Chapter 24: Nazha: Thank You for Listening to Me

“What did you say?”

At Modu Tangren Company, Cai Yining, who was about to leave for home, sat back down in her chair, her brows furrowed deeply.

Just as Zhang Yang had anticipated, she had decided last night to arrange for Nazha to learn from Hu Ge and even contacted Tang Yan to keep an eye on him.

As for Jiang Jinfu, it made sense to have him follow Zhang Yang; his reasons given the previous evening were valid in Cai Yining’s eyes.

But she never expected Jiang Jinfu to contact her himself, saying he wanted to learn from Hu Ge instead.

“K-sis, I want to study under Senior Hu Ge.”

When Jiang Jinfu spoke again, he felt much calmer inside, finding it wasn’t so hard to express after all.

“I haven’t decided yet who you’ll be with,” Cai Yining said instinctively picking up a pen and doodling aimlessly on paper. Her gaze shifted as she continued, “Last night when I asked you to come to the company, you couldn’t make it because of your drama club commitments. So I only met with Nazha and Zhang Yang.

“After speaking with them both, I do lean more towards Zhang Yang’s suggestion - that you should learn from him. Can you explain why you don’t wish to work with him?”

Cai Yining, at heart a businessman, knew well how to manipulate language.

Her opening words were designed to put Jiang Jinfu at ease before subtly shifting the blame onto him and Nazha. Finally, she feigned democratic intent by posing a question.

But her efforts were like throwing pearls before swine; Jiang Jinfu, with his impulsive nature, didn’t pick up on any of it. He jumped straight in, asking, “K-sis, what exactly did Big Bro Yang—Zhang Yang—say last night?”

Cai Yining’s hands stilled momentarily before she replied evenly, “I had planned for you and Nazha to learn from him together, hoping you’d gel well before filming Sword of Xuanyuan. But he said…”

She then recounted verbatim what Zhang Yang had told her the previous evening, neither embellishing nor sensationalizing his words—there was no need.

“Considering familiarity, personal connections, and various other factors, Zhang Yang chose you without hesitation.”

“I must say, I found his reasoning quite compelling,” Cai Yining added emphatically at the end.

This was a subtle hint to Jiang Jinfu that the current arrangement was ideal, and he shouldn’t meddle further.

Jiang Jinfu fell silent.

He never expected that Zhang Yang would choose him voluntarily, let alone provide such convincing justifications.

Recalling Zhang Yang’s heartfelt words from last night and tonight, Jiang Jinfu felt a mix of warmth and confusion.

Is this boss truly arrogant and self-assured, treating me like his little brother?

He found it comforting yet increasingly perplexing.

“K-sis,” Jiang Jinfu said with unwavering conviction, “who Nazha chooses doesn’t matter to me, but I must work with Senior Brother Hu Ge.”

“Why?” Cai Yining’s tone turned somewhat stiff.

She had thought she’d made her stance clear; why wasn’t he getting it?

“I’m desperate to improve!” Jiang Jinfu replied fervently.

Cai Yining blinked in confusion.

“How does that relate to progress?”

“K-sis, do you know about Yang-ge’s academic performance?” Jiang Jinfu suddenly asked.

“I’ve heard about it,” Cai Yining instinctively responded.

Had she not known that Zhang Yang had established a strong network at school and was growing more formidable by the day, she might never have agreed to Hu Ge’s request—making him the nominal second male lead (after Xuanyuan Sword), but effectively elevating him to the first position.

“Yang-ge is just too exceptional; we all live in his shadow,” Jiang Jinfu continued wistfully.

“He’s been ‘the ideal child next door’ according to our parents since we were young.”

“I don’t like feeling outdone; I want to beat him.”

“By learning from Zhang Yang, can I surpass Zhang Yang?”

“It’s only possible by studying with someone even more skilled than him.”

“Sis K, I’ll definitely learn from Senior Brother Hu Ge. I need to improve—I must win against him.”

Cai Yining was speechless.

Child, your words sound a bit too melodramatic.

Though his passion is infectious, warming up my cold blood.

But this isn’t an official apprenticeship—it’s just over a month of film set life, meant for early adaptation.

A minor matter, yet you make it sound like a life-changing event.

“Hmm…” Cai Yining pondered how to decline.

Jiang Jinfu seemed to have grown wiser this time and quickly added, “Sis K, I’m serious about this.”

“Fine.” Cai Yining rubbed her temples, accidentally letting the pen tip graze her cheek.

She wiped away the mark and said, “Then you may join Old Hu. I’ll give him a call tomorrow morning.”

As for who Nazha should be paired with, she needed to think carefully about that decision.

“Thank you, Sis K,” Jiang Jinfu expressed his gratitude profusely.

Cai Yining uttered some words of reassurance before hanging up.

It’s such a minor matter…

I’ll have Nazha and Zhang Yang handle it; they know how to keep things in perspective.

She felt she was overreacting, much like Jiang Jinfu.

That single phone call had convinced her otherwise.

Lost in thought, she walked into the restroom and was startled by her reflection in the mirror.

The pen must have leaked ink, leaving half her face blackened.

“Look at this clownish mess.”

Meanwhile, having achieved his goal, Jiang Jinfu felt refreshed and invigorated. Upon returning to their private room, he became noticeably more sociable.

Noticing his change in demeanor, a glint flashed deep within Zhang Yang’s eyes as he teased, “Did you munch on bee poop or something? You seem awfully chipper today.”

“Eating with so many idols and seniors around naturally lifts my spirits,” Jiang Jinfu managed to squeeze out this eloquent response from his usually tight-lipped self.

Tang Yan and Qi Wei suddenly found him far more appealing, and the conversation flowed even more smoothly and warmly.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Hu Ge waved his hand grandly, inviting them all for a singing session.

Once inside the karaoke room, Zhang Yang took charge of picking songs.

“Number 18 on the Bund.”

Qi Wei wore an expression that said, I knew it, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

Nevertheless, when the music started, she picked up the microphone and began to sing.

The male part was sung by Zhang Yang.

“A-Yang has such a good voice,” Tang Yan remarked to Hu Ge. “He could definitely become a singer!”

“K-sis wanted him to develop in acting, singing, and film, but he refused,” Hu Ge whispered. “Tangren doesn’t have great resources for this, so they didn’t force him. Still, he’s sung several theme songs and tracks for TV shows.”

“Can we request songs here?” Tang Yan asked immediately.

“One song is fine. ‘Forget Time’ from our Sword and Fairy III soundtrack—K-sis originally asked me to sing it, but I gave it to A-Yang as compensation. There’s also the main theme from Step by Step, but since the show hasn’t aired yet, we can’t perform that one.” As he spoke, Hu Ge selected ‘Forget Time’.

“Why not choose ‘Bachelors’ instead? It’s from our Sword and Fairy III too,” Tang Yan suggested with a smile.

Hu Ge’s face fell. “I tried getting A-Yang to sing it, but he wouldn’t agree. Ah…”

As they chatted, Zhang Yang and Qi Wei finished their song.

“Oh, that sounds nice,” Tang Yan and Hu Ge chimed as if they were part of a cheerleading squad.

They took turns singing, aiming to get the party started.

But when it was Nazha’s turn, everyone except Zhang Yang, who had been tipped off earlier, froze in shock.

Despite being a dance-loving Uyghur girl, she turned out to be tone-deaf?!

The most terrifying thing about tone-deafness is that those afflicted don’t realize how awful they sound.

Seeing everyone quietly listen through her performance, Nazha thought she’d done well. She turned to Zhang Yang, whom she knew best among them, and asked, “Wasn’t that okay?”

The corner of Zhang Yang’s mouth twitched slightly as he said, “Nazha, when God created you, He must have maxed out your beauty points.”

Unaware of Zhang Yang’s hidden meaning, Nazha assumed he was publicly complimenting her looks. Caught off guard and blushing, she fidgeted with her hair, tucking it behind her ear. “I suppose so.”

Tang Yan immediately shot another look at Zhang Yang, her gaze filled with amusement.

Zhang Yang felt like he’d accidentally kicked himself in the foot. He continued cautiously, “So, it seems there might be a slight deficit in singing talent.”

What?

No way!

…