Chapter 16: I’m Convinced

Chapter 16: I’m Convinced

Chen Feng could see Zhong Lei’s true thoughts.

She liked the song, and she really wanted to sing it.

Not just singing the demo, but singing it as the song’s true vocalist, interpreting the song’s essence with her own understanding.

Because this song was practically written about her. After understanding it, it held a fatal, binding attraction for her.

That’s why during the meal, Zhong Lei kept forcing a smile and offering insincere congratulations.

She was so disappointed that she got so easily angered when Chen Feng offered to share the money with her.

Unknowingly, Chen Feng pondered in his room for about an hour. Looking down at his watch, it was already nine at night.

He had made a decision.

Chen Feng took out his phone and found Zheng Rou’s number.

“Rou Jie, sorry to bother you.”

Zheng Rou on the other end seemed to be eating, her words muffled. “What is it? Didn’t I tell you to reply tomorrow?”

“It’s like this, Rou Jie, the song ‘Dullness’…”

“Not selling, right?”

“Ah? How did you know?”

“Weiwei said. If you didn’t agree on the spot, you probably weren’t going to sell. And Weiwei also said you planned to let the girl who sang the demo sing it, right?”

Chen Feng felt very awkward, having accepted help but then refusing the goodwill, and now having his little scheme exposed. He didn’t know how to respond.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Weiwei said acquiring a song isn’t a simple commodity trade; what’s more important is fate. Like in a relationship, being beautiful doesn’t guarantee compatibility; what matters is mutual fit. What might be your honey could be someone else’s poison.”

“When listening to the demo, Weiwei felt the owner of that voice was the most suitable person for this song. Chen Li was only the second-best choice.”

“I believe after listening, you felt the same way. Of course, since we promised to help you, we couldn’t go back on our word, so we didn’t bring it up with you. Now that you’ve realized it yourself, that’s best.”

“Chen Feng, let me tell you one more thing. Weiwei also said that if you ultimately decided to sell the song to Chen Li, she would actually be quite disappointed in you. Because that would mean you’re only good at creating, but not at finding the best voice for your work.”

“Alright, I’m out with Weiwei shooting her MV right now, gotta go. I’ll reply to Chen Li’s side for you as soon as possible. This is quite common in the industry; don’t feel any psychological burden.”

After hanging up, Chen Feng was silent for a long time.

He truly hadn’t expected that Lu Wei, who was clearly defeated by Zhong Lei, possessed such formidable musical insight.

Thinking carefully, in this current era, Lu Wei seemed to have only lost to Zhong Lei.

Looking at Lu Wei’s lifetime achievements, if there hadn’t been a Zhong Lei shining so brightly in the same period, she would have been the most accomplished female singer of the past few decades.

Indeed, one should never underestimate anyone.

Chen Feng took a deep breath, went upstairs, and knocked.

Zhong Lei ignored him.

Chen Feng shouted outside the door, “I just gave them my reply. I’m not selling this song. I want you to sing it.”

“What!”

Zhong Lei yanked the door open. “Are you crazy?”

So she had been standing by the door the whole time.

Chen Feng shook his head. “Not crazy. Very clear-headed.”

“Did you take the wrong medicine? Chen Li is really popular right now. Do you know what it means for you if you successfully sell your song to Chen Li? It means you’ve entered the big leagues from now on. In the future, as long as you work a bit hard, you’ll keep getting songwriting invitations.”

“I know, but it doesn’t matter.”

“I’m completely a nobody, a newcomer. For me to sing this song would be a terrible waste; it wouldn’t help you at all. Besides, I can’t afford it.”

Chen Feng shook his head. “If the song is a hit, you become famous, and I become famous. Whether a song becomes popular does have some relation to the singer’s fame, but that’s not the deciding factor. What’s more important is the quality of the song itself. In my opinion, you are the most suitable singer for this song. Don’t you have confidence in yourself? Do you really think your version wouldn’t be as good as Chen Li’s? Just because someone is more famous than you now, you feel so inferior you can only look up to them? You’re doubting yourself? Then what gave you the courage to drop out of school back then? Wasn’t it absolute confidence?”

Chen Feng fired several questions in a row, leaving Zhong Lei silent.

Zhong Lei took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “You really think that?”

She was wavering.

“Mm, I thought so when I heard you practicing.”

“Thank you for the recognition, but I really can’t come up with two hundred thousand right now. Also, even if I bought your song, I wouldn’t be able to produce it.”

Chen Feng thought for a moment. “You sing it, we’ll produce it ourselves, just a single. Then release it on a platform, using a paid download model.”

Zhong Lei shook her head firmly.

“That’s not realistic. Listeners today only listen for free; the habit of paying hasn’t been cultivated. Unless they are die-hard fans, few people will pay to download. Even famous artists release new songs for free to members, let alone a pure newcomer’s single. No one will pay.”

Chen Feng shook his head. “Others can’t, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.”

In fact, five years later, “Dullness,” as Zhong Lei’s debut song, was exactly what she recorded herself, uploaded to a platform, and rapidly went viral, becoming hugely popular across the country in a short time, allowing her to transform quickly.

Of course, back then many people thought she was just a flash-in-the-pan internet singer. No one expected she was actually building up strength over time and would soar like a dragon once she entered the scene.

Before becoming famous, Zhong Lei herself hadn’t thought that far ahead.

She was just unwilling to give up and went all out in a final struggle, which ultimately succeeded.

Now Chen Feng had advanced that timeline by a few years. She hadn’t experienced so much yet, hadn’t reached the point of utter desperation, so naturally, she had more cautious reservations.

Sure enough, Zhong Lei asked bewilderedly, “Just how much do you believe in my ability? Have you ever heard me sing a complete song even once?”

Chen Feng immediately became alert; he almost gave himself away.

He simply gave a mysterious smile and pointed to his head. “Intuition. My intuition tells me this is the best answer. If we don’t try, how will we know the result? At worst, we can also use the free model and split the revenue based on streaming.”

“The revenue share from streaming is very, very low. You can’t possibly earn back two hundred thousand that way.”

After seriously thinking about the feasibility of Chen Feng’s proposal for a moment, Zhong Lei finally said.

Chen Feng shook his head carefreely. “Fame is money. You sing it, but the song’s copyright still belongs to me. No matter how low the platform’s revenue share is, as long as the song gets popular and gains enough loud fame, the next time I sell a song, it won’t be for two hundred thousand. Later, whether it’s you or anyone else, if you want to use this song for commercial performances or perform it on any media, you’ll still have to pay me.”

“But if I sell it to Chen Li, the copyright wouldn’t even be mine anymore. I couldn’t even be sure if she would credit me, and I wouldn’t get a share of the subsequent income. Having you sing it, my considerations are actually more long-term.”

To persuade Zhong Lei to let go of her reservations, Chen Feng found ten thousand reasons to convince her.

She indeed believed it. “So that’s your real plan?”

Chen Feng laughed. “You can understand it that way if you want.”

Once they reached an agreement, the two of them immediately took action, gathering together to carefully plan things out.

Chen Feng wasn’t very familiar with the specific steps, so he let her figure it out.

Zhong Lei did the calculations. “I only have fifty thousand in savings. But next, we’ll probably need to spend over a hundred thousand to hire someone for the arrangement. Just guitar accompaniment definitely isn’t enough. Then, producing the accompaniment and mastering the recording in a studio will also cost about a hundred thousand. We need at least two hundred thousand in total.”

Chen Feng interrupted her. “We don’t need an arrangement. I’ve already finished it. I have the complete score here.”

“Ah?” Zhong Lei was dumbfounded. “How many instruments in total?”

Chen Feng started counting on his fingers. “Guitar, Bass, Drums, Piano, Chimes, Organ, Harmonica… twelve kinds.”

Hissing sounds of drawing in breath rose and fell in the room. Zhong Lei looked Chen Feng up and down with an extremely suspicious gaze, trying to determine if he was talking nonsense.

“You did all of that?”

Chen Feng shamelessly nodded. “Yes.”

“You’re really not some second-generation kid from a musical family who never learned before?”

Chen Feng retorted, “Why would I lie to you?”

Zhong Lei turned her face away. “I’m convinced.”