At 3 a.m., the landmines in front of the station

He was worried that there was something fishy about the contract.

"Please wait a moment, allow me a few seconds to read this."

He picked up the paper, scanned it with his eyes, and read it carefully, line by line, with the utmost caution.

On first reading, there were no problems.

For example, “Party A (Waiting for Miracle Teacher) will entrust Party B (Yari) with the full handling of OC’s manuscript requests, and Party B will charge Party A one percent of the current manuscript fee (equivalent to 1000 Tianhai coins).

For example, “Party A may propose revisions (up to an unlimited number of times), and Party B must unconditionally accept and implement Party A’s revisions until the manuscript is perfectly completed.”

Even extreme clauses have appeared, such as "If Party A has a project requiring manuscripts, Party B will cease all other activities and prioritize Party A's needs."

Furthermore, it specifically mentions that "Party B shall close its public order-taking channels from this date onwards and only accept Party A's targeted requests until the contract expires."

So, how long is the contract valid for?

the answer is……

"The client's wishes shall prevail."

In other words, the client has the final say.

It can be a day, a year, or even a lifetime.

All the terms that are entirely in their own interest are presented at the front.

However, Su Che is not stupid.

Su Che felt that one should be pragmatic; there's no such thing as a free lunch.

If the goddess Ari has placed so many unfavorable conditions for her at the very beginning, will the conditions that follow be the same?

really,

Starting from Article 8, Su Che noticed some inconsistencies.

"When Party B faces creative difficulties, Party A has the right to invite Party A to their home to discuss work-related matters."

At first glance, there seems to be no problem here.

But Su Che was horrified upon closer examination.

Because she didn't specify what constitutes a creative predicament, or how often such a predicament occurs...

Furthermore, is it appropriate to go directly to someone's home to discuss such matters?

Why not a coffee shop? Why not a library? Why not a dedicated meeting room...? Why does it have to be at home?

More importantly, considering Miss Ari's creative process, she always painted late at night...

In other words, if she wants to invite me to her house in the middle of the night to discuss inspiration, am I obligated to comply with the terms of the contract and visit her house?

Is this safe?

Su Che sensed something was wrong, but he didn't want to say it outright, as it might seem like he was just being presumptuous.

He patiently continued reading.

"When Party B submits a final draft, Party A shall acknowledge receipt of the draft and credit Party B in all instances where the draft is used."

That's not a problem.

Su Che was very aware of the copyright issue.

The artist has put in a lot of hard work, so as the client, it's only right that I help promote her work.

However, he overlooked the fact that Ari had already stopped taking orders altogether.

Ari's publicity was not intended to increase her fame.

She's already famous enough.

What she wants might be internal?

A declaration of war, or a provocation.

Of course, these are things that Su Che could not consider.

There was one last thing he couldn't understand—

"Party B will constantly gather inspiration for artistic creation. For example, if Party B needs inspiration to prepare for OC, Party B will occasionally purchase a large number of costumes, props and other materials. Therefore, if Party B needs to obtain Party A's evaluation, Party A is obligated to accompany Party B to go shopping, dining, resting, relaxing and providing emotional support. The right to interpret the specific content belongs to Party B."

"???"

Seeing this, Su Che was a little confused.

[Does this mean that Miss Ari needs to gather materials, and she can use that to summon me anytime, anywhere? Is that correct?]

Such an absurd thought flashed through Su Che's mind, causing him to frown deeply, finding it hard to believe.

If that's the case, then what exactly are those other demands?

"Sharing rest" refers to how and where to rest, in a single or double room? What constitutes relaxation? How is emotional support provided? Can she be satisfied with just normal verbal support?

Su Che felt a headache coming on.

Ari seemed to sense his trouble and kindly offered his advice:

"Teacher, don't worry. This contract has all the terms that won't make things difficult for you. It will make you feel very comfortable."

Look, manuscripts at rock-bottom prices, meetings anytime, free companionship, and some... secret rewards yet to be unlocked. Others can only dream of such things. What do you say?

"...That's true."

Su Che did not deny that what she said was true.

But I just always feel like something's not quite right.

Is she really willing to give so much, as if it were free, allowing me to have close contact with her completely?

If they're even talking about spending time together, isn't that basically a date?

No, rather, right now, what I'm doing with her is, frankly speaking, a date.

Does this make sense?

“Miss Ari, I still don’t understand why you would need my… perspective.”

He was referring to the last clause of the contract.

Ari paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Everyone needs companionship. As you can see, I've been alone for a long time, constantly in a state of intense artistic study and creation. I'm quite self-disciplined and don't interact with others much, so it's inevitable that I feel a bit lonely..."

"..."

"And at my age, if I don't find a suitable younger brother... well, if I don't find a suitable candidate to leave myself a way out, I might not be able to find someone I'm satisfied with when I become very, very ordinary. If that happens, I'll regret it."

"I see."

Su Che understood; it turned out that the "ordinary" that Goddess Ari mentioned referred to age.

It seems she suffers from severe age anxiety; there's no doubt about it.

"Then I'd like to ask you something, Miss Ari. With your looks, and I'm not exaggerating, I think any man would find it hard not to be attracted to you after seeing your face, right? There must be countless wealthy families or celebrities among you. So why did you choose me instead of those obviously better options?"

Su Che's eyes flashed, and at the crucial moment he used his trump card—"A Soul-Searching Question".

This move is a powerful weapon against An Qing.

On the very first day An Qing infiltrated the house, he had used his ultimate move.

An Qing's answer at the time laid the foundation for her to stay. Without that sentence, she would have judged An Qing as a typical promiscuous woman and kicked her out of the house.

Right now, the problem has been passed on to the goddess.

The goddess is not An Qing. The goddess's popularity far surpasses An Qing's. In terms of looks, conditions, temperament, talent, and social status, she is unmatched by any other girl.

Under such conditions, the number of men pursuing her would be infinitely large.

Those of low quality dare not approach; what remains are all high-quality, capable, and wealthy individuals who believe they are worthy of the goddess.

There are a large number of such people.

Upon hearing his question, Ari unusually did not give an immediate answer.

Su Che thought she was just struggling to find the right words.

But her next few words completely reversed his winning strategy and ended the day's exceptionally long match—

"Teacher, do you know? From childhood to adulthood, I've always admired cute children who are younger than me or less mature than me."

"??"

"I've loved singing since I was a child, and that's probably a genetic trait I got from my parents."

My mother is a violinist and a lecturer at a music university in Japan. My father is an artist who travels the world all year round and loves to paint all kinds of complex oil paintings.

Before he and she divorced, they were often away from home and were constantly in a cold war. So I was left in the empty house, living alone, on my own living expenses, bored and staying at home after dropping out of school.

I pass the time by practicing singing and drawing at the same time.

When it came to practicing singing, I wasn't very good at using software at the time, so I thought, why don't I just buy an instrument and learn it together? I'll buy one that can accompany me, so I can sing and accompany myself. Wouldn't that be great?

However, after doing some research, I found that the two most suitable instruments for playing and singing are the piano and the guitar.

The cost of learning piano is too high, the learning time is too slow, and I don't want to contact a teacher or anyone else. I only want to stay at home and learn by myself. So, I can only choose the latter, which is relatively simple and easy to learn.

Following my own ideas, I went to a large music store on Nanjing West Road that only sells authentic products and bought a sunset-colored acoustic guitar.

It's beautiful and has a nice sound. Of course, it also costs around 30,000 yuan, which took up a significant portion of my living expenses at the time.

I held it and at first I really liked it. I thought I should practice hard so that I could record more songs in the future, and maybe even write original works..."

"But later, my hands hurt so much that I couldn't keep going. My fingers couldn't take the abuse. It hurt so much. Every time I picked up the piano, I would want to put it down and stop practicing after about 30 minutes. Over time, I wanted to give up."

"But just when I was about to give up for the last time, I heard... the sound of my little neighbor practicing the piano coming from next door..."

"The reason he's my little neighbor is because I've met him before—he's a very quiet little brother, doesn't talk, is very introverted, fair-skinned, and looks like someone you'd want to hug."

"His practice is completely different from mine. His practice is terrifying. It's like he's holding his breath, like he's competing with someone. He won't stop until he's practiced for a full six hours..."

"Under the influence of his distorted state, I gradually increased my patience..."

"I increased the time from half an hour to 40 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours..."

"Soon, I'll be able to stick to many of the exercises properly and completely. I can already play some simple accompaniments, although not as smoothly as my brother, but... it's more than enough for singing."

"Even now, although I have put down the guitar for a long time and no longer practice, I still remember the influence and motivation that my neighbor next door had on me when I was young."