Chapter 47: The Strongest Ally

The release date for "Let's Go Wandering" was set for November 22nd, while "WINTER, AGAIN" was scheduled for December 6th, with only a two-week interval between them. It was clear that Daiki Nagato intended to use the buzz from "Let's Go Wandering" to build momentum for Ye Zhao.

With precious little time left for the single's production, Ye Zhao and his team had no choice but to work overtime, striving to avoid any delays. When Akio Akashi inquired about the arrangement, Ye Zhao expressed, for the first time, his desire to take creative control: "Sensei, I already have a fairly mature arrangement for this song in my mind, so this time I hope to realize it exactly as I envision it."

"You want to arrange it yourself?"

"Not entirely on my own," Ye Zhao explained. "I plan for this song to be a bit more intricate, so while I have the basic structure, I’ll need your help with the details, since I still lack enough experience in this area." The original composition of this song was already excellent; as someone who borrowed ideas, his utmost respect to the original artist was to restore the piece as faithfully as possible.

"Hmm... very well," Akio Akashi nodded, accepting his proposal.

It took Ye Zhao a full week to complete the new single’s arrangement with Akio Akashi. When it was finished, Akashi was full of praise, yet he remarked with a trace of regret, "Everything’s great, but it doesn’t have that BEING touch."

Ye Zhao smiled. "That’s what makes it interesting—listeners will be genuinely surprised." The absence of the BEING sound was due to Ye Zhao taking the lead on the arrangement, with Akio Akashi only assisting. Without the strong stylistic hand of his usual arranger, the result inevitably departed from BEING’s hallmark style.

Late at night in the studio, Ye Zhao recorded the song over and over at the engineer's request, still looking energetic despite having sung continuously for two hours. "WINTER, AGAIN" was a true test of his vocal ability. Since signing with BEING, Ye Zhao had been taking vocal lessons without pause, and his skill had grown from youthful recklessness to that of a competent singer. While he couldn’t claim to be an A-list vocalist yet, he was certainly good enough to fall securely into the B tier of any singing ranking. Without this improvement, he would never have dared to choose such a challenging song.

"Ye Zhao-san, please take a break," the engineer said through the studio intercom.

Upon the suggestion, Ye Zhao removed his headphones and settled onto the studio sofa. Before long, his assistant Akihiko Arakaki brought him a cup of prepared honey water. Ye Zhao frowned and downed it in one gulp, as if completing a chore, then set down the cup with a look of clear distaste. Seeing this, Arakaki teased him, "Ye-kun, you’re the first singer I’ve met who doesn’t like honey."

"Can’t help it—got to take care of my voice." Ye Zhao twisted open a bottle of mineral water and rinsed his mouth. He’d heard of singers who drank turtle blood to protect their vocals, but that was a level of dedication he’d never reach.

After a short rest, Ye Zhao stood and headed to the control room. BEING’s approach to supervising its singers was relatively relaxed and free. The iron-fisted producer model, where the artist simply obeyed, was nearly absent; here, most singers could participate in the production process. For those with enough creative ability, not being at the mercy of composers—and not planning on doing anything too avant-garde—made this company an excellent choice.

In the control room, he discussed the previous takes with the engineer and decided on areas to improve in the next round. Checking the clock, Ye Zhao saw it was nearly midnight. Feeling hungry, he told Arakaki, "Go buy some oden or something for a late-night snack. Count the people here and get something for all the staff."

Engineer Yutaka Shimatani smiled, "Looks like we're in Ye Zhao-san’s debt tonight."

"It’s the least I can do, since you’re all working so late with me," Ye Zhao replied politely.

Half an hour later, Arakaki returned with another young woman.

"Miss Imai?" If Ye Zhao remembered correctly, she was the assistant who’d accompanied Izumi Sakai the first time they met.

Arakaki explained, "I ran into her on the way back. Miss Sakai came in to record tonight and asked Imai to bring snacks for everyone."

Imai helpfully raised the plastic bag in her hand, "Ye Zhao-san, Mr. Shimatani, Miss Sakai sent these to share."

"That’s wonderful, please thank Miss Sakai for us!" Shimatani quickly accepted the bag, a testament to Izumi Sakai’s formidable popularity.

"Miss Imai, has Miss Sakai’s recording started yet?"

"Not yet, Ye Zhao-san. The assistant engineer is still adjusting the equipment."

"In that case," Ye Zhao set his score sheets down, "may I visit Miss Sakai? It would be impolite not to greet a senior, especially since she’s sent snacks over."

Izumi Sakai had her own private studio in the Birdman WEST recording complex. When Ye Zhao arrived, she was holding a cup of hot tea, chatting idly with her engineer Katsuhiro Shimada. In the corner, a cameraman stood silently, camcorder in hand. Neither Sakai nor Shimada paid him any mind—since Sakai had stopped appearing on television in 1993, photographers often shadowed her, capturing candid moments to be edited into music videos or future releases.

"Good evening, Sister Izumi."

Izumi Sakai greeted him with a gentle smile, "Good evening, Ye-kun. Here to record again tonight?"

"Yes. The new single is set for December 6th, so there’s no choice but to rush."

"What kind of song are you preparing this time?"

Ye Zhao considered, then invited, "If you’re interested, would you like to listen?"

In the studio, Izumi Sakai donned headphones and listened quietly to "WINTER, AGAIN." When it ended, she praised him, "That’s a wonderful song." Then, with a shift in tone, "But the change in style is really dramatic. If you hadn’t brought it to me yourself, I’d have thought you’d mixed up your tracks."

"That’s the effect I was going for." In fact, there was some faint connection between GLAY and ZARD. In 1998, GLAY released two new singles on the same day, taking both the first and second spots on the weekly singles chart, prompting other artists to follow suit. ZARD’s producers tried the same strategy, releasing "New Door ~ Winter Sunflower" and "GOOD DAY" simultaneously on December 2, 1998. However, the split in sales meant ZARD lost the weekly crown to L’Arc-en-Ciel.

Moreover, the 1997 release of GLAY’s compilation "REVIEW" sparked a craze for best-of albums, with the charts soon dominated by compilations. BEING was quick to seize the opportunity, releasing gold and silver best-ofs for B’z and three for ZARD in two years. This ultimately exhausted ZARD’s sales momentum, with original album sales plummeting from the millions to just three hundred thousand, never to recover. Even in total sales rankings, GLAY and ZARD were rivals; ZARD, originally seventh in history, was edged out to eighth by GLAY, with less than half a million copies separating them. These various subtle ties meant that, despite their different debut times and styles, the two bands were often mentioned together. While perhaps unfair to GLAY’s fans, in some sense, GLAY could be considered ZARD’s nemesis.

Having listened to the title track, perhaps confident in Ye Zhao’s composing, Sakai also became interested in the single’s B-side. "What’s the C/W this time? I got the fax—it seems you sampled 'Don’t Give Up.'"

"Well," Ye Zhao grinned, "Sister Izumi, you might be disappointed when you hear it." According to RB copyright law, a singer could cover a song with the publisher’s consent and payment of the appropriate fee, but out of courtesy, artists usually sought the approval of the original singer and songwriter. Since Ye Zhao and ZARD were under the same company, he had already informed Tetsuro Oda by phone and faxed a notice to Sakai’s office through BEING.

Track 1 had yet to be officially recorded, so what Ye Zhao played for Sakai was the same demo he’d first shared with Akashi. She listened, then pondered, "This is actually pretty good. I’m not much of a composer myself, but this melody is really interesting—not clichéd at all."

"Really?"

"Of course. Hit songs these days all follow those familiar chord progressions, so they sound catchy. This melody does the opposite; at first it seems messy, but if you listen closely, it’s actually quite brilliant."

"In that case, Sister Izumi, I have a small request..." Inspired by her words, an idea occurred to Ye Zhao.

"Hmm?" Sakai tilted her head, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

"It’s rare to see you, so although it’s a bit presumptuous, could I ask you to sing the chorus of 'Don’t Give Up' at the start of this track?" Ye Zhao looked at her anxiously after speaking.

Sakai considered, then nodded. "All right!"

Not long after, her assistant came to fetch her back to the studio. Ye Zhao stood to escort her out and, seizing a moment when no one else was around, said quietly, "Sister Izumi, thank you for your help last time and this time."

Sakai shook her head. "I’m glad you managed to clear your name. This is a crucial time for you—since you asked, I don’t mind helping a little."

"Sister Izumi..."

She smiled, lightening the mood, "Rather than acting so moved, you should think about what else you need from me. I’m not the sort who gives everything just to those I consider friends. If you don’t take advantage of my generosity now, you might not get another chance!"

"Will you agree to any request?" Ye Zhao’s eyes lit up.

"If it’s too much, absolutely not."

"Then... I’d like your phone number!"

Sakai wrinkled her nose. "Is that all you want?"

"How can you call that 'all'?" Ye Zhao replied with conviction. "Having your contact is the dream of everyone in RB!"

His earnestness made Sakai laugh. She held out her right hand to him.

"Eh?" Ye Zhao paused, then realized and quickly handed her his phone. Sakai’s nimble fingers danced over the keypad before returning it.

"Make sure you keep it safe," she teased.

"Don’t worry—I’ll never lose it!" Ye Zhao accepted the phone, completely satisfied.