52: Congratulations, you have one more house today - my defense is broken!

Picking it up, she saw it was from Chen Fang: "Teacher Yue, I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm very grateful for your help."

Yue Qingzhu looked at the five large characters "Typing...", her brows slightly furrowed, and she quickly speculated what he could want from her.

A moment later, Yue Qingzhu had an epiphany and typed back: "You can extend the lease by ten days; just talk to Uncle Pu."

As soon as she sent it, Yue Qingzhu frowned slightly.

These words seemed too damaging to the heart of a rising junior.

She might be dragged back home, unable to go further on the path of music. But she still hoped that talented juniors would have the chance to realize their dreams.

Especially towards Chen Fang, perhaps because he rented her house, this projective identification emotion was stronger in him. Or perhaps she wanted to see in him a trace of her own difficult-to-achieve defiance against authority.

Yue Qingzhu hesitated, then added: "I don't lack that little money, don't take it to heart."

On the screen opposite, Chen Fang's typing hand paused.

One million? That little money?!

Congratulations, Ms. Yue, you've gained another house today—my breakdown!

Yue Qingzhu yawned, just about to put down her phone, when another message popped up in the chat box.

"Thank you, Teacher Yue, I will sign the lease renewal on time. I contacted you today because you helped me a lot, and I want to give you a gift to express my gratitude."

Yue Qingzhu tapped the keyboard, had just typed the two words "No need," then rubbed her chin.

Don't hurt juniors with cold words, especially those who are already much criticized.

She deleted "No need" and retyped and sent: "You can save it for rent."

"..." Chen Fang's typing motion stopped.

No, does he look that poor? This is too much, believe it or not, he'll drink Ruixing without any coupons from now on!

Chen Fang typed: "It's a song."

On the screen opposite, Yue Qingzhu tilted her head slightly.

A song?

To be honest, when she agreed to help Chen Fang, she did have a slight idea of befriending a musician. She even jokingly thought about locking him in a dark room to mass-produce.

But in reality, her plan was to wait a few years, until his composing skills were more proficient and hisGood at genres more diverse, then perhaps they could collaborate.

But now, although the brightest star in the night sky and one meat and one vegetable are both high quality, they don't quite match her style. She is better at high-impact songs.

However...

Yue Qingzhu sat back in her chair, gazing somewhat blankly at the mixing console.

Since he wrote it, she might as well accept it, lest his dao heart be unstable. Anyway, she might not have long left on the path of music, and meeting is fate; it's just a small effort to save a fellow musician.

Thinking of this, Yue Qingzhu shook her head.

Why does it sound like she's going to die? Oh, her mindset lately is practically ready for monastic life. Be positive! Be positive!

Yue Qingzhu picked up her phone and casually replied: "Oh, I also don't like to have emotional entanglements with others, so I'll reluctantly accept it then."

On the screen opposite.

"Hiss—"

Chen Fang didn't know Yue Qingzhu's inner thoughts. Seeing this sentence, he couldn't help but feel a little chill. If he stayed with her in the summer, he could save on air conditioning bills, right?

Yue Qingzhu sent another message: "If I can sing it, I'll talk to you about the usage rights. If it's not suitable, we'll discuss it then."

He originally wanted to give her the usage rights for free and he would take the royalty shares. After all, without her, he didn't know when he would be able to turn things around. This help was more valuable to him than 10 songs.

But now was not the time to discuss cooperation details; he should send the materials first.

Chen Fang sent the demo, lyric document, sheet music, and explanatory notes from his computer.

...

Yue Qingzhu slightly frowned at the name of the compressed file that popped up in the chat box.

flammable and explosive?

Yue Qingzhu's mind instantly recalled "Electric Light," a popular song that exploded at the beginning of the year.

It was a rock-style song, with shocking drum beats and passionate energy, quickly igniting the atmosphere on stage.

flammable and explosive is also an energetic song, right?

Although she could sing many styles, she was best at pop and folk.

She mainly focused on emotional outbursts, and occasionally sang bright, lively, positive energy music. But it stopped at bright and lively, not passionate.

Yue Qingzhu tilted her head slightly. She understood he was eager to return the favor, but couldn't he at least make it more suitable?

Moreover, it had only been half a month since she agreed to help him. In half a month, he wrote a rock-style song to give her. Uh... she understood he was eager to return the favor, but wouldn't it be more appropriate for him to polish a song thoroughly before giving it to her?

Never mind, perhaps owing a favor is very uncomfortable. Just return it then; she didn't expect him to give her much in return right now.

Yue Qingzhu yawned and put down her phone.

She needed to record "The Courage to Be Disliked," released in her first year of debut. She had been practicing this song for half a day; she would continue practicing it first. She would listen to flammable and explosive later, to avoid constantly adjusting her mood and state.

...

Yue Qingzhu walked through the door next to the mixing console, entered the recording studio, sat on the chair, put on her headphones, pressed the remote control, and slowly closed her eyes.

A soothing melody flowed from the headphones.

"They say, this is all for your own good. They say you should learn to adapt to worldly views..."

This was a pop-style song with a soothing melody.

Using the parallelism of "They say," it describes the gazes of family, teachers, and friends, encouraging people to have the courage to be disliked and not be swayed by others' expectations. It encourages listeners to ask themselves if they are taking a certain path because they are afraid of being disliked by others, and if that is equivalent to living a lifetime for others.

In recent years, there has been an emphasis on emotional release. This song has a catchy melody and lyrics that evoke empathy. Upon its release, with the company's operation, listeners resonated with it, and it quickly soared to the top of the quarterly charts within a week.

Almost five years have passed.

Things have changed. The song is still there, but the friend who wrote it for her left the team over a year ago.

Now, re-singing it with a different emotion and mindset, she could produce a different style. The emotion evokes empathy, and with fan support, this might help her achieve a passable result in next month's Music Scene Billboard.

After practicing for a while, Yue Qingzhu took off her headphones, walked back to the control room, sat in front of the control console, and rubbed her temples. After resting her eyes for a moment, she picked up her phone and opened a short video app, preparing to relax for a bit.

With a swipe down, a familiar face appeared on the screen, sitting by a fireplace in a tiled house. The bottom left corner of the video was marked with the words "Hot List."

Chen Fang is trending again today.

Oh right, he just sent a song.

Yue Qingzhu had estimated the style wasn't suitable for her, and hadn't taken it seriously, which was why she just remembered.

She yawned casually, exited the short video app, entered the chat app, and directly opened the demo file on her phone. Then she wanted to exit the chat box and browse social media.

She was about to exit the chat app.

A low guitar sound came through, the muted guitar rhythm intermittent, with low-frequency resonance, mysterious and deep, like the crackling before a flame leaps up. Immediately after, drums gradually joined in, suppressed and tense, as if fire or a heart began to beat, with a force poised to erupt.

Yue Qingzhu let out a soft "Oh?" Her movement to slide out of the chat app paused.

Hmm? This song doesn't seem simple.

The next moment, a deep and magnetic voice struck her ears—

"Wish me to be crazy and wish me to live alone and not die"

"Want me to be cold and beautiful and also want me to be frivolous and lowly"

"Want me to be sunny and also want me to be charming and unwavering"

"Tease me for my uncontrolled laughter and tears and tease me for my heart like withered wood"