Chapter 10: Searching for the Most Beautiful Voice

“Yuanyuan, there’s porridge in the pot and four tea eggs left for you. If you can’t finish them, be sure to share with your classmates,” Cheng Huaien said as he left the house at 6:30 a.m. He had five hundred tea eggs to deliver—and to give his daughter a better life, he had to work hard.

After finishing her morning textbook recitations, Cheng Yuan was delighted to find warm porridge and tea eggs waiting for her.

The plain porridge, paired with a small packet of pickled mustard greens, tasted heavenly.

She packed two tea eggs to bring to school for Bei Xiaolin, who had been raving about them since trying one the day before.

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In a luxurious Hai City villa, a cool-toned room exuded understated elegance. A man lay fast asleep on a gray king-sized bed.

His features were flawless, like something sculpted by a master artist.

If Cheng Yuan were here, she would instantly recognize him as the absurdly handsome Sleeping Beauty from her dreams.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and his eyes slowly opened. His gaze, dark and fathomless, sparkled like the night sky.

“Brother Nan, you’re finally awake! Are you feeling okay?” Tao An, who had been watching over him, rushed to the bedside. “You scared me to death last night! How could you fall asleep in the bathtub?”

“If Dr. Su hadn’t confirmed you were just asleep, I would’ve rushed you to the ER in the middle of the night,” Tao An babbled. Seeing Jun Nanye sitting up, he cautiously waved a hand in front of him. “Brother Nan… you’re really okay?”

Jun Nanye frowned. “You’re telling me I suddenly fell asleep in the shower yesterday?”

“Exactly,” Tao An nodded, launching into his account of the previous night. After the late-night meeting, knowing Brother Nan’s chronic insomnia, he’d warmed a glass of milk and knocked on the door several times. When there was no response, he went in and found the shower running—but Brother Nan never came out. That’s when he discovered him unconscious in the bathroom.

Panicked, Tao An immediately called Brother Nan’s private physician. Even after hearing he was only asleep, Tao An couldn’t rest easily.

Brother Nan’s insomnia was no ordinary case. Others might lose sleep over a bit of noise, but Brother Nan—he couldn’t sleep at all. He had to lie there, eyes closed, pretending.

They’d tried everything: medications, sleep clinics, specialists, even psychologists. Nothing worked.

“So how did you manage to sleep so soundly yesterday?” Tao An asked curiously. “Oh, and during the last meeting too—you nodded off out of nowhere. What if the doctors missed something?”

Tao An chatted on relentlessly.

“You stayed with me all night? No one else came in?” Jun Nanye asked, eyes narrowing.

Tao An blinked. “After Dr. Su left, I stayed the whole time. I didn’t go anywhere. Why? Should I inform President Jun?”

“No need.” Jun Nanye’s expression turned cold at the mention of “President Jun.” He shot Tao An a warning look. “Don’t report anything to that old man.”

“Brother Nan, you can trust me! I’m your man. If you want me to keep quiet, I’ll take it to the grave,” Tao An pledged, still talking a mile a minute.

“Breakfast.”

Jun Nanye pinched the bridge of his nose. After Tao An finally left, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his two recent bouts of sleep weren’t a coincidence.

The first time, he’d brushed off as a accident.

But this time…

He clearly remembered the voice. Soft, crisp, and bright—definitely a girl.

“Handsome, wake up!”

“The sun’s already high in the sky !”

“Sleeping Beauty, time to rise and shine!”

“If you don’t get up, I’ll be late!”

A girl… in school?

Shouldn’t she be late for work instead?

Why was she in his dream?

“Brother Nan, breakfast is ready,” Tao An’s voice broke his thoughts. Despite the extravagant spread, Jun Nanye only touched the soy milk and fried dough sticks. Even eating the simplest food, he moved with natural grace and poise.

Such a waste he wasn’t in showbiz. That face could’ve dominated the screen.

Tao An scarfed down his own meal. If he didn’t fuel his tiny frame, there was no way he could keep up with Brother Nan’s work.

“Tao An, have Nanxing Entertainment plan an event to find the most beautiful voice.”

Tao An blinked in confusion. “Are we doing singer auditions?”

“No,” Jun Nanye shook his head. “Just let them talk…” Sleeping Beauty, it’s time to wake up.

He didn’t say the rest aloud. “The theme is ‘Finding the Most Beautiful Voice.'”

“Got it, Brother Nan!” Tao An ran off to get started.

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“Yuanyuan, you’re the best! You’re really my best friend!” Bei Xiaolin squealed, jumping with joy when she saw the tea-marbled eggs. She handed Cheng Yuan a bottle of milk. “Here! One for each of us, sisters!”

She peeled her egg quickly, then leaned over and whispered, “Hey, what do you say we ditch study hall tonight and play games? I’ll take you to climb the Heavenly Vine!”

Cheng Yuan took a slow sip of milk and gave her a glance. “Not interested.”

“Didn’t you say you were going to study hard and improve your martial arts?” Cheng Yuan said dryly.

Bei Xiaolin rubbed her nose sheepishly. “Yuanyuan, I don’t think I’m cut out for this.” Just thinking about studying gave her a headache.

Before the National Day holiday, they had received their midterm scores. Bei Xiaolin pointed at her paper excitedly. “Look! I only got the multiple-choice questions right. How am I supposed to improve when we’re already in our final year?”

For the first time, she felt her blank academic slate might actually be a good thing. She clutched Cheng Yuan’s hand. “Yuanyuan, you have to tutor me! I don’t want to get beat up by Li Liang again!”

Cheng Yuan looked away silently, her face flushing as her gaze landed on the glaring “30” on Xiaolin’s English test.

Aside from English, the rest of Bei Xiaolin’s subjects hovered around the twenties and thirties. Across five subjects, she hadn’t even hit 150 points.

Thankfully, in her previous life, the bar for vocational college had been low. She had crammed desperately before the gaokao and just barely scraped in. Without that, even vocational school would’ve been out of reach.

But Hai University—Hai City’s top-tier university—required at least 540 points.

From 150 to 540…

Cheng Yuan took a deep breath. The pressure was crushing. She wished she could stretch each minute into two. Looking seriously at Bei Xiaolin, she said, “Xiaolin, I know you want to be a star. But even celebrities need education. What’ll you say when someone asks where you graduated from after you’re famous?”

Bei Xiaolin: “……”

Can we still be best friends after this?

“If you get into Drama Academy, your future will be so much brighter. Your family’s not lacking in money, so why not give it everything you’ve got?”

“Don’t tell me you think you’re not good enough?” Cheng Yuan deliberately provoked her. “I’m aiming for Hai University.”

“Hai University?!” Bei Xiaolin stared in shock. She thought Cheng Yuan just wanted to get into some college—any college—to earn the title of a student.