Chapter 197: Singing the Theme Song
The two cars arrived at the place where they were going to have midnight snacks one before another — A high-tiered Karaoke club.
At this time, it was the time when they had the most customers.
They didn’t reserve, but they had Coco. Coco said she was familiar with this club’s boss, and they successfully got a private room after calling him.
The three of them had just sat down when the waitress served them many foods and some pineapple beer. There was no way; the other two could not drink wine at all.
TL’s Note: Pineapple beer is like soda. Although it’s called “beer”, it doesn’t contain any alcohol.
Xue Yunfei opened a can of pineapple beer and took a sip, “I will get right on topic. Ye Zian and I had a discussion, and we want you to sing the theme song.”
Liu Man heard his words and subconsciously looked towards Coco.
Coco waved her hand and smiled, “I support this idea more than Yunfei and Director Ye. To be more accurate, I was the one who suggested this idea to Yunfei bro. When I wrote the lyrics for ‘Sound of the Wind’, the character in my head was based on you. Besides, you sang with me at the pedestrian mall, so I remember that you have a good voice. You have great potential to become a singer.”
Liu Man did not think she was a good singer, “I’ve only sung a few lines at that time, and I’m not experienced. You are a professional singer.”
“This is nothing about professionalism. We, composers and lyric writers, have the right to appoint who’s going to sing our songs,” Xue Yunfei added, “Coco and I both think you are a very fitting candidate to sing the theme song. You are a character in the movie, and you have a good public persona. You can also cooperate with the afterward movie advertising.”
Liu Man felt even stranger, “In comparison, Feng Qingyu should be more fitting. She’s the female lead, she knows how to play the piano, and she can sing.”
Feng Qingyu had released two albums in the past few years with stable sales.
As soon as he heard Feng Qingyu’s name, Xue Yunfei’s face became disdainful, “Ye Zian no longer has a good impression of Feng Qingyu. When they signed the contract, Feng Qingyu’s agent guaranteed her piano skills were first-tiered, and it would be no problem for us to live record her piano scene with the sound. As a result? The few scenes were dragged and dragged. We finished only in May. Ye Zian complained to me in private that he will never contact Feng Qingyu again this life. Let her sing the theme song? No way!”
“What’s more funny is Feng Qingyu is still in the ‘The Sound of the Wind’ cast, and her partnership with Galaxy Films isn’t over yet. However, she sneakily went to contact Huaguang Entertainment and asked for information on their new movie about Ancient China. She wants a role in it. Ye Zian hates her for wanting to get benefits from both sides at once. She doesn’t think Ye Zian is an important person at all.”
“‘The Sound of the Wind’ cast is rare. Both the male lead and the female lead are troublemakers. Qiao Xin commits crimes, Tang Tu is arrogant and pompous, and Yang Huayue isn’t very shrewd. Ye Zian gets angered by them so easily.”
It was probably because they were in a private location, and Xue Yunfei trusted Liu Man and Coco that made him complain to them.
Liu Man thought of Tang Tu’s post and couldn’t help but ask, “Now that Qiao Xin has been arrested, what are you doing with the rest of his parts?”
“Ye Zian found a substitute that has a similar stature as Qiao Xin. We mainly film his back and his side face, and that mostly works.”
“Let’s not talk about these random things. Are you willing to sing the theme song?” Xue Yunfei used a seducing tone, “You get a payment!”
Liu Man heard about the payment, and her eyes instantly shined, “How much?”
Coco burst into laughter, “You shouldn’t be so open about that.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t we all work for money? We don’t have to be pretentious, and just say it if you like money,” Xue Yunfei didn’t mind that at all, “This payment is divided into two parts. The first part is made by the cast; they will pay you 20 thousand at once. The other part will be paid after you sign a contract with the album company. After we release the song, they will pay you based on the number of sales. Your payment will probably be 10 percent of the total because you also cooperated with Tang Tu on a piano piece. You usually only receive 5 percent for one song.”
Liu Man thought about how arduous it was when she asked for money from Qiu Jing last time. This time, she was going to make everything clear in case lots of trouble comes up when she tries to get the money.
“Then when will they pay the 20 thousand to me?”
“Right after you finish recording the song,” Xue Yunfei instantly got what Liu Man meant. He smiled, “Don’t worry. This twenty-thousand are paid by Ye Zian straight from the cast’s fund; it has nothing to do with Galaxy Films.”
“Deal!”
Since there was money to be paid, Liu Man, of course, stopped hesitating.
“I’ll show you the lyrics of ‘Sound of the Wind.’ It’s written according to the numerical notation, and the melody is different from Tang Tu’s and your staff notation. Yunfei bro has also revised it.”
“Do you remember what I said to you when I toasted you on that dinner party the cast had? Excluding me, Yunfei bro, and Director Ye, you are the first one to see the lyrics.”
Of course, Liu Man remembered it. She didn’t even understand what Coco meant at that time. So, they were planning this starting from then.
Coco took out the lyrics from her bag, which she had prepared beforehand. This was the real reason why she and Xue Yunfei treated Liu Man to dinner. She handed the lyrics over to Liu Man, and Liu Man felt surprised when she had a look at them, for these lyrics written by Coco weren’t ancient-styled at all.
“Have you ever seen the wind,
Neither have I,
But when the leaves tremble,
You know that the wind was here before.
If I turn into a bird,
You can find me in the shadow of a big tree;
If I turn into a star,
You can find me in the darkest part of the sky;
If I am the wind,
Please look at the direction the wind is blowing from,
That’s me.
…”
Liu Man read through them softly. The lyrics were describing Ji Ning, so no wonder Ye Zian made her sing the theme song.
“It’s written so beautifully,” She complimented, “I love all the lyrics in every one of your songs.”
“Aiya, I will blush if you keep on complimenting me like this,” Coco intentionally pretended to be shy and laughed.
“Considering that your end-of-semester exam is almost coming, we prepare to record this theme song after your summer break starts. The movie is just starting to be edited, so we are not in a hurry,” Xue Yunfei said, “We are going to record here in the capital, so it will be very convenient.”
Liu Man nodded, “During summer break, contact me any time if you need me to work.”
“Yay, looks like we have a deal. Let’s eat, drink, and sing!” Coco gladly went to queue songs.
At this time, Liu Man suddenly thought of something and asked Xue Yunfei for information,
“Yunfei bro, have you heard of the name, ‘Zhu Xiyang’?”
Xue Yunfei was stunned. Liu Man could see blatant disgust from his eyes. He asked Liu Man, “How did you hear about this person?”
“He’s the professor in charge of our major’s Chamber Ensemble Music course.”
“People like him can be teachers?” Xue Yunfei felt ridiculous, “He shouldn’t be teaching students!”
Xue Yunfei looked disgusted, “You have to stay away from him.”
Translated by: Sydney