Chapter 174: A Catchy Song
Sally couldn't help saying: "Xiao Yu, why do I feel like there's some... deeper meaning in your words?"
"Is there?" Rong Yu took out a tissue and wiped his mouth. "If you really want to put it that way, well, he organized his fans online to 'give me deeper meaning' so many times before, while he himself played dumb. So, I'm just returning the favor once, playing dumb too. Is that not allowed?"
Sally finally caught on to something, and her hands holding the steering wheel shook: "So, it really was you? What did you do?!"
Rong Yu blinked: "Actually, I didn't do much. I just... acted a bit harder, made my expressions as exaggerated as possible. That way, doesn't that make his acting seem rather flat in comparison?"
Rong Yu held his face, his expression seeming somewhat sorrowful: "Ah, it's a pity I overdid it a bit. Now everyone feels scared when they see me."
Rong Yu seemed to think of something, then smiled again: "But it's okay. As long as brother doesn't dislike me, isn't afraid of me, that's enough."
Sally looked at Rong Yu's smiling, crescent eyes in the rearview mirror, but suddenly felt a chill creep up her spine, startling her.
Just then, Rong Yu toned down his smile a little and pointed ahead: "Sister Sally, the light ahead is about to turn red."
"Ah, right!" Sally quickly stepped on the brake. When she looked at Rong Yu in the rearview mirror again, she saw him take a bottle of water from his backpack, open the cap, and tilt his head back to gulp it down. He looked somewhat careless and straightforward, not at all like the eerie person from a moment ago.
Sally withdrew her gaze, thinking to herself that it must have been an illusion.
The car soon arrived at the agreed-upon place to discuss the new song. Some people were already there. Tao Li and Fang Mengda had arrived. Chi Yang and Wen Yu entered right after Rong Yu. The five of them greeted each other, with Tao Li even rushing up to give everyone a full hug.
The others could handle Tao Li's enthusiasm, but Wen Yu was slimmer and almost got knocked over by Tao Li.
Fortunately, Chi Yang steadied Wen Yu and shot a mock-displeased glance at Tao Li: "What are you doing? Trying to find a reason for us all to get together at the hospital as soon as we meet?"
"Hehe, I just missed you guys after not seeing you for so long! Wenzi, are you okay?" Tao Li rubbed his nose, apologizing to Wen Yu.
"It's fine. It's been a while since we've all seen each other. Brother Tao probably forgot my carrying capacity," Wen Yu said.
"Since everyone's here, let's get started! I can't wait to know the choreography for our next performance. I really want a dance that will set the whole stage on fire!" Fang Mengda said.
"Huh? Is everyone here? Isn't there one more person missing?" Wen Yu looked around in confusion.
"Oh, Ming Qian isn't coming. He said he has to attend some event and asked us to just send the discussion results to the group chat," Fang Mengda said. "His assistant came by earlier, said that, and then left. Looked very busy, in a real hurry."
Sally, who had been discussing some matters with Wen Yu's manager from behind, caught up and asked curiously: "An event? What event is so important? We all agreed to discuss together today, and he got pulled away by a last-minute event?"
"It seems there's a banquet tonight he has to attend. His assistant said he needs to prepare early," Tao Li said, picking up the teapot on the table and pouring cups for everyone.
"A banquet?" Rong Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Yeah, heard it's a high-society banquet. Judging by the way his assistant had his nose in the air, the social circle must be pretty high-level. Otherwise, they wouldn't have such airs," Tao Li said, quickly sticking out his tongue.
Fang Mengda said: "Ming Qian himself seems very kind and friendly. It's just strange how his assistant and manager are so high-and-mighty."
As soon as Fang Mengda finished speaking, he noticed the other four looking at him in unison and felt puzzled: "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Nothing..." Wen Yu coughed lightly. "It's just that... being as simple as you are is pretty good too."
Fang Mengda: ?
Chi Yang scoffed lightly: "He's not simple, he's just clueless. Someone could tie him up, and he'd still ask if the kidnapper has eaten well and is dressed warmly enough."
Fang Mengda felt his face heat up at the comment: "Can't you just say what you mean directly?!"
"Some things... aren't easy to say directly. Anyway, just be more careful in the future," Chi Yang shrugged.
During the casual chat, the other relevant personnel also arrived, and the group gathered to discuss the new song.
Rong Yu propped one hand on the table, while the other was hidden underneath, fingers flying across the screen.
Soon, he felt his phone vibrate lightly and quickly looked down. A new WeChat message popped up.
Little M: Checked. Location: City Center Road 159, Fengyun Hualou. There is indeed a banquet there tonight. Seems like it's Yin Changhong's 70th birthday.
Big Fish Spreads Wings: !!!
Big Fish Spreads Wings: Okay, got it.
Big Fish Spreads Wings: [WeChat Red Packet]
Little M has claimed your red packet.
Little M: Hehe! Brother Rong is as generous as ever! I'll throw in an extra piece of info as a gift—consider this one on me. That Wei Shu you had me check out earlier is actually the Wei family's young master. I'm not sure what deal the two families struck, but he's now placed under the Hua family's wing. And here's the kicker: Wei Shu is a hacker! He's consistently ranked in the top ten on the global hacker network under the codename 'zero'. If you hadn't asked me to dig into him, I'd never have known this young master was so deeply hidden!
Big Fish Spreads Wings: Hmm, I kinda guessed as much.
Little M: Huh? How'd you guess?
Big Fish Spreads Wings: He can't hide things in his eyes. I just tested him a bit and got the truth. Seems all his IQ went into other areas.
Little M: ...
"Um..." Rong Yu moved his gaze from his phone and addressed the others who were still debating between a "sentimental song" or an "upbeat song": "How about we go for a catchy dance tune? Something that could be used as square dance music. That way, we don't have to worry about people not remembering us. We could have two sets of moves: one with higher difficulty, and one simple set that could be directly used for square dancing. We perform the difficult set on stage, and we can release the simple set online."
After he finished, the others immediately looked at Rong Yu in unison.
Wen Yu's manager frowned: "Wouldn't that be a bit... cheap? Being down-to-earth is fine, but if it becomes a hit as square dance music, people's first association with the song will be square dancing. Your images in the audience's minds might very well overlap with square-dancing aunties."
Wen Yu blinked: "Isn't that good? Square-dancing aunties are our elders. If our images overlap with theirs, doesn't that directly double our audience?"
Wen Yu's manager: "..." What kind of bizarre logic is that?!
Fang Mengda said: "I agree with Brother Rong's suggestion too. Anyway, we just debuted. We don't need an idol image to maintain."
Chi Yang coughed lightly: "Well... actually, I'd like to keep a little bit of an idol image. Otherwise, how could I live up to this dashingly handsome face?" Chi Yang flicked his bangs. "If you really insist on dancing, please assign me some moves that won't ruin my image. Thank you, dear brothers present."
Rong Yu teased: "Why don't you just stand at the back and pose? Then we all dance around you. You just stand in the middle and radiate your charm."
Tao Li cleared his throat, adopting a standard broadcast voice, and began narrating slowly: "The ice melts, all things revive; it's the season for mating once again. On the vast Eurasian continent, lives a group of large mammalian social animals—idols. Not far away, a young, handsome male idol stands amidst five other male idols, freely spreading his scent..."
Only Wen Yu played along: "What kind of scent is it?"
Tao Li paused, then suddenly leaned in and sniffed near Chi Yang's neck, commenting: "It's the scent of A&D perfume 'Enchanting Blue Sea'. 'Enchanting Blue Sea' keeps you surrounded by the ocean at all times. It's the scent of freedom."
Finished, Tao Li held out his hand to Chi Yang: "Come on, pay up for the ad. Thanks."
Chi Yang: "..." His clenched fist felt a little itchy.
Sally looked at Rong Yu: "Is he always like this?"
Rong Yu knew Sally was referring to Tao Li and nodded hesitantly.
Rong Yu really wanted to say that back during their time as trainees, Tao Li wasn't like this... well, at least not this severe.
Tao Li's manager discreetly elbowed Tao Li, then laughed heartily to the others: "Haha, Tao Tao just likes dry humor, everyone will get used to it, get used to it. Come on, let's continue with what we were discussing. Xiao Yu suggested a catchy song just now? That actually suits our Tao Tao quite well. We have no objections. What about you guys?"
Fang Mengda's and Wen Yu's managers also said they had no issues. Chi Yang's side was up to him. Since Chi Yang actively chose his role, it was equivalent to agreeing to the plan.
"Hahaha Brother Tao! Are you doing stand-up comedy? Hahaha, so funny, a male idol spreading his scent hahaha..." Just as the discussion was about to wrap up, Fang Mengda suddenly burst into uncontrollable laughter, nearly laughing himself to tears.
Is your train of thought like Xiangpiao milk tea? The kind that can circle the earth three times.
[Xiangpiao milk tea (香飘飘奶茶) is a popular brand of instant milk tea. Its long-running and well-known advertising tagline claims: Xiangpiao milk tea sells one billion cups a year; the cups, if connected, could circle the earth three times]
The song matter was thus settled, and the next step was to begin composing, writing lyrics, and choreographing.
These things couldn't be solved in a day, so everyone headed home for the time being.
Rong Yu actually had an acting class in the afternoon, but he asked for leave, citing a sudden urgent matter at home that needed immediate handling.
Rong Yu's performance in acting class was quite good, and the instructor thought highly of him, so his leave was approved.
With leave granted, Rong Yu immediately rushed to a clothing store and swiftly bought a well-fitting dark red suit, paired with a bright silver tie secured with a reddish-brown tie pin.
After sorting out the clothes, Rong Yu walked into a barbershop, directly scanned a QR code to pay, then proceeded to blow-dry his own hair into a neat, efficient style. In less than ten minutes, Rong Yu left the barbershop, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Fengyun Hualou.
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