Chapter 42: Get a surprise
Meng Yuan also told Yu Nian about this matter.
âYour fox tail is already out of stock. Itâs sold out before itâs even on the shelves. Yesterday I spoke with the assistant of director Messer on the phone, and the other party also said that he was very surprised by your appeal.â
Yu Nian sat in the back seat of the car. He was looking down at the ad script and was surprised when he heard what Meng Yuan said, âHerseyâs fox tail? I remember it was 120,000 yuan per piece?â
âYup, I donât know which local tycoon fan bought 20 pieces in one breath at this price. Tsk, really rich, spending more than 2 million to buy the same thing, so that no one else can have the same style.â
The silhouette of a person appeared in front of Yu Nian, and soon he dispelled this ideaâit should not be Xie You.
Meng Yuan said a few words with emotion and then said, âYou had the last re-examination yesterday; is there any problem with your feet?â
âThere is no problem. The doctor said that the recovery is very good and there are no sequelae.â Yu Nian was afraid that Meng Yuan would be worried, so he showed him the result of the examination.
After reading it, Meng Yuan was relieved, and while flipping through the schedule, he said, âThis EP that is being prepared will contain five songs. In order to maintain the style, four of them, including the main title track, are composed by Feng Ting, Zhao Yan, and Luo Yingyang. The three of them are gold medal partners, and the works they have produced in the past two years are very good. I made an appointment before, and counting the time, the song will be handed over in two days. When the time comes, I will give it to you first to have a look.â
Meng Yuan mentioned this matter before, and Yu Nianâs attention was distracted, âOkay, what about the last one? Is it written by Teacher Jiang Cheng and Teacher Jiang Bo?â
âYes, the other party took the initiative to call and negotiate, saying that they promised on âSound of Natureâ, and it will definitely be fulfilled.â
Yu Nian wrote it down, âWell, then I will call later to thank them.â
âOkay, but they also see that you are becoming popular; only then did they take the initiative to ask for a song. If you become popular, the songs they write will follow suit. By fulfilling their promise, they can also send news. If you had become cold as soon as the âSound of Natureâ ended, no one would have taken care of you at all. Everyone is realistic, and itâs mutually beneficial, so donât be too grateful.â
âWell, I know.â
Meng Yuan knew that Yu Nian was clear in his mind, so he didnât continue. He looked at the buildings outside the window and put away the schedule, âWeâve already driven to the west of the city, and itâs almost there. Speaking of it, the last time I came here with you was when I went to that private restaurant for dinner.â
Soon, the car stopped at the destination, and the sycamore trees on both sides of the road had fallen a lot of dead leaves. Yu Nian opened the door to get off, turned his head, and could see the back door of his house from a distance.
Meng Yuan followed Yu Nianâs gaze and said casually, âI heard from Director Messerâs assistant that Messer originally preferred the Sining mansion next to it, saying that it was almost in line with his vision and the style he wanted, but it was a private house. Itâs not very good to go in and shoot ads, so he had to choose this Yiyuan, which is similar in style to the Sining Mansion, and it can barely enter Messerâs eyes.â
Yu Nian nodded, remembering that there used to be an old gentleman living in Yiyuan. Leaning on a walking stick, he often wore a gentlemanâs hat, and sometimes he would come to visit and play chess with his grandfather.
Later, the old man passed away, and the four children were scattered all over the world, so they simply sold it for cash. Now Yiyuan had been transformed into a high-end private club, and there had been a collection of jewelry exhibitions since two years ago.
Walking into the carved gate, the flowers and trees on both sides of the road were neatly trimmed, and there was no sign of decay in late autumn.
Shi Rou stood next to Yu Nian and said in a low voice, âWhen Yiyuan was sold, Brother Meng was keen to buy real estate investments and was very tempted, but the starting price of Yiyuan was hundreds of millions. After buying it, it also needed to be repaired, which cost another huge sum of money. Brother Meng didnât have that much money, so he quietly withdrew his hand.â
Meng Yuan glanced over from the front, âYou two, what are you whispering?â
Shi Rou and Yu Nian said in unison, âNothing!â
Meng Yuan was amused by this reaction, âOkay, walk faster; weâre going to be late.â
Messer paid more attention to visual beauty when making advertisements. After Yu Nian arrived, he even drew on paper as he spoke, explaining his vision of the picture to Yu Nian in detail.
ââ¦From your eyes, what one can see is a kind of peace with very little desire, making people feel very clean, just like the Northern Lights in the snowfields of northern Europe! I hope to dig out your temperament as much as possible and show it.â Messer stood up, beckoned to Yu Nian, and motioned for him to follow: âI have designed three styles for you; letâs try them first!â
So the whole morning, Yu Nian spent trying on clothes, accessories, makeup, and hairdos. Messer was extremely picky, and from time to time, he would argue with the stylist. After finally finalizing it, Messer pulled the costume designer to the side to discuss and modify some small details.
At 12:30, Yu Nian changed into his own clothes and was finally able to relax for a while. Just as he was about to ask Shi Rou what he had for lunch, he found Meng Yuan walking in with a strange expression on his face.
âBrother Meng?â
Meng Yuan made sure there were no outsiders and pretended to cough twice, âUmm⦠Mr. Qu said that you worked too hard to shoot ads, so he especially brought food over. Itâs a full feast; I am afraid that there are more than a dozen dishes. Even with us three here, it is impossible to finish them all.â
Yu Nian laughed when he heard that. Yesterday he saw Xie Youâs Weibo, and he was still wondering why the takeout didnât come, but he didnât expect it to be pushed until today.
Seeing that Yu Nian was actually laughing, Meng Yuan lowered his voice and said, âMr. Quâ¦what does it mean? Even if he is optimistic that you will become the companyâs cash cow in the future, he wonât be so courteous!â
Shi Rou had seen a lot. She frowned, feeling worried, âBrother Meng, what do you mean, Mr. Qu has⦠that kind of thought?â
Meng Yuan pondered, then shook his head, âItâs not like that. Although Mr. Qu is not stable and loves to play, he is not bad. There are quite a few ex-girlfriends, but they all broke up after holding hands for a week, which is quite principled, and there is the eldest young master Qu watching over them. The point is, I have never heard that he is a bi!â
Listening to Meng Yuan and Shi Rouâs discussion, Yu Nian felt that if he told the truth, saying that these were all sent by Xie You â it would be more incomprehensible than Qu Xiaoranâs, right?
Thinking of Xia Mingxiâs âsulphuric acid and bombsâ, Yu Nian still didnât tell the truth and said, âMaybe Mr. Qu thinks Iâm more pleasing to the eye, and he sent them all. Itâs a pity not to eat them. There are so many dishes; letâs eat together.â
The advertisement for Florence took four full days to shoot. Yu Nian was in Xu Xianglanâs crew, and he was used to shooting a scene six or seven times over and over again. This time, he met Messer, who was strict and inspired to reshoot from time to time, so he was very patient. When the filming was finally finished, Messer opened his arms, hugged Yu Nian, and laughed, âI am very happy to work with you! Believe me, this commercial is absolutely perfect!â
Yu Nian said with a smile, âThank you; I am also looking forward to it very much!â
Leaving Yiyuan, it was already seven oâclock in the evening. In late autumn, it got dark very early. Yu Nian had been working continuously for the past few days. Once his nerves relaxed, he couldnât hold on anymore and dozed off against the pillow.
Meng Yuan helped him cover the quilt, closed the car window, and told him in a low voice, âSleep at ease. Go to bed early when you get back later, and sleep late tomorrow to make up for it.â
Yu Nian barely heard what Meng Yuan said. He agreed, tilted his head, and fell asleep.
But before eight oâclock the next morning, Meng Yuan called, âAlthough I know it will disturb your sleep, now there is good news and bad news; which one do you want to listen to first?â
âGood morning, Brother Meng.â Yu Nianâs voice was a little hoarse, âLetâs hear the bad news first.â â
âYou open your Weibo to see the hot searches.â
âHot searches?â Yu Nian didnât hang up the phone; he opened the Weibo page and saw the number one hot search at a glance. The words were shocking, âFeng Ting and Zhao Yan were arrested for taking drugs?â
Meng Yuan sighed, âIâm so worried that my hair is about to fall out! Together with Luo Yingyang, they handed in a total of seven songs. Four of the seven selections are of good quality. Five songs were selected for the preliminary selection; we were planning to start production when youâd selected four out of these five. Who knew that something like this would happen?!â
Yu Nian sat up, folded the quilt, squinted his eyes because of the sunlight outside the window, and said in a calm tone, âThen what is the specific situation now?â
âThe overall style of the small album was set before. Feng Ting, Zhao Yan, and Luo Tingyang also wrote the song according to this style. Now that the preparations are complete, after the songs are finalized, we are going to start recording and put it into production.â
Meng Yuan took a breath, âSo the problem now is that if we donât use Feng Ting and Zhao Yanâs songs, losing money is a trivial matter. The most troublesome thing will be that the pre-production time will be infinitely prolonged. Moreover, there are not many good-quality songwriters. You are still a newcomer now, and finding a songwriter with quality, time, a non-sky-high price, and who can write the style of the album is really difficult. You can only pray for good luck!â
Yu Nianâs fingers grabbed the corner of the quilt, âOtherwise, the EP can only be postponed for an uncertain time, and all plans have to be overthrown and restarted, right?â
âYes.â Meng Yuan asked Yu Nian, âSo, should we still use those songs?â
âNo.â When answering this question, Yu Nianâs tone was firm, âDrug use is a matter of principle. We donât need them.â He sat up, stretched his waist, and said with a smile, âBrother Meng, how aboutâ¦I will write all the lyrics and music.â
Meng Yuan was silent for a few seconds, âYou writeâ¦you wait, Iâll discuss it!â
After Yu Nian made himself a simple fried rice meal and finished watering the flowers, Meng Yuan called.
âIf you write your own songs for your first album, some people will be fans of your talents, but correspondingly, it will be easier to be ridiculed and scolded. This is your first musical work, and we must ensure the quality, so itâs not that we donât trust you, but you must be cautious and be on the safe side. Do you understand?â
Yu Nian: âYes, so give me three days, and I will write the song for you to listen to first, and then make a decision, okay?â
Meng Yuan responded, âOkay, Iâll wait for your good news.â
Realizing that Meng Yuan was about to hang up the phone, Yu Nian said, âWait, Brother Meng, what about the good news?â
âLook at my memory!â Meng Yuan himself laughed, saying, âThe good news is that a popular variety show has been signed, and you are going to be a guest. But you should write songs carefully first; there is no rush. I will talk to you in detail a few days later.â
For the next three days, Yu Nian did not go out. He only asked Shi Rou to buy some ingredients and fruits to send home while he devoted himself to writing songs.
On the third night, Meng Yuan, who had not received any news from Yu Nian, called worriedly, âNianNian, are you okay? It doesnât matter if you canât write it; weâll just postpone it!â
Yu Nian yawned and smiled wearily, âThe four main songs have already been written, and I also arranged the music and sang it with the musical instrument. The audio has been sent to your email.â
âSo fast?â Meng Yuan was surprised and hurriedly said, âOkay, then you rest; Iâll go and listen!â
Yu Nian was so sleepy that he hung up the phone and fell asleep on the bed. He didnât know how long he slept, but when Meng Yuan replied, âF*ck, if I knew you were so good at writing, why would I find others?â
Yu Nian opened his eyes and said with a smile in his voice, âCan that work?â
âOf course! Itâs totally slapping Feng Ting and Zhao Yan! It can also be promoted to singer-songwriters, which is not bad!â Meng Yuanâs voice was excited, âYou continue to sleep; the results of the demo confirmation should not come out so soon. Anyway, Iâll let you know right away when there are results.â
The phone was hung up, Yu Nian closed his eyes and tried to sleep, and he found that the drowsiness had disappeared, so he simply sat up, took a cup of yogurt from the refrigerator, turned on the TV, and watched the rebroadcast of the financial news in the early morning while drinking yogurt.
ââ¦A few days ago, we received news that an executive surnamed Wang from Huanyu Investment fled abroad and was brought back by the policeâ¦â
Huanyu Investment? Yu Nianâs hand holding the yogurt paused. He remembered what Xu Xianglan had mentioned before. Standing behind Huanyu was a director surnamed Ding of the Xie family. Now, something happened to Huanyuâ¦
At this time, the phone rang, and Yu Nian opened it and found that the message was from Xie You. There were only a few words: [Havenât slept yet?]
After reading these three words several times, Yu Nian suddenly got up, took a gray coat from the bedroom, put it on, and carried the key in his pocket. He finally put on a black cap and went out the door.
Really.
Looking at the strange black SUV parked on the side of the road, Yu Nian walked over quickly, and when he approached, the window glass lowered a littleâit was Xie You.
Deliberately exhaling into his hands, Yu Nian smiled and said, âItâs so cold outside.â
Xie You looked at Yu Nian standing on the side of the street, still unable to recover, thinking that he was hallucinating. After hearing Yu Nianâs coldness, he reacted suddenly and opened the car door.
Sitting in the back seat, the temperature in the compartment was much higher, and the air was filled with a faint aroma of cedar.
âGood evening,â Yu Nian said lightly, âYou didnât ask how I knew you were here?â
Xie You focused his eyes and asked, âHow did you know?â
Yu Nian said with a smile, âItâs very simple. Itâs 1:30 a.m. You wonât send someone a message âHavenât slept yetâ for no reason. I didnât post on Moments or Weibo, but you know Iâm still up. Thatâs a big deal. The most likely thing is that you noticed that the light was on in my living room.â
Xie Youâs voice softened, âThen⦠what if Iâm not here?â
âIâll just take a walk.â Yu Nianâs eyes were smiling like water waves, and his eyelashes were filled with the warm light from the street lamps outside the car window, âBut you are here. I guessed it right, didnât I?â
Xie You nodded slightly, âYeah.â
I gave myself a reward by taking a look at your window, but I didnât expect to get a surprise.
By seeing you.