Chapter 93: A Face Full of Uncle-like Smiles

How could you already have a new song so quickly?

Huang, the chef, stared at the USB drive Zhou Ran had placed on the table before him, and for a moment his mind went blank.

He had never imagined that, the very next day after their conversation, Zhou Ran would simply set a new song down in front of him. The speed was frankly absurd. In other words, Zhou Ran had taken only a single day to compose a brand-new song, then finish recording it and producing the accompaniment as well.

That pace left Huang utterly stunned. He had never seen anyone record a new song in so little time. At first, he had assumed Zhou Ran would need about a month to hand it over.

Who could have known that, at noon the next day, right after wrapping up filming and during a break, Zhou Ran would hand him the drive?

"Mm. Give it a listen. A Zhou Ran production is bound to be excellent. Trust me." Faced with Huang's question, Zhou Ran answered with certainty. A mule or a horse had to be led out and taken for a run before one could tell, and the same went for a song's quality—it had to be heard first.

"All right then, I'll listen." Still half in doubt, Huang plugged the drive with the song into his computer. To be honest, as he inserted it, he did not have much confidence that a song created in a single day could possibly sound all that good.

When he opened the drive Zhou Ran had given him, Huang saw the title and nodded. "Nameless? On the surface, that title is fairly normal. It also fits the meaning of their film quite well."

He double-clicked the mouse and began playing it.

As the accompaniment started, a stream of electronic synthesized sound flowed out, and Huang could faintly make out the timbre of strings within it.

The moment he heard Zhou Ran begin to sing, Huang's eyes lit up.

From just those opening lines, he could already feel the song's quality.

Some terrible songs reveal themselves after only a line or two. The same is true of good songs: after only the beginning, one can tell exactly what they are worth.

As the song went on, Huang was already swaying in time with the rhythm. He had wholly entered the music, slowly feeling the emotions it sought to convey.

In Huang's view, the highest form of respect for a song was to devote oneself to it completely, so that at that moment there was nothing in one's mind but its shadow.

And Huang was in precisely that state. It was as though the song were circling in his thoughts, and for the moment he wanted nothing else, only to savor it.

"This is great! This is exactly the kind of song I wanted. You're incredible, Zhou Ran! How did you manage to compose this in just one day?"

After hearing Zhou Ran's song, Huang was instantly invigorated. Zhou Ran's work matched his standards perfectly. In Huang's eyes, the song was a flawless embodiment of the feeling his film wanted to bring to audiences, restored with almost exact fidelity.

To be honest, Huang had already been conquered by Zhou Ran's terrifying creative ability. Indeed, the creative gifts of some people simply could not be measured by the standards of ordinary men.

"Ah, so long as you like it, Teacher Huang. I had thought of this song before, but never found the right occasion. Since you needed one, I went ahead and made it."

When Zhou Ran faced Huang's praise, he still chose humility. There was no need to make a point of saying he had done it in a single day; that would have been unnecessary, and only made him stand out even more.

"So that's how it is. Still, that's pretty impressive."

Hearing Zhou Ran's answer, Huang nodded slightly. That explanation made much more sense. If it could be written all at once, that would have been far too frightening.

"What are you two doing?"

Off to the side, Zhang Xiaofeng, who had been resting, saw Zhou Ran and Huang whispering together as if plotting something, and came over to join the fun.

"Hahaha, you're here."

While replying to Zhang Xiaofeng, Huang also glanced at Zhou Ran, wanting to ask whether Zhou Ran would mind letting her hear the song.

"This is a song I recorded for the production team. Want to listen?"

Seeing Huang's expression, Zhou Ran directly called Zhang Xiaofeng over to hear it. It was hardly a secret anyway. They would be telling others about it in the end regardless, so there was no issue.

"Really? Your new song? Wow! I want to hear it!"

At Zhou Ran's words, Zhang Xiaofeng's eyes lit up at once. She had been looking forward to his new song for a long time, after all—she was a fan of Zhou Ran's.

Zhang Xiaofeng ran straight over to Zhou Ran and listened to the song Huang had loaded on the computer. As she listened, her expression was one of complete enjoyment, as though she were savoring some rare delicacy.

Watching her performance, Zhou Ran could not help laughing. Zhang Xiaofeng's reaction now was exactly the same as the recording studio owner's from yesterday. Truly, she deserved to be one of his most devoted fans.

Recently, Zhou Ran had felt quite grateful toward Zhang Xiaofeng. She had secretly planned a celebration for the crew in his honor, and he had already learned about it.

When Zhang Xiaofeng celebrated him back then, her expression had been far too obvious; as long as Zhou Ran was not stupid, he could see through it at a glance. Yet Zhang Xiaofeng still believed she had acted perfectly and that Zhou Ran had no idea at all.

Because of that, Zhou Ran's feelings toward her had gradually and rapidly warmed, though he himself had not even noticed it, and still thought of her as merely a good friend.

So there was Zhang Xiaofeng, listening with blissful delight to Zhou Ran's new song, while Zhou Ran stood there dazedly watching her listen. Meanwhile, Huang sat alone in his chair, observing the two of them with an expression that could only be called deeply pleased, and from time to time his face wore that unmistakable, indulgent uncle's smile.