Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

The Wind Rises.

Exchange Price: 200 Life Points.

Jiang Fan clicked on the song details and listened to the full version from beginning to end.

The song is restrained in the first half and explosive in the second half, with a clean and crisp emotional progression throughout, without a single superfluous note.

The key is vocal range.

The low register requires steady breath control, the mid register requires a narrative quality, and the high register requires explosive power.

Shen Nian passed all three tests.

This song is a perfect match for her voice.

[Redeem or not?]

"exchange."

[After deducting 200 life points, remaining life points: 18700]

Melody, lyrics, and arrangement all rushed into my mind at once.

Jiang Fan got out of bed, turned on his computer, and opened the document.

When he got to the chorus, his fingers paused on the keyboard for two seconds.

"Walking against the light, letting the wind and rain batter me—"

This word is perfectly suited to Shen Nian.

Jiang Fan typed out the complete lyrics, music, and arrangement framework in forty minutes.

I picked up my phone and checked the time. It was 11:40 PM.

I scrolled to Shen Nian's WeChat, opened the text box, and then exited.

Never mind, I'll talk about it tomorrow.

-

Monday morning.

Fanyin Studio.

When Jiang Fan pushed the door open and came in, Zhou Yutong had already made coffee and placed it on his table.

Good morning, Brother Fan.

Jiang Fan picked it up and took a sip; it was too sweet.

"Use less sugar in the future."

"Oh." Zhou Yutong took out her notebook and made a note of it.

Before he could even put his pen away, the person had already moved close to his desk, placing both hands on the edge of the table.

"Brother Fan, can I ask you something?"

"ask."

"What did you two talk about when Qingya came to the studio that day?"

Jiang Fan opened his notebook but didn't reply.

Zhou Yutong persisted: "When I came to tidy up the recording studio this morning, it was a mess. There was even a shoe print on the piano pedal—it looked like a high heel."

She blinked, her expression filled with curiosity.

Jiang Fan put down his cup.

"Have you finished your work for today? Would you like some extra work?"

Zhou Yutong quickly retreated to her workstation.

At 9:30, Li Cheng pushed open the door and came in.

He had a stack of documents tucked under his arm and was holding a glass of Americano he had brought from downstairs—he never drank anything Zhou Yutong made.

"The opposing lawyer sent a formal letter last night regarding the pre-trial mediation in the Shen Nian case."

Li Cheng spread the documents out in front of Jiang Fan.

"Sheng Hai agreed to return the copyright of 'Stars' and pay 26 million yuan in compensation. Hua Xingyu will issue a public apology—"

He turned to the fourth page and pointed to it.

"Their proposed solution was to post a Weibo message."

"Just one Weibo post?"

Jiang Fan pushed the printed lyrics and music manuscript aside.

"Not enough. Have Hua Xingyu himself appear on camera and read an apology statement. Post it simultaneously on Weibo and Douyin."

Li Cheng ran his index finger across the details of the compensation clause.

"Sheng Hai might not agree to let Hua Xingyu appear on camera to apologize. They don't even want anyone to see Hua Xingyu's face right now."

"Then let's make this a hard and fast rule for mediation. If you don't agree, we'll see you in court."

"Okay." Li Cheng closed the document. "I'll talk to the lawyer and add the conditions."

Jiang Fan pushed the newly printed manuscript over.

"Take a look at this."

Li Cheng picked it up and looked at the first page.

Song title: "The Wind Rises".

He flipped down.

When he turned to the chorus, his hand stopped.

"I once poured my youth into her, and I once played the notes of summer with my fingertips. Let my heart's desires take their course—"

Li Cheng remained silent, finished reading the second half, and then flipped through it again from the beginning.

"Is this for Shen Nian?"

"Yes. The first song of 'The Voice of Heaven'."

Li Cheng placed the manuscript on the table and pressed his palm on the paper.

"Just how many great songs are in your head, kid?"

"We won't use it all anyway."

"I don't believe you for a second."

Li Cheng carefully placed the manuscript inside a file folder.

"Should I notify Shen Nian to come over?"

"Hmm. Ten o'clock, please. Let her take her medicine first and then come."

-

At 10:02, Shen Nian appeared at the studio entrance.

Today I wore a gray and white striped shirt and tied my hair in a low ponytail.

Her complexion was still not good, but at least her lips had some color in them.

Zhou Yutong waved to her from the front desk: "Sister Nian! Sit here! What would you like to drink? Coffee or tea? My coffee is especially good—"

Plain water is fine.

Shen Nian walked in and sat down on the sofa.

Jiang Fan came out of the office, holding the printed lyrics in his hand.

"Take a look at this."

Shen Nian took it.

My gaze swept down from the first line, slowing down with each passing moment.

When she saw the chorus, her lips moved a few times as she silently recited the lyrics.

"Walking against the light, letting the wind and rain beat down on me."

After reading the last word, Shen Nian looked up at Jiang Fan.

"Is this a song for me?"

"Um."

Shen Nian placed the lyric sheet on her lap, pressing down the edges of the paper with both hands.

"Let's go to the recording studio." Jiang Fan stood up.

Shen Nian followed him through the corridor and pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the recording studio.

Jiang Fan sat down at the piano and opened the lid.

"Let's go through the melody first, no rush, listen to me play and hum along."

His fingers fell, and the prelude flowed out.

The melody is very light, and the narrative part of section A has a soothing rhythm.

Shen Nian stood in front of the microphone.

She opened her mouth.

"We traveled this route, stopping and starting along the way—"

The problem arose as soon as I opened my mouth.

The pitch was off, the rhythm was off, and the voice came out of the throat, hollow and weak.

Jiang Fan's fingers stopped on the piano keys.

Shen Nian herself knew that something was wrong.

She gripped the microphone stand, head bowed, and remained silent.

"How does it feel?" Jiang Fan asked her.

Shen Nian bit her lip.

"I don't feel anything."

She told the truth.

She was able to sing that night because Hua Xingyu was sitting in the audience.

All anger and resentment have a clear outlet.

But this song is different.

What she needed was something else—something she had lost long ago and could barely remember.

"Again."

Jiang Fan played the intro again.

Shen Nian sang it again.

It was a little better than the first time, but the emotion still didn't match the melody.

The third time was even worse.

The more she tried to find the feeling, the less she could, and her breathing became erratic.

Shen Nian stopped, her hand gripping the microphone stand, her knuckles turning white.

The recording studio was silent for about twenty seconds.

"Shen Nian." She looked up.

"How did you sing before?"

This question stumped Shen Nian.

before?

I used to hide in the school's music room when I was sixteen, playing an old piano and singing to the playground outside the window until dark.

Back then, I didn't know what breath control or vocal techniques were; I just wanted to sing.

That feeling.

She has forgotten.

Jiang Fan turned back and pressed a chord on the piano keys with his right hand.

"Let's do it one more time."

The intro played again, but the tempo was half a beat slower than written on the sheet music.

"Don't look at the sheet music. Look at me."

Shen Nian released the microphone stand, her hands hanging at her sides.

She looked at Jiang Fan's profile.

He was very focused as he played the piano, his fingers flying across the keys.

When they reached the fourth measure, Jiang Fan began to speak.

"Sing."

Shen Nian opened her mouth.

"We traveled along the way, stopping and starting, following the trail of the boy's drifting journey..."

This time, things are different.

She didn't think about how to breathe.

Her attention was completely focused on Jiang Fan's piano playing.

That voice was attached to her; no matter which direction she drifted, it would pull her back.

She looked at Jiang Fan's back.

That night during the guest singing battle, it was also from this back.

His voice pulled her from the water.

"I once poured my youth into her—"

The chorus is coming.

The piano chords thicken, the bass notes in the left hand sink down, and the melody in the right hand rises up.

Shen Nian's high note came out.

After a year of hardship, she finally straightened her back.

"I too once played out the vibrant summer with my fingertips—"

Shen Nian's eyes welled up with tears.

The energy emanating from his body was exactly the same as when he was sixteen.

"Let your heart guide you, and let things take their course."

The high note remained firmly held at its highest point, and Shen Nian's breath did not waver at all.

The last note fades away.

Jiang Fan's fingers left the piano keys, and he turned around.

Shen Nian stood in front of the microphone, her eyes red, but she didn't cry.

She clenched her fist. "I can still sing."

"nonsense."

Shen Nian paused for a second, then laughed.

Two more people appeared at the entrance of the recording studio at some point.

Li Cheng leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest.

Zhou Yutong squatted down next to him, covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes red-rimmed.

Li Cheng said softly, "If this song were sung on 'The Voice of China'—"

Jiang Fan closed the piano lid.

"Starting today, you'll have time in the recording studio. You can rehearse on your own every afternoon from 2 PM to 6 PM."

Shen Nian nodded.

She folded the crumpled lyric sheet and put it in her sweatshirt pocket.

"I will definitely sing this song well."

There was silence for a few seconds at the entrance to the recording studio.

Zhou Yutong was still squatting on the ground wiping away tears, her nose snoring loudly.

Li Cheng glanced down at her, then kicked her shin.

"Get up. Get to work."

"Waaaaah, Brother Li, you have no heart—"

"I have no compassion, yet I pay you a salary? Get up!"

Zhou Yutong wiped away her tears, got up, and walked towards her workstation, but turned back after taking two steps.

"Brother Li."

"What's wrong now?"

"If Sister Nian becomes famous, can I be the president of her fan club?"

Li Cheng's temples throbbed twice.

"You're one of her staff members!"

"Can't a staff member be the president?"

"No! Go back to work!"

Zhou Yutong pouted and returned to her workstation. As soon as her butt touched the chair, she took out her phone and created a new memo with the title "Preparation Plan for Sister Nian's Fan Club (Tentative)".