"You can stop there." Alix said, loudly and surprisingly to the surprise of So Mi who was singing and the men at the table.
So Mi did not sound terrible, granted she was not amazing as some of the singers they had seen like Chan Ki but she was not terrible. Why then, did miss Lin cut her off so abruptly?
They all looked at her curiously as they waited for her to enlighten them. She was the one who ultimately decided who got to sing her song after all.
"I.. is.. uhm.. should I start again?" So Mi asked nervously.
Alix had come along a violin case and it had been sitting on the floor next to her all along. She bent down slightly and picked it up.
Taking her time, as everyone waited, she took a violin out and placed it on the table.
She then looked at the nervous singer who looked defeated. "Miss So Mi, you are a good singer that is not something any of us here can question. You picked a song which is difficult to sing, which I find brave but also just a bit risky given the circumstances.
The original singer Han Zhufu is a man, he sung the song in a deep masculine voice which is one of it's most appealing parts. You on the other hand have decided to add a female touch to the song which is good but you are doing too many unnecessary adjustments.
I don't know much but I know the quality of a song is not judged by how high the pitch is. I need you to bring it down a notch, elevate only when necessary and don't just belt everything out.
As I am familiar with the song, I am going to play the violin and you are going to sing. Let's try again and hopefully you do better this time round."
Twenty minutes later, everyone left the conference room with a smile on their faces.
"That was beautiful to watch." Han Zolo told director Ban.
"Oh, what did I tell you. Miss Lin's playing is so beautiful, it can bring tears to your eyes. I have good taste or did you think I insisted on her for no reason? I even paid her out of my own pocket. Don't you have a big party for your nephews sixteenth birthday coming up? You had better book miss Lin before she becomes busier."
Director Ban was absolutely proud of himself. Han Zolo knew that if anyone asked, director Ban was going to claim credit for her discovery. He was a braggart like that.
But he was also right, his nephew's sixteenth birthday was a big deal. A lot of money was going to be spent and the music budget was about half a million yuan.
The father of his nephew owned a big national water bottling company. He had only one son and he was going all out for the party.
He would make the suggestion and share the video director Ban had just recorded with Wu Shengming, his nephew's father and see.
About five steps behind them, Alix and So Mi were talking softly. So Mi's smile had yet to fade in the last five minutes.
"Thank you again for giving me the opportunity." She said.
"You have thanked me for the tenth time." Alix told her.
So Mi blushed and looked folded the piece of paper in her hands that had the songs which the singers were told to choose from.
"I am just excited." she said. "Thank you for the advise by the way, I did sound so much better after making the adjustments you suggested."
"I have been a music teacher for a few years, I know a thing or two. All that does not matter though if the singer is not open to harsh criticism." Alix told her.
"I am open to learning." So Mi blurted out.
For some reason, she covered her mouth as if she had not meant to say that.
"Then you will go far." Alix told her with a chuckle.
They exited the hotel, and So Mi branched off to speak to her manager. Director Ban and the others returned to the filming set while Alix looked around for her car.
When she couldn't find it, she called her driver.
"Uncle Ju, where are you parked?" she asked him.
"Young madam, the young master came to pick you up and he ordered me to return home."
Alix looked around, when she heard his response. Caishen was here to pick her up! Why?
A black car, his black car slowly approached where she was standing.
"Alright, I have seen him uncle Ju, bye-bye."
She hung up just when the driver came around and opened a door for her.
"Hubby Zhang." she called her husband immediately in a coquettish voice. "What a nice surprise. If I had known that you were out here waiting for me then I would have told director Ban to rush."
Caishen was inside the car with an open laptop on his laps. Next to him was a document which had a lot of highlighted passages.
"I was simply passing by when I saw your car miss Lin. Do not assume that there is anything special about my being here." he replied.
Sitting in the passenger seat in front, Biming almost turned around to look at Caishen's face.
Did it change color like a chameleon when he was lying?
Passed by!!! There was no simple thing as passing by. He had called Jin Kang who told them where she was. They left the orient and came here to wait for her.
In fact, they had been here for thirty five minutes waiting for her.
"I don't care hubby Zhang, you came here to wait for me as far as I am concerned. I am so happy that you care about me so much. Oh you loooooove me." she said sonorously, teasing him as she giggled.
Caishen looked at her with a bored serious look on his face and scoffed.
"Miss Lin, please respect yourself and speak like an adult. Also, take your hand away."
Alix pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. She retrieved her hand which she had placed on his arm.
"It's okay hubby Zhang. I like you way more than you like me so I will be the one to wait for your love in our case."
Caishen gave her a disbelieving look and he looked at his laptop. There she was again, declaring her feelings for him so simply and openly. He didn't buy it.
He would not be moved by her, he refused to even though his heart was beating really fast.
It had to be a side effect of the poison, he told himself.