Being a gigolo was too much for him, so he had to become a music superstar.

But he knew in his heart that it wasn't a flirtation.

It is not a command either.

It's more like... encouragement.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Buyi went straight to the basement.

He wasn't caught up in the excitement of becoming an internet sensation. To be honest, he felt no excitement at all. He knew his situation all too well—no matter how famous his name was on the trending topics, it wouldn't bring in money for his sister's surgery. Only the five million yuan prize money would be of any use.

He sat on the sofa in the basement, opened his phone's notes app, and created a new file.

The title is: "Song Reserves for Subsequent Competitions"

He began planning the songs to be used in each of the next rounds.

"Sorrow" has already been released. This song was his ticket to the competition, proving that he was qualified to stand on this stage. But one song can't carry the entire competition. He can't let the audience and judges think that he's just a "one-hit wonder"—a singer with only one representative song.

He must keep producing output.

Moreover, each song should give people a sense of novelty, showing that "this person has this side to them."

He wrote down several names in the memo:

"People Like Me" – a segment suitable for telling personal stories. Quiet, yet poignant. Suitable for the early stages of the elimination rounds.

"One Meat, One Vegetable"—extremely powerful, a tearjerker. But this kind of song shouldn't be used early; it should be saved for the most crucial moment—the finals or a do-or-die elimination round.

"Borrow" - It has a very strong atmosphere and is suitable for later stages when you need to showcase the depth and sophistication of the music.

He continued to search through his memories of his past life, going through each song he could find.

Then he added a note at the end of the list:

"Don't release too many songs at once. Take them one at a time. Each song should make the audience think, 'He's actually written another masterpiece.' A continuous sense of surprise is more effective than a one-off burst."

This is something he learned when he was a corporate slave in his previous life. He understands that he needs to gradually introduce new things in order to keep people's expectations up.

The same principle applies to music.

He carefully saved the memo and locked his phone.

Then I picked up my guitar and started practicing "A Person Like Me".

This is the song he prepared for the next round of the competition.

It was almost ten o'clock when Lin Buyi came up from the basement.

A whole day of singing practice had left his throat a little dry, and his fingers had developed new calluses from repeatedly pressing the strings. He stretched his shoulders and felt that the muscles in his back were sore.

The lights were on in the living room, but there wasn't much of a person there. The maid had already left after clearing away the dishes. On the coffee table was a cup of warm honey water, with a note next to it—Su Nianwei's handwriting, crooked and messy, read, "Come back up after you've finished drinking."

Lin Buyi picked up the cup and gulped down more than half of it in one go.

The honey water was warm; she must have timed his arrival perfectly.

He put the cup back on the coffee table and walked towards the stairs.

When I got to the second floor, the door to the master bedroom was half open, and warm yellow light leaked out from the crack in the door.

He pushed the door open and went in.

Su Nianwei leaned against the headboard, holding a magazine in her hand—but it was clearly upside down. She wasn't reading it at all.

"You're up?" Su Nianwei asked without looking up.

"Um."

"Finished practicing?"

"I'm done practicing."

"How's your throat?"

"good."

Su Nianwei tossed the magazine aside and finally looked up at him.

She was wearing a dark green silk camisole, her hair was loose, and she had removed her makeup, leaving only a thin layer of lip balm on her lips.

"Come and sit down."

Lin Buyi walked to the bedside and sat down.

Su Nianwei moved to his side with her legs crossed, and put her hands on his shoulders and squeezed them twice.

"Shoulders so stiff? You just play the piano all day without moving? Are you trying to become a wooden doll?"

"That's how you practice singing."

"You're so boring." Su Nianwei's hand slid down his shoulder and onto his arm. "Can't you even cooperate if I want to compliment you?"

Lin Buyi turned his head to look at her: "What do you want to praise?"

Su Nianwei's expression faltered for a moment. She looked away and lowered her voice, "It's just... your performance in yesterday's competition was alright. I think you should relax a bit."

Lin Buyi mentally translated the sentence.

"You did alright" is equivalent to "You did a good job, but I won't say it directly."

"You should relax" is equivalent to "I want you."

He was already very familiar with Su Nianwei's rhetoric.

"Senior," Lin Buyi carefully considered his words, "I still need to practice my new song tomorrow—"

"I know," Su Nianwei interrupted him, "so consider tonight my reward for you."

reward.

Lin Buyi rolled his eyes inwardly.

The woman described this as a "reward," as if she had bestowed upon him some great favor.

But he didn't refuse. He knew in his heart that Su Nianwei's use of the word "reward" meant she was in a good mood tonight. When she's in a good mood, she usually doesn't cause too much trouble. If he refused, and she came back for it when she was in a bad mood, that would be truly agonizing.

Between two evils, choose the lesser. This was the first survival rule he learned since transmigrating.

"Okay," he said.

Su Nianwei smiled slightly and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.

There wasn't much fuss that night.

Su Nianwei's pace was much slower than usual, even gentler. Gone was the predatory demand; it was more like a relaxed laziness.

After it was over, she didn't turn over and sleep with her back to him as usual.

She lay on her side, propping her head up with one hand, watching him in the darkness.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Buyi asked with his eyes closed.

"It's up to you."

"What's so interesting about it?"

"I was just looking." Su Nianwei's voice was a little sleepy. "You really do have a pretty face. No wonder I fell for you at first sight."

Lin Buyi did not respond.

Su Nianwei waited a few seconds, then chuckled to herself, "Alright, that's enough. Let's go to sleep."

She turned over and pulled the blanket up.

Lin Buyi opened his eyes and looked at her back in the darkness.

She doesn't seem to be in a good mood tonight.

What's wrong?

Too quiet. Too gentle. So unlike Su Nianwei.

He thought about it for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so he simply closed his eyes and went to sleep.

I have to practice singing tomorrow.

……

The morning sunlight peeked through the curtains, drawing a thin white line on the floor.

Su Nianwei woke up before Lin Buyi.

She didn't get up immediately after waking up, but turned to look at the person next to her. Lin Buyi was sleeping soundly, breathing steadily, his brows unusually relaxed. She hadn't really bothered him much last night, and she herself didn't have much energy—she called it a "reward," but she was actually tired.

She reached for her phone on the bedside table and, as usual, glanced at the time first.

7:12 AM.

Then she opened Weibo.

She wanted to see just how popular Lin Buyi had become. Those few topics she mentioned before bed last night had already broken into the top ten; based on normal trends, by this morning they should…