Chapter 286: Rehearsal
Early December, at Bilibili Headquarters.
An Alphard stopped in front of the lobby on the first floor, and passing staff members cast curious glances at the vehicle.
It was currently the recording phase for Bilibili's New Year's Eve Gala, and various participating celebrities were arriving one after another. No one knew who might be in this car.
Soon, the car door opened, revealing a somewhat unfamiliar face.
So beautiful!
But...
Who is this?
After Sakura got out of the car, she didn't rush to leave but turned around to look behind her.
Then, Jiang Shu's figure came into view.
The passing staff didn't recognize Sakura, but they were certainly familiar with Jiang Shu, who had shone brightly at Bilibili's New Year's Eve Gala last year.
Not to mention, in the highly sensational battle for the top spot last month, Jiang Shu's name had once again exploded in popularity.
This creator of DM Entertainment was becoming more and more famous.
"Director Jiang, Kura, please come this way," the reception staff from the passenger seat quickly got out and smiled, guiding the two.
"Is that Manager Liu? Manager Liu is personally handling the reception?" A staff member recognized the greeter's identity and exclaimed in surprise.
"Come on! This is Jiang Shu, a big shot in Korean Entertainment, a leading figure in the industry. It's not surprising at all that Manager Chen came to greet him."
"How do you know so much?"
"Because I'm a fan of their company's group, ITZY."
"???"
Listening to the staff's discussions, Manager Liu couldn't help but smile.
"Director Jiang is very popular in China too."
"It's all thanks to the audience's kindness," Jiang Shu said indifferently.
Sakura quietly listened to their conversation, showing no intention of interjecting.
Last year, her Chinese proficiency wasn't as good as Hitomi Honda's, so she lost this opportunity. After a year of hard work, practicing her spoken Chinese to a level where she could communicate freely, she finally seized this chance and successfully came to Bilibili with Jiang Shu to participate in the New Year's Eve Gala.
Last year, Jiang Shu and Hitomi Honda collaborated on "Confession Balloon." This year, it was also a performance song. In fact, Jiang Shu had many songs he wanted to sing, but considering Sakura's rather silent vocal skills, Jiang Shu could only modify the song, allowing Sakura to primarily provide backing vocals and harmonies.
The two quickly arrived at the studio to wait for the rehearsal.
"Do you still remember the key points we practiced in the practice room?" Jiang Shu looked at the singer currently rehearsing on stage, then turned to Sakura and asked.
"Yes, I remember them all," Sakura nodded in response.
"Don't be nervous later. The lyrics for the verse aren't many; just keep up with the harmony," Jiang Shu told Sakura.
He would be the lead singer; Sakura was just for harmony and embellishment, so there shouldn't be much of a problem.
Soon, the director team arranged for them to go on stage.
It was just a rehearsal, so Jiang Shu and Sakura didn't change into stage costumes; they just wore casual clothes.
They took the microphones handed to them by the staff.
"When a gust of wind blows~"
Jiang Shu held the microphone and sang a line a cappella. Sakura, seeing this, also imitated Jiang Shu and sang a line a cappella.
Compared to Jiang Shu's rich vocal pressure, Sakura's voice was undoubtedly much thinner, and it carried a somewhat sharp quality.
This was an innate issue for her, not something that could be changed with later effort. However, these were minor problems; she was there to provide backing, and the main output point was still Jiang Shu himself.
"Director Jiang, Little Sakura, you can prepare to start," the director team's voice came through their in-ear monitors.
Jiang Shu nodded towards Sakura and brought the microphone to his lips.
"OK."
With Jiang Shu's reply, the director team quickly sprang into action, and the background music and in-ear monitor sounds also began.
The rehearsal officially began.
...
About half an hour later.
"Let's stop here for today," Jiang Shu took off his in-ear monitor and said, holding the microphone.
"Alright, Group Nine is done. Get Group Ten ready," the director team immediately responded.
Sakura, seeing this, also followed suit and took off her in-ear monitor.
"The performance was decent, but it still needs practice," Jiang Shu commented, looking at Sakura.
"Yes," Sakura lowered her head somewhat ashamed. Because of her, the rehearsal hadn't gone too smoothly.
Her skill level was limited. Even with great effort, she would still make some mistakes that Jiang Shu felt were completely avoidable.
Jiang Shu was much stronger than Sakura. Even when copying songs, to avoid being exposed, Jiang Shu's musical foundation had grown day by day, and his singing skills had also been consistently maintained.
To say there was progress, there wasn't much. But there was no regression either.
The original owner could study music and achieve something, which indicated he had a certain talent; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to make a living from it.
Jiang Shu didn't have any major problems during the rehearsal, but coordinating with Sakura was a challenge.
"There are still two days until the official recording. Work hard," Jiang Shu said to Sakura as they walked off the stage together.
"Yes, I will work hard," Sakura respectfully lowered her head, about to bow, but Jiang Shu held her shoulder.
"This isn't Korea. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don't bow casually."
"Yes," Sakura responded softly.
"By the way, Christmas is coming soon. What Christmas gift have you prepared this year?" Jiang Shu didn't say too much, just made his point, then changed the subject and asked.
Hearing this, Sakura was startled at first, then spoke to Jiang Shu.
"China's textile technology is very advanced. I want to take this opportunity to come to China and buy some yarn before making a decision."
After saying this, Sakura paused, then looked at Jiang Shu again.
"What does President nim want?"
Last Christmas, Sakura gave Jiang Shu a knitted hat, but he clearly wasn't very fond of it; Sakura had never seen him wear it.
"A scarf, I guess. If you knit a sweater and a hat, I can't wear them, but a scarf might work," Jiang Shu thought for a moment and said.
There was still a scarf Liu Zhimin bought him in his walk-in closet, but Jiang Shu rarely wore scarves and had only worn it a few times after buying it.
But comparatively, a scarf was the most likely item to be used.
"Okay, then I'll prepare a scarf," Sakura's eyes lit up, and she nodded in response.
What gift-givers like most is when the recipient can clearly tell them what they want. This is much better than the gift-giver guessing for a long time and then giving a gift the other person doesn't like.
"Mm," Jiang Shu responded casually, "What do you want?"
"President nim doesn't need to return a gift. Your kindness in recognizing my talent is worth more than any gift," Sakura said with a smile.
Tsk, look, this is emotional intelligence.
If it were Xiao Liu, she would already be figuring out how to make a wish.
Thinking of Liu Zhimin, Jiang Shu was also pondering whether he should prepare a Christmas gift for her this year.
Last year, they had just broken up, so Jiang Shu didn't do anything, fearing Liu Zhimin wouldn't want to talk to him. But this year, it seemed that although she hadn't forgiven him, she wasn't very resistant...
He needed to think carefully about it.