Chapter Twenty-Five: When an Expert Makes a Move

“BEER Club?” Ye Zhao was completely bewildered, but Tetsuro Oda spoke up first. “Mika, have some restraint. Don’t just pull someone in right after meeting them.”

Aki Ohguro explained to Ye Zhao, “BEER Club is an internal gathering that Mika started at the company. As the name suggests, the rule is that we can only drink beer at these get-togethers. Oda, WANDS’ Noboru Uesugi, B’z’s Takahiro Matsumoto and Koshi Inaba, MANISH’s Mirei Takahashi and Mari Nishimoto, and of course me—we’re all members of this club.”

“Miss Izumi Sakai isn’t part of it?” Hearing a string of celebrities’ names but not the most familiar one, Ye Zhao couldn’t help blurting out the question.

At his words, Tetsuro Oda burst out laughing. “See, Ohguro? Turns out this kid is thinking about Izumi too.” He turned to Ye Zhao, “Let me tell you, ever since Izumi announced she wouldn’t appear on TV anymore, lots of people have tried to get into the company as staff, just for a glimpse of her. These days, looks really are justice!”

Ye Zhao turned his face away, feeling a little embarrassed. He hadn’t joined BEING just to meet Izumi Sakai, though admittedly, meeting her was a nice bonus… Ahem.

Aki Ohguro came to his rescue. “Don’t mind him, Oda’s just teasing. Izumi isn’t a member because she doesn’t drink beer.” In later years, Ohguro would express her dissatisfaction on a talk show about a certain “mediocre star who relies solely on her looks,” and many assumed she was referring to Izumi Sakai. The rumors snowballed, eventually spawning gossip that Ohguro and Sakai had a poor relationship. In reality, the two had joined BEING around the same time, saw each other quite often, and while not quite like sisters, they were certainly good friends.

“So, do you want to join?” Mika Kawashima asked again.

Ye Zhao smiled. “If Mika says so, of course I’ll join. But I’m only nineteen—not yet of legal drinking age. Is that okay?”

“Of course! If you were seventeen, I’d wait until you were of age before inviting you. But what’s the difference between nineteen and twenty? Next time we have a gathering, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” Mika Kawashima winked. “The more people you know in this circle, the better.”

At that moment, the man with graying hair finally spoke. “Ye Zhao, right? I’m Masao Akashi, arranger at BEING.”

Since joining BEING in 1988, Masao Akashi had been the company’s chief arranger, handling most of B’z and ZARD’s early work. He later produced songs for Meina Nakamori as well. His career was nothing short of brilliant, and his distinctive style was a key element in what came to be known as the BEING sound.

Faced with such a senior—and a truly accomplished one at that—Ye Zhao adopted a humble stance. “Hello, Professor Akashi.”

Masao Akashi nodded and instructed Mika Kawashima, “Mika, enough chatting. Grab me a CD player.” He began sifting through the mountain of demos on the table and picked out a disc marked ‘135.’

“I’ve listened to your two songs. How shall I put it? The arrangements are very rough—completely unpolished.” Akashi gestured for Ye Zhao to take a seat.

“I only taught myself a bit of arrangement when I played lead guitar in a band. The musicians who helped with the accompaniment weren’t formally trained either. If we hadn’t been short on funds when releasing the single, we’d have hired a professional and saved ourselves the embarrassment.”

Mika Kawashima returned quickly with the CD player. Masao Akashi placed disc 135 inside and handed it to Ye Zhao. “Have a listen.”

Curious, Ye Zhao pressed play. As the familiar melody began, he realized what was happening: Akashi had completely rearranged his two songs!

As a professional, Akashi excelled at rock, and under his arrangement, the first song, ‘Summer Colors,’ had become a folk-rock number—retaining the freshness of folk while enhancing the rhythm. Since the changes weren’t drastic, Ye Zhao didn’t feel it was anything extraordinary—until ‘Secret Base’ started playing. This song, which he and Riku Watanabe had pieced together with great effort, was now utterly transformed. Akashi’s arrangement breathed new life into it, infusing it with the energy of rock.

“Incredible!” Ye Zhao exclaimed, thoroughly impressed.

Hearing this, Akashi let out a satisfied grunt. “See? That’s what real arrangement sounds like. What you did on your single was just scratching the surface.”

In modern pop music, a great composer isn’t always a great arranger. Many singer-songwriters do little more than write the melody and basic structure, leaving the arranger to flesh out the song. Although arrangers put in as much work as composers, arranging is considered secondary creation and doesn’t generate copyright, so most arrangers only receive a one-off payment. Even someone as prominent as Akashi, who could claim a share of royalties, only received a small cut. Learning all this, Ye Zhao gained a new respect for arrangers.

Of course, Akashi hadn’t played his arrangement for Ye Zhao just to mock him. Seeing Ye Zhao accept his criticism without complaint, Akashi nodded and said, “Your songwriting is excellent, but if you want to be a true professional in music, not just a singer-songwriter, you need to study arranging, mixing, and more.”

Ye Zhao wholeheartedly agreed. Though he possessed a wealth of songs from the future, with each passing year these would become less and less marketable. By 2017, his golden touch would be completely exhausted. If he didn’t use these years to fully develop himself, what would he do when he had nothing left to copy—just retire? So he resolved to keep learning—not just arranging, but composing, lyric writing, and every aspect of musicianship. With this in mind, he said to Akashi, “Professor Akashi, I’d very much like to study arrangement and music production systematically. Would you be willing to teach me?”

The reason Akashi had shown his skills to Ye Zhao, after all, was because he saw promise in him. Now that Ye Zhao had asked, Akashi agreed readily. “You’ve already called me ‘professor’—how could I refuse?”

Oda teased from the side, “Well, Akashi, you’re quick to snap up this promising pupil!”

“Jealous?” Akashi, a long-time collaborator and friend, was blunt with Oda. “All right, if Ye Zhao has any questions about composition, I’ll send him to you.”

Oda, known as the God of Hit Songs, had sold over forty million records with his compositions. Unlike Ye Zhao, who relied on his golden finger, Oda was a true genius. To receive guidance from such a master would be invaluable. As soon as Akashi offered the opportunity, Ye Zhao seized it eagerly. “Professor Oda!”

“There’s no need for such formality. Just come by the company when you have time—we’ll learn from each other,” Oda replied modestly.

So, in addition to his vocal training, Ye Zhao now had new courses in composition and arrangement. Though Akashi and Oda weren’t full-time teachers and had little time to instruct him directly, over the following months Ye Zhao accumulated knowledge that he would never have encountered in two lifetimes, laying a solid foundation for the day when he could stand on his own as a musician, independent of his golden finger.

At noon, spurred on by Ohguro and Mika Kawashima, Akashi and Oda decided to celebrate “taking on a disciple” by heading to the main branch of Jojoen Yakiniku in Roppongi as a group of five. Although Ohguro was a chart-topping star and Oda’s name was known to all, BEING’s low-profile policy meant even if they strutted down the street, no one would recognize them.

Sitting in Jojoen, Ye Zhao felt a mix of emotions. When his predecessor had decided to end his life, he’d come to this very restaurant for a final meal. For the predecessor, that meal had been an ending—but for Ye Zhao, today’s meal symbolized a beginning. From now on, in this ever-changing world, he would strive to usher in a new era that belonged to him.

After his evening classes, Ye Zhao had dinner at a ramen shop. Later that night, he suddenly received a beeper message from Ye Qing. When he called back, Ye Qing’s voice was excited as she reported, “Brother! Your single reached number one!”

“Number one? I checked today’s paper—it was only third.”

“Not yesterday—today! Shizuka just called me. She heard today’s daily chart on the radio in a taxi. Your song, ‘Summer Colors,’ is number one! Brother, you did it!”

“That’s fantastic!” After a full month since release, his single had finally hit number one. Even if it was just for a day, if he could top the daily chart, surely a weekly win wasn’t far off.

“Brother,” after celebrating with him, Ye Qing’s voice suddenly became hesitant.

“What is it?”

“Now that your dream of becoming a singer has come true, and you’ve signed with such a famous company, shouldn’t you consider coming home to see Mom and Dad?”

“We’ll see,” Ye Zhao replied evasively. He had no particular feelings, good or bad, toward his predecessor’s parents. After all, this body he now used was given by them. But even though he had taken over the predecessor’s life, he wasn’t yet prepared to face his parents. Until he was ready, he felt it best not to meet.

Ye Qing assumed he was still upset about being kicked out by their parents and didn’t press the issue. The siblings chatted a bit longer before hanging up.