0713: You who shine in the parallel world

Chen Chusheng's probing question at the dinner table was just a casual remark; given their previous discussions about adapting "Under Investigation," the difficulty was extraordinary.

That means creating an original opera from scratch, not just changing the key or remixing the original song. The original opera part also needs to be cleverly integrated with the original song so that the audience doesn't feel any sense of incongruity. This alone can stump a large number of musicians.

Because pop music and classical opera are inherently separated.

Moreover, understanding music theory does not guarantee the ability to create music in any style. Just as a watercolorist cannot easily create an oil painting, a musician who has no knowledge or research of classical symphonic opera will only produce a terrible, incoherent work if he tries to create an opera.

Of course, Yu Yu is different. IS's New Year's Eve concert will not be playing pop music. Chen Chusheng has never underestimated Yu Yu's efficiency. However, it has been less than a week since the first meeting with the directing team.

Perhaps he didn't even remember the joke he made the next day, but he didn't expect that as soon as the plane landed and he turned on his phone, he would see the adapted version that Yu Yu had sent early in the morning in the "Investigation" group.

Although Chen Chusheng, the team leader, will not be appearing in "Under Investigation," he is still in the group chat, since he created the groups for both songs.

When Yu Yufa left, Chen Chusheng was still on the plane.

What he sent was the finished product, not a demo; it was a complete set of composition, arrangement, and post-production work that was ready to be handed over to the production team for use.

The last message in the group chat was Huang Pin-guan's last message, "Yu Yu, you are music," which made Chen Chu-sheng's lips curl into a smile.

Normally, due to a lack of understanding of the team members, the person responsible for the adaptation will first release a demo to solicit everyone's opinions before making adjustments and modifications to arrive at the final product.

There are people like Yu Yu who throw away the finished product without a second thought, but they are not many. It's just that it's more troublesome to make adjustments later if there are problems. Huang Pinguan was a little surprised that such a slightly ill-considered thing happened to someone as emotionally intelligent and tactful as Yu Yu.

As for Yu Yu's good brothers Wang Yuexin and Yu Haoming, who unconditionally trusted him, they blindly praised him in the group after Yu Yu threw away the finished product.

However, given Huang Pinguan's personality and his knowledge that Yu Yu's strength was far greater than what was currently apparent, after the initial surprise, he also posted a thumbs-up emoji and opened Yu Yu's finished product.

Then there is no more then.

In Yu Yu's hands, this piece was transformed in just five days into an art form that could only be barely worthy of being performed by a whole symphony orchestra in a grand auditorium. Even Pin Guan, who repeatedly fast-forwarded to appreciate its exquisite details, once doubted whether they really intended to use such a work for Pi Ge's performance.

It's not that he has any issues with Piccolo's stage performance, but in terms of temperament and artistry, he can't honestly say that a competitive variety show like Piccolo, which is so murky, deserves such a piece. This kind of music wouldn't be an exaggeration to use it as a textbook example of the perfect fusion of classical symphony and modern pop music in a university.

In order to be able to perform in such a work, Huang Pin-kuan even felt that he was willing to sing parts that were outside his comfort zone. He was willing to join in, even if it was just a dispensable harmony. As for whether he could sing it or how he could sing it, he would think about that later. Musicians always have to challenge themselves and force themselves to step out of their comfort zone to overcome obstacles.

This piece is already perfect and doesn't need to be changed to please anyone. Even Yu Yu, who is in charge of the design, is not allowed to change a single note if he suddenly has a whim!

As a result, after listening to the entire song, he belatedly realized that no matter which part of the song he was assigned to, it wasn't at a point where he needed to overcome any obstacles. Completely amazed by the arrangement, Victor Wong couldn't help but open the group message, typing and deleting repeatedly. He felt that any flowery praise would be inadequate at this moment, and he could only send seven words:

"Yu Yu, you are music."

At this moment, he did not use the nickname "Yu Yu" that he usually called Yu Yu along with his brothers, but chose a more formal name. In his view, Yu Yu was no longer simply "born for music," but rather this child represented music itself.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to explain why Yu Yu, while adapting such a "terrible" work, could also take into account the vocal conditions of each singer, including Su Xiaoding, who did not know much about music. He even knew better than Su Xiaoding himself what kind of works he could sing.

No wonder he didn't release a demo beforehand to solicit feedback from others; he simply didn't need to.

Thinking back to the original adaptation of "Suspended" that also had the feel of a masterpiece, Huang Pin-guan couldn't help but start to wonder if Yu Yu's original works were just for fun.

It's not that his original songs are bad. Huang Pinguan has also listened to some of Yu Yu's more classic songs. Every one of those songs is a classic. If they were packaged and operated by a good distribution company or agency, every single one of them would definitely be a hit in terms of popularity and sales.

But compared to the two rearranged songs that Picard performed on stage that he personally arranged... you, this lazy bum who hides your talents, seem to be having a lot of fun all the time.

On the way back to the hotel, Chen Chusheng played the music sent by Yu Yu. He and Wang Yuexin already knew about Yu Yu's other identity and were well aware of his true abilities, so they were not as surprised as Victor Wong.

Even so, he couldn't help but praise her a few times, and in the process said what Huang Pin-guan hadn't said: "Yu, the way you changed it makes me regret not joining 'Investigation.' You should write a few of these kinds of works for yourself."

Compared to his brothers, Huang Pinguan was still somewhat of an "outsider." He couldn't very well tell Yu Yu to hold back and write more hit works for him, but Chen Chusheng, Wang Yuexin, and Yu Haoming didn't have this concern.

Wang Yuexin didn't stand on ceremony with Yu Yu: "Since you're going to write a few poems anyway, I don't mind if you write a few more for me too."

Yu Haoming directly copied and pasted Wang Yuexin's words, instantly becoming a repeater.

Wang Yuexin: "? Just focus on your acting and win your Best Actor award. Even though we're good friends, don't try to steal Xiaoyu from me. Trying to cross over into other fields once or twice is fine, but doing it so many times makes you think you're a hurdler?"

"What's wrong with me doing more crossovers? I'm close to you, and I want to be close to Yu Yu too. Nobody complains about having too many songs, and besides, you've also crossed over into acting yourself." Yu Haoming and Wang Yuexin's daily bickering has almost become a routine for Brother Pi.

Chen Chusheng glanced at the two of them bickering, their confessions mixed with their desire to climb the social ladder, and decided to ignore these two younger brothers who had been arguing and loving each other since childhood. He then said to Yu Yu, "Yu, if you have any other ideas, feel free to come and talk to me."

"No, don't go, Xiaoyu! If you go, Brother Sheng will take advantage of you!" Wang Yuexin, who was just arguing with Yu Haoming, turned around and saw that her house was about to be robbed (?), and quickly exaggeratedly stopped him.

What a joke! If Yu Yu were to actually take the demo to Chen Chusheng for discussion, it would be fine if he didn't take a liking to it, but if he were madly in love with it, would there be any chance of getting anything? He can turn into a clingy lover in a heartbeat for a piece of music that he can't live without, and Yu Yu has seen it all before.

Huang Pin-kuan was stunned: "Chu-sheng, are you really that scary?"

Su Xiaoding couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but remind them, "Brothers, can we speak more clearly? Don't say things so ambiguously or vaguely. The production team will see our group chat messages!"

If there's anything you can't say, can you please discuss it privately? Be careful, or the evil production team might release it for the audience to see.

"Oh right..." Wang Yuexin, who was used to letting loose in his buddies' small group chat, hadn't quite adjusted yet. He belatedly remembered that the production team had said they would look at their chat logs discussing the stage and include useful clips in the show. "Then let's go to the other group chat and have a showdown!"

"So, have you guys noticed that Yu Yu hasn't shown up for so long? Where did he go after abandoning the music?" Yu Haoming discovered the key point.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuexin also felt something was amiss: "He also took an early morning flight back to the capital; he should be home and resting by now, shouldn't he?"

"Something might be wrong. I remember he said he had other things to take care of today."

Chen Chusheng said that as the team leader, he naturally took charge of arranging the subsequent procedures.

"Yu has already assigned everyone their singing parts. Everyone can take a look and see if there are any objections. If you don't need to switch, you can start familiarizing yourself with your own parts. We will go back to the training room on Saturday for vocal and dance lessons, but I think waiting until Saturday to start learning might not be enough time."

"Xiaoding, if you encounter any difficulties, I can help you. Feel free to contact me. If you have time, we can communicate via video."

Su Xiaoding knew that Chen Chusheng was looking out for him, so he smiled and said, "It's okay, Brother Sheng. You also have another stage to worry about. I've found a vocal coach in private. I can ask her first."

Wang Yuexin waved her hand: "Yeah, Sheng-ge, it's not easy for you to get 'Walking Fish' either. As for 'Under Investigation,' the three of us brothers are here. Xiaoding can come directly to us."

Victor Wong reassured Chen Chusheng, "You can also contact me, Chusheng. Don't worry, we'll handle everything."

When there are other people in the team who can help share the pressure, Chen Chusheng, as the team leader, can indeed have a lot less to worry about. What's even more fortunate is that none of the team members are troublemakers with strong personalities. The only one who is a bit explosive, Wang Yuexin, is his own brother. Not to mention Chen Chusheng, who is the eldest brother, even Yu Yu can keep him in check.

The group chat quickly quieted down, but the quiet didn't last long.

In the afternoon, Yu Yu, who finally had time to check her phone, saw the message history in the group chat. She took off her dirty gloves, wiped the grime off her arms with a damp towel, and, wearing a vest and sporting a messy face, casually replied with one foot on a nearby machine:

"I'm relieved to see that you all like this version of 'Under Investigation'. Thanks to Brother Sheng for taking charge. Sorry, I was playing the pipe organ earlier and it was too noisy to check my phone."

A few minutes later--

"??? No, what did you do? Say it again! What are you rubbing your hands with? Is it the kind of rubbing your hands with that I think you mean???" Wang Yuexin's pupils dilated in shock.

"If you understand 'hand-rubbed' to mean 'made by oneself,' then yes, that's what you mean by 'hand-rubbed.' Pipe organs are generally instruments prepared for churches, and they're too niche in China. Some aren't even suitable for a live broadcast. Instead of spending time importing one from abroad, why not just modify an existing one?"

"I also rented a space that's about the size of a studio, brought my equipment, and plan to test the effects tonight. Wait for my good news."