After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 123: Chapter 80: The God of Song, Yang Shaoqing

Unexpected.

"Wow! Your shoelaces look so nice! How did you tie them?" Brother Yang noticed the special feature and immediately diverted the topic.

And turned the attention to Fang Huai’s face again.

In fact, Fang Huai had expected the compliment, just not here. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

It should have been after he intentionally showed off a bit.

Time waits for no one. freёwebnovel.com

Fang Huai walked up to Yang Shaoqing with a smile, squatted down, and untied his shoelaces in a few swift moves.

Then, lowering his voice a bit, he said, "You helped me choose clothes, from now on if you need help tying shoelaces, just look for me."

This disgustingly sweet move left Yang Shaoqing a bit bewildered.

Looking down at Fang Huai’s earnestness, and feeling too embarrassed to move her foot, she could only watch as he slowly untied and then retied her laces, her heart seeming to tighten and loosen along with the shoes.

Zhang Zhongting’s eyes widened.

This kid, he’s savvier than I thought!

This routine would be a bit out of date a few years later.

But now, it’s just right.

On his first day reborn, Fang Huai enlisted in the military, almost completely cut off from the world, and it was Chen Cang who inspired him to realize that QQ Space is all the rage right now.

Sending texts, stepping into spaces, leaving secret messages, online on QQ visible to her alone, these are this era’s way to express affection.

An era where a determined woman fears a clingy man.

In other words, Zhong Ling’s warm man approach is still very popular.

When WeChat Moments become trendy later, everyone starts showing off their steering wheels, and being hopelessly in love doesn’t work, it’s all about showing strength.

Those without strength have to borrow some from others.

Having tied the shoelaces, Fang Huai stood up and looked at the blush on Yang Shaoqing’s cheeks, wanting to pinch it.

But he had reached his limit for today; any more of this and he might overdo it, potentially causing her to vomit and find him greasy.

Moderation is key.

Fang Huai blushed appropriately and stammered a bit, "You... you sit, I’ll talk to you about recording details in a bit."

"Oh..."

Brother Yang hurriedly turned around, fidgeting with his hands, and walked obediently toward his seat, feeling his heart pounding fiercely.

"Little Fang, come here."

His uncle didn’t let Fang Huai stay happy for long, calling him over and pointing to Boss Wu:

"This is Uncle Wu, a generous guy who also came from the military. You’re recording songs here for free on his turf, so make sure you show your gratitude properly!"

Fang Huai almost rolled his eyes.

Boss Wu, I’ve seen him before, no more than in his thirties at most! Maybe not even as old as I was before being reborn!

Darn, right off the bat, it’s a hit to the ego by calling him uncle.

"Oh, Captain Zhang, I was negligent. I honestly didn’t know this was your nephew. Little Fang, I heard your song the other day, and I really admire you, truly young and talented!"

Fang Huai’s face was turning black now, his words forced out from his throat.

"Thank you, Uncle Wu... for providing this wonderful place."

"No need, no need! You have my number, right? I have two hotels in the provincial city, both pretty decent. If you or your friends need a place to stay, just call me, and I’ll take care of it!" Boss Wu said, sweeping his hand grandly.

"Eh? That won’t do, we must pay!" Zhang Zhongting immediately refused.

Then, he didn’t let Fang Huai off the hook.

He pointed at Zhang Ning, "Aunt Zhang! This was a colleague of mine back in the day, you recognize her, right?"

Damn.

Fang Huai felt like his retinas were about to pop out from the strain.

What’s the meaning of this?

This counts as a colleague?!

The training base has a big black dog too! It’s three or four years old, must be your colleague, right?

Should I start calling it uncle too?

Thankfully, Zhang Ning had the sense to quickly stand up and say, "Director! I couldn’t possibly! I am a junior!"

Zhang Zhongting thought for a moment, then said with composure, "Hmm... that’s true, your father-in-law and I know each other well, so you should call me uncle too."

Zhong Ling stood up quickly and stepped back.

Fang Huai finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Shoot.

I can’t hang out with them often in the future. With Old Zhang’s logic, I’m likely to get the short end of the stick.

Being ’quite familiar’ is enough to count as a relative?

My aunt is just in her thirties! How old are her friends? Am I supposed to have a bunch of young elder relatives?

If I go out in the future and those old non-commissioned officers and cadres casually ask me to call them uncle, what will become of me, Fang someone?

Turning to look at Yang Shaoqing, her face was so swollen from holding back laughter she looked like an apple.

Fang Huai felt a bit annoyed.

"Yang Shaoqing, you’re of the same generation as me, don’t you also have to call him uncle? We’re here to record songs."

Yang Shaoqing stood up and courteously said to Boss Wu, "Hello, Uncle~"

She didn’t seem pressured at all.

Fang Huai’s eyes were fixed on her.

Boss Wu’s face was twisted with laughter.

"Eh eh eh, good! This girl is so pretty! Captain Zhang, this is your..."

Boss Wu wanted to say "niece-in-law," but wasn’t sure.

Zhang Zhongting was more seasoned: "This young lady is Little Fang’s childhood friend, also a girl from Chongqing."

"Ah, Chongqing is good, Chongqing is good! Where are you studying?"

"Sichuan Conservatory of Music," said Yang Shaoqing sweetly.

"Ah, Sichuan Conservatory of Music is great, is great! Do you have a boyfri..."

"Cough!" Fang Huai coughed loudly.

Boss Wu, got carried away with your questions, huh??

You’re playing Dong Zhuo here?

Boss Wu really got carried away and realized his blunder, quickly changing tack: "Haha, they’re a perfect match, truly a perfect match indeed!"

Zhang Zhongting humbly said, "That’s too much praise, Boss Wu. I think Little Fang still has a ways to go compared to Little Yang. He needs to work harder."

The two of them were going back and forth so much that it was just short of dragging the two youngsters off to the Ministry Of Civil Affairs to get registered.

Zhang Ning and Zhong Ling just sat to the side with accommodating smiles, standing straight like two genial arhats.

Fang Huai saw Yang Shaoqing didn’t know how to respond and was fidgeting with his hands, so without further delay, he spoke up.

"Shall we go in then? I’ve spoken with Brother Chen; the instruments are all ready today."

"Alright~" Brother Yang immediately stood up to greet the two uncles.

What a polite girl.

Zhang Zhongting waved his hand: "Go ahead, Little Yang. I still want to hear you sing and give Boss Wu a treat for the eyes!"

Considering that Boss Wu operated one of the top three recording studios in the provincial city, that remark was practically slandering all the provincial city’s talents.

Yet Boss Wu was very supportive, like the reincarnation of a parrot: "I must listen well! Definitely must listen well! Hahaha..."

Fang Huai had met Boss Wu two or three times before, and it was the first time he had seen him so outgoing.

As soon as Zhang Zhongting stood up, the two arhats followed closely behind, with Boss Wu half a step slower. The scene was reminiscent of a Chief of Staff inspecting the dorms during a barracks visit.

...

Everyone gathered near the wall of the recording studio, waiting to hear Yang Shaoqing sing.

Chen Cang had already arranged the musicians.

Quite experienced, after just a couple words with Fang Huai, they began setting up their instruments.

Yang Shaoqing also indicated she had listened to the demo. After Fang Huai and she split the lyrics, they sat down, ready for the sound check.

Fang Huai glanced at Yang Shaoqing, who seemed somewhat restless under everyone’s gaze, and immediately raised his hand, calling out.

"Brother Chen, dim the lights a bit!"

Inside, Chen Cang nodded, and the lights dimmed to a soft, basic blue.

Chen Cang waved his hand from inside, and a clear jazz prelude filled the air.

With a gentle introduction added, Fang Huai thought it was pretty good, showing some level of skill.

As the melody evolved, Brother Yang’s expression also became engaged and serious.

With the first line, Yang Shaoqing began,

"We are all steadfast, your full heart of passion, bravery, without a second thought..."

From the first line, Yang Shaoqing burst forth with an unbelievable power. Her singing voice was completely different from her speaking voice.

It carried a deep tone, but the last four words floated away lightly, with a slight tremble at the end.

Excellent singing technique.

Fang Huai had never heard her sing this kind of song, nor had he ever seen her sing in person. He looked at her with some amazement, then lowered his voice a bit and joined in.

"We are all ordinary, your selfless dedication..."

"They say, to rush forward, to stitch up the wounds of disaster..."

Yang Shaoqing’s voice grew more and more passionate,

"Who says the young among us cannot be heroes..."

Together they sang, "Love your green uniform, charging into battle on the fire scene, love your fearlessness to hide, no matter the difficulty it’s all the same..."

Nearing the end of the song, Fang Huai directly looked toward Yang Shaoqing.

Yang Shaoqing’s eyes were also unshielded, as if she could draw strength from the lyrics.

When she sang, she was different, Fang Huai thought.

When it came to the last section, which was originally Fang Huai’s part, he suddenly had an inspiration, quickly tapped Yang Shaoqing, and prompted her to join in.

Yang Shaoqing, already holding the microphone, naturally continued.

"Shall we go, let’s go! With the humblest of dreams.

Shall we fight, let’s fight! With the loftiest of dreams.

To those cries and roars in the dark night...

Who says only those standing in the light are heroes!"

When the song ended, everyone was immersed for a moment.

The first to applaud was actually Fang Huai, who had sung.

"Perfect."

Yang Shaoqing looked up and saw Chen Cang and the recording engineer behind the glass wall also giving thumbs up, and she suddenly felt a bit shy.

"Um... do you guys think it was okay?"

She looked at Fang Huai and then at the people behind her.

The band, and the two cadres, everyone was giving thumbs up.

Zhang Zhongting was playfully mischievous, looking around and even made a rock gesture, while Boss Wu laughed heartily and mimicked the gesture, though it looked more like a "6" than anything.

"I think we should take this take! One-take wonder!" Fang Huai stood up and stated confidently.

The speakers carried a voice from the inside: "I think it’s good, there are some minor flaws, but the emotion is there, I think a slight fix is definitely doable."

Yang Shaoqing immediately became conflicted. "So... should I go back tomorrow?"

Fang Huai and Zhang Zhongting laughed heartily.

"Girl, you can play for as many days as you like! Uncle will keep you company!

Today was exceptional!

Fang Huai, you weren’t bragging; this song, listening to it today, it’s stepped up more than just one notch."

Zhang Zhongting could hardly keep his eyes open from smiling, stopping just short of saying, "This song, our Detachment has voted for it."

Fang Huai first looked at Yang Shaoqing: "Work’s not done yet, we still need to shoot some scenes in the recording studio, and you’ll need to wear our clothes."

"Military... uniform?" Yang Shaoqing asked in surprise.

Fang Huai glanced at the people by the wall, shook his head, and said, "Can’t wear the uniform, regulations for the 07 style military uniform are still rather undefined. But you can wear our combat uniform."

"Is that the one... with the yellow helmet?"

"Yes."

"Yay!" Yang Shaoqing clapped hands excitedly.

Fang Huai interrupted with a smile, "And... let’s not waste the rest of our time either. Shaoqing, I wrote a song for you, do you want to record it and take it home?"

Yang Shaoqing’s eyes were sparkling as she blinked in anticipation.

"You have another song? What song is it?"

Fang Huai looked into Yang Shaoqing’s eyes, unable to contain his admiration.

"The title is a bit long, but it suits you well. It’s called ’I’m Eating Fried Chicken at People’s Square’."