I was exposed for adding my female boss to my group of female friends.

The mentors and the audience would never think that Jin Lan couldn't sing; they would only think that he lacked ability.

If Gu Yuqing knew that he wrote this kind of song and got the lowest score, she would probably laugh at him for ten years.

If she writes a difficult song, Jin Lan won't be able to sing it; if she writes a catchy pop song, she'll easily ruin her reputation.

What song should we choose to achieve the best of both worlds...?

Fortunately, there are a few suitable songs in Chen Ya's music library.

Finally, Chen Ya wrote the first line of lyrics on the manuscript paper:

"Leaning against the tree branch,

Dragonflies landed by the dew to cool off.

Under the plum tree after the confession

The soil sprouted.

Unbelievably beautiful…

Plum Jam.

That's it.

Most of the hit songs that became popular during the era of rapid change lacked substance; they were mass-produced and focused on quantity.

They don't just write songs, they produce them. They use the same motif, the same arrangement, and the same chords, releasing hundreds of songs at once, then throwing them all online to fend for themselves. Whoever becomes popular gets promoted.

Among these mass-produced "divine songs," "Plum Jam" is considered quite good.

Back then, "Plum Jam" was very popular, and after "The Lone Warrior" became popular, this one came along, but the ones that criticized it were even more popular.

Many people criticize "Plum Jam" as a catchy pop song, and they're right, it really is a catchy pop song.

Chen Ya doesn't actually have any aversion to pop songs. Everyone grew up listening to these kinds of songs, so there's nothing to look down on.

The reason for using this song is that the melody is relatively simple, but not so simple; it sounds catchy, but not so catchy.

Having someone as tone-deaf as Jin Lan sing it gives it a sweet, cheesy feel, like a romantic idol drama, which has a unique charm.

But if a great singer, like JJ Lin, sings it, it will have a completely different feel.

There are some high notes and key changes in the music. Strong singers can handle them very well, but weak singers can just tilt their heads and get away with it.

In short, it doesn't rely on the singer's skill, yet it relies heavily on the singer's skill.

Most importantly, Chen Ya felt that if this song were released here, it would become a hit.

It's a lightweight entertainment variety show with strong backing and a large following. With a little push, these catchy songs can easily become popular.

In fact, Chen Ya had also considered titles like "The Lone Warrior" and "Little Apple".

But what level is Eson at, and what level is Jin Lan at? Jin Lan has no right to try and piggyback on his success. A song like "The Lone Warrior" might not have been a hit if it had been sung by someone less skilled.

"Little Apple" is just too cheesy; if he wrote it, people would probably doubt his songwriting skills. After all, he's only a newcomer.

Let's stick with this one.

Chen Ya wrote furiously on the manuscript paper.

"Cough cough."

I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.

Before anyone knew it, Jin Lan had already entered and was standing behind the door.

She crossed her arms and looked at Chen Ya with an air of arrogance.

Although I just said in front of Yu Xiaoxiao and He Su that I would still work seriously with Chen Liang to create good works, that was said to the camera.

She has her pride too. She says she doesn't care, but does she really not care? She left in a huff earlier, and now she's back as if nothing happened. Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?

Chapter 411 Remembering Jiang Xinhai

However, her attempt at composure was in vain; Chen Ya didn't even notice her.

Jin Lan was even more annoyed.

She had come over on her own initiative, and Chen Ya not only didn't surrender and greet her with courtesy, but he didn't even glance at her!

If this weren't a TV show being filmed, Jin Lan would definitely have made a scene and let everyone on the ship know that Chen Liang is... a complete idiot!

He Su and Yu Xiaoxiao both said she wasn't off-key, and no one in the entire production crew thought she was off-key. Only he said he was off-key. Did he know more than the mentors?

Between Jia Yi, a musical genius, and Meng Xing, a musical prodigy, she picked this musical failure. She hadn't even complained about him yet, and he was already causing trouble!

Is this even reasonable?!

Jin Lan decided that she needed to have a serious talk with Chen Liang and make him realize his place.

Jin Lan strode up behind Chen Ya, crossed her arms, and said coldly, "Are you really not planning to continue playing this game?"

Chen Ya then realized there was someone behind him, but he was currently engrossed in composing music and only glanced back at her.

He slapped a piece of paper at Jin Lan with his backhand and said crisply:

"I haven't finished writing the melody yet, so you should write down the lyrics first."

Jin Lan was taken aback, subconsciously took the manuscript paper, looked at the song title on it, and paused slightly:

"Uh... plum jam?"

Chen Ya didn't have time to pay attention to her. Jin Lan sat on his bed and looked down at the lyrics.

"Leaning against the tree branch, dragonflies landed by the dew to cool off, and under the plum tree after the confession, the soil sprouted... Is this a primary school student's composition?" Jin Lan complained.

"If you're not satisfied, just write your own lyrics. Why waste so much time talking nonsense?"

Jin Lan really wanted to shout, "Can't you be a little nicer to girls?", but she was afraid that Chen Liang would really make her write the lyrics herself, so she held back.

Moreover, Chen Liang is very good at arguing, and she felt that she couldn't win the argument.

In an attempt to save face, she took the lyrics and meticulously examined each word for it.

"What does the phrase 'slow cooking over a low flame' even mean? It doesn't make any sense at all."

Chen Ya was speechless. He knew that many young actresses in the entertainment industry were uncultured, but Jin Lan's remarks still made him want to punch her.

"This is a rhetorical device. For example, in 'Hair Like Snow,' 'Your hair is as white as snow, making our parting beautiful,' or in 'Seven Mile Fragrance,' 'The full ears of rice bring happiness to this season,' they are all the same rhetorical device."

Jin Lan sat there blankly. Although she didn't understand, she felt that it made a lot of sense.

Chen Ya turned to look at her: "Haven't you heard of 'Hair Like Snow' and 'Seven Mile Fragrance'?"

“No,” Jinlan said, “I thought you wrote it randomly, but it turns out you didn’t.”

"Uh..." Chen Ya rubbed his forehead. It was really hard to keep up with what this person said.

Jin Lan pursed her lips and said, "Tianya is a famous writer, so no one will question what she writes like that. But if you write it, many people will think there's something wrong with it, okay? I just think it reads weird."

Chen Ya said helplessly, "People like Tianya also became famous by writing one song after another."

Jin Lan lowered her head and continued to nitpick:

"'Your gentle smile is like plum jam, and I tasted the minty flavor of the lip balm on your lips.' Hmm, how come your song is so saccharine, you big man?"

Chen Ya finally couldn't take it anymore and turned around sharply, saying, "What's it to you?"

Jin Lan was scared and lowered her head: "Why are you being so fierce? I was just asking."

“You’ll get tired of singing it.” Chen Ya turned back to continue writing the score. “Read the lyrics carefully and think about how to handle the emotions…”

He was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized that, given Jin Lan's level of education, it would be good enough if she could even understand the lyrics, let alone try to decipher the emotions.

Learn how to punctuate sentences first!

So he changed his mind and said, "Let's memorize the lyrics first, so we don't forget them later."

"Oh."

Fortunately, Jin Lan still had some professional ethics and didn't continue to rebel. Instead, she picked up the lyrics and memorized them.

Although she had a falling out with Chen Ya, she still wanted to perform well and didn't want to miss this opportunity.

After lying in bed looking at the lyrics for a long time, Jin Lan gradually got bored and picked up her phone to watch live streams.

Right now, the film crew is shooting Qin Yunshang's group over there, and the live stream is full of people calling out "Yunshang'er" and crowding around to admire the beautiful Qin.

In the scene, Meng Xing is acting crazy, drinking, shaking his head, and banging his head against the wall, while Qin Yunshang is leisurely practicing her vocalizations.

It seems that their biggest challenge right now is that Meng Xing lacks inspiration.

Writing a song isn't that difficult, but it's not that easy either.

A seasoned musician only needs one motif, and that motif can grow into a melody, which in turn can grow into a whole song.

Meng Xing is known as a musical genius, so he must have some talent. It's not that he can't write, but that he has high standards for himself. He has to come up with those "beep-ka" ideas before he'll start writing.

So he started to push himself too hard, thinking about songs until he was practically going crazy.

Jia Yi has a draft in hand, but Meng Xing's song is still nowhere in the works.

In comparison, Jin Lan suddenly realized that Chen Liang's songwriting speed on her side seemed to be quite fast.

I just don't know about the quality.

Sitting up, Jin Lan asked, "How much longer do you have to finish writing?"

Without turning his head, Chen Liang said, "10."

Jinlan asked, "10 what? 10 days? 10 hours? 10 minutes?"

"9, 8, 7, 6..."

Chen Liang began counting down, and when he reached "1", he put down his pen, turned around, slapped the sheet music onto Jin Lan's lap, and said:

"It's written, let's sing it."

"So fast??"

Jin Lan found it hard to believe and scanned the sheet music up and down several times.

Chen Ya wrote in simplified musical notation, which looked neat and orderly, line by line, and the handwriting was quite beautiful.

Jinlan looked up and asked, "Is it really finished? Is this the finished product?"

"Why don't you just watch it yourself?" Chen Ya yawned. "Watch it yourself first, and when you've watched it enough, you can sing it. I'll teach you the parts you don't know."

Jinlan said, "But I don't know how to read sheet music."

Chen Ya nearly fell over after hearing this, pointing at the sheet music and saying, "Can't you read simplified notation? It's not much different from standard notation. 1 is do, 2 is re, and the other symbols are pretty much the same..."

Jin Lan rolled her eyes: "Who told you I could read sheet music?"

"You don't even know how to read sheet music??"

Chen Ya was truly shocked.

Jin Lan said irritably, "Why are you talking so loudly? You're so smug because I can't read music? Do you want to shout it out to the whole world?"

"No," Chen Ya said, a little out of breath, "You're a musician, and you can't even read sheet music??"

Jin Lan said, "Who said I'm a musician? I'm an idol trainee, and I mainly dance. I just haven't learned to read music."

Chen Ya was in despair.

He now misses Jiang Xinhai, Xu Xiangxiao, and the days he spent working with them.

Looking back now, doing music with those two was so easy; I didn't have to worry about anything. They could just pick up the sheet music and sing it, adding their own interpretations, and they had great voices too.

Especially Jiang Xinhai, after singing, we can still do what we love together, he's practically the perfect singer...

I never thought that musicians should be like those two before, but now I realize that I was really too naive and had never seen the bottom line of the entertainment industry.

It's definitely too late to teach Jinlan to read music now, Chen Ya thought for a moment and said:

"Then I'll be your vocal coach for now. I'll sing a line and you sing a line. You can sing along, right?"

Jin Lan readily agreed, "Okay, that's how it should have been done long ago. That's how I always learned to sing before, and no one ever said there was anything wrong with it."

Chen Ya sighed inwardly, "If you had said so earlier, why bother writing the sheet music? You could have just taught her to sing it!"

Chen Ya began teaching the singing. Although he had mentally prepared himself for what might be a long battle, he still underestimated how difficult it would be.

Jin Lan's tone-deafness is so severe that every sentence is difficult, and teaching her the later parts only makes her forget the earlier ones, which is simply torture.