Chapter 23: You certainly know how to keep a secret.

"I’ve already switched on the equipment in the recording studio for you. Do you want to have some water and sit for a bit before you start, or are you heading in now?" Song Xiaoqin asked Zhang Suxin as she led the three of them through the courtyard and into the villa.

"Let’s just go straight to recording," Zhang Suxin replied.

Song Xiaoqin then guided them toward the recording studio.

Xianxian was incredibly excited and impatient. She had been thinking about the recording studio all the way there, and now that it was right in front of her, she could hardly wait.

Song Xiaoqin asked again, "Whose commission did you take? You sounded so serious about it yesterday."

"It’s for Zhou Bo," Zhang Suxin said.

Song Xiaoqin looked slightly surprised. "Oh, that’s not bad at all! Zhou Bo is quite the rising star right now; he’s practically being touted as the next 'Little Heavenly King.' He’s only a step behind where you were at your peak. No wonder you were so serious. Your business is really booming!"

Zhang Suxin sighed. "Not at all! You know how it is—for the longest time, my songs have been criticized for not being suitable for others to sing. It’s fine for second or third-tier singers, but very few first-tier artists are willing to commission songs from me."

"Well, now you have one, don't you?" Song Xiaoqin pointed out. "And it’s Zhou Bo! An actor-singer and a future 'Little Heavenly King' at that! If I’m not mistaken, he’s commissioning a song for his new drama, *Don't Want You to Leave*, right?"

Zhang Suxin nodded. "It’s for the ending theme."

"There you go," Song Xiaoqin said. "Getting a commission from Zhou Bo means you’ve been recognized. Once this song is finished, I’m sure you’ll have a steady stream of high-quality offers."

Zhang Suxin was honest. "Actually, a friend helped me get this offer. I hadn’t had any inspiration and couldn’t write anything. Then... well, Xianxian’s dad wrote a song that was just right, so I came to try it out."

"Him?!"

Song Xiaoqin glanced at Lu Anzhi, momentarily stunned. Hearing Zhang Suxin refer to Lu Anzhi as "Xianxian’s dad" made Song Xiaoqin feel a bit uneasy, and she frowned, though she said nothing.

Lu Anzhi naturally noticed the complexity of Song Xiaoqin’s expression, but he didn't react, simply nodding at her in acknowledgment.

Song Xiaoqin nodded back coldly, and Lu Anzhi responded with a calm nod of his own. If not for the bond provided by Zhang Suxin and Xianxian, they would be complete strangers with no reason to cross paths.

"I never would have guessed you were both in this line of work... but I suppose it makes sense," Song Xiaoqin said with a slight smile.

Once inside the studio, they saw the equipment was already powered on. Xianxian’s eyes lit up, and she moved to play with it, but Zhang Suxin grabbed her before she could take a step.

"Don't break your Auntie Song's things!" Zhang Suxin warned quickly.

Xianxian calmed down. Song Xiaoqin, however, waved her hand dismissively. "It’s fine, let her play! If it breaks, I’ll just get new ones!"

How generous! Lu Anzhi thought silently from behind. It was easy to see that Song Xiaoqin came from a wealthy background and had a bit of a temper. If she was unhappy with someone, it showed on her face immediately; she didn't bother with pretenses. Even so, she was considerate enough not to make others feel awkward. She knew her boundaries and understood when to speak and when to stay silent. That was enough. Even if he was handsome, he couldn’t expect everyone to like him or treat him with warmth. Lu Anzhi understood that perfectly.

Zhang Suxin rolled her eyes at Song Xiaoqin. "Don't spoil her. If you teach her bad habits, you’re the one who will have to deal with it!"

Song Xiaoqin rolled her eyes back. "You mothers sure love to worry about nothing!"

They didn't dwell on the topic. Zhang Suxin let Xianxian watch Song Xiaoqin handle the equipment. She didn't mind if Song Xiaoqin held Xianxian’s small hands to let her try some simple tasks. The two women had collaborated here many times before and worked together quite smoothly.

While Song Xiaoqin guided Xianxian, Zhang Suxin opened the computer and plugged in a USB drive. She opened the folder containing the sheet music for *The Sea* and exported it.

"Actually, we tried downloading the scores directly from the music copyright website before," Zhang Suxin explained to Lu Anzhi while working, "but the site is slow to upload and download, so we had to prepare this drive."

Lu Anzhi nodded without saying much. He didn't know much about recording studios anyway. In his previous life, he had never stepped foot in such a place; his current musical talent was a gift from his transmigration. In his imagination, he had thought a recording studio required a whole band, with each person playing an instrument. It turned out these two women intended to handle everything themselves. He was filled with admiration and saw it as a real eye-opener. He was ready to follow their lead; whatever they told him to do, he would do. He would leave the professional work to the professionals.

"Take a look at the score. Xianxian’s dad plays instruments, so we’ll leave the performance and vocals to him," Zhang Suxin told Song Xiaoqin.

Song Xiaoqin nodded and said, "Let me see." She told Xianxian to wait a moment and went to look at the score. As she read it, she froze. She couldn't help but turn and glance at Lu Anzhi, her expression changing subtly.

"Is it okay?" Zhang Suxin asked.

"It’s fine. Let’s start," Song Xiaoqin nodded. "The only issue is that based on your setup, you want to record the demo with the arrangement included. I have plenty of instruments here, but I don’t know how to play them all. Can you handle it? Do you need me to call someone in?"

"I’m fine with it," Lu Anzhi said.

Song Xiaoqin’s eyes widened in surprise. She looked at him with a newfound respect, nodded, and said nothing further.

Under Zhang Suxin’s direction, Lu Anzhi entered the sound booth and picked up the instruments as required for recording. Song Xiaoqin was indeed wealthy; the booth was filled with various instruments, all of which looked expensive and well-maintained. If Zhang Suxin hadn't told him otherwise, Lu Anzhi never would have guessed that someone who owned such a studio was just doing this as a hobby.

He began the process of recording one instrument at a time. According to Zhang Suxin and Song Xiaoqin, they would mix the tracks only after everything had been recorded. Song Xiaoqin mentioned she wasn't a professional mixing engineer, so the final product might have flaws, but it would be perfectly fine for a demo.

While he was recording, Song Xiaoqin finished capturing a segment outside and took off her headphones to speak to Zhang Suxin. "Why didn't you ever tell me he had this kind of talent? The quality of this song is so high; it’s not something an average person could write. And it’s so complete—it even has an arrangement, and a high-level one at that."

"Are you trying to gild the lily for him by claiming he wrote this?"

Zhang Suxin laughed helplessly. "Do you think that’s possible? When have you ever seen me have such high-level arranging skills?"

Song Xiaoqin nodded. "That’s true, you rarely arrange your own music. But if Xianxian’s dad is this incredible, and you never told me... aren't you keeping him a bit too well-hidden?"