"The wildflowers on the mountain bloom for whom and wither for whom, quietly waiting to see if anyone will pick them. I'm like those flowers, waiting for him to come, pat my shoulder and I'll listen to your arrangements..."

  In the recording studio, Liao Liao closed his eyes and sang emotionally into the microphone.

  Yesterday Li Qian once again emphasized that what she needs is to relax. Yes, she also feels that she indeed needs to use a more relaxed mood and state of mind to sing this song.

  Wildflowers, born between heaven and earth, unrestrained and waiting alone.

  This song, from lyrics to melody, is filled with a slow swaying feeling, sung in a tense voice, how can it possibly sound good?

  So, she tried her best to recall the feeling when she first and only heard Li Qian sing this song that day. She made an effort to relax her mood and state, trying to express the song with a more relaxed voice.

  But... it's no use.

  She suddenly stopped halfway through the recording.

  Outside the recording studio, separated by a transparent soundproof glass, Zhao Mei Feng and the recording engineer simultaneously looked up at her in astonishment.

  Liao took a deep breath, removed his headset, and walked out of the recording studio.

  "Hey... Zhao Jie, I'm going to take a break for 10 minutes, is that okay?"

  Zhao Mei Feng's face was filled with displeasure, but in the end, she shook her head and sighed, waving her hand to indicate that she could do as she pleased.

  Liao Liao nodded and walked out of the room after opening the door.

  Inside the gate, Zhao Mei Feng couldn't help but sigh and say: "What's the point of all this?"

  Liao Liao closed the door and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

  What's wrong?

  She raised her hand and rubbed her face hard, then walked towards the bathroom a moment later.

  Just a few steps away from the bathroom, voices of conversation had already drifted over.

  In the past, when Liao Liao encountered such a situation, she would definitely make some noise to remind the other party, but this time, before she could even take a step forward, the other party's conversation had already come over clearly.

  "Who says it's not?! It's already been five days since she occupied the No. 3 recording studio, and I heard that she hasn't even finished recording a single song yet! It's gotten to the point where my accompaniment is ready but there's no place to rehearse..."

  "Who says it isn't?! Not only that, she's been occupying the recording studio all this time! Previously, she alone occupied 70 or 80 songs, if I hadn't begged Zhao Jie, those songs would still be uncertain when they'd be released!"

  "Hmph, isn't it great now? I heard she spent 400,000 to buy five songs from a high school kid. It's laughable! When she first bought them, she walked with such an air of superiority! What about now? One song has been recorded for five days already, probably because she can't get down from the pedestal... But what's the use, the money has already been spent, whether she likes it or not!"

  "That's right! This is called reaping what you sow! I'd like to wait and see how many copies of this album she can sell..."

  "A few songs are too little, based on her previous single's reputation, this album should have some surprises, but when everyone really buys it back, whether they will scold, that is unknown..."

  "Haha... Qin Jie you're really humorous..."

  These two voices sound very familiar.

  She is called Huang Yueqin, originally named Huang Yueqin, and is one of the better-performing female singers in the company. It is said that her parents were both from a Yue opera troupe, she learned Yue opera when she was young, until she was 17 years old and participated in a singing competition where she was discovered by the company and became a signed singer.

  She mainly focuses on sweet songs and has released five or six albums so far. Although the results are not outstanding, they are stable. So her status in the company is not low, especially among female singers, she is considered a big sister level.

  And another person is Lele.

  It's a pity, but that's the trend in the music industry these years. Sweet songs and folk songs are the safest route for female singers. Not that there aren't other paths to take, but Zhou Xun is one of a kind, and Zhang Ziyi even more so.

  Before Zhang Zhen's emergence, the impression of female singers was that they could only sing soft, gentle and feminine songs. Zhang Zhen's sudden rise to fame with her powerful voice, which is even more masculine than men's, singing folk songs and love songs, paved a broad way for female singers - but as I said before, there is only one Zhang Zhen. So after Zhang Zhen has been famous for almost ten years and everyone regards her as the number one queen of Chinese music scene, there are still very few female singers who can follow in her footsteps.

  Feng Fei Fei's folk songs are majestic, while Zhou Xun's urban love songs are lingering and touching. However, in the ranking of the four heavenly queens, they can only rank third and fourth. Many people still do not recognize Zhou Xun's status as a heavenly queen, especially since she retired from the music scene three years ago to get married. It can be said that now there are only three heavenly queens left in the music scene.

  Zhen Zhen is the big sister of the music scene, she releases an album and can easily get triple platinum or even quintuple platinum sales, this is without a doubt. However, the sales of the second-ranked sweet song queen He Runying are not much worse than hers, sometimes even surpassing her. It's just that Zhen Zhen's pioneering spirit is too strong and her status in the music scene is too high, so she is revered as the first. In front of He Runying, however, there is no advantage to speak of. As for Feng Fei Fei, her albums have always had difficulty breaking through sales of two million.

  Apart from Zhang Zhen and Feng Fei Fei, all the singers in this market who have sold over a million copies of an album and received a platinum record are, without exception, sweet song and folk song singers.

  Of course, everyone understands that the future of the music scene will not always be dominated by sweet songs and folk songs. Therefore, there are still many female singers who have been trying to break out of their own path one after another.

  Liao Liao is doing this, Yueyue is also doing this.

  Liao Liao makes albums, but doesn't bother to follow any set path, whether it's folk, love songs, or the light rock and classical style she inherited from Li Qian. She has always been trying to find her own unique characteristics, while Yueyue, according to the path laid out by Zhao Jie for her, is currently aiming to become the second Zhou Xun in the music scene.

  Not to mention, from the sound conditions alone, she is not completely without opportunity.

  "By the way, LeLe, I heard that MianMian gave you that song?"

  "Hmm, I've been asking for a long time. It's said that Liao Liao didn't agree to let go at all, saying she wants to use it on her next album! What do you think... Qinqie, can you judge this? Is there such an overbearing thing?"

  "Hmm, whether she's arrogant or not, she doesn't have many months left to be popular. Once this album is done, if it doesn't sell... that's an 800,000 production fee! Do you think the company will still sign her for another album?"

  "Also to Ha! Ah, right, Qin Jie, why don't we go find Zheng Zong together and say that we all want to wait in line for a song? Can't let her occupy it alone all the time! She's so comfortable, monopolizing the recording studio to practice singing, and even has Zhao Jie accompany her, while we can only stand by..."

  "Director Zheng? I advise you not to go! He's already splurged 800,000 and has boarded a pirate ship that can't be stopped. As long as Liao Liao says he wants to use it, he wouldn't dare stop him from using it. Let's just keep waiting for now! The only thing is, I don't know when she'll finish recording. Hehe, when the time comes, I must give this 'big album' a good listen!"

  “……”

  Liao's thoughts were in disarray as she stood still just a few steps away from the bathroom.

  It took a while to come back to her senses, just in time to hear the sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the bathroom. She guessed they were about to come out, so she walked towards them, saying: "Great, when the album is done, I'll definitely give you a copy first, Sister Qin! You have to give me lots of feedback then!"

  The other party's footsteps paused for a moment, but at this time, they were about to walk out of the bathroom door.

  Liao Liao had already walked up to them.

  Three people meet.

  Lè Lè looked a bit embarrassed, Huáng Yuèqín's face was cold and expressionless, while Liào Liǎo had a smile on his face.

  Liao Liao's gaze swept across Lele's body, with a quiet smile, and met Huang Yueqin's eyes.

  By now, they naturally understood that their conversation had been overheard by Liao Liao.

  Lele might feel embarrassed, and with her cleverness, she must be looking for an opportunity to quietly explain that she didn't mean anything else, it was all Huang Yueqin talking, she didn't dare offend her so she just casually agreed with a couple of sentences.

  After all, until now, she hasn't even released a single, and is still a newcomer who can't be any newer.

  However, given Huang Yueqin's position in the company, she naturally didn't have much to fear from Liao Liao. And if considering the new grudges and old resentments brought about by the company's resource allocation to Liao Liao over the past half year, she was able to say a few words behind his back without running over to confront him directly, which was probably already the result of her enduring patience.

  Liao Liao smiled in response.

  But Liao Liao's smile, in Huang Yueqin's eyes, seemed to be naturally accompanied by a provocative meaning.

  Her face turned even uglier, "What, can't record anymore?"

  Liao Liao smiled and said, "At least there's still a song to record."

  Huang Yueqin's face suddenly turned cold, and her eyes were instantly filled with anger.

  Her new album was planned to be released more than a year ago, but until now, it has not been released yet. Although the sales of sweet songs are good, they may only account for 30% or 40% of the entire female singer market. However, her previous album did not sell well and finally reached 500,000 copies after being on the market for more than a year, earning a gold record certification. Therefore, the company is cautious about her next album.

  Liao Liao was directly slapping her in the face - her temper wasn't one that could be tolerated, and lately, her mood hadn't been good either!

  But unexpectedly, Huang Yueqin did not immediately erupt. On the contrary, she actually smiled coldly, "Well said, then I'll wait and see how many white gold you can sell!"

  Liao Liao's face stiffened for a moment, and he smiled, "As long as it can sell more than the gold record."

  Huang Yueqin also smiled, with a hint of sarcasm in her smile. "I heard you signed a profit-sharing contract? In that case, it seems there's no hope for the next album?"

  Liao Liao smiled again, "Aren't we all the same?"

  As the two sides were getting more and more annoyed, Lele's eyes darted back and forth between them, forcing a smile onto her face. "Hey, Qinsister, Liao sister, we're all from the same company, so... let's just not say anything else, okay?" As she spoke, she pulled Huang Yueqin's arm, "Qinsister, I was actually thinking of asking you for some advice on something..."

  She pulled hard, Huang Yueqin took a deep breath and followed her forward. As they passed each other, she stopped again, turned her head to look at Liao Liao's profile, and said in a low voice, gritting her teeth: "I'll wait and see how you fall!"

  After finishing speaking, the two of them walked away hand in hand.

  Turning his back on them, Liao Liao smiled helplessly.

  After a moment, she composed herself, walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, scooped up a handful of water and splashed it onto her face, then stared steadily at her reflection in the mirror with water stains all over her face.

  "Hah, anyway, we're all dead, Liao Liao, why are you still so tense!"

  After finishing, she took a deep breath, grabbed a few sheets of paper towels to wipe her face, and resolutely turned around and walked out of the bathroom.

  …………

  "The wind is not the wind, the cloud is not the cloud, what I love is not you, it doesn't matter, anyway we are just passing by. The flower is not a flower, the mud is not the mud, you who dance in the desert, sometimes near sometimes far, I need a little more luck..."

  It was just after 7pm, the Western restaurant was fully seated, and there were even many people waiting at the counter with their numbers in hand. Moreover, this is always the case domestically, whether it's those waiting for food to be served, swirling red wine glasses, or waiting at the counter, eight or nine out of ten are couples.

  Li Qian wore white sneakers, jeans and a white T-shirt, sitting on a high stool, hugging his guitar, his body swaying slightly to the rhythm, singing very enthusiastically.

  Many people were watching him.

  The song ended with applause rising softly around me.

  Li Qianchong smiled and nodded at the surrounding audience, took a brief rest, then plucked the strings of his instrument and began to sing the next song.

  …………

  At the counter, Chu Bing was watching Li Qian's performance. She turned her head and saw Fang Shengnan walking out, smiling and asking: "Nannan, how is it? Yesterday Xiaoyi auditioned and agreed to let him try singing here for three days. Can you give Xiaoyi some feedback and see if he qualifies?"

  Fang Shengnan's face didn't even have a hint of a smile, standing in place listening to half the song. After Li Qian finished singing, she said indifferently: "The vocals are still good, and the pitch is also very accurate. A male voice singing Zhou Fen's songs has some flavor."

  Chu Bingbing was taken aback, "Wow, it's rare, the evaluation given is actually that high?"

  Fang Shengnan turned her head and glanced at her, nodding, "Singing is not bad, just a bit short of breath. Shouldn't have been practicing since childhood."

  Chu Bingbing suddenly laughed and pinched Fang Shengnan's cheeks, "I'm saying, little princess, you're always so icy with that face, aren't you tired? It's a waste of this beautiful face! Come on, give your auntie a smile!"

  Fang Shengnan awkwardly broke free from her hand, with no displeasure on her face, but muttered a sentence, "Little aunt...", still without any smile, "So many people are watching!"

  Chu Bingbing smiled and withdrew her hand, saying: "Alright, since your evaluation is so high, then I'll let him stay."

  Fang Shengnan nodded slightly and said, "Then I'll go first."

  Chu Bingbing pulled her back and whispered in her ear, "Isn't he quite handsome? Do you know who this guy is?"

  Fang Shengnan turned her head and looked at her with a sulky expression, her eyes clearly writing the five words "what's it to me".

  Chu Bingbing rolled her eyes in exasperation, but still couldn't help leaning over to whisper: "I've already asked, it's your school! And he seems to be a high school sophomore too!"

  At this moment, Fang Shengnan's face suddenly flashed a hint of surprise, and he even subconsciously turned his head to glance at Li Qian.

  But just for a moment.

  She soon regained her icy demeanor and said, "I'm leaving, Little Aunt." Then she walked towards the door without even looking back at Li Qian.

  Chu Bingbing shook her head helplessly and watched her leave before turning to appreciate Li Qian's singing.

  …………

  The name of the restaurant is "Can't Help Falling in Love Western Restaurant". Li Qian has never eaten here before and doesn't know how their steak tastes, but judging from the customer flow, business is really good.

  It's here, agreed to let him try singing for three days.

  When he arrived at six thirty, he found that a girl was already playing the piano before him and her level was quite good. So he knew that it seemed he was used to fill the vacancy of the second time period, after all, playing the piano for a long time would also be very tiring.

  From seven to eight, an hour, he sang about thirteen or fourteen songs. Judging from the live effect, the result was not bad. There was even a guest who ordered a song in the middle, so although it's unlikely that he can get qualified for long-term residency here, and these three days of trial singing are unpaid, at least he has already earned his first income.

  The guest orders a song for 20 yuan, and the restaurant doesn't keep a single cent, giving it all to the singer.

  This is much better than running into a subway station and singing, isn't it?

  When the last song scheduled was sung, Li Qian took out his mobile phone and looked at it. It was indeed 8:05. He stood up decisively, slightly bowed to the guests in the restaurant, then put down his guitar, indicating that he had finished singing.

  Sparse applause broke out in the restaurant.

  Li Qian walked towards the front desk, just about to greet the service staff and leave. Turning his head, he saw that the manager of this restaurant was smiling at him, so he could only walk over and nod at her first, "Manager Chu, hello."

  Chu Bingbing smiled and said: "You too!"

  Li Qian said: "I don't know if Manager Chu is satisfied with what I sang just now. If there's anything not good, please forgive me."

  Chu Bingbing smiled and looked at him with a smile, thinking that he was still as mature as ever.

  As the manager of a Western restaurant that deals with hundreds to thousands of customers every day, her vision and ability in treating people are naturally extremely high, and she is also very discerning when it comes to judging others.

  Even she couldn't see through this big boy in front of her.

  Yesterday, when Li Qian came for an interview, Chi Bingbing had already become a little curious about him after asking a few simple questions. Looking at his age, he was probably seventeen or eighteen years old. Considering that he said in his self-introduction that he was in the second year of high school, he should be seventeen years old, but his words and deeds were not like those of a seventeen-year-old boy at all.

  To be honest, if it were just about singing well, Chu Bing wouldn't necessarily have given him this opportunity. At the time, she mainly felt that this boy was a bit different from others, so she had a change of heart and gave him this chance.

  Now it seems he is indeed different from his peers.

  He is more mature and stable than his peers by a mile!

  But if that's all, it wouldn't be enough to make Chu Bingbing, who has seen all sorts of people, feel like she can't see through him. The key is, in addition to being mature and steady, no matter what he does, even when singing, his body and face seem to carry a hint of indescribable calmness, giving Chu Bingbing the feeling that there's something... melancholic about him!

  That's a bit absurd if you think about it normally!

  Maturity belongs to maturity. A 17 or 18-year-old child may not necessarily be immature, but how can they possibly have vicissitudes? At his age, no matter what, he can't have experienced many things. Where does the vicissitude come from?

  But he gave Chu Bingbing a feeling of vicissitudes!

  This makes her feel like she can't see through it!

  This made her even more curious than when she saw Li Qian yesterday afternoon!

  And thinking of her own niece who was also very different from her peers, she couldn't help but think: Are there many such strange people at No. 13 Middle School?

  Her mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts, but Chu Bing's smile remained unchanged as she replied, "Of course I'm satisfied. Look, our guests are also very satisfied, aren't they?"

  She paused, seeing Li Qian's face neither surprised nor delighted, but just smiled as usual and said thank you. She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, but at the same time, more curiosity arose.

  "So, Li Qian, after today's audition, I think you're perfectly fine as our restaurant's resident singer. So, starting from today, consider yourself officially on the job. One hour a day, thirty bucks, okay?"

  At this point, Li Qian's face finally showed a hint of surprise.

  Although that's the case, he still only nodded slightly, "Then thank you, Manager Chu! Thanks for giving me this opportunity! Next, I will definitely sing every song with heart."

  Chu Bingbing looked at him, with countless thoughts flashing through her mind.

  Then she slowly smiled and nodded her head saying: "Good!"

  ***

  Saying, over 5,700 words in this chapter, can I get some recommendation tickets?