Chapter 22

For Li Yuhao, Li Zhen was a mix of reverence, admiration, and a bit of fear. Standing in front of Li Yuhao, she lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes. The timid Li Zhen had no confidence at all in front of Li Yuhao, constantly rubbing her hands in front of her body, and nervously replied, afraid of upsetting this senior, "Y-Yes, senior. The company is preparing for my debut."

Li Yuhao nodded, "Lift your head. Am I that scary?"

Li Zhen lifted her head, but as soon as her eyes met Li Yuhao's, she timidly looked away, not daring to make eye contact. "N-No, not at all."

Li Yuhao also realized that he might have put too much pressure on her yesterday. He smiled and said to Li Zhen, "You're about to debut. How can you be so timid? Tell me, if you were in the situation where Girls' Generation faced at the Dream Concert, what would you do?"

Li Zhen recalled the 'black' memory of Girls' Generation that day. Tens of thousands of people in the audience were shouting for them to get off the stage, some even started cursing, and during Girls' Generation's performance, they were chanting the name of W.G. She imagined herself on that stage... The thought made her too afraid to continue.

She lowered her head again and said softly, "I... I don't know."

Li Yuhao smiled and said, "Hehe, they are a group of nine, and they have each other to rely on. But you, I heard you're debuting solo. On stage, you have no one to rely on, and no one to help you. What would you do? If the audience shouts at you, 'Get off the stage, what are you singing? It's terrible.' Would you just slink off the stage?"

Li Zhen bit her lower lip and said, "I... I don't know."

"Unknown? If you don't know, go back and think about it. When you figure it out, come back to the company to practice. Think about your original intention. Are you singing for money, or because you love singing? Go back and think about this question. Ask your heart, what gives you the courage to stand on that stage? I'll take a leave for you with the president. Go back and think about it, and tell me your answer. Go ahead..."

Li Zhen walked out of the recording studio in a daze, not even saying goodbye to Li Yuhao. She was still unclear about why she wanted to stand on that stage. Would everyone dislike her once she was on that stage? Would fans shout at her to get off the stage, as Li Yuhao described?

Li Zhen was lost. For the first time, she felt uncertain about music and the upcoming stage. What was her purpose for standing on that stage? She didn't know the answer.

After Li Zhen left, Li Yuhao called Li Minzhe's office to take a leave for her. Li Minzhe asked what happened, and Li Yuhao smiled and replied, "President, I need to strengthen her belief. She's still young. No one can predict what will happen with fans and anti-fans. We must make her firm in her love for music before her debut. Only then will she have the confidence to stand on stage after her debut."

"Without a strong heart and a passionate love for music, and the determination to never give up, a singer who is too fragile is not worth cultivating."

Li Yuhao's words made sense, and Li Minzhe understood. He also felt that Li Zhen was very lucky. After joining the company for a year, she was about to debut and had gained the favor of Li Yuhao, who was even personally cultivating her. Li Minzhe was also curious to see what Li Yuhao could make of Li Zhen, so he gave Li Yuhao full authority and stopped managing Li Zhen.

Soon, the sound engineer came in. Li Yuhao chatted with him for a bit and then took out the instrumental for "Like Being Shot." He then entered the recording studio. Many people might ask, didn't Li Yuhao already release a video? Why record again? The sound quality of a video recorded on a computer is completely different from that of a professional recording studio. The sound from a recording studio is much clearer and more detailed.

The video is more like a demo. It's good if you can even hear the lyrics clearly. It's far from the quality of a recording studio, not even as good as a karaoke room, so it needs to be re-recorded.

Li Yuhao entered the recording studio and started recording. When he was halfway through the song, he ran out of water. Since Li Yuhao had just woken up, his performance wasn't at its best, and the sound engineer understood. Recording is usually done in the afternoon or evening when the voice is warmed up.

Li Yuhao smiled at the sound engineer, "Let's take a two-minute break. I'll go get a bottle of water."

After Li Yuhao left the recording booth, the sound engineer also smiled, "Hehe... Mr. Li Yuhao, it's best to record in the afternoon... I heard from the president that you've been up for less than two hours? Did you stay up late last night?"

"Yes, I had to finalize some songs, so I stayed up late." Li Yuhao took a bottle of mineral water and sat down to drink.

After Li Yuhao had a couple of sips, the recording studio door opened. He looked over and saw Park In-jeong standing at the door, so he waved her in. Park In-jeong walked in, and Li Yuhao smiled, "Did you come with your president?"

"Yes. Our president went to your president's office, and your president said you were in the recording studio, so I came down."

Li Yuhao nodded and introduced her to the sound engineer, "Mr. Zhang Zhigao, this is my friend, Park In-jeong, a member of CCM's upcoming girl group, and the female lead in my MV." Then he introduced the sound engineer to Park In-jeong, "This is our company's sound engineer, Mr. Zhang Zhigao."

Park In-jeong bowed and greeted him, "Mr. Zhang Zhigao, I'm Li Yuhao's friend, Park In-jeong." Zhang Zhigao nodded and smiled, "Hello, Miss Park In-jeong." His smile had a meaning that everyone understood... Li Yuhao didn't explain because it wasn't necessary, and the company had no rules against dating.

Li Yuhao also smiled and got a bottle of water for Park In-jeong, saying, "Wait a moment. I should be done recording in about 20 minutes." Park In-jeong smiled and nodded.

After resting for a bit, Li Yuhao went back into the recording studio and finished recording the song in about 15 minutes.

After finishing the recording, Li Yuhao and Park In-jeong went to the president's office. When Li Minzhe and Kim Gwang-soo saw them enter, they smiled. Li Minzhe asked, "Did you finish recording the song?"

Li Yuhao smiled and nodded, "Yes... How's the filming crew preparing?"

"Everything is ready. You can go down and start filming. Song is waiting for you, and he'll drive you back later."

"Thank you, President." After finishing the business, Li Yuhao and Li Minzhe, Kim Gwang-soo looked at Li Yuhao with some regret and some regret. If he had known Li Yuhao's creative ability was so strong, he would have spent a lot of money to bring Li Yuhao to CCM the first time they met. But it was too late to regret now.

Kim Gwang-soo smiled and said to Li Yuhao, "Mr. Li Yuhao, I didn't expect the song you gave me to be so great! Are you interested in collaborating with 'Davichi' on this song? I heard your rap is also very good."

Li Yuhao smiled, "President Kim, I might not have much free time in the coming period. I need to focus on recording my album."

"Oh? You're recording an album? Alright... I'll look forward to our next collaboration." Kim Gwang-soo was surprised, thinking, 'Li Yuhao was recording "Like Being Shot" in the studio, and now he's about to shoot the MV? Is he planning to debut soon?' He knew Li Yuhao had another classic song, "No Longer in Love."

Kim Gwang-soo started to think, 'At this rate, Li Yuhao's album might be released soon. We might as well ride on his success.' Although he didn't know if Li Yuhao had other songs, he was sure that if "No Longer in Love" was released, it might have a similar impact as "Like Being Shot."

With the help of the agency and media promotion, Li Yuhao's fame was guaranteed, but the extent of the impact was unknown. He planned to release "Love and War," the song Li Yuhao wrote, after Li Yuhao's promotion period.

If Li Yuhao's album was very successful, he might even use Li Yuhao's name to promote the song for "Davichi."

Li Yuhao also smiled and said, "Sure, sure." Then he said goodbye, "President, I'll go down now. President Kim, we'll leave now."

The two presidents smiled and nodded. After Li Yuhao and Park In-jeong left, Kim Gwang-soo said, "Sigh... President Li Minzhe, if I had spent a little more money back then, Li Yuhao would be in our company now."

Li Minzhe smiled, "It's a matter of fate. Although you met Li Yuhao before me, he ultimately chose LOEN. Hahaha..."

PS: Please recommend! Please collect! Please tip! Please review! Please be a generous supporter!