36: Chapter 36 The Night Before the Storm

Li Cheng stood in front of the speakers, the green light of the indicator casting a glow on his face.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Fan, his fingers, clutching a cigarette, suspended in mid-air.

"Lyrics, composition, Arrangement—are they all yours?"

Jiang Fan leaned back against the chair and rotated his wrist.

"The lyrics are Shen Nian's."

Li Cheng took a deep drag of his cigarette, the smoke puffing out from his nostrils and dissipating into the air.

"Jiang Fan, I take back what I said before. That ten percent share—I was the one getting the better end of the deal."

Jiang Fan didn't respond.

Li Cheng walked to the desk, braced his hands on the surface, and tapped his knuckles twice against it.

"As long as this song is sung on stage tomorrow night, Hua Xingyu's face will be slapped raw. But the premise is that Shen Nian can handle the pressure of the live performance."

He paused, shifting his gaze to Shen Nian by the window.

"Tomorrow night is a live broadcast. There are no second chances. You haven't been on stage for a year; if you make a single mistake, the internet trolls from Shenghai Entertainment will trample you into the mud, and Jiang Fan will go down with you."

Shen Nian stood by the window, sunlight streaming through the gaps in the blinds, casting alternating stripes of light and shadow across her face.

She clenched her fists and nodded firmly.

"I have no problem with that."

Jiang Fan glanced at her, then turned to Li Cheng.

"Tomorrow at two in the afternoon, we go to the venue for rehearsals. Li Cheng, get her an outfit. Before she goes on stage, I don't want anyone to see her face."

Li Cheng grinned.

"Understood. Playing the mystery card, huh? Leave it to me."

Magic City, Shenghai Entertainment building.

Hua Xingyu was sitting on the sofa in Cao Qiming's office.

Cao Qiming hung up the phone and tossed it onto the desk.

"Xingyu, I've asked around. Jiang Fan has indeed registered a guest performer. Liang Boyuan is keeping it very tight; even the assistant director doesn't know who it is. Do you think it could be Xu Qingya?"

Hua Xingyu shook his head.

"Impossible. The rules are very clear: judges cannot also serve as guest performers."

"Then who could it be?" Cao Qiming leaned back in his chair. "Our exclusivity contracts have already been sent out. Who would dare offend Shenghai Entertainment for the sake of an amateur?"

"I suspect he couldn't find any officially signed artists at all and just grabbed some amateur to make up the numbers."

Hua Xingyu sneered.

"The rules require guest performers to be officially signed artists. If his guest's qualifications aren't up to standard, he'll be disqualified on the spot."

"Don't let your guard down." Cao Qiming picked up his coffee. "The last two times, you suffered heavy losses at his hands."

Hua Xingyu's smile stiffened for a moment.

"This time it's different. The previous competitions were individual rounds. The guest performance battle is different; even if his song is good, if the guest performer's ability can't keep up, the stage effect will be compromised. I will critique his guest performer from a professional standpoint and tear them to shreds."

Cao Qiming picked up his coffee and took a sip.

"You'd better pray you're right."

--

As soon as the signing ceremony in Kyoto ended, Xu Qingya changed her flight to the earliest one back to Pengcheng.

Manager Chen asked her why she was in such a rush, and she said the water pipes at home were leaking.

Manager Chen's expression at the time was as if she were looking at an idiot.

8:30 PM.

Jiang Fan pushed open the door of the old villa.

Xu Qingya was wearing a black silk nightgown, her long hair casually tied behind her head.

She was leaning against the sofa, with two glasses of red wine poured on the coffee table.

Jiang Fan changed into slippers and walked over.

"Aren't you in Kyoto for the brand signing?"

"I flew back as soon as I signed." Xu Qingya handed him a glass of wine.

Jiang Fan took the glass and sat down next to her.

"Have you found a guest performer?" Xu Qingya turned to look at him.

"Mm."

"Who is it?" Xu Qingya stared into his eyes.

"It's a secret. You'll know tomorrow." Jiang Fan took a sip of wine.

Xu Qingya put down her wine glass and leaned toward him.

"Shenghai Entertainment issued an announcement; no one dares to perform with you. Where on earth did you find someone?"

"Is it a man or a woman?"

Jiang Fan turned his head, meeting her gaze.

"Checking up on me?"

Xu Qingya looked away and picked up the wine glass, swirling it.

"I'm just afraid of you getting destroyed by Shenghai Entertainment. Lu Ming is definitely going to take first place tomorrow. If you don't find a guest performer who can hold their own on stage, it's going to be very dangerous."

She paused and looked back at Jiang Fan.

"If you really can't find anyone, I'll have Manager Chen contact Shenghai Entertainment's rival company. I'll owe a favor if I have to."

"No need."

Jiang Fan put down his wine glass, reached out to wrap his arm around her waist, and pulled her closer.

Xu Qingya was pressed into his embrace, not struggling.

Jiang Fan lowered his head, his gaze landing on her lips.

"Get some rest early. We have a tough battle tomorrow."

Xu Qingya reached out and grabbed his collar.

"Then don't mess it up. I'm still counting on you to write my next album."

Jiang Fan didn't speak; he just kissed her.

Late at night.

[Deep interaction with high-compatibility target (multiple times), Lifespan Value + 3000 points.]

[Current Lifespan Value: 11000 points. Remaining lifespan: 2 days.]

Jiang Fan lay with his eyes open, Xu Qingya's arms and legs wrapped tightly around him.

He silently recited in the depths of his consciousness: Exchange lifespan, ten days.

[Deducted 1000 points of Lifespan Value. Remaining lifespan: 12 days.]

The next morning.

Jiang Fan, Shen Nian, and Li Cheng flew back to Pengcheng.

On the plane, Li Cheng gently placed a paper bag on Jiang Fan's tray table.

Inside was a black performance outfit and a strange-looking half-face mask.

"I had someone rush the outfit overnight; the mask can cover most of her face." Li Cheng lowered his voice, avoiding waking Shen Nian who was sleeping in the seat next to them.

"Before she gets on stage, I guarantee even her mother wouldn't recognize her."

Jiang Fan picked up the mask, looked at it for two seconds, and put it back in the paper bag.

"Well done."

2:30 PM.

Backstage corridor of the Tencent Video headquarters studio.

Jiang Fan walked in front, with Shen Nian following half a step behind.

She was wearing the mask, revealing only her chin and lips.

People were coming and going in the backstage corridor; lighting technicians, sound engineers, and stagehands were constantly moving about.

A few staff members glanced over, their eyes lingering on Shen Nian for two seconds before looking away.

Assistant Lin Xiaoqing trotted up to greet them.

"Teacher Jiang Fan, your rehearsal time is scheduled for 3:00 PM. Please head to Waiting Room 3 to wait."

She stole a glance at the masked woman behind Jiang Fan, swallowed hard, and swallowed the question that was on the tip of her tongue.

Assistant Lin Xiaoqing led the two of them toward the waiting room.

As they passed Waiting Room 2, the door was half-open.

Zhao Tianyu was sitting in front of the vanity mirror touching up his makeup, while his guest performer, Lin Jun, was leaning on the sofa scrolling through his phone.

The two of them caught a glimpse of the corridor and saw the masked figure behind Jiang Fan.

Zhao Tianyu raised his eyebrows.

"A guest performer wearing a mask—what kind of trick is this?"

Lin Jun didn't even look up.

"Probably couldn't find anyone and just grabbed a passerby to make up the numbers."

Zhao Tianyu sneered and continued applying powder.

Waiting Room 3.

Shen Nian took off her hat, and her long hair cascaded down.

She walked to the mirror and reached out to take off the mask.

The face in the mirror was pale and gaunt.

She stared at the mirror for five seconds and put the mask back on.

Jiang Fan sat on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest.

His phone vibrated.

Xu Qingya sent a message.

[Are you there?]

[I'm here.]

[Who exactly is the guest performer? If you don't tell me, I'm giving you a 60 rating tonight too.]

The corners of Jiang Fan's mouth twitched.

[You'll know when the time comes.]

The chat box was quiet for five seconds.

Xu Qingya sent a kitchen knife emoji.

The door to the waiting room opened.

Li Cheng stood outside the door, holding the schedule.

"Time's up. Let's go, to Studio 1 for the rehearsal."

In the rehearsal room.

Liang Boyuan sat behind the monitor, watching Jiang Fan and Shen Nian walk in.

"Jiang Fan, time is tight, you only have one chance to walk through the positioning." Liang Boyuan walked over and lowered his voice. "Shenghai Entertainment is asking around everywhere about who your guest is, but I've kept it under wraps. Once the live broadcast starts, nothing can be hidden. Prepare yourselves mentally."

"Thanks, Director Liang." Jiang Fan nodded.

Shen Nian walked to the center of the stage.

She gripped the microphone, cold sweat seeping from her palms.

Jiang Fan walked to her side, said nothing, and patted her shoulder.

The music started.

The low, oppressive prelude spread through the rehearsal room.

Shen Nian raised the microphone, closed her eyes, and sang the first line of lyrics.

Liang Boyuan was wearing headphones, and his expression changed instantly.

When Jiang Fan's male harmony joined in and the chorus fully erupted, Liang Boyuan stood up straight from his chair.

Two completely different forces tore and intersected in the air.

He took off his headphones, his gaze fixed on the two people on stage.

"Director Liang, this..." Assistant Lin Xiaoqing, who was standing nearby, swallowed hard.

Liang Boyuan stared at the screen and suddenly grabbed the walkie-talkie.

"Everyone in Studio 1, listen up! Anyone who dares to leak even half a word about the details of this song, get out immediately!"

He put down the walkie-talkie and turned to look at the stunned Assistant Lin Xiaoqing next to him.

"Notify the lighting team. Scrap the entire plan for Jiang Fan's group and switch to the highest specification overhead lighting matrix."