Chapter 66

Listen;

With a snap, the phone was hung up.

Li Qian turned around, a smile on his face, "I called an old friend, someone I haven't seen for many years. I asked him to come and give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Da Bing immediately exploded, "Oh, I don't believe it! Fine... Old Fu, you don't need to hold me back. I have no other intention; I just want to wait here and see who the hell it is that's so damn good!"

Li Qian laughed at this.

Then, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed at him without any hesitation, lowered his hand, and said calmly under everyone's gaze, "People like you, who think you have some level, some ability, and have been around for many years, think you have some so-called status in the industry, and can treat the most basic spirit of cooperation and the most basic work rules as nothing..."

He shook his head and smiled, "Actually, I could kick you out directly, but it doesn't matter. Since you think you're the best bassist in Jinan, and since you think that without you, I can't find a bassist in Jinan, then fine, you stay here and wait to see if I can find someone, and wait to see if the person I find is better than you!"

Perhaps it was because Li Qian's words were too direct, too blunt, and too unreserved, that they actually stunned the other party. In any case, after hearing this, Da Bing was stunned and remained silent for a long time, finally nodding in a show of defiance, "Fine, you say I don't follow the rules? I'll wait and see!"

Fu Zhenbang, who was originally ready to drag him out, chuckled and let go, unable to help but look at Li Qian in surprise.

Finding a good bassist in Jinan wasn't difficult, but finding one who could clearly surpass Da Bing was indeed a challenge. However, when Li Qian was on the phone, although Fu Zhenbang couldn't hear the other side, just from the word "Brother Cao" and Li Qian's confident tone, he felt he had a vague idea of something.

It was just a bit hard to believe!

Thus, the recording studio, which was about 100 square meters, fell into an eerie silence.

Da Bing, with his bass, stood there stiffly, staring at Li Qian.

Li Qian, on the other hand, simply ignored everyone and sat down on the high stool in the center.

The others in the room kept looking at one person and then another. The sisters of Wu Su, for example, would whisper to each other from time to time, their faces showing concern.

It was said to be twenty minutes, and it really was twenty minutes.

After the room had been silent for about twenty minutes, the door to the recording studio was suddenly pushed open, and Cao Zhan walked in.

He still looked the same, wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt with his own graffiti on the front, a pair of washed-out jeans, and a pair of sky-blue sneakers.

Only this time, he was holding a bass.

Suddenly, as if a stone had been thrown into a quiet lake, the room quickly became agitated.

"Hey, Old Cao... It's actually you?"

"Oh, Cao? Teacher Cao?"

The middle-aged man who had been quietly sitting at the piano since Li Qian entered the room, Professor Wang Huaiyu, whom Fu Zhenbang had introduced, suddenly stood up and walked over with a smile. Li Jinlong, who was taken aback, saw Cao Zhan and his eyes lit up, quickly moving to greet him, while Fu Zhenbang took a step to the door and firmly grasped Cao Zhan's hand.

"Teacher Cao, ever since you came last year, I've been hoping for a chance to invite you back to give us some guidance. You're finally here today!"

"Old Cao, what's up, are you back to playing the bass?"

"Hello, Teacher Cao, I'm Li Jinlong from Huasing Records. This time, I came to Jinan to visit you, but I was afraid of disturbing you. I didn't expect to have the chance to meet you here."

Cao Zhan still had that expressionless, serious look. He just nodded at whoever spoke to him. Only when Professor Wang Huaiyu extended his hand did he manage a faint smile.

After everyone had finished speaking, he held his guitar and nodded lightly to the others in the recording studio, saying, "Hello, everyone." Then he turned to Li Qian, "Where's the sheet music?"

Li Qian picked up the sheet music and handed it to him, "It's completely unnecessary in the middle, just at the beginning and the end. I need you to show off the bass's energy... Is ten minutes enough?"

Cao Zhan took the sheet music, glanced at it, and said, "Sure." Then he started to read it carefully.

Li Qian acted as if Da Bing didn't exist in the recording studio, calmly clapping his hands to get everyone's attention, and said, "Everyone, I'm sorry for the little disturbance just now. But it's fine, this time our producer, Mr. Li Jinlong, will treat us, and he's richer than me, so he can definitely make everyone eat better!"

Everyone laughed in agreement, and the tense atmosphere in the recording studio instantly eased.

Li Jinlong then said with a smile, "It's an honor to have the chance to treat all the teachers to a meal. But I think if I pay for it, it won't be of high enough quality to match the teachers. So for tonight's meal, I will definitely get our boss to sign off on the reimbursement..."

This made several people in the room laugh out loud.

Only the bassist Da Bing, his face showing a mix of embarrassment and something else, hesitated and then walked over to Cao Zhan, bending slightly, and said, "Teacher Cao... Why are you here?"

From this one sentence, it was clear that he, like the others in the room, knew who Cao Zhan was.

And anyone who knew Cao Zhan would not forget that, although he hadn't been in the rock scene for many years, his title as one of the top five bassists in the country was earned through countless performances and recordings, not something that could be easily shaken.

At least, Da Bing, the so-called best bassist in Jinan, was not qualified.

Cao Zhan was reading the sheet music and had no interest in chatting. He turned his head, said "Oh," nodded, and didn't say anything more.

So he continued, "Brother Cao, you might not remember me. My name is Da Bing. I was with Hu Yuan and a few others last time. Do you remember? You came to watch our performance and even bought us a drink each."

This time, Cao Zhan couldn't ignore him. He turned his head, looked at Da Bing, and nodded, "Oh, hello."

That meant Cao Zhan didn't really remember him.

At this moment, Li Qian looked at him with a faint smile and said, "Sir, you can listen in, but please maintain order and return the sheet music in your hand. Thank you for your cooperation."

After saying this, he didn't look back, clapped his hands again, and said, "Everyone, please prepare. Once Teacher Cao is familiar with the sheet music, we will resume the rehearsal!"

At this point, Cao Zhan, who had been reading the sheet music, looked up at Li Qian.

Li Qian turned to look at him and couldn't help but shrug, "What's up?"

Cao Zhan shook his head, but after glancing down at the sheet music, he looked up again and said, "You're still writing this kind of song?"

Li Qian smiled, "What's wrong with this kind of song? Is there a problem with what I wrote?"

Cao Zhan shook his head, tapped the sheet music, and said, "It's well-written. I didn't expect you to be so versatile!"

As he spoke, he moved closer and pointed to the first line of the chorus, "Are you sure you want to handle it this way?"

Li Qian nodded. If it were someone else, he might not bother to explain, but with Cao Zhan, he was willing to say more, "I want that youthful but mischievous feeling."

Cao Zhan nodded and said nothing more, continuing to read the sheet music.

But Li Qian still smiled and waited for any new questions.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, Cao Zhan's personality was so distinctive that Li Qian couldn't forget him. According to Yu Bojun, even if you asked him to play a corpse, he would need to understand the entire play to know how to handle the corpse's posture, eyes,