enjoyebooks Chapter 87 Sunny's Classic Quotes
Chapter 87 Sunny's Classic Quotes
Lin Xiaolu hummed in agreement and didn't say anything more.
The sounds of breakfast stalls setting up downstairs drifted in from outside the window: stainless steel carts rolling across the pavement, followed by the sizzling of oil in pans. The aroma of chili powder and sesame oil wafted in through the cracks in the balcony door, mingling with the cool morning air—it smelled quite pleasant.
Jiang stretched and yawned; he had a lot to do today too.
During the day, he had to go to the company to handle the arrangement of EXO's upcoming album. In the afternoon, he was to meet with Im Yoona. From what she said, Sunny really wanted to see him and told him to be careful.
As for this caution, Jiang Yan was completely confused at the time, until Lin Xiaolu explained it to him later. After Jessica left the company, Sunny's classic line on a variety show was: "The money I've saved up now, as long as I don't meet a bad man, will ensure my future life is fine."
Jiang Yan was speechless. Was he a bad man?
is it?
……
After Jiang Yan finished washing up, he picked up his car keys and went out, with Lin Xiaolu floating beside him as usual.
A short queue had already formed at the breakfast stall downstairs. The woman selling fish cakes saw Jiang Yan and waved with a smile, "Young man, you're up so early today too?"
"Yes, Auntie."
Jiang Yan bowed slightly in greeting, then bought a breakfast, got into his white Hyundai, started the engine, shifted gears, and the car smoothly drove out of the alley.
10:00 AM, Recording Studio 1, 6th Floor, SM Building.
Jiang Yan opened the latest version of the "Lotto" arrangement project file, put on his monitoring headphones, and began to polish the final details.
Kenzie sat next to him, holding a cup of Americano, occasionally jotting down notes in her notebook.
"The 808 bass in the chorus should be a bit deeper. This version is too clean, it lacks a bit of aggression." Kenzie drew a line on the screen with her finger. "EXO's arrangements need that kind of..."
"An explosive feeling." Jiang Yan continued her words, adjusting the clippers with his fingers. "Teacher, how about this?"
Kenzie listened to it again, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Yeah, that's the feeling. Your grasp of EXO's style has improved again since the last two days."
Jiang Yan smiled but didn't say anything, knowing in his heart that this wasn't a matter of being confident, but an open-book exam.
He listened to the song "Lotto" that Yoona recorded for him many times. He knew every breath, every layer of harmony, and every measure in which the drumbeats were broken up by heart.
What he wants to do is not to create, but to accurately reproduce.
Kenzie thought he was making rapid progress, but in reality, he was just bringing out what already existed little by little.
If it weren't for the fact that he was new to EXO's style and worried about others questioning it, he could have created a version that satisfied Kenzie on the very first day.
Jiang Yan spent nearly three hours adjusting the low-frequency response of the chorus to what he considered the closest to the original quality, and then went back and forth with Kenzie to refine the string arrangement of the bridge.
By the time the final version was exported, it was almost 1 p.m.
After listening to the complete demo, Kenzie remained silent for a few seconds, then took off his headphones. "This song is ready to be submitted to the selection committee."
"Thank you, teacher."
Kenzie copied his project files to his work hard drive, stood up, and patted him on the shoulder: "I have an appointment with Lee Soo-man this afternoon to report on the progress of Red Velvet's project. I'll bring the 'Rookie' demo with me. If all goes well, it should be finalized."
Jiang Yan bowed slightly: "Yes, thank you for your trouble, teacher."
Kenzie paused at the door, then said, "Lee Soo-man knows everything about you."
Jiang Yan paused for a moment, then looked up at Kenzie's retreating figure: "Teacher... what do you mean?"
"The matter of Chief Kim, the matter of Sulli, and the matter of you writing the market analysis report."
Jiang Yan was somewhat prepared for this.
After all, his recent drama with Chief Kim and how he helped Sulli out of a predicament had already spread among the company's upper management.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Kenzie continued, "You don't need to think that someone snitched on him. He's been the founder of SM for so many years, what in the company could be kept from him?"
He turned to look at Jiang Yan and said, "He told me that he was very interested to see how much of a splash you could make, and that he was curious why I was helping you submit the report. How could a newcomer know so much about the inside story of the film and television department?"
Her gaze swept over Jiang Yan's face, then she sighed, "You're lucky. He was in a good mood and didn't press me for answers. He only said one sentence."
"What did you say?"
"He said that if both 'Lotto' and 'Rookie' pass the song selection meeting this week, he'll cover for you for the mess you made."
After saying that, Kenzie took a step back and gently closed the recording studio door.
Lin Xiaolu floated from the sofa to Jiang Yan's side, still shaken, and said, "Thank goodness... I thought things were going to go wrong."
Jiang Yan frowned and shook his head. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what the problem was even after thinking about it carefully.
Kenzie's words sounded like he was protecting his own, but Kang Yeon wasn't naive enough to think that Lee Soo-man meant well.
That founder has been working in this industry for decades, rising from a low-level planner to a godfather-like figure in the Peninsula Entertainment industry. Everything he does comes at a price.
The prerequisite for a safety net is value; "Lotto" and "Rookie" must pass the selection process, and that's the price.
Jiang Yan exported the final demo, saved it to his work hard drive, and also backed it up to his own encrypted cloud.
After doing all that, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a while.
Lin Xiaolu rested her chin on her hand and looked him over: "What are you worried about? Didn't Kenzie unnie say that Lee Soo-man is in a good mood?"
"A good mood is temporary," Jiang Yan thought to himself, then opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. "He's been able to stay in this position for decades not because he's in a good mood, but because he uses every piece in the most appropriate place."
"In his eyes, I am just a pawn. He protects me when I can use me and throws me away when I can't, without even blinking an eye."
Lin Xiaolu's eyes flickered, then she gave a soft hum: "You're not that old, but you think a lot."
"If we didn't order more, we would have been eaten to the bone long ago."
As he spoke, Jiang Yan's phone, which was on the table, vibrated.
The message from Lim Yoona included an address: "[1202, Seocho Apartment, Nonhyeon-dong. Sunny unnie has arrived. Come over if you have time.]"
Jiang Yan locked the screen, unplugged the work hard drive from the iMac, put it in his bag, and then got up and left the recording studio.
As Jiang Yan walked out, he wondered to himself, "Is she difficult to deal with?"
"Sunny unnie?" Lin Xiaolu tilted her head and thought for a moment. "She's not difficult to deal with, but she's very smart. She's the kind of person who... you think she's joking with you, but actually she's already asked all the questions she needs to ask and extracted all the information she needs to extract in the joke. Just be careful and don't let her lead you astray."
Jiang Yan nodded, took the elevator, and went downstairs.
He didn't drive his own white Hyundai; although that car is convenient, it's too easily recognizable for a celebrity.
He hailed a taxi at the company's back gate and gave them his address.
The car drove across the Han River, the spring sunshine shining on the water, making it sparkle.
But he had no time to appreciate the scenery; his mind was already rehearsing the upcoming conversation. With Jessica as a prerequisite, facing Sunny again meant that any lack of preparation could ruin everything.