Chapter 9: Joint Composition

"Hehe, Chen Kangjie, do you really plan to sing for the teacher?"

That afternoon, after the music class, as soon as He Wanrong stepped out of the classroom, Chen Kangjie happily chased after her.

"Teacher He, I want to sing a song for you to listen to, and you can give me some guidance."

He Wanrong thought that the little guy's words that day were just childish talk, but a week later, he came to her.

"Of course it's real. A man of his word must keep his promise, especially to a beautiful teacher like you. How could I speak insincerely?"

Chen Kangjie stood tall, puffed out his chest, and declared boldly.

"Alright then, it's not suitable here in the hallway. Let's go to the shade of that tree, and I'll listen to what song this little man can sing."

Teacher He pretended to be angry but soon burst into laughter.

Under the tree, Chen Kangjie took a deep breath and began to sing "Do You Know I'm Waiting for You" with his young, clear voice.

At first, He Wanrong's face showed a playful smile as she listened to the first two lines, but as she continued to listen, her expression turned to surprise. She had never heard this song before. The lyrics expressed love so passionately and directly, yet they also seemed to convey the suppression of a secret love. The melody was undulating and very beautiful.

"Who did you learn this song from? I've never heard it before."

As soon as Chen Kangjie finished singing, He Wanrong, somewhat excited, grabbed his hand and asked urgently.

"Teacher He, I wrote this song myself. Do you think it's good?"

Chen Kangjie answered with a proud, half-smile. Hearing this, He Wanrong's face turned slightly red. She thought, how could such a little kid write a love song to tease me? Could he like me? But then she found her own thoughts absurd, thinking it impossible for a six-year-old student to like her.

Chen Kangjie noticed He Wanrong was lost in thought and gently pulled her hand, bringing her back to reality. Holding Teacher He's hand, he felt its softness and smoothness, thinking he was quite lucky, and didn't let go.

"How can a little kid like you write a love song? Do you even know what liking someone means? You're still so young."

He Wanrong poked Chen Kangjie's shoulder and giggled, teasing him.

Her laughter almost made Chen Kangjie lose his composure. At thirty years old mentally, how could he resist such a beautiful woman's allure? His mouth almost started to drool.

"You little pervert, what are you doing!"

"Teacher He, you're so beautiful."

Chen Kangjie blurted out, then immediately realized it was wrong and scratched his head, laughing foolishly. Having said the wrong thing, Chen Kangjie could only pretend to be innocent and cute.

For a moment, they were both speechless. In the end, Chen Kangjie broke the awkwardness.

"Teacher He, can you help me compose the music? I don't know much about music theory."

"Sure, this song is so beautiful, I want to learn it too. Wait here, I'll go get some paper and a pen from the office."

He Wanrong readily agreed to Chen Kangjie's request.

Chen Kangjie sang the song a few times and explained the accompaniment in detail, combining it with the original version he had heard. To make it as close to the original as possible, he even hummed the music between the lyrics. He Wanrong, without any suspicion, focused on her work.

In this small grove, Chen Kangjie's first "stolen" song was completed. After composing the music, He Wanrong felt she had encountered a musical prodigy. A little kid who hadn't learned music could create such an excellent work, something even music professors couldn't do! She didn't know that Chen Kangjie was just a casual pirate.

Taking the music book from He Wanrong, Chen Kangjie wrote "Lyrics by Da Yang Yu, Music by He Wanrong" in neat, elegant characters at the bottom right. He Wanrong was moved but didn't want to take credit for something she hadn't done.

"Who is Da Yang Yu? Is it your nickname? Chen Kangjie, that's not right. You wrote both the lyrics and the music, I just helped a little."

He Wanrong was amused by Chen Kangjie's stage name but still reminded him that she hadn't done much.

"Da Yang Yu is my stage name. Hehe, Teacher He, I don't know anything about music, I just made it up and sang it. The music is all yours."

He Wanrong laughed at Chen Kangjie's funny stage name but knew it wasn't right, so she refused to accept the credit. Reluctantly, Chen Kangjie changed it to "Lyrics by Da Yang Yu, Music by He Wanrong and Da Yang Yu." Seeing this, He Wanrong, unable to resist the clever and cute little guy, reluctantly accepted (in fact, she was quite pleased to be part of such a creation).

With the credit issue resolved, He Wanrong's interest was rekindled.

"Chen Kangjie, what do you plan to do with this song? Just sing it at home for fun?"

Chen Kangjie thought to himself, sing it for fun? Ha, if he were just singing for fun, would he need to write it down? Of course, he wanted to make money with it.

"Teacher He, since you think the song is good, good things should be shared, right? So I plan to send it to a record company and see if they're interested."

Chen Kangjie acted very generously. He Wanrong thought it made sense. If the song could become popular, it would be a wonderful story. She didn't press further. But when she stopped, Chen Kangjie's next words made her nervous again.

"Record companies in the mainland might not accept our work, so I plan to send it to Hong Kong. I think someone there might like it. I heard there's a record company called Rock Records that's quite good. I'll try sending it there."

"Hong Kong?"

To people at that time, Hong Kong was a distant place, both envied and feared. They envied its prosperity and feared its capitalist nature, which could easily lead to mistakes. He Wanrong was surprised.

"Yes, Hong Kong. Teacher He, I've also written a few other songs. If you have time these next few days, could you help me compose the music for them and send them together? That way, the chances of success would be higher."

He Wanrong was further shocked and wondered what other songs the little guy had written, and if they were as good as "Do You Know I'm Waiting for You."

They agreed on the next time to compose the music and then went their separate ways. Chen Kangjie walked home with a smile, as if he had completed a difficult task.

He Wanrong, however, was restless all the way home. Riding her lady's bicycle, she almost collided with pedestrians twice. She was curious about Chen Kangjie's performance, remembering his earnest singing and feeling a smile on her face. She hummed a few lines of "Do You Know I'm Waiting for You," which she had just learned, and her face turned red like an unripe apple.

"Daughter, what's got you so happy today?"

Seeing her daughter hum a song she hadn't heard before and enter the house happily, Zhao Yuxiang teased her.

"Mom, I found a musical prodigy. The song I just sang was written by him."

He Wanrong jumped up, holding Zhao Yuxiang's hand and smiling, eager to share her surprise with her mother.

He Wanrong's mother, Zhao Yuxiang, was the deputy director of the logistics department at the mining bureau, a relatively easy job. Her husband, He Baoguo, was the deputy director of the mining bureau, a deputy department-level official. No one dared to make Zhao Yuxiang do any heavy work. At forty-five, she looked much younger, thanks to her good living conditions and her ability to take care of herself. On the street, many people mistook her for He Wanrong's sister.

"Hehe, whose child is it? To write a love song for my daughter, he must be quite talented. Bring him home and let me and your father see him."

"Mom, what are you saying? He's one of my students, and he's only six years old."

Hearing her mother tease her, she pouted and defended herself.

Hearing that it was a six-year-old child, Zhao Yuxiang was initially surprised but quickly became interested. Women seemed to have a natural curiosity.

He Wanrong then told Zhao Yuxiang the whole story. After listening, Zhao Yuxiang also became interested in the child. She and He Baoguo had only one daughter, He Wanrong, so they were fond of clever and cute boys.

He Wanrong briefly described Chen Kangjie to Zhao Yuxiang, who was amazed.

"Then bring this Chen Kangjie to our house one day. I want to meet this clever and talented little guy."

Zhao Yuxiang couldn't remember Chen Kangjie's name right away, but her smile showed that she was genuinely interested. Although she wasn't a musician, she was a cultured person in the city, and with her daughter studying music in college, she knew that songwriting wasn't easy.

"Sure, I'll see if he has time this weekend and bring him to our house."

Hearing that her mother was interested, she was delighted. Although she didn't fully understand this student, she was increasingly fond of him, finding him smart, cute, and with a steady and proud demeanor.

---

End of Chapter 9