Sullivan and the Legacy of Shadows Chapter 6

Ran Lin got the reality show contract in November, but the recording of the reality show would start in January, leaving him only two months.

So in the past sixty days, except for taking time to record the theme song of the show, he spent the rest of the time working out.

According to Wang Xi, you can be the national brother, the national boyfriend, or the national husband, but you are first and foremost a male star. Even if your face looks like Daji, you can't be a weakling when you take off your clothes.

Ran Lin is too thin.

Although overall he is still a handsome young man, he is somewhat fragile.

The fitness plan Wang Xi made for him was to build muscle appropriately. His overall image should still be youthful and bright, without the need for biceps to burst through his sleeves or abdominal muscles to be distinct, but his lines should be firm, sunny and healthy.

Ran Lin is very obedient.

So although it was hard work, I still felt a sense of accomplishment as I watched my body get better and better through sweat, and my physical fitness became better and better.

The day I recorded the theme song happened to be Christmas Eve.

For things like the theme song, basically everyone can sing it alone and then synthesize it at the end, which saves time and effort, and there is no need to coordinate the schedules of all the show guests to record on the same day.

Lu Yiyao, Gu Jie and Xia Xinran have finished recording respectively.

Only he and Zhang Beichen were left.

The TV drama crew that Zhang Beichen was working on had been rushing the work and delayed giving him leave until the day before Christmas Eve when the filming was completed. He hurried over the next day - if he was any later, the program crew's ultimate promotion would not be broadcast as scheduled.

Ran Lin is the one with the best time allocation among all the guests. Any day is fine, so he has been waiting for the arrangement of the program team.

The program team was probably trying to save trouble and was unwilling to record for him alone for a whole day, so they simply waited until Zhang Beichen came and then notified him to come over on the same day. This way, they only needed to move the equipment once, which was low-cost and high-efficiency.

Ran Lin didn't say anything and rushed there early that morning.

The preparations in the recording studio were not ready yet, which made Wang Xi unhappy, but he still suppressed his dissatisfaction and accompanied Ran Lin.

About two hours later, the preparations were completed and Zhang Beichen arrived.

"I'm so sorry, I'm late. Our Beichen just came back from the crew at midnight yesterday, and he's really not feeling well. Sorry, sorry."

Zhang Beichen's agent Wu Xuefeng is a kind-looking middle-aged man in his forties. Everyone calls him Brother Wu. He is not tall, slightly fat, has a round face, and wears gold-rimmed glasses. When dealing with colleagues and the media, he smiles more often than he frowns.

Zhang Beichen followed him, wrapped in a down jacket and silent, but with an apologetic smile on his face the whole time.

Everyone can also see that the face under the peaked cap is indeed full of fatigue, and even the handsomeness has been compromised. It is obvious that he has not had much rest.

He apologized as soon as he came in, and objectively speaking, he didn't delay the program crew's time at all - the recording studio had just been ready, so the staff just laughed it off and walked away.

The sound engineer urged the stars to start, but before Ran Lin could exchange greetings with Zhang Beichen, they were both put on the shelf and sent to the recording studio.

Some shots in the recording studio will also be edited into the MV and behind-the-scenes footage, but after all, it is recording a theme song, not acting or doing a show, and if the styling is too deliberate, then it will seem too deliberate, so both of them are dressed casually.

"I heard you arrived two hours early. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."

Just as Ran Lin was about to put on his headphones, he heard the magnetic and gentle voice of the person next to him.

Zhang Beichen's first words after arriving were to apologize to himself.

Ran Lin turned his head in surprise and took a serious look at his partner for the first time.

Zhang Beichen is handsome and handsome, with a slender figure. He is much taller than his 180-year-old self, and he is estimated to be at least 184 by visual inspection. The whole person is very sunny, especially like the all-powerful basketball captain in college who fascinates thousands of people, a passionate man who burns youth, sheds sweat, and leads his brothers forward.

"No, I came too early," Ran Lin shook his head quickly, saying meaningfully, "You know, my schedule is more... flexible."

Zhang Beichen was stunned for a moment before he realized that Ran Lin was making fun of himself. He burst out laughing and became more casual: "I saw the airport incident online. It was quite funny."

Ran Lin was embarrassed, so embarrassed that he wanted to use correction fluid to erase the black history: "Can we skip this part......"

Zhang Beichen was so amused by the pitiful look in his eyes that he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The sound engineer couldn't stand it anymore, so he leaned in front of the microphone and reminded: "Handsome guys, it's about to begin."

After saying that, he stared at the two people in the studio putting on their headphones and immediately started the prelude.

In the end, who sings which line of the song is a matter for post-production. During the recording, it was Zhang Beichen's A section, Ran Lin's B section, and then they sang the chorus together.

When Ran Lin was in college, he was known as the singing king of the foreign affairs college. He had to give a solo performance at the annual party and participated in various campus singing competitions. Although he could not compare with professional singers, his voice was definitely the kind that could wake people up.

He has practiced this theme song so well that he plays it on repeat in the gym every day. In the end, his coach even begged him to let him go. To be honest, if he really has to listen to it, he could try a pair of headphones with better soundproofing.

So when the accompaniment started, Ran Lin got into the mood, his voice was clean and warm, and occasionally one could feel the use of a little bit of breath.

This surprised the entire recording team, and their attitude toward him was much more positive.

In comparison, Zhang Beichen's white voice is a bit frowned upon. I don’t know whether it’s because I didn’t get enough rest, or because I’m not naturally good at music. My voice is extremely tight, and the high notes are either broken, or I can’t howl out or make no sound at all. What’s worse is that the lyrics are always wrong.

After recording several times, the sound engineer asked me to stop each time.

Originally I wanted to put the two of them together and finish the performance in one go, but it turned out that it would be better to let Ran Lin sing solo first and then come back to sing Zhang Beichen.

It's almost noon.

Zhang Beichen worked very hard, and the recording team was also very sad.

Wang Xi sat there in silence for the entire morning, his face growing darker and darker.

Ran Lin glanced over and prayed in his heart that she would not explode, even if she remained an ice sculpture that no strangers could enter.

The subtle low pressure continued until the large and small packages of takeaways arrived - Wu Xuefeng took the initiative and ordered lunch + afternoon tea for everyone. Of course, he pays the money.

Claypot rice, shrimp dumplings, siu mai, steamed pork ribs...all the grudges are wiped away in the harmonious atmosphere of a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant.

Smelling the coffee and looking at the egg tarts again, I feel that Zhang Beichen’s loud voice is not so unforgivable.

However, before the recording team got back on track, Ran Lin walked over to Zhang Beichen, who had been sitting in the corner depressed, and began to give him guidance with empathy.

"For the highest line in the chorus, 'There is light in the distance', you don't have to use your real voice to sing it up to pitch. Sometimes the more you worry about not being able to hit the pitch, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Just sing the word normally, even if it's a few notes lower."

Zhang Beichen was puzzled: "Isn't that out of tune?"

Ran Lin glanced at the recording team with his peripheral vision and saw that everyone was still feasting, so he lowered his voice with confidence and said: "As long as you speak out and make sure the lyrics are correct, there is no need to worry about out-of-tune. They can fix it, and once you mix it in the post-production, it will be all right." It sounds nice."

Zhang Beichen still looked a little worried.

Since his debut, he has never recorded a proper song. When performing in talent shows, his talent was street dance, and when it came to group singing, he was responsible for rap, so he didn't know much about the routine.

"Don't worry, I don't have every note right and I have to fix it later." Ran Lin thought for a while and then added, "You are actually nervous and always thinking about that line, but in the end you sang other words wrong. So you Just relax and get all the lyrics down, and it'll be fine."

Zhang Beichen was a little persuaded: "Is it really okay?"

"Don't worry." Ran Lin patted his shoulder, then seemed to have thought of something and laughed again, whispering, "Do you think that when we put the chorus sung by the two of us and the three of them together, it will be natural? In addition to the pitch, there are also rhythm and pronunciation. Not to mention the highest note in this sentence, even the other low notes can't be 100% in sync. It's definitely a quintet when you listen to it."

Zhang Beichen imagined a "harmonious picture" of the future, suddenly became enlightened and felt relaxed all over.

"Thank you." Zhang Beichen stood up and stretched his muscles, preparing to eat lunch which he had neglected due to his depression.

Ran Lin, who had already finished his meal, shook the milk tea in his hand and smiled brightly: "I should thank you, it's super delicious."

After Zhang Beichen walked away, Wang Xicai came over and sat next to Ran Lin, half-smiling but not smiling: "I didn't realize it, but you are still an ambassador of love."

Ran Lin intuitively felt that Wang Xi was in a bad mood and was just waiting for someone to rush over and ask her to throw a few thunderbolts and fire bombs, so she just giggled and refused to answer anything.

Wang Xi glanced at him lightly and stopped chasing him.

Ran Lin turned away and prayed to the wall, asking for a man to accept this sister.

The recording went very smoothly in the afternoon, and the recording engineer was surprised by the change in Zhang Beichen's state. Before he could finish, he seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden, his voice was no longer tight, and the lyrics were good. Although the highest note was off, there was no distortion or loss of voice, which was completely within the range that post-production technology could remedy. It was so gratifying that tears flowed down his cheeks.

It's less than four o'clock and the work is over early.

Before leaving, Zhang Beichen took the initiative to add Ran Lin on WeChat.

This is the first artist other than Meng Wuya who took the initiative to add Ran Lin in his circle of friends.

When filming in the past, he was always the one who would rush to add other actors as the leading actors, but in the end there was no interaction after adding them. Occasionally, he would even encounter settings that prevented him from viewing their Moments. It was really sad to think about it.

A quarter of the future partners have already established good relationships, and Ran Lin feels that such a start is a good sign.

After leaving the recording studio, Wang Xi's icy face finally showed anxiety, and he kept asking the driver to drive to the company quickly.

Ran Lin didn’t remember what other tasks he needed to complete in the company today, but he didn’t ask and just kept silent.

As soon as they returned to the company, they heard that Han Ze had been waiting in Wang Xi's office for most of the day and was in a very bad mood.

Ran Lin then realized that Wang Xi's low mood throughout the day had nothing to do with his recording efficiency. No, her whole mind might not be in the recording studio at all. From the moment she was told that Han Ze was waiting for her, she had already flown back to Meng Wuya.

One is very popular, the other has an uncertain future, and they share the same agent, so everyone knows which one to focus on first.

Ran Lin could understand.

But people are all made of flesh and blood, so there will inevitably be gaps.

Wang Xi lowered the blinds as soon as he entered the office. Outsiders had no way of knowing what happened inside.

Ran Lin took out a bag of instant soy milk powder from his bag, went to the tea room to find a paper cup, and opened it with hot water.

The aroma of soy milk is limited, but it is enough for Ran Lin to relax.

The door of the tea room was suddenly pushed open, and a young girl tiptoed in.

Ran Lin thought she was going to make coffee, so he gave up his seat.

Unexpectedly, after closing the door, the little girl walked straight up to him, and the closer she got, the redder her cheeks became, until in the end their cheeks turned as red as apples.

"Well... I really like the role of Linghu Xiaodao that you played. Can you sign an autograph for me?" the girl said in one breath without daring to raise her head. She just stretched out her hand and handed over a pen and a blank postcard.

Ran Lin took it in confusion and turned to the front image. It turned out to be a still of Linghu knife!

When did your character also have peripherals?

"I, I like it so much, I ordered it online!" Seeing his hesitation, the girl immediately reacted and explained quickly.

Ran Lin always felt that this girl looked familiar, at least she was not a newcomer in the company.

If I worked here every day, it would be impossible for it to take so long to find an opportunity to get my autograph.

There is only one answer.

The girl is not a new employee, but her new fan.

Increasing fans on Weibo and meeting new fans in real life are two completely different feelings.

The latter is much more realistic and impactful than the former.

Ran Lin knew this was silly, but he was still so happy that he wanted to spin in circles.

Of course he had to maintain his image in front of his fans, so he picked up the pen and tried not to smile so hard that his eyes disappeared: "Just autographs, no blessings?"

The girl was looking forward to it when she was suddenly asked this question, which made her feel a little stupid: "Huh?"

Ran Lin finally smiled until his eyes were slit: "Besides signing, don't you want me to write something?"

The girl finally reacted and was incredibly surprised: "Is it possible?"

Ran Lin nodded: "Of course."

The girl continued to ask: "Anything is OK?"

Ran Lin joked, "No curses."

The girl was also amused and finally plucked up the courage: "I want you to write 'I love Lu Yiyao'!"

Ran Lin: ...

Girl: "Aren't you his biggest fan?"

Ran Lin: "Yeah!"

The personality that has been established can be spilled like water.

In the evening, Wang Xi and Han Ze came out of the office.

It was obvious that the two people had reached some kind of consensus, and their faces looked much better.

Seeing that Ran Lin was still waiting, Wang Xi was stunned for a moment, and then said apologetically for the first time: "I'm sorry I forgot about you. There's nothing going on here. You go back first, and remember to work out on time tomorrow."

Ran Lin was embarrassed and a little depressed, but more of a helpless person.

The girl posted on Weibo that night.

Although it was just an unknown account, it still attracted more than 3,000 comments.

At the beginning, all the CP fans were excited and covering their hearts.

But gradually, a large number of Lu Yiyao fans appeared.

Compared to the initial restraint during the airport blunder and the Yunzhang x Linghu Xiaodao video, Lu fans seem to have finally used up all their self-control when it comes to the real-life CP, and all kinds of dissatisfaction and abuse have collectively erupted.

The girl was so scared that she deleted her Weibo post soon after.

This moderate storm has finally subsided.

But Ran Lin, who had watched the whole process, felt faintly uneasy.

Finally, on January 10th, when the recording was about to begin, the reality show production team dropped a bombshell - the theme song was released + the fifth guest was unveiled!

The five male celebrities have all retweeted the show crew's Weibo, but have not yet started any interaction with each other.

That night, Ran Lin's Weibo account gained tens of thousands of followers.

But among the thousands of newly added comments, 70% were Lu Shen fans who scolded him for taking advantage of his popularity and show fans who ridiculed him as not worthy of being named the nation's first love. The remaining 30%, some choose to wait and see, and some stick to the CP banner, so cute that they fall to the ground.

On January 15th, amidst the super hot discussion and anticipation, the first episode of the program will be recorded in Guilin.