"What did you say?"
At Tangren's office in the Magic City, Cai Yinong had been getting ready to head home, but she sat back down, her brow furrowing into a deep crease.
Just as Zhang Yang had guessed, she'd made her decision the night before: Nazha would learn by following Hu Ge, and she'd also contacted Tang Yan to ask her to look out for Nazha.
As for Jiang Jinfu, she'd naturally planned to put him with Zhang Yang. In Cai Yinong's view, the reasons he'd given the previous night were perfectly sound.
But she hadn't expected Jiang Jinfu to contact her first and say he wanted to follow Hu Ge.
"Sister K, I want to learn from Senior Hu Ge."
When he spoke again, Jiang Jinfu felt much calmer. He didn't think it would be hard to explain.
"I haven't decided who you'll be learning from yet." Cai Yinong instinctively picked up a pen and doodled on the paper, her expression shifting. "I asked you to come to the company last night, but you couldn't make it because you had work to do with the drama club. I only got to speak with Nazha and Zhang Yang."
"After talking with them, I did lean more toward Zhang Yang's suggestion and having you learn from him. Can you tell me why you don't want to?"
Cai Yinong was a businesswoman, after all, and knew how to handle a conversation.
First, she put Jiang Jinfu at ease. Then, quite naturally, she made it seem like the decision rested with him and Nazha. Finally, she presented herself as open-minded and asked him to explain.
But all that subtlety was wasted on Jiang Jinfu. He was impatient by nature and hadn't given it much thought. He asked outright, "Sister K, what exactly did Brother Yang—Zhang Yang—say last night?"
Cai Yinong stopped doodling and replied calmly, "I was going to have you and Nazha learn from him together, so you could get used to working with each other before filming Xuanyuan Sword. But he said..."
Cai Yinong recounted Zhang Yang's words from the night before, without embellishing or adding anything. There was no need.
"Considering how familiar you are with each other, your relationship, and a number of other factors, Zhang Yang chose you without hesitation."
"I think he has a point."
By the end, Cai Yinong's voice had grown firmer.
She was hinting that the current arrangement was fine and he shouldn't make things more complicated.
Jiang Jinfu was speechless.
He hadn't expected Zhang Yang to choose him of his own accord, let alone give so many reasonable explanations.
Thinking back to the things Zhang Yang had said to him last night and tonight, he could only call them heartfelt.
He couldn't tell whether this big brother of his was arrogant and confident, or if he really saw him as a little brother.
It warmed his heart, but also left him feeling even more at a loss.
"Sister K, who Nazha learns from has nothing to do with me, but I have to learn from Senior Hu Ge," Jiang Jinfu said with absolute conviction.
"Why?" Cai Yinong's tone turned a little sharp.
She'd made herself perfectly clear. How was he still not getting it?
"I want to get ahead so badly!" Jiang Jinfu replied.
Cai Yinong was baffled.
What did that have to do with getting ahead?
"Sister K, do you know how Brother Yang does at school?" Jiang Jinfu suddenly asked.
"I've heard," Cai Yinong replied instinctively.
If she hadn't known that Zhang Yang had built a solid network at school and was getting stronger by the day, she might not have agreed to give him the nominal male lead role in Xuanyuan Sword—which was, in reality, the actual male lead.
"Brother Yang is too outstanding. We're all living in his shadow."
"He's the kid every parent talks about—the one who's better than their own."
"I hate feeling like I'm always a step behind him. I want to beat him."
"If I learn from Zhang Yang, can I surpass him?"
"Only by learning from someone better than him do I have a chance."
"Sister K, I'm going to learn from Senior Hu Ge. I want to improve. I want to beat him."
Cai Yinong was speechless.
Kid, that sounded a little too chuunibyou.
It was pretty fired up, though. Even her cold heart had warmed a little.
But this wasn't some formal apprenticeship. It was just a little over a month on set, getting used to things in advance.
It was a small matter, and he'd made it sound like the biggest decision of his life.
"Hmm..."
Cai Yinong tried to figure out how to turn him down.
Jiang Jinfu seemed to have gotten smarter this time and immediately said, "Sister K, I'm serious."
"All right." Cai Yinong rubbed her temples, and the pen accidentally brushed her cheek.
She wiped at the mark and said, "Then you can learn from Old Hu. I'll call him tomorrow morning."
As for who Nazha should learn from, she still needed to give it some thought.
"Thank you, Sister K." Jiang Jinfu thanked her profusely.
Cai Yinong took the opportunity to say a few things to win him over, then hung up.
"It's such a small thing."
"I'll just have Nazha learn from Zhang Yang. He'll know where to draw the line."
Cai Yinong felt she'd made a bit of a fuss over nothing, just like Jiang Jinfu.
One phone call, and he'd talked her into it.
Lost in thought, she walked into the washroom and was startled by her reflection.
The pen must have been leaking. Half her face was black.
"I look like a clown."
Meanwhile, Jiang Jinfu had gotten what he wanted and returned to the private room in high spirits. He was much more talkative than before.
Seeing him like that, a glint flashed deep in Zhang Yang's eyes. He teased him, "What, did you eat some bee droppings? You seem awfully happy."
"I'm happy because I'm having dinner with so many seniors and idols," the usually taciturn Jiang Jinfu managed to say with surprising charm.
Tang Yan and Qi Wei immediately found him much more likable, and the conversation around the table grew livelier and more relaxed.
Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Hu Ge waved a hand and invited them all to karaoke.
As soon as they entered the karaoke room, Zhang Yang picked a song.
"Bund 18."
Qi Wei wore an expression that said, I knew you'd pick that, crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes.
But when the music started, she still picked up the microphone and began to sing.
Zhang Yang took the male part.
"A'Yang sings so well! He could totally debut as a singer," Tang Yan said to Hu Ge.
"Sister K wanted him to develop in film, television, and music, but he turned her down," Hu Ge said quietly. "Tangren's resources in that area are average, and she didn't force him. Still, he's sung the theme songs and insert songs for several TV dramas."
"Can we request one of those?" Tang Yan asked at once.
"He can sing 'Forget Time.' It's the ending theme for Chinese Paladin 3. Sister K originally wanted me to sing it, but I gave it to A'Yang as compensation. There's also the theme song for Scarlet Heart, but the show hasn't aired yet, so we definitely can't sing that one." As he spoke, Hu Ge queued up "Forget Time."
"For a song from Chinese Paladin 3, you're not going to request 'Single'?" Tang Yan grinned.
Hu Ge immediately looked dejected. "I asked A'Yang to sing that one, but he just won't. Sigh."
While the two chatted, Zhang Yang and Qi Wei finished their song.
"Wow, that was good!" Tang Yan and Hu Ge took on the role of the hype crew.
After that, everyone sang one song each, saying they wanted to liven up the room.
But when it was Nazha's turn, everyone except Zhang Yang, who already knew, froze solid.
How could an Uyghur woman who could sing and dance so well be completely tone-deaf?!
The scariest thing about being tone-deaf was that she didn't realize how bad she sounded.
Seeing everyone sit quietly through her song, Nazha thought she'd done well. She turned to Zhang Yang, the person she knew best among them, and asked, "Not bad, right?"
Zhang Yang's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. "Nazha, when God made you, He must have maxed out your looks."
Nazha didn't pick up on what Zhang Yang was really getting at. She thought he was praising her beauty in front of everyone, and immediately felt awkward and blushed.
"I guess I'm okay." Nazha awkwardly tucked her hair behind her ear.
Tang Yan and Qi Wei both turned to look at Zhang Yang, their eyes full of amusement.
Zhang Yang felt as if he'd shot himself in the foot. He continued, "So you might be just a little short on singing talent."
Nazha was baffled.
Nazha was shocked.
Nazha was speechless.
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