Chapter 58

The first to stand up was Zhong Yang, who was both surprised and delighted, “Brother Qingzhuo, why are you here?”

“I received a complaint and came to check on you guys overnight.” Although Qin Qingzhuo said this, there was a faint smile on his face, and he didn’t seem angry.

Peng Keshi stood up and called out, “Brother Qingzhuo,” and Jiang Ji also put down the playing cards, standing up from the sofa.

“So, what’s going on exactly?” Qin Qingzhuo approached the three of them, looking at Jiang Ji, “I heard you’ve been playing cards all the time and not writing songs?”

Jiang Ji just looked at him, his gaze fixed on his face, without any intention of explaining.

It was Zhong Yang who spoke up for him, “Brother Qingzhuo, you’ve misunderstood Jiang Ji. This time, the task of writing songs is mainly assigned to Sister Shi.”

Qin Qingzhuo’s gaze turned to Peng Keshi, somewhat surprised, “Peng Keshi is writing the song for this round?”

“Yeah, Sister Shi is a love expert,” Zhong Yang lowered his voice, mysteriously telling Qin Qingzhuo, “She’s had several relationships. If she doesn’t write, who will?”

“Zhong Yang.” Peng Keshi glanced at Zhong Yang, using her eyes to signal him not to talk nonsense. Then she looked at Qin Qingzhuo with an apologetic tone, “Sorry, Brother Qingzhuo. Because the melody I came up with was a bit stiff, I thought of having them accompany me in playing cards to relax. I didn’t expect it to cause trouble for you.”

Qin Qingzhuo never expected that the idea of playing cards was suggested by Peng Keshi. Surprised, he could only comfort her, “It’s okay, it’s not much trouble. When I said the program team complained, I was just messing with you. Originally, there was a scheduled mentor visit segment, but it’s just happening earlier now.”

This gave Jiang Ji an opportunity to catch Qin Qingzhuo’s words, “Didn’t you say there was no such segment?”

“I lied,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled, “I wanted to give you guys a surprise… By the way, have you eaten?”

“Not yet. Brother Qingzhuo, have you eaten? Do you want to eat with us? Although the meals prepared by the program team aren’t very tasty…” Zhong Yang took over the conversation, unreservedly speaking in front of the camera.

“That’s great,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled, “I brought some food over.”

“What did you bring? Is there meat?” Zhong Yang craned his neck to look outside, “Where is it…”

His voice had just fallen, and Chen Jia, accompanied by staff, walked quickly from the yard with a bag of takeout, “Brother Qingzhuo, the food you brought over is all heated up. I’ve brought it to you all.”

“Damn, it’s Su San!” Zhong Yang keenly spotted the logo on the thermal bag and exclaimed, “Brother Qingzhuo, you’re incredible!”

He hurried over and took the thermal bag from Chen Jia’s hands, “Sister Jia, I’ll take it.”

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled at his exclamation and also walked over to Chen Jia, “The rest is all distributed to everyone, right?”

“Let’s distribute them later. I’ve brought yours over first,” Chen Jia smiled, “I heard you brought food from Suzhou, and now everyone’s more interested in eating than working.”

“Well, eating is more important after all. Chen Jia, come join us,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled, then looked inside the house, “The camera crew can eat first before filming, right?”

“No, that won’t do,” Chen Jia shook her head, “Not a single moment of your footage can be missed. Brother Qingzhuo, you guys go ahead and eat, don’t worry about us.”

With her words, Qin Qingzhuo didn’t insist further. After all, the staff all had their own tasks to attend to, and he couldn’t intervene.

The four of them sat around the coffee table on the sofa, opening the food boxes one by one. Zhong Yang sniffed, “It smells so good. Ordering so much from Suzhou must have cost a fortune, right?”

“Are you expecting me to reimburse you?” Qin Qingzhuo joked.

“Even if you sold me, I couldn’t afford it…” Zhong Yang muttered, “It’s a place where the average spending is in the thousands.”

“The expensive ones are those rare ingredients. What I ordered are just some home-style dishes, not that expensive,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled, “Let’s eat.”

With all the food boxes opened, the entire coffee table was filled. Although the dishes had been reheated, they still looked and smelled appetizing.

After swallowing a mouthful of rice, Zhong Yang asked Qin Qingzhuo for some information, “Brother Qingzhuo, have the other bands already finished writing their songs?”

“They should have,” Qin Qingzhuo picked up some food, “No one has complained to me about them.”

“Sigh, that’s true,” Zhong Yang sighed, “Those guys must be experienced, I heard they sleep around everywhere. Those love songs are probably not written but…”

Before finishing his sentence, mindful of Peng Keshi being nearby, he raised his palm to his lips and mouthed to Qin Qingzhuo, “Ejaculated out.”

His words were shocking, and Qin Qingzhuo almost choked, barely managing to cough twice while clutching his fist in front of his lips.

Jiang Ji opened a bottle of mineral water from the opposite side and handed it over, giving Zhong Yang a glance, “We’re having a meal, say something appropriate.”

Qin Qingzhuo took the water and reminded Zhong Yang in a low voice, “Zhong Yang, there are so many cameras around, watch what you say.”

“Just speaking the truth…” Zhong Yang muttered.

Qin Qingzhuo changed the subject, “By the way, since Keshi is in charge of writing this song, why did I hear that Jiang Ji went out with his guitar yesterday?”

“He wanted to see if he could come up with something,” Jiang Ji said, “Sister Shi was having some trouble with the writing.”

“Any ideas now?”

“No.”

Qin Qingzhuo remained silent.

Zhong Yang, feeling frustrated, turned to Peng Keshi, “Sister Shi, Sister Shi, how come a top student from Yan University like you is having trouble writing? You’ve had so many relationships, and yet nothing? Maybe if you share your experiences, Jiang Ji might get inspired and come up with something…”

“You can’t keep your mouth shut even during a meal,” Peng Keshi retorted, “Why don’t you give it a try?”

“I can’t do it,” Zhong Yang said confidently, “Out of the three of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t been in a relationship.”

At his words, Jiang Ji glanced at him, remaining silent.

But Zhong Yang noticed his gaze and hinted at Jiang Ji, “Don’t think I don’t know about your past.”

“What past?” Jiang Ji asked, puzzled, “Be clear.”

But Zhong Yang refused to elaborate, turning to Qin Qingzhuo instead, provocatively stirring up trouble, “Right, I shouldn’t have asked Sister Shi. I should have asked Brother Qingzhuo instead. Brother Qingzhuo, you’re so good-looking, you must have had relationships before. Why don’t you share with Jiang Ji…”

As soon as he spoke, Qin Qingzhuo could feel all the cameras focusing on his face.

He hadn’t dealt with the entertainment press for years, but Zhong Yang’s words brought back memories of his days as a singer. Just as he was about to say something to change the subject, Jiang Ji interrupted from across the table, “Why do you have so much to say?”

His tone was unfriendly, and Zhong Yang didn’t back down, “Hey, I was asking Brother Qingzhuo, what’s it to you?”

“One more word, and you’ll be the one writing,” Jiang Ji warned.

“I…” Zhong Yang was silenced, finally quieting down.

The meal turned into a chaotic affair thanks to Zhong Yang’s provocative remarks, with everyone in the room being provoked by him at least once.

After finishing the meal and tidying up the food boxes, the group continued discussing the unresolved love song.

“I heard you rehearsed it before?” Qin Qingzhuo asked, “So there must be something written. Can you play it for me?”

“It’s just a melody, the lyrics haven’t been written yet,” Peng Keshi said apologetically, “And it’s not very good.”

“It’s okay, let me hear it,” Qin Qingzhuo said, “Go ahead.”

So the three of them picked up their instruments and played the melody for Qin Qingzhuo, which lasted only a few seconds.

Qin Qingzhuo sat on the sofa, his fingers supporting his chin, remaining silent.

To be honest, it’s really not that good.

It’s not terrible either, just average, lacking in emotion. The most important thing is, it doesn’t evoke the feeling of a love song.

Love songs require emotion, sincerity, and atmosphere. But the melody we have now feels a bit… dry.

No wonder the three of them couldn’t get it right.

“How about trying to write lyrics first?” Qin Qingzhuo pondered, offering a suggestion. “Start by creating an atmosphere with the lyrics, giving the whole song an emotional anchor. Love songs, after all, are all about emotions. Without emotion, how can there be love?”

“I’ve tried,” Peng Keshi said, “There is emotion, but it feels forced.”

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled. “You might be setting too high a standard for yourself.”

After a moment’s thought, he added, “You need to relax a bit. It’s really hard to create something satisfactory when you’re under so much tension.”

“Indeed,” Peng Keshi sighed, “But it’s hard to relax in this environment.”

“Because of the cameras?” Qin Qingzhuo asked, having noticed them as soon as he entered. Whenever the three of them moved even a little, the surrounding cameras would immediately follow suit. “Are they in the room too?”

Peng Keshi nodded. “And we can’t cover them. They want to capture the creative process.”

Hearing her explanation, Qin Qingzhuo also felt troubled. He muttered to himself softly, “What should we do…”

No wonder they hadn’t been able to write a song these past few days. Qin Qingzhuo wasn’t sure if he could successfully create a song in a place surrounded by cameras. It should be… similar to the state Asperatus was in.

It was just too uncomfortable.

As he pondered, the sound of rain suddenly echoed in the courtyard. It was as if a soaked towel had been wrung out.

The rain came unexpectedly, pouring down heavily. The large raindrops hit the ground, creating a noisy racket.

Even though they were seated far from the door, the moment the raindrops fell, they felt a refreshing coolness in the air.

Zhong Yang stood up from behind the drum set, stepped over the threshold, and watched as the raindrops splashed in the courtyard. He exclaimed, “Wow… This rain is really heavy!”

Qin Qingzhuo also turned to look outside. He had seen the dark clouds stretching from the south to the north of the city, and he expected it to rain tonight, but he didn’t expect it to be this heavy. He wondered how long the rain would last and if they would be stuck here for a while.

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Ji spoke up from across the room, “Are you leaving tonight?”

His voice was deep, but it wasn’t completely drowned out by the rain outside.

Qin Qingzhuo turned his head, Jiang Ji was looking at him, clearly asking if he was leaving, yet his eyes hinted at a desire for him to stay.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Qingzhuo nodded, “Yes, I’m leaving.”

The other nodded as well, without saying anything more, he took the score in his hand and lowered his head to look at it, his thick eyelashes covering the emotions in his eyes.

Qin Qingzhuo deliberately kept his tone light, “But your song hasn’t been finalized yet, so I won’t be leaving anytime soon.”

“Brother Qingzhuo,” Peng Keshi looked over, “The production team won’t require you to stay with us to come up with the song, right?”

“Not really,” Qin Qingzhuo smiled, “But just coming here without solving any problems would be too embarrassing for me as a mentor.”

There was some exaggeration in his words. Although the production team had asked him to guide the band’s rehearsal, the real purpose was to film some material of mentors interacting with the band. The scheduled coaching time was only half an hour for each band. If he wanted to bluff, he could just say a few pre-arranged lines according to the script provided by the production team. However, Qin Qingzhuo didn’t want to do that.

“I’ll write it,” Jiang Ji suddenly said, “I’ll write it tonight.”

Qin Qingzhuo was slightly surprised, “Do you have an idea?”

“No.”

“Then how will you write it?”

“By force,” he replied truthfully.

If he couldn’t write it, he would have to force himself to. Qin Qingzhuo thought for a moment and then expressed some concern, “Won’t it end up with the same effect as the song from the second round?”

“It won’t be that bad. At least it’ll be listenable,” Jiang Ji said, “Besides, that song wasn’t forced.”

“Could it be that you poured your heart and soul into writing it?”

“I just wrote it randomly.”

“Alright… randomly written,” Qin Qingzhuo shook his head with a smile, “Impressive.”

At this moment, Chen Jia hurriedly walked in from the courtyard, holding an umbrella to shield herself from the raindrops. She said, “Brother Qingzhuo, judging from the intensity of this rain, I don’t know if it’ll stop tonight. It might not be safe to drive back. Why don’t you just stay here? It’s a good opportunity to chat with Jiang Ji and maybe you’ll come up with some inspiration.”

Qin Qingzhuo understood her intentions as soon as she spoke. He couldn’t help but recall Xia Qi’s “Jiang Shang Qing.” He wondered if this ship name was also thought up by the production team’s girls.

Although Chen Jia had no intention of hiding her intentions, her eyes clearly pleaded, “Please, please.”

However, no matter how accommodating Qin Qingzhuo was, he didn’t want to showcase his private life in front of the cameras. Moreover, it involved Jiang Ji, so he couldn’t do it—no matter what, the feelings for someone should be cherished, and they shouldn’t be casually exploited for entertainment.

“I’ll pass. I’m used to my own bed. I probably won’t be able to sleep elsewhere,” Qin Qingzhuo glanced outside, “I’ll leave once the rain stops.”

“But what if it doesn’t stop?” Chen Jia persisted hopefully.

Qin Qingzhuo remained firm but gentle in his tone, “It will stop.”

“…Alright,” Chen Jia’s disappointment was evident, but she didn’t push further, “Let’s wait and see then.”