Chapter Thirty-Eight: Commodities

Mika Kawashima casually grabbed Ye Zhao's arm and pressed him into the empty seat to the right of Masao Akashi. “Don’t just stand there—sit down! This is your first time at our gathering; everyone’s been waiting to share your first drink!”

“That’s right! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you,” said Norihiro Maeda, who looked like an ordinary office worker but smiled amiably. “By the way, with your ‘Summer Color’ this year, TUBE’s lost a bit of its shine.”

TUBE was a band as renowned as Southern All Stars, famous for their summer hits. The top spots on various summer song charts were always dominated by TUBE and Southern All Stars. In later years, even with these two powerful bands as competition, Yuzu’s “Summer Color” managed to break through and hold the top position on every summer song chart. Now that Ye Zhao had released “Summer Color” ahead of time, it was no surprise that Norihiro Maeda would sigh with such emotion, given the song’s strength.

Nevertheless, a bit of humility was still necessary. “Not at all. Compared to TUBE, it’s really nothing. When it comes to summer, everyone knows it’s all about TUBE—that’s common knowledge in Japan.”

Mika Kawashima couldn’t help but tease, “Are you two trying to turn my beer party into a mutual admiration society?”

Masao Akashi picked up his beer, poured himself a glass, then filled Ye Zhao’s cup as well. Raising his glass, he said, “Today’s Ye’s first time at our beer gathering. Let’s all welcome him!”

“To Ye—cheers!” Everyone raised their glasses. Since the table was quite long, they simply clinked glasses with those nearby.

After a glass of beer, Mika Kawashima said with a hint of regret, “It’s your first time at one of our gatherings—I wanted everyone to be here, but unfortunately Inaba had to go back home for something, and Meiling and Mari are on the radio tonight…”

“And then there’s Oda,” Masao Akashi interjected, “for some reason, he suddenly decided to be a judge for a selection event, so he’s having dinner with the organizers tonight.”

“Even with just this group, I’m already flattered,” Ye Zhao said sincerely. B’z, WANDS, TUBE, Maki Ohguro—any one of them would be enough to make an ordinary person scream with excitement.

“By the way, Mr. Matsumoto,” Ye Zhao raised his glass to Takahiro Matsumoto across the table, “thank you for helping with the backing track.”

Takahiro Matsumoto took a sip of beer. “It was nothing. Besides, I really like that song ‘Because You’re Here.’ To create such a delicate punk piece—you’ve got talent.”

“And me!” Maki Ohguro joined in playfully. “Ye, aren’t you going to thank me as well?”

“Of course, thank you, Sister Ohguro.” Whether it was connecting him with Takahiro Matsumoto, or introducing him to BEING’s composers and arrangers, Ye Zhao knew that without her help, he wouldn’t have been accepted into this little circle so smoothly. He quickly refilled his beer, clinked glasses with Maki Ohguro, and downed the drink in one go.

“Not bad with the drinks, Ye,” Mika Kawashima said as she put a few pieces of grilled wagyu beef on his plate. “You told me before you ‘weren’t twenty yet,’ but you’re clearly a veteran at the drinking table!”

Ye Zhao chuckled, popped a piece of wagyu into his mouth, and exclaimed, “This is delicious! Truly top-grade beef!”

After that, with their natural tolerance for alcohol, the group continued drinking enthusiastically. Only Ye Zhao, after his third glass, had his cup taken away by Masao Akashi, who cautioned him, “No more for you. You’re not twenty yet, and you’re a rookie. If you get drunk and someone takes a photo, it’ll be trouble.”

“That’s right. There are plenty of underage artists who drink, but doing it in private is one thing—getting caught in public is another,” Maki Ohguro agreed.

What surprised Ye Zhao most was Noboru Uesugi’s behavior. He had been silently drinking all evening, barely joining any conversations. With his cool, somewhat severe looks, Ye Zhao thought perhaps he disliked him but was attending out of obligation. Yet, after hearing Masao Akashi and Maki Ohguro’s words, Noboru Uesugi quietly poured a cup of oolong tea, stood, and handed it to Ye Zhao.

“Thank you, Uesugi,” Ye Zhao hurried to express his gratitude.

“Mm,” Uesugi nodded and returned to his own drink.

“That’s just how he is—cold on the outside but warm inside. Don’t overthink it,” Mika Kawashima whispered in Ye Zhao’s ear.

The gathering lasted until eleven at night, when everyone left the barbecue restaurant together.

Following the rule of ladies first, Maki Ohguro and Mika Kawashima took the first taxi. The second taxi arrived right after. Still not done for the night, Norihiro Maeda and Masao Akashi dragged Takahiro Matsumoto and Michiya Haruhata along to continue drinking at a bar in Ginza. For a moment, only Ye Zhao and Noboru Uesugi were left on the empty street.

It was Uesugi who finally broke the silence. “Why did you want to join BEING?”

Ye Zhao thought for a moment. “I don’t like being bound by too many rules. I joined BEING to have the freedom to do what I love. Plus, BEING has many outstanding composers and arrangers—I can learn a lot here.”

“To be more free and do what you love?” Uesugi sneered. “So all you green rookies think the same way.” He muttered under his breath, “...I did too.”

“What was that?” Ye Zhao hadn’t caught his last words.

“Nothing.” Uesugi quickly put his cool facade back on, staring straight ahead and ignoring Ye Zhao. Seeing this, Ye Zhao didn’t bother him further.

A taxi finally approached. Uesugi jerked his chin. “You go ahead. I suddenly feel like I haven’t had enough. I’ll find an izakaya nearby and have a few more drinks.”

Ye Zhao didn’t stand on ceremony, thanked him, and got into the back seat. After giving his address, the driver started the engine.

Familiar with history, Ye Zhao naturally understood why Uesugi had said what he did.

Until the mid-eighties, BEING hadn’t managed to launch a single successful act. Though they had no commercial achievements, they had produced songs for many well-known bands and idols in the Japanese music scene, accumulating valuable experience and connections for what would become the “BEING Dynasty.”

With the subsequent debuts of bands like TUBE and B’z, the association of BEING with rock was firmly established in the public mind. Noboru Uesugi, full of passion for rock, joined a group under BEING called the “BEING Revitalization Association,” and was later chosen as the lead singer of WANDS.

But things didn’t turn out as Uesugi had hoped.

Daiyuki Nagato, ever the businessman, prioritized profit above all else. Under his direction, WANDS sang commercialized pop rock. When they struggled to gain fame after debuting, they were even made to collaborate with the wildly popular idol Miho Nakayama on “Love You More Than Anyone in the World.” Although it was labeled a collaboration, the entire song centered on Nakayama, with WANDS standing at the back of the stage, acting as her backup chorus and accompaniment.

Later, WANDS finally rose to fame, becoming one of the main pillars of the nineties “BEING Dynasty” and contributing significantly to BEING’s sales legend. Yet, as the band grew more popular, Uesugi became increasingly dissatisfied with the commercial packaging that strayed from his original aspirations. After years of negotiating and repeatedly shifting the band’s musical style, he eventually left WANDS and BEING in 1996 to form the grunge band AI.NI.CO.

One could say that when Uesugi first joined BEING, his desire for creative freedom was much like Ye Zhao’s. But reality dealt him a harsh blow, turning him into a product displayed behind glass.

Ye Zhao had no intention of judging Uesugi’s experiences or his acts of rebellion afterward. He hardly had time to feel any sympathy for Uesugi’s fate, for his own first crisis since debut was quietly approaching.