Chapter Sixty-Four: The Mysterious Visitor

The first day of May brought with it a short holiday. That afternoon, Tang Zhichu drove the car his cousin had lent him toward the small villa. There were more people traveling because of the holiday, and he got caught in two minor traffic jams.

As expected, today would be the day he said goodbye to Chen Siyang. They had been together for less than a month, hardly enough time to develop any profound feelings. Truth and falsehood, falsehood and truth—it was all a blur. Tang Zhichu remembered that in his previous life, a business partner once said his philosophy toward relationships could be summed up in two words: let go. That man was already married when he said it.

Later, Tang Zhichu found some sense in those words. In a lifetime, how many people would one come to like? How many situations would leave one helpless? If you can’t let go, what else can you do? For an older man, picking up and setting down attachments was all too common. But his situation with Chen Siyang was different—right from the start, their relationship had played out before the cameras, entangled with their careers.

The farewell would likely be little more than a formality. Not to mention Tianhe Entertainment; even he anticipated using the topic to stir up some buzz afterward. This would be beneficial for Chen Siyang as well.

“Even though my contract is with DY, I can use this connection to work with influencer companies. The stronger DY becomes, the further I can go with them—it’s a small safety net. The entertainment industry is a place I must traverse, if not my main line of work, then at least beneficial for influencer companies. It’s a kind of dimensionality reduction attack…” Tang Zhichu muttered to himself as he drove.

When he reached the intersection near the villa district, his car was stopped by the program crew’s vehicle. They asked him to get into a business van, taking his car to drive it themselves. If he didn’t know the staff, Tang Zhichu might have been wary of such an arrangement—it was, he had to admit, quite professional.

The van took him to another villa. As soon as he got out, he saw a familiar face: Li Hongzhou, the chief director of the program.

“Director Li?”

Li Hongzhou was evidently displeased, his face dark. “You’re here. Someone wants to see you.” He was terse, straight to the point. These past few days, he had been in constant communication with DY and Tianhe Entertainment, trying his best to make the pairing of Tang Zhichu and Chen Siyang work. First, DY backed out. Then Tianhe was unhappy, accusing DY of looking down on their artists, saying just because their short video platform was popular didn’t mean they could snub entertainment companies.

Goodness, Li Hongzhou had never before witnessed two industry heavyweights, both women, arguing so fiercely over video conference. After that row, he knew it was over—things had gone too far for reconciliation.

So Li Hongzhou resigned himself to the situation: this season, there would be no successful couples. He could only comfort himself that breaking the mold was itself a kind of breakthrough. Who else had ever produced a dating show with no couples formed? He might as well make the season’s theme one of regret—one last emotional blow for the audience, and if any unexpected gains came of it, so be it.

It was precisely because of all this frustration that Li Hongzhou greeted Tang Zhichu so coldly.

“Someone wants to see me?” Tang Zhichu asked, puzzled. Who could it be that needed Li Hongzhou to make an introduction?

Li Hongzhou simply nodded and gestured for Tang Zhichu to follow him. The two entered the villa, bypassed the main hall, and exited through the back door. Stepping outside, Tang Zhichu saw a middle-aged man cleaning a guitar—well past middle-aged, his hair thinning into an ‘M’ shape—seated in a wicker chair.

“Old Yu, I’ve brought him to you. I’ll leave you two to talk,” Li Hongzhou said, and left.

Tang Zhichu watched as the man set his guitar aside. Tentatively, he asked, “Are you Director Yu Hua?”

The man smiled. “Have a seat. What’s this, have you heard of me?”

Tang Zhichu glanced in the direction Li Hongzhou had gone, then sat in the other wicker chair. “Rumor has it you and Director Li don’t get along too well?” he joked.

There were two points in that remark: first, that he knew who Yu Hua was and what he did; second, that he only knew through Li Hongzhou—no need for Yu Hua to overthink it.

In truth, Tang Zhichu had only learned of Yu Hua because of the dating show. Penguin Video had a major project ongoing, necessitating smaller projects to make way. That major project was helmed by Yu Hua, and nearly caused Li Hongzhou’s dating show to be canceled.

Yu Hua smiled, “There’s not as much conflict as people say. Have you heard of ‘Original Music Alliance’?”

Tang Zhichu felt a thrill of excitement. Upon seeing Yu Hua, he had already guessed as much. Now, hearing him mention it, he felt almost certain.

Yu Hua was the chief director of Penguin Video’s massive original music competition show, “Original Music Alliance.”

“I’ve heard of it. Penguin Video’s biggest project of 2023, bringing together a third of the music industry’s original artists in a commercial music show organized as an alliance. These days, it seems everyone loves these big, star-studded variety shows,” Tang Zhichu replied.

Yu Hua nodded. “A third of the industry might be an exaggeration, but it was necessary. Mango TV started planning a similar show last year, so we took inspiration. Anyway, I’m here to tell you we’d like to invite you to participate in our recording. I’ve listened to your song—I genuinely admire your talent.”

Tang Zhichu was flattered, but quickly changed his tone. “Director Yu, you overestimate me. I just scribble things down. You could’ve just sent word through someone else—no need to trouble yourself to come in person. I’m a bit embarrassed.”

Yu Hua looked him over, thinking, He’s young, but quite shrewd. He knows how to flatter, but there’s an edge to it.

Indeed, if not for special circumstances, Yu Hua wouldn’t have met with Tang Zhichu himself. But that couldn’t be said aloud. Yu Hua smiled, “Young people are too modest. Others might not notice, but a musician like me knows what I’m hearing.”

“Your song was extraordinary—not only did you praise someone else, you also made your own position clear. How romantic is that? You let your company recognize your songwriting talent, and you gave Tianhe a reason to value you for boosting Chen Siyang’s profile. The arrangement was deliberately formulaic, as if hurriedly produced, just good enough for Tianhe to accept and let you go, without tying you and Chen Siyang together. Multiple goals achieved in one stroke. That’s not something mere talent can accomplish.”

Tang Zhichu was momentarily stunned, wondering what angle this old fox was playing.

Yu Hua grinned. “So? Can we consider ourselves kindred spirits, at least a little?”

Tang Zhichu replied, “You give me too much credit. I don’t quite follow.”

He didn’t really believe Yu Hua was that perceptive; much of this was just hindsight. Still, one thing was clear—he’d been thoroughly investigated.

Yu Hua waved his hand. “No fun, never mind. I’ll be blunt with you. Your joining our show would be a good thing for us, but it also means taking away a spot that’s already been offered to someone else. You’d be cutting in line, understand? So, some people will definitely resent you. But don’t worry, I’ve smoothed things over. You know Teacher Shen Jianxin, right? His alliance will welcome you. I’ve told you all you need to know. Whether you join is your choice.”