A song called "The You of the Past" has prompted the entire internet to beg me not to leav

12:30 a.m.

A night market street in the eastern district of Xinghai City.

Lin Yan sat in front of a barbecue stall billowing with smoke, with thirty skewers of mutton, two large kidneys, and a bottle of ice-cold beer in front of him.

"Boss, more cumin and chili powder!" Lin Yan shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Okay, bro!" the boss replied, flipping the skewers.

Lin Yan took a bite of the sizzling, oily grilled kidney and let out a satisfied sigh.

For three years, the company has been making him eat grass every day in order to maintain that damn idol image.

Today I finally experienced the pure joy that carbohydrates and fats bring.

I took out my phone and saw that the internet was in complete uproar.

The screen is filled with live clips of "Once Upon a Time You" and netizens are going crazy, begging for the audio from all over the world.

The official Weibo account of Xingyao Entertainment has been flooded with complaints, forcing the comment section to be closed. Wu Zhe's lip-syncing has been completely exposed by Lin Yan.

My phone was vibrating incessantly; it was my former boss, Mr. Zhao, calling.

Lin Yan chewed on a meat skewer and pressed the answer button.

"Lin Yan, you little beast! Do you know you've ruined 30 million yuan of the company's assets?!" came President Zhao's furious roar from the other end of the phone.

Lin Yan took a swig of ice-cold beer and said slowly, "Mr. Zhao, I'm not taking the blame for this. It was Brother Wang who forced me to have a broken in-ear monitor."

"Stop talking nonsense! What's going on with that song? You dare to keep it to yourself! I'm warning you, your contract is still with the company, and the copyright belongs to the company! Immediately post a clarification on Weibo saying it was arranged by the company, then get back here to record!"

Lin Yan glanced at the time on his phone screen.

00:35 minutes.

"Mr. Zhao, could you please have your legal counsel take a look at the contract?" Lin Yan sneered.

"My contract expired just half an hour ago. I'm a free agent now."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, followed by the sound of files being frantically rummaged through.

Then came Mr. Zhao's outburst of anger: "Impossible! How could it be so tightly blocked!"

"Goodbye, I wish you a speedy bankruptcy."

Lin Yan hung up the phone immediately and promptly added President Zhao to his blacklist.

The world was quiet again, and Lin Yan happily picked up the second skewer of kidneys.

Just as I was about to take a bite, a faint scent of perfume wafted over.

A fully armed woman walked up to the table.

He was wearing a black baseball cap, large sunglasses, and a black face mask.

Without any hesitation, the woman pulled out the plastic chair opposite her and sat down.

Lin Yan stared at her for a second, then warily protected his waist.

"Hey lady, let's move to the next table, mine's full."

The woman ignored him, reached out and took off her sunglasses and pulled down her mask.

She revealed an extremely beautiful face, with a cool and aloof demeanor that exuded a sense of arrogance. It was none other than Shen Qingqiu, the top-tier diva who had just served as a mentor in the finals.

Lin Yan was taken aback: "Teacher Shen? Weren't you a judge here? What are you doing here?"

Shen Qingqiu glanced at the oil stains on the table and frowned slightly.

Without saying a word, she took a check out of her bag and shoved it in front of Lin Yan.

"Leave it blank. Fill it in as you like." Shen Qingqiu got straight to the point, his voice cold.

Lin Yan looked at the check, then at Shen Qingqiu.

"You're not going to buy my kidneys, are you?"

Shen Qingqiu took a deep breath and suppressed his temper.

"I mean, I want to buy the rights to 'Once Upon a Time in You.' Also, I want to sign you to my personal studio."

Lin Yan put down the bamboo skewer and took out a tissue to wipe his hands.

"Teacher Shen, I made it very clear on stage. I'm retiring from the entertainment industry. I'm no longer going to serve this lousy Chinese entertainment circle."

Shen Qingqiu stared at him: "With your talent, retiring from the industry would be a loss to the Chinese music scene. I just checked your background; you were with Xingyao for three years, and they didn't release a single song by you. Now you're free, with plenty of opportunities to make money, why don't you sing?"

"Because I find it tiring."

Lin Yan leaned back in the plastic chair.

"Singing is fun, but being in this industry is disgusting. You're treated like a monkey by capital, forced to create a fake persona, and you have to be wary of being betrayed. I just want to buy a house by the sea, fish every day, and occasionally do a live stream and sing."

Shen Qingqiu looked at this piece of meat and was speechless.

In this circle, people either fawn over her or are extremely apprehensive when they see her.

Only Lin Yan remained unmoved by her check, his mind preoccupied with his life of leisure.

But the more this is the case, the less she can let him go.

That song, "The You of the Past," is absolutely amazing.

She was willing to guarantee that Lin Yan was a monster capable of overturning the current chaotic state of the Chinese entertainment industry.

Shen Qingqiu crossed his arms and supported himself on the table, then launched a straight shot to its full potential.

"You think the entertainment industry is too tiring? Come to my studio. I'll give you absolute freedom."

"How much freedom?" Lin Yan asked casually.

"A guaranteed annual salary of ten million, plus a share of all profits from original works. No clocking in, no need to create a persona, no socializing. You can write songs if you want, or just lie at home if you don't. You can use all the company's resources as you please." Shen Qingqiu said each word clearly.

Lin Yan swallowed.

Ten million?

"And one more," Shen Qingqiu said, unleashing his ultimate weapon.

"My villa, the entire ground floor has been empty, it's yours. Room and board included. You wanted to be a couch potato? Come work for me, a paid couch potato, wanna try?"

Lin Yan was astonished when she looked at the aloof diva in front of her.

She's incredibly beautiful, pays generously, and even provides room and board!

This isn't a boss, this is clearly a female bodhisattva descended to earth!

"Boss Shen." Lin Yan picked up the wine glass in front of him.

Shen Qingqiu raised an eyebrow: "You agreed?"

"When are we going to sign the contract? Hurry up, I'm afraid you'll back out."

Lin Yan tapped the cup against the empty table.

"Let's have one!"

There was no way around it; she had given way too much.

Shen Qingqiu finally smiled and pulled his mask back up.

"Bring your bedding and come to Qingqiu Studio at 10 a.m. tomorrow."

After saying that, she stood up, decisively and efficiently.

After taking a couple of steps, she suddenly turned back and pointed to the table: "This meal is on me. I'll reimburse you tomorrow."

Then, with a long stride, he got into the nanny van waiting by the roadside.

Watching the taillights of the luxury car disappear into the night, Lin Yan happily ate the last meat skewer.

With a big tree to shelter under, it's easy to find shade; now I can even save money on buying a house.

"Boss, another twenty skewers of lamb and two bottles of beer."