HWMTOTBM Chapter 12

Xu Yu sent a thank you message to Su Yuanjiu. Seeing that there was no further reply, he put his phone away.

The rain outside was getting heavier. Yun Jie led Xu Yu further inside as their phone indicated that the car would arrive in three minutes.

Yun Jie shifted her gaze from the road, turned to Xu Yu, and patted him. “I was too busy being angry to say anything properly,” Yun Jie smiled at Xu Yu. “You sang very well tonight. Much better than the last time I heard you. It was beautiful.”

Xu Yu smiled, “It’s been almost a year since you last heard me.”

Yun Jie raised an eyebrow: “Has it been that long?”

Xu Yu shrugged. “Probably even longer.”

Yun Jie clicked her tongue and frowned, “That makes it seem like I don’t care about you.”

Xu Yu: “That’s what you said.”

Yun Jie laughed, providing some small comfort. She patted Xu Yu’s shoulder: “It was really good. Solid.”

While they were chatting, the side door suddenly opened, and three men came out of the building.

Xu Yu and Yun Jie’s attention was drawn to them.

Seeing who it was, Xu Yu softly said, “Ji Zhouchuan?”

Yun Jie turned. “Yes.”

Xu Yu stared at the man, and the man he recognized suddenly turned around.

Ji Zhouchuan was a musician that Xu Yu liked very much. Xu Yu had been following him since high school. Ji Zhouchuan used to sing some songs, but now he mainly works behind the scenes.

Yun Jie knew Xu Yu liked Ji Zhouchuan. She asked Xu Yu, “Do you want to go say hello?”

Xu Yu glanced over and saw that Ji Zhouchuan’s car was already at the door. With the heavy rain, they seemed to be in a hurry.

Xu Yu was eager but thought better of it and said, “Maybe next time.”

But before Xu Yu could approach, Ji Zhouchuan came over himself.

One leg was already in the car when he pulled it back out, said something to the people inside, closed the door, and walked toward Xu Yu.

Xu Yu and Yun Jie exchanged a look and then checked around to confirm it was just the two of them.

“Hello,” Ji Zhouchuan greeted them first.

Xu Yu nodded. “Hello, Mr. Ji.”

Ji Zhouchuan raised his eyebrows, “You know me?”

Xu Yu smiled, “I’m a fan of yours.”

“Oh really?” Ji Zhouchuan’s smile widened. “Xu Yu, right?”

Xu Yu: “Yes.”

Ji Zhouchuan took out his phone, “Can I have your contact information?”

Xu Yu nodded and quickly took out his phone. “Sure.”

Ji Zhouchuan didn’t waste any time, dialed Xu Yu’s number, and hung up immediately, then said, “See you around,” and got back into his car.

The whole operation left Yun Jie bewildered.

Yun Jie: “What was that about?”

Xu Yu, still smiling, looked at his phone and changed the contact name: “I don’t know.”

Yun Jie smiled. “Ji Zhouchuan is quite handsome.”

Xu Yu nodded, “I went to his fan meeting when I was in high school; he was even more handsome back then.” He paused. “But he’s still handsome now.”

Just as Ji Zhouchuan’s car drove away, the car Yun Jie had requested arrived.

It seemed that because of Ji Zhouchuan, the unpleasantness from the show earlier had somewhat faded for both of them.

As for how the show would be edited and what impact it would have on Xu Yu, there was no point in overthinking it now.

Yun Jie had been furious earlier, but on second thought, Zeng Chen’s primary target was the “Hello Sing and Dance” show. Xu Yu’s parts were still commendable.

Given Xu Yu’s current level of fame, when the show airs, it will most likely be mixed in with the criticisms of “Hello Sing and Dance” on Weibo, but it should not receive much attention.

Yun Jie rubbed her temples, trying to console herself.

“Still thinking about it?” Xu Yu asked her.

Yun Jie looked up and sighed.

Xu Yu said, “When I participated in ‘Hello Sing and Dance’ and got criticized, you hadn’t joined me yet.”

Yun Jie replied, “No, I hadn’t. By the time I came on board, most of the online criticism had already subsided.”

Xu Yu added, “And the show had pretty much cooled down.”

Yun Jie sighed again, looking at Xu Yu, “You’ve been through so much at such a young age.”

Xu Yu blinked, as if thinking of something, then turned to Yun Jie with a comforting smile. “The younger you experience things, the stronger you become. It’s no big deal. I can’t fall any lower than where I am now.”

Yun Jie frowned, looking like she was about to cry.

Xu Yu almost laughed. “Don’t be like this; the situation isn’t that bad.”

After staying in the city for one more night, the two returned to Lincheng the next morning.

With a few days until the scheduled JSS advertisement and not much to do in the meantime, Yun Jie busied herself with studio work and contacting people to release Xu Yu’s songs on music platforms.

Besides the song he sang on the show, there was another one. Xu Yu spent a few days completing both and releasing them together.

Releasing the songs before the second episode aired was definitely beneficial; Xu Yu relied on his talent, and nothing else would work.

As soon as the songs were released, Xu Yu forwarded them to three people.

One was Zheng Xue, another was Xu Weichi, and the third was Su Yuanjiu.

He sent the first two directly, but for the last one, he hesitated for a long time before deciding to send it. Having not contacted Su Yuanjiu for a long time, Xu Yu wasn’t sure if Su Yuanjiu’s previous eagerness to hear his songs was just politeness.

So before sending it, he specifically reviewed their chat history.

He read Su Yuanjiu’s “always looking forward to it” several times before opening the message box.

But instead of directly sending the song like he did with Zheng Xue and his brother, he typed a few words first.

He had to set the stage.

Xu Yu: What is Mr. Su doing?

After sending the message, Xu Yu suddenly remembered a popular saying online, that when someone asks what you’re doing, it implies…

Xu Yu rubbed his eyebrows. He thought Su Yuanjiu, who didn’t even have a Weibo account, probably didn’t know this implication.

No, the point was that he didn’t mean it that way.

What was he thinking?

Just then, Zheng Xue replied, and Xu Yu switched to that conversation.

Zheng Xue: Finally released, huh, bro?

Zheng Xue: I’ll get some fake reviews to boost you up!

Xu Yu: No need.

Xu Yu: Just listen to it yourself.

Zheng Xue: No way.

Zheng Xue: How can I be the only one listening?

Zheng Xue: I’ll post it in the group chat and on my Moments.

Xu Yu smiled.

While chatting with Zheng Xue, he noticed the notification number 1 appear in the top left corner, and a few seconds later, it changed to 2.

Xu Yu exited the chat and saw that it was indeed a reply from Su Yuanjiu.

Mr. Su: Nothing much.

Mr. Su: What’s up?

Xu Yu: My songs are out.

Xu Yu: Do you want to listen?

Mr. Su: Yes.

Xu Yu switched to the music app and sent both songs.

Mr. Su: I’ll listen right away.

Xu Yu smiled.

Meanwhile, Xu Weichi also replied, and since Su Yuanjiu was probably listening to the songs, Xu Yu switched to his brother’s chat.

His brother always had compliments for him, and this time was no exception.

Brother: Impressive, you actually released songs.

Brother: Great, very nice to listen to. [Thumbs up] [Thumbs up] [Thumbs up]

A bit corny, but very sincere praise.

Thinking that his brother and Su Yuanjiu were around the same age, Xu Yu wondered if Su Yuanjiu would respond similarly.

A few minutes later, Su Yuanjiu also replied.

Xu Yu opened the message.

Mr. Su: That sounds great.

Mr. Su: So you wrote both the lyrics and the music yourself?

Mr. Su: The composition is good, and the lyrics are good too. Very talented.

Su Yuanjiu was different after all.

Xu Yu started typing a thank you message, but before he could send it, Su Yuanjiu sent another message.

Mr. Su: Awesome. [Thumbs up] [Thumbs up] [Thumbs up]

Xu Yu leaned back on the couch, laughing out loud.

Xu Yu: Thank you.

With the songs released, Xu Yu got half a day to rest.

After not sleeping well for several days, he took a nap in the afternoon, slept straight through the evening, and then slept after dinner until the next day.

The day of the JSS advertisement shoot has arrived. Due to different locations, the shoot was scheduled over two days.

Today’s shoot was at the beach, and the outfit was a white suit, so he had to go to the company for makeup early in the morning.

While getting his makeup done, Yun Jie stayed by his side.

She had been very busy these days, having already visited the studio once before arriving at JSS in the morning.

She was now sitting next to Xu Yu, eating bread.

“Your natural curls are really natural,” Yun Jie said, drinking milk.

Xu Yu looked up.

Yun Jie clicked her tongue. Xu Yu’s side profile was really perfect, with eyelashes longer and thicker than hers.

The makeup artist, finishing Xu Yu’s eyebrows, chimed in with Yun Jie’s earlier comment, “Yes, and his hair is very soft and easy to manage.” After speaking, the makeup artist flicked his wrist and spritzed Xu Yu’s hair.

Yun Jie, raising her head, started praising him, “And you know what? Even when he doesn’t style it, his hair still looks great. Unlike some people’s natural curls, which look messy after washing or whatever, Xu Yu’s hair always looks good.”

The makeup artist agreed, “Yes, I noticed that when he came in this morning.”

As they chatted, noise suddenly erupted outside the makeup room. Xu Yu, hearing the commotion, sat up slightly.

“Xiaowen, what’s going on outside?” someone asked as they entered, and the makeup artist inquired.

Xiaowen replied, “Nothing much; someone bumped into a light and nearly fell while steadying it.”

Xu Yu pursed his lips.

When Xu Yu finished his makeup and changed clothes, the makeup artist was not present, and Yun Jie could not hold back anymore.

“Oh my, where did this little prince come from?” Yun Jie clapped her hands and frowned.

Xu Yu, buttoning his jacket in front of the mirror, raised his hand immediately when he saw Yun Jie about to continue, “That’s enough.”

Yun Jie laughed, “My mother says people should be praised more frequently; they will look even better.”

“Thank you, Yun Jie!” Xu Yu said as he tilted his head and raised his voice three times.

The weather was clear today, so they had to hurry to film and take photos while the sunlight was optimal.

Without wasting time, Xu Yu left the makeup room, and the group got into the car and headed to the location.

Yun Jie had rented a minivan for today, as Xu Yu was the main character, and some level of vanity and display was necessary. It wouldn’t look good to take a taxi back after the shoot with everyone watching.

Once they had the address and were in the car, Yun Jie pulled up the music app.

As the familiar intro played, Yun Jie made a surprised sound.

Yun Jie asked, “Why are there so many comments now? There were none last night.”

Xu Yu leaned in to take a look.

“Your fans are quite dedicated, huh? I only posted on your Weibo last night,” Yun Jie said, shaking her head. “There were only a few hundred comments on Weibo, how did it go over a thousand here?”

Xu Yu picked up his phone, “I’ll ask.”

Yun Jie was curious: “Who are you asking?”

Xu Yu replied, “Zheng Xue. He mentioned getting fake reviewers for me yesterday.”

Yun Jie laughed. “Go ahead and ask.”

Xu Yu sent a WeChat message to Zheng Xue, who quickly responded that it was not him; he had only posted in a few client groups and on his Moments. 

Yun Jie asked, “Did you send it to anyone else?”

Xu Yu turned around and blinked at Yun Jie.

Yun Jie laughed. “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m asking you a question.”

 

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