After everyone else finished their cover shoots at Tomato TV, Yang Chaoyue followed Sister Zhang into the van and immediately sent Ye Huanqiu a WeChat message.
Ye Huanqiu, who had been home resting for hours, heard his phone ding. Looking at his rather outdated device, he thought it might be time for an upgrade.
He opened the message from Yang Chaoyue, and the first line was immediately misleading:
"You're responsible for this mess... I'm sticking with you no matter what."
Damn it! Ye Huanqiu was relieved he was home alone. In public, that message would have people thinking he'd done something inappropriate to her.
He quickly typed a reply: "Sis, don't say things that could be misunderstood. I admit I chose this theme to show off a bit, but trust me... I'll definitely help you rediscover the joy of singing."
When Yang Chaoyue received the message in the van, a smile crept across her face. Sister Zhang watched her giggle foolishly as she typed back.
"Tone it down," Sister Zhang said. "I just told you to contact Teacher Ye, not start some weird drama."
Sister Zhang constantly reminded Yang Chaoyue to remember she was a female celebrity.
Ye Huanqiu decided to visit Yang Chaoyue's company early the next morning, postponing his afternoon visit. Yang Chaoyue and her team understood. He had previously mentioned that "Chinese" had already been written, allowing for a morning recording session and an afternoon visit. This time, however, the process would take a bit longer.
After finishing his conversation with her, Ye Huanqiu immediately activated Starbeam.
"I'm initiating the Improvisational Song Draw now."
"Acknowledged, Host."
A virtual interface materialized before Ye Huanqiu, resembling a gacha game's card pool. Instead of game characters, however, it displayed countless songs from Earth Star.
Single draws and ten-pulls were available, but with only three chances remaining, the latter was irrelevant.
Ye Huanqiu struck a classic Bruce Lee pose, complete with a flared nostril. "Ten-pulls are for the unlucky. All they do is guarantee a pity pull. But me, the Luck Emperor? I single-pull for miracles!"
He tapped the virtual single draw button. The rotating pool of song images swirled endlessly until a dazzling flash of light erupted.
The song that appeared before Ye Huanqiu's eyes instantly lit up his face.
"Rainy Day" perfectly matched the theme: songs that captured the mood of a gloomy, rainy day.
Originating from Treasure Island, China, this song was arguably one of the group's signature works. What made it even more special was that it truly needed a young girl's voice to capture its raw, youthful pain. Ironically, seasoned veterans might struggle to convey the same authentic vulnerability.
While the song demanded some vocal skill, it wasn't overly challenging. Having coached Yang Chaoyue before, Ye Huanqiu knew her vocal range was surprisingly flexible. With proper guidance, he believed she could master it without difficulty.
"As the Luck Emperor himself, I nailed it on my first try!" Ye Huanqiu crowed, completely forgetting that he had inquired about the "Starbeam" gacha's pull rate—a staggering 80% drop rate. For anyone not plagued by abysmal luck, hitting that 80% chance was practically guaranteed.
Having rested sufficiently, Ye Huanqiu rose and powered on his near-top-tier 4080 laptop, its ROG Eye logo gleaming in a mesmerizing array of RGB colors.
Ye Huanqiu decided against the top-of-the-line laptop configuration, reasoning that it would be a waste of money. Using a 4090-level graphics card for music software would be overkill; he figured it would be better to invest in a top-tier solid-state drive.
Two 8TB Changjiang-chip SSDs would provide ample storage for all his music textbooks, data, and projects, allowing Ye Huanqiu's advanced music programming skills to truly shine.
He quickly set to work creating the sheet music for "Rainy Day" on his computer. He could print out the lyrics later. Now, even his tiny pigeonhole apartment felt surprisingly well-equipped.
With all his work necessities in place, Ye Huanqiu spent just over an hour finishing up his tasks.
That evening, he squeezed in a trip to the Apple Store and purchased the latest 1TB iPhone 14 Pro Max. Since his previous phone was also an Apple device, data transfer was seamless.
After slapping on a random phone case, Ye Huanqiu walked off in search of a place to eat.
Suddenly flush with cash, Ye Huanqiu's mindset began to subtly shift.
Indeed, money is the best cure for the anxiety plaguing modern urban workers!
The next morning, a filming crew from Tomato TV arrived at Yang Chaoyue's company to set up cameras, with the cameraman personally scouting for optimal shooting angles.
Around 9:00 AM, Yang Chaoyue arrived with her manager, Sister Zhang. Shortly after, a ride-hailing car pulled up in front of the company, and Ye Huanqiu stepped out carrying his laptop bag.
The cameras were already in place, and recording began the moment they entered the building.
Sister Zhang secured a small conference room for Ye Huanqiu and Yang Chaoyue to discuss the song, equipped with automatic face-tracking cameras.
"A Ye, is the song finished?" Yang Chaoyue asked, sounding uninterested.
"Yeah... I had a burst of inspiration last night and couldn't stop. I burned the midnight oil to finish it," Ye Huanqiu replied, feigning exhaustion. Yet his face showed no signs of fatigue. Even without makeup, his skin looked healthier than Yang Chaoyue's.
His complexion was much brighter than hers. Yang Chaoyue's dark circles betrayed her weariness, making it difficult to conceal her fatigue even with foundation.
Yang Chaoyue replied with a listless "Oh."
"Come on, let me play you a demo." Ye Huanqiu opened his laptop and sent the original version of "Rainy Day" to Yang Chaoyue for her to listen to.
Compared to the upbeat melody of his previous song, "Chinese," "Rainy Day" had a distinctly melancholic feel.
Yang Chaoyue clenched her fist as she read the lyrics Ye Huanqiu handed her.
After finishing the lyrics and listening to the song, she looked up and said, "A Ye, be honest with me. Did you just go through a breakup? I had a feeling something was up when you chose this theme. The lyrics you wrote..."
It was undeniably a bitter breakup song.
"Ahem, don't jump to conclusions," Ye Huanqiu replied. "I was inspired by some painful coming-of-age stories I've been reading. Youth always involves some raw, bittersweet experiences, even minor feelings like unrequited love. You've sung plenty of cheerful songs, Chaoyue, but I've noticed you rarely express your own sadness directly. Do you avoid it because it feels like fishing for sympathy?"
"...That's partly it. I don't want people to look down on me. Those crying scenes from before? I actually went off-camera to cry. The cameramen chased me down, filmed me, and edited it together to make it seem like I was crying all the time... I really didn't like that."
Yang Chaoyue was also using the show as an opportunity to share some unspoken truths from her past.