Chapter 18: I Can’t Teach a Ghost

Chapter 18: I Can’t Teach a Ghost

The next day, Zhong Lei took the hundred thousand yuan that the two of them had scraped together by selling practically everything, and boarded a plane to Zhonghai.

After all, she had attended university in Zhonghai; her meager connections in the music circle were mostly concentrated there, so going there would make things easier.

Even though the music score was ready, turning that score into a complete backing track still involved many steps.

A wealthy patron could hire various excellent instrumentalists to come together, forming a full-fledged orchestra, and slowly record in a top-tier, high-fidelity studio.

The skill level of the performers was very important; anyone with a slightly discerning ear could hear the difference immediately, separating the good from the bad.

Unfortunately, given Zhong Lei and Chen Feng’s budget, recording with real performers was definitely out of the question. They could only use electronic music production and synthesis.

The advantage was that the resulting backing track would have a consistent level of quality, and would certainly be better than hiring low-end performers just to fill the numbers.

The downside was that electronically produced backing tracks lacked the spontaneous, inspired moments of real performers; there were no variables, and it felt less soulful.

Zhong Lei felt quite regretful about this, but there was no other way.

For a big production, you needed to spend big money. A hundred thousand was far from enough; you’d need at least three to four times that amount to have a chance.

After arriving in Zhonghai, Zhong Lei suggested to Chen Feng that they try to get a loan to raise their budget to two hundred thousand yuan.

She didn’t even ask for an increase in her share percentage; she just wanted to make the song as good as possible.

But Chen Feng firmly refused.

In another timeline, the independently produced version of “Dullness” by Zhong Lei was purely electronic music production.

Chen Feng had already changed a lot of history and really didn’t want to add unnecessary complications to the production process; he wanted the original flavor.

In the original history, Zhong Lei created the prototype of “Dullness” about two or three years later, and the finished product should have taken about four years.

The quality of the song remained completely unchanged, but the timing was significantly moved up.

Before everything was settled, Chen Feng wasn’t sure if history could continue along its original trajectory.

Even though he had tried to be cautious, what if there were too many variables and it flopped after release?

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

Zhong Lei returned to Hanzhou with the finished product, which she had personally overseen, working overtime to meticulously produce.

Chen Feng didn’t go to pick her up at the airport; he just waited at home.

Zhong Lei wanted to send him the master file online, but he stopped her. It wasn’t necessary and would only increase the risk for no reason.

After not seeing her for ten days, Zhong Lei looked a bit travel-worn.

Her entire demeanor had undergone a subtle change.

Before, even though Zhong Lei had a fiery temper, there was an underlying gloominess and low spirits about her.

But now, while she seemed unchanged on the surface, her eyes sparkled with vitality and energy.

This feeling was like the long night was finally ending, and dawn was about to break.

Yes, she knew her fate was about to change.

Just looking at the score didn’t give her the full picture, but once the song was produced, she only needed to listen to it once to understand one fact.

She believed this song’s level was unimaginably high. The backing track score Chen Feng created wasn’t just an embellishment; it was the finishing touch.

Even though she already respected his ability highly, Zhong Lei’s understanding was being refreshed again and again.

Every time she thought she had grasped the extent of his talent, she would soon discover something new about this treasure trove of a man.

Even stranger was that he never showed off, never bragged.

Everything had to be discovered by herself.

Was this the legendary ‘the greatest music seems silent, the greatest masters hide in the world’?

Pushing the door open, Zhong Lei handed the USB drive in her hand to Chen Feng. “Can you listen to it now?”

Chen Feng nodded. First, he disconnected his laptop from the internet, and then plugged in the USB drive to listen.

In the small apartment room, Chen Feng listened to the song slowly with his low-end headphones, while Zhong Lei stood behind him, hardly daring to breathe.

Finally, he took off the headphones and closed his eyes in thought.

Zhong Lei thought he was appreciating the details with a supremely high level of discernment. Little did she know, Chen Feng was just constantly comparing this “brand new” version with the version he had heard in his dreams.

Thanks to his earlier forced memorization, this comparison process, while slow, was very detailed.

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Feng opened his eyes and looked at Zhong Lei with an expression of open praise, though inwardly he felt like worshipping her.

He gave a thumbs-up. “Not bad. Really impressive. Perfect.”

He was convinced.

Zhong Lei truly had real skill.

Her becoming a great figure recorded in history was no accident.

Even though he had forced her growth, even though the conditions were very basic and things were done in a rush, she still delivered a perfect result.

If her younger self was already this strong, what unimaginably lofty heights would she reach once she fully mastered her craft and truly entered the hall of fame?

As a copycat with limited ability, Chen Feng honestly couldn’t imagine.

Here, Zhong Lei felt slightly bashful from his praise. “Thank you. I’m glad I didn’t fail the mission.”

Chen Feng quietly watched the humble and modest Zhong Lei of this moment, reminding himself internally.

Cherish these times.

Once she fully recognizes her own amazing talent again, this humble Zhong Lei probably won’t appear anymore.

“By the way, here’s a list I put together of the general situation and contact information for a few domestic platforms. Let’s decide which platform to sell the song to.”

During these days when Zhong Lei was responsible for the recording, Chen Feng, as her partner, hadn’t been idle either.

But Zhong Lei didn’t look at his list. She said, “I think KuGe is pretty good.”

Chen Feng looked down at the list.

There were five or six major music platforms in the country. KuGe was ranked about second. Recently, it had been making big moves to gather copyrights, trying to overtake the current domestic leader, Q Music, on the curve.

So, currently, KuGe’s policies for singers and copyright holders were quite generous, offering a lot of profit share.

Overall, KuGe did seem like a good choice.

Of course, another important factor also prompted their quick decision.

The headquarters of the other platforms were located in other cities like Shangdu, Tiandu, Shenchuan, and Wucheng.

Only KuGe’s headquarters was right in Hanzhou, which meant if they signed with KuGe, they wouldn’t have to travel around and could save money.

Chen Feng nodded. “Then it’s settled.”

Zhong Lei said, “You still have to work. I’ll handle the negotiations. Once it’s all agreed, you can come over and sign.”

Because they had a private contract, for this kind of commercial authorization, both of their signatures were needed for it to be legally effective.

Chen Feng wasn’t afraid of Zhong Lei cutting him out.

With the matter discussed, they went their separate ways.

Before going upstairs, Zhong Lei said something that seemed half-joking, half-serious, which scared Chen Feng quite a bit.

First, she thanked Chen Feng for his trust in her.

Chen Feng said it was only natural.

Then she seemed to be probing Chen Feng’s background again; she really wanted to know why Chen Feng understood her so well.

Every lyric, every melody perfectly touched the softest points in her heart.

Chen Feng could only try to laugh it off and muddle through.

Next, she actually expressed a desire to become Chen Feng’s disciple!

Even though she put it very awkwardly and indirectly, saying she seriously wanted to learn about his creative philosophy from him, that was essentially what she meant.

Chen Feng’s face stiffened.

I can’t teach a ghost!

What philosophy do I have to pass on to you!

I rely purely on rote memorization, memorizing your songs at that.

Creative talent, musical philosophy… completely zero, okay?

Taking on a disciple is impossible, never had the ability for that in this life, can only be a content transporter and coast along like this.

Zhong Lei was deflected by Chen Feng’s evasive tactics, and the stalling tactic worked for now.

Chen Feng later pondered. “Dullness” was basically done, but “Night Has Grown Deep” absolutely could not be given to her to sing.

If given to someone else to sing, maybe Zhong Lei’s feelings wouldn’t be as deep, she wouldn’t discover clues, and wouldn’t mistakenly think he was her soulmate or something.

If given to her again, it was hard to guarantee she wouldn’t fall into the trap completely.

In the following days, Zhong Lei went back and forth to the KuGe headquarters repeatedly, negotiating and preparing for the contract signing.

Even though KuGe was currently somewhat indiscriminately acquiring song copyrights, Zhong Lei and Chen Feng’s foundation in the industry was too weak. Getting ideal terms wasn’t that easy and required a lot of effort.

Chen Feng, meanwhile, spent most of his time again on his work at Kelai Apartment.

During this period, because he himself was obsessed with his side business, he had been constantly distracted at work, slacking off whenever possible.

Many people in the company had already started to complain about him. Chen Feng couldn’t just quit this job yet, so he needed to at least put on a bit of a show.

Now, one evening, as Chen Feng was leaving a company meeting and taking the elevator downstairs, he overheard two employees from another company chatting.

“Did you hear? He Jiaqi is holding a fan meeting tonight at Lemei on Shaolin Road.”

“Really? Such a big star is doing a fan meeting at a nightclub?”

“Yep! She’s at least a quasi-first-tier star.”

“Are you going?”

“Of course!”

“But no need to rush. I heard Lemei paid a huge price. Since He Jiaqi has other things in Hanzhou anyway, she’ll perform for three consecutive days. One hour each time, singing at least five songs per day.”

Chen Feng suddenly became interested. Should he try his luck?