Chapter 53: Guesting on the Radio Station

More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, Cheng Chen basically shuttled back and forth between three places: the film crew, Central Academy of Drama, and Tianhai Records.

He had to admit that opera was truly hard to learn, and Wang Quan was an extremely strict teacher.

Not only did she call Cheng Chen on time every morning to warm up his voice, she also required him to learn his bearing and eye expressions at the same time.

But learning opera was something one practiced from childhood, a skill honed day and night, progressing step by step.

In nearly a month's time, although Cheng Chen dared not slack off in the slightest, his learning progress was inevitably a bit slow.

Fortunately, Cheng Chen didn't aim to become a great opera master; he only needed to learn the vocal technique and pitch of one song.

In Wang Quan's words: from an amateur's standpoint, it was good enough.

But Cheng Chen didn't stop learning opera, since afterward he still wanted to release more related musical works.

On the film crew's side, after more than ten days of shooting, they finally wrapped smoothly yesterday.

Cheng Chen's acting was affirmed once again, even by the director Wang Rui, who usually paid him little attention.

When Cheng Chen wrapped, Wang Rui even took the initiative to step forward and hug him—after all, the film and television industry wasn't that big.

They'd inevitably run into each other in the future, and there was no need to make the relationship too stiff.

Cheng Chen also got his contact information, as well as the addresses of Ying Da, Li Chengru, Chen Jin, and others, arranging to visit each other in the future.

The biggest gain from "Criminal Police Story" wasn't the few tens of thousands in pay, but that under the tutelage of these seasoned veterans, Cheng Chen's acting had risen another level.

How to put it—if Cheng Chen's acting before was like a toddler taking wobbly steps, now he was a kindergartner, and the top dog at that.

Things at Tianhai were also going smoothly with the recording. Cheng Chen visited Luo Laotou several times to discuss the singing and interpretation of the three title tracks.

The old man gave plenty of opinions and suggestions, which was an important reason the recording went so smoothly.

The whole of August passed in days like these—no big events, just a constant stream of small ones.

Time came to August 31st, in the live broadcast room of "Hip-Hop Off-Work Run."

"Teacher Cheng, any problems with the script?"

The host Xiao Yue'er walked up to Cheng Chen and asked with a smile.

Xiao Yue'er was the host of "Hip-Hop Off-Work Run." Her voice was sweet and pleasant, and many veteran drivers liked to listen to her show on their way home from work.

True to her voice, Xiao Yue'er's looks leaned toward the sweet style, and when she smiled she showed two cute little tiger teeth.

At 1.6 meters tall, she looked dainty and delicate, full of warmth and approachability.

"I'm fine on my end. During the broadcast later I might need Teacher Xiao Yue'er to cover for me—it's my first time on a show and I'm a little nervous."

Cheng Chen said modestly.

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Xiao Yue'er covered her mouth and laughed:

"Hehe, Teacher Cheng, no need to be modest. I joined in that blog war too, you know.

I'm one of your fans. I've long appreciated your humor and wit, especially that... meme, that's what it's called, right?"

Cheng Chen was extremely embarrassed. He wished he had never made that meme and that chuunibyou remark—now whenever netizens posted on blogs, they often saw his photoshopped image with the caption "Listen-to-Style."

Such as:

"Heard someone wants to curse me???"

"Heard someone wants to hit on me???"

"Heard someone wants to sleep with me???"

The Listen-to-Style meme swept the internet for a time, and his meme spread widely across major forums and chat tools.

Fortunately, Xiao Yue'er didn't let Cheng Chen stay embarrassed for long, and took the initiative to change the subject:

"Near the end of the broadcast, we'll have a listener Q&A segment.

Some questions—if Teacher Cheng wants to answer, go ahead; if not, just give the director a hand signal and he'll cut to the next caller for you."

"Got it, thanks."

Cheng Chen nodded.

Soon the broadcast began.

Xiao Yue'er's familiar voice traveled through the radio station into the car radios of every veteran driver.

"Good evening, dear listeners. This is FM xx point x. Welcome to 'Hip-Hop Off-Work Run.' I'm Xiao Yue'er."

In the broadcast room, after a pleasant piece of music, Xiao Yue'er sat at the microphone with her headset on, delivering the opening.

Cheng Chen sat quietly beside her, listening.

"Today, our broadcast room has a heavyweight guest. As for who? I'm sure you've all heard his songs—his songs are really popular.

How popular? They're played on every street and alley, even the barbershop Tony teachers can hum a line or two: "The wolf fell in love with the sheep, loved so madly..."

Xiao Yue'er's voice was warm and lovely; singing a weathered, husky song like "The Wolf Fell in Love with the Sheep" gave it a unique flavor.

Hearing Xiao Yue'er's voice, Cheng Chen actually thought of a few songs that would suit her vocal quality.

If he poached this hot radio host for Tianhai Records and tailored a few songs for her, would she be willing?

The staff in the broadcast room were all working diligently; none of them expected that Cheng Chen, this seemingly upright fellow, had actually started eyeing their beautiful host...

"I'm sure you've all guessed who it is. That's right—the mysterious guest visiting our 'Hip-Hop Off-Work Run' is... the breakout singer, Cheng Chen.

Let's welcome Teacher Cheng to our broadcast room. Come on, Teacher Cheng, say hello to everyone."

Xiao Yue'er turned to Cheng Chen with a beaming smile. Cheng Chen gave an OK gesture, then quickly spoke into the microphone in front of him:

"Hello everyone, welcome to 'Hip-Hop Off-Work Run,' 'Your Moon My Heart' edition. I'm today's guest Cheng Chen."

Xiao Yue'er blinked her bright, dewy eyes at Cheng Chen—clearly that opening line was something he'd added himself.

Although the script they'd given him in advance didn't include that line, generally speaking, radio broadcast scripts only gave a rough direction and didn't restrict his performance.

For example, the script in Cheng Chen's hand:

Opening self-introduction, performance experience, creative process, thoughts after going viral, upcoming plans...

There were only a few major chapters, and with Xiao Yue'er, an experienced host, chatting beside him, there was basically no problem.

Cheng Chen's opening remarks clearly received a positive response—they were fresh and original—and the director and Xiao Yue'er both nodded approvingly at him.

The moment Cheng Chen's voice came out, the people beside the radio immediately erupted!

"Damn, it's really Cheng Chen who sang 'Wolf Loves Sheep'! This is his first public appearance—no, first public vocal appearance—no, anyway, it's the living Cheng Chen!"

"So excited! Boss is really here on 'Hip-Hop After Work'! His voice sounds amazing!"

"Hey, honey, quickly turn the radio to FM xx. x—your favorite singer, Cheng Chen, is live streaming!"

Others posted on Cheng Chen's chat tools, forums, and blogs:

Guys, Boss is live on 'Hip-Hop After Work'—the living Boss, the talking Boss!

"Is this a joke? Doesn't Boss never attend public events?"

"You're full of shit—I saw Boss singing on stage last time when I went to a village for my sister-in-law's nephew's aunt's husband's sister-in-law's cousin's uncle's neighbor's maternal uncle's nephew's wedding!"

"Your family tree is insane—so what's your actual relation to the person who went to that wedding?"

"Cheng Chen is indeed live on the radio—I'm Xiao Yue'er's microphone."

……