Rebirth Must Be Happy

Chapter 437 [426] Dreaming Together

Although Chen Xingruo did not win the championship after the final of The Voice of China, she is still the most popular person in this year's academy. After the competition, the number of her Weibo followers has exceeded 290 million and is heading towards the 300 million mark.

Xu Jinhuan benefited from the song "Birds and Cicadas"—mainly because Chen Xingruo mentioned him as the original author again during the finals, coupled with post-competition reports, which caused his Weibo followers to surge to 250 million.

A very auspicious number.

Chen Xingruo ultimately adopted Xu Jinhuan's plan, but judging from her behavior, Xu Jinhuan strongly suspected that it wasn't trust, but simply a ploy to take advantage of her.

Creating a complete album takes a long time, but creating a single is much easier, especially since she already has two songs given to her by Xu Jinhuan.

Therefore, less than a month after the finale of The Voice of China, on the last day of October, Chen Xingruo released her first solo single, "Red Face Like Frost". At the same time, the two songs "Little Happiness" and "Birds and Cicadas" also appeared under her personal name.

Domestically, paid digital albums won't be released online until next year with Jay Chou's "Aiyo Not Bad." Chen Xingruo naturally lacks the confidence to explore this area. Her songs are free, and she doesn't care about that. After all, as Xu Jinhuan said, she didn't become a star to make money.

As long as she doesn't obsess over proving herself, she can treat this as a game.

"Did you really write these lyrics?"

Chen Xingruo kept the two songs a secret very well, not even telling her sister beforehand. So, they didn't hear them for the first time until the songs were released on the evening of the 31st.

Chinese-style lyrics are very difficult to write. They can't be too colloquial or too literary. They have to find a balance between classical poetry and vernacular Chinese. So, from the moment they first heard that it was a Chinese-style song, the girls were very much looking forward to it, or rather, very curious.

When they actually heard the song, they were all astonished. They were completely amazed and found it hard to believe.

Chen Xingzhu, in particular, knew that her younger sister needed good works to truly establish herself, so she secretly tried to write lyrics.

She likes Chinese-style songs, and in the past, she was not satisfied with some of the lyrics when she listened to them, and tried to revise them herself. But this time, when she actually wrote them herself, she realized how difficult it was.

That's why she was even more surprised when she saw "Red Face Like Frost," feeling a shock akin to "this child is terrifyingly powerful."

"Actually, it was a dream!"

After her initial surprise, the young woman made a video call to ask what was wrong. Seeing her astonished expression on the screen, Xu Jinhuan teased her, "Why don't you come over tonight, and we can dream together? Maybe you'll dream of a song too..."

"cough!"

Just then, a cough came from Chen Xingzhu's side, which sounded like Chen Guiliang.

Even a single cough was enough to tell that my father-in-law seemed to be in a bad mood and was clearly a little unhappy.

"...Then Xingruo will have another song to sing, how wonderful!"

Xu Jinhuan immediately and smoothly changed the subject, "Have you discovered once again that I'm even more talented than you imagined...?"

Chen Xingzhu asked, "Did you post on Weibo?"

"No, why would I post on Weibo?"

"You're also a songwriter and composer, and you participate in the revenue sharing of the songs, so of course you should help promote them."

"is it?"

Mr. Xu is very professional. “Then have her sign a formal contract for me later, and I’ll post it on Weibo right away.”

"Go ahead and send it."

Chen Xingzhu's group, including Chen Guiliang, Yu Peishan, and Chen Xingyu, were all there. They felt a little awkward listening to his rambling, so they ended the conversation, saying, "Remember to compliment her."

"Okay, you just wait and see."

Xu Jinhuan pretended to hang up the phone, then seemed to suddenly remember something and continued, "Are your aunt and uncle busy lately? I'll invite them to dinner when I have time. Besides, it's been a while since I've seen Xiaoyu."

Before Chen Xingzhu could speak, Chen Guiliang's voice came: "Sure, this weekend will do."

"Hey, Uncle, you're over there?"

Xu Jinhuan acted as if he had just noticed Chen Guiliang's presence, "Okay, I'll treat you to dinner, it's been a long time."

"I'm dead."

Chen Xingzhu knew he was deliberately hiding something, so she rolled her eyes at him and hung up the phone.

"What should we eat?"

Xu Jinhuan hung up the phone, thought for a moment, and couldn't think of anything good to eat, so she sent a message in the company group, "Dear colleagues, do you have any good restaurant recommendations?"

Before her colleagues could reply, Song Zhiyu sent a message: "[Image][Image][Image]"

She sent several pictures in a row. Xu Jinhuan was initially looking forward to it, but when she opened them, she found that they were all chat screenshots.

Upon closer inspection, the discussions were all about "The Beauty Like Frost," some from her classmates' group chat and others from the internet.

Xu Jinhuan hadn't had time to read the comments yet, but he could guess that whether it was him or Chen Xingruo, the majority of netizens certainly wouldn't hold them to the same standards as Jay Chou. With expectations lowered, it was naturally easier to be pleasantly surprised.

Another important reason is that Jay Chou was in a state of vocal damage and personal fulfillment when he released this song, leading many to speculate that the song was not in its "normal state" and was a watered-down version.

This problem doesn't exist when Chen Xingruo sings it. The lyrics are the original, but the melody is different from the original, and it has a different flavor when sung by her.

"Isn't this normal?"

Xu Jinhuan gloated for a moment, then checked the reviews himself. As he was reading, Xie Wanqing came into the living room wearing black pajamas. Seeing him grinning, she asked with a smile, "What are you grinning about?"

"Look at how people are praising me."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and patted the person next to him, "Come and watch together."

As the weather turned cooler, she no longer dressed so lightly, but her alluring curves were still impossible to conceal. Being covered up only made her more tempting. However, after a few months, Xu Jinhuan was no longer as impulsive as before. Otherwise, even the most vigorous body couldn't withstand it. Therefore, when he looked at Xie Wanqing's sexy figure, he only felt pleasing to the eye and did not act recklessly as impatiently as before.

"A song?"

Having been taught a lesson so many times, Xie Wanqing was much more obedient than Chen Xingzhu. She walked over and sat down, saying, "It really sounds nice, and your writing is good too...hands!"

Xu Jinhuan lowered his hand, which was already habitually reaching for the summit, and said, "There's something else. I'm having dinner with Xingzhu's father this weekend. Want to come along?"

Xie Wanqing shook her head and said, "Never mind, I'm not going. I have plans."

"With whom?"

"Don't tell you!"

"You only listen after being taught a lesson, right?"

Xu Jinhuan collected the interest first, but didn't insist that she go. In fact, he was a little afraid that she would go.

Chen Guiliang and Yu Peishan are both shrewd people. At the last final, it was obvious that they were both paying attention to Xie Wanqing and Song Zhiyu. If Xie Wanqing goes to dinner with them this time, they might be found out.

Although he was mentally prepared for a long and arduous road ahead, he never expected it to arrive so soon.

There's no need to make things harder for yourself!
"Sister, I have something to tell you."

After finishing cleaning up Xie Wanqing in the evening, she gradually recovered from her previous limpness. Xu Jinhuan was a little sleepy, but he still mustered his energy to chat with her and took the initiative to find topics to consciously cultivate their relationship, so that he wouldn't feel like he was lustful and indifferent towards her after a while.

"Hmm~ Tell me," Xie Wanqing turned off the light and was noticeably more clingy than before. No longer shy about snuggling up to him, she leaned against him and asked, her voice carrying a charming and alluring quality. She even gently poked his shoulder with one finger, as if assessing the strength of his muscles.

"If you have some free time recently, you can look at houses. I'm thinking of buying another house."

"why?"

Xie Wanqing was a little surprised, thinking he was worried that one house wouldn't be enough. "This one house is enough, Xingzhu..."

She thought she wouldn't mind if Xingzhu came to stay, but then she remembered she couldn't tell him so soon, so she stopped herself.

"is not what it means."

Xu Jinhuan reached out and stroked Sister Xie's head, explaining with a smile, "I've already diversified my investments over this period. I've kept a small portion in savings just in case, and the rest I'm investing in. But I can't just buy stocks or cryptocurrencies; I'm also buying a house as a backup, which is also an investment."

"Ok."

Xie Wanqing was relieved, but then felt something was off. Even if he wanted to buy a house so that she and Chen Xingzhu could live separately, she didn't need to worry.
It's impossible for me to live with Chen Xingzhu in the future!

She had thought about these things before, but she couldn't help but think about them clearly. Now that she thought about them, she still couldn't help but think about them again, so she stopped thinking about them.

Anyway, with Xu Jinhuan and Chen Xingzhu around, they'll definitely consider it. All I need to do is decide whether to accept it.

She thought for a moment and then said, "But I don't know how to buy it."

"It's okay, buy whatever you like."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "No matter what you buy in Beijing now, you won't lose money, but that will only be for the next two years."

"how do you know?"

"I know that, but I'm not convinced!"

"Humph!"

Before she knew it, it was the weekend. Xie Wanqing went to a classmate's birthday party, while Xu Jinhuan arrived at the restaurant she had booked a day earlier.

Chen Xingzhu didn't come early; she came with Chen Guiliang. Yu Peishan also brought Chen Xingyu, but surprisingly, Chen Xingzhu didn't come.

"Xingzhu came with Xingruo, and Xingruo dragged him to record a music video."

Yu Peishan knew who he was looking for just by looking at his eyes, and explained with a smile, "She said that the two sisters appearing together would better suit the mood of the new song..."

Xu Jinhuan thought for a moment and asked curiously, "What new song features both of them appearing together?"

Yu Peishan said, "They said it was your song."

Wanjiang?

What does this have to do with the two sisters appearing together?
Xu Jinhuan couldn't figure it out, so she didn't try to understand Chen Xingruo's thought process, which was comparable to Song Zhiyu's. She ordered the food first and then sent a message to Chen Xingzhu.

Chen Xingzhu replied instantly: "We're already at the door."

Xu Jinhuan was very surprised, not because she replied to his message instantly (Xu Jinhuan is a person of considerable influence), but because the WeChat message on the iPhone was not delayed, which was quite amazing.

Of course, the delay in WeChat messages on iPhones only appeared after iOS 10 in 2016, mainly because iOS has stricter restrictions on background refresh. Nowadays, WeChat messages on iPhones are still quite timely in most cases, especially when connected to Wi-Fi.

"Hello, brother-in-law!"

"Red Face Like Frost" started climbing the charts on the day of its release, and in the past two days it has basically occupied the top spots on the charts of major music platforms. It can be said that its popularity is extremely high, which can be seen from Chen Xingruo's attitude. She even called him "brother-in-law" as soon as they met.

"Don't shout!"

Chen Xingzhu reached out and slapped her younger sister, then sat down next to Xu Jinhuan and said, "If you keep shouting like that, I won't let you write songs next time."

"It's okay, he'll send it to me secretly."

Chen Xingruo grinned and leaned over her sister, winking at Xu Jinhuan, "Right, brother-in-law?"

As the weather turned cooler, the two sisters switched to autumn clothes. They wore the same white sneakers, the same light blue jeans, and the same white T-shirts underneath. The only difference was their outerwear: Chen Xingzhu wore a light gray long knitted cardigan, while Chen Xingruo wore a blue denim jacket. Even without words or actions, their outfits made them easily distinguishable.

The premise is that the two people do not deliberately pretend; otherwise, the more obvious the labels and styles are, the easier it is to pretend.

Xu Jinhuan laughed and said, "I'll listen to your sister."

"Tch, what a loser!"

After chatting for a while, Yu Peishan asked, "How's your game coming along?"

"The internal testing should begin before New Year's Day."

Xu Jinhuan smiled and said, "Before the game's public beta, Tencent may need to make additional investments. At that time, my shareholding will likely be reduced, and some of it will be used as employee incentives."

Yu Peishan said, "Under normal circumstances, the last round of Tencent's investment was considered Series B, and your share had already dropped to 50%, which is too little. But that's mainly because Xingzhu received 20%, which can also be considered yours. But after this round of financing, I estimate that the combined share of the two of you will drop to below 60%. You should be prepared."

Chen Guiliang smiled and suggested, "This is normal. Shares have to be given up, otherwise Tencent's channels will definitely not cooperate. If you want more say, you can set up double the equity."

"Thank you for reminding me, Uncle and Aunt Shan."

Xu Jinhuan naturally understood these things, but still sincerely thanked him, "I don't mean to keep control of this game forever. I will gradually give up the dominant position. At that time, I will keep the shares and receive dividends, and put my energy into other places."

Chen Guiliang was somewhat surprised: "You're planning to start another business?"

"I'll be less than 25 years old in five years. I can't just retire and live a life of leisure, can I?"

Xu Jinhuan joked, "I definitely need to find something else to do..."

Chen Guiliang asked, "What do you want to do?"

Yu Peishan laughed and said, "Your Uncle Chen has also been thinking about switching to another industry, to be on the safe side. Cooperating with Tencent in the gaming industry is the right thing to do, there's no need to make enemies, but surely he won't cooperate with Tencent again for his next startup project?"

Xu Jinhuan was a little surprised: "The real estate industry is booming, is Uncle in such a hurry to switch tracks?"

"It's not about changing paths; having more options is never a bad thing, and I don't necessarily have to do it myself."

Chen Guiliang poured Chen Xingyu a drink and explained with a smile, "Moreover, there are experiences from other countries that we can learn from. The stronger and smoother the development momentum, the closer it is to the peak. By then, it will be too late to think about retreating."

In fact, he still holds shares in the pharmaceutical company, so he definitely has a way out. The main reason he talked to Xu Jinhuan about these things was out of curiosity; he wanted to see what Xu Jinhuan would do.

"Uncle is very thoughtful."

Xu Jinhuan first offered a compliment before replying, "We'll see about Tencent later, depending on the cooperation and whether we have enough funding."

After a pause, he asked again, "Have you and your aunt paid any attention to new energy vehicles?"

"You think this is a good investment?"

Chen Guiliang was a little surprised, "New energy vehicles can't be used yet, right? You're planning to do that?"

　It's strange that the less I update daily, the more likely I am to experience writer's block.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)