Chapter 114 Recording a Single for SMAP

  When Zhou Xiao arrived at the recording studio, he found another person who surprised him and wondered how he ended up here.

  "Kudou-san!" Zhou Xiao shouted out this name with a tone that was even higher than when he met SMAP.

  "Hey, this is my wife now!" Mura made a casual joke. They had registered their marriage on December 5th, so calling Zhou Xiao by that name was slightly off now. The woman in front of him was now officially Kimura Shizuka.

  "The kitten club is my original intention." Zhou Xiao said a sentence. His original intention was not the kitten club, but AKB, and both were groups established by Akimoto Yasushi, and since AKB has not been established yet, it's okay to say that the kitten club is his original intention.

  "It's been almost 15 years since we disbanded, do you still like Onyanko Club?" asked Kudō Shizuka.

  The disbandment of the Little Cats Club was a result of various scandals and external problems, and after 15 years have passed, many secrets and unspeakable topics from that time have also been dug up.

  For example, the rivalry between AKB48's Oshima Yuko and Maeda Atsuko... For example, someone marrying a director of a TV show featuring AKB48... For example, someone marrying a songwriter for AKB48... And also, Akimoto Yasushi found his wife through this show...

  In short, by now the outside world's view of AKB48 has completely changed, and it is likely that many people think AKB48 is just a huge audition show directed by TV stations and Yasushi Akimoto, whose true purpose is to choose women for themselves and their bosses.

  "That's for sure." Zhou Xiao nodded: "I think Japanese idols are the most wonderful existence, if there is a chance. I really want to make this industry flourish." Zhou Xiao said. As for the hidden rules of Akimoto Yasushi being fond of girls? For such things, Zhou Xiao would only have one reaction, that is to clench his fists and praise: "Virtue and art both excel. Our model!"

  It's impossible to say something like that to Kudou Shizuka...

  "Huh? Who's this...?" Kotomi Shizuka saw the girl, Ogura Yuko, hiding behind Zhou Xiao and sneaking a peek.

  "Oh, this is my friend, also a newcomer in the industry, she wants to release a single too, so I thought of bringing her along." Zhou Xiao said.

  "How cute little girl!" Kudou Shizuka was already pregnant at this time, and her maternal instincts were bursting out. Ogura Yuko looked like a loli baby, which directly triggered her, and she stretched out her hand to pull the girl to her side.

  As for Kimura, he gave Zhou Xiao a discreet thumbs up while also giving him two flirtatious winks. The implication was simple: Kid, not bad, huh?

  As for Kimura's praise, Zhou Xiao can be said to be very proud. Having a beautiful girl by his side is also an asset for a man, isn't it?

  It's actually possible for the five members of SMAP to record songs separately. On one hand, having all five members together can bring out better performances. On the other hand, they also have to consider Shingo Katori (also known as Sho), who isn't a full-time staff member working just for them every day. Sho also has his own things to do, and it wouldn't be right to waste five times the amount of time on him alone.

  The recording of the song was much simpler for the five members of SMAP than for professional singers, anyway they could only sing to that extent, and in ten years they wouldn't have any expectations for their own voices either, and they were also very familiar with the songs. They picked it up quickly, while Zhou Xiao was taking on the task of composing and producing a song for the first time. Of course, these two jobs weren't just his, he had another music teacher from Johnny's who worked with him, this teacher was mainly responsible for reviewing the quality of the song.

  Recording a song is not easy, even if the preparation before recording is very thorough. Zhou Xiao and SMAP's five people spent a whole day in the recording studio, barely completing the work roughly. There isn't much work left, and it's estimated that each person will come to the recording studio once or twice to finish it off. For lunch and dinner that day, everyone simply ate inside the recording studio, although they only had takeout. Despite this, the group was still in high spirits.

  It wasn't until after nine at night that all the recording was finally finished, Zhou Xiao came out of the room and found Ogura Yui already asleep on the long bench, Zhou Xiao walked over quietly and poked her round face like a peach with his hand.

  The girl seemed to be really sleepy, and after being poked by Zhou Xiao, she didn't react much. She moved a little but continued to sleep soundly. Zhou Xiao stretched out his hand to poke her again, but before he did, he looked at Ogura Yuuko's face for several minutes, thinking: "This girl is now really too young and cute... Ah, I'm thinking nonsense again! Cherish the present, enjoy life while you can!"

  Thinking so, Zhou Xiao poked her face against the girl's small face again, this time poking a bit harder, finally waking the girl up.

  "Good morning." Zhou Xiao said with a smile.

  "Ah? Early... good morning." Ogura Yūko replied out of conditioned reflex, and Zhou Xiao's greeting made her think she was at home. She had just sat up and was about to ask Zhou Xiao why he was there when she saw that the surroundings were absolutely not those of her own home.

  "Huh? Eh?" Yuko Ogura was taken aback.

  Under Zhou Xiao's gaze, Ogawa Yūko was stunned for a full half minute before she finally reacted to what had happened.

  "Are we still in the recording studio? What time is it?" Yoko Ogura asked.

  "It's almost nine o'clock." Zhou Xiao replied.

  "Is your work done?"

  "Yes, are you going home? But there's something else, I originally wanted to ask you to try recording in the shed today, are you interested?" Zhou Xiao asked.

  "No, no, no, it's too late, it would be difficult to do here in the recording studio as well." asked Ogura Yuko.

  "It's actually 24 hours here, so there's nothing to worry about on this point," said Zhou Xiao.

  Why do recording studios operate 24 hours a day? In fact, it's quite normal. Many songwriters and singers are nocturnal creatures, and recording at night makes them more alert and perform better.

  "You've been working all day, don't work anymore." Ogura Yoko still insisted, he didn't wait for Zhou Xiao to explain and stood up saying: "Let's go, go home, recording can be done anytime, and I also need to apply to the company."

  "Alright..." Zhou Xiao also didn't insist, nodding instead. The main reason he didn't insist was that not trying out today wasn't a big deal and they would have more time to spend together in the future.

  "On the way home, Zhou Xiao asked: 'Do you have time tomorrow night?'"

  "Tomorrow night? Nothing's going on," said the girl.

  "Then... come over to my place tomorrow, and we can watch TV together, okay? Tomorrow is the premiere of the first variety show I'm participating in." said Zhou Xiao.

  "Alright, no problem." The girl said without any surprise. Since Zhou Xiao participated in this program and started promoting it after the shooting was over, Ogura Yuko had already known about it, so being able to watch with Zhou Xiao was also the best choice for the girl.

  "Then don't eat dinner tomorrow night, just have it at my place," said Zhou Xiao.

  "Okay, what shall we eat? Shall we order takeout?" asked Ogawa Yoko.

  "Ah, just order something to eat then." Zhou Xiao said. Although he was Chinese, and although he had always lived alone before his rebirth, Zhou Xiao's cooking skills were quite ordinary, and there were many differences between Chinese cuisine and Japanese cuisine. His authentic but plain Chinese dishes were fine for everyday eating, but if he were to serve them to Ogura Yuzu, with whom he still had a ambiguous relationship, it would be too bland.

  Of course, what's called "ordering some food to eat", Zhou Xiao was purely nonsense. When a girl comes home for the first time, how could he not be nervous? Especially since the broadcast time of the show had been set early on, he had prepared a lot of food in advance.

  The next day, Zhou Xiao continued to run to the recording studio, while Ogura Yuko went to the company. In the recording studio, Zhou Xiao did some recordings with the two people who came from SMAP today and then returned home to start preparing for the content that will be entertaining Ogura Yuko today.

  This meal may not be a big deal, but Zhou Xiao hoped to leave a deeper impression on the girl.