Chapter 97: Chapter 97: The Shocked Great Composer
Inside a private club in the second ring of Zhonghai City.
This private club is extremely high-end within the entire Zhonghai entertainment industry; almost everyone here is a major figure in the industry. Simply put, if you’re not recognized as top-tier, you don’t even qualify to enter.
Inside this private club, there is a very unique room. The center features an atrium setup, but the top is covered with large panes of glass, allowing sunlight to shine directly down into a serene, deep pond in the middle.
There are fish in the pond, red carp.
The walls are adorned with tea, top-quality West Lake Longjing.
Surrounding the area are purple bamboo wicker chairs and antique stone stools, and outside is a woman playing a guqin. To say the least, being in this place, there isn’t a trace of vulgarity.
Currently, in this room, two middle-aged men are savoring tea.
The man on the left is around forty years old, quite average in appearance, wearing glasses and a small beard. How does the saying go? One look and you know he’s an artist.
And this man, who looks every bit the part of an artist, truly is one—Mr. Ning Weida, the most famous lyricist in the industry who composes songs for Bai Yaning. Many of her hit songs have come from Ning Weida.
The middle-aged man sitting across from Ning Weida is about forty-five or forty-six, dressed in a suit and glowing with health. To be able to drink tea and chat with Ning Weida, this man’s status is naturally extraordinary. He is Zeng Wenhui, the chief editor at Cool Song Music.
“Mr. Ning, are you really unable to help?” Zeng Wenhui sipped his tea and said gloomily, “You don’t know. Recently, the theme song collection has been driving me crazy. Even though I’ve been the chief editor at Cool Song Music for so many years, I’ve received five to six hundred submissions lately, and not a single one meets the requirements.”
“I understand,” nodded Ning Weida, “This is also the first time I’ve encountered such a challenging song. Not only must it be masculine, but it must also be gentle. It’s not easy.”
The two drank more tea when suddenly Ning Weida’s phone rang. He picked it up and immediately became curious, “Miss Ice Princess?” Hurriedly, he answered, “Hello, Miss Ice Princess… Yes, nothing much at the moment, just having tea with Zeng… What?! Really? The tune is ready?! Wang Hao? Never heard of him… Really? Okay, I’m not far from you, sure, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Was that Miss Ice Princess on the phone just now?” Zeng Wenhui sipped his tea, curious, “What’s up, is the song ready? Are you leaving?”
“You might not believe it,” Ning Weida lit a cigarette and took a puff, “Miss Ice Princess said the song is ready, but it only has lyrics and melody, no score. So she’s asking me to work out the musical score.”
“Really?” Zeng Wenhui asked skeptically, “What did Miss Yaning say? Who is Wang Hao? Not one of the industry’s top lyricists and composers?”
“There’s no score, how could it be one of those big names,” Ning Weida took another puff of his cigarette then stood up, “Not sure about the quality, but it doesn’t matter, right? It’s rare for Miss Ice Princess to ask, even if it’s trash I still have to help her work out the score, don’t I? What do you think, want to come and see?”
“I’ll pass,” Zeng Wenhui shook his head, “Some nobody is unlikely to produce anything good. You have to go, but I won’t waste my time. Speaking of which, there’s a decent bar nearby, I’ll go there for some inspiration.”
“You old rascal,” Ning Weida joked, “you’re going there to watch pole dancing for inspiration, aren’t you?”
Zeng Wenhui simply shrugged, “Why put it so bluntly?”
At that time, Bai Yaning and two others were in Studio 1, constantly replaying the song Wang Hao sang, “Thunderstorm Rainbow Resolute Rose.”
“Sorry for the wait,” Ning Weida asked as soon as he pushed open the door, “Where’s the song, play it for me?” Although he had arrived quickly, he was still somewhat reluctant.
After all, as a professional music producer who belongs to the proud breed of artists—especially since this song was by an obscure stranger—he was mainly there to give face to Bai Yaning.
As for the quality of the song, he had not held much hope. To make a musical score, going through the motions would have been sufficient.
“Here it is,” Bai Yaning took out a USB drive, “Mr. Ning, take a listen first.”
Ning Weida took the USB drive, “Okay, let’s have a listen.”
He casually plugged the USB into the computer and started playing it immediately.
Soon, Wang Hao’s slightly husky voice came through.
“Yesterday’s joy is but a drunken haze, today’s taste is a faint bitterness.”
“Think about tomorrow, sun-blazed and wind-swept, regardless of bitter hardships, fearless and undaunted.”
After hearing just two lines, Ning Weida muttered, “Isn’t this a bit too poor?”
It couldn’t be denied, Wang Hao’s singing really wasn’t very good, barely making him a KTV grade singer, especially since it was acapella, so the effect was undoubtedly quite poor.
“The pain on my body keeps me from sleeping, the road under my feet brings even more tiredness.”
“Pursuing dreams always involves endless twists and turns, facing it all with no regrets and composed acceptance.”
At first, Ning Weida didn’t care much when he heard the beginning, as those who create good music usually sing with some flavor, and it’s rare to find someone who sings this badly.
But as he continued listening, he began to detect the appeal.
Ning Weida finally got serious, “This… is kind of interesting!”
“Thunderstorm Rainbow Resolute Rose, bear more sorrow, bear more pain on your own.”
“Thunderstorm Rainbow Resolute Rose, traversing the seas, proudly roaming the ends of the earth, never retreating.”
After the entire song finished, Ning Weida was completely stunned!
Strictly speaking, music knows no borders, and it’s extremely hard to determine the superiority or inferiority of a tune, as everyone has different tastes—some people like straightforward, catchy pop songs, while others prefer depth, and that can’t be helped.
But Ning Weida, after all, is a veteran music producer with his unique assessments for music.
This system of his says that if a song scores over sixty percent, it has the potential to take off; scores above seventy percent tend to become widely popular.
And the song Bai Yaning played just now, Ning Weida rated it, at the very least, over eighty percent!