Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

After putting their luggage away and leaving the hotel, Chen Chao and Ji Ran drove for another ten minutes before arriving at a somewhat inconspicuous gray building.

After opening the car door, Chen Chao subconsciously took a deep breath, but the air he inhaled felt like it was carrying ice shards and was extremely cold, causing him to shiver involuntarily and reach out to pull the collar of his down jacket tighter.

Pushing open the glass door of the recording studio and walking in, Ji Ran exchanged a few words with the receptionist before leading Chen Chao directly to the recording studio where Li Ronghao and the others were.

Pushing open the recording studio door, Chen Chao heard a very soft piano melody, the prelude to "Misplaced Time and Space". After pushing the door open completely, the first thing that caught Chen Chao's eye was Li Ronghao sitting in front of the mixing console, nodding gently along with the melody.

Seemingly noticing the door opening, Li Ronghao turned around and saw Chen Chao walking in. His eyes immediately narrowed into slits with a smile.

"You've finally arrived!" Standing up from the mixing console, Li Ronghao strode over and gave Chen Chao a firm hug. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I've been listening to your demos every day lately, and the more I listen, the more I feel that your album is bound to be a hit."

"By the way, let me introduce the arrangement team to you first. This is keyboardist Xiao Zhao, my old partner; guitarist Da Liu, who has collaborated with Lao Lang before; bassist Ping Sheng; and drummer Lao Ke..."

Led by Li Ronghao, Chen Chao shook hands with each of the band members, and everyone looked at him with curiosity.

After all, it's extremely rare in the industry for a newcomer who has only released one song and hasn't released an album to have Li Ronghao personally supervise his production and mobilize his team.

"Brother Ronghao, isn't this a bit too much?" After getting to know the group of music arrangement team members, Chen Chao couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

"What's with the exaggeration? A good song needs good accompaniment and performance, otherwise it's a waste." Li Ronghao waved his hand in strong disapproval of Chen Chao's words.

"I confidently told Director Han that your album would definitely be a hit. If the final product isn't good, where will I put my face?"

"I see. So, which song should we record first today?" Since Li Ronghao had made this arrangement, Chen Chao didn't say anything more and instead got down to business.

After flipping through the sheet music, Li Ronghao finally stopped at one page and pointed to the song title. "Let's record 'Wrapped in the Light of the Heart' first. I'm most satisfied with the arrangement of this song. I recorded a part of it when they were rehearsing before. Listen to it."

Without waiting for Chen Chao's reply, he pressed the play button. The piano prelude flowed from the monitor speakers, the sound clear and warm, like a ray of sunshine in winter passing through the clouds. Then the strings slowly joined in, spreading out layer by layer, like a halo spreading.

After listening quietly for a while, Chen Chao couldn't help but nod slightly. The arrangement that Li Ronghao and the others had completed was almost exactly what he remembered. "Okay, let's start with this one. I'll test the sound first."

Stepping into the recording studio, Chen Chao skillfully put on the monitoring headphones and stood in front of the microphone. On the other side of the soundproof glass, Li Ronghao gave him a thumbs-up, indicating that they could begin.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Chao softly began to sing in time with the music, "Light, like clouds kneaded into a ball, like a whale kissing the waves..."

His voice was more composed than in the demo, and his breath control was more natural. The training over the past few months has significantly improved his abilities in all aspects.

Sitting in front of the mixing console, Li Ronghao's expression shifted from focused to surprised, then from surprised to excited. After Chen Chao finished singing the chorus, he immediately pressed the call button, "Stop, stop, stop! Chao, wait a minute. Have you been secretly learning from someone lately? Your breath control is so much better than last time!"

"No, I just practiced by myself following the tutorial." Faced with Li Ronghao's question, Chen Chao did not hide anything and answered honestly.

"You were born to be a singer!" After a moment of silence, Li Ronghao slammed his hand on the table. "Your voice was already great, and now your breath control is stable too. Recording will definitely be twice as effective. Come on, let's do a proper take!"

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By the third day of recording, the recording of "The Light Wrapped in the Heart" was considered complete. Li Ronghao was extremely satisfied with the finished product and had the mixing engineer produce a rough mix version that same day.

"Feel it for yourself, the spirit of this song is just so right." Sitting in front of the mixing console, Li Ronghao tapped his fingers lightly on the table in rhythm. "It's warm, firm, and powerful, but it doesn't feel preachy."

"Songs like yours are rare in the Chinese music scene. Most positive energy songs are written like slogans, but yours is different. It's more like a friend chatting with you, telling you not to be afraid, that the light is just ahead."

After listening to the rough version, Chen Chao couldn't help but nod in approval. Li Ronghao and his team had added a lot of positive aspects to the arrangement. The strings in the chorus were fuller than in the demo, and the drumbeats were more layered.

Of course, the most crucial point is that he handled his own voice perfectly, making it clear yet not thin, warm yet not greasy.

"Brother Ronghao, this version is great."

"This is just the beginning." Li Ronghao waved his hand. "The rough mixing is just a foundation. The official mixing still needs to be polished more carefully, but let's ignore that for today and record a song - 'Misplaced Time and Space'."

This song is one of the first few songs Chen Chao wrote after his rebirth. He even sang it in the courtyard of the "Riding the Waves" crew before. At that time, he played the accompaniment on his phone and sang it for Deng Chao and the others, which made Sun Yi cry.

Now that he's officially recording it, he's actually more nervous than when he recorded "Wrapped in the Light of the Heart." This song has a slightly different meaning for him.

"We've made two versions of the arrangement for this song," Li Ronghao began, introducing the arrangement details. "One version is purely piano accompaniment, highlighting your voice and the emotion in the lyrics; the other version adds a string quartet for a stronger atmosphere. You can choose whichever you prefer!"

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Chao made a decision: "Let's use the piano version. The lyrics of this song are already quite full. If the arrangement is too complicated, it will overshadow the emotional focus. The piano is enough. We'll leave the rest of the space for the listeners to fill in themselves."

Li Ronghao raised an eyebrow and smiled, clearly satisfied with Chen Chao's answer. "Okay, then let's use the piano version."

Stepping into the recording studio, Chen Chao put on his monitoring headphones. The piano prelude flowed from the headphones, a completely different experience from playing accompaniment on his phone in the film crew's courtyard. Every note was as clear as a drop of water falling on a calm lake, with ripples spreading outwards.