liangliang took on several consecutive high C trebles.

Surprisingly, the recording was completed in one take, and instead of interrupting, Long Zichen praised them, “Very good.” This rare praise filled Tong Liangliang, who had endured oppression for years, with joy, and even Jian Jie felt elated.

Long Zichen then asked the sound engineer to play back the recording for Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang to listen carefully for any flaws before making a second recording.

However, the happiness was short-lived as Long Zichen became increasingly picky during the second recording. He frequently paused after a line, pointing out tightness or urgency in the singing and demanding redo after redo. Even the sound engineer, who had endured most of the requests, sympathized with the two boys. It was rare to encounter such a demanding producer!

After repeated singing and listening for over two hours, Long Zichen finally expressed satisfaction. He said, “Okay, I can finally listen to it. Come here.” The next step involved post-production: adjusting the singers’ vocals, recording additional chords, adjusting the sound mix, and integrating all the recorded parts. These tasks didn’t involve Jian Jie and Tong Liangliang.

They both joined Long Zichen in the control room to listen to the recording’s effects. Then unexpectedly, Long Zichen asked Tong Liangliang to leave. Despite looking at Jian Jie, Tong Liangliang didn’t dare to voice any dissatisfaction and politely excused himself, bidding Jian Jie goodbye. Alone, Jian Jie looked at Long Zichen with confusion, asking, “What’s the matter, Mr. Long?”

Long Zichen responded, “I didn’t expect your recording to be finished so quickly. If I had known, I wouldn’t have rented the studio for the entire day. Now it’s just the afternoon; it seems like a waste! Should we ask for a refund?”

The sound engineer immediately apologized, explaining that once the order was refunded, they couldn’t receive other guests due to their schedule being arranged in advance. Refunds were not allowed. Long Zichen seemed distressed by this, and in an attempt not to waste time, he suggested that Jian Jie record some more songs.

Initially, Jian Jie thought he wasn’t prepared for additional songs, but Long Zichen had already planned it all. He had been secretly taking Jian Jie to practice the songs he wrote in the company’s recording studio every week, recording his self-play and self-singing, and preparing the accompaniments in advance.

Thinking it was just a fortunate opportunity, Jian Jie praised Long Zichen for his dedication to work and agreed to record more songs. He didn’t realize the underlying implications of Long Zichen’s actions.

Proud of his foresight, Long Zichen replied with a hint of arrogance, “That’s right, I’ve always been serious about my work. I am always well-prepared. Don’t worship me too much!” Unaware of the manipulative nature of this situation, Jian Jie didn’t harbor any suspicions and felt grateful for the opportunity.

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

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