Chapter 202: Sniping Through the Center Lane

Reborn Starting from China Entertainment 2002, Chapter 198: Sniping Through the Center Lane

The Tokyo trip was being prepared at full tilt.

As the person in question, Cheng Chen's most pressing task at the moment, besides preparing new songs, was to learn Japanese well.

But…

"What? You haven't seen him at all?"

In Wang Tianxiao's office, she stared in surprise at the man in front of her, who wore a ponytail and a thin mustache.

This was the teacher she had specially hired to teach Cheng Chen Japanese.

The feedback from this teacher was that half a month had already passed since he took on the assignment.

Cheng Chen had somehow not attended a single Japanese lesson.

At first he could still call in to request leave, but later he simply vanished — his phone couldn't even be reached.

What on earth is he trying to do!

Wang Tianxiao was furious, after all the Tokyo concert in Japan had already made her the subject of much domestic gossip.

And now at this critical juncture, Cheng Chen was being so uncooperative.

Was he planning to stand in Tokyo before all those fans and say "konnichiwa" or "hell"?

Wang Tianxiao couldn't understand it, and didn't want to understand it.

Even if the sky were falling, the priority right now was the concert tour!

This was Tianhai Entertainment's strategic mission for the year, and she never expected the lead figure, Cheng Chen, to be fighting her on this at such a critical moment.

"Miss Wang, I have never met such an unreliable student, even though he is very well known in China.

But he doesn't respect his teacher. Privately, I think he's not suited to holding a concert in my homeland — we wouldn't welcome someone like that."

The man with the small braid said heatedly.

Hearing this, Wang Tianxiao said in surprise:

"Teacher Wang, I recall you're a Chinese citizen, aren't you?"

The little-braided man surnamed Wang replied proudly:

"I've already obtained Japanese citizenship, so I am now Japanese. Please address me as Yamaguchi Ichiro, thank you."

Well, there you go — a fake foreigner.

Though Wang Tianxiao felt a twinge of distaste inside, she kept her smile, pulled out her phone, and said:

"Teacher Yamaguchi, please wait a moment, I'll call him right now."

"Also, I think you should understand that even though he hasn't attended a single one of my classes, the lesson fees still need to be paid.

After all, I still put a great deal of thought and effort into the lesson materials."

"Heh heh, of course."

Wang Tianxiao nodded.

Before long, Cheng Chen's languid voice came through.

"Hello, President Wang, good morning."

Wang Tianxiao checked the time, and hearing Cheng Chen's words, her anger flared:

"Good morning my foot — it's already ten o'clock. Where are you? Get to the company, now!"

Although Cheng Chen was now Tianhai's largest shareholder, he still remained true to his authentic self.

Playing the role of a proper hands-off boss, he left all the company's affairs, big and small, on Wang Tianxiao's shoulders.

Because the two of them were personally close, there was naturally no strict superior-subordinate relationship between them.

So in private, it was hard to see any "respect" for Cheng Chen from Wang Tianxiao.

"What's it about? I was on a long conference call yesterday, I'm still half asleep right now!"

"Something very important — get over here, quick!"

"Sigh, give me half an hour!"

Where Cheng Chen lived wasn't far from Tianhai Records.

After roughly half an hour, Cheng Chen finally sauntered in.

"And this is?"

Looking at the person sitting in Wang Tianxiao's office, Cheng Chen asked in confusion.

"He's the Japanese teacher I hired for you. Teacher Wang… no, Teacher Yamaguchi says you haven't attended a single one of his classes.

President Cheng, may I ask what exactly you've been busy with lately?"

Hearing this, Cheng Chen nodded, too lazy to greet the man in front of him, dropped himself casually into a chair, and said:

"I've been swamped with all sorts of things lately — the concert, Japanese, writing songs, that kind of stuff.

Plus I have to prep the script, shoot ads, visit the set of Wulin Waizhuan.

Yesterday I had a conference call with the director filming in Yunnan Province, and it dragged on until 3 a. m.

And now first thing in the morning you've dragged me to the company.

"

Oh, and pretending to be someone else's boyfriend, climbing the Great Wall with her family.

Of course, Cheng Chen added that line only in his head.

Otherwise, Wang Tianxiao would have torn into him on the spot!

Hearing Cheng Chen's packed schedule, Wang Tianxiao's attitude softened quite a bit, and she said:

"I know you're busy, but you still have to learn Japanese — there's not much time left.

You need to learn at least a few sentences of conversational Japanese in the next month and a half.

You know Japan is the first stop on your world tour; everyone at home and abroad is watching you.

We must ensure every detail is controlled, otherwise won't it be a laughingstock?"

Cheng Chen nodded; he knew Wang Tianxiao's concerns were not without merit.

For overseas concerts, communicating in the local language isn't the biggest issue.

Most will bring translators to the venue, but if you can master or even just speak a few phrases of the country's language.

Then the local fans will be pleased—it shows respect for the fans and respect for the local market.

For example, in the future, a certain artist went to a country in Asia for an event.

After the event ended, the artist walked along the road with the staff.

Many staff surrounded him; when fans saw the artist, they screamed with eager excitement.

Though he was thoroughly protected, no one expected the artist to make a shocking decision.

He actually pushed away the staff and colleagues protecting him, and knelt down toward the fans.

A press release claimed the artist's thought at the time was that these fans had braved wind and rain just to come see him and cheer for him.

In the eyes of the local fans, the artist's actions were the highest form of courtesy.

After all, this was the country's own highest etiquette!

Similarly, trainees who debuted in Korea knelt on the ground to thank the audience at the end of their events.

These things mostly happened to artists striving abroad; though customs and cultures differed by country.

But whenever such incidents reached home, they sparked controversy.

Some supported it, but many opposed it.

In Cheng Chen's view, learning the local language was fine.

But kneeling in gratitude? Better skip it!

The reason for learning the language was mainly to counter certain black fans who attacked artists using the local language.

In the future, a certain artist went overseas to perform and was cursed at by local black fans in the local language.

The artist stood on stage smiling and nodding, thinking the fans were praising him.

When this incident reached home, the artist was heavily criticized.

Paired with his smiling-nodding meme, it became widely circulated in the future—a massive social death moment.

"Japanese? I've learned it!"

Cheng Chen looked at Wang Tianxiao and said seriously.

"Huh? You hired a Japanese tutor yourself?"

Wang Tianxiao asked.

Hearing this, Yamaguchi Ichiro also turned to look at Cheng Chen.

"No, I learned Japanese from Naruto, Detective Conan, and One Piece."

Upon hearing Cheng Chen's words, Yamaguchi Ichiro couldn't help but sneer with disdain.

Wang Tianxiao, however, looked confused and said:

"You learned Japanese from… from cartoons?"

"Not cartoons—those are anime!"

Cheng Chen explained seriously, then added:

"And Japanese dramas, Japanese films."

Wang Tianxiao stared at him in disbelief and said:

"Bro, what can you possibly learn from cartoons? I hired you a tutor!"

"Hmm… I think I already told you I don't need a Japanese tutor. Our cooperation should've ended back then!"

Cheng Chen found this fake foreigner deeply irritating.

Every time they spoke, that condescending tone of his annoyed Cheng Chen.

"I didn't know that."

Wang Tianxiao, caught in the middle, was utterly confused.

"Cough, cough—I'm employed by Miss Wang Tianxiao; without her instruction, we're still cooperating, as per contract."

Yamaguchi Ichiro said.

"Then let's cancel this cooperation right now. You're fired."

Cheng Chen sneered.

"I advise you, Mr. Cheng, not to act impulsively. Learning Japanese from anime and TV dramas is extremely inefficient.

Your accent won't be standard, and you likely don't even understand grammar—like the basics, do you know the gojūon?"

Yamaguchi Ichiro suddenly reminded him; after all, Wang Tianxiao paid well, and he didn't want to lose such a premium client.

"Oh? I don't know the gojūon chart, but I can still hold normal conversations in Japanese.

Besides, I'm a singer—just sing well enough. Learning Japanese is for daily chat, not an exam!"

"I think you can't even manage daily conversation!"

Yamaguchi Ichiro mocked.

"Oh? Then let's make a bet: if I can hold normal Japanese conversation with you, you refund my tuition?

If we can't communicate, you become my teacher—and I'll also hire you as our tour interpreter, daily wage…"

Cheng Chen held up one finger!

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Yamaguchi Ichiro was deeply tempted.

Just being Cheng Chen's Japanese teacher alone would earn him a fortune.

Moreover, the Japanese counterparts are paid daily wages!

But seeing Cheng Chen so confident, he felt some hesitation.

With Cheng Chen this well-informed, could he possibly speak Japanese?

That doesn't make sense—when enrolling students, Wang Tianxiao repeatedly assured me Cheng Chen knew no Japanese.

Just teach him a few basic Japanese phrases for everyday use.

Can you really learn Japanese by watching anime?

Japanese is among the easiest of all minor languages, and its difficulty coefficient is not high,

because Chinese characters form an essential part of Japanese.

Some Chinese characters in Japanese are near-synonyms; others are antonyms.

But through our understanding of Chinese characters, we can roughly grasp the general meaning of a Japanese passage.

This is our natural advantage in learning Japanese.

Therefore, learning Japanese is truly not difficult for Chinese people.

As long as one is willing to put in the Kung Fu and effort, it's definitely a foreign language one can master with certainty.

But the problem lies in being willing to put in the Kung Fu and effort.

It has only been half a month since Wang Tianxiao enrolled Cheng Chen.

In these half a month, how much Japanese could Cheng Chen possibly have learned by watching TV dramas and anime day and night?

Moreover, Cheng Chen himself just said he has a pile of things to do—writing songs, writing screenplays, shooting commercials.

How much time can a celebrity possibly devote to studying each day?

One hour?

Thinking of all this, Yamaguchi Ichiro felt a faint thrill and said:

"Fine, I'll bet with you. Shall we begin?"

Cheng Chen smiled slightly.

Immediately, Wang Tianxiao stared at the two of them speaking fluent Japanese.

Though she didn't understand, what surprised her was that Cheng Chen seemed to have more… that vibe!

Hmm, the Da Zuo vibe.

He even rolled his Rs!

Compared to the quiet Yamaguchi Ichiro, Cheng Chen looked more like a gang boss.

Mainly because his voice was loud, his presence strong, and his mannerisms slick and flashy!

"Uh…"

The two conversed for about half an hour, after which Yamaguchi Ichiro wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Although… the tone and pronunciation differ somewhat from everyday speech, communication is fine—it's just… uh…"

"It's just… very anime-character-like. Very chuuni!"

Yamaguchi Ichiro truly believed Cheng Chen had learned Japanese from anime—after all, who in real life speaks like that!

Most anime works emphasize a single theme and amplify a particular emotional tone.

Thus, in Japanese intonation, they heavily favor one emotion—either passionate and fervent,

or calm and restrained, or anxious and restless, or quiet and subtle.

After all, emotional exaggeration is what gives anime its dramatic tension.

"I lost."

Yamaguchi Ichiro said, bowing his head.

Cheng Chen, relying on his anime-style Japanese, had successfully defeated this fake foreigner who held Japanese nationality.

Though she hadn't understood their earlier conversation, Wang Tianxiao clearly heard Yamaguchi Ichiro say those words in Chinese.

Wang Tianxiao's expression at that moment was like that meme:

I don't understand, but I'm profoundly shocked. jpg!

"You're really… impressive!"

Wang Tianxiao muttered grumpily.

It turned out she had worried for nothing.

"Not just that—I've written several songs in Japanese. Since I'm here today, listen to them."

Cheng Chen pulled out a stack of manuscript paper and handed it to Wang Tianxiao.

"This… these are Japanese songs?"

"Yeah, both Japanese and Chinese versions. Give them a listen!"

Yamaguchi Ichiro, who had originally intended to take his leave, heard Cheng Chen say he had written songs in Japanese.

He changed his mind and stayed—writing Japanese songs and speaking Japanese are two entirely different things.

The vocal phrasing and melodic shifts in lyrics are the hardest test for a singer; speaking Japanese well doesn't mean you can sing Japanese songs well.

Especially for foreigners.

"This song is called《Lemon》…"

Then Cheng Chen sang it a cappella; besides《Lemon》, he also sang《Loser》and《Fireworks》…

"These… these are all your new songs?"

Though she didn't understand the lyrics, melody knows no borders.

Especially《Lemon》，a song expressing sorrow and loss over the death of someone important.

In one sentence:

Turn the sourness life gives you, like a lemon, into a sweetness like lemon soda.

Wang Tianxiao took a deep breath and said:

"These three songs are amazing, really outstanding—are you planning to release a Chinese version domestically?"

Hearing this, Cheng Chen shook his head and said:

"Let's wait until after the Japan concert. Besides these three Japanese songs, I've prepared some Chinese songs—what do you think about performing opera in Tokyo?"

"Opera? Your opera singing style?"

Cheng Chen nodded, then quickly shook his head and said:

"No, it's more like…"

Cheng Chen cleared his throat and sang slowly:

"My lord, come closer and take a look.

It states that Qin Xianglian, thirty-two years old, accuses the current imperial son-in-law.

Deceiving the emperor, defying the sovereign, breaking his vow and taking a bride from the east.

Killing his wife and children, his conscience long gone; forcing Han Qi to death in the imperial hall.

I've placed the petition on your grand hall—clenching your teeth, for what reason do you stand?"

……-Add to bookmarks-