Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the curtains.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes, and the person next to him nudged him closer.

Xu Qingya had one leg draped over his waist, and she was holding something in her hand.

He was sleeping very soundly, and probably had no idea what he was doing.

Jiang Fan glanced down at it.

A normal reaction in the early morning.

He gently pulled Xu Qingya's hand away; she didn't wake up.

Then he rolled over and pinned the person down.

"Hmm—" Xu Qingya's eyelids were still closed, her voice hoarse, "What…?"

"I think you might still have a slight fever."

"What...what fever..." The voice was sleepy, and the mind hadn't quite registered what was going on.

"Your temperature is a little high, I'll give you another injection."

Xu Qingya took a couple of seconds to realize what was going on.

"You're the one with a fever—so early in the morning—"

Before she could finish speaking, her wrist was pressed onto the pillow, and a needle was inserted.

-

An hour later, Jiang Fan finished showering, got dressed, grabbed his coat, and slipped out the door.

The door still made a slight sound as it closed.

Xu Qingya lifted her face from under the pillow and listened for a moment.

Huh? The person left?

She rolled over and reached for her phone. As soon as she opened Weibo, the first trending topic popped up:

#Tang Yingxue's latest single "Later" will be released tonight at 8 PM#

Xu Qingya clicked on it, and the promotional poster featured Tang Yingxue's profile, with plenty of lighting.

Her gaze shifted to the lower right corner.

Lyrics: Jiang Fan. Music: Jiang Fan. Arrangement: Jiang Fan.

She stared at those three lines of text for almost half a minute.

Then I threw my phone on the bed.

Well done, Jiang Fan! No wonder you ran away so fast.

She picked up her phone and dialed three times, but no one answered.

-

10:00 AM, Songjiang Middle School film set.

Ning Yuan gave a speech to the group on the playground.

Li Cheng came over with two bottles of water and handed one to Jiang Fan.

"Brother Fan, have you checked Weibo?"

"Haven't watched it yet, what's up?" Jiang Fan unscrewed the bottle and took a sip, glancing around the set. Shen Feng was chatting with Ma Yue, looking relaxed.

"Tang Yingxue has secured every available splash screen ad, including Tencent, NetEase Cloud Music, and Douyin—they've rolled it out across the board." Li Cheng handed over his phone. "The two fan groups have already started fighting."

Jiang Fan took it and glanced at it.

"Jiang Fan isn't exclusive to Xu Qingya; Sister Xue can also get a masterpiece."

"Anything produced by Jiang Fan is bound to be of high quality. Teach Xu Qingya a lesson in manners."

Xu Qingya's side was also not quiet.

"What's so great about a producer who just uses what Ya Ya has left over?"

"Even 'As You Wish' was performed on the National Day Gala, what makes 'Later' compare?"

Jiang Fan returned the phone without commenting.

Li Cheng put his phone away and looked him over for two seconds.

"Brother Fan, aren't you going to do anything about it?"

"How am I supposed to manage this?" Jiang Fan downed his bottle of mineral water in one gulp. "Go tell Ning Yuan that the crew is having dinner tonight, and it's on me."

Li Cheng was stunned for a moment.

"Tang Yingxue will release a song tonight at 8 PM—"

"She can have hers, we'll eat ours."

-

The film crew wrapped up at 7:30 p.m.

Jiang Fan booked a food stall near the school, where dozens of people filled five or six tables. The stalls were laden with grilled skewers and beer, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

After eating for twenty minutes, Shen Feng came over with a cup, followed by Ma Yue.

"President Jiang, Director Ning, thank you so much for this opportunity." Shen Feng raised his glass.

"Just act well. I guarantee this film will help you establish yourselves in the film industry." Jiang Fan raised his glass and clinked glasses with the film.

Shen Feng downed the drink in one gulp, grinned, and sat back down.

After a while, Lu Wanqing came over with a glass of red wine, stood opposite Jiang Fan, and raised her glass.

"Mr. Jiang, thank you for your guidance and help the other day."

"Just relax, this is the result of your own hard work."

Lu Wanqing hummed in agreement and took a sip of red wine.

He twirled the cup halfway in his hand, lingered on Jiang Fan's face for two seconds before looking away, and then turned and left.

Li Cheng glanced at him from the side, took a sip of beer, and didn't say anything.

Looking at Lu Wanqing's expression, he roughly understood what had happened.

A 21-year-old girl's inner thoughts are almost entirely written on her face; it's hard to explain, but it reveals everything.

This girl probably hasn't even figured out what she wants to do yet.

Li Cheng lowered his head, took a sip of beer, and quietly pretended not to see anything.

-

At 7:55, Li Cheng glanced at his phone.

"Brother Fan, there are five minutes left."

Jiang Fan peeled the crayfish without looking up.

At 8:00 AM sharp, Li Cheng opened Penguin Music.

The piano intro begins.

"Later, I finally learned how to love..."

The boss brought in a speaker at some point, plugged it in, and the sound rang throughout the whole street.

Li Cheng turned the phone around and pushed it towards Jiang Fan.

"The comments section has exceeded 10,000 in ten minutes, even more so than when 'As You Wish' was first released."

Jiang Fan glanced at it, pushed the phone back, and continued peeling shrimp.

After the outro ended, the boss played it on repeat again.

Ning Yuan sipped his baijiu, tilted his ear slightly, and silently looked towards a distant spot.

After listening to most of the song, Shen Feng put down his beer and nudged Ma Yue with his elbow.

"Was this song also written by President Jiang?"

Ma Yue didn't say anything, she just looked at him.

Shen Feng shrank back and swallowed his words.

At that moment, Jiang Fan's phone vibrated.

He picked it up, glanced at it, and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Li Cheng asked.

"Pack."

"What kind of package?"

Jiang Fan had already walked towards the boss.

Li Cheng lowered his head and glanced at the phone screen on the table.

Xu Qingya: Bring me back some crayfish now. I haven't eaten yet.

Li Cheng looked away, picked up his beer, and took a sip.

Then another message popped up on his phone, and he couldn't resist taking another look.

Tang Yingxue: Tomorrow night, InterContinental Hotel, old room.

Li Cheng put down his cup, slowly turned his head, and looked at Jiang Fan calmly pointing at the lobsters in the pot with the owner at the food stall counter.

He remained silent for about five seconds.

I took out my phone, opened WeBank Insurance, and scrolled down to the accident insurance page.

After thinking for a moment, he filled in Shen Nian's name in the beneficiary column.

After filling in the amount, he raised his glass and drank the rest of the beer in one gulp, then refilled his glass.

Jiang Fan walked back carrying two large bags of crayfish and took his coat off the back of the chair.

"You guys eat, I'm leaving now."

"Brother Fan!" Li Cheng called out to him.

"Um?"

"Take care."

Jiang Fan paused for a moment and turned to look at him.

You're overthinking it.