Great, we're doomed now!

"Shou, whether you're playing the piano or singing, you're just precisely replicating the 'original' rhythm. While the execution is highly accurate, it's not 'singing' at all; it's just 'replaying' it!"

This woman is bossing Lord Ye Shou around again—Liuli glanced at Qianhua.

She was already completely loyal to Ye Shou and was deeply attracted by his charm. During this period, Ye Shou occasionally showed a melancholy and sad expression, which made her even more irresistible. Her feelings for Ye Shou were now based on admiration, but with an added touch of "doting".

This filthy, pink-haired fat woman is not only an eyesore with her pile of flabby flesh, but her attitude is also extremely disrespectful.

How dare you criticize my Lord Ye Shou... Do you know how hard he works?!

"Miss Chika makes a lot of sense."

Liuli stood up and smiled reservedly: "However, I heard that when you were in elementary school, you and Lord Ye Shou participated in a competition together, and the final result was... Hehe, does this prove that as long as the performance is perfect enough, whether there is emotion or not is actually not a big deal?"

"!" Qianhua leaned back slightly, as if she had been hit by something.

"How could that be... The charm of music lies in the emotional resonance between people... transcending language and race... that spiritual communication, you have to express your own thoughts and impulses too!"

"Oh?"

Liuli pressed her advantage: "In the end, what exactly does 'emotion' mean? Human hearing is just the conversion of electrical signals. I don't think it can carry such an abstract concept. It's just wishful thinking on the part of the listener."

This kind of statement is like believing that film photography has a better texture than digital photography, or that manual transmission is more user-friendly than automatic transmission—ultimately, popularity speaks for itself.

Humans prefer products that are 'clean,' 'convenient,' and 'beautiful,' and the same goes for music. Whether you invest in it or not doesn't matter; as long as the melody can evoke emotions, that's enough."

"……assembly line."

What did you say?

“That kind of assembly-line-like performance… absolutely not.”

Qianhua clenched her fists, her little face turning red: "What if Xiaoshou only knows how to sing like this? He'll get used to it and won't be able to change back."

"I think this is perfect; I've never heard such a beautiful sound before!"

"That's just favoritism. Listen carefully, this kind of unconditional indulgence will only have a negative impact on the child's development!"

"You're not qualified to talk to me about education. This child is my own creation... my child?"

Liuli snapped out of her daze: "Qianhua, what are you saying?"

"……well?"

Chika covered her mouth, quite surprised: "Why... never mind, anyway, if you want to understand the true meaning of music, you have to be more, more, more immersed—to the point where you want to cry!"

"I understand the logic, but what exactly are you doing?"

Ye Shou took off the steam spray, glanced at the two men sideways, and was somewhat speechless.

At this moment, Lucy, who had been adjusting the keyboard nearby, spoke up leisurely: "It seems like they are fighting over your 'custodial rights'."

"Miss Lucy!"

"Lucy, please don't say such strange things!"

Chika blushed. Lucy's apparent identity was that of a genius hacker hired by the Kuze Group, and she had little interaction with Chika. However, this "cancer of the world" was always very outgoing.

"It's a matter of attitude! To become a top-notch singer, you can't do it without exploring your own inner emotions!"

Upon hearing this, the other three people in the room fell silent—diving into their inner thoughts was a bit too heavy for them.

After a moment, Lucy spoke up: "Then you should sing songs you like, songs that evoke memories or get your blood pumping, get the feeling first, and then try to experience other styles."

"What you like?"

Chika nodded: "Indeed, free expression is better than a set topic... What do you think, Shou?"

"A song that can get people's blood pumping..." Ye Shou pondered.

Lucy likes heavy metal rock, Ruri likes soothing melodies, Chika is naturally suited to cheerful tunes, and him... what can make him lose himself in the music?

Marseillaise? Warsaw Psalm? It's all getting better?

Singing this at home would probably drive my parents crazy!

"I see."

Ye Shou opened his eyes, turned to Liu Li and instructed, "Find a few professional composers; I want to write a piece myself."

"An original song?" Liuli looked up in surprise.

"That's right, and there are two songs, the names have already been decided."

Ye Shou smiled slightly: "Let's call them 'Miracle Reappears' and 'Take Me Higher'!"

After that, Ye Shou and the others didn't rest. They continued to play many well-known pieces. He tried to get his emotions going and found that some old songs could make him feel emotional.

In the afternoon, the butler announced that Mr. Fujiwara had arrived. Chika thought he was coming to arrest her, so she hurried out to greet him, only to find that he wasn't.

This person came specifically to discuss some matters with Junpei Kuze. When he met Chika and Yoru, he didn't say anything, just gave them some normal instructions and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Qianhua was relieved and happily followed Ye Shou back to the recording studio.

...Watching the two leave, Fujiwara, whose hair was already turning gray, nodded.

"Children grow up in the blink of an eye. Your son and my daughter are both quite well-behaved."

"My son is just a pretty face; he can't compare to your beautiful and intelligent daughter."

"Hehe... No need for that. Don't we know each other's situation well? I'm quite aware of what kind of person my daughter is."

Fujiwara picked up his teacup: "Shh... Well, as long as she's happy, that's all that matters. As parents, we can't ask for more."

Are they difficult to discipline?

“It’s not necessarily a good thing for a child to be too smart.”

"……really."

Junpei Kuze sighed inexplicably and began to drink his tea.

After a moment, the host looked at the guest: "Are you here in a personal capacity or in the name of the Fujiwara family?"

"neither."

Fujiwara's father said solemnly, "It's the Cabinet."

Junpei's eyes flashed, but he wasn't too surprised. He calmly sipped his tea, waiting for the other party to name their price.

When introducing herself to others, Chika would say that both her parents were diplomats, but this was actually just for convenience and not entirely accurate.

It's true that both her parents work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but her mother is a diplomat in the conventional sense, while her father works in the "Ministerial Secretariat," which is in charge of internal affairs and is a position with more actual power and responsibility than its official rank suggests.

This is the true path for political elites, because in such positions they can access all aspects of the department's operations, quickly grasp the internal structure and even the inside story, so that when they rise to power they won't be easily deceived by their subordinates.

—If we don't do this, it's easy for situations like in "Yes, Minister" to occur, where politicians are sidelined by civil servants.

So even though Fujiwara's father's official position wasn't very high (in comparison, he had a brother who had already become a minister), anyone with a discerning eye could see that given the opportunity, he could rise to great heights, and with a very strong foundation.

Sending him to the Hisashi family to deliver a message also fully demonstrates the cabinet's political wisdom:

He and Hisashi were family friends, unlike ministers who were more prominent, and he also had sufficient political credibility.

Japanese politicians have a poor grasp of the big picture and lack sufficient courage, but they are world-class only when it comes to such petty cleverness—Kuse Junpei sneered inwardly, but showed no emotion on his face.

A person's perspective and outlook change with experience. After spending more time with Ye Shou and Sawai, he now looks down on the petty scheming of the Japanese.

Of course, he would still give the Fujiwara family some face.

Kuze Kaede favors Ruri because the maid will unconditionally dedicate everything to Ye Shou.

Junpei favors Chika because he feels that an optimist is needed to balance things out with Yoru.

—The two even placed a bet.

"You really can't hide anything from me... Those people up there want to ask you for your opinion on TPC."

"Strictly speaking, it's my opinion of Sawai, isn't it?"

"Hehe~" Fujiwara nodded with a smile, not at all nervous. "You should know his reputation in the country."

“Hmm~” Junpei’s eyes deepened.

Although Sawai is Japanese, he doesn't actually have much political support in Japan; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed the Hise family to introduce him to connections last time.

This is mainly because Sawai's ideas and practices are difficult for the higher-ups to accept, and his actions are not for the benefit of the country (the higher-ups).

Human unity, world peace, and space exploration are distant concepts for politicians in island nations, let alone reconciliation with East and Southeast Asian countries.

Some even despise him, calling him an "international citizen," almost to the point of calling him a "non-citizen"—a testament to the controversy surrounding Sawai.

However, as extraterrestrial radio waves have appeared more and more frequently, the existence of aliens has become an open secret in the eyes of various countries, and the TPC has become increasingly important.

Even the Earth Defense Force, which is currently being formed, has a voice in Sawai.

At this point, the cabinet ministers remembered this outstanding citizen of their country and wanted to use him to secure benefits for Japan... Needless to say, if they had made peace with him, he wouldn't be Sawai.

Moreover, these people want to train the Self-Defense Forces under the guise of the Defense Forces; they're just daydreaming!

Sawai even felt saddened by it... Even now, they are still so despicable!

If we were to return to the Mayan era, even someone as magnanimous as him would be tempted to throw these people onto the altar to feed the evil god!

The cabinet repeatedly ran into obstacles, so it had no choice but to take a roundabout approach and try to build relationships with Fujiwara and Kuze—after all, it was these two who had introduced Sawai to them in the first place.

At this point, Fujiwara's father and Junpei Kuze exchanged a glance, their unspoken understanding evident.

Cabinet positions are rotated, but power is eternal. The Fujiwara family would never place the interests of the cabinet above their own!

They will not abuse their friendship with Hisa; only by joining forces to keep the cabinet in check can they maximize their interests.

—Now it seems that those wishful-thinking fools were no match for Sawai and the Kuze Group.

"What are your plans? Can you tell me what you're planning to do first?"

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you," Chunping smiled confidently.

Videos and materials about the Sukuna Oni extermination battle are now widely circulating among high-ranking officials in various countries, but only a few people know the covered-up details, and Junpei is undoubtedly one of them.

Then it becomes self-evident where his confidence comes from.

"Let's put this little thing aside for now."

"It's nothing..."

"On another note, I met a master who taught me a magical qigong from the plateau region of the mainland, which can strengthen the body and prolong life."

"Huh?" Fujiwara found it somewhat absurd. "Why are we suddenly bringing this up? This topic is a bit too far off track."