Qiu Xing was so enraged that he locked himself in the second floor study the moment they got home. Zhou Miao wanted to cry as he looked back at Xie Yang.

Xie Yang wondered, “What is it?”

“Little boss, why do you deliberately annoy the boss? How can you ask for a divorce…”

“A marriage can be done as soon as it is settled. Why can’t I mention a divorce? Besides, a divorce doesn’t mean I will leave. I am willing to continue with Qiu Xing—”

“What?” It was unknown when but Qiu Xing had appeared on the second floor landing of the staircase and questioned Xie Yang.

Xie Yang looked up at Qiu Xing and decisively changed his words. “Being friends.”

Qiu Xing stared at Xie Yang with a deep gaze.

“If not friends then at least business partners and roommates.” Xie Yang spoke sincerely. “So is there still a need to discuss the matter of the power outage?”

Qiu Xing didn’t speak for a while as he looked Xie Yang up and down coldly. Then his lips curved up and he declared, “No discussion. Xie Yang, if you want to stay up late with me here then it is impossible for a lifetime.” Then he strode back to his study.

Xie Yang asked Zhou Miao, “You live in the back building. Is the power cut off at night?”

Zhou Miao’s body shook and he nodded quickly and forcefully while slowly backing away. “It’s cut off, cut off! It is cut off like this building! In addition, my place is small. I can’t, I can’t take you in.” Then he ran off like his ass was burning.

This was the desperate life of a renter. Xie Yang was resigned to his fate and returned to his room.

At lunch, Qiu Xing suddenly changed his words. “It can stay on during the weekends.”

Xie Yang’s chopsticks paused as he wondered if he misheard. “What did you say?”

Qiu Xing had already eaten. He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth and stood up. He stared at Xie Yang in a condescending manner and warned, “If I find out that you stayed up all night…”

Xie Yang spoke good words. “Then you can continue to turn the power off.”

Qiu Xing was satisfied and turned to leave. He only took a few steps before stopping and asking, “That person called Ji who sang with you… does he know the female star called Mu Zhouyi?”

The female lead had actually caught Qiu Xing’s attention.

“I don’t know. Do you want me to find out for you?”

Qiu Xing seriously thought about it before shaking his head indifferently. “Forget it. If Qinglin can’t even look at women properly then there is no need for me to worry about it for him.” After that, he really left.

Xie Yang watched Qiu Xing and slowly relaxed the hand that had been gripping his chopsticks tightly.

Now Qiu Xing was willing to let go of the male lead and no longer paid attention to the people around the male lead. The butterfly’s wings had finally started to affect the main plot.

***

In the afternoon, Xie Yang was in a good mood and went to meet Ji Zehui, who was in a bad mood. Then he changed his mood. He suggested that Ji Zehui should climb up from where he fell, recording a solo version of Angry Waves. This would let those who questioned Ji Zehui because of Angry Waves realize that his singing skills couldn’t be questioned.

Ji Zehui really wanted to hit the faces of those who questioned his singing skills and he happily accepted Xie Yang’s suggestion.

“Then let’s start directly. Be mentally prepared. Since I’m helping you record the song, you have to unconditionally listen to me. I’m very strict so don’t complain later.”

Ji Zehui inwardly wondered about how strict Xie Yang could be. It couldn’t be worse than Long Shuyou.

Three hours later, Ji Zehui found that he was naive. If Long Shuyou was especially picky then Xie Yang was the nitpicking devil! Xie Yang squeezed away the sound engineer and sneered at Ji Zehui in the recording studio. “What did you just sing? Are you a hillbilly? Did you drool so much while singing that you forgot how to use your voice? Again!”Ji Zehui took a deep breath. “Xie Yang, don’t be too—”

“Think about all the people on the Internet who are scolding you and questioning your singing. Think about all your competitors who are trying their best to drag you into the mud, wanting you to fall down the alter, just like the angry waves trying to turn people over. Tell me, do you want to be crushed by them, defeated by them, stepped on completely by them?”

Ji Zehui clenched his fists.

“Come again, start!”

Ji Zehui listened to the urgent prelude and remembered all the insults and doubts on the Internet. He remembered the vicious words of the black fans. Then looking at Xie Yang’s face outside the glass, he felt anger swelling rapidly in his chest. He raised his hand to hold the microphone, closed his eyes and opened his voice.

No! No one could pull him down!

Ji Zehui sang Angry Waves in one go. It was skillful, full of emotions and very infectious.

Xiao Jin happened to be looking for Ji Zehui for something. He heard Ji Zehui’s singing and showed a stunned expression. The music stopped and Ji Zehui slumped down in a chair. He was sweating all over but his expression was cheerful.

Xie Yang raised his hands and clapped a few times. “Perfect, it’s over. Take a break and then we’ll record One Sword is Equal to Spring and Autumn.”

Ji Zehui completely relaxed and almost slipped to the ground.

Xie Yang entered and stood in front of Ji Zehui. “Isn’t it cool to dedicate everything to singing?”

Ji Zehui slowly adjusted his breathing and didn’t speak.

“Xu Chenhao once told me the reason why he decided to retreat behind the scenes. He said that scenery in front of the stage was so prosperous and charming that he was afraid he would no longer be able to write a good song if he stayed there. Ji Zehui, now I will give you this sentence. The prosperity in front of the stage is indeed tempting but don’t disappoint your voice.”

Xie Yang left the studio. Then Ji Zehui suddenly raised his hand and wiped his face with it.

Xiao Jin pushed open the door and stepped in. He came to Ji Zehui and exclaimed, “Zehui, you really should listen to the Angry Waves you just sang. It is great. I haven’t heard you make such a perfect sound for years.”

Ji Zehui was silent.

“I just had a talk with the recording engineer. He said that Xie Yang is very professional, even more professional than him. I am now very happy that we didn’t continue to be Xie Yang’s enemy. I’m glad to have this cooperation with Xie Yang.” Xiao Jin crouched down and stared at Ji Zehui seriously. “Zehui, no matter how I look at it, I hope you can deal with Xie Yang well in the future.”

The recording of One Sword is Equal to Spring and Autumn was much smoother than Angry Waves. Ji Zehui’s mood suddenly settled down and he sang every sentence very seriously. Even if it wasn’t perfect, his intentions could be heard.

Xie Yang raised his eyebrows and smiled.

Once all the songs were completely recorded, Ji Zehui invited him to dinner. Xie Yang refused. He said he would go home and eat with his family.

“Wait a minute.” Ji Zehui took out his phone. “You probably don’t know since you’re a newcomer. The best way to break a rumor is to take a group photo. Shall we take a photo together?”

Xie Yang saw Ji Zehui’s dry expression and nodded.

Xiao Jin helped the two of them take a photo. Ji Zehui wanted to place his hand on Xie Yang’s shoulder but he was rejected as Xie Yang shook it away.

Ji Zehui, “……”

Once the photo was taken, Ji Zehui escorted Xie Yang out. The recording took place in a studio that was a subordinate of Huangtian. Just as they reached the parking lot, they happened to encounter some people from Huangtian coming down in the next elevator.

Ji Zehui looked over and then frowned, looking sullen. Xie Yang followed Ji Zehui’s gaze and saw a tall man walking with a woman in a long skirt. The woman in a long skirt next to the tall man was… the female lead. What a coincidence. Shouldn’t she be taking care of Feng Qinglin?

The man and female lead saw Ji Zehui and Xie Yang and the female lead was surprised as her eyes fell on Xie Yang. The man’s eyes fell on Ji Zehui and he took the initiative to speak. “Zehui, I heard that you lost two big endorsements. What’s the matter? So careless.”

Ji Zehui coldly counterattacked. “Yuan Pang, I heard that the theme song you sang for Hu Zheng’s new movie has been criticized by fans. What happened? Do you want to say goodbye to the movie theme song circle?”

The thin and tall man called Yuan Pang smiled slightly. “Zehui, we are all from the same company. It isn’t good if you’re like this.”

Ji Zehui sneered and said nothing. The female lead Mu Zhouyi quickly made a noise and greeted Ji Zehui. “Brother Ji, what a coincidence that we met here.” Then she glanced at Xie Yang and nodded.

The soft female voice with a bit of coldness rang through the entire basement. The voice obviously wasn’t loud but it seemed to drill straight into his eardrums. Xie Yang’s fingers moved and he raised a hand to press down the hat on his head. Then he also nodded toward the female lead.

This voice… should’ve been nourished by the gold finger.

Ji Zehui should have a slight relationship with the female lead. He converged his expression and said a few words to the female lead. Based on their conversation, Xie Yang learned that the female lead appeared here with Yuan Pang because she agreed to be the protagonist of Yuan Pang’s new song.

Yuan Pang’s gaze suddenly shifted to Xie Yang and he examined Xie Yang carefully. “Are you Xie Yang?”

Xie Yang nodded politely. “Hello Senior Yuan.”

Yuan Pang’s eyes shifted between Xie Yang and Ji Zehui. Then he gave an unknown smile and replied, “Hello as well.”

The two parties exchanged greetings and were ready to leave. It was unknown if it was a coincidence or not but Mu Zhouyi, who was walking next to Yuan Pang, suddenly came to Xie Yang’s side while heading for her assistant.

Xie Yang placed his hands into his pocket.

The next second, Mu Zhouyi didn’t pay attention when pulling something out of her bag and waved her hands. It happened to touch Xie Yang’s clothes. If Xie Yang hadn’t placed his hands into his pocket then Mu Zhouyi’s hand would’ve hit Xie Yang’s hand.

It was clear that a strange wave spread from where he was hit. Something flashed in the ability core that he hadn’t been able to sense since transmigrating and his mind became dull.

Xie Yang paused for a moment and glanced sideways at Mu Zhouyi.

“Sorry for hitting you.” Mu Zhouyi apologized, her expression seamless.

Xie Yang slowly suppressed his emotions. “It’s fine.” He clenched his fingers as he spoke and strode away.

***

After dinner, Xie Yang didn’t return to his room. Instead, he went to the lake and found a place with a lot of water and grass. He crouched down and pulled a grass with his hand. However, no matter how hard he tried, his ability core no longer responded.

Was it an illusion?

Xie Yang sat on the ground. He raised a hand and pressed it to his forehead, frowning slightly.

Not quite.

It was just that the awakening and upgrading of his ability wouldn’t cause his mind to become dull. Instead, it would make him have a high fever. This meant the dullness of his mind must’ve been caused by the female lead’s golden finger. However, he obviously didn’t let the female lead touch his skin.

In addition, why did the female lead try to touch him? To improve his good feelings toward her? Why?

“What are you doing sitting here?”

Xie Yang looked behind him. Qiu Xing stood behind Xie Yang. Xie Yang turned his head and Qiu Xing threw his coat directly at Xie Yang. Xie Yang caught the coat, put it on and patted the ground beside him. “Sit.”

Qiu Xing stared at the grass that had started to turn dry and yellow. He walked to Xie Yang’s side and stood still. Then he inserted his right hand into his pants pocket and pulled out a bag of fish food.

Xie Yang unceremoniously reached out his hand.

“…Your skin is really thick.” Qiu Xing handed him some fish food while warning, “Don’t try to steal the fish’s food.”

Xie Yang smiled. He felt it was inconvenient to feed the fish while sitting down so he stood up, went to the lake and threw some food in. Soon, a fish swam over. The red and white fish scales glowed with a metal-like luster under the lights of the lake. It was very beautiful.

Qiu Xing moved beside Xie Yang and threw some fish food into the lake as well.

Neither of them spoke. After a while, Xie Yang opened his mouth. “I saw Mu Zhouyi today.”

Qiu Xing’s action of throwing in fish food paused.

“At that time, Ji Zehui and I finished recording a song and went downstairs. She was also going downstairs with another singer of Huangtian. Everyone met in the parking lot. Ji Zehui knew them and stopped to say a few words. She seemed to recognize me. Yes, in fact, when we talked to Feng Qinglin that day, she was hiding on the stairs.’

Qiu Xing didn’t speak. His eyes reflected the water and no emotions could be seen.

Xie Yang wanted to say a few more bad words about the female lead but then he thought about it and swallowed them back. “Ji Zehui might know some things about Mu Zhouyi. If you are interested then I can ask for his help.”

“No need.” Qiu Xing refused, throwing all the fish food into the lake. “I don’t need it.”