Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Before Shen Nian could finish stamping the third red seal, a pair of hands appeared behind her.

Jiang Fan wrapped one arm around her from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, and slipped his hand inside her pajamas neckline.

Shen Nian almost dropped the concealer stick into the sink.

"He's being improper first thing in the morning."

"What do you want for breakfast?" Jiang Fan's voice was close to her ear.

Shen Nian stared at the position of the hand in the mirror, her lips twitched, and she slapped the concealer stick onto the table.

I want to eat your flesh.

Jiang Fan stopped what he was doing.

Shen Nian saw his expression change in the mirror.

"...Get out of here."

-

The two had a quick meal.

I arrived at the studio at 9:30.

Zhou Yutong sat on the swivel chair at the front desk, spinning around in circles, holding a cup of milk tea in her hand.

As soon as the door opened, she jumped up from the chair.

"Sister Nian! How was the concert last night? Was the stage amazing?"

Shen Nian took a few steps inside.

Zhou Yutong's gaze fell downwards.

"Sister Nian...why are you walking like that?"

Shen Nian's gait was indeed a bit off.

When the left leg stepped out, the right leg followed noticeably slower.

"My legs are numb from sitting for too long last night."

Zhou Yutong tilted her head and looked at her, then at Jiang Fan who came in from behind.

"My legs are numb from sitting for too long? Can't I just stand up and walk around for a bit?"

Shen Nian ignored her and went straight to the recording studio.

Zhou Yutong turned to look at Jiang Fan, opened her mouth, but swallowed the words that were about to come out.

Jiang Fan remained expressionless as he entered his office, turned on his computer, and logged onto Weibo.

Of the top 20 trending topics, six were related to last night's concert.

The hashtag #Who is the lyricist and composer of Ruyuan?# rose from eighth place last night to third place.

Clicking in, the comments section was a complete mess.

"I bet a bag of spicy strips that it was written by Jiang Fan."

"No need to gamble upstairs, all of Xu Qingya's recent songs were written by Jiang Fan."

"But the official announcement hasn't been made. What if it's not true?"

"Who else could it be but Jiang Fan? Find me another person who can write at this level."

"The person upstairs is talking like he's the only one in the world who can write songs."

Jiang Fan finished reading the comments and closed the page.

-

Shen Nian spent the entire morning in the recording studio.

Zhou Yutong went to deliver water twice. The first time, Shen Nian kicked her out, and the second time, she wasn't even allowed to enter the door.

Shen Nian came out during lunchtime, carrying two A4 sheets of paper. She was walking a little better than in the morning.

She walked straight to Jiang Fan and placed the paper on the table.

"Help me take a look at this song."

Jiang Fan took it and unfolded it.

The handwritten lyrics and sheet music are neat and legible, with a few corrections.

Song title: Courage.

Jiang Fan looked at the first verse of lyrics.

"I've finally made this decision, I don't care what others say—"

His gaze paused for a moment.

Continue.

"As long as you feel the same way, I'm willing to go with you to the ends of the earth—"

refrain--

"Love truly needs courage to face gossip and rumors—"

Jiang Fan watched the entire song from beginning to end.

"Did you write this recently?"

Shen Nian nodded. "It took about two weeks. The chorus went through several revisions. What do you think?"

Jiang Fan read it again.

The song "Courage" from the previous life was popular for twenty years and became a part of the youthful memories of several generations.

The version written by Shen Nian has an almost identical melody, with only minor differences in the lyrics.

coincidence?

This is the second time.

The last one was "Under the Sea".

Shen Nian was also written by himself, and it highly overlaps with the poem from his previous life.

Jiang Fan glanced at Shen Nian.

She tilted her head, waiting for his evaluation, her eyes showing a hint of nervousness.

Jiang Fan didn't continue thinking about it.

"Very good. The chorus is very memorable, and the melody is catchy."

Shen Nian's eyes lit up.

"What do you think of my performance of this song on this episode of 'The Voice of China'?"

"Okay." He handed the paper back to her, pointing to the middle line of the second verse, "Let's smooth out the transition here a bit, then the overall effect will be fine."

Shen Nian took the paper back, looked down at the spot he had marked, hummed a couple of times under her breath, and nodded.

"Okay, I'll revise it this afternoon."

-

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Jiang Fan's phone vibrated.

Xu Qingya.

Come to my place tonight, I have good news for you.

Jiang Fan replied with a single word: Okay.

Xu Qingya sent a kissing emoji.

Jiang Fan put his phone back in his pocket.

After finishing work at 5:30, he asked Zhou Yutong to take Shen Nian home.

"Aren't you going back?" Shen Nian asked.

"I have something to do tonight."

Shen Nian looked at him for two seconds but didn't ask any further questions.

"Don't work too hard."

-

At 6:30 in the evening, Jiang Fan arrived at Xu Qingya's villa.

Pushing open the door, the living room was filled with the smell of cooking oil.

Xu Qingya poked half her body out of the kitchen, an apron tied around her waist, a spatula in her hand.

"You're here? Please have a seat, it'll be ready soon."

Jiang Fan changed his shoes and went inside, sitting down at the dining table.

Xu Qingya brought out the last bowl of turtle soup, and untied her apron by pulling it behind her waist.

I took out a bottle of medicinal wine from the wine cabinet and poured him a glass.

Jiang Fan looked at the color in the cup—

"Is it the same one that Sister Lan gave you?"

"Yes, drink up, I'm happy today."

Jiang Fan picked it up and took a sip.

"What good news?"

Xu Qingya sat down opposite him and put a piece of food into his bowl.

"What's the rush? Let's eat first and then talk about it."

Jiang Fan didn't urge him.

The two ate a meal quietly.

Xu Qingya was more talkative than usual today, and chatted a bit about behind-the-scenes stories from last night's concert.

"Did you know that a fan fainted from crying and had to be carried out by security?"

"There was another guy, a burly man who was 1.85 meters tall, who was holding his girlfriend and crying his heart out. He was filmed and posted online, and it was trending on social media all night."

After finishing her meal, Xu Qingya cleared away the dishes and chopsticks, brewed a pot of tea, and brought it to the living room.

The two sat down on the sofa.

Xu Qingya pushed the teacup in front of Jiang Fan, picked up a cup herself, and took a sip.

"This morning, someone from the Huaxia Civilization Office contacted Sister Lan."

Jiang Fan put down his teacup.

Huaxia Civilization Office.

The significance of this name in the entertainment industry needs no explanation.

It is responsible for selecting and recommending literary and artistic works with positive values.

The songs included will be added to the official recommended playlist and may even be included in international cultural exchange projects.

"They want to include 'As You Wish' in their album."

Jiang Fan hummed in agreement.

The core lyrics of "As You Wish"—patriotism, intergenerational inheritance, and the expectation for a better life—naturally align with official aesthetics.

Given the sheer volume of publicity surrounding last night's concert, it's impossible for the officials in charge of the Civilization Office not to have seen it.

"There's one more thing." Xu Qingya put down her teacup.

"They invited me to sing 'As You Wish' at this year's National Day Gala."

National Day Gala.

The broadcast was aired live on CCTV, reaching over a billion viewers nationwide.

The lineup of singers for the National Day Gala is the result of a power struggle among various parties for each position.

Those who can stand on that platform represent not just themselves, but the entire industry's recognition of them.

Congratulations to Empress Xu!

Xu Qingya picked up her teacup and took another sip.

"Jiang Fan, you said last time you would give me a song that surpasses Tang Yingxue's."

"Um."

"You did it."

Jiang Fan didn't say anything.

Xu Qingya placed the teacup on the coffee table, stood up, and walked to him.

She bent down, placed her hands on the back of the sofa, and encircled Jiang Fan in the middle.

Their faces were very close, their noses almost touching.

"So—what reward do you want?"

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow.

"There really is something."

Xu Qingya paused for a moment, then took a step back.

"...Are you trying to make me do something again?"

"The movie 'Fleet of Time' is about to enter its promotional period, and Lu Chuan's team wants to organize a round of roadshows."

Xu Qingya released her hands from the sofa.

"You want me to do a roadshow?"

"We only need to do one stop on the roadshow, and he can go on stage and sing 'Those Bygone Years.' Lu Chuan mentioned this idea last time, and he's been urging us about it twice in the last few days."

Xu Qingya crossed her arms and looked down at him.

"You call this a reward?"

Jiang Fan shrugged.

Xu Qingya snorted.

"Jiang Fan, do you seem to have some misunderstanding about the word 'reward'?"

"Then what do you mean by reward?"

Xu Qingya plopped down on his lap and hooked her arms around his neck.

"I promise you about the roadshow." She bit his earlobe, "But rewards are rewards, and business is business. You should collect your reward first."

Jiang Fan placed his hand on her waist.

"I drank quite a bit of medicinal wine today, I don't know if you can handle it."

Xu Qingya leaned back slightly, hooking her fingers around his collar and unbuttoning it one button at a time.

"Really? Let me see how it works."