RBCT Chapter 38 Nothing is Not You
Chapter 38 Nothing is Not You
The man was dressed in a simple gray T-shirt and jeans, with slightly curly hair and black-rimmed glasses. He had a refined and scholarly air, like a university lecturer.
"I'm Chen Mo, your producer." He extended his hand to Wang Bo with a gentle smile. "President Su has discussed your musical philosophy and creative direction with me in detail, and I'm really looking forward to our collaboration."
Despite this, a fleeting hint of disdain crossed Chen Mo's eyes.
The power of capital is terrifying; it can turn a pretty boy with no representative works into a top star.
Su Xiaoxiao is the capital, while Wang Bo in front of her is a pretty boy who has been favored by capital.
Wang Bo shook hands with Chen Mo: "Hello, Teacher Chen, I am Wang Bo. Please give me your guidance."
"Don't call me teacher, just call me Brother Chen." Chen Mo waved his hand with a smile, "Come on, let me show you around our creative base."
He led Wang Bo around, explaining as he went: "This area is the control room. Most of the equipment was moved from your previous company—General Manager Su said you're familiar with it and find it easy to use. That's the recording studio; it's professionally acoustically treated, so recording vocals and instruments is no problem."
Wang Bo walked up to the Neve mixing console and gently touched its smooth surface.
Despite the cold touch, you can almost feel Zhou Yuji slapping the mixing console and speaking with great bravado.
"Thinking of President Zhou?" Chen Mo keenly sensed his emotions.
Wang Bo nodded: "A little, this mixing console is her most treasured possession."
"President Su mentioned President Zhou to me," Chen Mo smiled, "saying that she is a rare true-to-hero in the entertainment industry. She ruined her company but still traveled the world so freely. This kind of level is not something ordinary people can reach."
As the two were talking, the door to the recording studio was pushed open.
Su Xiaoxiao walked in with an aura of confidence, wearing a champagne-colored suit skirt and seven-centimeter stilettos.
She didn't wear her hair up today; her long, straight black hair was casually draped over her shoulders. Her red lips were still dazzling, but she looked a bit softer than usual.
"Everyone's here?" Su Xiaoxiao glanced around. "Chen Mo, you're in charge now. Proceed according to the plan we discussed. Wang Bo, today you'll get to know Chen Mo better and discuss the creative direction. Don't rush into writing songs; this is a period of reflection. The key is to absorb and think."
Wang Bo nodded.
Su Xiaoxiao then looked at Chen Mo: "Is the equipment all set up? Let me know if you need anything."
"Everything is ready," Chen Mo said with a smile. "Don't worry, President Su, I won't overwork your 'cash cow'."
Su Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow: "What cash cow? He's a musician. Wang Bo, right?"
Wang Bo readily agreed: "Yes, yes, Mr. Su is right. He is a musician, not a cash cow—although he can make money."
Su Xiaoxiao was amused by him, and her smile shed the disguise of a business elite, revealing a touch of the vivacity of a young girl.
"Alright, you guys chat, I have a meeting." She waved her hand, turned and left, but turned back at the door. "Oh, right, Wang Bo, Yiyi might come over to bring soup at noon. She stewed pork ribs and yam, saying it's good for the lungs—although I don't know why recording something would be good for the lungs."
The door closed, and the recording studio fell silent.
Chen Mo pushed up his glasses and looked at Wang Bo: "Teacher Su cares a lot about you."
Wang Bo pretended to be naive: "Teacher Su cares about everyone. She's a music teacher, it's an occupational hazard."
Chen Mo didn't point it out, and instead smiled and changed the subject: "Come on, let's hear what inspiration you've had lately, or what style you'd like to try."
The two sat down in the control room, and Wang Bo took out his phone and played a few demos of melodies he had recorded on his phone over the past few days.
There are fragments I wrote after overhearing a couple arguing on the subway, tunes I hummed when I saw a cleaning lady secretly wiping away tears backstage at a commercial performance, and a chord progression that suddenly burst forth during a performance in the rain that day.
Chen Mo listened attentively, occasionally jotting something down in his notebook, his surprise and interest growing stronger.
"Your music is very genuine," Chen Mo commented after listening to it. "It's not genuine on a technical level, but genuine on an emotional level. You can capture emotions from the most ordinary details of life and then turn them into melodies. This ability is very precious."
Wang Bo was somewhat surprised: "Don't you think these are too small, Brother Chen? They're not like the grand narrative of 'Once Upon a Time'."
"Music has no distinction between big and small," Chen Mo shook his head, "only between true and false. A genuine fragment of emotion is more powerful than a hundred fake climaxes that showcase technical skill. What we need to do is polish and piece these fragments together to create a complete work."
Then, Chen Mo closed his notebook: "Just play around in the recording studio for a bit, get familiar with the equipment, and find your rhythm. Don't feel pressured. Creativity isn't something you can force; it's something you develop through play, not something you're forced to do."
Wang Bo nodded and walked towards the musical instrument storage area.
There were guitars, keyboards, basses, drums, and even a violin.
He picked up a wooden guitar and casually strummed a few chords, producing a warm and full tone.
Sitting on the sofa in the recording studio, facing the professional recording equipment, Wang Bo suddenly felt as if he had been transported to another world.
My phone suddenly vibrated.
It was a WeChat message from Zhou Yuji—a video link.
Wang Bo clicked on it and saw a collection of Zhou Yuji's travel videos.
The title is very much in Zhou Yuji's style: "This Miss's Global Wandering Diary Part 1: The Western Regions Prequel and the Western Regions Main Chapter".
The video begins with a vast ocean, followed by mountains and rivers, and then the Gobi Desert, where the sun is scorching and the sky is a blindingly blue.
Interspersed with shots of Zhou Yuji.
Some sit on the beach, facing the sea or with their backs to the sea.
There was someone wearing a burgundy bomber jacket and sunglasses standing next to a dilapidated off-road vehicle on the mountaintop.
She rode a horse across the grassland, and the horse looked even more arrogant than she did.
There's a picture of her gnawing on a lamb leg at the night market, her eyes shining as she looks at the camera.
She pitched a tent under the starry sky, with the dazzling Milky Way as a backdrop.
She was washing her feet by the river, and water splashed all over her...
The background music for the video is, of course, "The You of the Past".
As the video ended, Wang Bo stared at the black screen, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his face.
Zhou Yuji is truly a sight to behold wherever she goes.
He opened the comments section and found that quite a few people had already left messages.
"Rain Princess is so cool!"
"This life is my dream!"
"Does the lady need someone to carry her bag? Someone who's college educated and knows how to eat!"
Wang Bo thought for a moment, then typed out lines of text with his fingers.
It's not just ordinary "envy" or "beauty," but a poem.
After you finish writing, click send.
Putting down his phone, Wang Bo continued strumming his guitar.
At this very moment, in an inn in a small town in the Western Regions, Zhou Yuji, who was editing a video on her laptop, suddenly sprayed the milk tea she had just taken a sip all over the screen.
"Cough cough cough..." Zhou Yuji frantically wiped the screen, but her eyes were fixed on Wang Bo's comment.
She read it three times.
Then, he suddenly jumped up from the chair and spun around the room three times.
Her eyes grew brighter and brighter: "This kid...this kid..."
She grabbed her phone, opened WeChat, and found Wang Bo's chat window.
Not long after, Wang Bo's phone started vibrating incessantly.
He picked it up and saw that Zhou Yuji had sent a 60-second voice message.
Click to open.