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

Her name was in the top five of the trending topics.

[#Song Yuqi sings a cappella during live stream#]

[#TenYearsOfUnrequitedLove#]

[#RejectedDraft#]

Jiang Che lay on the hotel bed, the room lights were off, and his face was reflected on the phone screen.

That melody played in my head countless times.

My phone keeps vibrating.

Lu Han: [Brother, are you still alive?]

Lu Han: [Public opinion has changed; half the people are now shipping you two.]

Lu Han: [Your partner is still telling you you don't deserve it]

Lu Han: [What exactly are your plans?]

Lu Han: [Speaking]

Lu Han: [? ?]

Jiang Che typed two words and sent them.

【sleep.】

Lu Han: [Are you able to sleep?]

Can't sleep.

Jiang Che turned his phone face down and closed his eyes.

The system panel was hanging in the corner of my field of vision, and the numbers were still jumping.

Current Reputation Value: 956780

[43220 points are needed to unlock singing ability (SS level)]

At the current rate of heat dissipation, it should arrive before noon tomorrow.

The question is, so what if we get there?

He turned over, pulled the blanket over his head, and drifted in and out of sleep until morning.

The production crew's car arrived at the hotel on time.

Jiang Che got into the car with dark circles under his eyes, and the staff handed him a process sheet and a cup of Americano.

He took a sip of coffee first, then looked down at the process.

[Live Stream Process]

[Part 1: Icebreaker Games]

[Segment Two: Talent Show (Each guest needs to prepare a complete performance)]

[Part Three: City Mission]

Jiang Che's gaze was fixed on the second line, and he almost spilled coffee from the corner of his mouth.

Talent show.

Full program.

What are his talents now?

Songwriting?

Write a song for the audience to see on camera?

After the car crossed the Jialing River Bridge, Jiang Che took out his phone and dialed Lu Han's number.

I answered it after it rang once.

What should I showcase in my talent performance?

Lu Han's voice still carried the grumpiness of someone just woke up: "Don't you know how to play the guitar? Just perform, you don't need to say a word."

"My skill level is about the same as the customers trying out instruments at music stores."

"Then... you'll recite it?"

"Lu Ge, are you serious?"

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Lu Han changed her tone: "How about you write the lyrics on the spot? Create something within a time limit? The audience has never seen anything like this before, maybe it will be interesting."

Jiang Che didn't reply.

Writing lyrics on the spot is indeed a solution.

"Let me think about it some more."

"Okay, wait for me when we get to the base. I'll be there at ten o'clock."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Che leaned against the car window, his gaze fixed on the upper right corner of his phone screen.

The numbers on the system panel jumped up again.

Current Reputation Value: 978340

almost.

The recording studio is located on Nanshan Mountain, in a renovated old hot pot restaurant, with its exterior painted in the iconic orange of Wuha.

Jiang Che entered the gate carrying his backpack; there were already people in the courtyard.

Deng Chao stood in the middle of the courtyard gesturing something, and upon seeing him, immediately came forward, "Master Ci! I've long admired your name!"

Jiang Che took half a step back: "Hello, Brother Deng."

"Don't call me Brother Deng, call me Brother Chao, it's more friendly."

Deng Chao put his arm around his shoulder and walked him inside: "Brother, I always sing your song 'Gunfire' at karaoke, even though I can't hit the high notes."

At the long table next to him, Chen He sat with his legs crossed, peeling an orange in his hand, without even looking up.

"You can't sing the high notes but you still insist on ordering them. Don't make things difficult for the other people in the private room."

Deng Chao turned around and glared at him: "Shut up."

Chen He popped a segment of orange into his mouth before looking up at Jiang Che.

He looked him up and down for two seconds.

"You're the lyricist behind the scenes that Song Yuqi has a crush on?"

Jiang Che hadn't had a chance to respond yet.

Chen He spoke again, "The part she sang a cappella last night was definitely yours."

"The beginning is very stable, and then the chorus rises sharply, which is the same as the style of 'Gunfire' that you wrote for Lu Han."

The courtyard quieted down for a moment.

Deng Chao turned to look at Chen He: "When did you learn all this?"

Chen He peeled another segment of orange: "I don't understand, but my hearing is still good."

Jiang Che gave him another look.

Who would have thought that Chen He in this world would be able to play music?

Deng Chao leaned closer, rubbing his hands together, his expression full of gossip: "So, are you two really in that kind of relationship? Give me a straight answer so I know how to respond to your jokes during the live stream the day after tomorrow."

"It has nothing to do with me." Jiang Che shrugged. "I don't even have her WeChat."

Deng Chao and Chen He exchanged a glance.

Deng Chao scoffed, "I sat behind you ten years ago, and I've kept your discarded drafts until now, and you're telling me you don't even have WeChat?"

Chen He added, "It's one-sided that they have a relationship, and one-sided that you don't. But together, they do have a relationship."

Jiang Che: "...What kind of logic is that?"

Chen He stood up and clapped the orange peel off his hands: "The logic that the audience loves to watch."

At this moment, Wang Mian poked his head out from the inner room: "Have you all received the program schedule? We'll be scouting the location at 3 PM this afternoon, and the production team will cover dinner."

Deng Chao interrupted him: "Mianzi, this is Jiang Che. You must have heard his songs."

Wang Mian paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Nonsense, who in the industry doesn't know Jiang the Great Lyricist?"

Jiang Che nodded to Wang Mian.

After the afternoon site visit was completed, it got dark.

The group went back to their respective hotels to rest.

Jiang Che entered the elevator alone and pressed the button for the seventeenth floor.

The elevator stopped on the twelfth floor.

The moment the door opened, his eyes met those of the person inside.

Song Yuqi stood in the corner of the elevator, holding a cup of Americano in her hand, her hat pulled low.

The moment she saw him, her hand holding the cup paused.

Jiang Che stood at the elevator door, not moving.

The atmosphere instantly became very awkward.

A full minute passed, and no one spoke.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close.

Jiang Che reached out and blocked the sensor area before walking inside.

The elevator doors closed.

Song Yuqi spoke first.

His voice was lower and his tone was more steady than during the live stream.

You've lost weight.

Jiang Che turned his head to look at her.

Half of her face was visible under the brim of her hat; she wasn't wearing makeup, her skin was very fair, and her jawline was sharp.

It doesn't match the blurry ponytail outline in my memory at all.

He opened his mouth, a dozen or so ways to respond flashed through his mind, but in the end he only said one sentence.

"You've changed a lot, I almost didn't recognize you."

Song Yuqi switched the coffee cup to her other hand and her lips twitched slightly.

"Is that a compliment?"

I guess so.

The elevator numbers jumped to fifteen.

Song Yuqi glanced down at the floor display and said, "Thank you."

The door opened on the seventeenth floor.

Jiang Che stepped out, took two steps, and then heard her voice behind him.

Jiang Che.

He stopped, but didn't turn around.

"What do you think of the second half of that song I added last night?"

The elevator doors closed slowly.

When Jiang Che turned around, the door was already closed.