Chapter 133: Some Rejoice, Others Grieve

Li Jiayan had already gone to bed, but she was awakened by the faint, lingering sound of a piano.

She initially thought it was a dream or an auditory hallucination, but upon waking, she realized the music was real. It did not sound close, likely coming from some distance away. She felt a surge of curiosity: who was playing?

Li Jiayan scanned the other three beds in the women’s tent. Chu Yao and Qi Jiajia were already asleep, but Ye Fangfei was missing.

Where could she have gone so late? Could it be that she was the one playing?

Rubbing her bleary eyes, Li Jiayan felt a subconscious urge to go outside and take a look. She rose and stepped out of the tent.

Standing at the entrance, she looked around, but saw no one playing nearby. The men’s tent next door was silent; everyone seemed to be asleep.

The music continued. It wasn't a piano, but had the distinct texture of an electronic keyboard.

Li Jiayan stood outside, gazing up at the starry sky as she listened. The night was beautiful, and since they were at a prime stargazing spot, the music added an inexplicable, dreamy quality to the atmosphere.

It was a melody she had never heard before.

It was pure, and when one delved into the details, it was filled with clever, thought-provoking designs, yet it also possessed a magic that made one unconsciously let go of all worries.

A gust of wind blew by, carrying the music more clearly. Li Jiayan sensed the direction it was coming from and peered into the darkness.

Then, she saw three familiar figures crouching on a small slope in the distance.

"???"

Li Jiayan rubbed her eyes, thinking she was still too drowsy to see clearly. She focused her gaze and realized there were indeed three people there—and weren't those Zhang Chen, Wen Yiming, and Xu Junze?

What were they hiding there to watch?

So, was Ye Fangfei playing the music behind that small slope?

Li Jiayan felt a wave of embarrassment. What kind of strange behavior was this? If they wanted to watch Ye Fangfei play, couldn't they just walk over openly? Why resort to sneaking around?

She instinctively wanted to walk over, but after only two steps, she realized something was off.

One of the male guests was missing... could it be...

Li Jiayan’s brows knitted together. She turned toward the entrance of the men’s tent and called out, "Lu Zhou, are you asleep?"

No movement.

She tried calling again, but there was still no response.

At that moment, Li Jiayan looked back toward the small slope, and the answer suddenly clicked in her mind.

It was Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei playing music over there.

At this thought, her fingers curled and then slowly relaxed.

She felt angry. What on earth was Ye Fangfei doing? They had just talked earlier that evening, and Ye Fangfei had clearly expressed that she would consider cherishing the fate that had brought Zhang Chen into her life. How could she turn around and go play music with her ex-boyfriend the moment she fell asleep?

Heh, how interesting.

A woman in the entertainment industry, indeed, was not simple.

Li Jiayan returned to the entrance of the women’s tent. She wanted to go to the slope to see for herself, but her indignant pride would not allow her to take that step.

The music gradually faded away.

Since she couldn't fall back asleep, Li Jiayan simply stood at the entrance, waiting for them to return.

She really wanted to ask: what deep feelings required meeting up to play music at such an hour?

Not long after, there was movement on the slope. Zhang Chen, Wen Yiming, and Xu Junze came running back toward the tents at a fast pace.

What was this? Why were they running as if they were being chased by ghosts? Li Jiayan’s brows furrowed again.

They soon reached the tents and were surprised to see Li Jiayan standing there.

"What are you running from? What were you sneaking around watching over there?" Li Jiayan asked.

Zhang Chen, who had taken ten thousand points of emotional damage that night, thought of how Li Jiayan didn't know what her ex had just done, and couldn't help but shoot her a sympathetic look.

"You don't want to know," Zhang Chen said, before retreating into the men's tent.

Wen Yiming stopped, his chest heaving from the run. He gave her a bright smile and casually explained, "We were just playing a game."

"A game? What kind of game?" Li Jiayan asked, confused.

"Truth or Dare. Someone lost and was fulfilling their 'dare.' We were just supervising him," Wen Yiming laughed, then turned and went into the tent as well.

Li Jiayan was left in a daze. She began to analyze: so Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei were over there because he lost a game and had to accept a penalty?

What kind of penalty? Inviting Ye Fangfei out to play music for him?

Li Jiayan found it strange, but thinking about it this way, she felt a little better. It was just a game, after all...

She looked toward the slope and saw Ye Fangfei walking back. With that, Li Jiayan turned and returned to her tent.

She sat on her bed, waiting for Ye Fangfei.

Before long, Ye Fangfei entered.

Inside the tent, only the nightlights by their beds were on, casting a dim glow.

Seeing that Li Jiayan, who had been asleep, was now awake, Ye Fangfei was slightly surprised and whispered, "Did I wake you?"

Li Jiayan gave a low response, her gaze following Ye Fangfei’s every move with a hint of scrutiny. "I heard the music and woke up. Was that you playing?"

Ye Fangfei paused. The scene of what had just happened flashed through her mind, and she suddenly felt it wasn't very considerate to discuss it in front of Li Jiayan.

But since Li Jiayan had asked, hiding it seemed worse and unnecessary.

"It wasn't me, it was Lu Zhou. I was just the audience," Ye Fangfei admitted.

Li Jiayan was caught off guard again. So the penalty for their game was to have Lu Zhou play music for Ye Fangfei?

How bizarre. Who came up with such a dim-witted penalty?

Li Jiayan couldn't fathom it, but to dig for more information, she looked at Ye Fangfei and smiled. "The piece he played was beautiful. I’ve never heard it before. Do you know which work it is?"

"It was my first time hearing it too. It’s a new piece of his own, called 'Empty'."

Ye Fangfei lay down on her bed and pulled a thin blanket over herself. To avoid waking Qi Jiajia and Chu Yao, she kept her voice very low.

She gestured toward the other two and smiled at Li Jiayan. "They're asleep. Shall we talk tomorrow?"

Li Jiayan was still in a state of shock and gave a silent nod.

Lu Zhou’s new work?

This kind of music wasn't the typical pop style. If it was a new work of his, did that mean... he had composed it himself?

If that were true...

A huge wave of astonishment washed over Li Jiayan.

When did he develop the talent to compose such pieces? She wouldn't have been surprised if he wrote a pop song, but a purely instrumental piece like this...

The more she thought about it, the less she could sleep.

If she could be with him, wouldn't he be able to write instrumental pieces for her often? Could she then return to a professional career as a musician? She probably wouldn't have to worry about repertoire anymore!

Thinking of this, Li Jiayan couldn't help but feel regret. What kind of talented gem had she missed out on back then? If she had known then what she knew now, she would never have listened to her parents when they tried to break them up!

...

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou had returned to the men’s tent.

As soon as he entered, he noticed Zhang Chen glaring at him.

Lu Zhou sat on his bed, looked at Zhang Chen, and said, "Judging by that look, I see you went to watch and already know the outcome."

The corner of Wen Yiming’s mouth twitched. "I have to admit, Lu Zhou, you’re a real pro."

"I don't understand. How did you get her to hug you just by playing a song?" Zhang Chen was still questioning reality.

"Musical resonance. I played until I was moved to tears, she listened until she was moved to tears. We shared an embrace as a comfort to soothe the intense loneliness brought on by the music, that's all," Lu Zhou replied.

Zhang Chen: "???"

Was it that simple? Was that all it took to get a hug from Ye Fangfei?

He was so frustrated! Why didn't he have a musical bone in his body?

So, Ye Fangfei wasn't as hard to deal with as he had imagined? It was just that he didn't possess the specific traits she liked, making it seem impossible.

"But..." Lu Zhou’s voice sounded again. He cleared his throat and confessed, "I didn't actually succeed in the dare."

Everyone: "???"

Lu Zhou: "I eventually told Fangfei that I only did this because I lost the game."

Wen Yiming and Xu Junze: "..."

Zhang Chen’s eyes lit up. Oh ho? So Ye Fangfei knew it was just a game?

"At least you still have a conscience, kid," Zhang Chen said.

"You don't need to transfer that ten thousand you lost to me earlier. Just send it to Yiming instead," Lu Zhou said, looking at Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen’s mouth twitched. So he was the biggest loser tonight? Not only did his ex-girlfriend throw herself into another man's arms, but he also lost a chunk of money?

Zhang Chen turned his gaze toward Wen Yiming. He was the biggest winner tonight! This guy was the true culprit!

Wen Yiming felt inexplicably uneasy: "..."

Livestream comments:
[Zhang Chen: The victim is actually me.]
[I'm dying of laughter, Wen Yiming, you're doomed.]
[The first person to offend Zhang Chen tonight wasn't Lu Zhou, it was Wen Yiming, haha.]
[Lu Zhou is amazing, successfully shifting the pressure.]
...

Back home, the trending searches exploded again.

Clips of Lu Zhou and Ye Fangfei looking into each other's eyes and hugging with tears in their eyes were turned into various GIFs by fanatical "Fei-Zhou" shippers and spread widely, drawing intense attention from netizens.

[Huh? Can a piece of instrumental music really evoke such deep emotions? Am I shallow, or are they just being dramatic?]
[Of course you're shallow. Why else would they be musicians and you’re just listening to their songs for entertainment?]
[Musicians have a very strong sense of rhythm. They can perceive information in music that ordinary people can't, so it's normal for them to get deeply emotional. Even though I’m not as talented as Ye Fangfei to hear such profound meaning, the feeling of loneliness hit me while I was watching the stream.]
[I suddenly really want to see them act as a lead couple in a movie, boo-hoo.]
[This is an original composition by Lu Zhou! He’s so talented!]
...

Simultaneously, netizens were obsessively speculating about the "shura field" that would surely occur between Lu Zhou, Li Jiayan, and Ye Fangfei in the upcoming episodes.

The topic of the show was skyrocketing once again.

However, industry insiders in the music world were not focused on the romantic drama of "Shall We Swap? Exes." What captivated them was the original instrumental piece, "Empty," which Lu Zhou played on an electronic keyboard during the live stream.

A topic regarding the single word "Empty" on the trending list caught the attention of top composers in the music industry.

An un-debuted idol trainee from the entertainment industry wrote a score of this caliber???

It was rare. Composers and film score writers in the domestic music scene suddenly had a fresh topic to discuss over tea.

"I’ve never heard of this Lu Zhou guy in our circles before. To write a piece at this level, he’s truly a talented young man."

"I’ve listened to this piece several times, and it’s given me a lot of new inspiration. I think it could be even better with a few tweaks."

"I think it’s already quite complete. This is just the electronic keyboard part he demonstrated; who knows if the entire arrangement is already written? We should wait to see the full work before judging."

"I just took on a film score project and was struggling to find the right vibe. After hearing his piece, I immediately had new ideas. As expected, one should listen to works from newcomers; the talent is real."
...

Pan Chengyi woke up from a long nap and was completely stunned when he saw the trending searches.

Good grief, that kid Lu Zhou released another song?!

What was this now? Playing instrumental music?

He clicked into the live stream recording and, after hearing the piece Lu Zhou played, he couldn't help but rip at his hair.

"He's crazy! He's absolutely crazy!"

"Just because he's on a show, he's lost his mind! How can you just casually perform an original work that hasn't been officially released yet on a variety show!"

"It's a closed-off show, you have no access to the internet, and you just let this piece out to trend—what if someone with bad intentions steals your score and registers the copyright? You'll have nowhere to cry when you get off the show!"

Pan Chengyi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Although his only connection to Lu Zhou was a previous song collaboration, Pan Chengyi had thought highly of the kid’s prospects since the day they met.

He had always intended to develop a long-term working relationship with Lu Zhou, so he naturally thought about things from Lu Zhou’s perspective.

He hurried into his studio, opened his computer, logged into the Music Copyright Association website, and searched for all works related to "Empty."

Quite a few works with the same name popped up, mostly songs with lyrics.

Pan Chengyi filtered them to show only instrumental pieces without lyrics, and to his surprise, he found one.

Before he could check the specific details, his heart sank, but then he realized it didn't make sense—the piece only trended today, so even if someone tried to preemptively register it, the review wouldn't have been completed that quickly.

He clicked on the copyright information. The composer was listed as "Lu Zhou." Pan Chengyi’s heart finally settled.

He had scolded him too soon. It seemed the kid was smart enough to have registered the copyright for his original score long ago.

Pan Chengyi opened the musical notation and studied it carefully. After reading it, he exclaimed that it was no simple feat.

"This kid is a real gem. Why is he wasting his time as a trainee? It’s a total waste of talent," he muttered.

At the same time, Chen Xiangxin, the director of "Star Motion 1+1," was also praising Lu Zhou as a gem.

During the regional auditions, he had noticed Lu Zhou’s strength and used his authority to grant him a spot on the show. He hadn't expected his creative potential to be so far beyond his estimates. Chen Xiangxin was already looking forward to Lu Zhou’s performance on the show; his program was exactly the kind that needed such creative musicians!

More importantly, as a newcomer, Lu Zhou’s traffic was truly remarkable.

Hopefully, he would bring significant traffic to "Star Motion 1+1" as well!

Thinking of this, Chen Xiangxin felt a surge of hope. He had a vague feeling that his show was finally going to take off.