Chapter 0125: Uninvited Guest

At seven o'clock, the morning light was faint.

Zhao Fusheng, perhaps because he was not used to the bed, woke up early. Of course, he could have slept a bit longer in bed, but unfortunately, Fan Baobao arrived early at the hotel and knocked on his door.

"What's up?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Fan Baobao standing at the door with a bewildered expression, not knowing what she wanted to do.

Fan Baobao glared at him impatiently: "Tidy up, let's have breakfast."

"Huh?" Zhao Fusheng was taken aback.

Then Fan Baobao walked into the room without another word, looked around, and then laughed: "You're quite well-behaved alone."

Zhao Fusheng was baffled, then realized what she meant. He shook his head helplessly and couldn't be bothered to argue with her.

"Have a seat, I'll go wash up." Zhao Fusheng didn't stand on ceremony with Fan Baobao and went to the bathroom to freshen up. When he came out, he found Fan Baobao already sitting there, casually reading a book from the hotel.

"Done?"

Looking up, seeing Zhao Fusheng, Fan Baobao asked.

Zhao Fusheng nodded, and the two left the room together.

"You don't need to pay for my room." Zhao Fusheng said to Fan Baobao as they walked: "I'm on business; the company will reimburse me."

"I know, but why didn't you tell me earlier?" Fan Baobao glared at Zhao Fusheng, clearly unhappy that he had let her pay for the room for a day yesterday.

Zhao Fusheng looked aggrieved. He had tried to stop her yesterday, but she insisted on paying, and now she was blaming him. Women were indeed unreasonable creatures.

"Alright, alright, I'll be magnanimous and not stoop to your level." Fan Baobao quickly changed the subject and began to introduce Zhao Fusheng to the campus of the Central Academy of Drama.

Zhao Fusheng smiled, said nothing more, and followed behind Fan Baobao for a while, mooching a breakfast in the academy's cafeteria.

"I still have class. Don't you have things to do?" After eating, Fan Baobao said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "Yeah, if I finish my work tonight, I'll come find you."

Fan Baobao didn't say much more. Her personality was like that—impetuous and very straightforward. After thinking for a moment, she said: "That agent, when should I contact her?"

Zhao Fusheng thought for a while, calculating what he needed to do, and finally said: "How about the third? We'll meet with him then."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Fan Baobao nodded. On this point, she trusted Zhao Fusheng. After all, he was nominally her fiancé, and most importantly, although she had bullied him since childhood, Fan Baobao knew very well that Zhao Fusheng was just humoring her.

Leaving the campus of the Central Academy of Drama, Zhao Fusheng went alone to the bus stop at the school gate. Instead of hailing a taxi, he looked at the bus signs for a while and then boarded a bus.

Beijing in the early morning had a unique quiet charm. At this time, Beijing did not yet have the so-called traffic restrictions or so many cars. Most people commuted by bicycle, especially during the morning rush hour, with bustling crowds, shoulder to shoulder, flowing endlessly.

Zhao Fusheng sat on the bus, and from time to time, siheyuan courtyards flashed before his eyes—green bricks, green tiles, half-angled gates—taking in the full view of old Beijing's风貌.

Ten years later, all of this would have disappeared among the steel monsters of reinforced concrete.

There were quite a few people on the bus, mostly elderly people out for an early morning stroll, speaking with full Beijing accent and charm, which had a unique flavor.

Taking a deep breath, Zhao Fusheng revealed a smile. Perhaps this was the last quiet moment for this ancient city of Beijing. In a few years, people would gradually get used to the fast-paced life, accustomed to skyscrapers rising from the ground, used to the roar of the subway, and used to the world becoming somewhat different from what we knew.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng himself was also different from before.

...

...

Mu Qingwan's company was in a decent location. After all, a music company that could have its own independent office building within the Second Ring Road at this time could be considered a company with some confidence in the industry.

Unfortunately, the company's current singers lacked strength. In Mu Qingqing's words, the music scene was too hot now. Any singer with a bit of talent would be signed by large record companies. Companies like Mu Qingwan's, which were neither top-notch nor bottom-tier, were in an awkward position.

"Did you stay near the Central Academy of Drama last night?" Mu Qingqing was already waiting for Zhao Fusheng at the door. She had given him the address earlier; otherwise, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't have been able to find the place.

Beijing was too big, so big that even though Zhao Fusheng had lived there for ten years, he could still get lost.

"Yeah." Zhao Fusheng nodded, not saying much to Mu Qingqing, but instead looked at her and asked: "Your aunt agreed?"

He didn't think that Mu Qingwan, with her personality, would so easily agree to Mu Qingqing's suggestion to let him modify the arrangement of the song "The Prose Poem Written by Father."

"Sort of." Mu Qingqing hesitated for a moment and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was not surprised by her hesitation. If Mu Qingwan had agreed casually, that would have been strange.

"How about this, let's go listen to the track first." Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and said to Mu Qingqing.

Mu Qingqing nodded and led Zhao Fusheng into the building.

The two entered the office building one after the other. Zhao Fusheng frowned, looked around the company's environment, and asked curiously: "Did your aunt's company change its name?"

Mu Qingqing was startled, then laughed: "Yes, because a friend of my aunt's invested, so the company name was changed to Qingcheng Culture. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just a bit strange." Zhao Fusheng smiled and didn't ask further.

Since someone had invested, it meant that Mu Qingwan didn't intend to give up on this industry. Or rather, this woman had big ambitions. Changing the company name from a record company to a culture company indicated that she planned to develop in all directions.

"Come on, let's go to the recording studio." Mu Qingqing said directly to Zhao Fusheng. It seemed that she had already discussed it with Mu Qingwan last night, so today they went straight to the recording studio.

Zhao Fusheng didn't waste words. He followed Mu Qingqing to the recording studio, watched as she asked someone to play a melody for him, and listened to the entire song with a calm expression.

"What do you think?" Mu Qingqing asked Zhao Fusheng, with a hint of inquiry in her eyes. Clearly, this was the version that Mu Qingwan was satisfied with.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and was about to speak when a sound of footsteps came from outside the recording studio door. Then the door opened, and a group of people walked in.