Back to 1997, I became the originator of online literature

Chapter 452 The First Song Delivery
It was past 11 p.m.

Cao Sheng personally drove Jiang Xiaoshuang back to the TV station.

There were only the two of them in the car.

The car stereo was playing Andy Lau's "Happy Monkey," a very upbeat song that made you want to jump up and down.

Sure enough, Cao Sheng, who was driving, found his head nodding slightly involuntarily to the rhythm of the music.

Seeing him like this, Jiang Xiaoshuang in the passenger seat kept glancing at him sideways. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, and she thought that he was in such a good mood because he had crossed the line with her tonight.

In fact, Cao Sheng simply liked the song because of its catchy rhythm.

The car arrived at the entrance of the Huizhou TV station's residential area. Jiang Xiaoshuang said goodbye to him and reluctantly got out of the car and left.

In the car, Cao Sheng watched her figure walk into the gate of the residential area. He thought about how after they hit a home run together tonight, she didn't ask him a single question about whether they were boyfriend and girlfriend. This was one of the benefits of him not announcing to the public that he had broken up with Huang Qingya.

His feelings were quite complicated.

On the one hand, he felt this was good, as he had previously wished, no longer establishing romantic relationships with any woman. As long as he didn't date, he wouldn't have the problem of cheating.

He'll consider settling down with a woman someday, once he finds the woman he truly wants to marry, or when he's had his fill of playing around and wants to settle down.

On the other hand, the education he received from childhood made him realize that his behavior was that of a scumbag, and he felt somewhat guilty.

But reason told him that this was the wisest choice he could make.

Because his heart has not yet settled down.

He lacks confidence in being faithful in relationships.

At least not yet.

In this situation, starting a formal relationship would only be repeating the mistakes he and Huang Qingya made, and it wouldn't end well.

After watching Jiang Xiaoshuang's figure disappear into the night in the residential area, Cao Sheng turned his car around and drove back.

As the car drove into the villa's courtyard, the two newly hired veterans rushed over. One helped open the car door, while the other looked around at the surroundings in the night, appearing alert.

Cao Sheng nodded to them and headed towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

These two veterans are now nominally his drivers, but in reality, they are his bodyguards.

With Sun Liang and Lei Zhen added, he now has four bodyguards.

Of course, they weren't bodyguards in name only.

Back in his bedroom, he took out his phone to check the time, intending to go to bed after a quick look, but then he saw several messages from Asa.

They were all sent within the last hour or so.

The messages are as follows:
"Brother Cao, I'm going back to Hong Kong tomorrow. Can you come out and have a drink with me tonight?"

"Brother Cao? Why aren't you replying to my text message? Didn't you see it?"

"Brother Cao, I'm really leaving tomorrow. Aren't you going to come and keep me company tonight?"

Cao Sheng and Jiang Xiaoshuang just crossed the line tonight, and he's currently in a state of enlightenment. In this state, his self-control is terrifyingly strong.

Anyway, after reading the messages Asa sent him, he didn't want to go to her hotel. What would he do there? If something else happened, it wouldn't be good for his health.

Besides, he couldn't bring himself to spend one night with two women.

Just pretend you didn't see these messages!

He put down his phone, took off his coat and sweater, pulled back the covers, and got into bed to rest.

……

at the same time.

At the Shangri-La Hotel, Asa sat on a chair by the window, holding a half-empty glass of red wine, gazing at the night outside with hazy, intoxicated eyes, looking very unhappy.

She has been in Huizhou for over a week since the New Year.

Aside from having two meals with her, taking her for a stroll through the streets of Huizhou, and visiting two scenic spots in the suburbs, Cao Sheng didn't touch her even once.

This filled her with a sense of frustration.

She even began to doubt her own charm.

Tonight, she used the excuse that she was going back to Hong Kong tomorrow to ask him to come over. She sent him several messages, but he didn't even reply.

Am I really that unattractive to him?
Is it because this place is too small?

She subconsciously looked down at her chest.

Feeling increasingly distressed, she picked up her wine glass and took another sip.

In the past few days, she has begun to realize that being cute... doesn't win over all men.

But she happens to be the cute type.

That night, she unknowingly fell asleep in the chair.

She wasn't awake until around 7 a.m. the next day when her phone rang.

Picking up the phone, I was surprised to find that the caller ID showed Cao Sheng.

She quickly answered the phone, "Hello? Brother Cao, good morning! Why are you calling me so early?"

Cao Sheng: "Sorry! I went to bed early last night and didn't see your message. You said in your message that you're leaving today, is that true?"

Asa: "Yes, that's right! I've already booked my flight, it's a little after 10 a.m."

Cao Sheng: "It's past 10 o'clock, right? I'll come over now and take you to the airport in a bit?"

Asa: "Is this... alright? Won't it be too much trouble for you?"

Cao Sheng chuckled, "It's nothing! I was just thinking of going to the airport to buy some food, and I'll drop you off while I'm at it. How about we do it now?"

Asa, who had just woken up, was a little dazed and for a moment really thought he was just giving her a ride because he was going that way. She thought to herself: Since he's just giving me a ride, there's no need to be polite.

"Sure! Come over here!"

After the call ended, she put down her phone and slowly realized—who would want to go to the airport to buy food? And then give it away as a gift?

The food at the airport is so expensive and not very tasty, who would go to the airport specifically to buy food?

Thinking of this, she smiled happily and immediately got up to wash and dress up, wanting to make herself look beautiful and greet Cao Sheng in the best possible light before he arrived.

……

Cao Sheng put down his phone, finished the bowl of beef noodles, put down his chopsticks, took a tissue to wipe his mouth, and got up to go to the bedroom to change his coat.

The beef noodles were made by a newly hired auntie, and they tasted alright.

But while eating noodles, he remembered that the aunt was a relative of Cui Xinyu, and the two newly hired veterans were also recruited by Cui Xinyu. He then decided to arrange for Cui Xinyu to work in another position in the near future.

It's time to arrange for Cui Xinyu to gain experience in another position.

As I went downstairs, two new bodyguards approached me. One of them asked, "Boss, are you going out?"

Cao Sheng nodded, "You guys come with me! You go get the car!"

"Okay, boss!"

The man hurriedly ran back inside to get his car keys and then went to drive. At this moment, Cao Sheng noticed that Sun Liang and Lei Zhen had also gotten up and were practicing boxing in the lobby on the first floor. The sandbags and boxing gloves that Cao Sheng used to use for boxing practice were the same ones he used before.

There was also some noise coming from the kitchen.

Just then, Cui Xinyu's voice came from the second-floor balcony, "Boss! Are you going out? Do you need me to go with you?"

Cao Sheng looked up at her, smiled, and shook his head.

These people are all serving him.

These people have been appearing in front of him every day lately, which has made his mindset a little different from before. Before, he mainly lived, studied, and wrote alone. At that time, he felt that he was no different from before his rebirth, still a genuine homebody writer.

With the recent arrival of new bodyguards and nannies, and seeing so many people serving him every day, Cao Sheng finally felt like a boss.

He began to realize that if he wanted to maintain this lifestyle, he had to manage his career well, whether it was writing or investing, and he had to make more money.

Surprisingly, this change in mindset has greatly improved his writing performance these past few days.

He seems to have rediscovered his long-lost passion for writing.

……

The car drove smoothly on the road toward the Shangri-La Hotel where Asa was staying.

Cao Sheng sat in the back seat, squinting as he considered something: what kind of parting gift should he give?
Asa came all the way from Hong Kong to the mainland to see him this time, and stayed here for more than a week. He knew exactly what she was up to.

Although he didn't touch her, he appreciated her feelings.

Moreover, when she came, she specially brought him a pound of Dongding Oolong tea. Now that she is leaving, it seems reasonable for him to give her some gift in return.

What should I get her?

Next Stop, Superstar?
The song title flashed through his mind.

This is her group's signature song in the original timeline, and also their representative work.

The song is very nice, and he likes it quite a bit.

only……

He could manage to sing the song, but couldn't remember the lyrics for a moment.

Because this is a Cantonese song.

It's inherently very difficult for mainland Chinese to memorize the lyrics of a Cantonese song.

Suddenly, he remembered a song by another girl group.

The girl group seemed to sing all their songs in Mandarin, and the lyrics were easy to remember.

As for taking that girl group's song and giving it to Asa's group, isn't that a bit inappropriate?
The thought flashed through Cao Sheng's mind, causing a slight upturn of his lips, but that was all.

He took out his phone and started recalling and writing down the lyrics of the song in his text message inbox. Because there was a character limit for each text message, he saved the lyrics to his drafts after writing down a few lines, and then opened a new text message input box to continue writing them down.

When the car arrived at the Shangri-La Hotel parking lot, he had just finished writing down the last line of the lyrics.

When he arrived at the floor where Asa was staying and knocked on her door, Asa smiled at him and stepped aside to let him in.

Cao Sheng walked in and had just closed the door when she threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Before he could react, she let go of him, took a step back, blushed, and lowered her head, saying, "Brother Cao, thank you so much for taking the time to come and see me off. I'm really grateful. By the way, have you had breakfast? If not, I'll have the front desk send some over."

As she spoke the last sentence, she looked up at Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng smiled, "No need! I've already eaten. Have you eaten yet?"

Asa nodded. "I just drank a bottle of milk and ate half an apple. I'm full."

As she spoke, she gestured for Cao Sheng to come in and sit down.

As Cao Sheng walked, he asked, "You only ate this little bit for breakfast? That won't do, will it? How about we have the front desk bring some breakfast up?"

Asa quickly went to the coffee table to pour him tea. She had already brewed a pot of tea in advance, and now she could just pick up the teapot and pour it into the teacup.

Hearing this, she looked up and gave him a smile. "It's okay! I've been eating very well lately, and I'm already getting too much nutrition. I can't eat any more, or I'll get fat and that won't be good."

As she spoke, she handed the freshly poured tea to Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng sat down next to her, took the teacup, and took a sip.

He glanced around her room twice, then changed the subject, "Have you packed your luggage? Do you need any help?"

Asa nodded, "It was all packed up last night, no need for help."

She paused, then looked at Cao Sheng with a complicated expression and asked, "By the way, Brother Cao, are you going to Hong Kong anytime soon? If you are going, please remember to let me know so I can show you some hospitality, okay?"

Cao Sheng smiled and said, "It's hard to say. I don't have that plan for now. Maybe I'll suddenly want to go someday. If I do go, I won't be polite."

Asa nodded, a sweet smile on her face. "That's good! Don't be so polite with me! It's my honor to entertain you! Really."

Cao Sheng smiled, thought for a moment, took out his phone, pulled up a lyric he had written down along the way, and handed the phone to her. Under her questioning gaze, Cao Sheng said, "This is a lyric I wrote. Take a look and see if you like it. If you do, I'll give it to you to sing."

"what?"

Asa was surprised.

She made a special trip from Hong Kong to Huizhou to see him. Besides her special feelings for him and her desire to have something happen between them, she secretly hoped that he could arrange a good role for her in one of the movies he was writing, to give her a boost.

After all, the value of his scripts has been tested by the market time and time again over the past two years.

His screenplays, once filmed, achieved both excellent box office results and critical acclaim.

This was incredibly appealing to her, a newcomer to the music scene who had only recently debuted.

Although she is currently making a living in the music industry, she has already felt that the Chinese music scene is declining, and the decline is happening very quickly.

This is the general trend.

The impact came from the internet.

Traditionally, singers' achievements and income generally come from records, tapes, concert tickets, and other revenue. However, the rapid development of the internet in mainland China over the past two years is evident to everyone.

The internet's spirit of sharing... allows all movies and music to be uploaded to the internet for free. No matter if the music is new or not, as long as someone hears it, it will be uploaded to the internet very quickly.

This severely impacted the sales of records and tapes.

Therefore, although she has only been in the music industry for a short time, she already wants to develop her career in the film industry.

Although the film industry has also been impacted by the internet, the operating model of movies is different from that of records. Records only allow singers to receive money after they are sold.

And what about movies? Actors usually receive their pay before filming even begins.

Whether a film makes a profit or a loss at the box office after its release will not affect the actors' income, unless the actors have signed a box office revenue sharing agreement.

Chinese-language films have also had a tough time in recent years.

On the one hand, due to the impact of the internet, even newly released movies are quickly uploaded to the internet for free.

On the other hand, the impact of Hollywood special effects blockbusters on Chinese-language films in recent years has been very fierce, further increasing the profit pressure on Chinese-language films after their release.

Given this situation, Cao Sheng's scripts have become a box office guarantee in the eyes of many, so it's only natural that Asa wants to star in a film he wrote.

But now?
Cao Sheng actually said he wrote a song lyric?
She also said that she could sing for them if they liked.

How could someone who writes novels and screenplays also write song lyrics?
Is he addicted to crossing over into different fields?
(End of this chapter)