Entertainment: A song that brought his deceased wife back to life.

Xu Qing paused for a beat while plucking the strings, then continued.

"I heard you."

"Aren't you angry?"

Xu Qing pushed the mask up, revealing the lower half of her face.

"What's the use of getting angry? The points have already been awarded."

"So how do you feel?"

Xu Qing stood up and slung the guitar over his back.

I'm hungry.

Luo Qianyu glared at him.

"I'm talking to you about something important."

Xu Qing walked up to her and reached out to straighten her crooked mask.

"The important thing is to go home and have dinner. Nothing else matters."

"How can it not matter? They are clearly—"

"I said it's not important."

The tone was flat; it was simply stating one point.

Luo Qianyu opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Xu Qing had already slung her guitar over her shoulder and headed towards the entrance of the passage.

He took two steps and then turned back.

"Are you leaving or not? The cafeteria will close if you don't leave soon."

"Who wants to eat in the cafeteria?"

Luo Qianyu quickly followed, her hand naturally hooking onto his sleeve.

Beneath the mask, there was a red mark on the tip of her nose.

-

The two walked towards the parking lot through the backstage passage.

As I passed the rest area, Su Man happened to be coming from the opposite side.

Two assistants followed behind, along with a stylist holding a clothes hanger.

Suman saw them but didn't stop walking.

In the instant he passed by, his gaze swept over Luo Qianyu.

Then take it back.

He didn't utter a single word from beginning to end.

Luo Qianyu gripped Xu Qing's sleeve tightly.

Xu Qing didn't even turn his head.

The two walked out of the photography studio.

The air outside was cold. Luo Qianyu took off her mask and exhaled.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

"I'm going to win it back next time."

Xu Qing opened the car door and put the guitar on the back seat.

"Who will we beat?"

"Win against everyone."

Xu Qing glanced at her.

"Get in the car."

Luo Qianyu sat in the passenger seat and placed the mask on her lap. The red koi carp reflected the light under the streetlights.

"Xu Qing, did those two judges already have the script?"

Xu Qing started the car.

What do you think?

"Definitely."

That's it.

Luo Qianyu looked out the window.

"A catchy, lowbrow song. Hundreds of people in the audience sang along to this catchy, lowbrow song."

The voice had a nasal quality.

Xu Qing didn't respond.

The car drove out of the parking lot and merged into the traffic flow in the night.

After driving for about five minutes, Xu Qing pulled out a pack of tissues from under the center console and threw it onto Luo Qianyu's leg.

"Wipe it off. Your face is smudged."

"I didn't wear makeup today."

"Then you should definitely wipe it off. Crying without makeup makes you look even uglier."

Luo Qianyu slapped his arm.

"You're the ugly one."

Xu Qing did not dodge.

The car continued driving forward. Luo Qianyu took out a tissue and wiped her nose, then stared out the window for a while, lost in thought.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

"You said you'd talk about it when you got home, but what are you going to sing next time?"

Xu Qing did not answer.

The car turned into the entrance of the underground parking garage of the residential area, and the headlights swept across the windshield.

"Let's talk about it when we get home."

Luo Qianyu stared at his profile for several seconds.

She tossed the crumpled tissue into the storage compartment and reached out to hook Xu Qing's fingers, which were resting on the gearshift.

Xu Qing didn't move, nor did she shake him off.

The car slid into the darkness of the underground parking garage.

Go upstairs, open the door, and change your shoes.

Luo Qianyu threw the mask on the shoe cabinet in the entryway, then slumped onto the sofa, sprawling out and remaining motionless.

Xu Qing went to the kitchen and heated up two bowls of porridge.

When the dish was served, Luo Qianyu had already taken out her phone, the screen was lit, and she was swiping her thumb up repeatedly.

Xu Qing placed the porridge on the coffee table.

"Eat first."

Luo Qianyu didn't move.

Xu Qing glanced down at her phone screen.

Weibo's trending topics list.

Article 1: #Suman's Triumphant Return Dominates the Field#

Article 3: #Leaving Xinghuang Luo Qianyu, her true colors are revealed#

Article 5: #Popular songs are not suitable for highbrow art#

Article 8: #Zhou Zhengping's Sharp Commentary on the Weak Arrangement of Bluebird and Flying Fish#

Article 11: #Suman's overall ranking first is well-deserved#

Luo Qianyu continued scrolling down, and the comments section was filled with the feel of press releases.

"Su Man's arrangement is truly professional; her guitar playing and singing is just a way to save money."

"After Luo Qianyu left Xinghuang, her skill level dropped sharply. This song would be considered too rudimentary even for street performers."

"Bright Moon and Gentle Breeze have limited talent; they can only write a few chords over and over again."

"Qingniao Feiyu is a joke duo; they're even trying to ride the coattails of trending topics on variety shows."

Luo Qianyu stopped using her thumb.

She stared at the screen, her face expressionless.

Xu Qing reached out and snatched the phone away.

"Eat porridge."

"You saw it?"

"I saw it."

"Aren't you angry?"

Xu Qing tossed her phone onto the dining table and sat down at the other end of the sofa.

"Porridge tastes even worse when it's cold."

Luo Qianyu didn't go to pick up the bowl. She hugged the cushion with both hands, resting her chin on it.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

Am I a burden to you?

Xu Qing picked up her bowl of porridge and took a sip.

Say it again.

"You didn't have to be on this show. It's because of me that you—"

"stop."

Xu Qing put down the bowl of porridge.

"Luo Qianyu, when did you become so pretentious?"

Luo Qianyu closed her mouth.

Xu Qing looked at her.

"Have you never seen an online troll or never been criticized before? How many years have you been in the industry? This little bit of stuff has made you like this?"

Luo Qianyu remained silent.

Xu Qing got up, walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and took out a can of cola.

He walked back and silently slapped the iced cola onto Luo Qianyu's face.

"ah--"

Luo Qianyu sprang up and slapped the jar open.

"Xu Qing, are you sick? You're so cold."

Xu Qing glanced at her.

"Alright. If it's making noise, it means it's okay."

Luo Qianyu covered her flushed cheeks and glared at him.

Xu Qing opened the cola and took a sip.

"When you were crying in the car just now, your face was covered in streaks, like a cat's."

"I didn't cry."

"Your nose was red when the Coke was applied."

Luo Qianyu threw a cushion at him.

"That's because it was frozen red."

"The car heater is set to 25 degrees Celsius."

Luo Qianyu smashed it again.

Xu Qing didn't dodge. He put the cola on the coffee table, stood up, and walked to his desk.

Luo Qianyu watched his retreating figure.

What are you doing?

Xu Qing didn't answer. He opened the bottom drawer of his desk, rummaged through a pile of old manuscripts, and pulled out a piece of paper that had been folded several times.

The paper has yellowed. The edges are a bit curled.

Xu Qing walked back with the paper and threw it on the coffee table.

Luo Qianyu stared at the paper.

"What?"

"Open it and take a look."

Luo Qianyu reached out and picked it up, then unfolded it.

A handwritten sheet music.

The musical score, written in pen, is neatly formatted. It's densely covered with markings: chord progressions, arrangement track structure, key changes, string parts, piano textures, drum rhythms... every line is filled to the brim.

Luo Qianyu first noticed the notes at the bottom of the sheet music.

"A duet. Male vocals for the verses, female vocals for the chorus, with interspersed bridge sections. A string arrangement of at least 24 tracks is recommended."

Then she looked up.

Three words.

"Coral Sea".