“Are you admitting to Xiao Yu’s love if you like drones? Did Xiao Yu agree? You two are the Schrödinger’s love story, hahaha.”

“It’s clearly a storyline between two people, yet you insist on involving four people’s names~”

Gu Chen also found the kid quite interesting and said with a hint of amusement, “Director Li is the boss. Let’s see what Director Li says tonight, shall we?” To some extent, she herself could be considered a ‘supporting role’ pushing the main characters towards their relationship as attacker and receiver.

Lu Qingyue chimed in, “Oh dear, Director Li is so domineering and likes you so much, there’s definitely no problem. I still need to learn from your love story~”

“Xiao Lu, what are you doing, hahaha? Didn’t you call Mr. Gu a ‘lone king’ this morning? How come there’s suddenly a love story?”

“Xiao Lu, don’t casually hand out love to others, Mr. Gu still wants to date~~~”

Gu Chen directly shattered his fantasy, smiling ambiguously, “Actually, I haven’t even met Director Li in person yet. Today is only our third phone call, so there’s probably no love for now.”

“Mr. Gu is so straightforward, isn’t he?”

“What do you mean ‘for now,’ Mr. Gu? 23333”

Lu Qingyue thought for a moment and said, “Then—quick, quick, quick, fast forward!”

“Hahaha Xiao Lu, it’s fine if you ship us in person, but isn’t that a bit too understanding?”

“I did indeed speak out my thoughts in person, let’s fast forward x12 directly!”

Gu Chen patted his shoulder and walked into the villa, saying, “Are you binge-watching dramas? Just wait.”

Just as Lu Qingyue had told him earlier when he made the call, once the call was done, it was like completing a task, and there wasn’t much else to do today. So Gu Chen picked out a few books of interest from the villa’s bookshelf, brewed some tea, and settled into a corner of the villa’s backyard to read slowly.

On the other side of the Earth, Li Tingqin also finished a day’s work and returned to his residence. He said to his life assistant, “Find the clips of Mr. Gu participating in programs in China. I want to watch them.”

“Sure.” Assistant Chen prepared and cast the solo clips of Gu Chen, reporting, “Mr. Gu appeared for 1 minute and 58 seconds in the first episode, and 1 minute and 57 seconds in the edited version of the second episode’s first day, but he didn’t show up. Do you need me to extract the parts where Mr. Gu appeared in yesterday’s live broadcast replay?”

“No need, thank you for your hard work.” Li Tingqin sat on the sofa, picked up the remote, pressed play, and said, “You can go back. I’ll watch it slowly.”

…

The villa’s backyard had a pleasant environment, sprawling and well-tended with trees providing ample shade, and numerous tastefully arranged tables and chairs. The spot where Gu Chen sat was particularly comfortable, equipped with both regular chairs and loungers.

The production team indeed adhered to the rules quite strictly. Since Lu Qingyue had enrolled in ‘love tutoring’ under Gu Chen’s guidance, and there was currently no romantic development between them, no one disturbed him. He spent the morning peacefully reading books.

In the afternoon, with the gentle spring sunlight casting a slight intoxication, Gu Chen returned to the garden. Amidst the foliage and flowers, the warm sun under the trees made him feel drowsy.

The life of a supporting character was truly tranquil and beautiful~

Gu Chen reclined on a lounger, placing a book over his face to doze off.

Lu Qingyue also felt that choosing Mr. Gu was indeed refreshing. Aside from the morning phone call, and likely another one in the evening, there was hardly any other activity for the day! Even the production team no longer chased him for footage. In Lu Qingyue’s mind, Mr. Gu was once again elevated to the status of a ‘lone king’.

Having held back earlier in front of the production team in the morning, he now sneaked out cautiously in the afternoon. After inquiring, he found out there was a piano in the greenhouse of the production team’s backyard. He could go there to practice without disturbing anyone.

Whether it was teachers, the company, or fans, they all praised his dancing and the music from Star City, but in truth, he also had a natural talent for music.

However, their company didn’t necessarily require him to develop in that direction… but he still wanted to…

Lu Qingyue found a seat in the piano room, surveyed the surroundings, noting that this was already a secluded corner of the backyard. It seemed unlikely that anyone would come to watch. With almost no rest between running daily announcements, he felt a slight itch in his hands. Rarely having such leisure time, he decided to give it a try.

Thus, he began to play the piano in front of him.

Gu Chen hadn’t been asleep for long, still in that drowsy state when he faintly heard piano music from somewhere nearby.

Was it an original composition? It wasn’t too loud and actually quite pleasant to listen to. Oh well, he could consider it background music for sleeping.

However, after a few measures, one section of the piece started to sound messy and discordant, causing Gu Chen to furrow his brow.

Well, it was just a small section. The rest was still enjoyable. He closed his eyes again.

But not even two minutes later, it seemed the pianist also noticed the issue. They repeatedly rewrote and tried to play that particular section, but couldn’t seem to find a satisfactory way to resolve it, circling back over and over.

After enduring this repetitive section torment for about ten minutes, Gu Chen finally couldn’t take it anymore. He removed the book from his face and got up.

Who on earth was playing the piano? Gu Chen followed the sound and arrived at the greenhouse.

However, at that moment, the music stopped. Should he just forget about it?He saw Lu Qingyue hastily leave the greenhouse after answering a phone call, heading towards the villa, without noticing him.

“Xiao Lu… I feel like I could give him a little suggestion.”

Gu Chen entered the greenhouse and saw the sheet music being edited beside the piano. He refrained from writing on it to avoid offending the composer’s work. Instead, he took a blank sheet of paper, thought for a moment, and quickly penned a section.

In a foreign script, he wrote: “The rest is all perfect. This is just a small suggestion, please don’t mind.” He even drew a smiley face for the young one.

Returning to his lounger, Gu Chen found he couldn’t fall asleep now. He took his book and tea cup back downstairs.

After Gu Chen had put away his book and tea cup and returned downstairs, he saw Lu Qingyue, who had finished his phone call in the courtyard. Now aware of Gu Chen’s routine, Lu Qingyue casually asked, “Mr. Gu, did you just finish your nap?”

Gu Chen replied, “Yeah, but I didn’t actually sleep.”

“Oh,” Lu Qingyue didn’t think much of it. He remembered that his manuscript was still in the piano room, so he hurried back.

However, in no time at all, he came running back with several sheets of paper in his hand, exclaiming loudly, “Who?! Who altered my manuscript?!”

Just then, Lin Yisu and Mu Yunting happened to be in the living room. Lu Qingyue immediately pulled them aside and questioned eagerly,

“Teacher Lin, was it you?”

“Teacher Mu, was it you? Did you change it?”

Both Lin Yisu and Mu Yunting promptly denied it, bewildered by Lu Qingyue’s behavior.

Lu Qingyue quickly managed to summon Yu Xingzhou, who arrived looking slightly disapproving. “I know you don’t like people messing with your things, but…”

He glanced at the paper in Lu Qingyue’s hand and said, “But no one has touched your manuscript, so why are you so worked up?”

“I didn’t mean someone messed with my stuff,” Lu Qingyue realized his actions might have been misunderstood and hurriedly explained to Lin Yisu and Mu Yunting, “Teacher Lin, Teacher Mu, that’s not what I meant…”

He then handed the manuscript to Yu Xingzhou and urged, “Quick, take a look. It’s brilliant, really brilliant!”

Yu Xingzhou first glanced over the beginning of the manuscript, “This is your composition, not bad… Why didn’t you show me earlier…”

But when he reached the problematic section, he frowned, “This part is messy, but fixing it… seems tricky.”

Lu Qingyue emphasized, “That’s why I’m asking you to look at this.”

Yu Xingzhou finished examining the last page with different handwriting, looking slightly distracted. With his exceptional musical talent, he already had a complete composition in mind. He couldn’t help but remark, “In this way, it’s considered a masterpiece… It seamlessly integrates with your previous sections and even elevates them… This person’s composing skill far surpasses yours…”

“But this score was modified based on your foundation, so it’s not clear if it’s superior to mine.”

Lu Qingyue couldn’t resist teasing him, “There you go praising yourself again.”

But both of them were eager to know, “So who actually made these changes?”

Their discussion almost drew everyone’s attention, and as they questioned nearly everyone present, nobody claimed responsibility.

However, those who understood music were curious and examined the manuscript together, exclaiming, “This piece is really good! Who knew Xiao Lu had talent in this area?”

Lu Qingyue scratched his head, “It’s the person who worked on the latter part.” He admired their skill and manners—talented yet humble, refraining from tampering with others’ work.

“Who could it be then? If we ask everyone, we’ll find out,” Lu Qingyue reasoned, not even considering Gu Chen, as everyone doubted his musical knowledge.

As a bystander, Gu Chen calmly listened to their discussion, quietly pouring tea on the side.

With the matter settled, he left without seeking fame or credit, as the wise withdraw after achieving greatness.