Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

"It's too small, not nearly as convenient as a nanny car, and I'm not used to driving it—just babbling nonsense."

"Haha, no need, I'll ask you for it when I feel like driving," Xu Qingyan said with embarrassment; she seemed a bit over her head, "Ahem, maybe in a few days, when I come back from Chang'an."

"Then you must remember to take me to the amusement park, I've never been there," the little girl said seriously, her words measured and deliberate.

"Mhm, definitely."

The tail lights of the Audi flashed for a moment, the tires rolled over the road surface, and the car sped away. After passing an intersection, Xu Qingyan's heart still pounded relentlessly.

Embarrassment—could this Panamera be a dowry?

....

The next day.

The day of his flight to Chang'an had been set, Xu Qingyan bought a ticket for the day after tomorrow, and he felt much lighter all over.

To appear on the Spring Festival Gala means an extraordinary opportunity for a star, and naturally, Xu Qingyan did not have such a chance. But being involved was also not bad, especially at the Chang'an venue.

If it were another venue, he might have declined.

After all, cultures vary from place to place; people appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage intending to promote local features. As an outsider, Xu Qingyan had no business getting involved.

But if it were the Chang'an venue, he could generally join in without issue.

Besides, He Guojin always addressed him as 'comrade,' which sounded quite significant. These days leaders call you 'Xiao Xu,' what's that Xu something or other, Xu Qing...

It sounded quite pleasing, and of course, he should participate unless he had urgent matters to attend to.

Pei Muchan watched Xu Qingyan fidget across from her, and with a slight drop of her eyes, she glanced at him. She lifted her cup to take a sip of water before speaking.

"Have you hit a lucky streak lately?"

"Not a lucky streak, more like a national streak," Xu Qingyan leaned back in the chair, suddenly feeling unbounded, "What do I do if I actually get selected?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Muchan looked up at him again.

This guy kept blabbering, "What if it takes several months? Wouldn't the work studio be left with just you alone?"

Pei Muchan lowered her head to think it over, then said.

"It shouldn't be, you'll probably return as soon as you've made your contribution."

Xu Qingyan was abruptly caught off guard, the excitement he felt instantly faded.

"Yeah, most likely I'd just be there to make up the numbers, and I still have no clue what I'm supposed to do. I hope I don't end up just moving equipment, making tea, or fetching hot water for the leadership."

Pei Muchan did not say anything, then she added.

"I heard she is releasing a new song."

"You're also releasing a new song. You need to maintain the popularity before your album comes out," Xu Qingyan smoothly changed the topic, shifting the mouse to send a file to Pei Muchan.

"Me?"

Pei Muchan opened the file, instantly captivated.

"A new song you wrote."

"For you, haven't you yet to finish your 'Spring Night'?" He cleverly searched for reasons, "I figured, write one more song for a bit more money."

Upon hearing this, she ignored the last sentence; when he talked about money, it often wasn't about the money itself. If he hadn't mentioned money for a long time, it was likely he was in need of it.

"It's renamed, not 'Spring Night'. I changed it to 'Spring Field'."

"Oh, great name!" Xu Qingyan instantly agreed.

Pei Muchan rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to argue. She rested her cheek in her hand, dragging the mouse to open the file and glanced at the document title, slightly taken aback.

"Annual Rings?"

She read on, Xu Qingyan usually did not seem serious at all, hardly looking like a songwriter. But each time he wrote a song, it always seemed breath-taking.

Especially when they wrote songs simultaneously, she was still polishing a mediocre "Spring Field." Although he liked to roam around, it never hindered his ability to casually write songs.

"Circles sketch the fingerprints, reflecting on my lips. Memories of the bitter kisses are the roots."

Pei Muchan reviewed the score from beginning to end, preliminarily concluding it was a song she couldn't have written at the moment. Given another half a year, however, she might have been able to write something even better.

Time...

What she lacked now was time. Because of someone's arrival, her condition had returned. But while Xu Qingyan could produce a song in a few days, she needed at least two to three months.

There's no such thing as a good or bad song, Xu Qingyan noticed that Pei Muchan had no strong reaction. He probably guessed what she was thinking, likely pondering how to write an even better song.

This song also came with a drama series, and launching a combination punch could earn quite a bit of money.

But currently, there was no chance, with insufficient funds, an undecided script, and no actors. Knowing this venture could rake in cash, they could only watch helplessly for now. To earn that money, it was just a matter of setting up a company.

....

Xinghai University.

"Li Li, have you heard the new song?" Mei Mengqi poked Li Yang beside her, and while the teacher was still reading the PPT on the podium, she quietly passed over a Bluetooth earbud.

"Hmm."

After a few seconds, the prelude to "Big Fish" began to play, and Li Yang listened for a while, her expression somewhat strange.

"Do you like it?" Mei Mengqi asked with a face full of anticipation, her eyes sparkling, "This is a gem of a song I recently discovered, and it's sung by Lin Chuan! "

"I knew he was going to be a hit, this song has been all over…."

As her best friend rambled on, Li Yang could only nod. Yet, she hesitated in her heart, wondering whether or not to support Lin Chuan's new song, for two yuan...

After all, it was thanks to someone else that she got the part-time job, even if it was because of Brother Xu's sake.

"What's wrong, Li Li?" Mei Mengqi lowered her voice and asked curiously.

This class was an easy one, with a professor in his fifties or sixties sitting by the podium, droning through the dull PPT. His only demands on everyone were to not make noise or play with their phones.

"Nothing, I was just thinking I'd buy it too." Li Yang said as she took out her phone from her desk, busily operated it, spent two yuan, and quickly hit mute.

The beginning of the lyrics were credited to Xu Qingyan.

Li Yang pursed her lips, suddenly feeling a bit happy. It was indeed written by him; she had listened to some of Lin Chuan's free songs, and his style wasn't like this.

She wasn't sure if it was because her intuition was accurate or something else, but she felt a little flutter of excitement.

"Hey, Li Li." Mei Mengqi, probably bored by the tedious class, leaned in to find a topic to chat about, "Why have you been knitting a scarf lately?"

She blinked, teasingly asking.

"Who are you giving it to? A boy?"

"It's not for a boy, it's for an older relative." Li Yang suddenly became flustered, "With that color, you can tell it's for a female elder."

Mei Mengqi knew her parents were no longer around, and didn't say anything wrong, she asked.

"Is it a relative?"

"Yeah, a very nice auntie." Li Yang nodded. She didn't go around talking about her personal affairs, only briefly mentioning her parents' deaths.
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One reason was that she didn't want to draw attention, and the other was that thinking about those heartless relatives made her unhappy.

"Your hands are so skillful, Li Li." Mei Mengqi said enviously, then made a face, "I can't do it, I can watch videos, but once I start, I'm totally lost."

"It's okay, I'll knit one for you when I have time."

"No need, you go on with your stuff, you still have to work part-time on the weekend." Mei Mengqi sneakily glanced around, then whispered in her ear.

"Actually, I saw the pattern for another scarf you're knitting... It's for a boy, isn't it?"

As she finished speaking, Li Yang's heart skipped a beat.

She had always hidden it well; the ball of yarn for that color was kept separately, tucked inside a small cloth bag beside her pillow. Only at night, when the curtains around her bed were drawn, would she hastily crochet a few stitches.

"You... Mei Mei." She was so nervous that she accidentally grabbed Mei Mengqi's hand, her face turning red and her words getting jumbled.

"So it's not him?" Mei Mengqi teased with a sly smile, "Isn't it that guy from our class who played 'Qing Tian' for you? Haven't seen you guys chatting either."

"Oh, don't tell me it's a secret... Recently there are many asking for your WeChat. Even walking down the street you get approached, they really are something."

"It's not, I don't have one." Li Yang shook her head vehemently, as firm as could be, "It's for another... male elder, my brother... for my brother."

"Since when did you have a brother? I didn't know that," Mei Mengqi asked curiously.

"Not a blood relative."

At her words, Mei Mengqi suddenly let out a shriek, drawing stares from all around. The two girls immediately ducked their heads, their faces red with embarrassment.

The professor on the stage was angry, speaking into the microphone.

"To the few students talking at the back, please, this is a classroom. If you don't want to attend my class, apply for it, and I will give you a passing grade."

Back in the dormitory, Mei Mengqi was still whispering to Li Yang; the room had only the two of them. One went to the library, the other on a date.

"No way!" Mei Mengqi exclaimed back and forth like a groundhog, "If he's not your real brother, that means…."

"It's not like that, don't make stuff up." Li Yang sighed, "He's just a brother, and besides, I haven't thought about dating in college."

"You mean Du Yuhang, right?" Mei Mengqi queried, "Didn't he approach you alone at the freshman party? He seemed quite downhearted."

"Yeah, I didn't want to chat."

Hearing this, Mei Mengqi stuck out her tongue.

"Wow, he's really unfortunate."