Who taught you to be a celebrity like this?

Chapter 158 The Closer, the Further Away

At this moment, Zhong Manyue was still in the same state as when she was seen during the day. She smiled slightly, nodded to Li Ye, pulled out a chair and sat down. Her expression returned to indifference, polite yet distant, and her temperament became increasingly aloof.

Zhang Xiaoqi said that this is her state of mind when she is making songs.

Li Ye thought to himself, "Would Sister Manyue treat me like a vocal coach in the dream space, just like Xiaoyu? What have I done to deserve that?"

As a singer, Chung Manyue's greatest strength is not her songwriting, but her voice, singing style, and technique; she is a typical vocal powerhouse.

She has a unique musical aesthetic. Even a catchy, low-brow internet song can have an extraordinary beauty when sung by her. This is probably what is often referred to as a sophisticated feel online.

Feeling guilty, Li Ye didn't know how to start the conversation.

"Ah Ye, I'm in good shape right now, and I hope to start working as soon as possible," Zhong Manyue said slowly, looking into Li Ye's eyes.

"Uh, let's begin then." Li Ye replayed "The Postman," the song he had paused when Zhong Manyue appeared at the door.

As she listened to the song, Chung Manyue's calm expression gradually changed, sometimes furrowing her brows, sometimes relaxing as if she were enjoying herself.

After one take, Zhong Manyue suddenly stood up: "I'm going in for a sound check now, you can listen and see if it sounds right."

Li Ye also got into work mode, not saying much, just nodding.

Chung Manyue picked up the lyrics sheet and went into the recording room.

[Until the fine snowflakes fell and drifted into the distant deep sea...]

It's just right, it's perfect from the first word.

Wearing monitoring headphones, Li Ye unconsciously thought that Zhong Manyue and Gu Xiaoyu were practically two typical examples when it came to singing.

Chung Manyue's singing was certainly not without flaws, but she found the right feeling after only one listen and sang it with her own unique flavor on the basis of the original version.

With a little more polishing, it feels like it's ready to meet the requirements of a recording studio.

If it's just about meeting the requirements of the recording studio, it's actually not difficult for Li Ye.

The reason he spends five or six days learning each new song in the dream space is because he needs to completely understand a song, whether it's the core of the lyrics and music or his own singing style.

The effect of this is that, in actual performances, as long as he sings well, his emotional impact is maximized, and he simply...

There's no need to consciously think about how to act; this could even be considered a passive ability.

This is why audience members still fondly remember being a guest at a Chung Manyue concert, at a music festival, and even for a performance of "Happy Sunday" that wasn't even a formal stage performance.

Some viewers may not have thought much of it at the time, but the more they reflect on it, the more memorable it becomes.

So much so that now they urge Li Ye to participate in music festivals and hold concerts every day.

After singing it once, Chung Manyue didn't come out, but continued singing.

Feeling better and better, Li Ye was thoroughly enjoying himself.

After that, Li Ye and Zhong Manyue didn't exchange any other words besides about the song, and before they knew it, their dream space for the night came to an end.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Zhong Manyue woke up naturally from the soft bed. She pressed a button on the bedside table, and the curtains of the French windows slowly opened, letting in the refreshing January sunlight, which instantly brightened the dim room.

Chung Manyue tossed her loose, long hair, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, quickly washed up, glanced at her younger sister who was still fast asleep in the next room, and then went into the music room.

She carefully placed the guitar on the chair aside, sat down, and cleared her mind for two minutes. Just as she was about to continue writing the song she hadn't finished, she suddenly remembered...

I think I dreamt about Li Ye last night?

She only remembered that she and Li Ye were recording songs in the recording studio, but she couldn't recall what songs they were recording or which recording studio they were in.

Most dreams are like this; perhaps she had always admired Li Ye's musical talent and had this dream because she learned that he would be involved in the production of her album.

Chung Manyue shook her head without thinking too much, and began to hum the melody. Looking at the lyrics of the chorus she had written, the image of Yu Caiwei, who, on her last night in Namibia, knowing it was impossible, still bravely and even resolutely confessed her feelings to Li Ye in front of so many people and in front of the camera gradually appeared in her mind.

There's also Yu Caiwei's tearful yet forced-to-be-strong demeanor after being rejected.

Chung Manyue still can't understand Yu Caiwei's motives and choice to confess, but the incident touched her, so she decided to write it into a song.

Many of her songs are written like this.

at the same time.

"Kou Ni Ji Wa".

Sayonara.

"Bring adhesive tape."

Li Ye communicated with AI in simple Japanese for half an hour, ending his Japanese practice for the day.

He glanced at WeChat and realized that Sister Manyue hadn't replied to the message he sent last night. He was also thinking of mentioning "The Postman" while he was at it.

I'll bring out the idea directly in a couple of days; it's a good start.

Li Ye didn't pay much attention and continued with his own business.

He feels busier now that he's not working than when he was employed, with his daily schedule incredibly full.

However, two days have passed and Zhong Manyue still hasn't replied. Yesterday, he even sent a WeChat message specifically about the song.

Li Ye began to wonder if something had happened to her, and was just about to call her when Zhang Xiaoqi called.

"Brother Xiaoqi, have you contacted Sister Manyue these past two days? I sent her a message two days ago, but she hasn't replied yet," Li Ye said first.

Zhang Xiaoqi's laughter came through the phone: "When she's completely absorbed in her creative process, she usually doesn't look at her phone. If you need to contact her, just call her directly, or contact Xiaotong."

"It's alright..." Li Ye was relieved and then asked Zhang Xiaoqi what he wanted to talk about on the phone.

What else could Zhang Xiaoqi be up to? He had simply reserved his schedule for Zhong Manyue and Li Ye, refusing to take on any other work. He was currently in a relatively free state and was also very curious about Li Ye's new album, so he wanted to go directly to Li Ye's house to find out.

After listening to his hesitant explanation, Li Ye thought it wouldn't be bad to have another person accompany him to watch the movie, so he sent the address over.

An hour later, Zhang Xiaoqi arrived. Li Ye paused the film, ran to open the door, and then quickly jogged back—the European and American film was reaching its climax.

"Your house is nice... What are you doing?" Zhang Xiaoqi changed into a pair of slippers, looked around, and walked in. Then he heard loud sound effects coming from the TV, and Li Ye was hugging one leg, staring intently at the TV screen.

"Watching a movie, huh?" Even during the climax of the plot, Li Ye still took the time to answer this seemingly random question, which showed his respect for Zhang Xiaoqi.

"I know you're watching a movie..." Zhang Xiaoqi stammered, gesturing with both hands. He had always thought Li Ye was at home in seclusion, working on his new album.

"There are drinks and water in the fridge, and some snacks in the cabinet next to it. Don't be shy, help yourself." Li Ye pointed in a direction, moved to a corner of the sofa, and leaned back to continue watching the movie.

Zhang Xiaoqi didn't feel that Li Ye was being impolite. On the contrary, he was quite happy that Li Ye treated him this way. The change in address from "Teacher Zhang" to "Brother Xiaoqi" proved that their relationship was becoming more and more familiar.

He went and got a drink, and when he came back, he didn't say much. He sat down in the other corner of the sofa and watched a movie with Li Ye.

More than half an hour later, the movie ended, and Zhang Xiaoqi finally spoke up: "How's the new album coming along?"

"Still stuck." Li Ye pressed the remote control and selected the next movie.

Zhang Xiaoqi watched Li Ye's actions without saying much, thinking it was Li Ye's way of relaxing.

However, half a day later, Li Ye watched two more movies.

Zhang Xiaoqi couldn't help but advise, "Aye, if you want to clear your mind, you'd better go outside for a walk. Even if you don't want to go out, listening to some music would be good."

Seeing Xiao Qi's anxious expression, Li Ye remembered that he could also show him "The Postman" first.

"What's this?" Zhang Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow when he saw the file named "Postman" sent by Li Ye on his phone, asking with a mixture of anticipation and disbelief.

"A song for Sister Manyue," Li Ye said.

"It's only been two days!" Zhang Xiaoqi said as he opened the folding screen and started looking at the documents.

Li Ye didn't record a demo; this document only contained lyrics and sheet music, which naturally posed no challenge for Zhang Xiaoqi.

Upon seeing the lyrics, Zhang Xiaoqi knew it was a Cantonese song. He raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Ye, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled with satisfaction.

Li Ye responded with a smile.

In fact, Zhang Xiaoqi was overthinking it. Li Ye didn't specifically want to give Zhong Manyue a Cantonese song. It was only based on the album's needs and his perception of Zhong Manyue's potential vocal characteristics that this song came about.

While looking at the lyrics and music files, Zhang Xiaoqi's expression changed frequently, even becoming distorted. However, after closing his folding phone, he fell silent with a blank expression.

"Doesn't it meet the album's requirements?" Li Ye asked.

Zhang Xiaoqi didn't answer the question, but stared straight into Li Ye's eyes: "How on earth did you write such lyrics?"

You are a thousand piles of snow, I am a long street; you are a letter, I am a postman. Zhang Xiaoqi really didn't want to believe that such a beautiful and fateful metaphor was written by Li Ye in just two days while writing his new album.

Even if he believed in Li Ye's talent more than anyone else, he would find it hard to withstand such a blow.

Zhang Xiaoqi left without saying anything more, carrying with him complex and indescribable emotions.

Not long after, on his way to pick up Li Xiran from school, Li Ye received a call from Zhong Manyue.

One person said thank you, the other said you're welcome, and then the call ended.

Six days later, in the morning, Li Ye threw off the quilt, went out onto the balcony in his thin pajamas to feel the cold wind, still unable to contain his excitement, and almost shouted out – I finally succeeded.

The progress of this Japanese song was much faster than he had expected, and he finally learned the name of the song: "I Once Thought of Ending It All".

The temperature dropped last night, and the cold wind blew straight to the bone. Li Ye finally recovered from his excitement, shivered, returned to the warm living room, put on a coat, and went to the computer room.

He shoved the keyboard under the monitor, cleared a space on the desktop, and then picked up a box from beside his feet containing five hundred copies of the CD and vinyl records of "Wilderness".

Ding Yan said that how to deal with fans is a lifelong lesson for artists. No matter what Li Ye thinks, he wouldn't be where he is today without fans. She asked him to sign these CDs and vinyl records as a way to give back to his fans who support him through a lucky draw.

Li Ye has a complete and definite idea for his new album, but the first half might be very tough on his fans.

Putting everything else aside, the tear-jerking power of just one song, "I Once Thought of Ending It All," is quite immense.

Since things are already this bad, let's send more... Li Ye called his aunt and asked her to find someone to send another 500, no, 1,000 portions.

Ding Yan acted quickly, and Chen Hu brought the goods over in less than an hour.

Li Yehua spent half a day getting all the signatures done and then began working on the Chinese lyrics for "I Once Thought of Ending It All".

Although he already fully understood the meaning of the song, in order to better understand the artistic conception of the original lyrics, he still consulted with Fujiwara Chinatsu while referring to the translation.

Li Ye only began writing lyrics after fully understanding the meaning behind the Japanese lyrics.

He originally thought this would be the most difficult part, but from writing the first word to finishing, it only took him less than half an hour.

Perhaps they had personal experience with it before.

In the days that followed, Li Ye was much more relaxed because he didn't have to worry about things all the time. Then, on January 16th, he received a call from Zhang Xiaoqi informing him that Zhong Manyue's "The Farther Away" was about to start recording.

Chung Manyue's album that won her the Best Actress award last year was called "The Closer," and there is clearly some continuity in themes between them.

Because the album "Closer" contains some songs about love narratives, and they are not very pleasant—not about heartbreaking heartbreak, but rather, from an outsider's perspective, cruelly telling the listener that this is what love is like, and if it isn't, then there is no love.

Li Ye casually asked Zhang Xiaoqi if Manyue had been deeply hurt by a scumbag. Zhang Xiaoqi's answer was: She just likes to write like that.

After learning about Zhong Manyue's family background, he had his answer.

When Li Ye arrived at Fanxing, Zhong Manyue was already recording a song.

She was recording a song with a slightly jazzy style, which sounded a bit strange to Li Ye because he couldn't help but think of Yu Caiwei.

Perhaps because it was a song she wrote herself, she already knew how she would sing it while writing it. Chung Manyue recorded it extremely quickly, finishing this relatively difficult song in less than two hours.

Li Ye suggested at the right moment, "Sister Manyue, how about we record 'The Postman' for the next song?"

Chung Manyue didn't ask why, and simply nodded and said yes.

Li Ye made this suggestion because he wanted to write another song for Zhong Manyue.

"The Farther" is of good quality, and it connects his "The Postman" to thematic narrative, but it could be even better.

Of course, the main reason was that Li Ye wanted to hear the singing voice he was looking forward to from Zhong Manyue.

If the Dream Space wants to trigger a new song again, the song needs to be recorded in reality.

The recording of "The Postman" was not so smooth. Unlike in the dream space where there was a reference, Chung Manyue started at 3 pm and worked on it until 10 pm before finally finding the right feeling.

However, this time, she sang with a more authentic feel than she did in the dream space.

Li Ye only reminded her once during the process to sing it "lighter".

"Brother Xiaoqi, Sister Manyue, I probably won't be coming for the next couple of days," Li Ye said before leaving the recording studio.

Zhang Xiaoqi and Zhong Manyue didn't say much. Li Ye was involved in the album's production, so he would definitely consider any opinions he might have, but it was fine if he didn't come.

After disappearing for two days, Li Ye reappeared with a new song.

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