Chapter 3 Selection (Part 2) (Second Update, Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

  When did you start following the growing shadow

  Walking with her in the dark night

  Hand in hand, no matter when

  All cities shed tears for being together

  Just like the wind is getting cooler, winter is also approaching.

  Gradually, this street also welcomed

  ……

  Soft and gentle voice echoes in the room, like poetic sentences, with melody together on a spring day's hazy afternoon, under the bright but not sharp sunlight, slowly flowing by. At some moment, the change of true and false tones, the suddenly raised pitch, is like an ethereal yet melancholic cry, revealing the hidden sorrow and heaviness deep within the heart.

  An Jun-he closed his eyes, suddenly remembering the end of 2004 in his dream. At that time, he was also in Seoul with Ji-soo for a check-up at the hospital. The Han River Bridge in December was covered with dense snowflakes, and the waves on the river below were rolling and crashing against the shore. The radio in the car played this song, and his heart was like those snowflakes, falling into the river and shattering into pieces.

  It wasn't until later that he found out it was the theme song of a TV series, but because the plot was quite sad, he hadn't watched it, only remembering the song very clearly.

  At this time, facing the selection assessment, the first song that comes to mind is this one. It's not only the deepest impression of it, but also, on the other hand, this love song that requires a mature voice to interpret, can best show off singing skills.

  As the piece came to an end, An Junhe slightly bowed his head in respect, awaiting the evaluation of the person opposite him.

  Across from him, Li Xiūmǎn had long forgotten the documents he was subconsciously flipping through in his hand, his gaze dazed as he stared at An Junhe, but his focus wasn't on him. It seemed like he was gazing off into a much farther distance. Only after a moment did he come back to himself, clearing his throat with a dry cough, and carelessly tossing aside the documents in his hand. His fingers lightly tapped against the table: "This melody... is Nakajima Miyuki's 'Yuki no Hana', but you wrote the Korean lyrics yourself?"

  An Junhe nodded, showing no signs of guilt for his plagiarism. He had abandoned the path he should have taken in the future and chosen to fulfill Zhishu's dreams instead, letting go of all his worries at that moment.

  Would someone who can abandon their own future still care about the guilt caused by a small plagiarism?

  Seeing An Junhe nod, Li Xiuzhen's small eyes behind her glasses opened slightly, but then she continued to comment: "Actually, with your voice, it's not very suitable for singing this song. Your voice is clear and clean, but it's too bright, originally can't sing out the depth and thickness of the lyrics, but your technique is great, know how to use nasal resonance and chest cavity resonance to add weight... have had classical vocal training?"

  An Junhe said: "Yes, I used to learn the basics of bel canto with a music teacher at school, and later I also practiced it from time to time."

  He didn't lie about this either. He and his sister's music foundation were learned from their elementary school days with the school's music teacher, who was a middle-aged woman with a solid vocal foundation and a strong interest in teaching her students. She liked the siblings' voices so much that she privately taught them for free, aside from regular classes, until they entered junior high school. An Zhixiu's dream of becoming a singer also started then.

  "Not bad......" Li Xiūmǎn nodded without surprise. Generally, those from a music academy background are not good at singing popular songs, mainly because the requirements for vocalization and throat position are different. Especially, popular songs have strict requirements for vocal cords, many people who are used to classical music can't sing with flavor, on the other hand, those who are self-taught, without being branded by classical music, but having a foundation in singing techniques, are more suitable for performing popular songs, and their vocal range is also very wide. With good training and practice, they can adapt to many styles.

  He hesitated for a moment before saying: "Don't practice bel canto anymore, from tomorrow on, I'll arrange a teacher for you to learn popular singing methods."

  An Junhe, who had been respectfully bowing his head, looked up and blinked his eyes, "Your meaning is... I can sign the contract now?"

  Li Xiufull nodded, and a smile finally appeared on his cold face. "Well, come over tomorrow to sign the contract!" He turned his head to instruct Quan Baogen behind him: "You bring a copy of the contract for him to take a look later, and bring him to my office tomorrow. Since you brought this person here, you will be responsible for him in the future. Cultivate him well, let's see how you perform."

  Having said that, he stood up and quickly left without any hesitation.

  Until Li Xiufan's footsteps faded away and could no longer be heard, Quan Baogen, who had been suppressing his excitement all along, suddenly burst out. A man of advanced age, he cheered and jumped up, rushed over a few steps, hugged An Junhe tightly, patted him on the back, and exclaimed excitedly: "You little scoundrel, you really know how to surprise people! You can play musical instruments and write lyrics, with such abilities why didn't you tell me in advance? I was worried that the president would brush you off."

  "Haha, isn't this a great choice?" An Junhe was also very happy, one step closer to Zhixiu's dream. As long as he could become a trainee and rely on SM, with the resources he had mastered in his dreams, the road ahead would already be bright.

  Quan Baogen, excited and somewhat uncontrollable, said a few more words before the middle-aged uncle regained his composure. It's not surprising that he lost his temper, as Li Xiufang's parting words clearly indicated that she was willing to give Quan Baogen another chance to re-enter the core. For Quan Baogen, this surprise came too suddenly, it was as if the president had given him a free gift, as long as he didn't make any foolish mistakes.

  After all, An Junhe's performance was seen by him, and such a talented and handsome trainee is rare even among the hundreds of trainees in SM company. If managed well, debut and huge success are not a problem.

  He originally thought An Junhe was a desperate attempt to cure his illness, but he didn't expect that before he even made a move, he would get a hen with the potential to lay golden eggs in return, and he couldn't be happier.

  After getting the contract from Quan Baogen, who had calmed down, An Junhe didn't stay in the company and hurried back to Mianmu Cave, his rented house.

  The house is located in a rather old residential area, with sloping streets on both sides, various shop signs hanging disorderly, and strange smells emanating from the sewers on either side. After a busy day, the street surface was littered with uncollected garbage, making this place look extremely dirty. However, in Seoul, only houses in such areas are relatively affordable.

  Through a small alley, came to a wall mottled, covered with ivy small building front, went upstairs, gently opened the door, there was soft music floating out of the house, right opposite the door direction, that small balcony, sat on the chaise longue gazing into the distance, do not know what to think about An Zhixiu, heard the movement turned back to see, saw him, squeezed out a smile.

  An Junhe revealed an even brighter smile, looking at his sister, and pulled out a piece of paper from behind him, rustling it as he said: "Zhi Xiu, guess what this is?"

  "Huh?" Zhī Xiù looked at his brother in confusion, and after a moment, he suddenly reacted, his voice trembling: "Brother, you... got selected?"

  "Yes, we can sign the contract tomorrow." He said, as he walked forward and picked up his sister, placing her in a wheelchair beside him. "Let's go out for dinner today to celebrate!"

  An Jishu, who was being pushed forward by him, looked up at his brother, who was smiling brightly under the sunset, and suddenly felt a warmth in her chest that was full and swelling...