Chapter 15: Do You Know Which Part of Your Body Is the Hardest?
Liu Wenxiong led Su Chen and Qu Anan through a corridor, arriving at a cluster of recording studios. Since it was only a demo, there was no need for accompaniment. The entire recording process went smoothly. Su Chen first handed the lyrics and score to Qu Anan for her to familiarize herself briefly, then they began recording.
It had to be admitted, apart from her somewhat introverted personality, Qu Anan was impeccable in every other regard. Her grasp of music theory and singing technique was highly professional. However, her voice truly didn’t suit this song. She couldn’t evoke that mournful, delicate, and melancholic feeling.
Su Chen frowned slightly, startling Qu Anan, who immediately feared she had made some mistake. She glanced at him anxiously, leaving Su Chen both amused and helpless. For a simple demo, it wouldn’t matter much. After all, the final performer for the theme song hadn’t been decided yet; the crew would surely have professionals to make that judgment.
“Good enough,” he said.
After leaving the studio, Liu Wenxiong hurriedly took the files to send to the production team. Su Chen followed, strolling leisurely behind. Just as he was about to turn the corner out of the artists’ department, a hesitant, stumbling voice sounded from behind.
“Su... Su Teacher!”
“Hm?” Su Chen turned to see Qu Anan, her face flushed crimson, as if she had summoned all her courage, looking at him.
“What is it?”
“I... I...” She struggled for a long moment, then suddenly relaxed a little, giving a shy smile. “When will this movie be released? I want to watch it when it comes out!”
Su Chen smiled gently. “It’s not certain yet. When it’s finalized, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay!”
Once Su Chen disappeared around the corner, Qu Anan let out a long sigh of relief. That sentence—what she truly wanted to say—still remained unspoken.
From the moment she saw the song, she had fallen in love with it. With her professional knowledge, it wasn’t hard to recognize it as an exceptional piece. Su Teacher was truly remarkable. If before she had thought, like the other trainees, that Su Chen was just a fresh college graduate, now she could firmly say this teacher had already surpassed most composers in the company.
She was genuinely lucky.
Though shy, she wasn’t foolish. She wanted to summon her courage and fight for a chance to sing the song, but at the last moment, she gave up. After all, she was just a trainee, and Su Chen had only just met her. There were plenty of debuting artists in the company, and among the trainees, talented people abounded. Why should it be her?
She smiled self-mockingly at the thought, realizing how deep a longing that was.
Su Chen, of course, understood what Qu Anan meant. To him, it didn’t matter much who sang the song.
This girl, though, had an air of freshness and elegance, with solid professional foundations. She was clearly very hardworking. He admired her.
But… she really wasn’t suited for this song.
Su Chen wanted to comfort her, to say something like, “Don’t worry, I’ll have a song that suits you one day.” But in the end, he said nothing. Promises are a kind of responsibility, and he never made them lightly.
---
Su Chen was writing music in his notebook while Tang Jiayi sat nearby, resting her chin on her hand and tilting her head to watch him. Her other hand held a cup of milk tea, which she sipped as she observed. She didn’t understand music theory, but insisted on staying by his side.
Su Chen set down his pen and handed her the other cup of milk tea. “Here, drink them both.”
Tang Jiayi wrinkled her nose charmingly. “I don’t want to! I’ll gain weight!”
She sighed anxiously, “Ugh, I think I’ve put on weight again!”
Su Chen rolled his eyes, speechless. “Who told you milk tea makes you fat? Besides, girls look better with a little weight.”
“Hmph! I’m going to be a superstar, I have to keep my figure! Look at all those female celebs—every one of them keeps in shape!”
She muttered to herself, “I wonder how they manage it… do they drink milk tea or not?”
Su Chen burst out laughing. “I’ll help you ask them someday!”
He waited for her response, but after a while, noticed she was staring intently at him.
“Brother Su Chen, do you know which part of you is the hardest?”
Su Chen was startled. This girl… her thoughts are getting unhealthy lately!
He was about to lecture her when she continued, “Your beard! Because your skin is so thick, even your beard can pierce it!”
She laughed uproariously at her own joke.
Su Chen was speechless. Where did she pick up such nonsense?
He had a quick thought and countered, “Then do you know which part of you is the thickest?”
Before she could reply, Su Chen couldn’t help but laugh himself. “It’s your skin! Because your beard is so hard, and it still can’t pierce your skin!”
“Annoying!” Tang Jiayi playfully punched him. “I don’t even have a beard, you’re cheating!”
“Hahahahaha…”
As Su Chen laughed, Tang Jiayi suddenly looked at him earnestly.
“But, Brother Su Chen, I believe in you. You’ll definitely become a big shot behind the scenes!”
“Absolutely!”
“Don’t forget me when you succeed!”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Make sure to help me ask then!”
“Deal!”
Su Chen responded seriously, following her lead.
“No, wait, if you’re still in the early stages of your behind-the-scenes career and I don’t invest, that’s a loss! I want to be your angel investor!”
Tang Jiayi’s tone shifted, and she rushed off, leaving Su Chen utterly confused.
A few minutes later, she slapped two thousand yuan in Huaxia currency onto the table with a grand gesture. “Quick, write me an investment contract!”
Su Chen had no choice but to play along.
“How should it be written?”
Tang Jiayi furrowed her brows in confusion, muttering under her breath. “How to write it… how to write…”
Suddenly she realized, eyes wide, “You haven’t started a company yet! How can I write this?”
Su Chen laughed, “Invest in me, as a person?”
Tang Jiayi slapped her forehead, enlightened. “Exactly! Invest in you!”
“I want… I want…” She frowned again. “How do I get shares?”
She pouted thoughtfully, then turned to see Su Chen had already written:
“Received from Tang Jiayi: two thousand in cash. When Su Chen succeeds, investment returns to be paid…”
He smiled at her, “How much should I return?”
Tang Jiayi counted on her fingers for a long time, then bit her lip and meekly said, “Two… two hundred million?”
Su Chen nearly choked. “Isn’t that a bit much?”
But he still wrote down two hundred million.
“Party B: Su Chen. Party A: Tang Jiayi.”
They both pressed their fingerprints on the paper. Tang Jiayi beamed with joy, grabbed the paper, and quickly slipped away.
Su Chen stared blankly at the doorway for a long, long time…
How did she know I was almost out of money?