Chapter 29: Hiring Bai Yao

That afternoon, Huang Guolun brought Bai Yao to record "The Beautiful People."

After Huang Tao woke up, he too lingered in the studio, watching Bai Yao sing with her witch-like voice.

All afternoon, the boy didn’t cause any trouble and obeyed Bai Yao, which saved Huang Guolun a lot of worry.

Yet Bai Yao’s progress with the recording was painstakingly slow.

It was her first time singing in a professional studio, and she found it hard to adapt.

Wearing high-fidelity monitoring headphones in the booth, singing felt completely different from singing in a karaoke bar or on stage.

Normally, when we speak or sing, the sound we hear is distorted by the acoustics of the space before it reaches our ears. In other words, we never truly hear what our own voice actually sounds like.

But in a recording studio, your voice is rendered with perfect clarity in the headphones, as if another version of yourself were singing right in front of you. You hear your true voice, not the familiar one you’re used to.

Most people, the first time they sing in a studio and hear their real voice, are profoundly unsettled—surprised at how unpleasant they sound.

Bai Yao was no exception.

For the first time, she heard her own voice as others did—so hoarse and grating that she nearly felt sick listening to herself.

She had to overcome the psychological discomfort of hearing her true voice, and there were many other technical challenges: the diamond-grade microphones were so sensitive they picked up even the faintest click of teeth or the slightest breath. Any heavy breathing would mar the recording. These were all obstacles Bai Yao had to overcome.

Moreover, her singing foundation was not solid—she was entirely self-taught, an amateur. She simply couldn’t deliver a great performance in the studio right away.

Give her a stage and freedom, and she could let go and sing her heart out.

But when Huang Guolun gave her specific directions and standards to follow, her performance became far less satisfactory.

No matter how quickly she learned, she couldn’t produce a recording that satisfied Huang Guolun in such a short time.

Since "The Beautiful People" required intense vocal friction and she hadn’t mastered proper technique, her voice quickly gave out after just a few takes.

She had to keep resting and trying again throughout the afternoon, but still produced very little usable material.

Huang Guolun couldn’t even fix it with software—her overall delivery was far from what he wanted.

At this pace, it might take a week or two to get the song right.

Yet Huang Guolun wasn’t impatient. To him, the process of recording this song was also a process of learning professional singing for Bai Yao.

This scholarly girl was like a rare piece of jade that needed careful polishing to reveal its brilliance.

Huang Guolun didn’t mind spending time on her.

Unlike his brash and hasty brother Huang Guokun, he was slow, methodical, and always strove for perfection.

He was willing to simmer things slowly to achieve the best result. Only when Bai Yao’s true talent was drawn out would they proceed to take things to the next level.

The next day, Monday, Huang Guolun went to work as usual at Experimental Middle School.

Bai Yao, now living in Zhongsheng Alley, made her first commute to school from there.

To avoid suspicion, the two tacitly agreed not to go to school together in the morning.

After sending Huang Guolun a message to let him know she was safe, Bai Yao set off by herself.

After an afternoon of recording, her vocal cords were utterly exhausted and somewhat damaged. After a night’s sleep, her voice was even worse—almost gone.

Worried that she wouldn’t be able to finish the recording, she barely spoke all day at school, drinking water constantly in hopes of soothing her throat and recovering some strength by evening.

That morning, Huang Guolun received a call from his brother, Huang Guokun, who pressed him for progress on the recording. The film was scheduled to go online in mid-November, and time was tight.

By this schedule, Bai Yao had to finish recording "The Beautiful People" within two weeks. If she couldn’t manage it, Huang Guolun would have to take over himself.

That evening, after school let out, Huang Guolun met Bai Yao in Zhongsheng Alley, then drove her to Zixing Mansion.

He had already discussed with Bai Yao that, as long as it didn’t affect her studies, he hoped she could come to Zixing Mansion to record every evening and also help keep an eye on Huang Tao.

That afternoon, Zhou Yunfen had returned to Zixing Mansion. Before bringing Bai Yao over, Huang Guolun told his mother about Bai Yao’s situation.

Learning that Bai Yao was a top student at Experimental Middle School—a genuine prodigy—but lived alone with no one to care for her, Zhou Yunfen, embodying the family’s tradition of benevolence, was eager to help this exemplary student with all her difficulties. She readily agreed to let Bai Yao live in the family’s old building on Zhongsheng Alley, rent-free.

That night, on meeting Bai Yao, Zhou Yunfen was a bit taken aback by her unconventional short haircut, but after speaking with her, she could tell, with the insight of decades of teaching, that Bai Yao was a truly good student, not just a brooding eccentric. That put her mind at ease.

Seeing how well Bai Yao got along with Huang Tao, and how obediently Huang Tao listened to her, Zhou Yunfen was overjoyed.

Despite her constant doting on Huang Tao, even indulging his mischief, Zhou Yunfen was still an old-school teacher at heart, and harbored the same worries as Huang Guolun—that Huang Tao might become spoiled and problematic.

In the Huang family, only the old patriarch could keep Huang Tao in line; no one else, not even Huang Guolun, could manage him. But the old patriarch was busy running the cemetery and had no energy to discipline Huang Tao.

Now, seeing Huang Tao so fond of and obedient to Bai Yao, Zhou Yunfen immediately suggested that Huang Guolun hire Bai Yao as Huang Tao’s tutor (and nanny). This way, they could always have Bai Yao at home, without making her feel awkward.

Huang Guolun thought it was a great idea. With Bai Yao’s help, he’d have a much easier time managing Huang Tao and could devote more time to his own pursuits—like recording more inspired music while his creative energy lasted.

Without hesitation, Huang Guolun told Bai Yao about his wish for her to be Huang Tao’s tutor and offered her a salary she couldn’t refuse—five thousand yuan a month!

Bai Yao was deeply moved by his care for her.

She had always cared about money, out of necessity.

But five thousand yuan was simply too much!

She felt uneasy taking such a sum—almost guilty.

If not for needing to save money for her grandfather’s burial, she wouldn’t have wanted to accept a cent.

But wanting to lay her grandfather to rest as soon as possible, Bai Yao reluctantly accepted two thousand yuan as salary, treating the other three thousand as rent.

She promised Huang Guolun she would take good care of Huang Tao.

But Huang Guolun insisted that she must not let this interfere with her studies.

Of course, with someone as diligent as Bai Yao, who had managed to maintain top grades even while navigating the complicated Houhai rock scene, now that her living conditions had improved, there was no chance her studies would suffer.

That night, the whole family had a wonderful conversation, and Bai Yao’s help with Huang Tao was a huge relief for Huang Guolun.

But since Bai Yao’s voice was still hoarse, she couldn’t sing, so the recording had to be postponed.

Whenever her voice recovered, they would continue.

Huang Guokun was anxious about the ending theme, but Huang Guolun remained unhurried.

He had always been slow and steady by nature, and that wouldn’t change easily.

However, on Tuesday, his mood was soured by a meeting with the grade director.

Next Monday night, the school would be holding its grand 50th anniversary gala, featuring performances by many celebrities.

That weekend, the school auditorium would undergo a makeover for a more professional stage, and Huang Guolun was ordered to work overtime both days to help the crew set up.

After giving these orders, the grade director sipped his tea and continued, “Mr. Huang, I hope you’ll put more effort into the school anniversary gala. Many city and district leaders will attend, and the school administration attaches great importance to this event. We’ve been repeatedly urged to make sure the gala is a success. Especially the student performances—they need to shine and leave a deep impression on the city officials.”

Huang Guolun replied, “I understand. I’ll make sure to focus on it and work overtime this weekend.”

“Just working overtime on the weekend isn’t enough,” the director chided. “Look at Ms. Meng. She also has a family and children to care for, yet she stays late every night to coach students for the gala. I hear the acts she’s coaching are excellent. When the school leaders ask who coached these acts, Ms. Meng will get all the credit. If they ask which acts you coached, what are we supposed to say?”

The message was clear: Huang Guolun was being held accountable for not mentoring students for the gala.

With things spelled out so bluntly, he could only promise, “I’ll make sure to put effort into guiding students for the performance.”

The grade director, knowing Huang Guolun wasn’t particularly ambitious, warned sternly, “Don’t just say it—do it! Remember, the school leaders haven’t forgotten the trouble you got into during work hours. The anniversary is your chance to shine as a music teacher. If you don’t step up this time, you’d better think about what your performance review will look like at the end of the semester.”