Chapter 139: Are You Jealous?

Well, well, it seems the director has added a second layer of insurance to the prompt this time...

Expressing the theme through an even more complex method.

Old Shi held the slip of paper, not blinded by sudden joy.

The previous prompt likely used the technique of borrowing an object to express human emotions, but this theme differed slightly in perspective.

This one seemed to want to use the first-person perspective to recount a love story between the ocean and the wind—the kind where the lyrics never once explicitly state "I am the chopsticks and you are the rice," yet that meaning must be conveyed entirely through the song.

Old Shi figured it out in a matter of moments.

Seeing the others still deep in agonizing thought, a sense of superiority naturally welled up in Old Shi's heart.

"This prompt is way harder than the previous ones," Lin Ze shook his head.

"Oh?"

Chen Nan didn't have to worry about this at all, making him the most relaxed person present.

"Even you find a song's difficulty challenging, Little Lin?"

Lin Ze scratched his head. "It's not that. It's just... back in high school, I thought I had finished all the reading comprehension exercises I would ever need in this lifetime..."

"Right, exactly!" Li Xiyan nodded vigorously as well.

Zhou Qiao stared at the line of words in silence for a moment, then turned to her lyricist and composer. "It's in your hands. Writing is on you, singing is on me."

"..." The songwriter's mouth twitched twice.

"Whatever, forget it!" Seeing this, Liang Xiang slapped her own thigh, causing the fair flesh of her leg to jiggle slightly.

It almost made Xu Shenshen lose control of his eyes.

"Right, our only job is to sing. Why waste brain cells overthinking it?"

Liang Xiang gave Zhou Qiao a thumbs-up.

After chatting a bit longer, the recording of the show finally came to an end.

Everyone exchanged greetings and left one by one. Lin Ze asked Tian Haoran to go down first to get the car running, stopped by the restroom, and then descended to the parking garage.

Before he had walked many steps, Liang Xiang, who had left slightly ahead of him, popped out from nowhere.

"Teacher Lin! Wait for me!"

Liang Xiang ran over, stopping right in front of Lin Ze, breathing a little heavily.

"Teacher Lin, are you in a rush right now? Do you have time to chat for a couple of minutes?"

"Ah... Teacher Liang, is something the matter?" Lin Ze turned around politely.

"Well, I'd like to..." Liang Xiang looked left and right. "It's not really suitable to talk about things here. How about we go grab a midnight snack together?"

"Ah, no thanks. My fiancée should be off work by now, and I need to go back and eat with her."

"Then would you like to hop into my car?" No trace of displeasure appeared on Liang Xiang's face.

"Please, no! Not long ago, I bought a bottle of water at a convenience store near the entrance, and online paparazzi and gossip bloggers managed to spin a scandal out of it. If I got into your car, I'm afraid it would impact your reputation as well," Lin Ze replied once more.

Having been rejected twice today, Liang Xiang's smile remained entirely unchanged.

"Actually, it's nothing major. I just wanted to come and buy a song from you."

"As you know, I'm hoping to elevate my status in the industry just a little bit higher..."

Liang Xiang smiled bashfully, a smile truly as sweet as a woman in her early twenties.

It was just a pity that up close, faint wrinkles were still discernible at the corners of her eyes when she smiled.

"This time, I'm planning to produce an all-boutique album. All the other tracks are already secured, but the lead single still hasn't met the standards in my heart..."

Ah, buying a song.

What was so mysterious about just buying a song?

"No problem," Lin Ze agreed.

"Wonderful, wonderful! It's so great that you agreed, Teacher Lin!" Joy bloomed across Liang Xiang's face. "As long as it meets the standard, I will definitely pay you the highest rate in the industry!"

"I heard that Old Shi's song previously sold for 1.5 million. May I pay you that same amount?"

Lin Ze nodded. "That's fine."

To be honest, conversing with such a lively, charming, and unpretentious woman made it very easy to develop a favorable impression of her.

However, having lived three lives, Lin Ze had built up a hundred-percent resistance to this kind of charm.

Liang Xiang kept her gaze fixed on Lin Ze, only to find that he remained completely unfazed from start to finish.

A surge of curiosity arose in her heart.

Could it be that her charm had no effect on this young man at all?

"Teacher Liang, actually, you didn't need to bring this up in person. You could have just contacted my studio, or found me directly on Weibo..."

At the mention of this, a hint of aggrieved resentment flashed in Liang Xiang's eyes.

"Teacher Lin, I contacted your studio a long time ago, and I even sent numerous direct messages on Weibo..."

"Ah..." Lin Ze gave a dry cough. "Hahaha, I've probably been a bit busy lately and haven't had time to check. I'll notify you once I finish writing it, alright?"

"Alright!"

Liang Xiang blinked, covered her chest with one hand, and actually bowed to Lin Ze. "Thank you! You're a lifesaver, Teacher Lin!"

Her voice was sweet enough to cloy.

Lin Ze hastily shook his head, casting a glance at his car parked not far away. "Please don't, you honor me too much, Senior. My car is right over there, and I really am a bit hungry now. I'll head home for dinner first, and I'll get the song to you as soon as possible."

"Okay, goodbye, Teacher Lin~"

After bidding her farewell, Lin Ze finally climbed into the backseat of his car.

Liang Xiang watched Lin Ze get into the car, blinking her eyes.

He really didn't react at all, this kid.

Lin Ze closed the car door and caught the faint, lingering fragrance wafting inside—it was the perfume Su Zitan had given him. Letting out a long breath, he slumped against the seat.

"Let's go, Little Tian."

"Alright, goodbye, Teacher Lin~"

Hearing that voice, Lin Ze stiffened and whipped his head toward the driver's seat.

Sitting in the driver's seat was none other than Su Zitan, who was pinching her voice to imitate Liang Xiang.

"Huh? Sister Zitan, why are you here? You scared me." Lin Ze sat back up properly.

Su Zitan glanced at Lin Ze and let out a soft huff.

"Are you jealous?" Lin Ze leaned over, asking with a grin.

"No!" Su Zitan turned her head away.

"Then what are we having for a midnight snack later?" Lin Ze patted his stomach. "I'm starving..."

"Hmm..." Su Zitan thought for a moment. "Let's have... Thank you! You're a lifesaver, Teacher Lin!"

"......And you still say you're not jealous!" Lin Ze slapped his thigh.

"I'm not, really! Teacher~"

"Oh, come on, she just wanted to buy a song from me, and this song sells for 1.5 million!"

" Wow~ How impressive, Teacher Lin~"

"Su Zitan!"

"Whoa, Teacher Lin is so fierce..."

...

Another day and a half passed, and by now Lin Ze simply stopped putting up any pretense.

He woke up in the morning, had breakfast, and then went shopping with Su Zitan. In the afternoon, the two of them went to see a movie and followed it up with a candlelit dinner.

Both cameramen genuinely thought they were shooting an episode of "Our Romance."

Things quickly progressed to Thursday night.

"I'm so excited. I wonder what kind of song Lin Ze has written this time."

"I'm getting less and less interested, but I heard the substitute singer coming this time has a huge background."

"Isn't Shi Zhongyin the God of Lyrics and Composition? The song he wrote didn't sound all that great, though."

These remarks happened to be overheard by Old Shi sitting in the adjacent car.

Old Shi offered a disdainful smirk.

"Today, I am going to win!"