Chapter 49

Throughout the 717, apart from Yu Jin who knew a little, no one else knew about Bian Xuedao and Li Yu recording a song together. Bian Xuedao felt there was no need to make everything known to everyone.

Everyone already knew that his relationship with Li Yu was particularly close, so there was no need to repeatedly emphasize it in front of his dormitory brothers.

Before Christmas in 2002, "Reunion Again" briefly topped the charts in major music rankings across the country and then remained in the top three for three consecutive weeks. The most excited about this achievement were not the two singers, but Tang Tao and the long-haired Fan Hongbing, whose real name was Fan Hongbing.

People in the industry who knew them both called one after another, asking about the relationship between "Reunion Again" and the two of them, whether they had met a brother, whether they could find the brother, and whether they wanted to change their environment and work somewhere else.

For several days, Fan Hongbing and Tang Tao were anxious, wanting to talk to Bian Xuedao and Li Yu, but since they were just business partners and not even friends, what if they ignored them? What if a word made the two of them unhappy, and they didn't find them for good songs in the future?

When Fan Hongbing pulled out his fifth white hair, he received a call that almost made him faint with joy.

On the phone, Bian Xuedao said he had written another song and would find him and Tang Tao the next day.

Bian Xuedao had indeed considered releasing "Suddenly Myself" earlier, but he hadn't decided on the timing. Xu Shangxiu's act of bringing him an umbrella in the heavy snow made the long-waited-for Bian Xuedao burst into flames. When he got home and saw the lyrics "In the cold winter, I recall your tenderness," Bian Xuedao decided to record "Suddenly Myself" right away.

In the Aile Studio, as usual, they signed the copyright assignment contract first.

After sending away the boss's mistress who only signed and collected money, Fan Hongbing turned on the recording equipment and asked Bian Xuedao to sing it once.

Despite setting their expectations very high, Fan Hongbing and Tang Tao were still stunned after listening to "Suddenly Myself."

From the lyrics to the melody, a carefree and transcendent spirit overflowed. What kind of musical talent could create such a work?

"Reunion Again" was barely acceptable, but with "Suddenly Myself," they truly didn't believe a college student could write such lyrics and music. They hadn't heard it before, so could there be a master behind these two guys? It shouldn't be, if there were such a master, why would they come to a small studio like theirs to record songs?

Forget it, no matter what, this was a heaven-sent fortune, who wouldn't take it?

The two looked at each other and saw the same thought in each other's eyes: their future success or mediocrity depended on these two guys.

With a positive attitude and working together, the efficiency was naturally high. Without Bian Xuedao and Li Yu even having to speak, the two proposed that they would handle the MV production again.

Ten days later, "Suddenly Myself" was completed, becoming the first champion song of the 2003 music scene.

Seeing Fan Hongbing and Tang Tao, who were red-eyed from exhaustion and running around, and unable to resist their desperate pleading, Bian Xuedao relented and promised that if he and Li Yu formed a band, he would consider them first.

Outwardly, Fan Hongbing acted as a half-broker for Bian Xuedao and Li Yu. Bian Xuedao told Fan Hongbing that he wouldn't consider contacting the media before graduation. Additionally, a written authorization was formed, allowing Fan Hongbing and Tang Tao to perform "Suddenly Myself" and "Reunion Again" in some occasions.

Many people called the Aile Studio, and Fan Hongbing, acting as a broker, responded to each call. In the calls, he only clearly acknowledged one point: the "brothers" were college students.

The music industry and media entertainment sections were boiling. Could mainland college students create such mature rock music? It had none of the traditional campus folk song flavor, nor the rebellious, angry, and screaming style of mainland rock in the 1980s and 1990s, but rather a沧桑 (沧桑 means "weathered" or "worldly-wise"), carefree, and grand style.

Subsequently, some people online began to doubt that such works could not be created casually. Music, like painting and writing, required a foundation. Could college students have such a foundation? Besides, Songjiang had no high-level music institutions.

No matter what, the "brothers" were a hit.

Even their MV production techniques were pursued and imitated.

Li Yu was purely accompanying Bian Xuedao for fun, and after the excitement wore off, he forgot about it. Bian Xuedao, on the other hand, was fully focused on helping his senior brother's studio make money, and he barely read the newspapers. Outside, the hype was intense, but the two parties were oblivious.

In November 2002, "Miracle" showed its competitiveness as a 3D game. "Legend" still had its profit points, but the visually stunning "Miracle" was a huge profit point, which was already evident.

On Bian Xuedao's suggestion, the studio expanded and divided into functional areas, roughly divided into four: one for developing cheats, one for private servers of "Legend," one for "Miracle" bots, and one for rest.

Although the studio's business was thriving and making a lot of money, Bian Xuedao was concerned about its future.

Bian Xuedao remembered that in December 2003, the public security organs and relevant national departments launched a "Zero Point Action," arresting several studios that made "Miracle" cheats. Subsequently, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, the Ministry of Information Industry, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the National Copyright Administration, and the National "Anti-Pornography" and "Anti-Illegal Publications" Office issued a notice, listing the unauthorized setup of servers and the illegal production and sale of program cards in online game publishing as targets for "Anti-Pornography" and "Anti-Illegal Publications."

Bian Xuedao's idea was that in the early stages of "Miracle," a blessing stone cost about 50 RMB, a soul stone 25 RMB, and Maya weapons and wings were very valuable. The studio's developed cheats should be used by themselves, and they should buy more high-config computers, choose popular lines to enter, and sell equipment first. When the prices of blessing and soul stones came down, they could sell the cheats.

Senior Brother Wen now admired Bian Xuedao's foresight and fully accepted his suggestions. In fact, just in December alone, the "Miracle" section of the studio earned enough to buy 12 more computers.

After buying a house and furniture, Bian Xuedao still had several hundred thousand RMB. He wasn't worried about money because he knew that as long as there were no accidents at the studio, 2003 would be a year of huge profits.

After finishing six exams, he still had two more to go. Bian Xuedao was so tired of reviewing that he found his ice skates and went to the ice rink.

It was already past 3:30 PM when he reached the ice rink.

Since the ice skating class had ended two weeks ago, and most students were preparing for exams, there weren't many people on the ice rink. Looking around, there were quite a few pairs of male and female skaters, with the men teaching and the women learning, holding hands and enjoying themselves.

As Bian Xuedao sat down to change his shoes, someone in ice skates stopped nearby to watch him. Bian Xuedao looked up and saw Shan Rao standing opposite, greeting him.

Wearing a pink down jacket and red ice skates, Shan Rao stood out on the white ice, very eye-catching and stylish. Bian Xuedao tied his ice skates and walked over step by step, saying to Shan Rao, "You're here too, what a coincidence."

"Yes, what a coincidence. I came with a classmate, are you here alone?" Shan Rao glanced at her classmate in the distance and asked Bian Xuedao.

"Yep, alone. I was feeling chest tightness from memorizing, so I came to skate for a while," Bian Xuedao said.

The two started skating side by side.

It was then that Bian Xuedao noticed that Shan Rao was using speed skates. When they skated near Shan Rao's classmate, Shan Rao waved to her classmate without speaking and then skated away with Bian Xuedao.

Shan Rao's three roommates looked at each other, "Who is this guy? Have you seen him before? Why did Shan Rao take him away without introducing him? It's not like her at all!"

The two carefully avoided the male and female skaters teaching. Shan Rao told Bian Xuedao that she saw Xu Shangxiu when she was checking the female dormitories that evening, a very beautiful and well-behaved girl.

Shan Rao also told Bian Xuedao that she had recruited Xu Shangxiu to the student council, and now Xu Shangxiu spent less time with her boyfriend, giving Bian Xuedao a chance.

Bian Xuedao listened with a smile but didn't say anything.

Shan Rao then asked how the guitar he bought was to play and made a gesture of playing the guitar, saying she wanted to hear him play it sometime. As she said this, a female skater in front of them suddenly fell, and when Shan Rao tried to control her speed, her ice skates bumped, and she lost her balance.

Seeing Shan Rao fall forward, Bian Xuedao instinctively reached out to catch her, and she pulled him off balance. Fortunately, they both managed to stand up. At that moment, Bian Xuedao noticed his arm was across Shan Rao's chest, and he could feel her soft breasts through her down jacket.

The two quickly separated, as if nothing had happened, and continued skating forward.

By 4:00 PM, it was already getting dark. Shan Rao's roommates called her to return to the dorm, and she told them to go back first. The three girls left with many doubts. After skating two more laps, Bian Xuedao and Shan Rao changed their shoes and walked back.

On the way, neither of them spoke. As Bian Xuedao walked toward the Red Building, Shan Rao asked, "Aren't you going back to the dorm?"

Bian Xuedao, who had just thought of something about Xu Shangxiu, was a bit distracted, "I rented a place in the Red Building."

Watching Bian Xuedao walk into the unit of the Red Building, Shan Rao felt she was increasingly unable to understand this seemingly simple guy.

When Bian Xuedao was skating, he thought about the upcoming winter break and whether he should buy a mobile phone for Xu Shangxiu to facilitate communication during the holiday. From Wang Deliang, he knew that Tao Qing and Xu Shangxiu did not have mobile phones. The current issue was whether the strong-willed Xu Shangxiu would think he was buying her affection with money.

Bian Xuedao felt he should still give it a try. After all, once she had a mobile phone, it would be like building a bridge between them. Even if they didn't meet, they could communicate through text messages, which would be a world apart from before.

The next day, Bian Xuedao bought a Nokia 7650 and, carrying a gift bag, excitedly went to 11A. He asked the building manager to call Xu Shangxiu in room 312 and gave his name.

This time, the intercom didn't say Xu Shangxiu wasn't there, but that she would come down soon.

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