Chapter 132: Without a Sound!

"Right now?"

Qiao Ranran looked at Jiang Lun with suspicion. "Are you sure?"

"Give me your tablet!"

Jiang Lun reached out for it, but Qiao Ranran panicked. "Wait, wait a second!"

As she spoke, she grabbed the tablet, closed a few apps, performed a quick operation, and handed it to Jiang Lun. "All right, go ahead!"

Jiang Lun had no idea what she was up to. After taking it, he turned to Mai Le and said, "Bring over both of our tablets!"

"Sure!" Mai Le, knowing exactly what Jiang Lun intended, got up to fetch them.

Once all three tablets were laid out in front of him, Jiang Lun picked up his own and opened a music production app. He first selected a drum beat, then added an electric guitar rhythm. Once the two tracks were synthesized and chords were assigned, the originally flat audio instantly transformed into a textured accompaniment.

He played the preview. The catchy drum rhythm, combined with the raw, rugged electric guitar, created a full-blown rock vibe.

Jiang Lun smiled at Qiao Ranran. "Now we have the rock elements."

"Hmm," Qiao Ranran replied noncommittally.

Next, Jiang Lun continued to mix, adding the sound of a bamboo flute to the latter half of the track. It instantly injected a touch of ethereal spirit into the manic rock sound. The equipment was rudimentary, but it was the best he could do for now.

After tinkering for a while, Jiang Lun placed his tablet on the coffee table in front of him. He grabbed Mai Le’s tablet, opened a keyboard simulation app, and set it to a guzheng tone. Then, he opened Qiao Ranran’s app, which was essentially just a recording tool.

Seeing this, Qiao Ranran felt a bit frustrated. If he wanted to record, he could have just used his own phone, right? Why use her tablet?

Jiang Lun was doing this because, while recording, the app also allowed him to control simulated DJ scratching effects. A phone screen was too small, making the operation far less convenient than on a tablet.

"Ready to start. Just listen!"

Jiang Lun said with a smile. After pressing the record button on Qiao Ranran’s tablet, he quickly started the playback of the accompaniment on his own device, while his left hand moved back and forth on the recording software, producing simulated scratching sounds.

After a simple, short instrumental intro, he began to chant:

"Drink! How many rounds does fate hold? The arena awaits. What is won in a duel to the death? A cold smirk. What does being the best in the world matter? Stop the conflict; our generation values martial virtue. My fists and feet are skilled, yet alas, it only adds a hollow name. The pugilistic world is hard to fathom, who is the strong one? Who fights for the qualification to rule the martial arts world!"

Qiao Ranran stared at Jiang Lun, wide-eyed, as she watched his left hand scratch the "disc" while his right hand played a string of guzheng notes on Mai Le’s tablet. Simultaneously, he switched to a traditional opera singing style:

"In the small town, time flows by. Clear courage, memories washed clean. I remember you. Live on with pride!"

Jiang Lun stopped there. He didn't continue because he had no idea who Huo Yuanjia was—that person didn't exist in this world.

"How was that?" Jiang Lun asked, looking at Qiao Ranran after finishing.

"This..." Qiao Ranran counted on her fingers. "Rock elements, rap elements, pop elements, and opera elements—you've got them all. But... why does it feel like the style of this song can't be simply defined as a combination of a few genres?"

"Indeed!" Jiang Lun smiled. "That's why I gave this music a name—Chinese-style Hip-hop!"

"Chinese-style Hip-hop?"

Qiao Ranran pondered the words repeatedly, and suddenly, she felt a sense of clarity.

Chinese-style!

These three words sounded so sophisticated, didn't they? They instantly elevated this music, which seemed chaotic but was actually tightly woven together, to a higher level of class.

"Are you a chemist or something?" Qiao Ranran stared at Jiang Lun. "Add a little of this to the music, add a little of that, and 'bang'—a masterpiece is born. It's unique, strange in its style, and yet excellent! Yes, truly a great chemist!"

"You flatter me!" Jiang Lun waved his hand. "I was just playing around!"

"Sigh, it feels like everyone else is building boats and planes, and you just play around for a bit and build an aircraft carrier!"

"If you put it that way, I'm no longer a chemist—I'm clearly an aircraft carrier engineer!"

As they chatted, Mai Le, who had been on the side, had already recorded the entire scene. He signaled to Qiao Ranran with his eyes, asking, "Should we upload this to Weibo? Let the netizens have a look?"

Qiao Ranran didn't mind; in fact, she nodded and encouraged him. "Post it, post it! Let the netizens see our musical chemist!"

Mai Le excitedly posted it online immediately. Jiang Lun didn't take it too seriously, and besides, he felt embarrassed to stop it in front of Qiao Ranran.

Online, the video went viral as soon as it was released.

"So awesome, this is totally effortless!"

"Jiang Lun is truly a genius!"

"What kind of musical styles are these?"

"At first listen, it sounds too messy, like a total hodgepodge! But listen closely, and there's something unique about it!"

"This rhythm is addictive!"

"It's on fire, especially that opera singing part, I laughed for a long time!"

"Crazy, can music even be played like this?"

"Is Xiao Qiao there too? What are they doing?"

"Wow, you can make such high-level music with electronic gadgets."

"When is the official version coming out? Is this a new song?"

"I don't think so, it’s probably just a piece of music they played on the spot!"

"Can any experts shed some light on what this is?"

"I saw Xiao Qiao, are they going to collaborate?"

"Could it be a duet, with Xiao Qiao singing that opera part?"

"Is it perhaps the theme song for 'My Own Swordsman'?"

"Just a passerby watching, marking my territory!"

"..."

Jiang Lun was already used to the heated comments online. If any news about him failed to cause a ripple, that would be the unusual thing. He used to check Weibo himself, but he gradually developed a calm mindset and stopped paying much attention, knowing his fans were there was enough.

At noon, the three left their room and went downstairs to eat.

In the hotel restaurant, Qiao Ranran had already booked a private room. Once they sat down, she asked, "What do you like to eat? Order whatever you want!"

"Anything is fine. I'm not picky!" Jiang Lun smiled.

"The production team is paying anyway, so don't be polite!"

"I'm really not being polite!"

"Then I'll order!" Qiao Ranran picked up the menu and scanned her surroundings. There were hidden cameras in the private room, though even she didn't know where they were installed.

After ordering four dishes, Qiao Ranran asked Jiang Lun, "Do you want some red wine?"

"No thanks. Tea will do!" Jiang Lun waved his hand. "Besides, I drank way too much yesterday; I still haven't recovered!"

"Then drink less when you're out and about in the future!" Qiao Ranran said with concern. "In our line of work as artists, it's inevitable that we'll run into situations, so we must learn to adapt."

"Hmm!" Jiang Lun nodded repeatedly, as obedient as a primary school student.

Before long, a waitress came in to serve the food—a hot pot dish.

Jiang Lun couldn't help but ask, "Eating hot pot in this scorching weather?"

"I don't know either!" Qiao Ranran shook her head and asked the waitress, "What dish is this?"

"Hello, this is dry-pot beef," the waitress said, keeping her head down.

"What?" Qiao Ranran frowned. "Dry-pot beef? I didn't order dry-pot beef; I ordered stir-fried beef with peppers! How did it become dry-pot beef?"

"Uh... is that so?" The waitress played dumb. "Let me check for you!"

She took out the order slip and verified it. "There's no mistake. It is indeed written as dry-pot beef on the order!"

"What? Give it to me!" Qiao Ranran was furious.

The waitress handed over the slip immediately. To her surprise, Qiao Ranran took one look at it, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it at the waitress. "You must have written it wrong! Get your manager out here! Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this! I'll make sure you regret it!"

The sudden change in atmosphere startled Jiang Lun. He hurriedly tried to mediate. "Xiao Qiao, let it go. Dry-pot is fine. It's all beef anyway!"

"How can I let it go?" Qiao Ranran reached out and lifted the lid of the pot, pointing at it. "Stir-fried beef is shredded, dry-pot is chunks of beef—how can they be the same?"

"This..." Jiang Lun didn't know how to persuade her further. Moreover, he had heard her order earlier, and it was indeed stir-fried beef with peppers. It was clearly the restaurant's mistake!

The waitress looked aggrieved. Suddenly, she burst into tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Xiao Qiao, please forgive me! This is my first day on the job, I didn't expect to make such a big mistake. If the manager finds out, I'll definitely lose this job. I beg you..."

Jiang Lun couldn't stand seeing a girl cry, so he tried to persuade her again. "Xiao Qiao, it's such a small matter, why bother? Let it go, it's not easy for her!"

"Oh? It's not easy for her, so she can make mistakes? Can I forgive her because it's her first day? If I commit murder for the first time today, can I be found not guilty?"

Qiao Ranran was aggressive, like a completely different person from usual.

Jiang Lun had gone from stunned to embarrassed. He had liked Qiao Ranran quite a bit before, but now he didn't know what to say.

"To forgive is divine, Xiao Qiao..." He was still pleading for the waitress.

Unexpectedly, Qiao Ranran waved her hand and pointed at Jiang Lun. "You sit down, this has nothing to do with you! This is entirely the hotel's fault!"

"Ugh..." Jiang Lun was speechless. He glanced at Mai Le, who was also in a state of shock, not knowing whether to sit down or keep trying to intervene.

Just then, a male waiter entered carrying a tray of food. He paused, clearly taken aback by the atmosphere in the room, but he quickly regained his composure. He placed the dish on the table. "Hello, this is your stir-fried beef with peppers!"

He then leaned over to the waitress, poked her with his elbow, and whispered, "What's going on?"

The waitress suddenly realized what had happened. She hurriedly took out the order slip, glanced at it, her pupils dilated in shock, and then returned to normal. She quickly said to Qiao Ranran, "I'm so sorry, Xiao Qiao, I served the wrong dish. This slip was for the room next door! I am so sorry!"

"Hmph!"

Qiao Ranran snorted, sat back in her seat, crossed her arms, and sat with her legs crossed, staring out the window without another word. (To be continued.)