Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

The island itself was small, so the drive didn't take long.

Exhausted from the day, Xu Qingyan had no appetite for dinner and merely greeted everyone before heading upstairs. He changed his shoes, tossed his phone onto the bed, and dragged his weary body into the shower.

The steam gradually filled the transparent glass shower room. Standing under the showerhead, he closed his eyes and silently thought about the second song.

By now the pace of the reality show had stabilized. Only three days remained, minus the final day for pairing up and revealing identities, which really only left two days.

This class was nearly over; it was time to consider the path after the romance show.

When all was said and done, selling songs was still the way to go. But now he had another option. Compared to Pei Muchan, the popular young diva Lin Wanzhou had even higher popularity.

If Lin Wanzhou also bought the song he transcribed, it would be like having two divas promoting for him. Just that would be enough to break even, and his fees were certainly not low.

On the other hand, he was also being fair. The song he gave to Pei Muchan, "Qing Tian," was bound to be a phenomenal hit wherever it went, and asking for two hundred thousand plus a normal share wasn't unreasonable.

Furthermore, Xu Qingyan worried that a buyout would sever his relations with Pei Muchan.

Of course, he wasn't lecherous. He had no such thoughts; decent people don't date for that. It's obvious to make money together if there is money to be made, and also to share the risks together.

In case "Qing Tian" encountered any unexpected issues, at least there was room for remedy.

He was out of money but for acquiring songs, just give him some time to learn. As long as he mastered the basic methods of transcribing music and sought continuous improvement, the songs would definitely suffice.

After all, with an ace in hand and the right channels, making money wouldn't be a concern.

The biggest channels he could access at the moment were Pei Muchan and Lin Wanzhou. One was richer than the other, and he couldn't afford to offend either; even if the director didn't say it, he would be fair to both.

They were both patrons; heaven forbid they should start fighting.

In the shower, as Xu Qingyan lathered himself with body wash, he pondered over which song he should transcribe next.

Time was running out, and he definitely couldn't master transcribing music so quickly. Later, he would still need to try and slowly figure out the intro to "Qing Tian" on his own.

There was no time to learn bit by bit—it would have to be a case of learning by doing.

That was why he intended to pick a song that was impactful but had a simple melody, and after much consideration, he settled on "The One I Yearn For."

The song's tune was simple and straightforward, gradually pulling you in with a conversational tone, step by step immersing you in the emotions, and expressing the complex feelings of struggle and sorrow within the heart.

But one thing was for sure, it was hard to sing. Fortunately, acapella was probably the only thing he excelled at right now.

After a quick shower, Xu Qingyan rubbed his tired face and picked up his phone to reply to several people's messages on WeChat.

Pei Muchan: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Xu: "A bit tired, I'll be fine after some sleep."

As soon as he sent it, he received an instant reply.

Pei: "Would you like something to eat?"

"I'll find something later, don't worry," Xu Qingyan typed rapidly, "Now that the score is transcribed, you should rest early tonight."

"Okay."

Staring at that "okay," Xu Qingyan wanted to say something more but hesitated and eventually swiped away from the chat window. The second message was from Lin Wanzhou with a photo of the dining table as the first one.

Arrayed with an eye-catching selection of dishes, the production team had obviously struck some advertisement deal, visibly living it up.

The second message came twenty minutes later, a cautious inquiry, "How are you? Sister Pei said you might be unwell, you might... need an injection, right?"

Xu Qingyan felt embarrassed; the mere word 'injection' caused him physical discomfort. People without money only dare to get one IV drip, and the next one has to wait for another visit—going for an extra one would call for installments. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e|m-p| y r

Besides, in the world of adults, one can endure sickness or take medication. But unless absolutely necessary, choosing to get an injection isn't an option.

He thought for a moment, then replied.

"I'm a bit tired, just need to sleep for a while."

"As for that song, I can't come up with a melody at the moment, so I'll send you a few lines of an a cappella version first. Listen to it and see if it works for you, then we can talk."

The other party didn't respond immediately, and Xu Qingyan stared at the indication that they were typing a reply for quite a while before a message finally came through.

"Okay."

Huh??? Just that?

The third message was from Shen Jinyue, but Xu Qingyan didn't look at it and directly cleared the notification. This woman couldn't say anything nice if her life depended on it; It's better not to look and be curious than to look and feel upset.

Although he couldn't afford to offend two small divas, he could afford to offend Shen Jinyue.

She was like a fish on a cutting board; touching her scales repeatedly didn't bother her at all, she would even remind the chef if they had placed her the wrong way around.

After putting down his phone, he practiced a couple of times before he began to record.

He only sang one section a cappella, which wasn't too troublesome, but after recording, he felt something wasn't quite right. The melody of the song was indeed simple, but it was not that easy to sing well.

Halfway through singing, he felt the emotions were insufficient and lackluster.

After several recordings, he picked the clearest version to save. He didn't send it immediately but set it aside for the time being.

Shuffling in his slippers, Xu Qingyan got up and meandered over to the large living room of the suite. Pei Muchan's guitar, which she had left there the day before, was still there.

The wide-open windows of the large living room let in the humid and hot breeze of a summer evening.

With his hair half-dry, he took out his phone, held the guitar, and began to meticulously practice. Luckily, learning wasn't too difficult, and as time passed bit by bit, he made some progress,

Feeling that something was still not quite right, he even got on a call with Pei Muchan for a while.

Pei Muchan seemed to be alone in her room. Perhaps because it was late into the night, her voice carried a slightly hoarse and itchy undertone.

"Are you listening?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry, I just spaced out for a moment," Xu Qingyan jolted back to attention.

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, and her voice seemed a bit resigned.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard. If you're tired, you should sleep first. It'll be alright even if you wait until tomorrow or after the show is over, or I can help with the chord progression if you want."

"I want to give it a try myself. I can't always trouble you," Xu Qingyan said.

Pei Muchan didn't say anything more, only the sound of her gentle breathing.

After a long while, she spoke.

"Why can't you trouble me though?"

Xu Qingyan felt a slight shock in his heart, thinking he might have said the wrong thing again. He coughed awkwardly, clearing his throat, and kept stammering without being able to articulate a complete explanation.

Usually, his brain worked fine, but it always seized up at critical moments.

The other party's patience seemed to be wearing thin, and the voice coming from the phone was low, as if suppressing a simmering ember, slightly muffled.

"So, it's not okay to trouble me, but it's okay to trouble Lin Wanzhou?"

"No," Xu Qingyan's eyelids twitched, feeling like the situation was falling apart, a harbinger of doom flashing vigorously on his forehead, "What I mean is, I can't always rely on you."

"I need to be self-sufficient, so in the future, when there's a melody, it doesn't turn out like trying to pour dumplings from a teapot."

Pei Muchan: "Hmm."