Ziyan's Difficult Situation

Zhang Han looked around the spotlessly cleaned room and nodded in satisfaction.

The apartment had three bedrooms and one living room, facing north and south, with a large living room and an open kitchen.

Whether it was the living room, bathroom, or bedrooms, everything had been decorated in utmost luxury: German-imported marble floors, exquisitely designed ceilings, a modern-style kitchen, and more. Even after seven years, the decor was still highly satisfactory.

After looking around, Zhang Han felt somewhat tired. He was an ordinary person now, and the excessive blood loss had affected him considerably. But once he planted the Thunder Sun Tree, absorbed energy, and advanced to the Qi Refining Stage, he would recover completely.

He lay on the sofa, casually turned on the television, and fell asleep in a daze before even two minutes had passed.

Inside the office of Mei Qi, Imperial Dynasty Entertainment's Artist Director.

"Ms. Mei."

Ziyan had just knocked and entered. After glancing at Li Cheng, Young Master Li, who was seated nearby, she nodded to Mei Qi and said, "I gave it some thought and decided to release an album first."

"Oh." Mei Qi leaned back in her office chair. There was none of the enthusiasm she had shown years ago, and she replied blandly, "It's good that you can think that way. After all, you've been gone for five years. We don't know how your old fans feel about you now, so release an album to test the waters first."

"Ms. Mei, last week you said there were ten high-quality songs in the company's music library, and that I could choose four. This afternoon, I'd like to—" Ziyan said bluntly.

"That was last week!" Before she could finish, Mei Qi directly waved a hand to cut her off. "Xiaoyan, you know that the company's resources aren't enough to go around among all the artists. Eight of those ten songs have already been reserved. You can have the remaining two, but an album needs at least ten songs, so you'll have to choose the other eight from the ordinary songs."

Ziyan froze for a moment, disappointment rising in her heart.

During the five years after her debut, she could be said to have been personally groomed by Ms. Mei, and the two had shared a good relationship. Mei Qi had taken excellent care of her. Whenever the company received high-quality songs, Ms. Mei would always let her choose first, and would even seek out famous lyricists and composers specifically to ask for songs on her behalf.

But now that she had returned to the company, Ms. Mei not only barely paid attention to her, but had even harshly scolded Zhou Fei several times when she came to ask for resources, as though she had become a completely different person.

Ziyan did not blame her, because her departure back then had also affected Ms. Mei to some extent.

Still, she could not help feeling disappointed. Just as she was about to accept, Li Cheng spoke first from the side.

"Mei Qi, Ziyan was one of your top artists before. How can you go back on something you promised? Just let Ziyan choose four from the ten high-quality songs."

As soon as he spoke, Mei Qi's expression stiffened, and she showed a troubled look.

Ziyan also glanced at Li Cheng.

This Young Master Li was a typical rich second-generation heir. His father, Li Hai, was a member of Imperial Dynasty Entertainment's board of directors and held a high position. Thus, although Li Cheng did not hold any official position in the company, he still had considerable status.

Li Cheng was 1.8 meters tall, well-proportioned, and his handsome appearance made him highly successful with women. His looks also fit the aesthetic preferences of most women. However, his private life was truly depraved, and it was said that quite a few artists in the company had had ambiguous relationships with him.

That alone was enough for Ziyan to reject him. And setting that aside, she had a daughter now. More importantly, she still had an unclear, indescribable relationship with Zhang Han. Until she sorted out her relationship with Zhang Han, she had no intention of finding another partner.

"This..."

Mei Qi's face showed difficulty and hesitation before finally turning into a helpless expression. "Since Young Master Li has spoken, of course I can't refuse. Ziyan, you should properly thank Young Master Li. I heard that you stood him up yesterday."

Ziyan's expression did not change. Her cool, detached face gave no hint of what she was thinking. She stood up, gave Li Cheng a slight nod, and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Young Master Li, but I don't want to disrupt the company's rules. Let's do as Ms. Mei said. I'll go choose the songs."

After saying that, Ziyan stepped out in her high heels. She did not want to accept Li Cheng's help, which clearly came with ulterior motives. Although agreeing to Li Cheng could help her rise again, she disdained doing so.

"Hehehe..."

Li Cheng chuckled softly. Watching Ziyan leave through the corridor outside the window, an amused smile appeared in his eyes.

"Hmph! She doesn't know what's good for her." Mei Qi snorted coldly with a frown. "Does she really think she's still who she was back then? How can an outdated star make a comeback so easily?"

"You know, I happen to like her temperament. The colder she is, the more I want to conquer her!" Li Cheng shook his head slightly.

"Should we let her suffer a little first? People like her will only behave themselves after seeing reality for what it is," Mei Qi asked.

"Fine." Li Cheng nodded.

"Then I won't give her a single one of those ten high-quality songs. I'll just pick two songs from the music library to pass off as high-quality songs, and let her choose the rest herself." Mei Qi sneered.

The ten high-quality songs had not actually been assigned yet. What Mei Qi had said earlier had also been at Li Cheng's instruction. As for the purpose... it went without saying.

Ziyan walked all the way back to her office. Not a single person she passed greeted her. She even heard several whispers calling her "washed-up," but Ziyan paid them no mind. The coldness on her face was like a protective umbrella, hiding her exhaustion and helplessness from others.

"Sis Yan, how did it go? Did Mei Qi give you any high-quality songs?" As soon as Ziyan entered the office, Zhou Fei hurriedly stood and asked.

"She only gave me two." Ziyan shook her head slightly.

"Two?" Zhou Fei raised her brows and said angrily, "How can you release an album with only two high-quality songs? You need at least four! I think that old witch did it on purpose."

"Feifei, don't talk nonsense. There are only two high-quality songs left out of the ten." Ziyan sat on the sofa and sighed softly.

"How is that possible? How come I never heard that anyone had picked those songs? She just doesn't want to give them to you!" Zhou Fei cried.

"Stop talking about it. Let's go downstairs for lunch first, then choose songs this afternoon." Ziyan stood up as she spoke.

Zhou Fei followed Ziyan angrily to the restaurant downstairs. After a simple lunch, they hurried back upstairs.

They arrived at the department for selecting songs. There were two rows of small listening rooms, each equipped with a computer and high-quality speakers.

Just as they reached the corridor, the door to the first room suddenly opened, and three people walked out. At the front was a tall woman wearing a very revealing V-neck dress.

When the woman saw Ziyan, a trace of smugness flashed across her face. She said in a sarcastic tone, "Well, if it isn't the big star Ziyan? Didn't you already switch to the film and television industry? Why are you still here choosing songs?"

"Xu Ruoyu, what we're doing seems to have nothing to do with you, does it? Why are you everywhere?" Zhou Fei snapped back irritably.

Xu Ruoyu was a newly cultivated third-rate singer at the company. She had a bit of popularity, looked down on everyone, and was involved in an ambiguous relationship with Li Cheng.

Little nobodies like this used to respectfully address them as Sister Ziyan and Sister Fei whenever they saw them. How dare they act so sarcastic now?

"It really has nothing to do with us." A woman beside Xu Ruoyu sneered. "But... it seems some people's popularity has become ridiculously low. Even the company can't be bothered to cultivate them anymore. For these ten premium songs, Sister Mei directly gave Ruoyu eight of them. You can listen carefully to the two leftover scraps. I suppose those are your best options."

"Heh, ugly people really do need to make up for it with a greater number of premium songs." Zhou Fei showed no mercy with her venomous tongue.

"What did you say?" Xu Ruoyu glared.

"Feifei, let's go." Ziyan's expression remained cold. She gave Xu Ruoyu an indifferent glance, then walked around them toward the inner area.

"Hmph!" Xu Ruoyu snorted and said without looking back, "Ziyan, let me remind you: today is September 1st, and my album will be released on the 15th. You'd better avoid that time. With your standards, I'm afraid you'll hit rock bottom."

Ziyan paused at her words, turned around, and replied coolly, "Oh, thank you for the reminder."

With that, she entered a room with Zhou Fei.

"What kind of people are they? Just looking at her makes me sick!" Zhou Fei said angrily.

Though Ziyan's expression did not change, her tone grew somewhat heavier. "Let's choose songs."

They turned on the computer, logged into their company software accounts, and saw the two premium songs Mei Qi had left for Ziyan.

They opened the first song and got to work, listening carefully.

Bang!

After the song ended, Zhou Fei could not help slamming the table. "This is supposed to be a premium song? That old witch is deliberately making things difficult for us, isn't she? Since when have the company's premium songs become this bad?"

Ziyan said nothing this time, tacitly agreeing with her. She sighed softly and opened the second song.

Yet the second song was no better. These two songs were only slightly better than the worst songs in the music library. If they had to be compared, they probably did not even possess half the quality of an actual premium song.

The result made Zhou Fei grit her teeth in anger. After venting for quite a while, she and Ziyan began listening through the songs in the music library one by one.

They listened from one in the afternoon until seven in the evening—six full hours and over a hundred songs—yet only selected five that were somewhat better. Of course, even the best of the worst was still among the worst.

"Let's go back," Ziyan said after checking the time.

If they went back now, they could still spend some time with Mengmeng. If they stayed any later, the little girl would be going to sleep.

"How are we supposed to choose from this garbage..." Zhou Fei muttered with a troubled frown. She got up, packed her things, and drove away from the company.

On the way back, Ziyan, seated in the back, suddenly said, "Feifei, work a little harder these next few days. We'll release the new album on the 15th as well!"

"Sister Ziyan, you mean..." Zhou Fei froze slightly.

Ziyan did not answer. Her gaze turned toward the window.

Xu Ruoyu, weren't you releasing your album on the 15th? Weren't you mocking and provoking me?

Then I'll release mine on the 15th too!

Ziyan was no saint. Of course she would get angry in the face of ridicule. She simply never showed the softness in her heart on her face.

People lived for their dignity, just as trees lived for their bark. Ziyan wanted to prove everything through her own strength!