120: Chapter 120 Sheng Hui: I almost lost my entire name

As the first line came out, Li Li's fingers, resting on the piano keys, stopped.

The tempo was a bit faster than the original version he had written.

She had modified it herself.

She said she couldn't learn it, but turned around and mastered the whole song in a day, and even dared to adjust the tempo herself.

This woman.

The barrage comments exploded first.

[Wait, these lyrics— "Full Stop"? Drawing a "Full Stop"? Is this about breaking up with Company?]

[Jiang Rumu, this voice??? Is this the A-lister I know who couldn't even sing sweet pop songs steadily???]

On screen, a small head suddenly popped out from behind Jiang Rumu.

Jiajia.

She was holding a stack of A4 paper, which was bigger than her own head.

Every time Jiang Rumu sang a line, she would switch to the next page.

The lyrics were handwritten on the paper, the handwriting was crooked, some characters were written backwards, and the character "boil" (to endure) in "煎boil" (suffering) had an extra horizontal stroke on top.

The barrage was instantly overwhelmed by this small head.

[Ahhhhh this kid is so cute!!!]

[A human lyric prompter! Maxed out professional skills!]

[Wait, the paper she's holding— "Remembering that year when you found me on the university campus"—these lyrics have a story.]

After the first verse was finished, Li Li leaned back against the electronic keyboard, arms crossed.

He was stunned.

He wasn't stunned by the lyrics—he had written them, and he knew the weight of every word.

He was stunned by Jiang Rumu's handling of it.

The sweet pop songs Company gave her had narrow ranges, slow tempos, and cloyingly sweet singing styles, trapping her voice in a plastic box.

Now, the box was shattered.

The chorus of "Full Stop" almost walked the line of rap, requiring extremely high breath control. When he wrote it, he was worried she wouldn't be able to handle it in such a short time.

And yet?

One day.

It wasn't the kind of "learning" that comes from rote memorization. Every word was enunciated accurately and sharply, the trailing notes were clean, without a trace of unnecessary ornamentation.

This was Jiang Rumu's real voice.

A voice that had been suppressed by Company for five years.

Li Li stared at the woman in the suit on the screen, and the thought that popped into his head had nothing to do with the lyrics—

She said she couldn't learn it during their video call last night, but today she sang it as if she had been practicing for a month.

Then how many hours did she actually sleep last night?

Behind her, Zhao Xiaoyu's guitar drifted on a note in the second verse, and Lin Youran's keyboard rhythm was half a beat slow.

The flaws were very obvious.

But Jiang Rumu stood in front, holding up the entire performance by herself.

[The kids are so nervous yet still insisting on playing, my heart aches for them!]

[This is a real performance, much better than those studio recordings that have been polished eight hundred times.]

The lyrics rolled into the second verse.

Jiajia's speed in switching the paper kept up with the tempo, her little hands held it steady.

"But once you earned enough money, you started changing your tune—"

"You shoved an agent at me, who even often got my name wrong—"

The barrage went silent for a second.

Then it exploded.

[Are these lyrics about Company??? Even got the name wrong???]

[I remember Jiang Rumu said in an interview before that her later agent called her "Jiang Rumo" the first time they met!]

[So that "friendly farewell" statement from Company was fake???]

Some people started digging up Company's old dirt. Some posted Jiang Rumu's list of endorsements from the past two years, and there were indeed several third-tier brands mixed in, completely mismatched with her status as an A-lister.

Fifteen million people collectively turned into master detectives.

The song entered the chorus.

Jiang Rumu took a step forward, her chin slightly raised.

She wasn't the well-behaved girl-next-door from those sweet pop songs.

Her suit's shoulder line was crisp, and her red lip color looked as sharp as a knife cut under the LED lights.

A strong female lead.

The barrage refresh couldn't keep up anymore.

[It's been five years, Jiang Rumu is finally singing the songs she wants to sing, I'm crying to death.]

[Company, look at what you've suppressed!!! This voice, this stage presence!! You made her sing sweet pop songs??? What a waste of talent!!]

[But didn't Company release a statement saying it was a friendly breakup? Who is lying?]

No one answered.

The lyrics themselves were the answer.

As the final chorus wrapped up, Zhang Mingxuan's drum beats slammed down heavily—this time, it was steady.

Zhao Xiaoyu's guitar stabilized as well.

Lin Youran's keyboard synced with the beat.

In front of fifteen million people, the three kids played the last eight bars in perfect sync.

Jiang Rumu sang the final note.

Finished.

She stood for two seconds.

She turned around, pulled Zhao Xiaoyu up from her chair, then dragged Lin Youran over, while Zhang Mingxuan stood up from behind the drums himself.

Jiajia was still holding the last piece of paper, which had the four characters "Thank you everyone" written on it.

The character "Thanks" (thank) was missing the speech radical on the right side.

Jiang Rumu bent down and helped Jiajia flip the paper to the right side.

The five of them bowed to the camera together.

The barrage had a nuclear explosion.

Number of viewers online: 16 million.

Li Li sat behind the electronic keyboard, his hands resting on the keys, unmoving.

Jiajia's "Thanks" character was missing the speech radical.

Need to have Teacher Qi strengthen the lower-grade Chinese classes.

——

On screen, Jiang Rumu held Jiajia's hand and walked out of the room.

"I'll show everyone the starry sky outside. You all know where this is, right? It's especially beautiful at night."

She held the phone high, and the camera turned to the night sky.

The starry sky over Mount Qingcheng spread out, with no city light pollution, filled with scattered diamonds.

The barrage went silent for two seconds.

Sixteen million people shut up at the same time.

Suddenly, two gray-and-white lumps rushed into the bottom of the screen.

Xiao Chai in front, Xiao Qian behind.

The two huskies lunged at Jiang Rumu at a sprinter's speed.

The phone screen shook violently, first capturing the starry sky, then the ground, and finally slamming into a big husky face. Its tongue was flapping around.

"Get down! Xiao Chai! Don't lick the camera! Xiao Qian, you too!! My shoe!!!"

Another round of wild shaking.

When it finally stabilized, Jiang Rumu's suit jacket was crooked, three strands of hair had escaped from her ponytail, and her left shoe had been snatched away by Xiao Chai.

She stood on one foot in the yard, clutching the phone tightly with her other hand.

"Everyone... I have to go rescue my shoe first."

She caught her breath.

"See you next time the show starts, goodnight."

The live connection cut off.

The last content flooding the barrage:

[Hahahaha the strong female lead persona lasted for three minutes]

[One second a queen, the next being walked by dogs]

[Xiao Chai: Your shoe? My shoe. Thanks.]

Li Li turned off the livestream.

Sixteen million people dispersed.

He rubbed his thumb against the edge of his phone.

Good.

——

At the same moment.

Chaoyang District, Imperial Capital, 18th floor of the Company headquarters building.

Zhou Hui slammed the cup in his hand onto the conference table.

The tempered glass bottom hit the peach wood tabletop, shattering a corner, splashing tea out and soaking the stack of printed livestream data reports in front of him.

"Where did she get the courage to sing this kind of song?"

It was squeezed out through his teeth, one word at a time.

Seven people were sitting in the conference room. Three vice presidents, two PR directors, one legal counsel, and Jiang Rumu's former agent, Sun Kezheng.

No one made a sound.

Zhou Hui picked up the report that was half-soaked by tea and flipped to the second page.

"Sixteen million online, the lyrics hung Company out to dry. 'Drinking parties and cheap endorsements,' the comment section is already digging into the endorsement contracts we signed."

He slammed the report back onto the table.

"Isn't the tax issue being handled? Why can't you suppress it?"

Chen Ning shrank his neck.

"President Zhou, she has already filed a police report, and the tax bureau says they are verifying the materials submitted by both sides."

"I asked you why it can't be suppressed."

Chen Ning shut his mouth.

Zhou Hui stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

"And Gu Zeyan, how much money did I spend to hire international private trainers? A fitness plan for over a month, how many tubs of protein powder did he eat? And yet you tell me, the show airs on the weekend, and his screen time is less than ten percent?"

The PR director looked up.

"President Zhou, the editing rights for the show are with ByteDance, we..."

"Is it all Li Li?"

Zhou Hui turned around.

"He stole ninety percent of our artist's screen time, so why did we spend money to send Gu Zeyan there?"

No one answered.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Hui pulled out his chair and sat back down.

"Three things."

He held up his first finger.

"Continue spreading the internet water army. Double the budget. The topic of Jiang Rumu's tax evasion cannot stop; weld the trending search in the top five for me."

The second finger.

"Step up Yin Ruoying's body shaping classes. When does Busy Roommates film?"

Chen Ning flipped through his tablet.

"Middle of next month."

"That's enough time. As soon as she starts recording, she needs to get close to Li Li. Make her hook him and tie him down for me."

The third finger.

"Over at ByteDance, when exactly will Jiang Rumu's variety show contract be terminated?"

Sun Kezheng in the corner looked up.

"President Zhou, I've been communicating with Director Pei Zhao. That guy... is slippery, always saying he's waiting for results."

"Waiting for what results?"

"I suspect he's waiting for the final conclusion of the tax investigation. If they find problems, ByteDance has grounds to terminate the contract without paying damages. If they can't find anything..."

"Then make sure they can't find anything clear."

Zhou Hui tapped his fingers on the table twice.

"ByteDance must have a conclusion by the week after next. If they drag it out any longer, they won't have time to replace her."

Sun Kezheng nodded.

"I'll give it another push."

Zhou Hui stood up, adjusted his cuffs, and walked toward the door.

He opened the door, paused, and didn't look back.

"Also, check if there's any room for copyright infringement in that song's lyrics. If she dares to sing it, I dare to sue."

The door closed.

The seven people looked at each other.

Sun Kezheng took out his phone and dialed Gu Zeyan's number.

It rang twice, then connected.

"Zeyan, for this week's recording, you have to find a way to steal the spotlight."

There was a pause on the other end.

"How do I steal it?"

"Go head-to-head with Li Li. Don't be too aggressive, find opportunities to show yourself. If your physical stamina isn't enough, use strategy; the audience loves a contrasting persona."

Another moment of silence.

"Understood."

He hung up.

Sun Kezheng stared at the call-ended screen, two words, dry and flat, lacking the usual professional warmth.

She rubbed her temples and marked the name "Yin Ruoying" in red in her memo.

Yin Ruoying.

The Company spent a lot of money to get her into the Busy Roommates show.

Before the phone screen went dark, he scrolled to another trending search.

#Jiang Rumu Full Stop#

Real-time discussion volume: 4 million.

Still rising.