Chapter 26: Unexpectedly Verifying the Truth
The next morning, Xiahou Qian and Chi Shaochen woke up together. After washing up, Chi Shaochen offered to take him to Qianchen Media, but Xiahou Qian refused. He told Chi Shaochen to head to AE first while he stayed back to organize the songs he was taking to the company. Seeing this, Chi Shaochen left, though he felt a bit worried and planned to check in on Qianchen Media later.
Xiahou Qian selected six pieces to save to his phone. One was “I Don’t Love” (ćä¸ć), which he had recorded before; one was a recently written song titled “FAKE”; and the other four were works from the same period as “I Don’t Love.” For “FAKE,” he planned to record a pure piano versionâplaying and singing simultaneously for a single-take recording. For the other five, he needed the company to produce backing tracks in advance. Although he had made a version of “I Don’t Love” himself, it wasn’t professional enough, so he wanted to redo it.
At 9:30 AM, Xiahou Qian heard the doorbell. He had to hear it twice to confirm it was his own. Wondering who it could be, he opened the door and was stunned to see Wen Xiao. It wasn’t until she spoke that he realized what was happening.
“Male God, Iâm your assistant starting today! Did you forget?” Actually, tasks like getting food and water or running errands fell under an assistant’s duties. In the industry, they were often called “nannies.”
“I know. Youâre just in time; I was about to head to the company.” Xiahou Qian didn’t invite Wen Xiao in. He grabbed his things, locked the door, and Wen Xiao rushed ahead to press the elevator button.
“Male God, Male God, over here! This is the car the company assigned you. Itâs super cool!” Behind Wen Xiao sat a striking, sapphire-blue luxury car. While not a supercar, its lines were sleek and its design was grand. Most importantly, it was expensive. Driving this out would max out one’s “flaunting” skill points!
He had to admit, even though it was a bit flashy, it was truly handsome. Most men love cars, and Xiahou Qian was no exception. He knew this was Chi Shaochenâs arrangement. The man likely feared he wouldn’t accept it if given directly, so he used this method instead. Although Xiahou Qian usually preferred a low profile, his looks and profession destined him otherwise. He chose to accept both the car and Chi Shaochen’s kindness.
Xiahou Qian smiled and sat in the back. Wen Xiao was excited, though it was unclear if it was because of the car or being with him.
“Qiao Mu and Zhong Han have started their jobs, right?” Xiahou Qian remembered he hadn’t checked on them after messaging the group yesterday.
“Yeah, I ran into them in HR this morning. Everything went smoothly. Zheng Wenxin said someone from the company contacted him yesterday, and the talk went well. He said the company staff had a good attitude, haha~” Wen Xiao couldn’t help but laugh at Zheng Wenxinâs evaluation.
“Thatâs good. Alright, focus on driving. Weâll talk at the company.” Xiahou Qian noticed Wen Xiao kept turning back to look at him while talking, which felt unsafe.
“Oh, right! Got it.” Wen Xiao was indeed excitedâthe kind of thrill that comes from finally being able to go all out after waiting for so long! But the Male God was right; safety came first. Her life might be cheap, but the Male God’s was precious! If something happened, she couldn’t pay it back in ten thousand lifetimes!
The car drew many stares along the way, but since there were many wealthy and powerful people in the Imperial Capital, luxury cars were common. People simply gave a glance of envy and moved on. Upon reaching Qianchen Media, they drove directly into the garage and took the elevator to the company floor.
Qianchen Media had only just begun operations today. Everyone was on their first official day of work. While many employees found it strange that they hadn’t seen a single artist yetâand felt Qianchen was different from other entertainment companiesâthey didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just because they were new. Aside from a few executives, no one knew that for a long time, Qianchen would only have one “boss-level” artist.
The office building was massive, with each floor covering a huge area. The elevator opened directly across from the front desk.
At this moment, the two girls at the front desk were sitting at their stations, eyes on their computers. Though they had nothing to do, they weren’t chatting. When they heard the elevator, they looked up simultaneously. A handsome man, handsome beyond words, appeared before them.
As for the beautiful Wen Xiao behind him, she was ignored by both of them.
Fortunately, neither was a newcomer to the workplace. Although they “fangirled” for a moment, they reacted quickly, flashing sweet smiles. One was quicker on the uptake and remembered what Minister Xu of the Recording Department had said that morning: an artist named Xiahou Qian would be coming, and he should be taken directly to the Recording Department.
“Hello, are you Xiahou Qian?” the quick-witted girl asked.
Neither Xiahou Qian nor Wen Xiao was surprised she guessed his identity. Xiahou Qian nodded slightly. As an assistant, Wen Xiao fully stepped into her role. She bypassed Xiahou Qian, walked to the desk with a smile, and said, “Yes, we are looking for Minister Xu of the Recording Department.”
“I know. Minister Xu stopped by earlier. Iâll take you there.” The girl stepped out from behind the desk. Wen Xiao thanked her and walked behind Xiahou Qian on his left, while the receptionist led the way. Because each department had its own large office area with partitions, they didn’t run into many people and soon reached the Recording Department.
After the receptionist handed them over to the recording staff, Xiahou Qian and Wen Xiao were led into the recording hall. Since Minister Xu was there, Xiahou Qian wanted to take a look.
The hall was enormous. Beyond the standard recording equipment, there were various instrument rooms, including a dedicated piano room and two rooms for recording backing tracks. Of course, live recording was also possible, as there were several sets of professional equipment in the hall.
The place felt very professional yet stylish. While Xiahou Qian couldn’t judge the technical specs yet, he could tell everything was top-of-the-lineâa fact reflected in Minister Xuâs proud expression.
After leaving the hall, they went to Minister Xuâs office. Xiahou Qian transferred the six songs heâd chosen. Aside from “FAKE,” all needed backing tracks. He planned to record “FAKE” live in the piano room shortly. Simultaneously, music videos for these songs needed to be prepared, but that wasn’t his concern.
Minister Xu wasn’t a creator, but his appreciation skills were high. Upon seeing Xiahou Qianâs compositions, he was thrilled, thinking it was no wonder CEO Chi praised him so much. Xiahou Qian was truly a talent! If his other songs were of this caliber… Minister Xu was eager to hear them. Hearing that Xiahou Qian wanted to record live, he immediately arranged the other tracks and pulled Xiahou Qian back to the recording hall.
Sitting at the piano, Xiahou Qian touched the keys. Although he knew the instrument was extraordinary when he first saw it, touching it still gave him a thrill. He hadn’t touched a piano since leaving school years ago, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
He pressed the keys slowly, one by one. It was a bit disjointed at first, but he quickly found the familiar feeling. His fingers sped up, and the single notes gradually wove into a melody.
Minister Xu stood to the side, watching. Initially, he thought Xiahou Qian was just testing the sound, but he soon realized that wasn’t it. Xiahou Qian seemed genuinely unfamiliar with the piano. Yet, since heâd proposed playing and singing live, Minister Xu felt his skill shouldn’t be at this level. He was proven right; in just a few minutes, Xiahou Qian jumped from a novice to a semi-professional level.
This level was more than enough for a singer in the industry, but Xiahou Qian felt it wasn’t enough. He could clearly hear his own flaws and knew how to fix them, but his hands often wouldn’t obeyâor rather, his physical reactions couldn’t keep up with his ears. It seemed that even with the “Absolute Pitch” cheat, he still needed to work hard.
Xiahou Qian was a perfectionist when it came to music. Regardless of what others thought, his songs had to satisfy him first. Why else would he redo “I Don’t Love”? It was because he felt the previous version wasn’t good enough. His hands didn’t stop, playing various practice pieces until he felt ready. Only then did he switch to the accompaniment for “FAKE.”
He would dedicate time to practicing piano later, both for his own interest and for the sake of his career. But for now, he had to nail “FAKE.” The accompaniment had to be played until he felt it was virtually flawless!
As for the rest, that could wait!
Xiahou Qian ignored Minister Xu behind himâin fact, he eventually forgot the man was there. It wasn’t his fault; Minister Xu stayed behind him without saying a word. Xiahou Qian was focused entirely on correcting the flaws in his playing, repeating the piece over and over. How could he think of anything else?
As Xiahou Qian played “FAKE,” Minister Xu found the melody unfamiliar at first. By the second time, he wasn’t sure if it was today’s recording track. But by the third or fourth time, he could absolutely match the sound to the sheet music heâd seen.
Even though he was being ignored, Minister Xu wasn’t angry. He listened to the repetition, keenly noticing Xiahou Qianâs rapid, almost miraculous progress.
When Chi Shaochen found them, Minister Xu was gone. It wasn’t that he couldn’t stay; quite the opposite, he wanted to keep listening. But he had to go oversee his staff. He didn’t want the other backing tracks to be sent back for re-dosâthat would be embarrassing. A typical singer might not tell the difference, but he felt Xiahou Qian definitely would.
One had to say, Minister Xu had unexpectedly verified the truth.
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