CHAPTER 84: CHAPTER 80: CONSCRIPTED AS STRONGMEN, THE POWER OF THE KING

After getting everything ready, Xu Qingqiu took a sip of water and began to relax. She started by warming up her voice, and once she felt it was nearly there, she entered the recording studio.

"COUGH, COUGH. ’Once as dark as the night each morning...’"

"’Once...’"

After several tries, she still felt something was off, always just a bit lacking.

"Yiyi, could you help me operate the soundboard and record this? I want to listen to it."

She sang through the entire piece again, but it still didn’t feel quite right. For one thing, she couldn’t find the right emotion; for another, her mind was preoccupied.

During a break, she sat on the sofa and finally couldn’t resist checking her phone, only to find it still empty.

What on earth is Chu Tian doing?

Unable to hold back any longer, she called him directly.

In his rental room, Chu Tian was sleeping soundly, his large feet propped up on an old pillow, when suddenly the phone began to ring.

Groggily, he picked up the phone. A quick glance showed the caller ID started with "Old," and before he was fully awake, he answered.

"Hello, Mom, what’s up?"

"..."

Xu Qingqiu was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing. Her irritation at him for not replying to her messages instantly vanished.

But her laughter soon faded because she suddenly remembered that both of Chu Tian’s parents had passed away.

On the other end, Chu Tian, hearing the laughter, finally woke up completely. It took a few moments for his mind to clear before he remembered he had transmigrated; his mother from his previous life could no longer contact him.

He thought the only contact in his phone that started with "Old" was the one for his mom, so he instinctively assumed she was calling. He’d completely forgotten that in this world, he also had his boss’s contact saved with a similar "Old" prefix.

For a moment, he felt as though he was back in his previous life, waking up late after working all night, flustered by his mother’s discovery, during those early mornings and afternoons.

It wasn’t until then that he realized he no longer had to worry about his mother discovering he stayed up late, no longer had to pretend he had just been busy working instead of just waking up, and would never hear her nagging and advising on the phone again.

"Hello? What is it?"

Now fully awake, Chu Tian’s mood had plummeted, but he suppressed his emotions and forced himself to continue the call.

Hearing his voice, Xu Qingqiu seemed to sense the change in his mood and hesitated, not knowing what to say.

After about ten seconds, she asked, flustered, "Um... did you just wake up?"

"Yeah, I was just woken up by the phone."

"I’m sorry..."

For a brief moment, Xu Qingqiu felt a surge of remorse. She wasn’t sure whether it was because she had disturbed Chu Tian’s sweet dreams or because she had inadvertently made him recall a painful memory.

"It’s fine. Did you call for a reason? If there’s something, just say it."

"Actually... it’s nothing much. I’m at the company recording a song. Do you... want to come and take a look?"

"Recording a song? Is your leg better? It’s only been a few days. Why aren’t you resting instead of going to the company?"

"It’s already better, the medicine... you know..."

Since Yiyi was nearby, Xu Qingqiu couldn’t speak too explicitly.

Chu Tian understood immediately. He knew the items from the system would be effective, but he never imagined they would work *this* well. It had only been a few days.

"As long as it’s better, well then I..."

Chu Tian was originally planning to play video games today. He had just gotten hooked and hadn’t had enough yet.

But this phone call reminded him of his parents. Thinking back to the guilt he felt when they caught him gaming, he was affected. Suddenly, gaming didn’t seem so appealing anymore.

After a moment’s thought, he decided to go to the company after all.

"Alright, I’ll come to the company then. Sigh... I was supposed to get a few days off, and it hasn’t even been three days before my break is over..."

Hearing his complaint, Xu Qingqiu sensed his spirits lifting and felt cheerful herself.

She said with a smile, "It’s fine, I’ll just give you a few extra days off later, right?"

"You mean it? Paid leave, right? Then it’s settled, I’m on my way!"

Fearing she might change her mind, Chu Tian immediately hung up the phone, hurriedly washed up, got dressed, hailed a taxi, and rushed to the company.

As for why he didn’t take the bus? He was on paid leave; why should he care about a few bucks for a taxi? Who was he trying to impress by saving money?!

After arriving at the company, he asked around before finding out that the boss was in the recording studio. He didn’t even bother going to his workstation and headed straight for the recording studio.

"What’s the big rush for calling me in?"

"Ah?"

Seeing Chu Tian burst in so hurriedly, Xu Qingqiu was momentarily taken aback.

Why did I call him over again?

She couldn’t possibly admit she called him over because she missed him and was worried about him wandering around outside, could she?

Luckily, she quickly thought of an excuse and said, "Oh, right. I was planning to record studio versions of those two songs that only have live recordings. But after several tries, I just can’t seem to get the feel right. I thought, since you graduated from the composition department, you could give me some advice."

"That’s all? Let me see which two songs."

Chu Tian had thought it was something major. Turns out it was just this small matter.

He didn’t dare to boast about other things, but when it came to singing, he was quite confident. Whether it was arranging or vocal coaching, he had done it extensively in his previous life: remixing his own albums, arranging songs for shows, being a talent show mentor, producing for others’ albums.

In this life, thanks to the system, he had also systematically studied arranging, so he was very skilled in this area.

When he saw which two songs they were, Chu Tian felt even more confident. Leaving everything else aside, he was the one who provided these two songs. How could he not be familiar with them?

Now he felt no pressure at all.

"Alright, let’s start."

"Ah? You don’t want to look them over and familiarize yourself again?"

"I’ve already familiarized myself with them, just go ahead and sing."

Exuding confidence, Chu Tian settled into the recording engineer’s seat and adjusted the knobs on the mixing console. He then frowned and looked back when he saw she hadn’t entered the booth yet.

"Hurry up, aren’t we here to record a song?"

"Oh, okay..."

Although still hesitant, Xu Qingqiu, seeing his confidence, went inside.

This was the first time she witnessed Chu Tian working on music, and his proficiency didn’t at all resemble someone who hadn’t done a proper job in over a year.

With her curiosity piqued, she stood in the recording booth, looked at the sheet music, and began to sing.

"Stardust of the night, the unextinguished night..."

"Stop! What on earth are you singing? For this part, step back from the microphone. Don’t use so much force. Croon it! Do you understand crooning? Close your eyes. Imagine you’re standing in a vast wilderness, facing the starry sky—that ethereal feeling..."

Once he got back to work, Chu Tian seemed to instantly return to his peak.

In his area of expertise, he wouldn’t tolerate any imperfection; everything had to be done with precision.

He completely forgot that the person behind the glass was his boss and unabashedly gave directions as if he was training a newbie.

"Slow down here! What’s the rush? Again!"

"Breathing! Breathing! How did you practice? Can’t you breathe evenly? Again!"

Over and over again!

Xu Qingqiu originally thought she sang quite well, only lacking a bit in the feeling department.

In other words, it was missing a certain flavor, or at least that’s what she thought.

But ever since Chu Tian arrived, it was as if she had encountered the strictest teacher, or a towering mountain she had to climb.

He could find fault with everything, and his reasoning was always sound.

Chu Tian pointed out many flaws she had never noticed before, as if he could see right through them.