A Star Reborn: The Queen's Return

Chapter 16 - Modifying The Song Score

She proceeded to deal with each of these categories in turn.

Her aim was not to create perfect covers of the songs that she was practicing but to familiarize and perfect the voice she had in this life by iterating through practice. As she solved each problem, the melodies of the songs were also modified drastically. Slowly but surely she pieced all the songs together, displaying a completely different but equally charming style.

Familiar but strange, which both surprised and enthralled her.

On this day, Xia Ling was leaning on the railings of the balcony, singing a song that she loved in her past life —

The scent of sandalwood on my red sleeves, a zither in my hands

Playing a song of sophistication for you

Horses trampling on the peach blossoms on the ground

Bones warring against the desert sand

Jianmen passage

Yongding river

To whom does this all belong to

The enchanting old melody, encompassing both a sense of sadness and ruthlessness, showcased the exquisiteness of her singing ability. Half of the reason why she loved this song in her past life was because few had the ability to sing this song in its entirety. She would admit that there was a period that she found enjoyment in seeing other artistes seething with jealousy at what she could do.

They used to say then that she was lucky to have been born with a good voice.

Now, her good voice was gone. Xia Ling tried many different styles of singing, modifying the tune of the song where required, slowly but surely learning to manage this highly challenging song. Only when she was able to sing the song smoothly from start to finish did she stop, satisfied at her accomplishment.

Suddenly, the sound of applause rang out.

Xia Ling was not expecting this, jumping up in shock. The song sheets by her side were accidentally pushed over the balcony railings and floated down to the trees and grass below.

She looked down and saw two men standing underneath a peacock flower tree. They were Li Lei and Wei Shaoyin, who stood looking up at her.

"Hey, beauty." Li Lei waved at her flippantly with one hand, the other hand tucked in his trousers' pocket.

He looked ravishing today, with no semblance of someone that was injured. It seemed that he had mostly recovered from the injury. He was wearing an intricately woven silk shirt that was as white as the moonlight, with a light-colored flower pattern that was visible near the collar of the shirt which was kept slightly open, showing his tan skin and well-toned chest beneath. It was a fashion style that was hard to pull off but looked suitable on him even nonchalantly worn. In fact, it could be said that he looked heart-racing gorgeous.

Xia Ling could not help but think that if he had chosen to be an artiste, he could make it big simply by standing there with his good looks.

While her mind was in a flurry of activity, outwardly she calmly looked at him and said, "My name is Ye Xingling."

"Ok, Ye Xingling." He corrected himself and continued, "What were you singing just now? It was really good."

"Xia Ling's 'The Scent of the Zither'", she said. This was a famous song that had won three prestigious awards the year it was released. It topped the charts for a period of time and was heralded as a classic — it was shocking that he did not know it.

"You don't know this famous song? How are you the owner of an entertainment company?" Wei Shaoyin's voice drifted over from the side, a teasing tone apparent in it. He was similarly dressed in a white shirt, but unlike Li Lei, his shirt was completely white, simple and clean, and was buttoned neatly all the way to the top. Perfectly put together, with no room for criticism.

Xia Ling was mildly shocked. A staff from Skyart Entertainment could speak to his boss in this manner? When she was at Imperial Entertainment, Pei Ziheng was the unequivocal boss — if he said one thing, no one dared to say anything else. His force was overbearing, and no staff would dare to use such a tone on him.

She looked over at Li Lei.

Li Lei did not seem to have been affected by this little teasing. Smiling good-naturedly, he said, "That's why I have an elite like yourself managing things, Ah Wei." He cocked his head to one side and thought out loud. "Though now that you mention it, the song is indeed familiar... Wait, the tune that I know of is slightly different from what she sang, no wonder I didn't recognize it."

Wei Shaoyin raised his eyebrows slightly and remarked, "At least you picked up on that." He bent over and picked up the song sheets scattered on the ground and ruffled through them quickly. An expression of surprise came over his face, and then he asked, "Ye Xingling, you modified this yourself?"

"Yes."

"These are all Xia Ling's songs. I did not expect you to have researched her so thoroughly," said Wei Shaoyin, a look of contemplation entering his eyes.

"I'm a fan of Xia Ling," said Xia Ling lightly. The identity that Lu Tao imposed on her was coming in useful.

Wei Shaoyin smiled. "Xia Ling's songs aren't suitable for your voice. But after your modification, there is a different feel to them."

"You're too kind." She politely replied.

Wei Shaoyin was unaffected by the lack of enthusiasm in her voice. He waved the song sheets in his hands and asked, "Mind if I take these back with me and have a look?"