Xiao Can picked up his phone, opened the chat box, and stared at the words, his brows furrowed.
In the middle of the night, what did this person want?
He Xingzhou quickly provided him with an answer. A system prompt indicated that the other party had sent a file named “demo12123.wav”.
From the file extension, it was an audio clip.
After downloading it from the computer, Xiao Can listened to it. The speakers emitted an unarranged melody, light yet powerful, and very unique.
He immediately guessed what it was.
While he was listening to it, He Xingzhou sent another message: “Try it with the lyrics.”
Although he was quite annoyed with He Xingzhou himself, this piece of music captured his heart as soon as he heard it. Thinking about singing it officially in the future made him feel excited.
He replied immediately: “Okay.”
Just as he sent the message, He Xingzhou replied instantly: “Are you still awake? Let’s discuss it over the phone.”
Without waiting for Xiao Can’s consent, the phone vibrated.
Xiao Can was a bit speechless but still answered the call. Just as he said “hello”, the other side immediately got straight to the point and started talking on their own: “This is just a demo. Try it out first and record it for me. Your part starts from the fifteenth second, and the lyrics…”
As soon as he started speaking, Xiao Can’s inner fire surged upward. After all, he had already given up pretending to be polite in front of He Xingzhou, so there was no need to pretend now.
He ruthlessly interrupted, “What time is it now? Don’t you think this is very abrupt?”
“Huh?” He Xingzhou seemed completely unaware. “Aren’t you awake? Is it inconvenient?”
“…”
“Oh, then let’s talk tomorrow. Give me a call when you’re free,” He Xingzhou said.
Xiao Can punched the cotton next to him, feeling a bit at a loss.
“Send me a message before you call,” He Xingzhou continued, “I’ll reply as soon as I see it.”
“Now, um, can I record a demo for you at home? Will the sound quality be a bit worse?” Xiao Can asked, touching his nose.
“It’s okay,” He Xingzhou said, “You can sing it over the phone now, I’ll listen and get a feel for it.”
“Now?” Xiao Can became nervous, “I need to learn it a little first. Do you have the sheet music?”
“Wait a moment, let me check,” He Xingzhou said, “I don’t have the sheet music with me.”
“Staff notation is also fine,” Xiao Can said.
He Xingzhou was somewhat surprised. “You can read sheet music?”
This was a bit condescending. Xiao Can felt annoyed. “Is it strange? It’s not that difficult.”
“Most people only know how to read staff notation,” He Xingzhou said in a flat tone, with an attitude of discussing the matter objectively. “Tan Zhen is one of them.”
Sheet music was just a tool, with no distinction between high and low. Tan Zhen was not a singer-songwriter, so knowing how to read staff notation was more than enough.
The reason Xiao Can knew was that he had previously taken an online course to write songs, although his songwriting skills ended up being terrible, his basic skills were still quite good.
He pretended to be strong in front of He Xingzhou. “I’ve learned!”
He Xingzhou didn’t take it seriously. “Oh, I’ve sent it to you.”
Xiao Can looked at the sheet music and sang it in his mind while comparing it with the lyrics. He found that while the song sounded complex, it was actually easy to sing, almost effortless to learn.
He tried singing it over the phone, but because of nervousness, he went off-key in a few places.
He Xingzhou sounded embarrassed after listening. “It’s already very simple. If it doesn’t work, I’ll make some changes.”
“No need!” Xiao Can’s face turned red. “I’ll record it for you after I wake up tomorrow, I can do it!”
“Okay,” He Xingzhou still had a business-like attitude, “Once you record it, send it to me directly, and I’ll reply when I see it.”
“Got it, I’ll send it to you in the next two days,” Xiao Can said.
“Nothing else,” He Xingzhou said, “Then I’ll hang up——”
“Wait!” Xiao Can stopped him.
“What’s wrong?”
“That thing at the hotel that day, do you… really not remember?” Xiao Can asked.
He Xingzhou fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Did we meet in the corridor?”
Xiao Can didn’t know how to reply for a moment, feeling a chill in his limbs.
His attitude didn’t seem like pretense, and there was no need to pretend. Could it be that He Xingzhou really didn’t remember what happened between them?
This was too absurd.
Was it possible that He Xingzhou had prosopagnosia, mistook him for someone else on the spot, and couldn’t match up afterward?
Xiao Can asked again, “Around noon that day, what were you doing in your room?”
He Xingzhou’s tone finally showed a significant fluctuation. “Is it related to you?”
“Can’t say?” Xiao Can became alert, pressing, “Is it something secretive?”
“Was that bouquet of flowers from you?” He Xingzhou suddenly asked.
This question came out of nowhere, leaving Xiao Can bewildered. “Huh? What flowers?”
“…Nothing,” He Xingzhou said, “My private matters have nothing to do with you. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up first.”
Without waiting for Xiao Can’s response, he unilaterally ended the call.
Xiao Can held the phone, feeling confused and frustrated.
It seemed that He Xingzhou really didn’t remember what happened between them. How could this be? Did his kick before leaving cause He Xingzhou amnesia?
There was no greater humiliation than this.
Xiao Can looked at the pile of medicine on the table, grinding his teeth in anger.
The next day was the day of the follow-up appointment.
On the way to the hospital, Xiao Can listened to the song with his headphones, and after listening to the melody a few times while comparing it with the lyrics, he quickly discovered something.
Although the style sounded very consistent, there was a big difference in difficulty between his part and Tan Zhen’s part.
At first listen, Tan Zhen’s part sounded catchy, but in reality, it was very difficult to sing well, and it was easy to go off-key if you weren’t careful.
In comparison, his own part was simply effortless.
Was this what He Xingzhou called “backward compatibility”?
Xiao Can felt embarrassed, but also understood that if He Xingzhou hadn’t intentionally lowered the difficulty for him, the effect would have been disastrous.
At the hospital, after the doctor heard his feedback, he ordered some tests for him, and the final test results were not ideal.
The doctor said that his physical condition was not as expected and changed his medication again.
This time, the number of pills he took every day increased to fifteen, and he had to take them several times to swallow them smoothly.
In the evening, he unexpectedly received a call from Tan Zhen.
Tan Zhen asked if he had listened to the demo and how he felt.
“I recorded a full version,” he told Xiao Can, “If you need it, I can send it to you for reference.”
For someone like Xiao Can, who lacked experience and was an amateur, learning a song with a ready-made vocal version was much easier than listening to just the background music.
“You really helped me out!” he expressed his gratitude.
“You’re welcome,” Tan Zhen said, “I aim to do three good deeds every day, and this is one of them.”
Xiao Can was momentarily stunned, then laughed.
This line was from one of his early videos, which he used repeatedly during that period and became a meme among fans, but he hadn’t been saying it much lately.
Tan Zhen must have known, he must have watched his early works.
“That’s still interesting!” Xiao Can felt embarrassed.
“It’s very interesting,” Tan Zhen said, “I’ve been following you for over two years, I thumbs up every episode.”
While Xiao Can felt pleasantly surprised, he suddenly felt guilty inside.
Even though it wasn’t intentional, if Tan Zhen found out about what happened between him and his fiancé, he would surely be angry, right?
Blame it on that idiot He Xingzhou.
After sending the demo version to He Xingzhou, they greeted the official recording session a week later.
The previous vlog had received positive feedback, with many viewers guessing that the collaborator was He Xingzhou, but most didn’t take it seriously.
After all, considering He Xingzhou’s personality, it was hard to imagine him willingly writing a song for someone he looked down upon.
Baitao was very satisfied with this kind of discussion, indicating that Xiao Can could drop more hints to increase the audience’s expectations.
So, on the day of the recording studio session, Xiao Can filmed another vlog.
He had informed Tan Zhen in advance, and upon arrival, Tan Zhen, who was already preparing, immediately waved at him with a smile.
This was their second meeting, and they were both enthusiastic and polite during their interactions.
Tan Zhen cooperatively waved to the camera and introduced himself, but compared to Xiao Can’s lively state in front of the camera, he was much more reserved.
After exchanging pleasantries, Tan Zhen informed Xiao Can that He Xingzhou had arrived and was getting ready.
Xiao Can didn’t want to meet He Xingzhou, so he just nodded and didn’t say much. However, Tan Zhen, eager to play matchmaker, called He Xingzhou upstairs with a phone call.
“I’m busy,” He Xingzhou muttered as he entered the room, “I need to prepare.”
“Just saying hello,” Tan Zhen said unceremoniously, “Don’t dawdle, come over here quickly!”
Reluctantly, He Xingzhou walked over.
“Can you smile, please?” Tan Zhen added, “Does someone owe you money here?”
He Xingzhou grinned awkwardly and gave Xiao Can a stiff smile.
Xiao Can was secretly shocked.
The always arrogant and defiant He Xingzhou actually had such a compliant side?
“Is there anything else?” He Xingzhou said, raising an eyebrow at Xiao Can.
Tan Zhen sighed, “It’s tiring to deal with him.”
“You two seem to get along well,” Xiao Can probed, “Have you been together for a long time?”
“Not long,” Tan Zhen said, “But it feels like forever, so sometimes it feels like we’re an old married couple.”
