I'm a web novelist, and you want me to work in the entertainment industry?

The evening breeze blew in from the sea, carrying a faint salty smell, and rustled the fig tree leaves.

Cheng Che and Tian Xiwei carried empty baskets on their backs and walked along the winding alley toward Grandpa Xie's house.

As soon as I reached the gate, a sound drifted out from inside the courtyard.

The two stopped simultaneously, exchanged a glance, and their expressions became subtle.

The timbre was very familiar—the two of them had just heard it this morning; it was the sound of the erhu.

I gently pushed open the courtyard gate, and the scene was exactly the same as what I had seen this morning—an old man was sitting on a small stool under a fig tree, with his legs crossed.

With the erhu resting on his lap, his body swayed dramatically with the bow, and one mournful long note after another rose from the ground.

His eyes were closed, his brows sometimes furrowed and sometimes relaxed, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned. He was completely immersed in his own musical world.

Beside the old man's feet lay an open sheet of music, covered in pencil annotations such as "crescendo," "decrescendo," and "this part should convey a sense of sadness."

Yes, the font is wild and unrestrained, just like an old man playing the erhu.

【…? 】

Is this old man a tragic figure or a comedic character? I really can't tell...

[It's clear the old man wasn't just randomly pooping; he was doing it seriously, systematically, and with a plan... though it sounded terrible.]

The old man has basically retired from playing the erhu.

【Old Deng, listen to my advice: you play the erhu very well, but you should probably stop playing it in the future.】

Tian Xiwei silently bit her lower lip, suppressing her laughter, and stood with Cheng Che at the courtyard gate without moving.

Just like in the morning, the old man quickly finished with a sharp high note, let out a long sigh, and his face was full of satisfaction and ecstasy after creating his artwork.

Then he saw two people standing at the gate of the courtyard.

"Huh?" The old man was taken aback. "You two are back so quickly? Didn't you go beachcombing?"

"I was planning to go, but it felt a bit late, so I decided against it," Cheng Che said calmly as he unloaded his basket.

"Yes," Tian Xiwei echoed, her eyes fixed on the erhu in the old man's hands. "Grandpa, are you playing the erhu again?"

Neither of them mentioned the story they had heard that afternoon.

"Just doing a couple of pulls when I'm bored." The old man waved his hand, a hint of pride in his expression for some reason. "It's nothing to brag about!"

"...Grandpa, do you often play the erhu?" Cheng Che asked.

"More or less," the old man thought for a moment, "I've been using it for decades, and I've worn out so many pulleys!"

With your wild and unrestrained approach, it would be abnormal if it didn't break...

"How do you feel about your skill level, sir?" Cheng Che asked again.

The old man was silent for two seconds.

"I think," he said sincerely, "I belong to the kind of performer with a very personal style, the kind of abstract artist."

What a great personal style!

The composure of the older generation of artists.

[Although it's a bit impolite to say it like that... the old man's self-assessment is quite accurate; it really is insignificant and abstract.]

That's really impolite of you.

Cheng Che nodded, his expression serious: "This assessment is very accurate. It does have a very personal style that others can't imitate."

Even for a graduate of the Magic Voice School, he probably couldn't replicate the old man's artistic behavior one-to-one.

"Of course." The old man crossed his arms.

He suddenly seemed to remember something, leaned forward, looked at Cheng Che, and then at Tian Xiwei.

"Hey, I'm telling you, aren't all you celebrities multi-talented? You can sing and dance, but can either of you play the erhu?"

Tian Xiwei was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously looked at Cheng Che.

She naturally remembered what Cheng Che had said last night: he graduated from the Department of Composition at Magic Sound.

Composition students must have been exposed to quite a few musical instruments, right?

"Can you?" she asked.

After saying that, she didn't forget to introduce him to the old man, "Grandpa, he graduated from the Department of Composition of Magic Sound".

"I know a little bit," Cheng Che shrugged, not trying to hide anything.

The old man and Tian Xiwei immediately perked up.

The old man stood up abruptly from his stool, his voice rising an octave, "Come on, pull one after another, let me see the skill of a professional!"

Tian Xiwei also chimed in, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Cheng Che: "Why not give it a try? I want to hear it too."

[Oh no, I really want to see this!]

[Brother Che, I'm begging you, please help me out! Just one person, and I'll do anything!]

[+1!]

[+10086!]

Just as Cheng Che was about to speak, the sound of plastic bags rubbing came from the courtyard gate.

Immediately afterwards, a head peeked in from the courtyard gate—the man was wearing a yellow robe, his hair was soaked with sweat, and he was carrying a large bag in each hand.

A typical food delivery rider look.

"Excuse me, is this Grandpa Xie's house?" The deliveryman's voice sounded somewhat uncertain.

The old man's eyes lit up when he saw the delivery guy: "Hey, that's it, right here!"

He quickly went to meet the deliveryman and took the food from him.

The delivery guy wiped his sweat, took out his phone to confirm the order: "Uncle Xie, right? There are six items in total. Please check them."

Tian Xiwei and Cheng Che exchanged a glance, both looking completely bewildered.

In this place... you can still order takeout?

Sir, do you really have to be so trendy?

The old man checked the order with the delivery guy, saw him off, and then carried the bag back to his yard.

They were facing Cheng Che and Tian Xiwei, who were still in a daze.

"Come on, let's have dinner!" The old man put the bag on the stone table and then started taking things out.

"Garlic oysters." He placed a foil box on the table, opened the lid, and the aroma of garlic wafted out.

"Garlic Lobster." Another box, the lobster shells were shiny red, and the vermicelli underneath was soaked with broth.

"Braised pork belly with abalone." Cubes of pork belly, glistening with oil, were squeezed precariously next to the abalone.

Tian Xiwei's pupils were already dilating.

That wasn't all. The old man then brought out three more takeout boxes, placing one in front of each person: "Sea cucumber rice, eat it while it's hot, it won't taste as good when it's cold."

【? ? ? ? ? ? 】

[Old man: I said, I've prepared a big meal tonight, is it from your Erdolong?]

[This meal...it must have cost at least four figures, right? Sir, you're truly a self-made millionaire!]

If I'm not mistaken, the old man's phone appears to be an Apple brand...

[Hatemakers, speak up! Apologize to my grandpa!!!]

"Sir, isn't this a bit too... expensive?" Cheng Che was a little unsure of what to say.

It's not that he's never seen so many good things before, but today he and Tian Xiwei only worked for the old man for a total of four hours... Is this job really that lucrative?

"Hey, it's fine, just eat!" the old man said heartily. "I'm happy! I don't need these few coins!"

"……OK."

Since the old man had said that, and considering his behavior throughout the day, showing that he was not short of money at all, Cheng Che and Tian Xiwei no longer hesitated.

One person took a bowl of sea cucumber rice and prepared to start enjoying their dinner.

Tian Xiwei hesitated for a moment. She looked down at the sea cucumber rice and then at the braised pork, and said in a low voice, "My manager will definitely call me non-stop tonight after seeing what I ate today."

Cheng Che raised an eyebrow: "So, are you still going to eat or not?"

"Eat!" she said without hesitation.

Joyful laughter immediately filled the courtyard.