Chapter 157: The lyrics are colloquial and lack aesthetic appeal

"Um... Director Yang, is this song really no good?"

Though Lü Yuanqing had already made a preliminary judgment in his heart, he still wanted to verify it.

"How should I put it? The lyrics are overly vernacular and lack any aesthetic appeal!"

"The melody is mediocre too!"

"Overall, it can only be considered a lower-middle-tier song!"

Lü Yuanqing smiled bitterly. This evaluation was basically identical to his own thoughts, so it seemed the problem wasn't on his end.

However, since when had Su Chen's musical standards dropped to this level?

Judging by his past achievements, this simply shouldn't be happening.

Before he could ponder further, Yang Xiangcheng continued.

"I know you wanted to sing a new song, but time is truly running out!"

"Within the next couple of days, you need to select an older song and submit it!"

"Today would be best, so you can practice and adapt to it yourself before the full-scale rehearsals begin."

This time, Lü Yuanqing didn't hesitate anymore. He simply followed up on Yang Xiangcheng's words.

"Alright, I'll do my best to get it done today!"

Things had reached this point, and the song he had pinned his highest hopes on—the one provided by Su Chen—had been rejected. There really was no other hope left.

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On the other side, after sending the song to Lü Yuanqing, Su Chen suddenly had a thought.

If he hadn't misheard, Lü Yuanqing had just mentioned that they were undergoing closed-door rehearsals at China Central Television, didn't he?

If the song had already been sent over, how were they going to record the accompaniment?

Previously, whenever he released a song, he had practically participated in the entire accompaniment recording process from start to finish.

After all, arrangement was a major undertaking. A great song required not only excellent lyrics and melody, but also a matching arrangement to achieve its optimal effect.

Though the song he had just sent over had ordinary lyrics and melody, the most crucial part was actually the accompaniment.

It was precisely because of that festive accompaniment, which fit the theme of the Chinese New Year, that it had become an absolute sensation in that other world.

Thinking of this, he picked up his phone to make a call, wanting to give Lü Yuanqing some instructions.

However, a busy tone came from the other end—he was already on another call!

Forget it!

It was all ready-made material anyway, and it didn't take much effort, so he might as well just record the accompaniment himself! Just in case of an emergency!

If the professional team over at China Central Television managed to arrange it themselves and the effect turned out decent, they could use theirs.

If they couldn't handle it, the accompaniment recorded on his side could serve as a backup.

He had delayed quite a while with the song Lü Yuanqing had requested earlier, which already made him feel a bit apologetic, so he wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

With that in thought, he dialed Fang Xiao's number.

"Do you know of any recording studio resources with top-tier technical skills? I want to record an accompaniment for a song!"

Since the two of them had already left Star Orange Entertainment, and the Morning Star Music Studio was not yet fully prepared, they had no choice but to find an external recording studio.

On the other end, Fang Xiao didn't ask what specific song was being recorded.

"Yes, there's a recording studio over on Xigong Road with top-notch technology!"

"They also dabble in some underground music themselves, and we're old friends..."

"I'll send you the address in a moment!"

Fang Xiao chattered away enthusiastically on the phone, praising the recording studio to the skies.

This made Su Chen feel somewhat perplexed!

Knowing Fang Xiao as he did, she had always been concise and to the point.

What had gotten into her today?

Still, he didn't dwell on it too much!

That afternoon, following the address provided by Fang Xiao, Su Chen arrived in front of a building near Jincheng Park.

Stepping past the storefront, he found an internet cafe and a billiard hall.

Passing through the billiard hall led to a separate space.

Walking inward along a slightly damp hallway, he descended two flights of stairs.

And thus, he arrived in a basement.

The basement was quite spacious. Aside from a small ground-level window on the side wall that let in a sliver of light, there were no other natural light sources, relying entirely on overhead lights to illuminate the room.

At the moment, a few young men were sitting inside, heads bowed as they played on their phones, with their instruments placed nearby.

Hearing the commotion of Su Chen entering, they all looked up briefly.

"Looking for someone?"

One of them with dyed yellow hair asked stiffly.

"Is Elder Lu here?"

The blond youth turned his head to glance at the hallway leading to the inner room, gave a casual hand gesture, and went back to playing on his phone!

Uh...

Su Chen was momentarily speechless.

"I was introduced by a friend to record a song here!"

He couldn't help but add.

Hearing this, the blond youth didn't even raise his head and said impatiently,

"Everyone's introduced by friends, get in line!

"Your turn will be up soon!"

Su Chen chuckled lightly, not minding the other's tone, and simply found a stool to sit on.

The blond youth glanced up at him once more, said nothing further, and sank back into his phone.

This wait lasted for half an hour.

Creak!

The door inside opened, and Su Chen looked up to see a man and a woman walking out of the inner room, both wearing dreadlocks and looking quite trendy.

Upon stepping out, the two of them repeatedly expressed their gratitude toward the doorway.

"Thank you, Elder Lu. This song sounds amazing, we love it so much!"

"The money has already been transferred to your WeChat, please check it!"

"We have another song to record in a few days, and I'll make an appointment with you in advance then!"

The two eagerly extended both hands to shake hands with the person inside. However, due to the angle, Su Chen couldn't clearly see the situation inside the doorway from where he sat; he only heard a voice respond,

"Hmph! Practice more before your next recording session!

"Not putting this old man through the wringer again will be the best way to thank me!"

Hearing this, the two quickly apologized again.

After profuse expressions of gratitude, the pair walked down the hallway and left.

"Little Huang, we're heading out!"

The blond youth looked up at them and gave a rare smile!

"Got chewed out again?"

The two smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Heh, no worries, you'll get used to it after getting yelled at enough!

"Look at us, we've grown thick-skinned by now and aren't affected at all!"

The female among the two covered her mouth with a giggle before noticing Su Chen sitting nearby, her gaze holding a mix of surprise and confusion.

"Another one here to record with Old Lu."

Before she could ask, the blond youth introduced Su Chen to them.

Noticing them looking over, Su Chen gave a symbolic nod.

"We're off then, we'll bring you something nice next time!"

The two nodded back to Su Chen before waving goodbye to the blond youth and his companions.

A dozen minutes later.

Creak!

The inner door opened once more.

Hearing the sound, Su Chen looked up and fixed his gaze on the hallway. An elderly man with unkempt hair walked out of the inner room.

When he caught sight of Su Chen, he was visibly startled!

"Here to record a song?"

Su Chen quickly stood up and explained to him,

"Yes, you must be Elder Lu, right? I need to record an accompaniment for a song, and Fang Xiao recommended me to you!"

Hearing Su Chen mention his connection to Fang Xiao, Elder Lu gave him a faint glance.

"Recording an accompaniment is 300 yuan per hour, recording a song is 200 yuan per hour, no upper limit!"

Uh...