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

If I remember correctly, my mom would bring along the goddess Ari... oh no, I should call her fiancée now, to the dinner party.

"Grandpa didn't say how many people would come, but... after so many years, I feel like I don't know what to do to ease the tension when I see him."

Su Che had a premonition that his grandfather might not be an ordinary person.

The reason is simple: Grandpa, like Dad, is said to have a lot of official duties to attend to. He's quite old but hasn't retired yet and is extremely busy.

Moreover, according to my mother, my grandfather's job was "writing novels".

Unlike ordinary authors, what Grandpa wrote... seemed to be "mysterious content" that was not to be told to outsiders.

In a certain underground novel circle, his pen name was well-known and highly praised by fans!

Fans were also quite curious, as this group, besides reading novels with unique content, reportedly also enjoyed playing a game called "Gala Geimu".

Of course, Su Che himself was once teased by his best friend Qin Nan: "You know what? At first glance, your hairstyle and appearance are no different from the male lead in 'Gala Gemu'."

Su Che wanted to refute at the time, but before he could speak, Qin Nan added, "Especially the fact that the male protagonist in 'Gala Gemu' doesn't play 'Gala Gemu' is strikingly similar to you."

Su Che remained silent.

To be honest, Su Che has played a lot of games since he was a child, but he is the type to be very devoted to one person.

Playing a game can take hundreds or even thousands of hours, and these are usually FPS games or AAA single-player titles.

The reason for this choice is that his time and energy are too limited; he simply cannot afford to invest too much in learning a new game. He also needs to practice piano, write, and earn a living.

Therefore, he has never touched the genre of "Galagigi," which he considers a "dream." (Except for a very few masterpieces with catgirl and maid themes.)

Now, considering that his grandfather might be a "professional," Su Che felt that the conversation could start with his grandfather's work, and see if he could draw some inspiration from it so that he could be more comfortable with his own creative work in the future.

He overlooked the risk of going astray in his practice.

-

……

Early the next morning.

Su Che woke up with a start, just like always, from a heart palpitation.

He has never slept well.

Last night, I managed to get a buffer room to sleep alone and locked myself in an empty room that was temporarily unoccupied. But when I woke up this morning, I still felt physically and mentally exhausted.

When asked, the head maid, who was cleaning nearby, said she "didn't know anything" and was certain that no outsiders had entered the room all night under her protection.

This made Su Che, who felt more and more tired the more he slept, feel very strange.

This isn't the first time that sleep has been seen as a drain on energy and physical strength.

He shook his head, replaced coffee with herbal tea, and gulped down a cup as the first thing he did after waking up.

"Hmm...! I'll probably be quite busy today. I'm going out to practice the piano later, and I probably won't be back until midnight." He said, looking at Bai Qiao.

"Really? Young Master, are you going to get some vixen for yourself this time?"

When no one else is around, Bai Qiao treats him with a relatively intimate and ambiguous attitude.

He was already used to it and shook his head in denial, saying, "It's just a work collaboration, nothing special. After all, I need to earn money to support you. What do you think?"

Bai Qiao: "!"

Seeing her young master flirt so easily, the head maid almost couldn't contain her excitement and accidentally revealed her rabbit tail.

"Cough um."

He coughed lightly and agreed, "Then it is indeed hard on you, young master. I... I will wait patiently for your return."

When people are well-fed and clothed, they think about the future.

The head maid, looking every bit the saint, respectfully helped Su Che to his feet and helped him change his clothes and tie his belt.

Before leaving, the two touched briefly in the room, and then a new day officially began.

The agreed location was the "Red House Recording Studio".

Su Che brought his equipment and printed out the scorebook. He drove for more than 30 minutes to the entrance of the recording studio, ready to go up and rehearse.

This store is located deep in the riverside street, at the end of the second floor of a ruined shopping mall.

At first glance, it doesn't look like a place that UU can book.

Because UU has always chosen the best rehearsal rooms, at least at the "small garden" level, how could it be such a shabby place?

Sure enough, before Su Che even went upstairs, he received a Fetion message from UU—

"Little fan, you're performing tomorrow. The music is the same as last time, so you just need to prepare a little. We won't rehearse; we'll just perform directly. So, if you're free tonight, could you come to the city center? I'll be waiting for you at the Four Seasons Hotel. We can talk about the support funds."

"!?"

Su Che stared at the screen for a moment, then realized, good heavens, UU wasn't even in this afternoon's rehearsal...

Otherwise, why would she invite me to a hotel? Is that right?

After much thought, Su Che concluded that this might be a setup orchestrated by someone.

"Could it be... that Lingyin didn't notify UU at all, but called me separately?"

"The significance of doing this is..."

Su Che hissed and hesitated.

I definitely have to agree to UU's offer tonight. After all, she's a big spender and one of the key figures who supports my ability to buy herbal tea from KuKu. She's offered me more than one olive branch, so I can't refuse her.

However, the situation is different with Asai Suzune...

Should I go up?

Upon learning that it was a trap, Su Che considered backing out.

But then I thought, even if I leave, I should question her about why she did it before I go, otherwise it will be unclear and make it seem like I broke my promise and stood her up.

"Yes. Since we're already here, let's go up and take a look."

Su Che, who was wearing shoes, wasn't afraid of going barefoot. He locked his car, carried his zither, and went straight upstairs.

He wanted to see what kind of medicine Asai Suzune was hiding under her skirt.

-

……

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Su Che arrived at the entrance of the recording studio.

At first glance, this place doesn't look like a proper recording space at all, because the area inside is too small, with only a monitoring room and a rehearsal room.

In terms of equipment, to be conservative, it's not much better than the temporary equipment I prepared at home, and I didn't even get a piano.

Su Che frowned, looked around, and then pushed open the door to enter.

"Lingyin? Is she inside?"

The sound engineer's seat was empty; the manager had probably gone to lunch, and the shop was unattended.

He continued walking inside and saw a gentle woman wearing a long dress, her back to the soundproof door, seemingly tuning a violin.

"!"

Su Che raised his hand to grasp the handle and slowly walked inside.

As the wooden door creaked, Asai Suzune turned around at the sound.

Her long hair swayed gently with her movements, quickly attracting someone's attention.

As you can see, she is wearing an off-the-shoulder long-sleeved turtleneck sweater today. The design is exquisite, soft and fluffy, and the overall color is light gray, which wraps around her rather full curves.

Compared to her previous updo, this time her hair was completely loose and styled with a curling iron—a few long strands of hair draped over her chest resembled ocean waves with natural lines.

She clearly put a lot of effort into her face, with flawless makeup, light pink cheeks, and meticulous attention to detail. Her lower body was still dressed in a conservative midi skirt, with high heels that covered her beautiful feet. Compared to her stage look, it was a bit more casual.

"Che-jun! You're here? I've been waiting for you for so long...!"

"Um……"

Seeing her genuinely happy expression, Su Che's initial intention to interrogate her was greatly diminished, and he hesitated, saying:

Why didn't UU come?

He chose to give her a chance, subtly hinting at it.

Lingyin explained, "UU is too busy, and I don't think she needs to practice her songs. Generally speaking, original creators know their works by heart; it's the support musicians like us who need to communicate and prepare more."

"That's the logic..."

Su Che felt that there didn't seem to be any major problems. But...

"What are you trying to do by putting the piano down? Also, why does this recording studio look so eerie? And why can't I even see a recording engineer?"

The cramped environment made people uneasy.

Unlike when I was with An Qing, who was a house cat, cats have a magical power to make people feel relaxed.

But Asai Suzune is like a water snake; normally she seems harmless, but once she gets hungry… with a twist of her slender waist…

That doesn't mean it's impossible to swallow an elephant whole.

"Che-jun just arrived. I was thinking of keeping him company and letting him rest for a bit before starting practice later."

She smiled slightly and explained naturally, "As for this shop, it's owned by my uncle. He hasn't had any new customers for a long time and it feels like he's about to go out of business, so I paid out of my own pocket to invite Che Jun to come and patronize it for a bit."

Oh right, don't let the simple environment fool you, my uncle is a professional recording engineer, he can do mastering and all that! If Chejun ever wants to write original content, feel free to support his business, his prices are incredibly low..."

"Mastering Engineer!"

Upon hearing this, Su Che instantly felt wide awake.

You know what, you really shouldn't say...

Original songs, albums, etc...

There really is such a demand!

[Hiss... "Seven Colors" is gradually getting back on track. Although Mosse's competition only requires one or two original songs, it doesn't mean we won't continue to work on an album after the competition...]

Su Che was well aware that in order for a team to continue to operate healthily and sustainably, it was essential to continuously produce new works.

And within your own network, if you could meet a professional mastering engineer... and at a bargain price... then...