162: Chapter 162 You wrote a song so fast, here's a reward for you.

The two of them finished packing and left the hotel, driving straight to the company.

Li Cheng was driving, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his mouth twitching twice.

He was thirty-four, yet he'd gotten involved with the company receptionist and even got caught on the spot by the boss.

No matter who it happened to, it would feel embarrassing.

The car pulled up downstairs at the company.

Li Cheng pulled out the key, and the two walked into the main entrance one after the other, keeping a distance of three meters between them.

Once inside the company, Zhou Yutong quickened her pace, darting behind the front desk in two steps to sit down.

Li Cheng, who followed behind, walked straight to the door of Jiang Fan's office and knocked twice.

"Come in."

He pushed the door open.

Jiang Fan was sitting behind his desk, typing at his computer screen without looking up.

"Sit."

Li Cheng closed the door, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

His butt had barely touched the seat when he heard Jiang Fan speak.

"Why is Zhou Yutong's voice hoarse? Is she sick?"

Li Cheng's back stiffened.

"Maybe… she ate too much hotpot last night and got inflamed."

Jiang Fan finally lifted his gaze from the computer screen and glanced at him.

That look was expressionless, but it carried a lot of meaning.

Li Cheng's scalp tightened; he placed both hands on his knees and sat up straight.

"Fine." Jiang Fan picked up his coffee and took a sip. "Handle your internal company affairs yourself. Just don't let it interfere with work."

Li Cheng stood up abruptly: "Brother Fan, don't worry, it absolutely won't affect—"

"Sit down."

Li Cheng sat back down.

Jiang Fan turned the computer around; an email was on the screen.

"Business. The preparation period for Director Ning Yuan's project has begun, and they are scheduled to enter the set next Monday. I need you to supervise the site."

He tapped the screen with his finger.

"Venue leasing, coordinating extras, and logistical support—coordinate everything with Director Ning Yuan's side. Prepare the detailed budget and send it to me for review."

Li Cheng's brain snapped back into work mode.

"No problem, where is the venue located?"

"A high school in Songjiang is willing to lend us their venue; students won't have classes during the National Day holiday. The person in charge at the school is surnamed Liu, and the phone number is in the email. Go and coordinate with them."

Li Cheng typed rapidly on his phone with his thumb, noting everything down point by point.

Jiang Fan continued.

"Promotional materials will start being made next week. You coordinate the photography team for posters, character stills, and trailers. The first version of the trailer must be out by mid-December, in time to be released before the Spring Festival pre-sales begin."

"Understood."

"Su Yuyan is in charge of distribution; she will handle the cinema scheduling. Create a group chat with her assistant to update the progress of the materials."

"Okay."

After finishing the Arrangements, Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Also—"

Li Cheng's butt reflexively bounced off the chair.

"Brother Fan, I swear, my relationship with Zhou Yutong really won't—"

"I haven't even said anything yet."

Jiang Fan shook his head as he watched him look so guilty.

"What I wanted to say is, check with Director Ning Yuan about the prop team. Make sure the 90s-style desks, school uniforms, textbooks, and blackboard notices are accurate in their details. For period dramas like this, the audience has very sharp eyes; one mistake and we'll get scolded onto the trending topics."

"Oh, right." Li Cheng hurriedly wrote it down.

He had overreacted.

He cleared his throat and stood up.

"Then I'll go get busy?"

"Go ahead."

Li Cheng turned to leave, and just as his hand touched the doorknob, Jiang Fan's voice came from behind him.

"Brother Cheng."

Li Cheng turned back.

Jiang Fan leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Congratulations."

Li Cheng was stunned for a beat.

Then he grinned, a man in his thirties smiling like a fool.

"Thanks, Brother Fan."

He opened the door and walked out, his steps much lighter than when he had arrived.

When passing the front desk, Zhou Yutong was sitting there pretending to organize files.

He walked seven or eight steps away and looked back.

Zhou Yutong was peeking at him with half an eye from behind the file.

The moment their eyes met, she pulled her head back.

Li Cheng rubbed his nose, whistled, and turned into his own office.

He didn't expect that in his thirties, he could still feel his heart racing.

——

Inside the office, Jiang Fan closed the email page, leaned back in his chair, and stretched.

He couldn't be bothered to manage Li Cheng's business; it was a matter between two adults, and as long as it didn't affect work, he would let them do as they pleased.

However, regarding Tang Yingxue—the song needed to be expedited.

She said she would stay in Shanghai for a few more days, and the implication was clear; he couldn't keep her waiting for nothing.

Jiang Fan closed his eyes, focused his thoughts, and the system panel popped up.

He found the complete lyrics, composition, and Arrangement plan for "later" that he had previously redeemed.

In his past life, this song spanned the youth memories of an entire generation and was a must-sing classic at KTVs.

Jiang Fan opened the Arrangement software on his computer and began laying down the tracks.

After working for the whole afternoon, the Arrangement and the demo were finally recorded.

He sang the demo himself; a male voice singing this song was always a bit off, but the melody and emotion were expressed very clearly.

Jiang Fan took off his monitor headphones, turned his neck from side to side, and his shoulders were aching badly.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Tang Yingxue.

[Jiang Fan: The song is written.]

Two minutes later, a reply came.

[Tang Yingxue: So fast? Didn't you say two weeks?]

[Jiang Fan: I can't keep you waiting here for nothing.]

[Tang Yingxue: I'm still at the hotel, come over.]

Jiang Fan put down the phone, put the headphones back on, and listened to the Arrangement from beginning to end again.

There were no problems, so he exported the final version and copied it onto a USB drive.

He grabbed his jacket and went out.

Passing the front desk, Zhou Yutong was drinking loquat paste to soothe her throat; seeing Jiang Fan, she almost choked.

"Fa-Brother Fan..."

"Is your throat better?"

Zhou Yutong's face turned red again, flushing from her neck all the way to her ears.

"It's getting better, it's getting better."

Jiang Fan nodded, didn't say anything more, and left.

Zhou Yutong watched his back disappear into the elevator, then slumped back in her chair and let out a long sigh.

——

Jiang Fan left the company building and took a taxi straight to the Bulgari Hotel.

Twenty minutes later, Jiang Fan arrived at the door of Tang Yingxue's room and rang the doorbell.

The door opened from the inside.

Tang Yingxue stood behind the door, wearing a white hotel bathrobe.

Her face was unadorned, but her skin was still smooth and glowing, and her lips were a natural pale pink.

"Come in."

She stepped aside and walked inside barefoot.

Tang Yingxue sat on the sofa, curled her legs to her side, and the hem of her bathrobe slid open a little, revealing her calves.

"Where's the song? Let me listen to it first."

Jiang Fan sat down opposite her and placed the USB drive on the coffee table.

Tang Yingxue picked up the USB drive, looked at it, opened the laptop on the coffee table, and impatiently plugged it in.

There was only one song, "later," in the folder.

She double-clicked to open it.

The piano intro began to play.

When the first note fell, Tang Yingxue's finger on the trackpad stopped.

The melody was very slow, carrying a kind of restrained sorrow.

Then Jiang Fan's voice came in.

"later, I finally learned how to love—"

The male demo had a lower, deeper timbre that didn't quite fit the essence of the song itself.

But the helplessness in the memories and the relief after missing out within the emotion were expressed very well.

"It's a pity you have long since gone far away, disappearing into the sea of people—"

Tang Yingxue's hand hung by her side, her fingertips unconsciously clutching the cuff of her bathrobe.

The chorus came out.

"later, I finally understood through tears, that some people, once missed, are gone forever—"

The piano receded to the background, and the vocals were pushed to the highest point.

The whole song finished, five minutes and thirty seconds.

The room was quiet for a long while.

Tang Yingxue dragged the playback bar back to the beginning and played it again.

Her fingers tapped the rhythm on her knees, and she silently went over the melody with her mouth.

After a dozen seconds, she opened her mouth and softly hummed a line.

"later, I finally understood through tears—"

Her voice was completely different from the demo—clean, bright, with the tail note slightly lifted, carrying a hint of vibrato.

Just humming this one line, Jiang Fan knew that giving this song to her was the right choice.

The two huddled together to look at the screen; Tang Yingxue would read a line, and Jiang Fan would hum a melody along with it.

When encountering certain points for breath control, the two would stop to discuss.

They worked for nearly an hour, and three bottles of mineral water on the coffee table were finished.

Tang Yingxue closed the laptop, leaned back into the sofa, and rubbed her temples.

She turned her head to look at Jiang Fan.

The light shone from the side; his side profile had clean lines, and the curve of his jaw was handsome.

"Writing a song so fast, how about I reward you?"