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

Jiang Che pressed the lock screen button and tossed his phone onto the bedside table.

He stared at the ceiling for a while, mentally going over the entire score.

Turn over and close your eyes.

................

At 7:00 a.m. sharp, in the lobby of the hot spring hotel.

Deng Chao had dark circles under his eyes, was carrying five baskets of xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) and six cups of soy milk, and his face was full of resentment.

Chen He was in an even worse state, clutching four or five canvas bags in his arms, so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open, and he kept muttering that he wanted more appearance fees.

The elevator doors opened.

Jiang Che and Song Yuqi walked out side by side.

Lu Han followed behind, whistling with great enthusiasm.

"Boss Jiang, Boss Song."

Deng Chao handed over the soy milk, gritting his teeth: "This is breakfast your two bodyguards bought for you, it's still warm. It's not poisoned, drink it without worry."

Jiang Che took the soy milk, glanced at the packaging, and casually inserted a straw.

He didn't drink it himself, but handed it directly to Song Yuqi next to him.

"Ladies first"

Song Yuqi took the drink, sipped it, and smiled.

She turned to look at Deng Chao: "Brother Chao, you've worked hard."

Deng Chao pointed at the two of them, his hand trembling with anger: "Corruption! Utter corruption! Chen He, look at their faces! They even have to show off to me while getting a cup of soy milk!"

Chen He threw the bag he was holding onto the ground and lay down on the sofa.

"What are you looking at? I just find you an eyesore."

The bus headed towards Jiefangbei.

Wu Zheng sat at the front with a megaphone in hand, unable to suppress his smile.

"The voting channel closed last night, and the total number of voters exceeded 25 million."

Wu Zheng waved the printed A4 paper in his hand.

"Everyone, the results are in."

The carriage fell silent.

While munching on a steamed bun, Deng Chao mumbled, "Hurry up and read it, stop keeping me in suspense, let me die a quick death."

Wu Zheng cleared his throat: "Third place in votes, option E, six people challenge Chongqing dialect tongue twisters. 2.1 million votes."

Wang Mian breathed a sigh of relief: "This will work, at least it won't take much physical effort. Brother He, you take the lead later."

Chen He raised his eyes: "If you want me dead, just say so."

Wu Zheng continued reading: "Second place in votes, option A, six people sing a song together, Jiang Che leads the singing. 8.9 million votes."

Lu Han turned to look at Jiang Che: "Master Ci, it's up to you to carry us to victory."

Jiang Che leaned back in his chair and didn't reply.

He knew very well that none of these options were the main focus.

Wu Zheng deliberately paused for two seconds, then raised the loudspeaker even higher, making the sound reverberate throughout the entire carriage.

"The option with the most votes is D."

Jiang Che composed and sang a new song for Song Yuqi on the spot.

"Thirteen million votes!"

"Number One Fault Line!"

Deng Chao choked on a steamed bun and coughed violently, pounding his chest.

Chen He tightened the lid of the thermos and sighed.

"Alright, viewers, you've all come up with something to me. Thirteen million people voted just to see you two get together."

Song Yuqi held the soy milk cup without saying a word.

Her gaze passed over Lu Han's shoulder and landed directly on Jiang Che's face.

Jiang Che met her gaze, his hand resting on the edge of the car window.

He did not refute Chen He's comment about "dating".

He simply nodded.

"understood."

The bus was parked at the intersection outside Jiefangbei.

Before the car door was even opened, the noise from outside had already pierced through the soundproof glass and crashed in.

Lu Han peered out the window, then turned and yelled, "Wu Zheng, what have you done? You've called the whole of Chongqing here?"

The Liberation Monument Square was packed with people.

The once empty pedestrian street was now packed with people, and a small open-air stage was temporarily set up in the middle.

Wu Zheng really went to great lengths this time, hiring over a hundred security personnel to stand in three circles to clear a 30-meter-long passage through the crowd.

Support signs were flying everywhere.

The most eye-catching feature is the several huge red-background, white-letter light boards connected together in the very center.

Jiang Che has released a new song!

"Go, Yuqi!"

Wu Zheng pushed open the car door: "Get out quickly, the live broadcast has already started, and tens of millions of people are waiting for your report."

The six people lined up and walked down.

Deng Chao walked at the front. As soon as he got off the car, he was startled by the screams from both sides and shrank back, quickly covering his ears.

Jiang Che walked in the middle.

Song Yuqi followed behind him.

Security personnel tried their best to stop the crowds from squeezing in, but there were too many people and the passage was gradually narrowed.

A fan wearing glasses was bumped by someone behind her, causing her to stumble forward and swing her selfie stick straight at Song Yuqi's face.

The distance is too close.

Song Yuqi had no time to dodge.

A hand reached out from the side and firmly gripped the iron rod of the selfie stick.

Jiang Che pressed down on his wrist, pushed the selfie stick away, and took a half step forward to block Song Yuqi's side.

He had one hand in his jacket pocket and the other hand loosely placed on the outside of her shoulder, separating the surging crowd from the side and leaving a safe gap.

"Stay close."

Jiang Che didn't turn around, and his voice was very low.

Song Yuqi looked at the shoulder so close to hers and reached out to grab the hem of his windbreaker.

"it is good."

The live stream chat froze for a few seconds.

Immediately afterwards, the number of bullet comments increased several times over.

[I got a screenshot! That one-handed selfie stick blocking move was so cool I wanted to smash my screen!]

Not only did he protect her, he also made her stay close!

[I'll argue with anyone who says Jiang Che isn't proactive!]

The six people squeezed onto the small stage, all of them a little out of breath.

Deng Chao picked up the microphone and shouted into the crowd, "Don't you Chongqing people have to work?! It's Friday today!"

Tens of thousands of people below roared back in unison: "Your presence is more important!"

Deng Chao clutched his chest and took a step back.

"Okay, I accept that reason."

The first two tasks went by quickly.

In the Chongqing dialect tongue twister segment, Chen He was tormented by the tongue-twisting dialect and only managed to pass the test with Wang Mian's constant reminders.

During the group sing-along, Jiang Che led everyone in singing an old song.

He only sang a few lines casually, and a whole bunch of people in the audience raised their phones.

Lu Han leaned closer to the microphone: "Everyone, calm down, the main event is yet to come."

"Okay, warm-up over."

Wu Zheng stood to the side of the stage with a megaphone, looking at Jiang Che with a smile.

"Next, we'll move on to the biggest suspense of this season so far."

The shouts from the audience gradually subsided.

The support signs were still lit up, and all the phone cameras were pointed at the center of the stage.

The number of viewers in the live stream was soaring by tens of thousands per second.

Wu Zheng pointed to the high stool and standing microphone in the middle of the stage.

"Jiang Che, please take a seat."

"Song Yuqi, please stand next to him."

Song Yuqi zipped her coat all the way up and stood less than a meter to the right of the bar stool.

Jiang Che walked over, sat on a high stool, and adjusted the microphone height.

A staff member handed over a wooden guitar.

Jiang Che took it, placed his fingers on the strings, and tuned two notes.

Lu Han strolled around with a microphone, temporarily taking on the role of host.

"Teacher Jiang, I have a question that the whole internet is concerned about."

"The audience asked you to write a song for Song Yuqi on the spot. Did you stay up all night to come up with it, or was it already in your head?"

Jiang Che tapped his fingers twice on the back of the guitar and looked up at Lu Han.

"Isn't the task supposed to be a live creation?"

Lu Han immediately scoffed and turned to the crowd below the stage to start a commotion.

"Are you unable to catch a joke?"

Jiang Che didn't respond to that.

He turned his head and met Song Yuqi's gaze.

She wore light makeup today, and the wind blew her hair across her cheeks.

She didn't avoid his gaze, just stood there, her eyes filled with expectation and a stubborn determination.

Jiang Che looked at her, his fingertips lingering on the strings for two seconds.

Those discarded drafts, that pen, that corgi, that lotus flower.

She repeatedly put the words in front of him, and repeatedly left him a way out.

Jiang Che turned his face back to the front and brought it about half an inch closer to the standing microphone.

A system notification sounded in my mind.

[The host has been detected to be performing a public show with tens of millions of views.]

[Stage charisma boost is now activated.]

[The vocal detail and emotional penetration are temporarily boosted to their maximum.]

Jiang Che did not look at the panel.

He strummed the strings a few times, his mind constantly rummaging through the song library from his past life.