TL: Hua

Chapter 109: Album

After going out with Gu Siye to clear his head, Lin Yanran tried to reconcile with himself upon his return.

Some things cannot be changed, and he had to learn to accept them.

If he kept himself trapped within his own mind and couldn’t move on, those who truly loved him would only worry.

The online uproar came and went quickly; within a few days, almost no one continued to discuss these big scandals that had happened previously.

Lin Yanran’s life returned to its normal track.

He had plans for an album this year.

Ever since Lin Yanran’s fans heard his live performances on the stage of Guess Who I Am and the Super Idol finals, they had been longing for more. Almost every day, people came to urge Siyu, hoping the company could quickly release an album for their idol.

Originally, the company planned to work on this album in the second half of the year, but now that Lin Yanran’s schedule had opened up, Hong Huixue moved the project forward.

This was Lin Yanran’s first album since signing with Siyu and also his first album in a true sense.

Because although the original owner had released songs before, they were all singles and were the products of shoddy workmanship by his previous company; he had never formally released an actual album.

The company attached great importance to this album, even preparing several detailed planning drafts.

Lin Yanran took the planning documents from Hong Huixue and read through the contents carefully.

The plans were generally divided into two types.

One was to directly spend a fortune inviting gold-medal songwriters and composers to contribute songs and then hire top-tier domestic and international production teams to tailor-make the new album for him.

The other was for him to participate in the album’s production himself. The album would feature some of his original songs, and for the remaining tracks, he could collaborate with producers.

These were the most stable, safe, and popular methods currently on the market.

The second type, in particular, provided the singer space to display their talent and personal flair while ensuring the standard and quality of the entire album.

After looking at the two options, there was no doubt: Lin Yanran wanted to try the latter.

He was very tempted by this plan.

Because before this, he had already harbored a thought.

Of course, it wasn’t for himself, but rather, he thought of that thick stack of lyric notebooks left by the original owner.

He had carefully read the songs written by the other party before, and they were quite good. He even thought several of them were of a very high standard.

He knew the original owner had once desperately longed to have an album of his own, but unfortunately, the company and manager at the time gave him no opportunities.

So for the production of this album, although Lin Yanran had plenty of inspiration and things he wanted to express, he still hoped even more to publish the songs written by the original owner to fulfill his wish.

“Sister Hong, I have some songs I wrote in the past. If the quality meets the requirements, can we use those songs directly for the first album?”

Hong Huixue nodded readily. “Of course, no problem.”

She continued, “The first album is a very special existence for both you and your fans. In fact, I’m also more inclined toward you participating in the production. I saw that the quality of your previous arrangements was very high. While you might lack some production experience, with your ability, doing this album won’t be an issue. Once you’ve accumulated more experience, you can completely do an entire album all by yourself in the future.”

The few songs Lin Yanran had rearranged within just a few days during Super Idol had each swept the music charts.

Each song is widely popular while featuring diverse musical styles, not those mass-produced, formulaic tunes solely designed to cater to the market.

Therefore, Hong Huixue had great confidence in his strength.

The two discussed it and decided that Lin Yanran would first organize his songs and then give them to the music production team for screening.

After returning home, Lin Yanran found the lyric notebooks left behind by the original owner and read through his compositions seriously once again.

Gu Siye’s home had a private music room, and the equipment was much more complete than what Lin Yanran had.

Lin Yanran didn’t stand on ceremony; when it came to selecting the tracks, he went directly to Gu Siye’s house.

Of course, going to Gu Siye’s house had another benefit.

Besides the convenience of playing demos, Gu Siye could also give him a lot of professional guidance.

With the other’s help, Lin Yanran quickly selected several songs that were suitable for the album.

He rapidly finalized nine of them, but he was a bit hesitant when choosing the last one.

The original owner had two songs of very similar types, and he felt both were quite good.

But for songs of the same type and mood, he could certainly only choose one, so Lin Yanran was in a bit of a predicament.

He took the scores for both songs, his fingertips playing them over and over on the piano.

Gu Siye, who had finished making dinner, walked to his side and leaned down to glance at the scores in front of him.

“I’ve heard you play these two songs repeatedly several times. What’s wrong?”

Lin Yanran turned his head to look at the person beside him and asked, “Teacher Gu, after hearing them, which one do you think is better?”

“The styles of the two are very similar, with only slight differences.”

Lin Yanran nodded; that was indeed the case.

Gu Siye didn’t make a hasty decision for Lin Yanran but gave him a suggestion instead.

“If you can’t decide, how about I play them once, and you listen?”

Lin Yanran thought this was a good idea.

The player is often blind to what the bystander sees clearly.

If he listened as a bystander, he should have a different feeling.

So he hurriedly stood up and yielded his seat to Gu Siye.

After looking at the scores, Gu Siye quickly began to play.

Lin Yanran stood not far away, casually leaning against the piano, his eyes downcast as he looked at the man playing.

This was the first time he had watched the other play the piano.

His expression was focused, and his long, powerful fingers played skillfully on the black and white keys; his entire being was elegant and graceful.

It was hard for Lin Yanran not to be drawn to someone like him.

But he soon discovered that his gaze shifted upward from the fingers and, unknowingly, landed on Gu Siye’s handsome face.

The curtains weren’t fully drawn, and bits of the afterglow shone on his profile.

Gu Siye himself was like a gentle love song.

As the familiar melody reached his ears, Lin Yanran’s heart softened as well.

As the last familiar note faded, he already had the answer in his heart.

Lin Yanran lightly clapped his hands. “Teacher Gu, you play the piano so well.”

Gu Siye, however, didn’t stand up after finishing. Instead, he beckoned to Lin Yanran. “Come here.”

Confused, Lin Yanran walked over.

He originally thought Gu Siye wanted to discuss which part of the melody needed revision.

He never expected that the moment he reached the other man’s side, he would be pulled into his embrace.

By the time Lin Yanran realized what was happening, he was already sitting on Gu Siye’s lap.

Lin Yanran instinctively tried to stand up, but Gu Siye caught his hands.

This posture caused Lin Yanran to be tucked completely into Gu Siye’s chest.

The man’s clean, reassuring scent tightly enveloped him.

Then, he heard Gu Siye whisper low against his ear, “Let’s play together.”

Lin Yanran’s ear felt a bit itchy from the breath. He let out a soft laugh and asked back, “How am I supposed to play like this?”

Usually, four-hand piano playing didn’t involve sitting in this position…

Gu Siye didn’t say a word. He guided Lin Yanran’s hands onto the keys and then covered Lin Yanran’s fingers with his own.

Lin Yanran watched Gu Siye’s hand. He lightly moved his index finger, and the other man’s index finger moved with it.

He moved a few more times, and Gu Siye mirrored every motion. Their fingers were pressed tightly together; every movement was clearly felt by both sides.

This unique version of “four-hand play” felt wonderful to Lin Yanran.

At that moment, no specific song came to mind, so he just randomly pressed out a string of notes on the keys.

Though the melody was haphazard, it sounded cheerful and uplifting.

Music often reflects one’s mood.

After listening, Gu Siye asked in a low voice, “Has your mood been better these past few days?”

Hearing this, Lin Yanran immediately understood what Gu Siye was referring to.

At the time, even though he had been in a daze, he remembered clearly that he had poured out all his pent-up frustrations and worries to Gu Siye.

After they returned, Gu Siye hadn’t pressed him for more details.

The fact that he was only mentioning it now meant Gu Siye had been quietly observing and taking care of his emotions all these days.

Lin Yanran stopped moving his hands and leaned back gently into Gu Siye’s arms.

The embrace felt incredibly warm and reliable.

“Don’t worry, Teacher Gu. I’ve figured things out.”

Gu Siye gave a soft “mm.” Seeing that Lin Yanran didn’t intend to play anymore, he shifted to simply holding his hands.

“You fell asleep that day. I don’t know if you heard what I said to you.”

Lin Yanran thought back to that day in the cherry blossom grove when he had fallen asleep against Gu Siye.

He had a vague memory of Gu Siye speaking to him, but he hadn’t caught a single word.

Today, however, Gu Siye repeated that sentence.

“No matter what your identity is, to me, you are the only one.”

Lin Yanran nodded gently and turned his hand over to clasp Gu Siye’s palm.

In the cherry blossom grove, he had also told Gu Siye about “transmigrating” into this book. Although he hadn’t gone into great detail, he had been honest about the differences between himself and the original owner of the body.

He hadn’t said it aloud, but he had been curious about how Gu Siye would feel.

Now, he didn’t need to ask. Gu Siye had already given him the best possible answer.

After hearing these words, Lin Yanran playfully turned around.

He was still sitting on Gu Siye’s lap, but now they were face-to-face.

Fixing his gaze on Gu Siye’s eyes, Lin Yanran asked with a smile, “Teacher Gu, what if I suddenly transmigrate back one day? Would you be very sad?”

To his surprise, Gu Siye shook his head.

Before Lin Yanran could feel shocked, he heard the explanation: “Wherever you go, I will go and find you.”

There was a faint smile in Gu Siye’s eyes, but his gaze was serious and unwavering.

Gu Siye’s words caused many images to flash through Lin Yanran’s mind.

He looked at the man before him intently and couldn’t help but reach out to trace the outline of his face.

“Teacher Gu, do you think I knew you before?”

Gu Siye’s “perhaps” was interrupted by the whimpering sound from Ultraman bursting in.

At the same time, it completely broke the tender atmosphere between the two.

Being stared at by Ultraman with a strange look, Lin Yanran felt a bit embarrassed.

He hurriedly tried to stand up, but he lost his footing and accidentally brushed against the metal buckle of Gu Siye’s belt.

He hadn’t thought much of it before, but only now did he realize just how intimate their posture had been…

No wonder Ultraman was looking at him like that…

After rushing out to wash his hands, Lin Yanran had dinner with Gu Siye.

The next day, he made some revisions to the ten songs of different styles he had selected and sent them to the producer.

Three days later, the producer replied, saying all ten songs were excellent.

However, for the sake of the album’s overall cohesion, they dropped two, keeping the remaining eight.

Hong Huixue was completely stunned when she found out.

“Yanran, you’re amazing!”

The person they had invited this time was the ace producer of the music world, Li Xiao!! If he didn’t find any faults, it meant the quality of the songs was top-tier.

With Li Xiao’s validation of Lin Yanran, the production team began to boldly let Lin Yanran participate in everything from arrangement and production to the album concept.

Lin Yanran seemed to be naturally gifted for this profession. Even though it was his first time producing, he adapted remarkably fast.

For the following period, he buried himself in the intense production of his debut album.

By the time he found a moment of leisure, he discovered that the album Gu Siye had finished before the New Year had been released right on the eve of Gu Siye’s birthday!

Fans had been waiting forever and scrambled to purchase it the moment it went live on music platforms.

Gu Siye didn’t promote the album much beforehand, so fans only found out in the album description after buying it that Gu Siye had made many new attempts this time.

For example, the song “Love” featured a music video directed by Gu Siye himself for the first time.

Excited fans immediately clicked on the MV.

Then they discovered that the lead actor in the video was actually Lin Yanran!

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