Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

The residential complex, underground garage.

Pei Muchan walked to the elevator door on B1 and suddenly turned back with a flicker of hesitation in her eyes.

"Would you... like to come up and sit for a while?" Continue reading stories on empire

"Sure."

Xu Qingyan agreed without a second thought, as it was still early, and he could stay upstairs for a while before leaving. After all, he wasn't busy and was resting during this time.

He was waiting, waiting for the wind to pick up so he could see which way it was blowing before making a move.

The door opened, and the light from the corridor flooded into the entryway.

"There are only women's slippers, a bit small, and they're new." Pei Muchan felt somewhat embarrassed, regretting that she hadn't bought men's slippers in advance, yet not thinking about why she should have.

No guests ever came to her house, and even her parents didn't know where she lived. This apartment was located by the river, a single household per floor, rendering it unnecessary to interact with neighbors.

"No problem." Xu Qingyan changed into the slippers and settled into the couch.

Expensive sofas really are different from cheap ones, and he had enough money now. With those eight songs, he had enough to retire and live an ordinary life.

If he wanted to do something else, it wouldn't be quite as simple, as there would always be financial gaps to fill. Not to mention buying a house or a car – that would only be a thought if he either had money to burn or earned enough that he didn't know how to spend it all.

Pei Muchan, with a cup of tea mixed with milk in hand, came over and sat across from him at the table, gently pushing the teacup toward him.

"It's warm for the stomach."

Emotions are difficult to articulate, quick to come and go. Sometimes, they don't even need to be completely addressed; they can be alleviated simply by venting or shifting one's focus.

"Thank you." He took it and had a sip; the taste was unexpectedly good.

The two of them slipped into a conversation about work, switching topics with ease. It was as if their previous conversation in the park had never happened, and now rational Pei was back online.

"After the Mid-Autumn Festival, what are your work plans?"

Xu Qingyan didn't feel it was a pity; it's valuable to remain emotionally stable or to be able to adjust in a timely manner.

"I'll start with working on your album, can't neglect the basics."

"You write songs in a variety of styles, so it shouldn't be hard to write some that suit you, right?" Pei Muchan said, "Have you ever considered singing yourself? The results might be better."

"I've thought about it, but now isn't the right time," Xu Qingyan replied, "Being impatient is useless, I've only just gotten a foothold."

Repeating the same work, at most, only means writing a few songs. Whether he focused on being a singer or on songwriting at this point was not particularly helpful.

If he wanted to be a professional singer, his vocal skills were a major weakness. The lackluster immediate feedback from "Fragrance of Rice" was proof enough, and his potential achievements were bound to be limited.

It would be nothing more than having a private workshop in a year or two, with people commenting that although he couldn't sing well, he wrote good songs.

He didn't feel much for the profession of being a singer, and besides, both Lin Wanzhou and Pei Muchan already had their own studios. There was no need for him to set up a separate music studio.

What he needed most at the moment was to figure out a clear development path, as the saying goes, making wise choices is better than working blindly.

"Yeah, being impatient won't help." Pei Muchan nodded in agreement, "You've been in the spotlight recently, and it's often the case that the more you do when things are unclear, the more mistakes you make."

They chatted for a while before Xu Qingyan stood up to say goodbye.

Pei Muchan didn't try to hold him back and saw him off to B1. Just as he was about to turn around, she hesitated and, in a rush, snapped up Xu Qingyan's hand.

"Wait a second."

"Hmm?"

Pei Muchan suddenly hugged him.... Xu Qingyan stiffened slightly, and the words he was about to say were left unspoken as silence fell over the first basement level.

He could smell Pei Muchan's refreshing hair scent, and his chest was pressed softly, feeling slightly stuffy. She was about 170 cm tall, with her arms wrapped around his waist.

The force wasn't strong, but their bodies were fully entwined.

Xu Qingyan felt an amazing softness from Pei Muchan, as thrilling as a roll between the sheets, but it lasted only those seven or eight seconds.

She let go of him, mumbled a thank you, and walked away.

"What?" Xu Qingyan was taken aback.

Watching Pei Muchan quickly enter the elevator and hide away in the corner, he could only see the edge of her clothes from his angle as the elevator doors slowly closed.

In the vastness of B1, Xu Qingyan was left standing there, stunned.

After a long while, a vexed expletive broke the silence.

"Damn it, taking advantage of me?"

.....

Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xu Qingyan got up early and headed to the studio as usual.

He had thought it through, whether it's singing, continuing as a music producer, writing songs for them, or producing something else, the ultimate goal was to achieve capital accumulation.

His advantage lay in his two libraries of songs and film scripts. Even if he worked non-stop for the rest of his life, he would never empty these libraries; so why not start a company?

In the face of real capital, celebrities are quite insignificant.

Pei Muchan and Lin Wanzhou were both processing the fame they gained recently. He wanted to support them, but standing behind the scenes was not enough; it would be better to start a company to back them up.

Apprehensive about capital, loathing it, and then becoming capital.

In the entertainment industry, most celebrities, once they reach a certain level, choose to transition from being entertainers to becoming capital magnates.

After a thorough analysis, he concluded that neither Pei Muchan nor Lin Wanzhou were likely to take this path. Instead, he was the one best suited to start a media company.

In the entertainment industry, there are two paths for a popular artist. The first is to become a tool for capital to make money – go solo and you're done if others don't play along with you.

The second is to join a bigger game and become the capital.

Xu Qingyan was precisely the latter; he wasn't afraid to lose and could afford it. His foundation was two little divas, and as long as he worked with them until the end of time, they could print money together.