[You can skip this, it's foreshadowing for the plot of Growing Pain 2]

The people in the control room had long since gone numb; they didn't even bother streaming the tracks one by one anymore, they just recorded everything at once and edited it later.

After taking a break for lunch, Chen Cheng went back into the recording studio in the afternoon and re-recorded the sixteen songs from the morning, feeling that he would just record the missing parts next time.

It wasn't just the recording engineers who were numb; the Three Little Ones were numb too.

You sang nothing but folk songs, and every single one was emo, okay?

When Chen Cheng came out of the recording studio, the three girls were all wearing headphones, sitting quietly in their chairs.

"Brother Cheng~"

Chen Cheng was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw that it was actually Qian Sanyi.

"Hey, Sanyi is here too."

Clearly, Qian Sanyi wasn't as excited as the three girls, his tone flat, "Yeah, just came over to watch Brother Cheng record songs."

This kid came, but Jiang Tianhao didn't? That shouldn't be right.

The Three Little Ones had notified him, so they surely must have notified Jiang Tianhao too.

Just as Chen Cheng was pondering this, Qian Sanyi spoke up, "Jiang Tianhao had something come up at home, so he turned back halfway."

Hm?

Chen Cheng turned back and met Qian Sanyi's gaze.

A trace of displeasure flashed across his face.

The kid was smiling at him, but the smile was very fake, the corners of his mouth asymmetrical.

It made people very uncomfortable.

"Oh, is that so," a 'kind' smile appeared on Chen Cheng's face.

"Alright then, let's go."

Qian Sanyi nodded faintly.

"Let's go,"

Chen Cheng laughed and patted the three girls who were already fast asleep.

The three girls had been jumping and dancing with excitement all morning. The result was that they ran out of energy as soon as their nap time hit.

They had asked Lin Yu for the demos, put on their headphones, and started dozing off; they were sleeping soundly right now.

"Brother Cheng, are you done recording?" Deng Xiaoqi asked, looking at Chen Cheng with sleepy eyes.

Zhao Rui and Lin Miaomiao also woke up, looking at Chen Cheng expressionlessly. After listening to folk songs all afternoon, all their youthful melancholy had been stirred up, and they hadn't recovered from the emo state yet.

Chen Cheng smiled, "Yeah, finished."

"You've kept me company all day, come on, Brother Cheng is taking you out for a big meal."

"A big meal?" At the mention of a big meal, Lin Miaomiao instantly perked up, her eyes shining, "Brother Cheng, what are we eating?"

"Let's go to Yiyuan, we're having crab today."

Deciding what to eat is a world-class problem every day. Chen Cheng decided what to eat as soon as he brought it up, otherwise, the four or five of them would agonize over it for ages.

"Eating crab, yay!" Hearing about crab, Lin Miaomiao instantly revived, dancing with excitement.

Chen Cheng waved his hand, "Alright, let's go."

"Teacher Chen, take care."

Just as they walked out of the lounge, Lin Yu came to see them off. He was smiling at Company Name, and he was truly impressed by Chen Cheng.

Any one of the dozen or so songs could be the lead single of an album, but as it turned out, the lyrics, composition, and vocals were all the same person. Who could handle that?

Chen Cheng nodded, "Pay attention to the arranger situation. However, don't rush it; the next arrangement is very important. Aim for absolute perfection, don't just make do."

"Teacher Chen, don't worry, I will definitely give it my all."

"Alright then, I'm off. Once the mixing is done, send me a copy."

"Sure, I'll see you out. As soon as the demo is done, I'll send it to you immediately."

Chen Cheng nodded, said nothing more, and stepped outside.

After walking two steps, he remembered something else.

Lin Yu also stopped in his tracks.

"Brother Cheng, did you leave something behind?" Lin Miaomiao asked.

Chen Cheng looked at Lin Yu and said, "Oh right, help me find a trumpet player. I have a song that needs a trumpet intro."

Lin Yu mentally scanned for any suitable trumpet players, but among the musicians he knew, none seemed to specialize in the trumpet.

He still agreed verbally, "Okay, Teacher Chen. I'll contact some people in a bit, and if I find someone suitable, I'll recommend them to you."

"Trumpet?"

Deng Xiaoqi muttered and walked over.

"Brother Cheng, I can play the trumpet."

Hm?

Chen Cheng looked at her in surprise; trumpet players were rare, and female trumpet players were even rarer.

"You can play the trumpet?"

"Mm-hmm, a little bit. I practiced saxophone when I was little, and wind instruments are similar, so I've touched on it a bit."

Chen Cheng examined her carefully.

Actually, it might just work.

The trumpet's timbre is high-pitched, bright, brilliant, and has strong penetration.

While folk songs tend to be more subdued and narrative-driven.

Combining them creates a strong sense of contrast.

Plus, with Deng Xiaoqi's youthful and sweet appearance, it's a collision of youth and heat with sorrow and lingering warmth.

The feeling Chen Cheng wanted was complete.

Chen Cheng turned to look at Lin Yu, "Then there's no need."

"Huh?" Lin Yu was a bit confused.

It's the intro, after all; it determines whether the listener will keep listening, right?

Is it really that hasty?

"Alright, that's it. I'm leaving first."

Chen Cheng smiled, patted Lin Yu, and left.

It's only a few notes total; any trumpet player who knows how to play can pull it off, so it doesn't really matter if they are a professional or not.

Even if they are bad, a few days of practice is enough.

In this kind of situation, using an outsider is certainly not as good as using one of your own.

After all, it's an opportunity for increased exposure, right?

Deng Xiaoqi is going to take the art examination path in the future; having appeared in this song will be a qualification for her future art school interviews.

Hearing that Chen Cheng decided to use Deng Xiaoqi for the accompaniment just like that, Qian Sanyi's eyes lit up, and his eyes kept darting around.

Chen Cheng was driving, with Qian Sanyi in the passenger seat. The three girls were sitting in the back, chatting away.

Chen Cheng turned to look at the three girls, "Rui Rui, call Jiang Tianhao and ask if he's coming; he missed it last time."

"This time Sanyi is here, but he's not."

"Oh, okay, I'll call him."

Zhao Rui took out her phone and called Jiang Tianhao.

"Beep~ Beep~~"

"Brother Cheng, it went through, but he didn't answer."

"Forget it then." Chen Cheng shrugged; this kid was having such bad luck.

Meals, he can't get a meal;

School, he can't pass the exams;

Girls, he can't get the girl;

A perfectly good rich kid, and now his family has gone bankrupt;

Tragic.

"Did you win or lose your basketball game?" Chen Cheng turned to look at Qian Sanyi.

Qian Sanyi smiled awkwardly, "Lost."

Chen Cheng smiled, "Winning and losing are common occurrences for soldiers; besides, this isn't your specialty."

Their loss was expected.

The ones they played against were high school students from Australia.

In Australia, teenagers generally have better physical fitness. In basketball, they have advantages in strength, speed, endurance, and jumping, allowing them to be more aggressive in confrontation, defense, and offense during games.

Not to mention their perfect talent selection and training system.

Jiang Tianhao and Qian Sanyi aren't even sports students; it's already quite good that they could make the basketball team.

"What happened to Jiang Tianhao's family?" Chen Cheng asked Qian Sanyi casually.

"Um... I don't know." Qian Sanyi's eyes darted around as he continued, "But, I noticed their restaurant hasn't seemed to be open for the past few days."

Hm? Is this about to go bankrupt? That fast?

Chen Cheng frowned, wondering whether he should get involved in this matter.

Although this kid has a bit of that 'silly son of a landlord' vibe, he treats his friends really well.

Loyalty!

The reason for his hesitation is that he doesn't know if he can get a return on the money he spends.

He is a businessman; he wouldn't do a business that can't break even for his own father, let alone for Jiang Tianhao, whom he has only met once.

And it's not Jiang Tianhao who is going bankrupt, but his dad.

If this were about Deng Xiaoqi, it would be simple.

A father's debts are paid by the son, a mother's debts by the daughter.

Deng Xiaoqi has youth and beauty, what does Jiang Tianhao have?

Passion?

Loyalty?

Get real, buddy doesn't need that.

Chen Cheng's eyes darted around, and he made a decision.

He decided to go take a look first.

The money Jiang Qilong cannot repay, Jiang Tianhao can.

Jiang Tianhao is only eighteen; he has plenty of time.

"Rui Rui, let's go check on Jiang Tianhao's family."