I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

The bus was quiet; the only sound was the bumpy noise of the wheels rolling over speed bumps.

Jiang Che turned his head, his gaze shifting from the front row.

Without offering any explanation, he simply pulled out his phone from his pocket and dialed a number right in front of Song Yuqi.

The call connected after less than two beeps.

A highly recognizable female voice came from the speaker, sweet and charming, with an undisguised familiarity.

"Wow, has the sun risen in the west? Our producer from Jiangda University actually has time to call me."

Song Yuqi, who was leaning back in her chair, immediately perked up her ears upon hearing the voice.

Her gaze was fixed on the phone as if it were equipped with a GPS tracker.

Jiang Che leaned back in his chair with a casual posture, speaking as if he were chatting with an old friend.

"We're having a preview concert in Beijing in a couple of days, and we need a special guest to anchor the event. Are you coming?"

The woman on the other end of the phone chuckled without even a second's hesitation.

"Since you, Lyricist, have spoken, how could I dare not come?"

"I happen to have a magazine photoshoot in Beijing the day after tomorrow, so I'll come straight to the set to find you after it's over."

The woman paused for a moment, then joked, "But it's a deal, you're buying me a late-night snack after we're done. Don't try to fool me with a boxed lunch."

"Okay, schedule it. Bye."

Jiang Che decisively ended the call and tossed the phone back into his pocket.

Beside her, Song Yuqi's heart sank straight to her stomach.

These few words shattered the nascent sense of dependence she had just developed.

Who is this?

Jiang Che came to oversee the event without even discussing the advertising fee after just one phone call?

Could this relationship be just that of ordinary friends?

In the front row, Chen He and Deng Chao, like two eavesdropping groundhogs, leaned over the back of their chairs and tried desperately to squeeze towards Lu Han.

"My goodness!" Deng Chao said in a low voice, slapping Lu Han's thigh.

"Was that voice just now...that one from so-and-so? The one who's incredibly famous right now?"

Chen He also leaned in, his eyes wide open.

"It's definitely Dilraba! So many galas usually pay exorbitant sums to get her on stage, but Old Jiang just made one phone call and got her to come over with a late-night snack?"

Lu Han shrank her neck and quickly put a finger to her lips, shushing twice.

"Keep your voices down, you two! It's Dilraba."

Even with her voice kept low, and with two rows of seats between her and the quiet carriage, Song Yuqi in the back row could hear it clearly.

Dilraba.

These two words, like thorny vines, wrapped directly around Song Yuqi's heart.

She turned to look out the window, the mineral water bottle in her hand squeaking loudly.

She painstakingly tore off a large chunk of the label from the plastic bottle.

Okay, Jiangda producer.

A strong smell of aged vinegar churned in Song Yuqi's chest, making her gums ache from the sourness.

The three people in the front row were completely unaware that the air pressure in the back row had plummeted to freezing point, and they were still whispering among themselves.

Chen He's gossip spirit was burning brightly, and he wouldn't let go of Lu Han's sleeve.

"You must know the inside story! Tell me quickly, how did Lao Jiang get together with Dilraba? These two don't seem like the right people at all."

"Then you are truly ignorant."

Lu Han moved closer to the center, unable to contain her excitement at sharing gossip.

"I witnessed the whole thing."

"Back then, when Jiang Ye had just made a name for himself in the industry, he had the legendary script for 'Love O2O' in his hands."

"That script was so well-written that several major investors came knocking as soon as they heard about it, all vying to invest money and trying to put their company's top actress in it as the female lead."

Lu Han patted his leg and spoke vividly.

"And guess what happened?"

"The lyricist is very tough. He just slammed the script on the conference table and made a statement to those bigwigs in the financial world."

"You can invest the money. But the female lead must be Dilraba, no one else will do!"

Deng Chao smacked his lips repeatedly as he listened: "Back then, Dilraba was practically invisible, right? Why was Old Jiang protecting her so much?"

"That's right!" Lu Han said, getting more and more excited.

"At the time, the industry was in an uproar, and everyone was guessing whether Mr. Jiang had been bewitched and was spending real money to promote a young girl."

"When that drama aired, it became a phenomenon, and Dilraba became an overnight sensation and a top star."

"Not only that, but in the several masterpieces that Jiang Ye came up with afterward, he specifically asked Dilraba to take the lead role in all of them."

Lu Han stretched out her hand and gestured in the air.

"They practically stuck the words 'Jiang Che's exclusive leading lady' right on Dilraba's forehead."

Chen He stroked his chin, grinning from ear to ear.

"Good heavens, he's really gone to great lengths for a woman. No wonder she answers the phone instantly and comes running whenever he calls; she's repaying a debt of gratitude."

"It's not as simple as just repaying a debt of gratitude."

Lu Han lowered his voice and added details with a wink.

"Back then, rumors were flying everywhere in the industry, all saying they were dating."

"The two of them went in and out of the film set together. The way Dilraba looked at Ci Ye was so sweet, it was almost like they were being pulled apart."

"The point is, Dilraba is a professionally trained actress, but our lyricist used the theme song to make her the best singer of the year."

Deng Chao got anxious and grabbed Lu Han by the collar, pressing her for answers.

"And then what happened? Did it actually work out?"

"What's the point?" Lu Han sighed, shaking her head in exasperation.

"Our Master Jiang is heartless; all he thinks about is making money. He didn't even consider their offer."

The three people in the front were chatting enthusiastically, completely unaware that Song Yuqi in the back row was practically grinding her back teeth to powder.

Exclusive female lead.

He specifically named and promoted him.

His eyes are so expressive they seem to be drawing out threads.

Hearing these words, Song Yuqi felt as if a lump of cotton was stuck in her chest, unable to come up or go down.

She turned her head and stared coldly at the man beside her who had closed his eyes to rest.

She was picking and choosing here, and even complaining that others had sung the same songs.

Some people have popular celebrities singing for them, while others have their confidantes acting as their exclusive leading ladies.

Inside the train carriage, Lu Han was still arguing with Deng Chao about what kind of soup Dilraba brought when she visited the film set back then.

Song Yuqi crossed her arms over her chest, unable to hold back any longer.

She looked at Jiang Che and blurted out, "I never expected that Producer Jiang would have such a touching scandal."

The sound was soft.

But the smell of gunpowder inside was enough to set the entire bus on fire.

The three gossipy groundhogs in the front row instantly fell silent.

Chen He remained in the position of clinging to the back of the chair, his neck getting stuck.

Lu Han turned around in horror, looking at Song Yuqi's frosty face, and felt like she wanted to die.

It's all over.

We were having so much fun chatting that we forgot the person in question was sitting right behind us!

The carriage was so quiet that the only sound was the whirring of the air conditioner.

Jiang Che opened his eyes.

He turned his head and looked at Song Yuqi's puffed-up face.

The little girl's eyes were red, and she looked at him with a gaze that seemed to want to burn two big holes in his windbreaker.

The mineral water bottle in his hand had been squeezed out of shape.

Jiang Che didn't panic at all; instead, he changed to a more comfortable position and leaned back.

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Che tilted his head to look at her, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalant laughter.

Are you jealous?

"Who's jealous!" Song Yuqi retorted stiffly.

"She's a big star, you're a big producer, a perfect match."

She slammed the crushed water bottle she was holding onto the empty space next to her.

"I wouldn't dare be your leading lady; you should let your confidante sing!"

Jiang Che tapped his knee twice.

He suddenly leaned closer.

The tall figure pressed down on her, forcing Song Yuqi to dodge backward, her back slamming heavily against the car window.

The familiar scent of mint instantly filled the space between the two.

Jiang Che braced himself against the back of the chair beside her with one hand, trapping her in a small corner.

"I didn't expect Song Xiaogou to be so cute when he's jealous."