Chapter 72

Song Huihua looked at the music studio and admired her third brother even more. She couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t noticed his talent before.

He seemed like a different person now, possessing incredible abilities and seeming omnipotent.

Song Haowen’s parents observed their son collaborating on the music studio with a famous star and speculated about the relationship between him and Tian Nana.

If their son and she became a couple, they would be overjoyed.

However, after Tian Pengfei and Lin Min came to visit and thought about how Song Haowen and Tian Nana were always together, while their own daughter was studying overseas, their feelings became complex.

They had many things they wanted to say to Song Haowen, but in the end, they decided to let it go.

Tian Pengxiang, a director at the Ministry of Construction, had come to the music studio with his wife a few times before, but this was the first-time meeting Song Haowen.

Seeing that despite his humble background and young age, Song Haowen was confident, articulate, and organized, Tian Pengxiang felt a good impression. If his daughter started dating him, he would be happy about it.

As for Su Guo and her husband, they were initially stunned by the actions of Su Yan and Song Haowen, learning about the music studio for the first time. They couldn’t believe that two university students had such courage and vision. Looking at their own son Xiao Qiang, they suddenly felt inadequate and ashamed.

Unaware of these thoughts, Song Haowen followed behind everyone, listening to Su Yan’s introductions room by room. When they reached the rehearsal room, he saw four unfamiliar young people earnestly playing “The Great Wall Never Falls” on the stage. Three male musicians played rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and bass, while the only female drummer handled the drums.

The three male musicians had long Cowboys-style hair and were handsome, while the female drummer had permed large waves and delicate features.

To assess their real skill, Song Haowen asked them to perform another song live. Although the musicians hadn’t spoken to Song Haowen, they had seen him perform and knew he was a popular singer and one of the studio’s owners.

Excited, they immediately showed off and played “Seeing Her Again,” a song they borrowed from Qi Qin.

The band’s performance was impressive, and the musicians’ skill level was high. Everyone nodded in approval. Based on his experience from a previous life, Song Haowen gave on-the-spot guidance on the shortcomings in the band’s arrangement.

The band played again according to his instructions, and the result was even better. Both the band and Tian Nana were very impressed.

After touring the office building, everyone bid farewell and went home. Only Song Haowen and Tian Nana remained to practice singing.

Song Haowen wrote down the lyrics and music for “My Chinese Heart” and asked the band to familiarize themselves with the score. When everyone felt ready, Song Haowen picked up the microphone and started singing.

With the accompaniment, the effect was completely different. This time, Song Haowen sang with passion and emotion, performing the piece even more perfectly than the debut at Tian Yuxi’s house.

After the song, not only was Tian Nana pleasantly surprised, but even the band members were shocked.

After several rehearsals, the coordination between Song Haowen and the band became quite seamless. Following that, he and Tian Nana practiced several duets. Afterwards, they returned to the office to discuss the next steps for the music studio.

Song Haowen suggested that the studio could follow the models of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and foreign countries, signing contracts with a few promising singers.

They should also try to obtain the rights for audio-visual production and performance licenses. The signed artists could practice in the small theater in the office building, cultivating talent and increasing revenue through ticket sales and refreshments.

When the conditions were right, they could venture into commercial performances outside.

Tian Nana mentioned the difficulty of obtaining these credentials, but Song Haowen assured her that it was manageable with some connections. However, managing a growing number of personnel and handling night performances would be challenging for her alone.

Song Haowen suggested hiring more administrative staff to share the workload and appointed Su Yan as the general manager to oversee major matters while delegating minor tasks to others.

Tian Nana suddenly thought of a problem. “Currently, there’s a limit on the number of employees for individual enterprises, and it can’t exceed…”

Song Haowen chuckled. “Easy. We’ll just walk the fine line. Except for a few managers, everyone else will be treated as daily wage workers. No one will check, and if someone does, we can simply let them go.”

Tian Nana expressed her concerns. “With such a diverse range of tasks for our studio—participating in performances, releasing records, producing tapes, nurturing new talent, theater performances… It’s all new to us, and we have no experience. It seems too difficult. I think you should come over and help; otherwise, no one can handle this properly.”

Although Song Haowen was about to refuse, he realized that the tasks at the music studio were indeed complex. Many of the approaches he suggested were from his previous life, and Su Yan and her daughter had no reference for them.

If he didn’t personally guide the studio to the right path, it might face difficulties. Considering the various businesses, he was involved in, the music studio seemed to be the most challenging.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Okay, I’ll come over and help for a while. Once everything here is running smoothly, I’ll go back.”

Tian Nana was overjoyed and jumped onto Song Haowen, hugging him and giving him a kiss. Ecstatically, she exclaimed, “Little brother, that’s great! I love you!”

Song Haowen, looking disgusted, pushed Tian Nana away and said with a stern face, “Don’t say nonsense; it doesn’t sound good if others hear it.”

Tian Nana blushed instantly and said shyly, “What did I say? I didn’t say anything.”

Song Haowen sneered a few times and wiped his face with his hand. He complained, “All saliva!”

Tian Nana pretended to hit him, and Song Haowen, with a weird cry, escaped outside.

In the evening, with Tian Nana’s consent, Song Haowen gathered all the employees for a dinner in the upstairs cafeteria. This was his first formal meeting with everyone, and they were delighted to find him so approachable.

The musicians were particularly in high spirits, toasting Song Haowen repeatedly. Song Haowen, in turn, was gracious and accepted all the toasts.

Tian Nana, concerned about Song Haowen drinking too much, stopped him from drinking halfway through the meal.

He was a bit reluctant, but seeing that no one dared to toast him afterward, he volunteered to sing for everyone to liven up the atmosphere. The musicians quickly fetched instruments to accompany him.

As a result, Song Haowen was in high spirits and sang several songs, even inviting Tian Nana to duet with him, elevating the mood of the gathering.

After dinner, except for a security guard on duty, everyone else returned home. Seeing Song Haowen a bit intoxicated and staggering, Tian Nana hailed a taxi and sent him back to the appliance business department.

At the business department, curious about the lit-up room, Tian Nana knocked on the door. To her surprise, Zhu Hongyu and Ren Hua came out. Seeing that Song Haowen had had a bit too much to drink, they quickly helped him inside, settling him down in the western room.

Later, Zhu Hongyu asked Tian Nana where they had been drinking and why they had consumed so much. Tian Nana explained the situation, and they all laughed.

Tian Nana then asked why Zhu Hongyu and Ren Hua were working so late. Ren Hua explained that they were dealing with a technical challenge. They had been researching it, and time passed without them realizing it.

They didn’t want to go back to the school dormitory tonight, so they decided to stay overnight here. If Tian Nana was willing, she could stay too and share the accommodations.

After hesitating for a moment and considering that she had spent the whole day with Song Haowen, Tian Nana worried that staying overnight might lead to some misunderstandings with her parents. Thus, she refused and left by taxi.

Song Haowen slept until daybreak and, upon waking up, found both Zhu Hongyu and Ren Hua there. Curious, he asked them why they had come to the store so early, especially when it wasn’t a Sunday.

Zhu Hongyu and Ren Hua chuckled. Zhu Hongyu said, “It’s the beginning of the school year, and we were afraid you might be late, so we came to wake you up for school.”

“Ah?” Song Haowen was momentarily stunned. “Do you really care about me that much? I feel unworthy and honored at the same time.”

“Don’t act all high and mighty. Hurry up and get ready, treat us to breakfast.” Ren Hua taunted.

Song Haowen suddenly realized, “So, you’re reluctant to spend money on breakfast and are trying to get a free meal from me.”

Ren Hua sneered, “Stop pretending, buddy. Hurry up and treat us to breakfast.”

Zhu Hongyu couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Suppressing her laughter, she said, “If we don’t take advantage of you, who else can we extort?”

“Alright, alright. Since you two are my sisters, I accept being extorted.” Song Haowen smiled wryly. “Now, tell me, do you want to eat plain noodles, knife-cut noodles, or lamb soup with flatbread?”

Ren Hua immediately said, “I want lamb soup with flatbread.”

Zhu Hongyu couldn’t understand. “Didn’t you tell me yesterday that you wanted to lose weight?”

“Yesterday is yesterday. Today, I declare that I’m not dieting anymore!” Ren Hua argued cunningly.

“Why bother dieting?” Song Haowen looked disdainful. “You’re already curvy enough. Isn’t a plump figure more attractive?”

Ren Hua blushed instantly and pretended to twist Song Haowen’s mouth. “Xiaosongzi, you’re starting to corrupt, huh?”

Song Haowen chuckled and quickly changed the subject. “You two, it’s going to be tough for you recently.”

“What’s wrong? Anything happened?” Zhu Hongyu asked with concern.

“I plan to focus on helping at the music studio for a while. I’ll leave the electrical appliances business to you two. Of course, I’ll be back in the evening. Anything you can’t handle, leave it to me.”

Ren Hua, with a gossiping look, asked, “Little brother, are you falling for someone else now that Yuxi has left?”

Song Haowen chuckled “Class Monitor, can you please control this crazy woman who likes to gossip? What nonsense is she talking about?”

“So, what?” Zhu Hongyu smiled calmly. “You’re growing up, and you can’t avoid falling in love forever.”

Song Haowen argued, “So you’re thingking about me?”

Ren Hua sighed. “Think? Who’s thinking about you? Dream on!” After speaking, she blushed slightly.

Zhu Hongyu glanced at Song Haowen. “Even if you want to, it’s just wishful thinking.”

Song Haowen didn’t dare to continue the conversation with his two sisters. Trying to change the topic, he walked into a roadside snack shop.