Chapter 343: Even An Menglan Was Stunned!

Chapter 343: Even An Menglan Was Stunned!

Song Xuan was used to going out alone, without bodyguards, and keeping a low profile.

This time, however, everything had been arranged with An Menglan in advance. An Menglan had called again the previous evening to confirm she would fly to Donghai that morning, and Song Xuan had immediately volunteered to meet her at the airport.

Before long all the luggage was loaded into the SUVs front and rear, and An Menglan and Song Xuan got into the Alphard in the middle.

The convoy set off.

In the back of the Alphard.

Both women took off their masks. An Menglan wore one because she was a celebrity. Song Xuan wore one because she was too beautiful.

“Wow, Miss Song, you really are beautiful.” Even An Menglan could not help saying it.

“You’re the beautiful one,” Song Xuan replied, her eyes shining as she looked at An Menglan.

She was meeting her idol in the flesh. Sitting this close to her was almost more excitement than she could hold.

And the compliment was not mere flattery. In an age so preoccupied with looks, someone plain-featured might attain a modest fame. To become genuinely famous, to become a superstar, good looks were indispensable.

For a female singer above all.

So An Menglan, the reigning queen of the music world, possessed not only a range and technique beyond ordinary singers but genuine beauty as well.

“I’ve put you to so much trouble, coming out to wait for me this early,” An Menglan said with a smile.

“It’s no trouble at all. Of course I should have come,” Song Xuan said quickly.

The convoy ran straight for the main urban district.

At first the two of them talked about nothing in particular. Sitting so close to An Menglan, Song Xuan remained visibly thrilled, her gaze lingering on An Menglan’s face.

“Miss Song… is there something on my face?” An Menglan asked suddenly in the middle of their conversation, reaching for her bag to find a small mirror.

Song Xuan had been staring at her face the whole time, which was a little impolite.

“No, no, Miss An! You’re just so beautiful. Even more beautiful than on television. I was only…” Song Xuan waved her hands, flustered and a bit embarrassed.

“You’re too nervous, Miss Song. Relax.” An Menglan smiled and patted the back of her hand.

Though they had spoken on the phone several times and covered a great deal, they were still somewhat unfamiliar with each other.

As the minutes passed, though, Song Xuan gradually eased.

She even produced several collector’s editions of An Menglan’s albums from her bag and asked for autographs. She was still very much a young fan meeting her idol.

More than half an hour later the convoy entered the main urban district.

Another twenty-odd minutes brought them to the place Song Xuan had prepared for An Menglan to stay: Donghai Jiazhong International Hotel.

It was among Donghai’s most luxurious five-star hotels. Even an ordinary room started at a thousand yuan a night, a presidential suite at more than ten thousand.

When the convoy arrived, bodyguards Song Xuan had arranged came to meet them and carry the luggage up. Song Xuan also had someone hand the keys to a Rolls-Royce to An Menglan’s bodyguard.

Every vehicle Song Xuan had put at An Menglan’s disposal in Donghai was a Rolls-Royce.

A grand reception indeed.

Song Xuan had prepared a great deal to welcome An Menglan. From her own point of view, though, she had hardly been busy at all. Arrangements like these took a phone call.

Around ten in the morning.

In the presidential suite on the fifteenth floor of the Jiazhong International Hotel.

The enormous living room, better than seventy square meters, was filled with exquisite furnishings and spotless throughout. Song Xuan and An Menglan sat alone together on the sofa, still talking.

They had talked the whole way here, and they were talking yet.

As though they would never run out.

Which was more or less true. Meeting her idol for the first time, Song Xuan had so much she wanted to say and so many questions to ask. She also wanted to show An Menglan her understanding of music, and her voice.

In a sense the two women were the same kind of person. They both held music as a faith, so common ground came easily.

By now An Menglan understood that signing Song Xuan would present no difficulty at all. The only possible obstacle was her mother, and even that was hardly a problem. An Menglan was confident she could negotiate terms.

From what Song Xuan had let slip, her mother, Wu Yurong, was not strongly opposed to her singing. She simply did not want her daughter making a full debut and giving her whole career to being a singer.

A question of where the career’s center of gravity lay. That could be reconciled.

“…Oh, Miss An, have a look at these. Some songs I wrote before…” Song Xuan took a stack of printed pages from her bag and handed them over.

An Menglan was very interested. She took them and read through carefully, even humming softly from the scores.

“These are very good. You have talent,” she said when she had finished.

“Really? Then why didn’t any of them catch on? I released all of these and none of them made the slightest ripple. The one on top did a little better, but… not by much.” Song Xuan looked troubled.

She could not tell whether An Menglan was simply being kind, calling her talented so as not to discourage her.

“Miss Song, the thing is, a song sounding good doesn’t mean it will catch fire. There are so many good songs, and only so many that become hits.”

“Music is an abstract art. It expresses the creator’s thoughts and feelings, or something of real life, and so on. But those things are your own. The general public won’t necessarily take to them.”

An Menglan looked at her, smiling as she explained. “It comes down to popular taste, and to audience. If you want a song to break through, it has to be simple, or it has to strike a chord.”

“Think of some of those utterly shallow, catchy pop songs. They catch on, they go enormous. They may not be good music, but the public loves them, because they’re accessible, because the melodies are simple and easier to take in.”

“Your songs are trying to express a great deal. You’ve written them well. They’re good music, and they aren’t simple. But they don’t strike that chord.”

“Purely from an artistic standpoint, it’s extremely difficult for a song to have artistic value and real substance and still reach the general public.”

“I’m simplifying the question,” An Menglan said finally. “In reality, whether a song catches on is very complicated. The right moment, the right place, the right people, star appeal, an unusual melody that pricks people’s curiosity, even a singing style that simply sounds cool, any of it can carry a song.”

Song Xuan nodded, half understanding. She thought a moment, then sighed. “Senior really is something.”

“He’s a genius,” An Menglan said with a smile. She paused, then went on. “Let’s talk about him. Wu Chen. I’ve spoken with him on the phone, and I have the feeling… he really doesn’t want to make his debut. I don’t know why. Miss Song, do you know anything about his family background? Would you mind telling me?”

“Of course not. His family is… fairly ordinary, I suppose. They run a noodle shop in a small county town around here.”

“Then why does he seem… not to care much about music at all? Why doesn’t he want to debut? Do you know the reason?” An Menglan asked again.

She wanted to sign Song Xuan. She wanted to sign Wu Chen more.

And as things stood, signing Song Xuan would be easy. Signing Wu Chen looked like a serious problem.

“Well…” Song Xuan began, then stopped, plainly wanting to speak and unable to bring herself to it.

An Menglan could see she knew something. She simply did not feel free to say it.

“Miss Song, it’s only the two of us here.” An Menglan smiled at her. “You don’t want your senior’s talent to go to waste, do you? Is there some… difficulty he can’t speak of? Or… something else?”

Song Xuan still looked reluctant, a trace of conflict in her face. She was not the sort to speak ill of people behind their backs. But she also wanted Wu Chen out of his suffering.

“If it’s really awkward to say, that’s all right…” An Menglan started again.

“No, it isn’t that. It’s just…” Song Xuan cut in hurriedly, still stumbling. Looking rather furtive, she leaned toward An Menglan.

An Menglan obligingly tilted her head toward her.

“Miss An, I’ll tell you, but you mustn’t repeat it. And don’t bring it up in front of Senior.” Song Xuan whispered it into her ear.

An Menglan nodded, though she was faintly taken aback. Did it really need this much secrecy?

“The thing is, Senior seems to be… kept by a rich woman!” Once Song Xuan had said it, the hurdle was behind her and the words came freely. “That old woman controls him. He can’t make his debut, and I think she’s the reason!”

An Menglan’s eyes went wide with shock.

There was something like that going on?