"Ruoxi, what's wrong? Why do you keep bobbing your head?" Zhao Ruoxi's father, Zhao Xiang, had been getting ready to leave to serve as a judge for Rongchuang Gu Feng's song contest.
He was dressed in a sharp, mature outfit.
But before leaving, he noticed his daughter acting as though she were having some sort of fit.
"Dad, a creator on VA Site wrote these lyrics and this tune for me. It's super catchy and sounds great."
"I'm heading out to judge the Rongchuang Gu Feng Song Contest. Remember to feed the dog while you're home."
"Got it."
Zhao Ruoxi nodded, still lost in the fiery energy of "Calorie." Then, realizing that her father was going to judge the Huaxia Rongchuang Gu Feng Song Contest, she felt her scalp prickle and hurriedly messaged Lone Cloud:
"Lone Cloud, are you going to enter Huaxia Rongchuang Corporation's song contest? If you enter, I'll vote for you."
"Huh? The Huaxia Rongchuang Gu Feng Song Contest? Are they looking for traditional Chinese-style songs?"
"Yes, and first prize is a hundred thousand yuan. There's also a good chance one of the Three Major Entertainment Companies will sign a deal to buy the song outright."
Yun Xiaoran had no interest in having one of the Three Major Entertainment Companies buy out his song's copyright.
But the hundred-thousand-yuan first prize certainly caught his attention.
He was still just a small creator on VA Site without much of a following. If this could be his chance to make a name for himself, then he was willing to give it a try.
"That sounds worth a shot."
"Really?"
"Of course. More genuine than past exam papers."
"Great, great, great! I'll be waiting for you to get onstage and crush them all with a traditional-style song! I'll be waiting."
"Mind your image. You do have two hundred thousand followers on VA Site." Looking at the message Audrey Cat had sent, Yun Xiaoran couldn't resist clicking her avatar and opening her profile.
Looking at the woman with the stunning figure, he still couldn't believe she was the person chatting with him.
"Don't care. I'll choreograph a dance to cheer you on."
After sending that message, Zhao Ruoxi went offline. She put on her headphones and listened to "Calorie," the song Yun Xiaoran had sent her, over and over as she began choreographing in her head.
Yun Xiaoran had been about to say something, only to find that Audrey Cat had already logged off.
Don't go messing around with my song!
Resigned, Yun Xiaoran began working on his next song: "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion."
He only had a guitar at home, and the range of sounds a single guitar could produce was far too limited. After using Zhou Zeyu's instruments, Yun Xiaoran no longer wanted to settle for playing on just one guitar.
Meanwhile, Shen Jin had quite a headache. Sister Hua had already secured her an invitation to Singer 2024. Shen Jin had originally wanted to decline, but unexpectedly, Li Qingxi had publicly announced on Weibo that she had received an invitation to Singer 2024.
That left Shen Jin wondering whether she should follow suit.
Because the two singers had the same creative style, their fans constantly put down the other singer to elevate their own favorite. Trading insults was an everyday occurrence.
During the previous I Am a Singer, the two sides had initially managed to coexist peacefully. But after Shen Jin bought the rights to Lone Cloud's song, Li Qingxi's fans had grown increasingly restless.
Some begged or threatened Lone Cloud in the comments under his videos to write a song for their idol too. Others went even further, taking the fight straight into Lone Cloud's private messages.
And because Lone Cloud had ultimately sold the copyright to Shen Muge, her fans now considered him part of their side as well.
If Yun Xiaoran ever took a moment to look up Shen Muge's face, he would probably feel that fate really had brought them together. Somehow, he had ended up on the same side as his wife even online...
Shen Jin sat in her office, bored out of her mind, scrolling through the fan wars on Weibo while idly toying with the bank card Yun Xiaoran had given her that morning, with money still in the account.
"Jin'er, our schedule is really tight. Of the next fifteen days, we have to give seven to Singer 2024. Then we still have to record the album during the remaining eight."
The album wasn't much of a problem. Of the eight songs originally planned, Shen Jin had already recorded five, leaving three.
She needed to negotiate the rights to Lone Cloud's "Silence," and eight days would be more than enough for the other two songs.
"Hmm? Where did that card come from?"
Sister Hua stared at the bank card in Shen Jin's hand, puzzled. At a time like this, why was she still playing with a bank card?
"Oh, Yun Xiaoran gave me this." Shen Jin held up the card proudly. "It's the card his salary goes into."
Sister Hua was stunned to hear that the card had come from Yun Xiaoran. She hadn't expected their pretend relationship to turn real, much less for Yun Xiaoran to actually hand Shen Jin his salary card.
"Has he fallen for you? Otherwise, he shouldn't be giving you his salary card." Sister Hua offered her analysis with utter seriousness.
No!
There was no need to analyze it anymore!
He had already handed over his card. What was left to analyze?
"I... you do have a point." Shen Jin had still been playing with the card, but Sister Hua's reminder made her realize how serious this was.
Could Yun Xiaoran really have fallen for me...?
At that thought, Shen Jin quietly bit her lip and looked down at the salary card in her hand.
"He must like you. Otherwise, why would he insist on giving you his salary card right now?"
Sister Hua sat in her chair, analyzing the situation with great solemnity, nodding earnestly whenever she reached a point she felt sure of.
"And he gave you that huge gold bangle last time, too." Her voice held a note of envy, but as her gaze settled on Shen Jin's left wrist, she looked puzzled.
"Why aren't you wearing that gold bangle? Don't you like it?"
"No... that's not it. I looked it up online. If I wear it out all the time, it can easily get bent out of shape, so I left it at home." Shen Jin slowly shook her head and looked at her left wrist.
"A bangle that precious-of course I have to keep it at home."
Sister Hua stared at Shen Jin with a solemn expression, seemingly lost in thought.
What made that bangle precious was what it symbolized, not its price.
Shen Jin found a reason she could convince herself to accept, reassuring herself that she didn't feel that way.
"Your mother came over yesterday. What did you and Yun Xiaoran talk about? Did you discuss anything like having children or getting married?"
The previous night, Shen Jin had told Sister Hua about her mother's surprise inspection.
What Sister Hua cared about most was what Shen Jin, Yun Xiaoran, and Ning Xian truly thought.
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