Chapter 28: You're Awesome, Brother Chen

After a brief conversation, Su Chen learned that this group of college students were all majoring in musical theater. It was no wonder they were so good-looking and possessed such artistic flair; they were arts students, after all.

While the musical theater department at the Zhejiang Conservatory of Music might not rank in the top ten nationally, its recording studio was among the best in the country. As a state-funded arts institution, regardless of other factors, the funding here was certainly more than sufficient. The top-tier vocal microphones, studio monitors, and recording equipment amounted to millions, and that was just the beginning.

Rather than wasting time scouting small, independent studios, it was far more reliable to borrow their school's facilities. After all, there was a significant gap in quality when it came to equipment.

"Don't worry, brother, leave it to us. We’ll help you apply for the lowest possible usage fee," one student promised. "If it weren't for the fact that Senior Nian Nian has already graduated, we might have even been able to get it for free! What a shame!"

"Hey, these pan-fried dumplings are great! Delicious. They truly live up to Brother Quality's high recommendation. The flavor is fantastic."

"Sister, are you the brother's girlfriend? You are so beautiful!"

As they ate, the group chatted and joked, never once falling silent. Watching their youthful, carefree energy, Su Chen couldn't help but feel a twinge of sentiment. They were true, innocent, and naive college students—free from worries, happy from dawn till dusk. Unlike him, who was exhausted and sore every day, constantly wracking his brain for ways to provoke others and generate anger points.

After finishing their meal, the group marched toward the conservatory. Once they had negotiated the price and obtained the keys from the faculty member in charge of the equipment, they headed into the recording studio.

"Sorry, brother, I have to say this upfront," said Jia Qian, a cute girl with chubby cheeks. "The equipment here is very expensive, so please be a little careful when using it. I’m the person responsible for the studio this time. If any of this gear breaks, I couldn't afford to pay for it even if I sold myself!"

"How could that happen?" Su Chen teased with a light laugh. "You're so cute, you'd definitely be worth a lot if you were sold."

Jia Qian blushed slightly and stomped her foot. "Brother, stop joking! I'm serious! This equipment is really expensive!"

Su Chen nodded with a smile, dropping the teasing. "Don't worry, I know. You're all helping me out so much; there's no way I’d make things difficult for you. I was just kidding!"

Seeing the two chatting so harmoniously, Zhou Yujie watched from the side, silent and cold: *Hmph, men!*

"By the way, brother," asked Sun Cheng, a handsome student. "Did you hire a professional to handle the arrangement for the track you're recording? Or are we just going with a simple single-track guitar strum or a keyboard chord progression?"

After turning on the studio lights and equipment, Sun Cheng looked at Su Chen expectantly.

Su Chen smiled and replied, "I'll handle the arrangement myself. However, does anyone here know how to handle vocal tracking, multi-tracking, recording, and mixing? I’ll pay you for your services!"

The songs the system gave him were already finished products, naturally including the arrangements. However, without professional-grade music theory knowledge, Su Chen wouldn't have been able to deconstruct them. This served as a testament to just how important and timely his newly acquired A-grade music theory knowledge was.

The group was shocked, especially when they heard Su Chen intended to handle the arrangement himself. In classical music, there was no such thing as "arranging" in the modern sense; the composer was usually the arranger, doing the entire job in one go. But modern pop music was different—composing and arranging were usually separate tasks, and the arrangement had become increasingly vital to a song's success. Creating a good arrangement required a high threshold of expertise in music theory, instrument performance, and acoustics.

It wasn't that they looked down on Su Chen; it was just that this task was difficult even for students like them, let alone someone without formal training.

However, facts speak louder than words. When Su Chen designed the arrangement right in front of them, the group was left stunned and disbelieving.

"No way, brother! You can actually do this?"

"Incredible! We had eyes but couldn't recognize a master! Brother, you're a legend!"

"That's you guys, I always believed Brother Chen could do it!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're being a bit shameless, aren't you? Watch out, or I'll hit you..."

After a bit of playful banter, they familiarized themselves with the score and the arrangement. Once everything was ready, the recording officially began.

The arrangement for *Old Driver, Take Me With You* was relatively simple, relying primarily on the flute, drum kit, and harmonica. All the backing tracks were recorded separately by Jia Qian—a process known as multi-tracking. Once the individual tracks were recorded, it was time for synthesis, where the tracks were combined in an orderly fashion—a professional process called mixing. This work was entrusted to Sun Cheng.

The entire process went quite smoothly, as the score didn't have any major issues, despite the melody being a bit monotonous. But when Su Chen began recording the vocals, the group couldn't contain themselves.

*How could a song like this exist? It’s too infectious, too catchy, too funny!*

*“Old driver, look at my peachy skin.*
*Old driver, look at how fair my skin is.*
*I don’t care if you’re fair or not, big brother doesn’t want to play it safe!”*

Just listening to the lyrics, the group realized that only their "Brother Chen" could have written something like this. They were instantly excited.

"Brother... please, you must let us help you finish this masterpiece. We don't even need to be paid!"

"Yeah, yeah! Just make sure to credit the Zhejiang Conservatory musical theater students when you release it. We want to become famous alongside this song!"

Zhou Yujie couldn't help but laugh. *How much do you guys hate your school? I'm afraid they might expel you for this!*

"Of course, that's no problem!" Su Chen laughed heartily. "But business is business; you’ll get your payment. That’s non-negotiable."

"No need, really. Just treat us to a meal, brother!"

"By the way, brother, have you picked anyone for the female vocals yet? Can we do it?"

"Yeah, yeah! There’s a duet part, right? We’re pretty good at singing! Consider us, brother!"

Su Chen hadn't expected to solve the female vocal issue so easily. He had originally thought he might have to sing in a falsetto himself if necessary. These students were just too enthusiastic to refuse.

When the official vocal recording began, the scene became even more joyous. The duet parts, in particular, had everyone laughing so hard they almost couldn't finish the recording. After several hours of effort, *Old Driver, Take Me With You* was finally complete.

If that song showed them Su Chen’s deep musical foundation and his bizarre, humorous creative style, the next song, *People Like Me*, made them realize what a true genius looked like.

*"People like me, who are inexplicable, will there be anyone who feels for me..."*

When Su Chen sang the final note, the monitoring room fell into a dead silence. No one spoke. The song wasn't just melodically beautiful; the soft, poignant vocals pierced straight through to their hearts, evoking deep resonance.

As soon as Su Chen stepped out of the recording booth, the group swarmed him. One boy even performed a dramatic, passionate slide on his knees.

"I kneel! I truly kneel! Please accept my respects, oh great master!"

"Brother, you're the real deal. 'Brother Quality' doesn't do you justice—you should be 'Brother Genius'!"

"This song is too good... from today on, I’m your biggest fan, brother!"

"I’m completely convinced. So this is your true strength! You were just being too humble before!"