1990: Starting from Baojia Street

After Zhou Yan finished playing the piano, he heard a burst of applause from the door. He turned around and saw Kudo Shizuka and the others standing at the door.

"It's too powerful."

Shizuka Kudo praised Zhou Yan and walked in his direction with a smile.

Zhou Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise. Kudo Shizuka said this sentence in Chinese. It seems that she has indeed been learning Chinese recently, and her pronunciation sounds pretty good.

Seeing Shizuka Kudo walking straight towards him, Zhou Yan stepped back, leaving a piano bench between the two of them. He still remembered the surprise hug he received from Shizuka Kudo at the concert last time.

But this time Kudo Shizuka didn't hug Zhou Yan, she stopped when she got there, "Zhou Yan, goodbye Nagoya, long time no see, how are you lately?"

Zhou Yan's eyebrows were raised even more this time, because Kudo Shizuka actually said this paragraph in Chinese, and it was also in the same standard.

Could it be that Shizuka Kudo is actually a language genius? Can you practice a language to this level in such a short time? Or does Shizuka Kudo have a foundation before?

"Well, it's been a long time indeed. Welcome to China, Miss Kudo."

Kudo Shizuka didn't fully understand Zhou Yan's words, but she understood the welcome and her name, and could probably guess the meaning.

"I'm very happy to come to China... uh, uh..."

She memorized the sentence just now. After saying it, when it came time to really communicate, she started to get stuck.

Zhou Yan rolled his eyes, feeling that this girl was so easy to use.

The assistant next to her, Nangong Songzi, now said, "Mr. Zhou Yan, I'm glad to meet you. Shizuka is still learning Chinese and has made rapid progress recently, but it still takes some time."

The translator they brought translated Nangong's words. Zhou Yan nodded, "Let's go to my office and talk."

Then Zhou Yan took them to his office. On the way, Shizuka Kudo was very lively and asked questions about everything she saw, and she also asked in Chinese.

Kudo Shizuka has a very cheerful personality. She and Zhou Yan are of the same age, but standing in front of Zhou Yan, she feels like she is a generation older. Zhou Yan looks like a veteran cadre, while she looks like a middle school student.

Mainly because she was dressed very girlishly, with small brown leather shoes paired with high-waisted shorts, a short knitted sweater on her upper body, and a bun. The overall style was very playful.

Zhou Yan responded casually to her curiosity. When he arrived at the office, Zhou Yan asked his secretary Xiao Li to make a few cups of tea, and then asked, "When is Miss Kudo's performance?"

"Five days later." Shizuka Kudo held out five fingers.

Zhou Yan nodded, "I wish you success in your performance."

Nangong Songzi said, "Mr. Zhou Yan, Jingxiang sang three of your songs before, and the response in Neon was very good, so this time when I come here, the company also asked me to express my gratitude to you."

Zhou Yan waved his hand, "No need to thank me specifically, this is normal cooperation, you also paid."

Nangong Songzi twitched the corner of his mouth. Zhou Yan was obviously an artist, but he spoke very straightforwardly and always put his money where his mouth is.

Just when Nangong Songzi was about to say a few words and talk about business, Kudo Shizuka said directly in Chinese, "Zhou Yanjun, can you help me write some more songs?"

Zhou Yan's expression was stagnant. Didn't he say a song, good guy, now it's super exciting to meet?

Moreover, Kudo Shizuka's words were very standard, and she had obviously practiced them in advance.

The translator translated Kudo Shizuka's words to Nangong. Nangong was also stunned for a moment, fearing that something might happen. Kudo Shizuka suddenly interrupted the rhythm of her conversation.

Zhou Yan looked at Kudo Shizuka up and down. To be honest, Kudo Shizuka's Chinese level did not meet his requirements, but it could be seen that she really paid attention and was not perfunctory.

If you don't have some talent in language, it's impossible to learn it well in a short time.

After pondering for a moment, Zhou Yan said, "I can write you a song, but you have to memorize the lyrics clearly before you can sing it."

When Shizuka Kudo heard the three words "I can" at the beginning, she almost jumped up. When Zhou Yan finished speaking, she immediately asked the translator for confirmation, "Did he say yes?"

The translator nodded, "Mr. Zhou Yan said that he can write a song for you, but you must memorize the lyrics."

Shizuka Kudo patted her chest and said confidently in Chinese, "I can do it."

Nangong Songzi looked at Zhou Yan and then at Jingxiang. She was also a little confused. Things were simpler than she thought. It seemed that Zhou Yan's requirements were not very high.

Or maybe Zhou Yan actually wanted to write a song for Shizuka, but he just said it deliberately to appear to have an attitude?

Seeing that Kudo Shizuka was very confident, Zhou Yan reminded, "If the pronunciation does not meet the standards I require, this song will not be given to you."

This time Nangong Songzi said, "Don't worry, Mr. Zhou Yan, Jingxiang will definitely practice well."

From Nangong Songzi's point of view, there is no disadvantage at all if he agrees to this matter. Even if Zhou Yanlai is serious and Jingxiang's pronunciation does not meet his requirements in the end, then it will be treated as if he did not invite Ge, and the situation will not be worse.

Zhou Yan nodded, "Okay, you go back and rest first, then come back tomorrow morning. I will give you the song then."

"Tomorrow?" Nangong Songzi looked surprised.

"is there a problem?"

Nangong waved his hands repeatedly, "No problem, we'll come over tomorrow morning."

After saying that, Nangong stood up first, but Kudo Shizuka remained motionless, "Matsuko, we just arrived."

Nangong pulled Kudo Shizuka and said, "Let's go first. Don't disturb Mr. Zhou Yan's creation. We'll come back tomorrow morning."

"Okay." Shizuka Kudo stood up reluctantly, and then said to Zhou Yan, "Then I'll come back tomorrow."

Zhou Yan nodded, "See you tomorrow."

After Shizuka Kudo and the others left, Zhou Yan returned to the large recording studio and sat down in front of the piano again.

In fact, he could give the song to Shizuka Kudo today, but he doesn't have time right now, because when he just wrote the soundtrack for "The Spring of the Cowherd Class", he had some ideas, so he was anxious to "realize" these ideas. .

There is a song in the original version of "Spring in the Cowherd Class" called "Summer Sunlight", with a light and lively tune. Zhou Yan added a short section to the original song to add to the darkness before the morning light at the beginning of the song.

After writing the instrumental music, Zhou Yan started writing the vocals. Because vocals are not what Zhou Yan is good at, he basically refers to the original music.

By the time Zhou Yan finished the adapted version of "Summer Light" except for the lyrics, it was already dark.

He sat on the piano bench, stretched his arms, then got up and packed up the music to go back.

While he was cleaning up, he suddenly heard a voice coming from the door, "Boss, are you going to have dinner here or go to the cafeteria?"

Zhou Yan turned around and saw Kong Chao, the young master of the cafeteria, standing at the door.

He looked at his watch. It was already half past seven.

"Xiao Kong, you haven't left yet?"

Kong Chao touched his head and said with a naive smile, "I see that you have been busy and haven't eaten, so I just want to wait until you finish your work. I left some food for you, and I will go and give it to you now."

After hearing what he said, Zhou Yan nodded and said, "Now that I'm tired, I'll go to the cafeteria to eat. I'll pack up here and go over there."

When Zhou Yan arrived at the cafeteria, Kong Chao had already heated up the food and put it on the table.

Although Zhou Yan was the only one eating, Kong Chao left a lot of dishes. He probably knew that Zhou Yan loved braised pork, so he deliberately left half a plate.

After the food was put on the table, Kong Chao sat in the kitchen and did not come out.

Halfway through the meal, Zhou Yan asked in the direction of the kitchen, "Xiao Kong, your hometown is Nanyang, right?"

Hearing Zhou Yan's voice, Kong Chao came out and said, "Yes, boss, my family is from Nanyang Nanzhao."

Zhou Yan nodded and asked, "How old are you this year?"

"nineteen."

Zhou Yan counted the days and said, "Nineteen years old, I am a rabbit."

"I am nineteen years old and born in the year of the Dragon."

"How many years have you been out?"

"Five years." Kong Chao replied with a smile.

Zhou Yan paused with his chopsticks. Kong Chao was eighteen years old, but he had been out for five years, which meant he had been out when he was thirteen.

Thirteen years old means that they have just finished elementary school. Children in remote and backward areas study late. There is a high probability that they have not even finished elementary school at the age of thirteen.

As a teacher, I always feel a little uncomfortable when I see this situation.

But he also knew that Kong Chao's situation was not an isolated case. There should be many children like this in rural areas. Let alone those who have graduated from elementary school, many students in some areas may not even know what books look like.

Although the country began to implement nine-year compulsory education in 86, in fact, backward areas cannot implement it at all. Nowadays, child labor is everywhere in the city.

The documentary "The Tilted World of Child Labor" published by Sun Hailang last year described the use of child labor in informal enterprises in coastal areas, mainly private individuals.

All sectors of society are now gradually paying attention to this matter, but they still pay attention to it, and there is still a long way to go to solve it.

Later Zhang Yimou filmed "No One Less", which also discussed this issue.

"You don't have to wait for me in this situation in the future. It ends relatively early tonight. Sometimes I may be busy until late. If you keep waiting like this, it will waste your time."

Kong Chao smiled and shook his head, "It's okay, boss. I don't have anything else to do after work anyway. I think it's good that I can still listen to music here."

Zhou Yan nodded, said nothing more, and began to eat seriously so that Kong Chao could go back early.

After eating, Zhou Yan thought of another thing, "I will cook for three more people tomorrow. Do you know how to make noodles?"

"Yes, boss, I helped cook at Zhajiang Noodle House before."

"Then let's make some noodles tomorrow."

"Ok."

……

The next morning, Zhou Yan arrived at the studio very early.

The song he promised to write for Kudo Shizuka yesterday has not been started yet. He also got up early today and was ready to come over and write the song out.

In fact, it doesn't take long. The tunes of popular songs are simple and easy to write. Moreover, Zhou Yan didn't write it himself, he just borrowed it this time.

Borrowing something is always quick.

It only took less than half an hour for Zhou Yan to write out the melody and lyrics, and then another half hour to roughly write down the arrangement.

After doing this, he began to write the soundtrack for "Spring of the Cowherd Class".

At about half past ten, Shizuka Kudo and the others came.

Today's Kudo Shizuka has a very different style from yesterday. She wears black high heels and a black tube top skirt. The hem of the skirt just reaches her knees. There are several large purple leaf lilies embroidered on her waist and left chest.

A pair of black gemstone earrings are also carefully matched according to this outfit.

If Kudo Shizuka didn't speak, she would still look very elegant, but when she spoke, her temperament would be broken, and she would still have the same girly feeling.

"Zhou Yanjun, let's meet again."

Zhou Yan smiled and asked directly, without wasting any time, "Can you read music?"

The reason why he asked this was because many pop singers couldn't even read music scores. This was not a shameful thing. Although there were many singers who couldn't read music scores, they sang very well.

"Of course, don't underestimate me. I also serve as a producer for my own records."

Zhou Yan handed her the written score, "Since you can read it, let's read the score first."

Although Kudo Shizuka can read music scores, her sight-singing ability is average and she cannot sing smoothly while reading. She also stumbles through notes one by one.

And it’s not like you can sing correctly right away.

Zhou Yan was at the side, and whenever he heard her voice being inaccurate, he would remind her.

"Low."

"Taller."

"Half a note lower."

This is actually quite difficult for Kudo Shizuka, because the songs she usually gets are pre-recorded demos, and she only needs to sing along with the demos, and she doesn't have to follow the music score. After a long time, Shizuka Kudo finished the first paragraph.

Zhou Yan said, "Hum the first six sentences again."

Shizuka Kudo nodded and began to hum the first six lines.

When Kudo Shizuka started humming, Nangong Songzi and the translator's eyes lit up.

When Shizuka Kudo was humming the notes one by one, they didn't actually feel that there was anything special about the song, but when Shizuka Kudo hummed the notes together, they immediately felt the charm of the song.

This is a very high-spirited song, and the first six lines make people feel a special kind of courage.

On the way here, Nangong Songzi was still wondering if Zhou Yan was perfunctory by writing a song in less than a day, but now it seems that there is no such thing at all. This song is definitely a masterpiece. .

And Nangong Songzi knows that this kind of songs will definitely be popular in Neon. Now that Neon's economy is not good and social pressure is high, people hope to gain motivation and courage from film and television works or music works.

After Zhou Yan finished listening to Kudo Shizuka humming the first six lines, he nodded and started to lead her to continue speaking the rest.

After humming the entire song, Zhou Yan was quite satisfied. Kudo Shizuka's performance was better than he expected.

She speaks quietly, but her singing voice is powerful.

After he finished humming, Zhou Yan began to teach her the lyrics again.

"I'll walk you through the lyrics, and then you'll have to memorize them yourself."

Kudo Shizuka nodded repeatedly, "Okay."

Nangong Songzi was quite confused. She didn't expect that Zhou Yan not only wrote the song, but also wrote the lyrics. Isn't this a bit too efficient?

They all said before that Zhou Yan had strong improvisation ability, but now it seems that it is not false at all.

Zhou Yan didn't care what they thought, now he just wanted to take Kudo Shizuka through the lyrics quickly, and then leave the song to them to figure out on their own.

"Let's get started, ahem."

"The first sentence, if pride is not coldly photographed by the sea of ​​reality"

"How do you know how to work harder?"

"Only can we go far"

……

That's right, the song Zhou Yan wrote for Kudo Shizuka is "First Dream". The original version is a neon song, "Riding on the Back of the Silver Dragon" composed by Miyuki Nakajima.

The Chinese lyrics of this song were written by Yao Ruolong, but the Chinese version of the lyrics is not as majestic as the neon version.

But the Chinese version of the lyrics is not without its advantages, that is, it is more direct and easy for ordinary listeners to remember.

When the audience hears "Silver Dragon", they may not understand what it means, but when they hear "The First Dream", they know what it means.

There is beauty in subtlety, and there is beauty in directness.

Whether it is the Chinese version of the lyrics or the neon version, they are all positive and uplifting, but the style is slightly different.

After going through the lyrics with Kudo Shizuka, he stood up and said, "There is no one in this recording studio recently, so you can practice here. If you don't understand the lyrics, you can also ask your translator."

Nangong Songzi said quickly, "Thank you very much, Mr. Zhou Yan, for writing such a good song for Jingxiang."

Zhou Yan waved his hand and said, "This song does not belong to Miss Kudo yet. I made it clear yesterday that her pronunciation must meet my requirements before this song can be given to her."

After speaking, he looked at Kudo Shizuka and said, "I hope that your pronunciation can satisfy me before you leave China."

Nangong Songzi wanted to say something else, Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, and then left.

After Zhou Yan left, Nangong Songzi touched her forehead, and things went beyond her expectations.

When Zhou Yan mentioned pronunciation yesterday, she was still thinking that she could give it a try. Even if Shizuka's final pronunciation was not up to standard, it would be treated as if she had not been invited to sing, and there would be no loss.

But now after hearing this song, she simply couldn't accept Shizuka losing this song.

If Shizuka can't sing this song, it will be a great loss.

"Shizuka, you have to work hard this time and memorize the lyrics well." After instructing Shizuoka, Nangong said to the translator, "Watanabe-kun, you will have to work hard during this period."

Although Kudo Shizuka will stay in Yanjing for more than a week, she actually doesn't have much time to practice songs because she has a lot of work in Yanjing.

Not to mention the performance, you need to prepare at least one or two days in advance, and you also have to accept interviews from three media.

Calculated this way, the time it takes to memorize the lyrics for Kudo Shizuka is only two or three days at most.

Nangong wouldn't worry at all if she just memorized the lyrics, but it would be much more difficult to pronunciation meet the standard. The key is that she didn't know what Zhou Yan's standards were.

To what level do you need to practice to pass?

Kudo Shizuka was very optimistic, "It's okay. The worst I can do is postpone my return to Neon for a while. Didn't he say that as long as I can meet the requirements before returning to Neon?"

"The key is that you also have a lot of work in Neon..."

Nangong sighed slightly. If he really needed to postpone it, there was nothing he could do about it. For this song, it was completely worth it.

"Hurry up and practice."

……

Zhou Yan left the recording studio to Shizuka Kudo, and went to a practice room to continue writing the soundtrack for "Spring in the Cowherd Class".

For the next two days, Kudo Shizuka came over early in the morning to practice "First Dream" in the recording studio, and didn't leave until dark at night.

On the third day, Shizuka Kudo went back to her work, and Zhou Yan ignored her.

Anyway, he only cares about the results. As for the intermediate process, he doesn't care.

Another four days later, Shizuka Kudo came to the studio again.

Zhou Yan counted the time, Shizuka Kudo should be able to learn neon lights, and she would probably have to ask him to hand in her homework today.

But what Zhou Yan didn't expect was that Shizuka Kudo didn't come to him. She just came to the studio early in the morning and started practicing as before, and then practiced until night.

Although he was curious, Zhou Yan didn't pay attention to her. The door of the recording studio was closed, and Zhou Yan didn't know how she was doing.

Just like that, another three days passed.

That night, Zhou Yan was busy until about eight o'clock in the evening. When he left, he found that the lights in the recording studio were still on.

He walked to the door of the large recording studio, gently opened the door, and then heard Kudo Shizuka's singing.

"If dreams never fall off a cliff

Close

How do you know someone who is persistent?

Have invisible wings

......"

Zhou Yan was very surprised when he heard the singing, because Shizuka Kudo's pronunciation was already very good. Although she could hear Neon's accent, every lyric was sung very clearly, and you could definitely understand what she was singing.

And what surprised Zhou Yan was that Shizuka Kudo was the only one there, her agent and translator were not present.

Zhou Yan did not interrupt, but leaned against the door and listened quietly.

It wasn't until Shizuka Kudo finished singing it once that Zhou Yan said, "It's very good."

The sudden sound startled Kudo Shizuka.

She clutched her chest and turned around. When she saw it was Zhou Yan, she smiled again, "Zhou Yanjun, you are here."

Although Shizuka Kudo came every day during this period, the two of them had not met or exchanged a few words. It was the first time that Zhou Yan took the initiative to come to see her like today.

"It's so late, why are you still here? Where are your agent and translator?" Zhou Yan asked.

Kudo Shizuka looked at Zhou Yan in confusion because she didn't understand what Zhou Yan meant.

Zhou Yan was also stunned, because after listening to Kudo Shizuka's pronunciation when singing, he didn't realize that Kudo Shizuka's Chinese proficiency was actually very poor.

He began to gesture with his hands and spoke at a fast pace, "It's already very late. Where are your agent, Miss Nangong and the others?"

Kudo Shizuka understood key words such as time and Nangong, and also understood what Zhou Yan meant.

She also gestured with her hands, "They will come to me soon."

Although it is a bit difficult, it is not to the point where communication is impossible.

Zhou Yan nodded and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

Shizuka Kudo understood this, she covered her stomach and said pitifully, "No."

Zhou Yan smiled, gestured and said, "I'll take you to dinner."

Kudo Shizuka showed a troubled expression, "I still want to practice."

"Eat first, follow me."

After saying that, Zhou Yan waved to her, and then went out first, and Kudo Shizuka followed obediently.

Kong Chao hadn't left yet. When he saw Zhou Yan and the others coming, he immediately stood up and said, "Boss, your work is over. I'll heat up some food for you."

Zhou Yan nodded, "Thank you for your hard work. Please make another bowl of noodles for Miss Kudo."

"Okay, boss, please wait a moment."

When Kong Chao went to the kitchen, Kudo Shizuka looked at Zhou Yan expectantly, "Zhou Yanjun, did I pass?"

Zhou Yan nodded, "Passed."

Seeing Zhou Yan nod, Kudo Shizuka clenched her fists excitedly, "Yeah, this song is mine."

"When your manager comes, I will ask her to discuss the song licensing with my manager. Once we have reached an agreement, you can sing this song."

After saying that, seeing the confusion on Kudo Shizuka's face, obviously not understanding what he said, he smiled again and said, "Just try your best."

Shizuka Kudo understood this, and she clenched her fist again, "Work hard, come on!"

Later, Shizuka Kudo kept looking for topics in Chinese. She wanted to communicate more with Zhou Yan and practice her Chinese proficiency more.

During her time in Yanjing, her Chinese proficiency has improved, and she can understand many simple things.

Otherwise, even Zhou Yan's gestures would be useless.

Zhou Yan was not in a hurry and chatted with her slowly.

While Kudo Shizuka was eating a bowl of noodles, Nangong Songzi and the translator hurried over.

When they went to the recording studio, they found that there was no sign of Shizuka Kudo inside, but they were startled and ran over to take a look when they saw the lights in the canteen were on.

As soon as she saw Nangong Songzi, Kudo Shizuka said excitedly, "Matsuzi, Zhou Yan has promised to sing the song for me."

Nangong Songzi was also very surprised: "Is it true?"

Zhou Yan nodded, "It's true. You can contact my manager Zhang Youan tomorrow and discuss the song licensing with him."

"No problem, I will contact Mr. Zhang Youan tomorrow morning."

……

The next day, Zhang Youan finalized the song matter with Omu Production. Not only was the song "First Dream" discussed, but the Chinese versions of the three songs "Stand With Me" were also discussed. down.

Kudo Shizuka's first Chinese album has a total of ten songs planned. Except for the four songs written by Zhou Yan, the other six are Kudo Shizuka's original songs. Just change the neon lyrics into Chinese lyrics.

Omu Production also proposed that these ten songs should be recorded in Zhou Yan's studio, which can be regarded as a business for Zhou Yan's studio.

The happiest thing about this incident was Kudo Shizuka, because it meant that she could come to Yanjing again to meet Zhou Yan in a while.

After Shizuka Kudo left, it was already the end of August. The Piano Youth Orchestra returned from the tour, and the studio slowly became lively. Zhou Yan also put down the work on hand for a while and went back to school to prepare for the start of school. (End of chapter)