Always Been Quiet

Eight in the morning.

Kong Xi sent over her location and a message.

"Senior, I'm already here. No need to rush, but it'd be even better if I could see you sooner!"

She also sent a cute sticker afterward.

Song Dao thought, She really is impatient!

After getting dressed and heading downstairs, he ordered a bowl of sweet soy milk and savory tofu pudding from a breakfast shop, then ate two fried dough sticks.

Only then did he hail a taxi and head to the address Kong Xi had sent.

Beijing had heavy traffic, and the taxi crawled forward in fits and starts.

If the distance had not been so far, he would have wanted to scan a shared bike instead.

Song Dao sat in the back seat and looked out the window.

Towering buildings stood everywhere, while traffic surged through the streets.

A city of steel and concrete, prosperous yet cold.

It was not all that different from Earth.

He quickly lost interest and silently began considering the song Kong Xi had asked him to write.

He knew about that immortal fantasy drama; the original owner's memories contained an impression of it.

The male and female leads were both the hottest top-tier celebrities around.

The man might have been a pretty-boy idol, but his acting was considered quite good among the younger generation, and he had countless fans.

The woman had debuted as a child star, had grown up without ruining her looks, and had stayed popular ever since. She was considered one of the hottest young actresses.

The drama had an investment of over two hundred million yuan. In an era when actor salaries were capped, that already qualified as a major production.

The producers had invited Kong Xi to sing an insert song. In Song Dao's view, they were probably more interested in the traffic she brought.

As a newly risen singer, Kong Xi had over fifty million followers across all platforms, with more than seventeen million followers on Audio-Visual alone.

She was absolutely a major internet celebrity!

And since Kong Xi's fans were mostly young people, even if the contract did not require her to promote the drama, they were paying her one million just to write and sing an insert song. She ought to know how to behave, right?

Even if Kong Xi did not understand that, the company behind her would surely make her do it.

When the time came, casually mentioning it a few times during her livestreams would work far better than countless film-and-TV recommendation bloggers taking paid promotions.

Once Song Dao understood this, he felt reassured.

The place Kong Xi had arranged to meet Song Dao was somewhere similar to Earth's Beijing 798 Art Zone.

The name was rather interesting: [Life is Messy Studio].

Song Dao guessed that the owner might be like him in his previous life, a scruffy middle-aged uncle with an unshaven beard.

After all, only upon reaching middle age did people gain so many insights.

But when he arrived and pushed open the door, he found Kong Xi chatting enthusiastically with a beautiful, mature woman around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

The instant he entered, the two seemed to have been discussing something interesting. Both wore delighted expressions, their faces animated.

The laughter stopped abruptly when they saw him.

There seemed to be a hint of awkwardness too.

Song Dao thought, They weren't gossiping about me, were they?

The mature woman reacted quickly, and a warm smile reappeared on her exquisitely made-up face.

"You're Song Dao, right? You're even more handsome in person than in the videos. Welcome, welcome!"

"Senior, why didn't you tell me when you arrived? I could've gone out to meet you!" Somersault Cat Girl reacted quickly too, immediately rising to her feet.

"Hello, junior. Hello, uh... sister." Song Dao smiled and greeted them both.

"Hello, junior. My name is Yan Yu."

The mature woman stood up as well and introduced herself.

"You graduated from Central Conservatory of Music too?" Song Dao asked upon hearing her call him junior.

"That's right. I'm a few classes ahead of you, so you can call me senior or Sister Yu!" Yan Yu looked Song Dao up and down.

He was even more handsome than in the videos.

"Sister Yu opened a recording studio here after graduating. She has a lot of collaborations with my company. I asked Senior to come here partly because it's quiet, and partly because I wanted to bring Sister Yu some business," Kong Xi said from the side.

It was obvious that the two were very familiar and close.

"I listened to your song. It was pretty good, and the emotion was on point too. The recording equipment was just a little lacking. I wouldn't dare say mine is the most high-end, but it's definitely better than yours."

Yan Yu had an outgoing personality, and since Song Dao was her junior, she spoke warmly and directly.

"After you finish discussing business today, you can rerecord that song here. Replace the audio source afterward. I see it's already broken into several charts, so don't let those audiophiles find faults and pick at it later."

Kong Xi said, "Probably not. Most people listening to Senior's song are just looking for emotional resonance through the music..."

Yan Yu shot her a glare, and Kong Xi immediately stopped talking.

Song Dao smiled politely. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Senior."

When he had gotten the song that day, he had gone to an off-campus recording studio. It had been fairly professional, but the equipment really was average.

The fee had been cheap, though. He had spent only three or four hundred yuan in total.

With the song's current popularity, rerecording it was indeed necessary. He had to be responsible toward those who had paid for it.

Yan Yu smiled. "It's no trouble. This is how your senior makes a living, though I can give you a discount!"

Song Dao's eyes lit up. "Then thank you in advance!"

Yan Yu then brewed a pot of tea, left the space to Song Dao and Kong Xi, and went upstairs to adjust the equipment.

Kong Xi held her teacup in both hands, looking adorably sweet.

She looked at Song Dao with some embarrassment and said, "Senior, you won't blame me for inviting you here on my own, will you?"

Song Dao shook his head. "Of course not. This is great. I should be thanking you for introducing me to a high-end recording studio. Besides, it's run by a senior from our school, and she's even giving me a discount. It's great!"

"That's good!" Kong Xi let out a sigh of relief.

But afterward, she did not quite know where to begin.

Like many people who could speak eloquently before a camera but were socially anxious in real life, she did not have that much to say to strangers in private.

If she had not been forced into it, she truly would not have taken the initiative to seek Song Dao out.

Song Dao took the initiative and said, "Tell me what you need. Let's see whether this song of mine is suitable."

"Oh, okay, okay. It's like this..."

Once they got to the point, Kong Xi immediately perked up. She rambled on and explained all the producer's requirements.

Then she looked at Song Dao eagerly.

Her eyes contained only two words—please write me a song.

Song Dao did not hesitate. With the mindset of someone just playing with music, he opened his mouth and sang.

Using Primary Variable Voice, he used Mao Buyi's version.

Gentle and rich.

"On empty streets, I wanted to find someone to pour my feelings into."

"Making this decision, loneliness became my neighbor."

"Our love was like scenery you merely passed by."

The original singer of this song was A-Sang, an extraordinarily talented female singer who had tragically died young.

There was a unique weathered quality in her voice, a powerful magnetism, and emotions that were sincere and exquisitely nuanced.

Now, sung by Song Dao, with the mindset of a middle-aged man, the original owner's understanding of music, and control over Primary Variable Voice, it carried an entirely different flavor.

"My love for you was always so quiet, exchanged for the occasional concern you gave."

"It was clearly a movie for three, yet I could never have a name."

If the original singer had conveyed a deep, restrained, helpless yet persistent emotion in her interpretation of the song,

then Song Dao's rendition at this moment was more a sense of release after having seen the vastness of the sea.

Gentle and tranquil.

Senior opening his mouth and singing without warning did not surprise Kong Xi.

Those who truly played music all possessed a fierce, almost obsessive drive.

Without the courage to sing anywhere at any time, how could they remain unfazed before a grand stage filled with tens of thousands of people?

She was the same, so she immediately listened attentively.

There was even a touch of pleasant surprise in her eyes.

What a beautiful song!

The lyrics in particular were truly wonderful!

The reason Song Dao had criticized the system's definition of songs was that not only was this song's singer a professional vocalist, its lyricist was also a renowned master of the lyric-writing world!

Vincent Fang!

There was no need to say just how incredible he was.

He and King of Mandopop Jay Chou had elevated each other.

By the time Song Dao sang the third line, Yan Yu had already appeared at the stairway landing on the second floor.

She stood there quietly, one hand on the railing, lightly tapping out the beat with her fingers.

She watched the young man downstairs slowly hum the song in a rich voice tinged with weathered depth.

A good song went straight to the soul!

It did not need lavish accompaniment. Even sung a cappella, it could instantly resonate with people.

It seemed this failed relationship had indeed affected her junior deeply.

It had awakened his creative talent!

Yan Yu mused.

At his age, what kind of unforgettable love must he have experienced to create a song like this?

When she had first learned that Kong Xi was asking Song Dao for a song, she had been somewhat dismissive.

It was not that "See Through" was bad, but from the perspective of someone professionally trained in music, that song... lacked a certain sophistication!

Of course, she knew that thought was somewhat pretentious, and she understood that what the public liked should be what artists pursued.

But understanding was one thing. As a professional, deep down she still had a little pride.

Many musicians were like that.

Only when they were truly broke would they write a catchy song.

Their fans often loved it to death, while they themselves found it unbearably annoying.

There was another point as well: if See Through Love, See Through You had not been propelled onto the trending searches by last night's video, it would have merely been a niche song!

Its style was completely incompatible with what Kong Xi wanted.

So she had not thought highly of Kong Xi's desperate attempt to try anything.

Yet now, after hearing Song Dao sing this one a cappella, she could tell after just a few lines—

It had the right feel!

The lyrics were not long, and the melody was not complicated, but it was filled with a faint sense of sorrow and loneliness.

Yan Yu was completely absorbed.

Only when the song ended did she lightly applaud and descend the stairs with graceful steps.

"This song is very good!"

She looked candidly at Song Dao. "Better than that straightforward song of yours that accused and condemned people!"

Song Dao smiled somewhat awkwardly and admitted honestly, "I was just angry when I wrote that one. Sorry to make Senior laugh."

"It shows that you're genuine. Plenty of people write songs to curse others, so it's no big deal. Your song just has a somewhat limited audience, while this one will reach far more people!"

As Yan Yu spoke, she walked over and sat at the tea table.

She poured out the tea that had already gone cold, boiled new water, then looked at Kong Xi, who was still dazed. "Hey, did you get stupid from listening?"

"Huh?" Kong Xi finally came back to her senses. Her eyes were slightly red as she pursed her lips and said softly, "I couldn't feel much from last night's song, but this one made me want to cry as soon as I heard it. It feels so sad..."

She sniffed and looked at Song Dao. "Senior, this song is too good. Even if the film company doesn't want it, I want to buy it! I can pay Senior according to the highest standard!"

Yan Yu looked helplessly at this foolish little sister. Before anything had even happened, she had already exposed all her cards.

What was the highest standard?

The standard for godfather-level masters was that Heavenly Kings and Queens would willingly serve as their tools. Would she do that too?

"Don't talk about money at every turn. Isn't that vulgar?"

Song Dao said seriously, "Not vulgar, not vulgar. We're all struggling through the mundane world. Without money, how could anyone afford to be lofty?"

He regretted it a little after saying that, not because it sounded pretentious, but because it was difficult to imagine such words coming from a young man in his early twenties who had just graduated from university.

Yan Yu was not surprised at all. Anyone who could create a song like this obviously possessed undeniable talent.

The lyrics were simple, yet the more one savored them, the more unforgettable they felt.

In truth, Kong Xi was not the only one who had wanted to cry just now. Yan Yu's heart had felt sour as well.

She could already imagine how it would sound with accompaniment. It would definitely move people even more than this.

"Junior, does this song have a name?" She raised her head and looked at Song Dao with bright, beautiful eyes.

"Always Been Quiet."