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

Luo Tianxiong put down his cup.

Will you be on the next episode of my daughter's variety show?

"It depends on whether she needs it."

"I'll be there when I need you, and I won't when I don't?"

"Then I'll cook at home and wait for her to come back."

Luo Tianxiong stared at him.

Xu Qing didn't flinch at being stared at and continued eating.

The meal is finished.

Luo Tianxiong stood up, ready to leave.

Luo Qianyu quickly went to get his coat.

"Take care, Uncle."

"Hmm." Luo Tianxiong put on his coat and walked to the entrance.

Luo Qianyu said, "I'm going to the restroom," and then ran away.

There were only two people left in the entryway.

Luo Tianxiong stopped bending down to tie his shoelaces.

He straightened up, turned his head, and looked at Xu Qing standing in the corridor.

The kind, distant uncle look on his face vanished instantly.

His gaze darkened. A father worth hundreds of billions was scrutinizing the man beside his daughter.

"You actually knew who I was all along, didn't you?"

Xu Qing paused in wiping her hands.

The air between the two of them fell silent.

The ticking of the clock in the living room suddenly became very clear.

......

Luo Tianxiong stood in the entryway, his shoelaces untied.

The facade of "distant cousin" has been completely stripped away, his gaze darkening, and the picky elder at the dinner table who used to complain about whether the food was salty enough is gone.

"You recognized me the first time I came to eat here."

Xu Qing draped a towel over her shoulder and leaned against the wall of the corridor.

"Luo Tianxiong, the richest man in Beijing, is the founder of the Luo Family Group. He has been in the top ten of the Forbes list for seven consecutive years."

"Then why did you pretend for so long?"

"You installed it first."

Luo Tianxiong was taken aback. This kid spoke just like his daughter. He walked back to the living room, sat down, and threw his coat on the armrest. His earlier act of leaving was all an act.

Xu Qing followed and sat down opposite him.

The two people looked at each other across the coffee table.

"I've investigated you."

"I know."

"I lived in a basement for more than three years, and donated all my income. I ate instant noodles, wore cheap clothes from street vendors, and didn't even have a decent piece of furniture."

Xu Qing didn't respond, and Luo Tianxiong leaned forward slightly.

"My daughter is the sole heir of the Luo family. She doesn't want my money, doesn't live in my house, and ran away to make her own way in the world, which I accept. But now she's living with a guy who all he has left is a broken guitar."

"What gives you the right?"

Three words were slammed onto the coffee table.

"Why do you think a songwriter like you can protect the eldest daughter of the Luo family?"

Luo Tianxiong's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a lot of weight.

"I refrained from intervening when Wang Jianguo messed with her, wanting to see what you were capable of. You certainly have some skills, giving Xinghuang a good beating. But what is Wang Jianguo? He's not even worthy of being a pawn on my chessboard."

"There are plenty of people in this circle who are ten times more ruthless than Wang Jianguo. Capital, public opinion, backroom deals—can you withstand one, or ten?"

"What guarantees do you have that my daughter won't be devoured whole in this industry?"

The living room was quiet for a few seconds.

Xu Qing stood up, went into the study, and came out a dozen seconds later with a laptop in her hand.

He opened his laptop and placed it on the coffee table, then accessed the Tencent Music backend management system.

The screen displays a dense array of data panels—copyright ownership, revenue distribution, licensing flow, and legal protection nodes.

Xu Qing opened a folder labeled "Luo Qianyu - Copyright Protection Matrix". Inside were dozens of sub-files arranged chronologically.

The earliest one was created one year and three months ago. It was two months earlier than Luo Qianyu's signing with Tencent Music.

Luo Tianxiong's gaze paused for a moment.

Xu Qing clicked on them one by one.

First layer: The copyright ownership of all songs under Luo Qianyu's name is registered under her personal name, without any third-party revenue sharing agreement.

The second layer: the overseas distribution rights for each song are granted through Xu Qing's exclusive channel with Tencent Music, and any sub-licensing must be confirmed by him a second time.

The third layer: a complete public opinion early warning plan. This includes keyword monitoring, authorization keys for online troll tracing tools, and annual legal service agreements with three leading law firms.

Xu Qing built it all by herself.

Luo Tianxiong read through the pages one by one, his brows furrowing more and more with each page. Having spent thirty years navigating the business world, he could instantly distinguish between strategic planning and perfunctory work.

This set of things wasn't something hastily put together to fool him.

Xu Qing shut down the computer.

"I can't give her billions in assets. But I can guarantee that no one in this industry will let her suffer the slightest grievance."

His tone was flat; he didn't pat his chest or make any oaths.

Luo Tianxiong stared at him for a long time.

The living room clock ticked for about ten seconds.

Luo Tianxiong stood up, put on his coat, walked to the entrance, and bent down to tie his shoelaces. This time, he really tied them.

After tying the knot, he turned his back to Xu Qing.

"It depends on your performance."

The door opened, then closed. Footsteps echoed down the stairwell, fading into the distance.

Xu Qing stood there and took a breath, then picked up the half-finished Moutai from Luo Tianxiong's cup on the coffee table and smelled it.

Good wine.

Ten seconds later, the bathroom door suddenly sprang open, and Luo Qianyu darted out.

"Xu Qing!"

"Um."

Luo Qianyu opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, realizing that she was indeed in the wrong, and stomped her feet in anger.

"You even showed him the backend data! When did you do that stuff?!"

"last year."

"We've only known each other for a short time, since last year!"

"I started building it in the third month after we met."

Luo Qianyu was stunned.

The third month. At that time, she was still a nobody, not even making it onto the trending topics list.

Xu Qing is already setting up a firewall for her.

Luo Qianyu's eyes reddened, but she didn't want to cry at this moment; it would be too embarrassing.

She chose another way—she rushed over and pounced on Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was knocked back two steps by her, his hind leg hitting the edge of the sofa, and the two of them fell onto the sofa together.

"You—" Luo Qianyu straddled him, grabbing his collar, "You've kept this from me for so long!"

"Let go, you're going to tear my collar."

"I'll compensate you!"

"You can't even cook a meal properly, what are you going to use to compensate me?"

Luo Qianyu reached out to pinch his cheek, but Xu Qing turned his head to dodge, though he couldn't escape.

"How long did you eavesdrop in the bathroom?" Xu Qing asked vaguely.

"It all started when my dad said, 'What makes you think you're so special?'"

"Then you listened to the whole thing."

Luo Qianyu released his face, placed her hands on his chest, and glared at him. "Shouldn't you have told me beforehand?"

"Why would you tell me? Knowing will only make you more nervous."

"I won't!"

"You were so nervous when you saw your dad last time that you spilled wine on your dress, remember?"

She couldn't refute it. Deflated, she slumped against Xu Qing, burying her face in his shoulder.

"You really started building it after only three months of knowing each other?"

"Um."

"Why so early?"

Xu Qing placed her hand on her back and turned her head to look at the ceiling.

"No reason. Just did it on a whim."

Luo Qianyu's nose tingled. "Just hitch a ride for a year? Your standard for 'just hitch' is quite unique."

"If you don't like it, I'll delete it."

"You dare?"

The two sat quietly on the sofa for a while, with Luo Qianyu leaning against him and listening to his heartbeat.

After a long while, she whispered, "My dad's phrase 'It depends on how you do' is basically equivalent to passing the initial screening in our family's language system."

"Then what."

"Then comes the review."

What does the review test?

"I don't know. But my dad is the kind of person who, if someone doesn't even pass the initial screening, he'll send them a lawyer's letter. If they pass the initial screening, he'll continue to investigate."

Xu Qing hummed in agreement.

Luo Qianyu rolled off him and shrank to the other end of the sofa.

"Xu Qing."

"Um."

"Thank you."

Xu Qing turned and glanced at her. "Stop being so sour. Go put away your dad's bottle of Moutai; you can't buy that stuff on the market anymore."

Luo Qianyu ran over, picked up the two bottles of wine, and carefully placed them in the cabinet. Standing in front of the cabinet, looking at the two bottles, she suddenly smiled.

She knows her father's personality best.

If he didn't want to keep the wine, he would have taken it long ago. Keeping it means he approved of the meal.

They also appreciate people who cook.