Chapter 30: Have We Met Before? (1)

2 April 2023 | kaiyang

The Music-Box Dream Records today was no longer recognisable. About 5 years ago, the company and its publishing affiliate relocated to a commercial building in the Central Business District, which was owned by the Yu Group. The company occupied two floors of the building which were connected by an internal staircase: the lower floor housed the record label as well as meeting rooms, and the publishing arm had its office together with the executives' offices on the upper floor. It was well-known within the company that Music-Box Dream Records started as a humble music cafe; which was why Music-Box Dream Cafe operated on the first floor of the building, busily serving the coffee needs of all office workers in the building and in the area on the weekdays.

Even though it was a Sunday, the air-conditioning and small sections of lights were still turned on in the empty and quiet office and there were a few individuals at their workstations. Leading me up the stairs from the lower floor to the upper floor, A'Du explained that there were still recording and practice sessions that take place on the weekends, so their office was pretty much opened 24/7.

A'Du brought me into a private office which exuded an air of minimalistic sophistication. Curiously, there was no nameplate on the door to indicate the owner of this office. As I carefully settled onto the beige fabric sofa which rested on a soft knotted carpet, he asked if I wanted something to drink. Getting me a bottle of water as I had requested, he told me to make myself at home while waiting for Tan Qing.

Leaving me alone behind closed doors, I began glancing about my surroundings unreservedly, wondering if this was Tan Qing's personal office.

A set of executive desk and chair was positioned against the glass windows, tastefully adorned with translucent white blinds that were lowered halfway, softening and filtering the natural light pouring into the room. Two neat stacks of files and documents sat on the impeccably organised desk, decorated with a sleek computer. Beside the desk was a tall black wooden cabinet with glass doors, revealing what appeared to be a keyboard on one of the shelves. On the other side of the walls featured three framed oil paintings of the unique architecture in the Forbidden City, deepening the enigma as to the identity of the owner of this office.

After sipping on some water, I slowly relaxed into the sofa and closed my eyes to savour the rare moment of quietude. Perhaps it was due to the comforting and cosy nature of the fabric sofa, or maybe it was my lack of sleep as I tossed and turned in bed last night, anxious over the plagiarism allegations and fearful of my real identity being exposed on the internet; not long after my eyelids fell shut, I was lulled by the dull and monotonous hum of the air-conditioning into a deep, deep sleep.

*

I had a vivid and pleasant dream.

It was Spring of 2017. (Tianquan.)

Ruan Dan'ni said that she wanted to participate in our university's talent show by performing a song cover. She and her boyfriend had a hobby of busking on the city streets and they would often upload videos of their performances on social media. Having watched these videos, I knew of their prowess in performing song covers—Ruan Dan'ni was an talented singer and her boyfriend was excellent in playing acoustic and bass guitars.

When she told me that she wanted to form a small band and asked me to sing with her, I immediately rejected, not wanting to be a stumbling block in her path to fame; but she offered me the position of the keyboardist and insisted that they would only be singing one song, so all that I had to do was to practice hard for just one song. Seeing that they managed to find a drummer, another bass guitarist and even a saxophonist, but were unable to find a keyboardist, I reluctantly agreed. Little did I know that for our performance, I would end up doubling as a support vocalist.

For the talent show, our temporary band performed a cover of "Along with the Wind" by Luo Shengyi. Although we did not place in the top 3, our performance received a resounding applause and great feedback from our peers and even professors.

What I thought was just a once-off forgettable experience in my life, ended up becoming the start of my career in the entertainment industry.

After the talent show, a man named Cheng Yujin approached me as I was leaving the school auditorium. Giving me his name card, he introduced himself as a director and a producer at Blue Crane Entertainment Culture (BCEC); and praising me for my performance and talent, he invited me to an audition at BCEC, which he insisted was a legitimate albeit small record company.

Hearing that I was scouted, Ruan Dan'ni became excited and encouraged me to go for the audition after conducting a cursory background check on the company online. After we searched up Cheng Yujin's name on the internet, she became more thrilled than before—it turned out that although Cheng Yujin was not a celebrity, he was a professional singer-songwriter and producer who had been credited with many well-known songs. Ruan Dan'ni even offered to accompany me to the audition venue, which was held in a professional recording studio.

Out of curiosity, I went for the audition where I met Cheng Yujin and Gao Yi, the latter being the Chief Executive Officer of BCEC. After singing "Along with the Wind" for them, I exited the recording booth and waited for their comments.

"A'Jin, you really have a keen eye for talent," laughed Gao Yi before turning towards me with an impressed nod. "I'm glad that I had come all this way to hear you sing. With handwork and the right resources, which our company can provide, I think that you have the potential of becoming a singer."

"Thank you, Gao-zong," I responded softly, feeling slightly guilty. As I had not placed much hopes and expectations on this audition, truthfully, I had not practiced or prepared for it.

Uncrossing his arms and wrapping his hands around a knee, Cheng Yujin only had a faint smile on his lips, as he spoke to me in a serious tone: "Yujuan, I'm producing a song right now and I want you to sing it. When I heard your singing voice at the talent show, I thought that you are very suitable to sing the song that I wrote."

"Um—Cheng-zong, I'm really honoured for this opportunity to work with you. But I'm just a student and I don't really have any intention of becoming a singer..." I stuttered as doubts filled my mind. When I was younger, I had a chance to be a soloist during a choral performance. Back then, I did have a fleeting and unrealistic dream of being a singer; but there are millions of people who shared the same dream and how many could become famous singers?

"Why not?" asked Gao Yi.

I laughed shakily. "It doesn't pay. My parents said that it's better to have a stable job than a dream that doesn't put food on the table."

Bowing his head, Gao Yi chuckled softly under his breath. "I'll leave you to convince her."

My gaze shifted towards Cheng Yujin, and I watched him curiously.

Maintaining a small smile which didn't reach his eyes, he patiently explained: "Even if a person works hard to perfect one's singing, if he does not get any publicity, how can he become famous? If you sign with Blue Crane, we will definitely channel our resources into you and groom you to become a top-tier singer. And of course, for the time being, you will be remunerated for recording my song. Won't you consider it?"

"Even if you don't sign on as an artiste with us, you can first consider recording A'Jin's song. You can also earn some extra pocket money, and there will even be royalties," chimed in Gao Yi.

Raising one brow, I inquired with a subtle tone of disbelief. "There's such a good thing?"

"We are a legitimate record company and we treat our artistes well. You can look up our company online to read up further on us," said Gao Yi, leaping to defend the reputation and integrity of the small company which was started by Cheng Yujin and himself.

"But I saw online that your company is based on Beijing. I don't think I can—"

"Don't worry about that. When we need to practice or record, we will meet right here," Cheng Yujin interposed.

The two men in front of me exchanged silent glances while waiting for my response.

I tried considering their offer, but my brain whirled at the weight of all my considerations. After a moment, I sheepishly apologised. "I'll need to speak with my parents about this. Could you give me some time to think about it?"

"Of course. You have A'Jin's number. When you decide, just give him a call," said Gao Yi, smiling kindly.

After Cheng Yujin assured my parents that my studies would not be affected, they agreed that I could become a recording artiste under BCEC; and after reviewing the three-year contract which had very fair and reasonable terms, I signed a contract with BCEC.

But before I was allowed to record any songs, I was sent to attend vocal and dance classes to improve my skills. Cheng Yujin also arranged a number of photoshoots for my professional portfolio. It was only a few months and many song recordings later that I realised the songs which Cheng Yujin had written for me to sing were submitted by him to various production companies to be original soundtracks for movies and dramas. And around the same time, I discovered that Cheng Yujin was actually my music manager (and he only managed me), who was busily promoting me to various important and reputable individuals in the music industry, as he prepared me for the release of my first single.

As I worked with Cheng Yujin, I witnessed for myself how talented this handsome young man was despite only being in his late-20s. Not only was he talented, but he also had a gentle and kind personality. He would teach me patiently, provide a great deal of advice and, surprisingly, wise words and take good care of me. My first impression of him was that he was serious and strict, but after spending time with him, I learnt that he actually laughed and smiled a lot and had a kind of attractive witty humour. Gradually, as I got to know him better, I felt myself becoming attracted to him.

However, sometimes, it was difficult to comprehend his thoughts.

Once I asked Cheng Yujin whether he had considered becoming professional singer himself instead of hiding behind the scenes. His response was somewhat curious: he said that what he was doing now was part of an experiment to save lives.

Another time, I asked him why he had chosen me out of so many others at the talent show. He replied, with a mysterious smile, that I was part of his experiment to save lives.

Time passed like flowing water and it was soon Summer of 2019.

I was delighted when Cheng Yujin showed up at my graduation ceremony carrying a bouquet of pink roses with baby's breath in one hand, and a grey graduation bear in the other. As my parents had heard a lot about him from me, and they had only spoken to him once over the phone two years ago, they were equally excited to meet him. Seeing him in person, my father remarked that he was a mature and responsible man, although he appeared to look much younger than his age.

After graduating, I decided to become a professional singer, having gained a name in the industry. As I accepted more jobs and gigs, Cheng Yujin also became busier and was no longer able to accompany me as regularly as before; and thus, the company assigned me an assistant.

Sometime in the Winter of 2020, I came down with a bad bout of flu while filming an outdoor variety show. To avoid affecting the filming schedule, I kept my illness a secret from the crew and stubbornly continued participating in the filming. Once filming for that day's content was completed, I collapsed in my hotel room while running a high fever.

In my state of delirium, I heard my assistant's anxious voice as she crouched over me while speaking on the phone, I saw fragmented scenes of Cheng Yujin's worried expression as he lifted a hand from my forehead and my own hand reaching out for his, and I felt my lips move to slur "I miss you" and "Why did you only come now?".

I slept for a very very long time—my body heavy and weak—until my fever broke. When I woke up feeling half-recovered, Cheng Yujin's head was resting on the side of my hospital bed. Feeling me stir, his eyes fluttered opened and he looked at me slightly disoriented. He had a dull complexion and faint dark shadows under his slightly swollen phoenix eyes.

"Where am I? The hospital? Why are you holding my hand?" I croaked feebly.

Cheng Yujin laughed softly and I felt his warm hand tighten gently around mine. Peering at his white and appropriately plump fingers that were interlocked with my slender and thinner fingers, my cheeks warmed.

Lifting up our hands in the air, he said, "While you were burning up with a high fever, you grabbed my hand and refused to let go. You don't remember?"

Carefully retracting my hand, I shook my head and looked downwards, unable to hold his gaze. "I'm sorry for acting out of line."

"There's more," he threw out, leaning back into his chair, crossed his arms and legs and tilted his head backwards. "You said that you missed me a a lot and blamed me for not meeting with you after such a long time. In my defence, I was not neglecting you. It's just that our dear Celebrity Lu is a very busy person, whose schedule has been conflicting with mine over the past two months."

"Then," I said, smiling shyly at him, my nerves straining as I hesitated; but when I saw the puzzled yet encouraging expression on his face, I blurted out: "Did you miss me too?"

"When we start recording for your new album, we will be seeing a lot of each other. I should enjoy this brief respite from you as much as I can now," he scoffed in a teasing manner.

I grinned at his response, and could not help but launch another attack. "Cheng-zong, do you have a girlfriend?"

Cheng Yujin looked at me with surprise. "What?"

"I asked, do you have a girlfriend?"

"I spend all my time looking after a little girl like you. Where will I find the time to date?" he answered, his tone sounding as if he was blaming me.

I smiled wider—I had the perfect reply. "Don't worry. I'll take responsibility for you if you can't get married."

A slight embarrassment seemed to fall upon him as he stared at me as if at a loss for words; but he quickly recovered, breaking out into a smile. "You—Just take care of yourself and stay safe and sound, so that I don't have to spend all my waking moments being worried about you."

Just as I was about to ask him to consider my proposal sincerely, I felt my empty stomach rumble with hunger pangs, and I woke up from the dream.

***