This chapter has been translated by Atlas Studios. All credits belong to them.
Xia Ling was not impressed. He was only giving her a bouquet of flowers after all she suffered? From a different point of view, however, he had readily footed all of her medical fees and took the initiative to provide her treatment. He also allowed her to stay in this spacious mountain villa's VIP guest room with full board completely free-of-charge. It could be said that he had taken full responsibility for the situation already.
The current place that she was staying in was truly a VIP guest room. Unlike the drabby rooms that they were provided for the MV filming, midway up the mountain, the room here exuded class. The thick, soft carpet that came up to your ankles when you stepped into it; the well-stocked bar counter around the corner; the themed ceiling and wall designs, with interchangeable lighting effects, coupled with the natural fragrance and sound system — the starry sky at night, the ocean view, the desert...
It was apparent that the owner of this place knew what it meant to enjoy life to the fullest.
Resultantly, she had the privilege of enjoying the comfort of all these pleasures in the past few days. Undoubtedly, luxury in moderation really did help to lift her spirits. Yet, it was only a few days before Xia Ling felt bored. She never got used to doing nothing. She felt that she had to be busy while she was still alive.
Since she had reincarnated, a large portion of her time had been spent in dance practice. Now that she could dance comfortably in this body, it was time to make sure that her voice could match up as well. After all, she was still ultimately a singer, even though she had to be involved in many other side activities.
In this life, her voice was completely different than the voice she had in her past life. This was a natural gift, not something that could be changed via human means. In her past life, she had a riveting voice with the ability to sing across a vast range. No matter how high or low the song was, she was able to hit the notes effortlessly. Any melody that was of great challenge to other singers would seem easy when sung by her.
Xia Ling thought sadly that perhaps this was the reason that Pei Ziheng had chosen her from the orphanage. Not only did she have an extraordinarily beautiful face, but she also had a voice that was one of a kind. Perhaps Pei Ziheng had simply wanted the perfect artiste from the very beginning, and she simply checked all the boxes.
In this life, she was seemingly much more normal. In terms of visuals, she was pretty but not an immediate head turner, and her singing range was much narrower than before. High notes that she used to sing with ease now required more effort and concentration.
Of course, the lack in talent was something that could be supplemented through hard work. All that needed to be done was to put in more energy and perseverance than anybody else. After all, music was the sound of one's heart, present deep down within everyone's soul. Like the stones silently sitting on the river bed, they might come in many different patterns and shapes, but if you put in the effort and patience to polish each one of them, every stone could give off its own unique charm.
Her job was to find the projection that was most compatible with the voice she had in this life.
In the following days, she tried to sing the songs she had sung in her past life. As expected, there were many twists and turns in the melodies that she felt unequipped to sing. She noted each of these parts down and categorized them into those which could be accomplished through practice, those which were simply impossible due to lack in talent, and also those that were not suitable for the voice she had in this life and had to be reworked...
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?"