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

Luo Qianyu straightened her back.

"Chen Che? The producer from Su Man?"

"Um."

"What does he want from you?"

"Issue a challenge."

Luo Qianyu closed the laptop.

"What do you mean?"

"For the next unplugged special, he won't let Su Man use any electronic devices. Pure acoustic recording. He wants to have a pure producer showdown with me."

Luo Qianyu's expression changed several times.

First came surprise, then tension, and finally vigilance.

"Could he be putting on an act? What if he says he doesn't use electronic devices, but is actually up to something else?"

"Won't."

How did you know?

"His eyes don't lie."

Luo Qianyu was not convinced.

"You're just too trusting of others—"

"When did I become so trusting of others?"

Luo Qianyu thought about it and realized that this statement was indeed untenable. Xu Qing's suspicious nature was basically proportional to the degree to which he disliked everyone.

"So you agreed?"

"I agreed."

"Couldn't you have come back and discussed it with me first?"

"What's there to discuss?"

"just in case--"

"No need to worry about anything." Xu Qing put down her water glass and leaned back on the sofa. "It's an unplugged concert, no fancy electronic sounds, no stage effects. It's all about the songs and the vocals."

"Isn't this exactly your forte? Isn't he afraid?"

"If he's scared, he won't come looking for me."

Luo Qianyu hugged her knees and thought for a while.

"So, what should we sing next?"

Xu Qing turned and glanced at her.

Then he stood up, walked to the study door, and took out the old guitar with the clownfish sticker on it.

He sat back on the sofa, put the guitar on his lap, and casually strummed two notes.

"Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid."

"It's written all over your face."

Luo Qianyu glared at him.

Xu Qing tuned the strings.

"You don't need a 24-track string orchestra to deal with him."

He ruffled Luo Qianyu's hair.

All I need is your most authentic voice.

Luo Qianyu's hair stood on end from being ruffled, and she reached out to slap his hand away.

"After you're done rubbing, you should at least help me fix it."

"ignore."

"Xu Qing!"

Go to sleep.

"You still haven't told me what song you're going to sing."

Xu Qing put the guitar aside and stood up.

I'll tell you tomorrow.

"Every time you say 'tomorrow,' you end up delaying it for at least three days."

"I'll tell you in three days."

Luo Qianyu picked up a cushion from the sofa and threw it over.

Xu Qing dodged to the side.

The cushion flew over his shoulder and landed on the hallway floor.

"Your accuracy is as consistent as your cooking skills."

"roll."

Xu Qing entered the study and closed the door.

Luo Qianyu sat on the sofa, staring at the closed door.

She picked up her phone, opened the search engine, and typed in three words.

"Chen Che".

The search results filled the screen. Two Grammy nominations, four platinum record productions, and a list of artists he's worked with that could stretch for two pages.

Luo Qianyu flipped downwards.

I found an old photo.

Eight years ago at the Berlin Music Festival, Chen Che stood backstage, holding a sheet of music in his hand.

On the ring finger of her left hand, there was a silver ring.

Luo Qianyu zoomed in on the photo and looked at it for a few seconds.

Then exit the search engine and place your phone face down on the table.

She looked towards the study.

A sliver of light shone through the crack in the door.

"The most authentic voice," she repeated softly.

Then she turned off the light, hugged the remaining cushion, and snuggled into the blanket.

Before closing her eyes, she opened them again.

"What exactly are his songs?"

No one answered.

The only sound in the study was the tapping of a keyboard.

........

The top-floor office of Penguin Music headquarters.

Ma Dongteng signed a document sent by the Ministry of Justice and tossed it aside.

The legal battle involving Star Emperor Entertainment is essentially over.

Those three irrefutable pieces of evidence of copyright breach of contract, coupled with the fund company's early withdrawal of loans, were enough to set things off.

Wang Jianguo is probably contemplating jumping off a building right now.

Ma Dongteng picked up his freshly ground coffee and took a sip.

He opened another encrypted report on his computer desktop.

This is Mingyue Qingfeng's overseas digital music copyright revenue over the past three years.

The long string of zeros above made Ma Dongteng a little dizzy.

When Xu Qing signed the exclusive agreement with him back then, he didn't even hire a decent lawyer.

He showed up to sign the contract wearing only a tattered jacket.

Who would have thought that this kid alone could generate half the profits of a listed company?

Every song they release receives astronomical numbers of plays on overseas platforms.

"Why does this kid eat instant noodles all the time?"

Ma Dongteng leaned back in his chair and muttered to himself.

"With this net worth, even Luo Tianxiong, the richest man in Beijing, would be shocked."

He shook his head and closed the report.

He picked up his phone and sent Xu Qing a WeChat message.

"Your overseas copyright fees will arrive next week. Do you need me to find you a financial advisor?"

Xu Qing did not reply.

They're probably recording a show again.

Ma Dongteng smiled and placed his phone face down on the table.

He wanted to see what kind of expression Luo Tianxiong would have when he found out that his daughter had married such a rich "poor man".

A photography studio in the suburbs of Beijing.

The recording site of the fifth episode of "Echoes from the Clouds".

This episode's theme is an unplugged special.

In the VIP viewing room, Wang Jianguo sat on the sofa with a gloomy expression.

Chen Che actually dared to remove all electronic devices behind his back.

The stage effects that cost two million were completely wasted.

If the performance-based agreement hadn't stipulated that the production rights belonged to Chen Che, Wang Jianguo would have replaced him long ago.

He poured himself a glass of red wine and stared at the stage through the one-way glass.

In the backstage dressing room, Luo Qianyu took three deep breaths.

"You're going to suck all the oxygen out of your lungs if you keep breathing."

Xu Qing sat on the sofa tuning the strings without even looking up.

Luo Qianyu turned her head and glared at him.

"Can't I be nervous?"

"Didn't you go watch Su Man's rehearsal just now?"

"I only got nervous after watching it."

Luo Qianyu sat down next to him.

"Chen Che really did remove all electronic devices."

"I told you he would."

"There was only one Steinway piano and one cello."

Luo Qianyu clutched the hem of her clothes.

"Su Man's voice paired with this minimalist accompaniment is simply unbeatable."

Xu Qing put down the guitar.

"You usually have quite a loud voice when you argue with me."

"How can these be the same!"

Luo Qianyu's breath was stagnant.

The voices of the stage manager could be heard from outside.

"Teacher Suman is about to enter."

The lights at the front desk dimmed.

There was only one spotlight in the center of the stage.

Chen Che sat in front of the black Steinway grand piano.

Next to him was an elderly musician playing the cello.

Su Man was wearing a pure black long dress and no jewelry.

The sound of a piano began.

There are no fancy techniques involved; it's just the purest classical chords.

The bass notes of the cello are laid out below.

Su Man spoke up.

A very restrained and sad love song.

There is no vocoder, and no synthesizer sound.

All the emotions are supported by the graininess of the human voice.

Suman's skill was on full display at this moment.

The transition between true and falsetto voices is so smooth that there is not a single flaw.

The high notes were held firmly in mid-air.

Even the sound of breathing was perfectly controlled.

Finished a song.

The entire audience was silent for three seconds, then erupted in thunderous applause.

On the judges' panel, Fang Hong picked up the microphone.

"This is the cleanest live performance I've heard all year."

Fang Hong looked at Chen Che and Su Man on the stage.

"Remove all the industrial saccharin and leave only the skeleton of the music."

"Suman, you've proven today why you can stay on the front lines."

Suman bowed.

Chen Che stood up and glanced at the camera.

That look in his eyes was very obvious.

He was waiting for Xu Qing's response.

Backstage corridor.

Luo Qianyu's palms were covered in sweat.

Xu Qing carried the old guitar with the clownfish sticker on his back.

This guitar is a limited edition masterpiece that Luo Qianyu stole from her home.

She sanded it down into a complete wreck with sandpaper.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it."