Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen

Lying is quite the skill; it's not easy without a strong heart.

But it seemed like it was time for Chu Tian to start preparing a new book. He wasn't clinging to any literary accomplishments or fame; it was just that some of the works he liked in his past life didn't exist in this world. And he himself wanted to see these works reappear; more importantly, he was secretly hoping to make up for the regrets of his past life. For example, the Candle in the Tomb series and the Time Raiders series—the adaptations made in his previous life were too numerous and of poor quality. Moreover, some adaptations were too liberal, the fidelity wasn't good, and critically, many were just romance in the guise of tomb robbing. So, Chu Tian still harbored some sentimentality for them; after all, these had been some of his favorite works.

Since I've promised, I might as well get ready, Chu Tian thought. After all, I'm not lacking in Reputation Points now, so acquiring one or two works is simple.

He had just hung up the phone, and before he could set it down, it rang again.

"Hou? What's up? Is there something at the company today?"

The call was from Hou Yichuan. Calling me this early into the workday, Chu Tian wondered. Is there some emergency?

"President Chu, did you see the application in the OA?"

"Application? What application?"

The OA system, short for Office Automation, was essentially for automating office tasks. Larger corporations typically have their own OA systems for easier management; it was like DingTalk from Chu Tian's previous life. As someone from an internet background, Hou Yichuan had naturally implemented this system, and surprisingly, it worked quite well. Chu Tian quite liked it; he didn't need to be in the office. His subordinates could submit applications, and he could review and handle them right from his phone, approving or disapproving them anytime, anywhere.

But he had just checked last night, and everything was already processed. What could be so urgent this early that Hou Yichuan needed to call me specifically?

"I haven't seen it yet. You go ahead and tell me."

"Actually, Cao proposed it," Hou Yichuan said. "The post-production for iPartment is complete, and we've settled on Jiangyou TV Station for broadcasting. The theme song isn't decided yet, so he was thinking of having the company purchase one."

He paused here, letting Chu Tian digest the information before continuing, "I remember you said you knew Youmeng, right? Since this is our first TV series, do you think you could ask Youmeng to write us a song? Increasing our exposure would be good, right?"

Chu Tian listened with a complicated expression as Hou Yichuan spoke, his own expression growing increasingly bizarre.

"Uh... Didn't I tell you that I am Youmeng?"

"..."

Listening to the eerie silence on the other end of the phone—if not for the increasingly heavy breathing—Chu Tian might have thought the call had dropped.

"When did you ever tell me that?!" Hou Yichuan finally exploded.

"HUH?! Chu Tian? President Chu?! Boss Chu!! Why didn't you say so earlier!"

"I thought you knew..." Chu Tian murmured under his breath.

He hadn't expected that even now Hou Yichuan hadn't realized he was Youmeng. Although he had used a power of attorney, drafted by a lawyer, when he had Hou Yichuan set up the company to manage the licenses... and key to it all, he'd been taking his earnings as dividends from the company for so long. How could Hou Yichuan not have figured it out?

To be honest, Hou Yichuan really hadn't. It wasn't surprising, given Chu Tian hadn't made it clear, and Hou Yichuan had initially presumed 'Youmeng' must be some seasoned veteran. How could he have imagined it was Chu Tian?!

"Ahem, well, now you know, right?" Chu Tian said. "Don't worry about the song; leave it to me. I guarantee the quality! That's settled then. Bye!"

To prevent the other party from freaking out, Chu Tian wisely hung up the phone, completely unaware that on the other end, Hou Yichuan was nearly driven mad, his head turning as red as a tomato, looking about to burst.

"He hung up?" Hou Yichuan, who had been furiously ranting, stopped to catch his breath only to hear the busy tone. He realized Chu Tian had actually hung up. The more he thought about it, the angrier and more uncomfortable he felt. He continued dialing!

Hung up again? Redial!

Chu Tian sat expressionlessly on the sofa, continually hanging up. Hou Yichuan called, he hung up; Hou Yichuan called again, he hung up again.

Seeing it was becoming endless, he simply blocked the number, deciding to let the other party cool down for ten minutes.

Eventually, those ten minutes stretched into half an hour. By the time Chu Tian remembered, Hou Yichuan was nearly collapsing in his office. His hair was a mess, his clothes were askew, and he looked as if he'd been through the wringer a thousand times.

On the 398th call attempt, he finally got through.

He really has perseverance, still calling after half an hour? Chu Tian thought.

"WAAAH~ You finally answered~ AHHH!"

"If you've got something to say, say it. Otherwise, I'm hanging up! Any more nonsense and you're blocked."

Hou Yichuan, whose emotions had just begun to erupt, hadn't even finished a sentence when Chu Tian doused him with cold water.

"Aren't you being too much of a jerk?"

"HUH?"

"Ahem, yes, yes! I have something!" Hou Yichuan had a bellyful of curses he couldn't voice. What could he do? The other guy was the boss.

"Weren't we just talking about the TV drama's theme song? We have two variety shows too. How about you take care of those as well?"

"Variety shows? Aren't those still a long way off?"

"Not really, we can start preparing now. Writing songs needs inspiration and time, right? Better early than late."

Hou Yichuan had no idea that Chu Tian had a system, nor that he possessed wealth from another world. In his view, songwriting always required a long preparation time, either cooped up at home making revisions or going out to seek inspiration.

Chu Tian did not refute him but simply nodded. "Okay, I understand. I'll send them to you later."

As he spoke, something suddenly occurred to him, and he added, "Right, I plan to have Xu Qingqiu sing the TV drama's theme song. Tell Cao about it, and I'll send him the finished product directly later."

"What?"

Hou Yichuan stood there, baffled.

Why let Xu Qingqiu sing it? When I found out Chu Tian was Youmeng, despite my anger, my first thought was to get into the music industry! With such a prominent Song Daddy on our side, wouldn't it be a waste not to get into music? I was even thinking of using these theme songs to develop some of our own singers. How did it get handed over to someone else just like that? You're the boss, true, but you can't be so biased towards outsiders! Isn't this like an old woman reincarnated, selling off the family heirlooms?

"Why should it be her?" Hou Yichuan blurted out. "We have your compositions; we could cultivate our own singers! That way, the money would stay in our hands. Why give it to Xu Qingqiu?"

"UH-HUH..."

Chu Tian looked a bit embarrassed. He thought for a moment. Xu Qingqiu mentioned making an official announcement yesterday, didn't she? In that case, there's no need to hide it.

So, moments later, he said, "Xu Qingqiu is my girlfriend. Of course, I'd give it to her first. Makes sense, right?"

"What?! Say that again?"

"What's there to repeat? It's settled then. Get back to work. I'm hanging up."

"HEY, WAIT, WAIT! I..."

Chu Tian hung up without a second thought. He'd said what needed to be said and was now in a hurry to appease his girlfriend. He had no time to argue with a grown man.

"OH CRAP... he hung up again..." Hou Yichuan muttered, his eyes gradually clouding with confusion.

He said Xu Qingqiu is his girlfriend? How is that possible? Fake! It must be fake! He's bluffing!

No matter how hard Hou Yichuan tried to deny it, recalling all the past events, he slowly had to accept this reality.

No, but how could he?! Hou Yichuan fumed internally. The thought that the recently resurgent Xu Qingqiu was actually my boss's girlfriend made me feel like a beautiful flower had been stuck in cow dung. What a tragedy...

The series of shocking news was too much for him; his sanity was somewhat fading. Luckily, these words weren't heard by Chu Tian; otherwise, Hou Yichuan would have been in for a tough time.

Meanwhile, Chu Tian rubbed his hands together, looking nervous as he once again approached Xu Qingqiu's office and peeked inside.

"What are you doing here again?"

"HEHEHE, I have something, something important!"

"What important thing? Have you taken a fancy to another young lady?"

"What are you saying? Am I that kind of person?"

"Aren't you?"

"Of course not! I really have something important!"

To avoid Xu Qingqiu dwelling on this topic any longer, Chu Tian decisively changed the subject.