Chapter 3: The gap gradually appears 2
Xiao Anning ran to Sunai and asked, "Sunai, will we be noticed by Momo Records because of this song and be signed by them? Are we going to be famous?"
Sunai smiled and said, "It's still too early to become famous, but don't give up this opportunity, okay?"
"I know." Xiao Anning nodded vigorously, turned around and looked at me and said, "Thanks to Muxi. Thank you, Muxi."
I was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook my head.
They didn't mind my mistakes, so why should I? Can't I just pay more attention next time?
More than ten minutes later, He Yue's car arrived.
Xiao Anning excitedly pulled Sunai to the back seat, and I sat in the passenger seat.
"The people in the recording studio are already waiting. I told them that I informed them of the wrong time." He Yue said as he backed up the car.
Xiao Anning leaned over and said, "Thank you, senior."
"You're welcome." He Yue reversed and suddenly braked to the side of the road. He leaned over to me, fastened my seat belt for me, and asked, "What's wrong?"
I looked at the seat belt fastened around my waist, a little absent-minded, and said, "I was distracted just now."
He Yue didn't say anything else, stepped on the accelerator, and the car drove away.
Along the way, Xiao Anning asked He Yue questions lively, and He Yue answered in an orderly manner. Sunai was playing with his phone, seemingly chatting with someone. I leaned against the window, watching the scenery outside the window recede.
After a while, the car stopped downstairs of the recording studio.
He Yue took us upstairs and we were greeted by Min You, the person in charge of the recording studio.
"Director He said he would bring three school girls to our recording studio to record songs. Are you three the ones? You are so beautiful. This recording studio is exclusively for artists of Konjac Records. All albums released by Konjac Records are recorded here." Min You introduced as he led us to the recording studio.
"I actually came to the place where a star records a song. I instantly felt like I had improved several levels." Xiao Anning looked around and said without exaggeration.
Min You laughed twice and said, "You will also record songs in this studio like them later. Here we are."
"Wow, it's so big, and there are live recordings of musical instruments?" Xiao Anning said in surprise, lying on the soundproof glass.
Minyou looked at me and asked, "How is it, is the song ready?"
I took out a list from my bag and said, "I have prepared some songs that we like to sing on weekdays. I have listed them all down. Please see which song is more suitable."
"It's best to sing songs that you can perform better in and that can highlight the characteristics of your voice," said Min You.
He Yue suddenly lowered his head and said to me: "Pick a song that shows the transition."
"Then let's sing Hebe Tien's 'If You're Not Drunk'?" Sunai suggested.
"Okay, Mu Xi is very suitable to sing this song." Xiao An Ning immediately agreed when he heard the suggestion.
I said awkwardly, "We are recording this for three people, so we have to pick a song that suits all three of us."
"Your transitions are so beautiful, don't bury them." Sunai took the playlist from me and crossed out all the songs on it, leaving only "Bu Zui Hui". She handed the playlist to Minyou and said, "Let's go with this one."
Minyou took the playlist and said, "Okay, you guys get ready, I'll print out the lyrics."
When Minyou went to print the lyrics, Xiao Anning and Sunai walked into the recording studio. I looked at He Yue standing next to me and asked, "How do you know that my transitions are more distinctive?"
He Yue picked up the monitoring headphones and hung them around his neck, and said, "How could I recommend you to Lichuan if I didn't know you well enough?" After saying that, he lowered his eyes and looked at me.
"Have you ever heard me sing?" I asked curiously.
He Yue smiled faintly and said, "These are irrelevant. But this opportunity is really rare, you have to grasp it well, and have confidence in yourself. Humility is a good thing, but others will not buy into excessive humility."
"I know." I smiled, "I will behave well."
He Yue put on his headphones, and Min You handed me the printed musical score with lyrics. I walked into the recording studio and gave one to Xiao Anning and Sunai.
"The rhythm of the body can bring out the color of the song. Come on." I made a cheering gesture to Sunai and Xiao Anning, and they returned the cheering gesture to me.
"If You Don't Get Drunk" is a relatively light and powerful song. When I put on my headphones and stood in front of the recording microphone, I suddenly felt a sense of pride. He Yue gave me a thumbs up outside the soundproof glass. I took a deep breath and signaled Sunai and Xiao Anning to get ready.
When the prelude sounded and Sunai and Xiao Anning entered the verse part, I forgot about being nervous and relaxed as Sunai and Xiao Anning led me. When recording the whole song, we swayed to the rhythm, and Minyou monitored our voices outside and beat the beat for us.
The atmosphere gradually became more heated, and our performance became better and better as the song progressed. When the song was finished, Minyou raised his hands outside and applauded us.
Xiao Anning took off her headphones, rushed over to hug me, and said excitedly: "Muxi, do you know? At that moment, I felt like a star!"
Sunai's brows were filled with surprise, and she said, "Great, Muxi."
Min You opened the door and shouted, "Ms. Shen, you can come out and listen to your own voices."
Xiao Anning ran in the front, listening to our recording with Sunai wearing headphones. I stood behind them, slightly on tiptoe, with an unconcealable smile on my face.
Xiao Anning was so excited that he kept stamping his feet and kept saying "that sounds good, that sounds good" to himself.
I smiled but said nothing, tightly pursing my lips. Suddenly, a monitoring headset was hung on my head, and He Yue put the ear pads on my ears. I looked at him in confusion, and he nodded to me, indicating that I should listen too.
I held the headset in both hands, and He Yue walked over to discuss something with Min You.
The sound from the headset had disappeared from my ears. I stared blankly at the backs of He Yue and Min You as they discussed something, somewhat absorbed in the subject.
Why is he helping me like this?
Is it just because Konjac Records needs fresh blood that he is reluctant to give such a good opportunity to others?
I pondered He Yue's words carefully, thinking about how he carefully and nonchalantly fastened my seat belt twice, how he put aside his own work to come and record with us, and how he had never heard me sing but knew that my vibrato was very unique.
My mind was buzzing like thousands of mosquitoes. He Yue, who was talking to Min You, looked back at me as if he was conscious. My face turned red, and I quickly turned my head away, cursing myself in a low voice: "Shen Muxi, you have no shame!"
Suddenly, I realized that I was wearing headphones, while He Yue and Min You were not wearing headphones, so he must have heard this. I glanced at He Yue quickly, then got in between Sunai and Xiao Anning and listened to the song with them.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, He Yue drove us back.
"Min You will separate this song into a formal version and a dry version and send them to Li Chuan. If Li Chuan likes it, you will have the opportunity to create an original work and be signed." He Yue said while driving.
Xiao Anning lay on He Yue's chair and asked, "Senior, what if I don't like it?"
"Then you just have to work harder." He Yue said.
"Ah?" Xiao An Ning said shyly, "Isn't Li Chuan a good friend of the senior? Can't you make some concessions?"
Sunai pulled Xiao Anning away and said, "Xiao Anning, stop daydreaming! Can this be accommodated?"
Xiao Anning looked at Sunai aggrievedly and said, "I was just joking."
Suna rolled his eyes at her and stopped talking.
Halfway through the journey, Sunai suddenly said, "Senior, I'll get off here. I have an appointment with a friend here."
He Yue pulled the car over to the side of the road, and Sunai said goodbye to us and got out of the car. Xiao Anning watched Sunai walk away, and whispered to me: "Muxi, Sunai has been acting sneaky recently, and comes home very late at night. She must have a boyfriend, but she didn't tell us. Wait, I'll follow her and see, I won't disturb you and the senior, hehe."
Xiao Anning's last sentence was so vulgar that I was so angry that my cheeks turned hot.
After Xiao Anning got off the car, I nervously hugged the bag in my arms, and then checked whether the seat belt was fastened.
He Yue started the engine, and halfway through the journey, he suddenly asked me, "What does 'Shen Muxi, are you not ashamed' mean?"
I was shocked. He really heard it!
"It doesn't mean anything. You heard it wrong." I said loudly on purpose.
"Min You and I both heard it." He Yue said lightly.
My heart was as restless as a beating deer, and the small space between two of us made me think too much.
I gritted my teeth and asked in a roundabout way: "He Yue, have you ever been in love?"
"I had a first love." He Yue looked straight ahead and answered my question naturally.
I stared at him warily and asked, "Do you like girls like me?"
He Yue blinked and turned his head to look at me. After a long while, he changed the subject stiffly and said, "Let's go to the movies."
"I'm not going." I leaned against the car window, biting my lower lip.
He Yue didn't answer me and continued driving.
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of the cinema. I got out of the car angrily and said, "I said I don't want to watch a movie, why did you bring me here?"
"I want to watch it." He Yue walked straight to the ticket machine and took out two movie tickets.
I looked at He Yue and said, "What do you want to see? It's obvious that this was premeditated."
"Do you need popcorn and Coke? These are essential snacks for you girls when watching movies." He Yue ignored me the whole time.
I walked up to him, raised my voice and said, "I'm talking to you!"
"How about buying set A? Two cups of Coke and a large box of popcorn." He Yue asked me with his head down.
I had nothing to say, so I said helplessly: "As long as you are happy."
Finally, He Yue forced me to go in and watch a movie without my consent.
No wonder his first love left him. It’s impossible for him to have a girlfriend.
I thought angrily.
After the movie, He Yue drove me home.
In the car, I tilted my head and looked at He Yue. He was really good at disguising himself, like a person who knew nothing but could handle everything.
"Hello." He Yue suddenly spoke.
I sat down and asked, "What?"
He Yue turned his head and looked at me, and said, "I have helped you so much, you can cook three meals a day from now on."
I suddenly realized and asked, "Is this what you meant? Your own cooking is terrible and you want me to cook."
He Yue said with a smile: "I pay for the daily necessities, you just cook, don't try to insult me, the rent is already cheap enough."
"If you had told me earlier that the price for doing me this favor was that I had to be your cook, I wouldn't have thought too much about it." I spread my hands and said.
"What are you thinking about?" He Yue asked.
I tilted my head and said, "Secret."
He Yue smiled but said nothing and stopped arguing with me.
After returning to Qingshui Bay, all I had to do was wait for news from Lichuan. I kept bowing to the mirror in the bathroom every day, hoping to win the jackpot and have my work be appreciated by Lichuan.
But the days of waiting for the results were too hard to bear. Every day when I didn’t have classes, I had to go to the market to buy vegetables and come back to cook for He Yue. Several times, I was seen by the neighbor’s grandmother. The grandmother, whose hearing was not very good, would smile and say, “Oh, Xiao Shen is cooking for your husband again. Xiao Shen is so virtuous.”
I put on a fake smile and explained, "Grandma, I've told you many times that Mr. He is just my landlord. Grandma, please remember this next time."
After saying that, I closed the door, immediately changed to a fierce expression, and said to He Yue who was sitting on the sofa waiting for dinner: "Can you explain our innocent relationship to the old lady next door?"
He Yue pretended to be indifferent and said, "Since you are innocent, why do you need to explain ?"
Okay, I can’t win the argument with him every time, so can’t I just shut up?
At the dinner table, He Yue asked me, "You haven't been out recently?"
I bit my chopsticks and said, "I'm not going out. Xiao Anning found a part-time job and doesn't have time. Sunai seems to have a romantic relationship recently and I don't know where he is. I don't want to go out alone."
After He Yue finished his meal, he rummaged through his suit pockets on the hanger, pulled out a USB flash drive and handed it to me: "Take a look."
"What is this?" I asked curiously, holding the USB drive.
"I asked Min You to remix the song you recorded." He Yue leaned against the dining table and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
Did Minyou do the mixing? That's publishing quality, much better than the post-production I spent 50 yuan on Taobao!
"Thank you!" I stood up excitedly, not caring about not finishing my meal, and rushed into the bedroom to copy the songs, and then sent one each to Sunai and Xiao Anning.
Messages popped up in the WeChat group one after another, and Xiao Anning exclaimed: "As expected of a professional post-production team, they can even release an album!"
"Xiao An Ning, you are daydreaming again." Sunai hit Xiao An Ning.
Xiao Anning hit back at her: "I can't dream at night, and I'm not allowed to dream during the day? Sisters, I got my salary, do you want to go out and sing a song?"
I pressed the record button and said, "Okay, you decide the location."
Ten minutes later, Xiao Anning sent the address of the KTV in the group. I walked to the living room and said, "He Yue, I won't be back tonight, so you have to take care of your dinner by yourself."
He Yue was cleaning up the mess on the table and said, "I know."
At six o'clock in the evening, I went out wrapped in a thin coat.
The weather was colder than I thought, and the wind in Shanghai always hurt my face. I took a taxi to the KTV that Xiao Anning mentioned. From the outside, the KTV looked quite luxurious.
When I walked in, Xiao Anning and Sunai were already sitting on the sofa waiting for me.
"Mu Xi, we've been waiting for you." Xiao An Ning stood up, waved at me, and led me to the private room.
"Xiao Anning, how much do you get paid for singing in such a luxurious place?" I couldn't help asking as I walked and looked around.
Xiao Anning was in the front like a happy bird, saying, "I was invited by someone else. One of our guests is a gold card member here, and singing is free."
"You're just a waiter, and the customer used his gold card to ask you to sing?" I asked puzzledly.
"That customer likes me!" Xiao An Ning walked into the private room and said proudly.
Suna and I looked at each other. This guy is being a fangirl again.
Since we are here, we should have fun. The three of us can sing, and usually when we enter the KTV, the three of us are microphone masters. Xiao Anning is the most lively, and she always jumps on the sofa. When the waiter brings in the fruit, he looks at her as if she is a monster.
I looked at the variety of food and drinks on the table and felt uneasy.
It was already twelve o'clock in the evening when we finished singing.
Xiao Anning drank some wine. When Sunai and I helped her leave, she leaned on my shoulder and talked nonsense, chattering about things that none of us understood.
After walking out of the KTV, I supported Xiao Anning and Sunai to stop a car.
At this time, a black Bentley stopped in the parking space, and several middle-aged men got out. One of the men looked at me for a few times, and then stared at Xiao Anning carefully.
I subconsciously held Xiao Anning's head and avoided their gaze.
The man walked over and said with a smile: "Oh, you know me."
When Xiao Anning heard the sound, she struggled out of my arms and took a look. After just one look, Xiao Anning was so scared that she quickly hid behind me.
"Shirley, why are you hiding? Don't you recognize me?" The man smiled playfully.
Xiao Anning hid behind me, holding my arm tightly, and whispered, "Muxi, let's go quickly."
I turned around and hugged Xiao Anning, and shouted to Sunai who was stopping a car on the side of the road: "Sunai, let's go first."
"Why are you leaving?" The man moved in front of me again, looked at Xiao Anning who was hiding behind me, and shouted, "Hey, Shirley, don't forget me. I'm Mr. Liu, and I gave you a tip before."
"I don't know you!" Xiao Anning's voice came from behind me, full of fear.
Mr. Liu's friends came up and formed a circle around us. Sunai rushed in and blocked Xiao Anning and me, protecting us and saying, "What are you doing? If you block us again, I'll call security."
I took out my phone and wanted to call the police, but when I opened the dial interface, He Yue's phone number was displayed. I don't know why, but my mind suddenly pulled and I called He Yue. My intuition told me that He Yue would definitely come to protect us.
"You called security? Can the security stop us from meeting an old friend?" Mr. Liu sneered, "Shirley, how can you pretend not to know me? Even if I gave you money in the dance bar, you would still let me touch you."
"boom--"
My head seemed to explode, and Mr. Liu's words kept circling in my mind. At the same time, He Yue's call was connected.
Xiao An Ning panicked and shrieked, "No, I didn't! You forced me to do that!"
"Shen Muxi?" He Yue seemed to have heard Xiao Anning's voice and called me nervously from the other end of the phone.
I didn't know what to say. Looking at the strange men surrounding me in a circle, I frowned and said to the phone, "Is this 110? Someone jumped from the Jingong Building on Jiujiang Road. Please send someone to rescue him." After that, I hung up the phone and glared at Mr. Liu.
When Mr. Liu saw me calling the police in this way, he was confused for a moment.
I hugged Xiao An Ning and walked into the lobby of Jingong KTV. Su Nai walked behind me and whispered with the security guard at the door.
Xiao Anning sat next to me, his hands clenched into fists on his legs, his body shaking a little.
Mr. Liu walked through the hall with his men, his eyes always on us.
I held Xiao Anning in my arms, stroking her back to comfort her. Sunai came over and stood in front of us, looking at her.
"I'm sorry, I'm really just a waitress in the dance bar. There are girls serving drinks in the dance bar, but they always like to bully me..." Xiao An Ning said cautiously, with a hint of tears in her voice.
"The gold card was given to you by a customer, right?" Sunai said coldly, a little angry. "Is what Liu said just now true? Did you really let him touch it?"
"Nana." I gently pushed Suna, signaling her to speak more quietly.
"I didn't..." Xiao An Ning raised her head, her face full of tears. "When I delivered the drinks, they always tried to take advantage of me. I couldn't stop them. No matter how hard I struggled, they would still take advantage of me. But I didn't accompany them like the girls who accompanied them to drink."
"That won't do! You are an innocent girl, what will others say about you in the future?" Suna said sternly.
"Yeah." I patted Xiao Anning's back and said, "Anning, don't go to the dance bar. Ask Sunai's father to find you a part-time job. Dance bars are not suitable for girls like you. You will suffer if you go there."
Xiao Anning remained silent, biting her lower lip. After a long time, she moved a little further away from me, shook her head, and said, "What kind of job can allow me to earn two or three hundred yuan a day? You know, I have a mentally ill mother."
"This is not the reason for you to work in a dance bar." I frowned.
"Then what can I do?" Xiao Anning looked at me and questioned, "Shen Muxi, where can I go? Can I give up my studies for a job now? I'm already a junior and will soon finish my graduation thesis. I don't have more time to find what you call the right job!"
"Xiao Anning, calm down." I reached out to pull her, but she dodged and didn't let me touch her.
She has a strong self-esteem, so strong that no one can say anything wrong about her.
"No matter what, Xiao Anning, you can't go to those places anymore." Sunai sighed and said, "You can go to my dad's company. If you can sign a corporate contract in your junior year, you can get a diploma even if you don't attend classes or write a paper. Let's apply to the school."
Xiao Anning sat in the corner, with his back to us, and didn't speak.
I sat over, patted her shoulder gently, and called out, "An Ning."
Xiao Anning's body was shaking. She asked solemnly, "Do you feel ashamed of what I'm doing now? Do you still think that you are my good friends and can help me unconditionally?" She stood up and looked at us, trembling, "But even the best friends will owe each other favors. I will have to use my entire youth to repay the money and favors you lent me. I will get married and have a child in the future. I don't have that much time to repay you. The only thing I can do now is to use my advantages to make a little money, and my advantages are nothing but youth! I'm just delivering drinks to others in the dance bar, why can't you understand me?"
I lowered my head, twirled the corners of my clothes with my hands, and didn't know what to say.
Sunai said, "Don't make things so complicated. Muxi and I are just worried about your safety. Look, weren't you in danger just now?"
"I am an adult and capable of protecting myself. Even if you weren't here just now, they couldn't do anything to me under this Golden Palace building." Xiao An Ning raised his head and said stubbornly.
"What are you talking about!" Sunai said angrily, "What do you mean they can't do anything to you without us? Xiao Anning, Mu Xi and I are your friends. We value your safety more than anything else. How dare you say such things to us!"
My nose felt sore and tears welled up in my eyes.
Xiao An Ning had an expression that showed he was unwilling to give in. He tilted his head and didn't look at us, and his eyes were also very cruel.
"An Ning, after hearing what you just said, we are really worried about you working alone in the dance bar so late at night. Sunai and I have no other intentions. Just listen to us and don't go. We will find a way for you. There is no such thing as favors between friends, because all the help we provide is voluntary." I tried to lower my voice and persuade Xiao An Ning earnestly.
"Willingly?" Xiao Anning looked at me sarcastically and said, "Shen Muxi, you are twenty-one years old this year, how come you have the brain of an eleven-year-old. There is no such thing as a willing relationship in this world, only a relationship of mutual demand!"
When Sunai heard Xiao Anning say this, she stepped forward angrily. I was afraid that Sunai would hit her, so I quickly grabbed Sunai's arm to stop her.
Xiao Anning looked at us with indifference in his eyes.
"You both have money, and neither of you can understand me. You are good friends and you do it willingly. I'm sorry, I'm holding you back. I'm not." After saying that, she smiled, shook her head and left the hall.
"What does she mean by this!"
Sunai, who was usually quiet and slow to anger, was so angry that he burst into tears.
Xiao An Ning walked to the door and accidentally stumbled, and was supported by He Yue who happened to arrive.
Xiao Anning gently pushed He Yue away and ran out without looking back.
Su Nai wiped her tears, looked back at He Yue, and said, "Mu Xi, I'm worried about Xiao An Ning, I have to catch up with him to check." She wiped my tears again, leaned close to me and said, "He Yue has a wide network of contacts, ask him to find out who Mr. Liu is, so that Xiao An Ning won't be bullied again next time."
I nodded, a little dazed.
Su Nai turned around and walked to He Yue and said, "Please take Mu Xi back." After that, she chased after him.
