Chapter 23: I Bet That Song Actually Exists
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Tong Yulu’s careless remark ultimately brought the tea party to an end. Even though the event continued, no one was in the mood anymore…
Whether she had truly spoken without thinking, only she knew.
This was probably the most explosive mutual-review segment in the history of *Hello, Roommate*. One person dared to ask, and the other dared to answer, and together they had more or less evaluated everyone present.
Yu Wei’s answers had not really offended anyone. Whenever he named someone directly, he praised them, and the final area-of-effect attack was merely sarcasm aimed at the group, with little malice behind it.
Tong Yulu’s questions, however, had clearly been motivated by something else. There were plenty of things that were better left understood without being said aloud. Once everything was spelled out, no one could enjoy themselves anymore…
The others did not particularly mind. Little Lu was straightforward and often acted this way, so they were used to it. Only Chi Leying sat there with a cold expression, suppressing her anger. Clearly, she had been genuinely provoked.
The two of them seemed fated to be rivals. They had both debuted through the same year’s girl-group survival show, though one had come from Qiyi and the other from Tencent.
Their professional abilities were also fairly evenly matched. Both could sing and dance, and both had looks that could hold their own. The only real difference lay in their personalities.
Chi Leying had a calculating mind behind every thought and was cautious even with the smallest matters. Tong Yulu had a little scheming in her, though not much; when it came to important matters, she never lost her head.
As for who was better, even Yu Wei could not say. He was not choosing a concubine. All he could say was that each had her own strengths.
Compared with having to choose between them, he would much rather watch the two of them get into a fight. Lu Ziqiao had been right: women fighting really was a sight to behold, especially beautiful women fighting.
However, until the tea party ended, the two never broke into any open conflict. At least in public, they still had to pretend to be sisters who loved one another dearly.
After the gathering ended, Yu Wei hurried back to his room to continue writing. The others also dispersed, leaving only Chi Leying and Tong Yulu seated in their original places, with more than half a table between them as they continued eating snacks.
“Get some rest early.”
After the production crew wished them good night, they too packed up and left. They wanted to film something capable of generating discussion, but that did not mean they lacked discretion. Some things would have a bad effect if they were broadcast…
“Little Lu, are you in such a hurry to switch lanes?”
Chi Leying’s voice was very soft, but the hostility in her tone was unmistakable.
She was the sort of person who never displayed her emotions and rarely lost her temper with anyone. But today, she was genuinely struggling to hold herself back.
People might have thought that she usually stepped on Tong Yulu to make herself stand out, but in truth, she would rather not take that step at all…
Whenever Chi Leying did something, Tong Yulu would imitate her. Just like the time she had followed Chi Leying to Yu Wei’s room.
She was an imitator, but never a very good one. She copied Chi Leying, yet always ended up doing things that offended people. Those who were offended would naturally lump the two of them into the same camp.
Put it this way: if Tong Yulu had not been there making trouble and Chi Leying had gone alone, would Yu Wei really have been so wary and restrained?
Master Kong’s noodles tasted terrible, and Master Kong himself got blamed along with them. Who could possibly endure that?
“Aren’t you in a hurry too?”
Tong Yulu smiled at her. “Why don’t you stop switching lanes to become a singer and go be an actress instead? You’re such a good performer.”
Was she deliberately imitating Chi Leying? Not really. It was simply that, in many situations, the two of them had exactly the same thoughts, which made them look as though they were on the same side.
Tong Yulu still had more to say. She had clearly been the one to strike first, yet Chi Leying was accusing her of following her lead. Where was the justice in that?
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A physical fight was impossible. The two of them traded barbs back and forth, smiles still fixed on their faces.
“How wonderful.”
Standing by the window, Yu Wei happened to have a view of what was happening below. The evening shadows had deepened, and the two women seemed to be conversing with great delight. It was quite a touching scene in its own way: after enduring countless hardships, sisters remained sisters; when they met again, one smile could wipe away every grudge…
All right, he knew the two of them were actually arguing. Although it seemed to have something to do with him, in truth, it really did not have much to do with him.
Even if Yu Wei had never come, given their personalities, it was only a matter of time before they had a quarrel. His arrival had merely sped up the process.
Their war of words did not last long, however. Soon, they gathered their things and returned indoors one after the other.
“I really managed to gather some material this time.”
Yu Wei drew the curtains. He had definitely come to the right variety show. It was his first time watching two female celebrities argue in person, and he had even managed to enjoy the freshest gossip.
He immediately put what he had learned to use, planning to write this scene into his novel next time.
After the tea party, Yu Wei felt considerably better. At a time like this, he naturally had to seize the opportunity and write as much as possible.
Songwriting scenes depended heavily on one’s state of mind and emotions. Otherwise, no matter how he wrote them, he would never be able to capture the right feeling…
At the production crew’s prompting, Wei Yu took the stage and began singing his new song. In a scene like this, the reactions of the other three mentors were extremely important.
They could not be written as being too astonished, either. All three of them understood music, especially Teacher Han, a leading figure in the music industry. He would certainly have to show some appreciation.
Then there was the little girl at the heart of the conflict. Her emotions would determine the overall evaluation of the protagonist’s performance, so her reactions had to display a sense of progression.
Once he had sorted out his thoughts, all that remained was to put them into words. Yu Wei wrote more than half a chapter in one sitting. When he finally checked the time, he discovered that it was already two in the morning.
“I’ve stayed up this late already. I might as well finish it.”
Since this was the novel’s plagiarist-written singing segment, Yu Wei still symbolically included a few lines of lyrics. The last time he had written lyrics, people had accused him of suffering from literary affectation. Surely that would not happen again…
[Dragonflies lingered upon the bamboo fence
A glass bottle brimmed with tiny forests
Youth, tender green and vividly bright
The light and shadows cast by Venetian blinds
Like an expression concealing a secret.]
The lyrics were by Vincent Fang and the music by Jay Chou—a classic pairing. In fact, *Hearing the Sound of Rain* was quite a good song, though it was indeed not as famous as Jay Chou’s other works.
The song would have been more than enough to serve as another singer’s title track, but in Jay Chou’s repertoire, it could hardly be considered one of the standouts.
Yu Wei personally liked the song very much. Moss reflected in the lens, wind chimes beneath the eaves, the swaying of the past—it truly had the feeling of listening to music on a rainy day…
“Updating at this hour? This is downright ghostly.”
Yu Wei had not expected that updating at three in the morning would still earn him a chapter review. He had never seen this commenter’s username before, so they were probably a new reader.
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He had no time to look at the readers’ reactions. He closed the computer, turned over, and went straight to sleep. He slept until broad daylight, only waking when the sounds of people eating breakfast reached him.
“Holy crap, so many comments?”
Yu Wei had never seen ninety-nine-plus interactive messages in the author’s assistant before. With so many comments, it seemed the section featuring the new song’s lyrics had really caught fire.
“Could this song actually exist? It looks pretty convincing.”
“It really has that kind of flavor. It should sound pretty good when sung. Waiting for Yu Wei.”
“This probably isn’t Yu Wei’s song. His last one is still popular. He probably got hold of a new song by another singer.”
“Who exactly is this author? How does he have so many connections in the entertainment industry?”
“I bet this song exists. Place your bets—high or low, once the bet is made, there’s no taking it back!”
A group of readers had already begun gambling in the comment section of his novel. In fact, many of them did not even read the book; they had simply come rushing over to enjoy the gossip.
After what had happened before, most people still believed that such a song existed. They simply were not sure who would be singing it.
No matter how incredible Yu Wei was, could he really release a new song every week?
“Didn’t see that coming, did you? I’m still the one singing it this time.”
Exactly how much time would pass between releases, however, was not up to him. That depended on whether the system was willing to cooperate…
[Great System of the Entertainment World]
[Host: Yu Wei]
[Bound Novel: *Why Do Celebrities Care So Much About Ratings?*]
[Artistic Works Within the Novel: *Heart Wall*, *Hearing the Sound of Rain*]
[Redemption Requirement: More than 300 readers following Chapter Twenty-Two]
[Available for Redemption: *Hearing the Sound of Rain*]
[Already Redeemed: *Heart Wall*]
“It’s already reached the requirement?”
A week ago, three hundred followers would have been an astronomical figure for him. But now, the number of curious onlookers who had come just to enjoy the spectacle alone was more than three hundred.
Yu Wei did not waste any more time talking. He tapped the button and redeemed it directly.
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