Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 468 Final Decision

The singing came from the surround sound system around the recording studio.

This is the best recording studio in the entire CCTV building. The final equipment debugging was completed just eight days ago. It has a complete set of German Neumann and SSL recording systems, plus a Dolby Atmos control center. It can be said to be a world-class record company-level configuration.

Therefore, the singing voice flowing from the speaker system has a very delicate texture and clear layers.

As the last line, "Walk with me on the streets of Chengdu, oh~~~until all the waiting is extinguished, and we don't stop," finished playing, the melody at the end faded away in his memory. When the song ended, Zhao Lei felt some sand in his eyes.

"Clap clap clap clap..."

As applause broke out, he wiped the corner of his eye and joined in the applause.

Of course, if it were a different place, or a different person...

The most important thing is to change the person.

Then what Zhao Lei was going to do was definitely not to clap his hands, but to stand up and slap the other person's face with the sole of his shoe.

……

Amidst the applause, Chen Nuo showed a slightly shy expression, clasped his hands together in prayer, and said very humbly, "Thank you, thank you."

Of course, you can't practice singing in a recording studio.

The purpose of recording the song was simply to identify problems more clearly through playback. Subsequently, specific on-site training would be conducted under the guidance of vocal teachers, such as that old man Lin, to address these problems.

So, after he finished recording in the sound engineer's booth, he came out and listened to the playback with everyone.

After listening to the applause, although he appeared humble on the surface, Chen Nuo was actually somewhat proud in his heart.

During the recording just now, Chen's performance was absolutely outstanding. If Yang Mi were there, she would probably have to kneel down to listen. If Liu Yifei were there, she might never be able to hold her head up in front of him for the rest of her life.

What is genuine emotion? This is genuine emotion.

He even moved himself to tears with his singing.

For him, this was not acting, but a rare outpouring of genuine emotion.

That's right, when he sang, he wasn't thinking of anyone else, but rather of Gao Yuanyuan.

In her previous life, Gao Yuanyuan would probably have been flirting with Zhao Youting by now, right?

But in this life, she found herself caught in an emotional vortex with him.

Faced with her direct confession, and her honest, straightforward, and unwavering attitude, how could Chen Nuo, a former scumbag determined to change himself, remain cold-hearted and unmoved?
Meeting the little girl nicknamed Yuanyuan in the elevator might have been an arrangement or a revelation from heaven.

Moreover, just as the song says, "The only thing Chengdu can't take away is you."

He discovered that somewhere deep in his heart, there was indeed a lingering feeling of reluctance to part with Gao Yuanyuan.

Although their initial relationship was purely physical, he gradually discovered through their interactions that she was actually the one with whom he had the most compatible personality and shared the most common interests. Perhaps that's how, slowly, she earned a place in his heart.

So... what else can we do?
He knew about Gao Yuanyuan's family situation.

My mother's health isn't good. Although she went to Los Angeles for treatment some time ago, her recovery isn't going well. Her brother is married with children, and my mother's biggest worry is her. It's only natural that she wants her to settle down and have someone to take care of her and keep her company.

In order to fulfill her mother's wish, Gao Yuanyuan chose to give up her official status. Even if she could only be one of his partners without a formal identity, she wanted to have a child to prove that her life was not like a rootless duckweed, so that her mother could feel at ease.

This may seem illogical, absurd, and feudal to outsiders.

However, for artsy young women who are unreasonable, unprincipled, and even prone to self-sacrifice, making this decision for what they believe to be true love isn't so incomprehensible.

Is it possible for him to marry her? Probably not.

So from a woman's current perspective, it seems to be the best solution out of helplessness.

For this reason, Chen Nuo suddenly felt that if he continued to follow his original rule of living for the moment, it seemed a bit too much for Gao Yuanyuan.

Therefore, while singing, he finally made a decision:

Deduct 1!

For him, this was an absolute, profound change from the depths of his soul. In his past life, countless women would have wanted to have his babies, yet he never once agreed to any of them.
He felt incredibly proud of his transformation, which was reflected in his singing; he became more and more emotional and moved with each song.

"Yeah."

Sure enough, everyone was moved by his emotions. Old Man Lin shook his head, looking like he couldn't speak, and kept repeating those two words.

Zhao Lei secretly wiping away tears was instantly noticed by his Oscar-level observation skills.

Ha Wen and several recording engineers were also applauding, showing him great respect.

After expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he waited a while, and then the applause gradually subsided.

Havin said, "Everyone, please share your thoughts."

Chen Nuo immediately replied modestly, "Teacher Lin, Teacher Zhao, and all the other teachers, please give me your guidance if I have any questions."

After he finished speaking, no one responded, and the recording studio fell into an awkward silence.

After a while, Ha Wen spoke up: "Teacher Lin, you go first."

Chen Nuo looked over.

Old Man Lin glanced at him and said, "Then I'll start. If there's anything wrong, Xiao Zhao, can you fill in the gaps for me? Okay, Xiao Zhao?"

Zhao Lei nodded and said, "Okay."

"Hmm..." Old Man Lin said slowly, "First of all, Mr. Chen's familiarity with this song has far exceeded all of our expectations. His handling of some details is very good. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that this was the first time Mr. Chen sang this song. Especially the emotional investment, the kind of emotional expression that Xiao Zhao emphasized before, Mr. Chen also performed perfectly... To be honest, this kind of emotional control has surpassed many professional singers."

Everyone listened quietly, waiting for that well-known "but".

Sure enough, Old Man Lin changed the subject: "But... I noticed that there are a few notes that don't match the score, right?"

Chen Nuo nodded frankly: "Yes, I think it sounds better to sing it this way."

The version he sang was the original one he practiced in karaoke in his past life, and it did differ from this version in many ways. He didn't think it was a problem; after all, his old version had stood the test of time. As for this new version... while he couldn't tell if it was good or bad, asking him to change it in such a short time was a pipe dream. He was lucky if he could even read sheet music. Old Lin's suggestion was good; he was just trying to persuade Zhao Lei to make some changes.

"Uh..." Old Lin hesitated for a moment, then turned his head and said, "Alright, that's all I have to say. Little Zhao, you wrote the song, what are your thoughts?"

Zhao Lei did not respond immediately.

Again--

If it were in a different place, with a different person...

The most important thing is to change the person.

As a cultured young man who doesn't care about anyone else, if anyone dares to change his songs to their face and then shamelessly say that they sound better that way, he will be furious.

Regardless of whether it actually sounds better, Zhao Lei will definitely kick him in the face to teach him how to respect originality and reject piracy.

So what if the other person's name is Chen Nuo?
When an artsy young person gets angry, they won't listen to anyone.

But it happens—

An hour ago, when this person unexpectedly arrived here alone, Zhao Lei recognized him at first glance.

Similarly, he was certain the other person knew he had been recognized.

From last night until now, less than ten hours have passed.

He didn't even change his clothes, how could I not recognize him?
The black and white Li-Ning down jacket, the black face mask, the light blue jeans, the Li-Ning sneakers, and the Rolex Submariner on his wrist—everything was unchanged.

This made him realize immediately that it had nothing to do with any "Super Boy" competition.

It was this person who came to the scene in person and, by chance, heard him sing, which led to his recommendation to the Spring Festival Gala program team.

But why doesn't he change his clothes?

You know, anyone with eyes could see that the woman he was drinking with yesterday was very close to him, but she was definitely not Liu Yifei.

If this information were sold, who knows how much it could fetch! Isn't he afraid that if he finds out, he'll tell everyone?

Why did Zhao Lei get sand in his eye before?

The reason wasn't because of the song, but precisely because I thought about this problem.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Zhao Lei, who was 26 years old but still loved to fantasize and indulge in self-pity, calmly said, "Mr. Chen, could you sing it again? I think your version is indeed better, and I can make some changes based on yours."

Chen Nuo was a little surprised, paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."

……

……

In the end, Chen Nuo stayed at the CCTV building until 5 p.m.

The process went more smoothly than he had imagined. He had originally thought it would take a lot of talking, but he didn't expect that Zhao Lei, who was so young, was quite sensible. This saved him a lot of trouble, didn't it?
Having sung "Chengdu" hundreds of times in his past life, he was reborn in this world in such a magnificent way. Naturally, he was in his element and made full use of the skills he had honed in the KTV. After practicing for most of the day, he earned a sincere compliment from Old Man Lin.

So I left work early.

We agreed to practice for another half day tomorrow morning, and then go to the old CCTV site at 1 pm tomorrow to participate in the final rehearsal and record a backup tape.

When he left, he certainly wouldn't take a taxi alone anymore; Young Master Qi picked him up in his Bentley.

Huanxin Company is on holiday today and will remain so until after the Lantern Festival.

To be honest, their company has never held an annual meeting since its inception; they only give out year-end bonuses. This is actually because Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian are kindred spirits, both preferring to avoid trouble. However, this fact was posted on Weibo by some employee and even became a trending topic.

After picking him up, Qi Yuntian was obviously extremely curious. As soon as the car drove out of the CCTV building, he couldn't wait to ask, "How is it? Have you chosen the song?"

"Ah."

"What exactly happened? Didn't you go to Gao Yuanyuan's place to sleep? Why did you suddenly find a song to sing? Did you two not do *that* together, but instead form a choir?"

Chen Nuo chuckled twice: "You're really funny."

Then, somewhat annoyed, she said, "Just drive properly and stop gossiping. Anyway, we've chosen a good song and are practicing it well. Now it's fine, it won't interfere with our collaboration with CCTV."

"Heh." Qi Yuntian chuckled dismissively. "There are plenty of people who want to cooperate with us now. CCTV, it's nothing special. Even without that butcher Zhu, we can still eat hairy pork."

Chen Nuo said, "So you mean I wasted my time? You should have said so earlier. I would have made a call right now and told Ma Dong that I'm going home for the Chinese New Year this year."

Qi Yuntian laughed and said, "Hahahaha, no, no, President Chen, I was just joking with you. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the company."

Chen Nuo snorted, "That's more like it."

Qi Yuntian drove the car towards Ziyu Villa and said, "President Chen, not only CCTV needs your help, but Hengdian has also called me several times, saying that their group's Chairman Xu wants to invite you to dinner before the New Year. What do you say?"

Chen Nuo leaned back in the leather seat of the Bentley Mulsanne. Exhausted from a long day and a poor night's sleep, he felt listless and didn't want to think. He asked, "What do you think?"

“I think we should still make some time to meet up. It's probably because of the Golden Globes. When you won Best Picture, you mentioned Hengdian, right? And there's probably also Inception to mention. It would be a bit insensitive not to see you. After all, our show has to be filmed in Hengdian before it airs on CCTV.”

Chen Nuo thought for a moment. Back when he approached Mr. Xu from Hengdian seeking investment, Mr. Xu had readily agreed. He nodded. "Then let's meet there. Find a place. Something less crowded, something discreet... Never mind, let him arrange it. Just don't let it be like last time at South Beauty. I looked like a clown in the newspapers."

"Okay. There's one more person who wants to see you."

"Who?"

"Li Ning".

"I won't see you," Chen Nuo said without hesitation.

Chen Nuo currently has a total of 6 endorsements.

Of these, the contracts signed in 2008 with Mattel and Li-Ning expire in March or April of this year. The contract with Porsche, signed in 2009, expires in the second half of this year. All parties are currently in talks with Huanxin Company regarding contract renewals.

When Chen Nuo signed contracts with Mattel and Li Ning, Twilight had not yet been filmed. The advertising fees were not high because the Dark Knight won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Mattel's contract is $700 million over 4 years, while Li Ning's is 4200 million RMB over 4 years.

But Mattel also receives a commission on the dolls every year, and the dividends over the years have added up to about $200 million.

Li Ning, on the other hand, had nothing.

Given the current market conditions, it's absolutely impossible for Li Ning to sign him for that amount of money.

Even Porsche, whose signing bonus in 2009 was $12 million USD for three years (about 28 million RMB per year), is now renegotiating. So what about LINING's paltry sum?
So when Chen Nuo heard that Li Ning wanted to see him again, he knew perfectly well what the man wanted.

They're just using the same old trick.

I guess they're trying to play the sentimental card and the patriotic card again.

However, over a year ago, after a disagreement with Li-Ning over shoe design, Chen Nuo's impression of the company had soured. He certainly wouldn't want to see them again this time.

"Then I'll tell them you don't have time."

"We'll negotiate normally when the time comes. If they're not sincere, then we shouldn't renew the contract."

"know."

After finishing their business, they started talking about the upcoming Lunar New Year reunion dinner. He was in China this year but couldn't return to Xichuan, so Chen Bicheng and the others decided to come to Beijing to have a reunion dinner with Li Er's family and Zhang Yiyi's family. Anyway, Ziyu Villa was big enough to accommodate not only three families, but even thirty.

"Where's Liu Yifei?" Qi Yuntian asked with a smile. "Are you going to have her come along?"

Chen Nuo chuckled and said, "She's going back to Hubei with her mother for the Spring Festival this year, and she's leaving tomorrow."

Qi Yuntian exclaimed "Ah!" looking quite regretful.

Chen Nuo felt like punching him when he saw this.

The two chatted and laughed as they drove, and time passed quickly. But when they were almost at Ziyu Villa, Qi Yuntian suddenly said, "Liu Yifei told Li Jing something before. She wants to play a role in 'The Eagle Catches the Chicken'."

Chen Nuo exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"No."

Qi Yuntian smiled and said, "Then you can test her later to see if she really wants to go to Hong Kong to act, or if it's for someone else... If she really wants to act, giving her a minor role is fine, she can film it in a day or two and then wrap it up. But I think it might not be that simple. So, I advise you to figure out what she's thinking and then see how to resolve it. Otherwise, Li Jing won't know how to refuse her, it's really a headache."

Chen Nuo nodded solemnly and said, "Understood."

Ps:

Less today.

I don't know why, but I've been feeling sleepy the whole time. I even fell asleep while writing this.

(End of this chapter)