Chapter 37: Men's Chorus

In the early morning, the Broken Guitar Band had already gathered in the recording studio.

Yesterday was just the beginning; the hardest part has only just started.

Judging from yesterday's training, everyone basically had no foundation; singing relied solely on emotion, with no technique at all.

Chen Ci specially called Shi San over; more people means more strength.

Of course, Xiao Tong and the others also came.

Chen Ci and the others inside debugged the equipment and did the preliminary preparations, while the rest handled logistics and kept order.

Everything was in good order; Chen Ci felt inexplicably at ease, and it seemed his little team was quite reliable.

"Master Ci, I've got this handled."

Pang Zi popped his head from the mixing console, Chen Ci nodded, and Shi San also gave an "OK" hand gesture.

Lao Zhao clapped his hands and suggested, "Master Ci, why don't we do a sound check first to see how it works?"

"No one's here yet, but a sound check is still necessary," Chen Ci nodded in agreement: "Fine, who wants to go up and sing a song?"

Lao Zhao and the others exchanged glances, smiled at each other, and Shi San spoke first: "Brother Ci, how about we do it together?"

"Together?"

Shi San laughed and said, "This is a perfect chance to test the effect of singing in unison; we still have to perform on stage in a few days, after all."

"That works, but what should we sing? We haven't practiced anything yet."

We've been really busy lately; there are still ten days left until Shi San's press conference.

We've actually picked a few songs, but nobody has time to practice, so let's first get the Olympic promotional video mostly done before talking about it.

"There's one song we don't need to practice; we all know it."

As soon as Shi San reminded Chen Ci, he remembered; Lao Zhao and Pang Zi also understood, and without Chen Ci calling them, they voluntarily went into the recording booth and took their positions.

Chen Ci finished the final preparations and then called Xiao Tong over.

"Mao Mao, once we're ready, you just press this key to start…"

After teaching Xiao Tong the basic operations of starting and stopping, Chen Ci was just about to enter the recording booth when the control room door suddenly opened.

Yi Ming walked in with two people, namely Na Zha and her older sister Na Ti.

Chen Ci asked, "I haven't notified you yet—why are you here so early?"

Xiao Tong beside him explained, "Na Zha said she had something to tell you, so I had her come over, Na Zha~"

"Mao Mao sis!"

Seeing Xiao Tong wave at her, Na Zha immediately ran over from behind Na Ti, full of joy, and met up with Xiao Tong.

From their interaction last night, Na Zha took a strong liking to this cute young lady.

Xiao Tong also liked Na Zha, after all, who could resist such a pretty young lady?

Especially upon learning that Na Zha had also studied dance since childhood, Xiao Tong, who shared a similar background, felt an even greater sense of closeness.

Chen Ci glanced at the three women in the control room; the brothers in the recording booth were still waiting for him.

"You guys chat, I'm going in first."

Saying that, he went in without looking back.

"Ah..."

Na Zha had something to say but didn't have time; she turned to look at her sister Na Ti, who furrowed her brow slightly.

Xiao Tong took in the sisters' reactions; it seemed they really did have something going on.

Gently holding Na Zha's little hand, Xiao Tong gave a sweet smile: "No problem, you can tell me if you have something to say."

Na Ti stepped forward, eyeing Xiao Tong as she asked, "Excuse me, are you Chen Ci's girlfriend?"

"Huh?"

At those words, Xiao Tong's expression shifted slightly for a brief moment.

She gave a faint smile, about to say something, but Na Zha jumped in, grabbing Xiao Tong's hand and excitedly introducing her:

"Mm-hmm, sis, this is the Mao Mao sis I told you about—pretty, right?"

Na Ti also nodded, not sparing praise: "Mm, you're the prettiest Han Chinese girl I've ever seen."

"Mao Mao sis, this is my real older sister; you can call her Na Ti."

Xiao Tong chuckled: "Thank you, Na Ti…"

Before she could finish, that little rascal Na Zha chimed in again: "Mao Mao sis is his girlfriend; when they eat, they always hold hands."

The little girl was too lively; Xiao Tong couldn't help but tousle the stray hairs by her ear.

Na Ti nodded; for some reason, upon learning that Chen Ci had such a pretty girlfriend as Xiao Tong, she suddenly felt much more relieved.

"Mao Mao…"

Two muffled thuds came from outside; Chen Ci knocked twice on the glass window of the recording booth.

Xiao Tong immediately reacted: "You guys wait a moment, okay."

After saying that, she turned to communicate with Chen Ci; Chen Ci gave an "OK" gesture, and Xiao Tong, putting on her headphones, returned one as well.

Everything was ready; they could begin.

This time, Chen Ci and the others sang "Old Boy" again—the only song they had performance experience with.

However, for Xiao Tong, this was her first time hearing this song.

Moreover, right from the start it was an immersive live experience; after a simple guitar prelude, the main part began.

Chen Ci sang the first line: "That's the person I love deeply and think of day and night~"

Then Shi San: "How should I express myself? Will she accept me…"

Those two lines of lyrics added a few depths to Xiao Tong's calm eyes…

After a while, probably reaching the chorus, Chen Ci and the others became even more invested, singing the climax in unison.

Xiao Tong remained still, continuously staring blankly at Chen Ci behind the glass window.

This made the two other girls beside her even more puzzled—what kind of song could have such power?

Through the soundproof glass, they could only hear occasional muffled hums.

Na Ti glanced at Na Zha, then Na Zha looked at Xiao Tong and lightly poked her shoulder with a finger……

Xiao Tong startled, immediately took off her headphones.

Upon taking a closer look, she saw it was Na Zha; Xiao Tong breathed a sigh of relief and immediately read curiosity and doubt in her eyes.

"Oh."

Xiao Tong understood what she meant, picked up a pair of headphones and handed them to Na Zha and Na Ti.

"Life is like a merciless carving knife, changing our appearance~"

"Must we wither before we even bloom? I once had dreams!"

As soon as the two sisters put on the headphones, the most intense part followed.

The four big men's loud singing surged forth with a mighty momentum like a tide.

Before they could react, another wave came crashing in: "Youth is like……"

Until the song ended, the simple guitar outro gradually faded, and the three girls didn't say another word.

The song was titled "Old Boys," a chorus by four big men, yet it deeply moved the three girls.

"Music is the language of the world"—that saying is indeed true.

But after finishing, Chen Ci and the others seemed still not entirely satisfied.

Shi San, still not satisfied, said: "I wasn't in good shape just now; my throat felt a bit itchy when hitting the high notes, I couldn't help coughing twice—shall we do it again?"

Lao Zhao chuckled: "Alright, the boss has spoken—let's just sing."

Pang Zi also nodded; it had been a long time since he felt this way.

"Okay."

Chen Ci raised his index finger at Xiao Tong, mouthing: "One more time."

Xiao Tong smiled sweetly, nodded, and replied: "Okay."

Then she lowered her head to operate the console, while noticing that Na Zha and Na Ti had already taken off their headphones.

Xiao Tong asked: "By the way, Na Zha, Na Ti, what do you want with Chen Ci……"