RAAS ## Chapter 25: The Legend of the Commoner
## Chapter 25: The Legend of the Commoner
Seeing no reaction for a long while, Li Qing waved his hand in front of Bao Yunyun's face, only to find her eyes completely unfocused as if she was lost in thought...
"What are you daydreaming about?"
Just then, Ma Xujing walked in with a smile. Beside him was a man wearing a leather jacket and wide-legged jeans, sporting hippie-style long hair.
As the hippie man entered, the young men and women in the room stopped their discussion and looked over with slightly respectful expressions. They finally began to regard Li Qing and Bao Yunyun with a bit of interest.
At this moment, a girl with a baby face suddenly let out a small sound of surprise. She turned her head and whispered a few words to her companions. Soon after, Li Qing noticed their gazes collectively turning towards him.
"No, I'm not," Bao Yunyun replied, snapping out of her daze when called by Ma Xujing. She apologized with a bit of embarrassment, then excitedly waved the papers in her hand. "Mr. Ma, look, these are the seven songs Qingzi prepared. 'Those Flowers' and 'Zebra, Zebra' are here too, but the focus is on these five songs."
Although Bao Yunyun was eager to share her excitement, Ma Xujing did not immediately look at the papers. Instead, he introduced the hippie man beside him to Li Qing and Bao Yunyun.
"This is Ouyang Xu, Mr. Ouyang..."
After the introductions, Li Qing and Bao Yunyun learned that the hippie man named Ouyang Xu was the general manager of this Butterfly Studio. The studio specialized in producing records and creating original songs. They had signed a number of promising artists, although their success had been lukewarm in recent years.
To keep the studio operational, they occasionally outsourced some of their work, such as selling original songs or renting out their recording studios.
"In front of Mr. Ma, I wouldn't dare call myself a teacher. You two look quite young. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Xu."
Ouyang Xu's carefree manner and fluent Beijing accent quickly dispelled any cool image his appearance might have suggested, making him seem rather roguish.
"Hello, Brother Xu," Li Qing and Han Han both greeted with smiles.
Ma Xujing laughed along, "Ouyang, do you have an extra practice room for my people to warm up in?"
"Of course, Mr. Ma. No matter what else I have going on, I always make room for you. Follow me, please."
He led the way out of the room. Ouyang Xu seemed to hold Ma Xujing in high regard, which made sense. Ma Xujing, known as the Platinum Godfather in the industry, had reliable connections and reputation.
Inside the room, the young men and women who had been watching from afar now resumed their conversation in hushed tones.
They were newcomers signed to Butterfly Studio, waiting for the right moment to debut. If market conditions allowed and their work met the standards, they would be packaged and launched into the music scene.
Among them, the girl with the baby face, feeling excited, asked, "Did you see clearly? Is it him?"
"Sort of looks like him," the boy next to her said, scratching his head, "When I watched the show, I was just listening to the songs. Who paid attention to his face?"
"But I did! He stood out on 'Music Star,' so handsome that I remembered him immediately. No way I'd mistake him," the baby-faced girl said confidently.
The others exchanged glances.
Another girl hesitated, "I kind of remember... Maybe it is him?"
"Is he really the one who sang 'Angel Wings'?"
"Definitely. Didn't you hear that guy introduce him? His name is Li Qing. Li Qing sang 'Angel Wings.' It's still on the top ten radio request charts!"
"It seems like he's here to use our recording studio. Is he planning to release an album?"
"Li Qing has released an album before, but that was when he was part of the Blazing Boys group with Zhao Wendi."
"Do you think he made it past the PK stage?"
"Who knows? But 'Music Star' is starting soon, right? With Li Qing's talent, he should do well."
The group of young people stopped practicing and gathered to discuss Li Qing enthusiastically.
Recently, Li Qing had become a popular topic among young people nationwide because he was one of the hottest contestants on "Music Star" and his song was in the top ten on the national radio request charts.
Such a chart might not bring direct benefits to a singer, but it greatly boosted their reputation. Being in the top ten of such a chart could mean overnight fame!
These young people at Butterfly Studio all dreamed of such overnight success.
"Music Star," a platform for amateur talent, provided fertile ground for their dreams.
And Li Qing, who had achieved near-instant fame through "Music Star," turned their dreams into reality right before their eyes.
This was their source of inspiration!
In this shared sense of excitement, Li Qing became the legend of the commoner for all these young dreamers.
Even though this commoner legend might not have made a cent yet...
...
After leaving the room and walking down the hallway, Ouyang Xu took out a key and opened a slightly dim room.
With the lights on, Li Qing saw that the setup inside was similar to the previous room: a piano, guitars, and a drum set. There were also two racks on the side with various instruments, including pipa, erhu, matouqin, flutes, and suona.
Another door, covered by a black curtain, caught his eye. Ouyang Xu led them inside and turned on the light, revealing a standard recording studio with a large soundproof glass wall, recording, tuning, and CD-burning equipment outside, and two hanging microphones and music stands inside.
"Feel free to use anything here. We have all the popular instruments in the country!"
Ouyang Xu said with a smile, "Mr. Ma knows all this stuff, so I won't explain much. If you need help, just ask. Since there aren't many orders lately, I'll be around to assist you. Mr. Ma, you can start now. When it's time for the official recording, I'll bring more people to help."
After some polite exchanges, Ouyang Xu left. Li Qing and Bao Yunyun began exploring the equipment. Bao Yunyun was excited and curious, while Li Qing seemed deep in thought.
He realized he had a lot to learn.
Besides the guitar, he was barely proficient with other common instruments like the piano, drums, and bass. Instruments like the suona, pipa, matouqin, and erhu were even more challenging for him.
For future songwriting, he needed to be familiar with these instruments. Writing a song like "Dongfang Po" would require knowing how to use the pipa.
Li Qing couldn't allow such gaps in his knowledge. He didn't need to master every instrument but wanted to avoid being a complete novice.
While they explored, Ma Xujing reviewed the sheet music. Despite being prepared for it, he couldn't help but praise the compositions of "Those Flowers" and "Zebra, Zebra," recognizing Li Qing's masterful touch in folk music.
After half an hour, he looked up at Li Qing with a somewhat stunned expression.
"What's wrong?" Li Qing asked, feeling uneasy under Ma Xujing's gaze.
"No wonder you were reluctant to share these songs. With such high-quality work, I'd keep them hidden too... How long did it take you to write these songs?" Ma Xujing asked, still in awe.
Li Qing calmly replied, "At least ten years."
Although Ma Xujing suspected some exaggeration, he still felt a deep respect.
To him, these songs must have taken at least three to five years to create, given their quality. Any earlier frustration over the 3% profit share melted away, replaced by genuine appreciation. "Alright, Qingzi, I owe you one."
Li Qing, unimpressed, thought, "What good is that? Just give me a bigger cut!"