Chapter 153: Is This Something He Should Be Watching?

It is a well-known fact that human beings particularly love singing while taking a bath.

For some inexplicable reason tonight, as Ye Fangfei was scrubbing away with soap bubbles in the bathroom, her mind was completely filled with the song "Summer."

With the melody echoing in her mind, she naturally began to sing it out.

She searched for the feeling over and over again, imagining the sensation of a cool summer afternoon breeze gently brushing against her face, accompanied by the scene of laughing and playing carefree with someone she adored...

Then, she sang the song using the emotions she deemed to be just right.

After trying it a few times, she even found herself smiling unconsciously while singing.

During the final attempt, she felt that she had mastered the emotional resonance of the song better than ever before. Filled with excitement and before she even finished her bath, she grabbed a bath towel, wrapped it casually around her body, and trotted all the way out of the bathroom.

She retrieved her phone and ran back into the bathroom.

Opening the recording mode, Ye Fangfei resumed the unfinished task of showering while pressing down on the exact feeling she had just captured, singing the song from start to finish once more.

After finishing, she played it back. Listening to the playback, Ye Fangfei was extremely satisfied and could not help but jump up and down in the bathroom with excitement.

"That's the feeling! I've found it!"

With the corners of her mouth curved high upward, she turned on the showerhead and rinsed the bubbles off her body.

At that moment, her phone chimed repeatedly with a series of new message notifications.

Ye Fangfei pulled a fresh, clean bath towel to wrap around her body, grabbed a dry hand towel to dry the dripping water droplets from her hair, and glanced at the glowing phone screen resting on the phone stand.

The avatar and remarks of the new message popping up on the notification page made her movements suddenly freeze.

He replied to her message!

This was the first thought that flashed through Ye Fangfei's mind.

She stopped drying her hair, reached out to pick up the phone, and after facial recognition, the detailed content of the message automatically displayed.

Lu Zhou: [I was busy with something earlier and didn't pay attention to my phone; I'm just seeing the message now.]

Lu Zhou: [Just listened to it.]

Lu Zhou: [I think the overall vibe is pretty good, but the emotional resonance isn't quite strong enough. It can be enhanced a bit more.]

Lu Zhou: [For lines like "The whole summer, I want to travel around the world with you," the emotional expression is somewhat lacking. If the emotion given at the beginning is too weak, the rest of the song will end up being suppressed.]

Lu Zhou: [Are you available for a phone call right now?]

Ye Fangfei read through the content of his messages one by one.

When she first received his reply, a trace of elation welled up in her heart, but upon seeing him say that her emotional expression was lacking, a small sense of loss inevitably crept in.

She wondered why he ended by asking if she was available for a call, but she guessed he probably wanted to give her a demonstration.

It was somewhat strange. Logically speaking, Lu Zhou was not some major professional heavyweight in the industry, yet Ye Fangfei found herself inexplicably anticipating his singing style, genuinely curious about how he would handle this song.

With this thought in mind, Ye Fangfei casually replied: [Available]

Scarcely a few seconds after her message was sent, her phone suddenly vibrated.

Ye Fangfei froze as the screen displayed an incoming Wetalk call from Lu Zhou.

Without looking too closely, and combining it with the text messages he had just sent, her subconscious mind simply assumed it was a regular voice call. In a split second, her hand moved faster than her brain, and she directly pressed accept.

Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that in the very next second, a video feed would pop up on the phone screen, revealing Lu Zhou's face.

“?!”

Ye Fangfei instantly realized something was wrong and frantically flipped her phone face down.

However, in the rush of changing her motion, her hand slipped slightly. Failing to hold a secure grip, the phone flew out of her hand and landed with a loud "thud" on the bathroom floor a few paces away...

Face up!

Ye Fangfei: “...”

“What's wrong? Are you okay?”

The phone wasn't broken, and the video feed was still active. Hearing the loud commotion on her end, Lu Zhou asked with genuine concern.

Ye Fangfei: “...”

Recalling the embarrassing scene from the previous second, her face inexplicably grew hot. Raising her voice toward the direction of the phone on the floor, she demanded, "Why did you turn on the video?"

A hint of reproach was unmistakable in her tone.

Hearing this, Lu Zhou on the other end of the phone was slightly stunned. Looking closer at the screen to examine the video feed, he realized what the phone camera was currently pointed at was... the showerhead???

Lu Zhou hadn't expected such a situation at all...

So, was she taking a bath right now???

Lu Zhou: “...”

Awkwardly clearing his throat, he replied, "You just replied that you were available, so I thought it was a convenient time to talk... and so..."

Ye Fangfei: "I accepted because I thought you were making a voice call!"

The corners of Lu Zhou's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "Didn't you see the screen prompt indicating a video call..."

Ye Fangfei choked up, "I... I didn't pay attention just now..."

Sensing her current embarrassment, Lu Zhou offered, "Then I'll hang up first. We can talk after you're done with what you're doing."

Before cutting off the video, he added one more sentence: "Don't worry, I didn't see anything I shouldn't have."

“!!!” Ye Fangfei's face and ears instantly burned red.

The video call disconnected, leaving the phone lying on the damp floor with its screen returning to black.

Only then did Ye Fangfei walk over to pick it up. She pulled out a few tissues to dry the water droplets off the phone, and recalling Lu Zhou's parting remark, she couldn't help but wonder: did he actually see something, or did he really not see anything?

At this thought, she couldn't help but look down at herself.

After looking, she immediately raised a hand to knock against her own forehead. What kind of messy, random things was she thinking? She had a towel on! Even if he had seen something, what could he possibly have seen?!

Ye Fangfei was left speechless by her own worry.

Even so, a strange feeling lingered in her heart—the mere thought that she had answered his video call looking like that... made her toes curl in mortification.

After changing into her pajamas, drying her hair, and taking her phone back to bed, Ye Fangfei stared at Lu Zhou's Wetalk chat window for a long time without sending a single message.

Oh heavens, this was too humiliating; how was she supposed to start the first sentence with him?

After waiting for a long time, Ye Fangfei still hesitated and failed to send a single message to Lu Zhou.

Ah! The internal struggle was driving her crazy!

Help, how had she turned out like this?!

She had never been this kind of person!

Ye Fangfei suddenly realized that she was acting extremely strange.

That's right, why had she become so coy and timid??? How terrifying! She barely recognized herself anymore!

Forget it, she wouldn't bother with him. She'd just pretend as if nothing had happened just now.

Ye Fangfei tossed her phone aside and tossed and turned in bed, feeling like a complete stranger to herself.

Just then, her phone vibrated once.

Ye Fangfei swiftly rolled over to grab her phone. Bringing it closer to her eyes, she saw that Lu Zhou had sent her a new message!

A 60-second voice message.

So long? What did he say?

Curious, Ye Fangfei reached out and tapped play, immediately hearing a snippet of singing emanate from the phone.

She paused slightly. Listening closely, it was Lu Zhou's voice. He had selected a section of the lyrics to "Summer" and sang them out with his own vocal cords, completely a cappella without any accompaniment.

He sang the song using a stylistic approach different from the original singer, giving it another unique and distinct flavor. His singing possessed just the right amount of technique, infused with rich emotion, delivering a refreshing taste of summer romance imbued with his personal signature style.

Ye Fangfei carefully listened to his voice message repeatedly a few times, and then switched back to play the recording she had sent him earlier. The difference was glaringly obvious the moment she listened side by side.

He was not wrong; indeed, the first recorded version she sent lacked emotional expression for this song.

Listening to Lu Zhou's version gave one the comfortable sensation of a cool breeze sweeping across a sweltering summer day.

The corners of her mouth curved upward involuntarily.

The awkwardness brought by the earlier blunder had already vanished. Ye Fangfei tapped open the input box and typed a two-word reply: [Sounds good].

Ye Fangfei: [But I think mine isn't bad either]

After sending the message, Ye Fangfei pulled up the version she had previously recorded in the bathroom and sent it over to Lu Zhou as well.

Ye Fangfei: [This version is newly recorded, listen to it again]

Lu Zhou: [Okay]

Ye Fangfei lay flat on her bed, staring at the ceiling and waiting quietly for a few minutes, before a new message arrived from Lu Zhou:

[Are you available to talk now?]

[This time it's a voice call]

Looking at this message, Ye Fangfei couldn't help but burst into laughter, finally replying: [Available]

Before long, Lu Zhou dialed a voice call.

As the two of them first connected, they fell into a brief silence lasting several seconds.

Then Lu Zhou chuckled softly first, his low voice coming through the earpiece: "I listened to the new version you sent. The emotional vibe this time feels quite right; it sounds great."

Hearing the praise, Ye Fangfei pressed her lips together in a silent smile, her left hand picking up a nearby pillow to hug against her chest as she propped her chin on it, her bare feet playfully tangling with the air-conditioning quilt on the bed.

"But I still feel the emotion in my singing is fuller than yours," Lu Zhou's smiling voice followed through the phone.

She couldn't tell if he was genuinely being boastful or simply teasing her on purpose.

Ye Fangfei let out a soft snort. When it came to love songs, she was never confident to begin with, but she wasn't about to surrender easily now.

"Love songs are my weak point, so I advise you not to get too full of yourself. I've already started working hard," she said.

Amused by her remark, Lu Zhou asked, "That last vocal recording you sent—you recorded that in the bathroom, didn't you?"

With the topic brought up again, Ye Fangfei awkwardly grabbed a pillow to cover her face, giving a muffled "Yeah."

"I just suddenly found the feeling and wanted to capture the inspiration, so I brought my phone in to record..." she explained instinctively.

She attempted to convey a message: If it weren't for recording a song, who in their right mind would casually bring a phone into the shower...

Lu Zhou could vividly imagine the scene of her singing while bathing, and he let out a soft chuckle.

"Be that as it may..."

His tone suddenly turned much more serious.

"Next time you take your phone into the bathroom, you shouldn't so casually answer someone else's Wetalk call," he reminded her.

A wave of heat rushed to Ye Fangfei's face once more, and she retorted, "After this lesson, do you think I'd ever do such a foolish thing again?"

Lu Zhou smiled silently and said, "Just a friendly tip, nothing else meant by it. Don't be mad."

Friendly... Ye Fangfei raised an eyebrow and replied, "I know good from bad; I'm not that petty."

With that, she changed the subject, asking casually, "What are you doing right now?"

Lu Zhou: "Talking on the phone with you."

Ye Fangfei felt like she had encountered a linguistic bug. "I mean, apart from being on the phone, what are you doing..."

Lu Zhou: "Lying down getting ready for bed. And you?"

Ye Fangfei: "Me too."

Lu Zhou: "Then... goodnight?"

Ye Fangfei was momentarily stunned, uttered an "oh," and replied, "Goodnight."

And with that, the two ended the call.

After hanging up, Ye Fangfei inexplicably felt that the direction of their conversation felt somewhat off. Wasn't it way too mundane? How bizarre—had they gotten close enough to wish each other goodnight?

She tossed her phone aside, rested her head on one pillow while hugging another in her arms, and fell asleep with a smile on her lips.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Lu Zhou had also put down his phone. Before calling Ye Fangfei, he had been busy dealing with moving houses.

Yes, today he had moved into a new home located in Jinji Gardens. He had hired a professional moving company to help, but there was still plenty to tidy up afterward, and it took quite a bit of fuss to get everything organized.

Now that he could finally rest, he finally had the leisure to check his phone.

Seeing an unread message from Ye Fangfei, he replied to her first.

Only after finishing his call with her did he turn to handle the messages sent by others.

Pan Chengyi had sent him a message not long ago regarding work matters.

Pan Chengyi: [I've chatted with two managers who seem pretty decent. When do you have time? I'll arrange for you to meet them so you can screen them.]

Lu Zhou checked the date on his phone's home screen, searched his memory, and then returned to the chat window.

Lu Zhou: [No need to rush to meet them yet.]

Lu Zhou: [As for managers, I'd rather collaborate with Qiu Mingbo.]

Lu Zhou: [Could you help me probe out his thoughts?]

Pan Chengyi replied very quickly: [Qiu Mingbo? He's currently at Shixiang Entertainment. You want to poach him? The guy is a major heavyweight; given our current conditions, we probably won't catch his eye...]

Lu Zhou: [He should be leaving Shixiang Entertainment soon. Go ahead and test the waters regarding his willingness. I believe that with your capability, pulling him in shouldn't be too difficult.]

Lu Zhou: [Haha, always have.]

Pan Chengyi: [How did you know Qiu Mingbo is leaving Shixiang Entertainment?]

Pan Chengyi: [I haven't caught wind of it at all. Back then, when he jumped ship from Tianyin to Shixiang with artists in tow, it shook the entire entertainment circle. He hasn't been at Shixiang for long; wouldn't leaving now make him a laughingstock for Tianyin? Is your information reliable?]

Lu Zhou: [Just send him a message to test the waters and you'll find out. Tell him I sincerely want to work with him.]

Pan Chengyi: [He's not short of A-list stars under his belt. What makes you think he'd want to be your manager?]

Lu Zhou: [He only lacks A-listers on the surface. Right now, he desperately needs a tomorrow's rising star who can help him return to his former glory.]

Lu Zhou: [You're broad-connected in the circle, Brother Yi. Find a way to contact him first and test the waters. If he shows any willingness, help me set up a meeting, and I'll handle the rest myself.]

Pan Chengyi: [OK]

With the work-related chat with Pan Chengyi concluded, the night grew late, and Lu Zhou prepared to sleep. Before going to bed, he casually scrolled through his Moments feed and happened to see that Xu Junze had posted an update.

Xu Junze: [Actually ran into Jiayyan at River-Sky Plaza today. First time seeing each other after the show, what a coincidence.]

Attached were photos of Xu Junze and Li Jiayyan taking a selfie together inside the River-Sky Plaza.

In the comment section—

Li Jiayyan: [Haha, quite a coincidence indeed. Never expected to bump into you while shopping with my best friend.]

Qi Jiajiaying: [Looks like the two of you share quite a deep bond.]

Zhang Chen replied to Qi Jiajiaying: [You really love stirring up trouble and watching the show, don't you?]

Qi Jiajiaying replied to Zhang Chen: [??? Asking for a friend, what show am I watching?]

Zhang Chen replied to Qi Jiajiaying: [Care to guess whether Lu Zhou added Xu Junze as a contact or not?]

Qi Jiajiaying replied to Zhang Chen: [......]

Qi Jiajiaying replied to Zhang Chen: [Your reading comprehension is truly interesting.]

Xu Junze replied to Zhang Chen: [You two... why does it look like you're about to start a fight?]

Lu Zhou glanced at this Moments post and tapped a "like" on Xu Junze's update.

He tossed his phone aside, turned off the lights, and went to sleep, yet his mind was filled with a flurry of thoughts.

In his previous life, after finishing the reality show, Xu Junze signed Li Jiayyan into his MCN agency after a short period of time.

Judging by the Moments post he had just seen, it looked like Li Jiayyan and Xu Junze would likely end up collaborating again before long. Were they about to walk right back into the pitfall of their previous lives?

Lu Zhou rubbed his temples. It seemed that when he had some free time, he still needed to arrange a meeting with Xu Junze after all.