Chapter 26: A Small Setback in Life

  Over the weekend, Zou Ze arrived at the recording studio and was immediately drawn to the equipment here. He would occasionally look around, touch things, and sometimes even let out a surprised cry.

  Ji Xin'an and Song Jiangliang exchanged a smile, people who love music like him can understand the emotions of seeing these things, but Song Jiangliang was curious about Ji Xin'an's calmness, wondering if someone who could write such songs really didn't care about these things?

  "Zou Ze, don't be embarrassed anymore. Believe me, once our album is released, half of the profit will be enough to set up a recording studio like this." Ji Xin'an pulled Zou Ze back, who was about to enter the grand view garden, and let him continue looking around for now, so they didn't have to do anything else today.

  "Really? You're saying that I'll have my own recording studio soon and I can come record songs anytime?" Zou Ze immediately withdrew his gaze, stunned by Ji Xian's words.

  "Of course, don't believe me ask Manager Song." Ji Xin'an couldn't help but laugh at his childish appearance.

  "You can stop calling me manager too, just call me Song Ge. Ji Xin'an is right, you don't need a professional recording studio like this one now, an entry-level one would be enough, and it's not very expensive, just tens of thousands of yuan." Song Jiangliang smiled as he replied, but still glanced at Ji Xin'an, who seemed to know everything.

  "What are we waiting for? Let's record a song quickly. I'm going to build my own recording studio later." Zou Ze immediately pulled Ji Xin'an and was about to go in.

  Ji Xin An was dragged by him to start his first recording. Although they sang well, it was their first time in a professional recording studio and the first time they worked together, so mistakes were inevitable.

  Due to their unfamiliarity with each other, the recording often broke off after one or two sentences and had to be re-recorded. The initially excited pair gradually became disheartened.

  However, Song Jiang didn't get angry, but instead felt very happy in his heart, because he finally found some balance. From the moment he met Ji Xin'an, he had always felt like he was being led by the nose, and thought she was so perfect that there was nothing she couldn't do. Now it seemed that Ji Xin'an wasn't all-knowing after all. So he sat there enjoying the sight of Ji Xin'an making mistakes, leaving the recording staff in a state of bewilderment - this was the first time they had seen a singer make so many errors and Song Jiang still manage to come out laughing; normally, he wouldn't even crack a smile, let alone yell at her.

  Because of the constant mistakes, the recording didn't go very smoothly. In one day, not even one duet song was completed. Originally thought to be a simple task for two people, they received quite a blow and came out with their heads hung low in dejection.

  "You two don't look so happy, actually it's just that those singers are not used to recording songs for the first time, after all this is different from singing live, being off-key is normal, just adapt a bit and you'll be fine in a few days." Song Jiangliang saw the two looking quite disheartened, came over to comfort them, if they were really too disheartened and didn't want to sing anymore, he would have nowhere to cry.

  "Song Ge, we're sorry to have kept you all so late. Let me treat everyone to dinner." Ji Xin An was initially a bit down, originally thinking they could finish quickly, but unexpectedly only managed to produce one song in a day, and it dragged on until this late, even causing everyone to miss dinner.

  "Who can make you ask, if anyone asks, it's me who invites, let's go, we'll all go together." Song Jiang saw that Ji Xinan was fine and had nothing to worry about, so he enthusiastically led everyone to go eat together.

  On the dinner table, Song Jiang comforted the two from time to time. However, Ji Xin'an's ability to withstand blows was still very strong, and after a while, she forgot about it and started joking with everyone, but Zou Ze was always gloomy.

  After dinner, Ji Xin'an and Zou Ze declined Song Jiangliang's offer to send them back, and the two of them strolled back and forth. Ji Xin'an noticed that Zou Ze was in a bad mood, so he wanted to take the opportunity to advise him.

  "Zou Ze, don't look so constipated. This little thing can't even be considered a small setback, don't be upset about it." Ji Xin'an smiled and said with a relaxed tone.

  "Alright, I don't want to sing anymore. I think it's a waste for me to sing these songs." Zou Ze's face looked unpleasant as he lowered his head.

  "How can that be? These songs were written specifically for you, if you don't sing them, who will I get to sing them?" Ji Xin'an didn't think it would come to this.

  "Your song is written so well that anyone can sing it, just find a first-line singer and he will be eager to ask for it." Zou Ze's voice became lower and lower, actually he didn't want to give up these songs either, but his own performance was really too bad.

  "Zou Ze, I said these songs are yours and if you don't sing them, then I'd rather let them rot in my belly than have someone else sing them." Ji Xin'an pulled up his hand and looked at him, saying seriously.

  "An An, don't you think I'm completely useless?" Zou Ze turned his head towards her, with a dejected expression.

  "How could that be? I'm also prone to running off-key and hitting wrong notes, more often than you, it's just not used to it." Ji Xin'an was somewhat surprised, she didn't expect Zou Ze to be unable to withstand the blow because of such a small matter.

  "That's different, you just sing as a hobby, it doesn't matter if you have it or not. But music is like being a soldier to me, it's my entire ideal. I always thought I was the best, and with just one chance, I could grasp it and succeed. But today, my performance can only be described as clumsy." Zou Ze painfully squatted down and buried his head in his legs.

  Ji Xin'an understood that Zou Ze had always been an excellent person, whether among his peers or in the eyes of his elders. He had always sailed through life smoothly, without experiencing any setbacks. Music was something he considered to be his best talent and his pride. Today's performance made him feel a blow like never before, unlike himself when recording songs, which was like playing with new toys, if it didn't go well, so be it. Although he wouldn't be happy, he would never be heartbroken. But Zou Ze was different, music was his dream, and this small setback had made him lose confidence in the dreams he had been pursuing all along. It wasn't that he was weak, but rather that he took things too seriously.

  "I know music is your dream and what you value most, but Zou Ze, you've always had it too easy. That ease has given you confidence and temporary success, but you've forgotten that life isn't just about smooth sailing, there's also failure and setbacks. These are necessary experiences for us to achieve our dreams. Without them, even if you succeed, you'll feel like something is missing. Isn't that right?" Ji Xin'an sat down on the ground, her soft voice comforting him.

  Zou Ze listened without saying anything, just nodding slightly.

  "So don't be discouraged, okay? Just treat it as a necessary step in your life. Moreover, we haven't failed yet, these are just mistakes at most. What's the big deal? Didn't Song Ge say that everyone's first recording is like this? Which superstar didn't go through this? You're feeling down and sad here, but why not start adapting from tomorrow and sing with your best voice?"

  "I've always wanted to sing well, but I keep making mistakes, even going off-key. It's really embarrassing." Zou Ze was tormented by his constant mistakes that day and had lost all confidence.

  "Those are just temporary, I believe that as long as you give it time, you'll definitely be able to adapt and sing better than anyone else. Let's work hard together, okay?" Ji Xin An smiled sweetly.

  "Can I really do it?" Zou Ze was moved by her words, but still lacked confidence in himself.

  "Of course it's okay, in my eyes you're the best, don't mention just a few songs, even if you release an entire album now, there's no problem." Ji Xin'an patted his shoulder.

  Zou Ze finally nodded hesitantly, although his mood was still bad, but at least he no longer had the idea of giving up.

  The next day was indeed much better, and most importantly, Zou Ze's confidence gradually returned, and the smile during recording also became more frequent.

  The two of them occasionally made some harmless jokes with the staff, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed. They also slowly found their rhythm.

  However, due to the high quality requirements, progress is not very fast. After the weekend passed, Ji Xin'an and others couldn't spare too much time, so they could only work overtime until late at night every day. They still had to attend classes normally during the day. This continuous physical exhaustion made them unable to bear it even if their physical strength was good, and they started dozing off in class. At night, as soon as they lay down on the bed, they fell asleep.

  Ji Xin'an steeled herself and discussed it with Zou Ze, then they took a half-month leave together to focus on recording songs. The effect was immediate, and the quality and speed were much better than before. Zou Ze also gradually regained his original confidence.

  Listening to a classic song sung in one's own voice, although it is still the same tune, but the sound has completely changed. Ji Xin'an doesn't know what kind of feeling it is. "Zou Ze, do you think these songs are good or not?"

  "Of course, it sounds great. Any one of these songs can be a hit single on its own. If you weren't just experimenting and only releasing once, I'd really advise you to release them separately - each one would definitely sell well." Zou Ze was grinning from ear to ear, with no sign of the gloominess he had shown in the past two days.

  "It sounds good, I think so too, but all the good songs have been sung, what can others do?" Ji Xin'an muttered softly.

  "What are you muttering about?" Zou Ze didn't hear her words and turned his head to ask curiously.

  "It's nothing, I've rested enough, let's continue recording!" Ji Xin'an smiled and stood up, thinking that she had already copied and sung everything, now it was not herself who was making things difficult for herself, so she didn't think about it anymore.