ILSITM Chapter 80

Where exactly is Long City?
I don’t know, I’ve never been to this place, nor have I ever heard of it.
After getting off the train, I found that there were very few passengers at this train station.
Stepping out of the train station and standing on the street, there were also very few pedestrians.
Apart from a bus passing by, there were hardly any other vehicles on the road.
I was a little lost, not knowing where to go.
“I don’t know, why is it like this, love isn’t what I imagined, I just can’t find the direction to you, let alone how to forget…” I couldn’t help but sing softly.
“Hey handsome, what song were you singing just now?” a voice asked from behind me.
I turned around and saw a middle-aged man walking behind me.
“‘Should I Quietly Leave’,” I said.
“You want to quietly leave? What does that mean?” the middle-aged man looked puzzled.
“I’m saying that’s the name of the song, it’s called ‘Should I Quietly Leave’,” I explained.
“Oh, I misunderstood, you sing really well, would you like to come to my record company?” the middle-aged man said with a sincere face.
“What would I do at your record company?” I didn’t understand what the man was saying, so I asked back.
“Record albums! I have faith in you, you can definitely become a rising star in the Chinese music scene,” the middle-aged man’s eyes were shining.
I think my singing is good, but wanting to become a rising star in the Chinese music scene is a bit of a stretch. After all, singing is just my hobby, I haven’t received professional training, nor have I participated in singing competitions. How could I become famous overnight by singing an old song?
“This is an old song, how could I become a rising star in the Chinese music scene by covering an old song?” I analyzed calmly.
“Old song? What year is this old song from?” the middle-aged man asked back.
“This song started to become popular in 1990,” I said.
“1990? It’s only 1989 now, you’re saying it will become popular next year, that won’t do! Come to my record company, I’ll make this song popular this year,” the middle-aged man said with a smile.
“1989? Could it be that I’ve traveled to 1989?” I didn’t quite believe what the middle-aged man said.
“This is my first time in Long City, why are there so few people here?” I asked in confusion.
“Now is a time of economic depression, the unemployment rate is soaring, most people’s incomes have been greatly reduced. In order to reduce unnecessary expenses, most people stay at home every day, waiting for the economic recovery,” the middle-aged man said helplessly.
“Do you think anyone will listen to the song I sang during the economic depression?”
“It’s not just that people will listen, I said, you can become a rising star in the Chinese music scene with this one song alone,” the middle-aged man’s eyes were filled with determination.
“Alright then, I’ll go to your company and try it out, but I’ve never recorded an album before, I don’t know if I can achieve the effect you want,” I said truthfully.
“Leave this to me, you just focus on singing,” the middle-aged man patted my shoulder, and then said to me with confidence.
“My company is in that building in front,” the middle-aged man said, pointing to a tall building not far ahead.
“Which province is your Long City in?” I asked as we walked.
“Are you Chinese?” the middle-aged man asked.
“Aren’t you Chinese?” I asked back.
“I’m a Malaysian Chinese, Long City is short for Kuala Lumpur, it doesn’t belong to any province, it’s the capital of Malaysia,” the middle-aged man explained.
“Long City is Kuala Lumpur, then I know. Although I haven’t been to Kuala Lumpur, I’ve seen it on TV, in movies, and online. Your Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers and Kuala Lumpur Tower are very famous,” I praised.
Entering this tall building, we took the elevator to the 18th floor.
“I’ve rented this entire floor, I want to build my company into the most influential record company in Southeast Asia,” the middle-aged man said with great ambition.
I stood in the corridor on the 18th floor and looked east and west. There were at least twenty rooms on this floor. He was really going to do big things.
“The few rooms at the far east are recording studios,” the middle-aged man said, pointing to the east end of the corridor.
Then, the middle-aged man took me into his office.
“Which singers have your company recorded albums for?” I asked curiously after entering the office.
“Our company just opened yesterday, you’re the first,” the middle-aged man said with a smile.
“How much will you charge me for recording an album?” I asked again.
“After you sign a contract with my company, there are no fees,” the middle-aged man handed me a contract.
I took the contract and looked out over Kuala Lumpur through the window glass of the 18th-floor office. I suddenly found that Kuala Lumpur didn’t have as many tall buildings as in movies and TV dramas. On the south side, I didn’t even see Kuala Lumpur’s landmark – the Petronas Twin Towers. I was wondering when I suddenly remembered that I had traveled to 1989. The Petronas Twin Towers hadn’t been built in 1989. How could I see the then-world’s tallest building, which was completed in 1998?
I read the contract and felt that this company was very reliable.
“We’ll split the profits 50/50. Whether you become famous or not, as long as you sign the contract, we’ll take care of all your daily expenses,” the middle-aged man said frankly.
I read the contract and listened to the middle-aged man’s promise, oh no, it was General Manager Wang’s promise. With a wave of my pen, I signed the contract.
Although I’m not a professional singer and haven’t received professional training, I really have a talent for music and I really sing well.
The next day, my single “Should I Quietly Leave” began to be played on major radio stations in Malaysia.
I have to say, I sang it with more masculinity than the original singer.
However, the original singer sang this song in 1990, while I sang it in 1989. After traveling to 1989, I actually became the first singer of this song.
A few days later, the entertainment programs of several major TV stations in Malaysia began to invite me to participate in their programs and sing “Should I Quietly Leave” live.
The song was very successful, quickly becoming popular in Malaysia, and then quickly went out of Malaysia and moved towards the Chinese music scene.
You should know that it was not easy for an unknown singer to sing into the Chinese music scene with just one song at that time.
The Chinese music scene includes Chinese singers in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, as well as countries such as Singapore and Malaysia.
However, in that era, it was easy to make a song popular, but if a singer wanted to gain a firm foothold in the Chinese music scene, it was not enough to become popular with just one song. They also had to release an album. Only if the album sold well could I gain a firm foothold in the Chinese music scene.
These days, in order to release an album, I have been staying in the recording studio every day trying out songs.
One day, I was wearing headphones and trying out a song when, “Bang!” the door of the recording studio was suddenly violently opened.

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