She became a heartthrob among internet celebrities.

Chapter 101 Singing

Before the results of the school's selection competition were released, Xuejie from Xinyi called Jiang Lai first.

"I'm going to sing the theme song?" Jiang Lai held her phone, making sure she hadn't misheard, and asked again.

Xuejie gave an affirmative reply from the other end of the phone.

Jiang Lai frowned. "But when I was there last time, didn't you already go and teach, Sister Xue?"

"Don't say that!" Sister Xue glared at the person standing next to her on the other end of the phone, who immediately put on a pitiful expression.

"I can't teach them either. Some people just can't sing it right and they don't think there's anything wrong with them." Sister Xue was really exhausted. Before she started teaching them, she thought that Brother Zhang was just exaggerating when he got angry. But after she went on stage herself, she realized that it was no exaggeration. How could there be people who sing so badly without realizing it and who can't be taught?

Even the best teacher can't teach it!

After Sister Xue quit, the progress of the theme song came to a standstill.

This is a sweet romance drama set in a modern campus, and the theme song is very important. They considered finding a professional singer to sing the theme song and contacted several people during this period. However, after talking to them, either the singers did not sing the feeling that the director wanted, or the budget was exceeded.

Because this was a trial production by New Arts Media, both the director and the cast were newcomers to the company, so the funding was limited. In order to avoid being ridiculed after the show aired, the production team spent a lot of money on costumes, props, and sets. They originally thought they could save money on singing, but they didn't expect the lead actor to be so tone-deaf.

Now, the cost of hiring singers was unavoidable, but with that little money, they couldn't afford anyone. Not wanting to settle, Jiang Lai eventually came into the director's sights.

"Sister Xue! Please go and ask her for me! That girl has a sweet voice, she'd be perfect for this drama!"

"Okay, okay, I got it. I'll go ask!"

Sister Xue had no choice but to ask Jiang Lai for her opinion.

"Your thoughts?"

Jiang Lai asked, "Can we meet in person to discuss this in detail?"

"Of course, no problem! How about you come to Xinyi?" Sister Xue asked.

"can."

The other side was in a hurry, so Jiang Lai didn't delay and went straight to Xinyi.

As soon as the receptionist saw her, she said, "You're here again!"

"That's right!" Jiang Lai greeted her as well.

"They told me that if you come, it will be the same recording studio as before, so I won't take you with me. You can go up by yourself."

"Okay, I'll go up myself."

"Bye~"

Jiang Lai said goodbye to the receptionist, took the elevator with practiced ease, bypassed the conference room, and went to the original recording studio.

Sister Xue, Brother Hao (who was in post-production), and the boy I met that day were all in there.

"Sister Xue! Brother Hao!" Jiang Lai called out, then nodded to the boy she didn't recognize.

The boy immediately stepped forward. "My name is Xue Jiayu. I am a student in the Film and Television Department of the Film Academy and a director who just joined Xinyi this year. I currently only have one film, which has not yet been broadcast, but I should be a famous director in the future."

"Go to hell!" Hao Ge kicked him. "What kind of self-introduction is this? You're just bragging without thinking. I could say that I'll be a master in the post-production industry someday."

Jiang Lai was amused by their interaction and said, "Hello, I'm Jiang Lai, we've met before."

“Yes, we’ve met before. You were doing voice-over work here back then!” Xue Jiayu said. “This time, I asked Sister Xue to find you. Your voice is really suitable for my theme song, so I wanted to ask if you would be interested in singing for my drama? It’s just that the pay isn’t very high…” Xue Jiayu’s voice lowered a bit, then he added, “But I guarantee! You’ll definitely be the center of the theme song!”

"Excuse me, how many theme songs does your show have?"

"Uh, just this one. It's the opening and ending theme, as well as the insert song."

"..." Jiang Lai was speechless for a moment, then asked, "Is this okay? Won't the audience get tired of hearing it?"

"This is a brainless romantic comedy. The theme song needs to be sweet enough to make the audience addicted, so that it will leave a deep impression," Xue Jiayu said confidently.

Sister Xue chimed in, "Keep bragging! Isn't it because you don't have enough budget to buy songs?"

"Hehe! I see through it but I don't say it!" Xue Jiayu touched his nose and chuckled, "I'm also willing to do that."

Hao Ge shook his head and chuckled to himself, adding fuel to the fire by saying, "Xiao Jiang, it's fine if you don't want to. We don't care about his pittance!"

"You!" Xue Jiayu's eyes widened.

Jiang Lai knew everyone was joking, so she said, "Then I'll have to think about it carefully. I can't work for nothing!"

"No way! You're beautiful and kind-hearted, take the role!" Xue Jiayu said, "I guarantee this drama will be a huge hit!"

Jiang Lai thought his idea was quite confident, so she tentatively asked, "How about this, could I take a look at the script? And the songs, and then consider it?"

After all, not just any job will do; I'd rather skip bad movies and bad songs.

I thought this was a rather abrupt request, but to my surprise, Xue Jiayu answered readily, "No problem, I can show you the script and finished product of the first two episodes, as well as the lyrics and sheet music. You can think about it carefully."

"Okay." Jiang Lai nodded.

Xue Jiayu walked out.

Sister Xue hadn't said anything until he left, then she said, "Actually, I think his script is pretty good, and the song is alright too. For a newcomer, it's quite good. I'm optimistic about his future. Also, privately speaking, Xue Jiayu and I have always had a good relationship, so I still hope you can take the role."

"Hey, it's all up to Xiao Jiang to decide for himself. There's no point in trying to persuade him," Hao Ge said.

Jiang Lai replied earnestly, "No problem, I will think about it carefully."

"Oh, let's not talk about that. I've almost finished the voice-over you did last time. Those episodes are done. Director Zhou saw them and was very satisfied! He even said he'd ask you to do voice-overs again in the future."

"I definitely will if I have the chance!"

"Old Zhou still wants you to play the female lead!" Sister Xue said with a smile.

"you do not say!"

In the recording studio, Jiang Lai, Sister Xue, and Brother Hao were chatting. After a while, Xue Jiayu walked in from outside, carrying a folder and a laptop.

"This is the script, and there are some other clips on my computer, as well as the song demo." He handed the script to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai reached out her hand, "Then I'll look at the script first."

"Two First-Rank Students Fall in Love" is a rather interesting title, with a somewhat nonsensical feel to it. Jiang Lai glanced at it and found that it tells the story of two people in the same major at university, one first in the year and the other last. The last-ranked student seeks tutoring from the first-ranked student, and sparks fly between them.

The story isn't original, but the plot is exaggerated, absurd, and nonsensical enough, giving off a kind of laughable feeling that doesn't care about people's lives. The script is well-written. Jiang Lai watched some more clips. The male and female leads are both newcomers with naturally handsome and beautiful faces. When they say some dramatic lines, they are less greasy and more innocently foolish.

Due to confidentiality issues, I couldn't watch the whole series and only saw a few clips from the first two episodes. But I could tell that although the plot still had some flaws, the costumes, props, and styling were all done with care, and the acting of the male and female leads was also quite good.

No wonder he can't afford to buy songs or hire someone to sing.

"This is a demo." After Xue Jiayu saw that she had finished watching it, he pressed the play button again, and the theme song started playing.

Although the lyrics and arrangement of this song are average, it is straightforward and easy to understand. Moreover, the melody is quite catchy after listening to it a few times. It is the kind of song that people who find it pleasant to listen to will like, while people who get tired of it will hate it.

"This song is designed to be catchy and addictive," Xue Jiayu said.

Jiang Lai liked it quite a bit and immediately stopped thinking about it, saying, "No problem, I can sing."

"Really!" Xue Jiayu was quite happy. "This is the lyrics and music score." He then opened another file.

Jiang Lai glanced at the lyrics and memorized the melody, hummed a couple of lines, and, feeling confident, said, "Then let's just sing it?"

"Okay!" Hao Ge also called over the other post-production staff who were recording the music.

The recording studio is still the same studio, except that Jiang Lai went in this time to record the theme song.

She put on her headphones, made a gesture to the outside, and started recording. As soon as she started speaking, the people outside felt confident that she had made it.

Sister Xue stood outside watching her and said to Xue Jiayu, "What a coincidence! You actually caught someone who sings so well."

"It's all thanks to you, sister!" Xue Jiayu said, flattering her.

"Come on!" Sister Xue wasn't buying it.

Jiang Lai was still singing in the recording studio. This little love song was originally supposed to be a duet between a man and a woman, but now all the parts were given to her. Originally, the little love song was supposed to be sung by the man confessing his love and the woman singing a haughty rejection. Jiang Lai used some techniques to make the male and female parts slightly different, but since it was sung by one person, the situation became that a girl was singing, boldly confessing her feelings, and fantasizing that the person on the other end was not perceptive and rejected her, while she continued to bravely pursue love, fantasizing that the other end would finally realize her feelings and the two of them would be sweet and happy.

Jiang Lai recorded this song in less than two hours and then walked out of the recording studio.

"Thank you so much! You must watch this drama when it airs! Listen to your own singing!" Xue Jiayu was very happy.

"I sang for you, and now you're trying to boost my viewership ratings?"

"Hahahaha!" Everyone laughed.

"Leave the post-production work to me!" Hao said.

"Alright! Thanks for your help, Brother Hao!" Xue Jiayu said, "I'll definitely remember your kindness when I become famous!"

"I'll have the finance department transfer the money to you in a bit," Sister Xue said to Jiang Lai. "Thank you for today too."

"It's okay, I made money too!" Jiang Lai felt that her interactions with the people from Xinyi were quite pleasant, and Xue Jie and the others left a good impression on her, so she was willing to help out.

"This little bit of money is nothing," Xue Jiayu said. "I'll come back to you for help in the future!"

"Okay, then when you become famous, remember to save all the theme songs from your dramas for me."

"no problem!"

Jiang Lai chatted with everyone for a while, and then left Xinyi. Xue Jiayu escorted her downstairs.

"goodbye!"

"goodbye!"