After discovering that Qiu Qiu had blocked him, Fu Ruien immediately called his secretary: "Go find out where Qiu Qiu and Little Li are meeting."
The secretary was baffled: "...How am I supposed to find that out?"
Fu Ruien: "Have someone hack Little Li's phone."
"...How do we hack it?"
Fu Ruien flew into a rage: "If you can't handle such a small task, what use are you to me? Don't bother coming to work today."
"...Boss, today is a public holiday. I wasn't supposed to come in anyway."
Fu Ruien: "Fine, then get your ass over here to work overtime today."
"Right away, Boss. I'll start investigating now."
The boss wanting to check the chat history between his little lover and the little lover's ex-girlfriend put the secretary in a difficult spot. Such a private matter absolutely couldn't be known by anyone else, so he had to figure it out himself.
Fortunately, Little Li loved to show off and posted everything on her QQ Zone, which was set to public for anyone to see. The secretary noticed Little Li had listed her Weibo, WeChat, and Zhihu accounts in her profile. Following these leads, he finally found some clues.
Last night, Little Li had posted a question on Zhihu:
"My scumbag ex-boyfriend, who is a perfect ten in looks, wants to meet me in the school garden tomorrow afternoon. What should I wear to completely outshine him?"
The top-rated comment was:
"Roll out a red carpet."
...The secretary thought young people these days really had an interesting way of dating.
...
Qiu Qiu had no idea that Little Li had actually finished writing that romance script a long time ago. There was no such thing as a 100,000-yuan penalty for breach of contract. This was just an excuse she made up to create another connection with Qiu Qiu.
She was a future big-shot screenwriter, after all. How could she call herself a screenwriter if she didn't give extra scenes to good-looking people?
Qiu Qiu's New Year's money added up to just over fifty thousand yuan. He rounded it down, withdrew fifty thousand in cash, and used the remaining money to buy a bouquet of flowers and a box of pastries. The flowers were in Little Li's favorite color, and the pastries were her favorite flavor.
Qiu Qiu's flaws were as pronounced as his virtues—he was just too nice.
So nice that even though he didn't like Little Li, he had accepted her pursuit. He was considerate and tolerant in every way, always buying her nice things to eat or look at whenever he saw them. He wasn't trying to flirt; he was just... well-mannered.
But in Little Li's eyes, this boyfriend she had chased after was even more perfect than she had imagined. Handsome, neat and tidy, a good student, could sing and play the guitar, and most importantly, he seemed to adore her, bringing her little gifts every time they met—what girl's boyfriend could be so doting?
That's why Little Li couldn't understand why her boyfriend, who was just discussing where to go on a date with her the night before, would resolutely break up with her the next day.
He must be cheating! He changed his heart! Some little vixen has gotten her claws into this sweet Tang Monk!
Little Li made a huge fuss for a long time, but Qiu Qiu just wouldn't take her back. Finally, Little Li exploited Qiu Qiu's sense of responsibility by claiming he owed her 100,000 yuan, which led Qiu Qiu to suggest meeting her today.
So, Little Li went to the meeting carrying a red carpet she had borrowed from the student union.
Qiu Qiu was never late for appointments and usually arrived fifteen minutes early. When he got there, he happened to see Little Li, sweating profusely and bent over, spreading out the red carpet on the lawn.
Qiu Qiu helpfully approached and asked, "Little Li, are you having a picnic later? Do you need help with the carpet?"
Little Li was startled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on but was trying to play it cool. She straightened up abruptly, brushed the dust off her clothes, and began looking around at the scenery.
Qiu Qiu handed her the flowers and pastries. Little Li reached out to take them but suddenly remembered they were broken up now. She hardened her heart and swatted Qiu Qiu's hand away, asking impatiently, "Weren't you supposed to pay me back? Where's the money?"
Qiu Qiu obediently placed the flowers and pastries on the red carpet, opened his backpack, and pulled out five bundles of Renminbi. Not only that, he had also prepared a small opaque cloth bag and neatly stacked the five bundles of money inside.
He said, "I remember your bags are all small shoulder bags, probably not big enough to hold this much cash. I prepared a bag for you. Don't think it's tacky. A young girl like you should keep a low profile when carrying so much money on the street... Oh dear, why are you crying?"
The previously haughty Little Li was now crying so hard she couldn't lift her head. She didn't even glance at the money, kicked over the flowers and pastries, and began pushing at the red carpet while sobbing.
She didn't understand why Qiu Qiu was so good, why he had to be so good.
Why would someone so good break up with her?
The red carpet was heavy and huge; it was a mystery how she had carried it over. A roll taller than herself, she tearfully unrolled it.
Qiu Qiu tried to help several times, but Little Li wouldn't let him. Qiu Qiu could only stand there awkwardly.
He really didn't understand how girls thought. Was it because his godfather couldn't figure out girls either that he ended up liking men?
After the carpet was fully unrolled, Little Li took two steps to stand in the center of it, wiped her tears, and declared, "Qiu Qiu! I hate you!"
"Oh... I know..."
"If you want my forgiveness, there's only one way!"
"...What way?"
"You have to sing one last song for me!"
Qiu Qiu looked around. There were quite a few student couples in the school garden. The two of them were somewhat well-known figures at school, and their spectacle of rolling out a red carpet and the ensuing crying had already attracted a lot of attention.
Qiu Qiu asked somewhat sheepishly, "Sing here?"
"No." Little Li shook her head and pointed towards the small square outside the garden. "Sing there!"
Qiu Qiu followed her pointing finger and saw a makeshift, rather shabby stage set up in the school square. The stage backdrop was an eye-searing mix of pink and blue, with a banner hanging right in the middle that read:
—"Super New Voice" A City University Auditions
"Super New Voice" was an obscure, tiny little talent show organized by a video streaming site—so small that apart from on that site itself, you couldn't find any promotion for it anywhere else.
Because they genuinely couldn't attract enough contestants, the production team had a "brilliant idea" to bring the auditions to campuses, with the first stop being A City's university district. They figured, there were at least a hundred thousand people in this university district; surely, they could find one decent talent? As long as one person could make it to the finals, whether a teacher or a student, hyping up their academic halo would be a natural publicity angle!
Little did they expect that after a morning of picking and choosing, only five people had barely qualified to advance. If it weren't for the live-streaming camera pointed at them, the judges would have wanted to throw down their pens and leave.
Little Li dragged Qiu Qiu to the registration desk.
Because the production team was short-staffed, the receptionists at the registration desk were volunteer students assigned by the student union.
Qiu Qiu was the school heartthrob. Every year at the welcome party, he had a solo performance. His singing voice was first-class beautiful, his stage presence was first-class excellent, a deserving campus idol. The junior girl in charge of registration, the moment she saw him appear, her heart rate immediately shot up to one-fifty. Her face flushed so red she nearly fainted, and she couldn't even speak properly.
"Qiu Qiu Qiu Qiu Qiu, h-h-h-hello, a-a-a-are you here to sign up too?"
Little Li fiercely slapped the table: "He's signing up!"
"S-s-s-solo? D-d-d-do you need a guitar?"
"He'll sing a cappella!"
"W-w-w-w-what song!"
"'Don't Look at Me, I'm Just a Sheep'!"
Qiu Qiu: "...???"
The junior girl at the registration desk: "............???"
And so, after waiting for fifteen minutes, Qiu Qiu took the stage holding a microphone, utterly bewildered.
Qiu Qiu was wearing jeans and a white shirt as usual that day, looking fresh and clean. His face wasn't wearing a speck of foundation, glowing pale under the sunlight.
With his sunny, handsome face, clean and refreshing aura, and shy, somewhat awkward expression, the moment he stepped on stage, he jolted the previously drowsy judges awake.
A staff member from the program team rushed up from behind and whispered in the ears of several judges: "This is A University's heartthrob. They say he has a great voice. As long as nothing goes wrong, let him pass later!"
Then, something went wrong.
This heartthrob, perfect in every way except for his apparently not-quite-right mind, sang the theme song from "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" a cappella.
The judges: "..."
How the hell are we supposed to pass him on this?????
The young man's stage presence was indeed good. He didn't even blush singing such an awkward song. The student audience below was in stitches, both heckling and recording videos, but he didn't miss a single note. Moreover, this contestant had a natural sense for the camera. Without seeming to try to charm anyone, just a shy smile after finishing the song made the two female judges, who could have been his mother, switch sides.
A heated debate erupted among the judges.
The two female judges: "He passes! He absolutely must pass! For the show's effect alone he should pass. That face of his is worth 500k active Weibo followers, ahhh!"
The three male judges: "If singing 'Pleasant Goat' gets a pass, then why didn't you pass that earlier contestant who sang 'Little Apple'?"
The situation was at a stalemate. No one noticed the sleek, understated but luxurious-looking business sedan parked by the roadside not far from the square.
Fu Ruien leaned back in the rear seat, gazing through the car window, mesmerized by the dazzling young man on stage.
He remembered during the days they spent together, Qiu Qiu holding a guitar, softly singing love songs he wrote himself by his ear. The boy's voice had a unique charm, every hum tugging at his heartstrings.
Some people are born for the stage, born to be admired by thousands.
Fu Ruien ordered his secretary: "Find a way to get Qiu Qiu through to the next round."
The secretary acknowledged the order, took his phone, and got out of the car.
Five minutes later, a burst of cheers erupted from the stage area. The screen showed all five judges had given Qiu Qiu a pass card.
Fu Ruien smiled with satisfaction.
The secretary got back in the car and reported respectfully: "Boss, 'Super New Voice Generation' has agreed to our exclusive sponsorship and title naming rights. Since it's a new, small program, the sponsorship fee is only twenty million."
Fu Ruien looked at him, shocked: "...When did I say I wanted to sponsor this lousy talent show?"
The secretary said helplessly: "Boss, with Young Master Qiu singing a song like that, there's no way he could advance without us sponsoring."
