The Pure High School Girls Group, "Wildly Licking Cockroach Jade Feet" forwarded the song Qing Tian.
Zhou Lili clacked out several lines of text, and was about to click send but then stopped. First, she tossed four red envelopes into the group, then sent that message.
"My Pei sister's new song is absolutely stunning!! It's like a blast of summer, smearing across my face!! I'm crying, beauties, go listen to it!"
The other three college girls in the small group were lured out by the red envelopes, swoosh swoosh swoosh, snatching them up within three seconds, each getting at least a dozen or more yuan. If the dish is bland, add salt, if affection fades, throw money at it.
The 93-year-old Sultry Black Silk Stepmother: "Rich lady, suddenly sending red envelopes, got a boyfriend?"
Flat-Chest Follows My Dad: "Red envelopes, hehe, even small red envelopes are cute!!"
Hope I Grow A Few Next Life: "I've already bought it, it's indeed stunning, first time encountering this type of song. But @Wildly Licking Cockroach Jade Feet, why does this song not feel much like Pei sister's style?"
Seeing this message, Zhou Lili was startled, thinking right.
Qing Tian is nice to listen to, but indeed, it doesn't quite match Pei Muchan's style, it's even fair to say completely different, like the tune was written by a completely different person.
She opened the detailed information page for the song, her eyes scanning line by line.
Vocals: Pei Muchan.
Lyrics and composition: Xu Qingyan.
Huh? Seems like she saw something strange. So weird, must look again.
Find more to read at мѵʟ
Zhou Lili looked over the information two or three times back and forth, making sure she wasn't seeing things, the lyrics and composition were indeed by Xu Qingyan! It was like seeing a ghost, she hurriedly took a screenshot.
"Huge news!!" Zhou Lili @ her roommate "Hope I Grow A Few Next Life", "Look what I found, this song was written by the guy you ran into on the subway today!"
[Screenshot] Shared with the Pure High School Girls group chat.
"Can't handle it! Really? Written by Xu Qingyan?" the other person replied in a second, with a [Red Bean Paste] skeptical emoji, "He could write a song like this?"
"No way, I can't accept it, how can such a scumbag write such a song?"
Zhou Lili was so excited she found it hard to contain herself and was about to switch group chats, then realized that her cousin Zhou Mian probably didn't know about this. So, she forwarded the song again and attached a screenshot.
"Bro, was this song really written by Xu Qingyan?"
Zhou Mian wasn't too busy, he replied immediately.
"Seems like it's true, but I heard from Brother Xu that he just started laying the foundation when he went on the show, he probably hasn't learned for long. It should be his work, what's wrong?"
"He really only learned for a week?" Zhou Lili looked shocked, ignoring the group going wild @ her, "Bro, really? Just a week? Must be kidding."
"Not sure, but he should have some foundation. It shouldn't be a lie, I spend a lot of time with Xu and he does seem to struggle with learning."
"Damn."
She held her phone, stunned for a while, then glanced at the screen again and took another screenshot instinctively.
"I gotta get busy, lots going on, Love Hunter show is about to be aired." Zhou Mian sent one more message, then disappeared in an instant.
Switching chats, she first entered the dorm group, sharing the conversation she had with Zhou Mian with them.
"I'm actually really anxious right now," she suddenly said, her movements not ceasing, "You asked me why I spent so much on 'Qing Tian' even though I didn't have much money."
Xu Qingyan couldn't look down, so he just shifted his gaze lower, staring at her unchanging expression.
His nose was still oozing blood, he couldn't talk, he just listened.
"I'm already twenty-six, I don't have the energy to keep writing and releasing songs and exhausting myself fighting with others," she said. "So, I'm going to try one last time."
"If this fails, then I'll quit the industry, close down the studio, sell everything I can. I won't sing anymore; I'll just keep enough money to live on for the rest of my life..."
"Maybe travel around, go to Dali to bask in the sun."
Her speech suddenly slowed down and her hand movements seemed lighter. She should have already wiped away all the blood; a nose isn't a fire hydrant that would leak blood all over the face.
"Sometimes I think about just stopping everything, seriously finding someone to date. Travel around, and then consider getting married at thirty."
Xu Qingyan just listened, his eyes filled with surprise.
After bankruptcy, the money left was enough for her to live on for the second half of her life? That amount could support her traveling around with her boyfriend, even getting married? Damn, who would be so lucky in the future?
Fuck! Who?
Dammit, now he only had six thousand yuan left in his pocket. If he rented a place in Xinghai with a deposit plus three months rent, if it was over fifteen hundred yuan, he might as well hang himself at the landlord's door.
He sniffed, feeling much better, and slowly straightened his neck. He finally didn't need to maintain that stupid position any longer, though he still needed to look up slightly at her.
Pei Muchan was standing one step higher than him, her hand suspended in mid-air, uncertain if she should continue wiping.
"Thanks," Xu Qingyan said, taking the blood-stained tissue from her, crumpling it and pocketing it, "I really envy your future boyfriend."
"But put aside the idea of traveling and marriage for now; I'm afraid you won't be able to retire at twenty-six." He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The inside of his nose must have broken open again, as he felt like his head was about to split open. But he couldn't care less, letting the nosebleed surge out while he finished speaking.
"'Qing Tian' has had a good reception, and I believe in the songs I write, waiting to create an album for you. Our collaboration is just beginning, so your marriage can be postponed for now."
After he finished, the nosebleed had stained the tissue he was using to plug his nose red.
This startled Pei Muchan; just moments ago, Xu Qingyan, while bleeding from his nose, was boldly instilling her with inspirational pep talk.
The scene was shocking, funny, and subtly touching.
"Xu Qingyan, don't talk, I'm afraid you'll bleed out," said Pei Muchan sincerely, pulling out several more tissues and handing them to him.
"I've been busy for half a month. The summer heat, you should know," Xu Qingyan continued to explain, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his mouth filled with blood.
"I know, don't talk, tilt your head back..."
....
Ningchuan, eight o'clock.
Lin Wanzhou had just finished a terribly boring engagement and was lying exhausted in the backseat of the nanny van, while Qi Ting was squatting on the edge of the parking lot smoking.
She glanced at her phone as Xu Qingyan replied to her message, sending a song to her.
"'Qing Tian'?"
She suddenly remembered that this was the new song Xu Qingyan sold to Pei Muchan, and it seemed today was the release date.