Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Xu Qingyan had been incredibly busy recently, but after his mother's surgery, he suddenly found himself with some downtime and was somewhat unaccustomed to it.

As he listened to his mother and aunt urging him to return home, he hazily reminisced about the last day of recording "Love Hunter." It seemed like half a month had already passed.

During this half month, he had been intermittently in touch with several people from the reality show, with whom he had formed good relationships.

With Lin Wanzhou and Pei Muchan, it was daily chats. Their conversations had continued non-stop since leaving the show. Despite being busy, they replied to each other whenever they had time.

With Shen Jinyue, it was chatting every other day. It wasn't that she was slow to respond, but rather that she sent an overwhelming number of cute emojis.

Having seen too many, he would cool off for a day before replying to conserve energy.

Then there were the show's staff members like Zhou Mian. Xu Qingyan had only added Zhou Mian and Cui Ying, and he had met everyone else in Zhou Mian's WeChat group chat.

Indeed, if Xu Qingyan took a moment to reflect, he would realize that his past week had been almost extraordinarily lucky.

Not only had he enjoyed a free round of experiences, he was poised to earn close to eighty thousand, and had connected with two up-and-coming stars. He had taken some criticism, but it had not escalated to the level of family feuds.

What was more important was that whether it was "Qing Tian" or the yet-to-be-revealed "What I Miss," they constantly reminded him to seize every moment and strive upwards with all his might.

So even though he had to stay up late caring for his mother, allowing his aunt to rest, and though he had to run errands during the day — going to the department, buying and fetching meals, doing laundry, handling all kinds of big and small matters —

Xu Qingyan still managed to carve out fragments of time to seriously get through his music theory and composition lessons.

The process was hard, and it was an extreme test on both his body and mind, but in the end, he clenched his teeth and persevered.

He had promised that within half a month, he would produce the score for "What I Miss." At most, he might delay it by a day or two, but he would deliver it without fail.

For an average person, tackling music theory and composition in half a month and then writing an original song was quite difficult.

For Xu Qingyan, however, his advantage lay in the fact that he had a vault of melodies in his head, and any new knowledge could evoke corresponding practical examples.

Not only that, more importantly... he didn't need to create something new; he only had to materialize the melodies in his head onto the sheet music — music theory and composition were his tools.

Others learned music theory and composition to enhance their creativity, but his learning was for the purpose of a more efficient "assembly line" workflow.

His direction was clear and his purpose more specific, making his studies more targeted. He skipped over concepts he didn't understand, or he would ask Lin Wanzhou or Pei Muchan for help.

Gradually, Xu Qingyan discovered that sometimes, without pushing oneself, one would never realize how incompetent they are. By holding on, he could easily overcome each difficulty.

This bitter life is as fragile as a sheet of seaweed and as foolish as a stray dog. Even if reluctant, life would repeatedly hammer one until they become resilient.

The so-called turning over a new leaf for a salted fish is just lying in a ditch, waiting quietly for the wind. Without the wind, one stays put; but when the wind comes, one must struggle to stand up.

The chance to change one's life may come only once in a lifetime, and it won't come again.

In mid-August, the sun was scorching, and at noon, it hung high and blazing in the sky.

After being chased out of the hospital ward by his mother and aunt, Xu Qingyan had been squatting in the cool shade at the hospital entrance, pondering life's trajectory. He had transferred several thousand to his mother's card, leaving himself with the last six thousand.

Under the somewhat disdainful gaze of the security guard, he shamelessly gulped down an ice-cold Coke. He was about to habitually crush the empty bottle underfoot.

Suddenly, he noticed a chubby boy, about ten years old, licking a premium ice cream as he waddled past.

"Can this be real? Are kids these days really eating such expensive ice creams? Makes me want to be their pet dog. People from the provincial city really are different," he muttered. Your journey continues on mvl

After complaining for a while, Xu Qingyan despaired again.

Even his mother, it seemed like in this world, people who didn't work had to be shot dead? Everyone else wished for their children to stay by their side to fulfill their filial duties, he had never seen anyone pushing someone out the door.

"Jobless and they want me to find a damn job," he sighed and mumbled, "Where can I go with six thousand? Renting a place costs three months' deposit plus one month's rent upfront."

He certainly wasn't planning to look for a job; he was focused on deciphering music scores.

But he couldn't go home to work on music; it was inconvenient and a waste of time. In a few days, he needed to present "What I Miss" to Lin Wanzhou's side, and he hadn't even started yet.

Professional tasks ultimately required a professional environment. After some thought, he dialed Pei Muchan's number. The first call didn't go through, so he simply waited.

After scrolling through his phone for over ten minutes, Pei Muchan called back.

"What's up?"

She had become accustomed to getting straight to the point, probably because she saw a lot of potential in "Qing Tian." In the past half month, she had regained the ambition she once had.

"Just busy. 'Qing Tian' was released online today," she said.

Xu Qingyan suddenly remembered Pei Muchan mentioning a few days ago that "Qing Tian" had been completed. The copyright was registered well in advance, and she was in talks with websites for collaborations.

"How are the numbers?"

"Don't know yet, it's going live around six in the afternoon," Pei Muchan said, her voice slightly tense. The noise of loud voices could be heard through her phone, "What do you want from me?"

The two had spent seven days together as partners, and they had been in touch without a break for half a month. Whether it was Pei Muchan or Xu Qingyan, they both had a clear understanding of each other's situations.

So she got straight to the point.

"My mom kicked me out, told me to find a job quickly and stop being a bum," Xu Qingyan said with a laugh, "Hey, is Boss Pei still hiring?"

Hearing this, Pei Muchan chuckled softly.

"Lacking indeed, very much so. Are you coming to Xinghai?"

When she said the second part of the sentence, Xu Qingyan could distinctly feel that the noisy sound on the other end of the phone had disappeared; she probably moved to a quieter place.

"Can I?" Xu Qingyan squatted on the ground, playing with an empty Coke bottle while making the call, "I want to write songs and need to borrow the equipment at your studio."

"No problem," Pei Muchan agreed crisply, "But can you prioritize selling your songs to me? I want to release an album and give it another try."

"Of course, but I can't guarantee the quality," Xu Qingyan joked, "After all, I'm just a beginner. You better not have too high expectations."

"It's fine, no pressure, I'm not stupid. If the quality isn't good, I won't buy it," Pei Muchan laughed. By the sound of it, she must have been in an empty corridor on the phone.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"When are you coming over?" Her voice was unusually cheerful but still somewhat reserved, "If you're not busy, I can drive over to pick you up."

"Today, I'm buying the ticket now. I can make my own way there," Xu Qingyan was straightforward, "Boss Pei, does your company's employee benefits include meals and accommodation?"

Pei Muchan: "....."

On a sweltering afternoon, the high-speed train raced along the rails.

[Dear passengers, we are approaching the next station—Xinghai Station. Please ensure you have all your belongings ready for disembarkation.]

On the train, Xu Qingyan stood in the aisle, wedging his not-so-heavy luggage with his foot while his fingers tapped rapidly on his phone screen, awaiting the train's arrival at the station.

"I've arrived at the station and am about to take the subway."

Pei Muchan replied instantly, "Do you know the way? I'm sorry for the sudden incident, I can't make the time. You head over to the studio first, and I'll take you to where you'll be staying after I get off work."

Xu Qingyan's gaze swept over the last line of text, leaving him astounded.

Is the treatment at Cicada Studio this generous? In a place like Xinghai where housing prices are so expensive, they even provide employee accommodation—it's utterly extravagant.

One of the likely reasons the studio wasn't doing well was probably because Boss Pei wasn't much of a capitalist. At his former company, an expense claim could be stuck for two months as if they wished the employees would pay to work there.

In today's world, where bringing up work has become a sensitive adult topic during late-night conversation, there's still a philanthropist like Pei Muchan—something is definitely off with ninety out of a hundred points.

"I know the way, I can get there by following the directions," Xu Qingyan replied swiftly, checking the time—it was almost five in the afternoon. "You go ahead with your work, wishing your new song a smashing success!"

After sending the message, he added a few wheat emoticons in his reply, the hypocrisy of adults being truly terrifying. Binge-working had engraved these greasy habits deep into his bones.

The days of feeling uncomfortable with expressions of face-palm, strength, encouragement, bowing, or yellow faced emoticons are long gone—now he was in his strongest form, tempered by the professional world.

A greasy working-class man!

Privately, he'd send cool emoticons flying around, but once it came to formal conversations, words would unconsciously be filled with smiles, bows, thumbs up, gritted teeth, or handshakes.

It was probably the terrifying Trisolarians who modified the memories of the working-class, unifying the database.

"Okay." The other side replied instantly again, with a cute emoticon.

Xu Qingyan wanted to respond with an emoticon, but found his WeChat favorites full of embarrassing memes he couldn't use.

So, he could only silently turn off his phone screen, clutching it to his chest, thinking that memes had ruined his life.

The announcement at the exit gate covered up the noisy crowd.

[Millennium Xinghai Province! The people of Xinghai welcome you!]

He glanced at his phone, which lit up showing it was now just past five. After leaving the station exit, Xu Qingyan headed straight for the subway.

Taxi fare was too costly. At this juncture, he thought it wise to save where he could. After all, he wasn't really going to work at Pei Muchan's studio, merely borrowing the venue and equipment.

Given their friendship, there was no need to talk about money, but he had to pay for his own food and lodging.

The subway was packed with people, almost unbearably crowded.

[Dear passengers, Guanghan Station has arrived. Please have your tickets ready to pass through the gates... Thank you for your cooperation, dear...]

As the subway doors opened, a girl wearing a duckbill cap with her hair casually tied into a ponytail, which came out from the back of her cap, squeezed her way into the crowd with agility.

She wore a French-style off-the-shoulder white blouse with a frill and denim shorts, her rounded full thighs pale and seeming like a university student's.

Her calves were slender, naked feet delicate, and she wore a pair of women's Air Force Ones.

The girl locked eyes with Xu Qingyan, cornered where he was standing, and as she lifted her gaze, her eyes carried a bit of closeness and the contentment of high summer. The stuffy breeze of the subway seemed to soften the look in her eyes.

A normal person's reaction at this point would be to look away as if nothing had happened.

The girl, however, smiled at him and greeted him.

"Hello."

Xu Qingyan, who had been traveling the whole day and was standing on the subway, was exhausted. He glanced down at her, pulling off a perfunctory work-weary smile.

"I don't do campus cards."