I was slacking off on a dating reality show when the female guests treated me like a treasure chest.

Chapter 142 Settling Down in Guangzhou!

Xia Yao's voice came from the other end of the phone, carried with it the sound of wind.

Chen Nian assumed she was vacationing on some beach.

"Chen Nian, send me your address. I need it for navigation."

"Pfft, what?" Chen Nian almost spat out his water, looking at the caller with suspicion. "That's right, it's Xia Yao's voice, no problem."

Xia Yao was sitting in the back seat of the car, with the window slightly open, letting in gusts of wind.

She felt incredibly crazy at that moment. How could it have suddenly come to her?

But since she was already here, she couldn't very well say she wanted to fly back, could she? After all, she had fallen out with her parents, and she didn't want to go back now and embarrass herself.

"I said, give me your address, I'm on my way there now," Xia Yao repeated.

This time Chen Nian heard clearly, and wow, she said she was on her way.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Guangzhou for a performance? I could have picked you up," Chen Nian replied, regaining his composure.

"I'm telling you now, aren't I? Send me your address, I'll come over now."

"Now? Oh, okay, I haven't eaten yet, then I'll wait for you to come and we can eat together." Chen Nian was a little surprised, but he still sent her the address.

After sending the apartment address to Xia Yao, he went straight out and took a taxi home.

I don't know what happened, one left and another came.

Thinking of this, Chen Nian opened the messages in the group and saw that Xia Yao was not coming to Guangzhou. It seemed that she had a performance to attend.

Since returning from the holiday, Chen Nian has gained a clear understanding of Xia Yao's future.

He looked up the name that Liu Ting and the others had mentioned: Xia Qing.

Wow, I didn't know that until I looked it up, I didn't realize that he is currently the most famous pianist in China.

Although she has retired, Xia Yao, as her daughter, remains as talented as ever and is highly renowned among the new generation of pianists.

Like begets like; sometimes there's something really to it about genes.

Back at the apartment, it was already dark. Chen Nian was waiting for Xia Yao at the apartment entrance.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Chen Nian was somewhat surprised. Why was the other party so slow? Where did they come from?

He sent Xia Yao a message asking, "When are you arriving? I'll be waiting at this address."

A moment later, Xia Yao returned a time: 20 minutes later.

Chen Nian was puzzled. It had been almost an hour since they arrived. Where were they going to perform?

In his memory, pianos were always played in dignified performance halls.

Half an hour later, Chen Nian finally saw a taxi parked not far away. The next moment, a fair-skinned hand leaned out from the back seat and waved to him.

"Chen Nian, I'm here." Xia Yao poked her head out and chuckled. Then, she got out of the car, walked to the trunk, and took out a suitcase.

Chen Nian stared in astonishment at the suitcase in her hand.

"You came from the airport?"

"Yes, I came straight here after getting off the plane." Xia Yao nodded, pulling her suitcase, and then looked at the apartment building behind Chen Nian.

Do you live in this apartment building?

Chen Nian snapped out of his daze, looking puzzled, and replied, "Yeah, I just moved here a few days ago."

"Oh, I see. Which room did you rent?" Xia Yao asked.

Chen Nian looked wary, that familiar sense of foreboding washing over him again. He replied, "One bedroom and one living room, there are no extra rooms."

He dared not let this guy stay at his place for one night; who knows what kind of news would break out? He had finally managed to keep a low profile recently.

"Okay, then help me rent another room on your floor. Please ask around and see if there are any rooms available. I'll be living here starting today."

"Huh?" Chen Nian was stunned, looking bewildered. "Weren't you here to act? Why are you staying here? Wouldn't it be better to stay in a hotel?"

"Act? I never said I came here to act. I came here to settle down in Guangzhou." With that, Xia Yao pulled her luggage and walked towards the entrance of the apartment building.

"Okay, take me to your place to put my luggage first, then help me ask the landlord if we can rent the place tonight." Xia Yao chuckled.

At this moment, she felt both nervous and curious, as if she were doing something interesting.

She felt that this kind of life was more interesting than going abroad and practicing piano day after day with an elderly teacher.

Chen Nian was still a bit dazed and hadn't reacted yet. Seeing Xia Yao walk towards the building, he followed her and led the way.

Before long, they arrived at the door of the room on the 13th floor, and Chen Nian opened the door.

Xia Yao peeked into the house first, then walked in as if they were old friends.

"There shouldn't be anyone else, right?" she asked.

"No, I live alone." Chen Nian turned on the light, put down the keys, and then looked at her with a puzzled expression, asking, "Are you kidding? You're really going to settle down in Guangzhou?"

"No, I am indeed planning to settle down here, so I just happened to ask you to help me rent a place."

"What a pity. If you were renting a two-bedroom apartment, I could share it with you." Xia Yao put her suitcase aside and looked around the layout of the room.

Chen Nian rolled his eyes at her, sat down on the sofa, and was still feeling a bit strange. Things had developed rather quickly, and he had no idea what was going on.

He then picked up his phone and called the landlord to ask if the house was still available.

Upon hearing this, the landlord thought for a moment and said, "Yes, there are still rooms available on the 13th and 14th floors. Are you looking to change rooms?"

"No, a friend of mine also wants to rent. Where is the other vacant room on the 13th floor?"

"Room 1316 is at the end of the corridor."

"There's another room at the end of the corridor," Chen Nian said after a moment's thought. He then turned to Xia Yao beside him and said, "It's at the end of the corridor. Would you like to stay there?"

"It's okay, just book it for me. Is there enough room for me tonight?" Xia Yao said nonchalantly, since she felt that it was enough for Chen Nian to stay on this floor as well.

Chen Nian was somewhat helpless, wondering what had gotten into this guy. Why would he leave his perfectly good villa and come here to rent an apartment?

He then explained to the landlord that he wanted to see if the landlord could come and take a look at the house right now.

The landlord readily agreed, saying he would arrive in 20 minutes.

Having confirmed the other party's arrival time, Chen Nian said, "Let's go out for dinner together after we've looked at the house. If you had come yesterday, Su Xiao and Liu Ting would have been here too."

"It's a pity, I should have come yesterday. But now that I'm here, I can go visit Su Xiao anytime." Xia Yao smiled slightly, then went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, and drank it by herself.

After a while, Xia Yao calmed down and looked at Chen Nian seriously, saying, "I came here this time to develop my career in Guangzhou. If you have time in the future, could you write some songs for me?"

"You want to sing too?" Chen Nian asked in surprise.

"Not singing, help me write some piano pieces. I think you could do that too," Xia Yao said seriously.

Chen Nian rolled his eyes and said sullenly, "How do you know I can write that? Besides, pianists don't need innovative pieces, do they?"

"Who said that? Pianists also need innovative pieces. Old pieces can only showcase your ability, but new pieces are what allow a pianist to go further."

"Didn't you just open a studio? I can work with you and become your studio's first artist."

Upon hearing this, Chen Nian felt that it might be worthwhile, as he did have some piano pieces to his name.

But I can only recall two or three very famous pieces, and that's about it.

He hadn't originally intended to write these piano pieces; it seemed they wouldn't be of much use, so he figured it would be better to make money from a song.

But it would be a waste to just leave it there, so it seems like it wouldn't hurt to write it out for Xia Yao to play now.

Chen Nian was still puzzled. He looked at Xia Yao, who met his gaze with a smile.

However, Chen Nian could still see the unease and tension in Xia Yao's eyes.

He didn't know if this guy had a fight with his family, but since he was here, he would treat him well.

"Okay, let's do it as a collaboration then. There's no need to sign a contract with my studio or anything."

"After all, being a pianist isn't something you can just do in Guangzhou. I remember pianists have to tour all over the world, right? And many major awards are won overseas."

Xia Yao's eyes lit up. She was delighted that Chen Nian would agree, but what he said next made her sigh helplessly.

"Yes, being a pianist is much more tiring than being a singer. Sigh, I'm even thinking about becoming a singer myself." As she spoke, Xia Yao looked at the night view outside the balcony with a worried expression.

Chen Nian smiled wryly, thinking that she was truly unaware of her good fortune. Anyway, she would say what she wanted to say.

Before long, the landlord arrived. When he saw that the person who wanted to rent the room was Xia Yao, he was stunned. Most of his apartment tenants were people working in the entertainment industry, so they would naturally pay attention to entertainment news from time to time.

Therefore, he naturally recognizes all the guests on the recently popular show "Heartbeat".

Of course, despite his surprise, he didn't act like a fangirl and skillfully led Chen Nian and Xia Yao to room 1316 at the end of the corridor to view the room.

"This apartment was just cleaned the day before yesterday. If you want to move in, you can do so tonight. Everything is ready," the landlord said with a smile. He was naturally happy to have business coming his way.

Xia Yao looked around and made a decision. She signed the contract with the landlord on the spot and finally breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the lease and room key.

At least the problem of where to stay was solved, and with Chen Nian by her side, the unease in her heart finally dissipated a lot.

After seeing the landlord off, Chen Nian realized it was getting late, so he took Xia Yao to eat nearby. After the meal, he took her to a nearby supermarket and bought a bunch of household items.

When Chen Nian returned to his apartment carrying bags of things, he secretly prayed that he wouldn't run into Lin Ran.

As luck would have it, Chen Nian saw Lin Zai standing in the corridor, lost in thought, as soon as he stepped out of the elevator.

Hearing footsteps, Lin Ran turned her head and looked on in surprise when she saw Xia Yao behind Chen Nian.

Even someone as composed as her was momentarily stunned.

"What's going on with you guys?" A thought flashed through Lin Ran's mind: Could this guy be in love?

Chen Nian quickly explained, "You should know Xia Yao. She's coming to Guangzhou to develop her career and asked me to help her find an apartment. I happened to recommend this building to her; she lives in room 1316."

Xia Yao looked at the woman in front of her, somewhat surprised that Chen Nian had such a beautiful friend by his side, and with such a good temperament.

"This isn't the childhood sweetheart you mentioned, is it?" Xia Yao asked curiously, realizing what was happening.

Chen Nian nodded slightly. "Her name is Lin Ran. She is the director of the creative department at Xinghe Entertainment and has been my friend since childhood."

"I see. I've heard so much about you. Chen Nian often mentions you on his shows," Xia Yao said with a slight smile, greeting Lin Ran.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. But I remember you're a famous rising piano star, why are you developing your career in Guangzhou?"

Lin Ran voiced her confusion.

"For me, it's the same wherever I am. Sometimes I need to find inspiration in a different place, and it's good to have someone to rely on here," Xia Yao said with a slight smile.

Lin Ran nodded, glancing at Chen Nian discreetly, wondering if this guy had invited them.