Snow-Kissed Rose (GL) Chapter 38.1

After thinking it over and seeing that there was nothing urgent to do, Song Yingshi decided to talk to Huai Xu before lunch. If last night's events had indeed created tension between them, she would need to have a proper conversation with Huai Xu to resolve it.

As always, Song Yingshi acted on her thoughts immediately. Taking the stairs, she made her way to the second floor, only to find Huai Xu absent from the practice rooms.

After searching the last practice room, Song Yingshi closed the door behind her and entered the hallway. When she looked up and saw "Wealth" working diligently, she asked, "Old Wealth, do you know where Huai Xu went?"

A passing staff member heard Song Yingshi's question to the camera, and he couldn't help but laugh and be charmed by her cute behavior.

Song Yingshi: "..."

The funny situation was caught on camera. Song Yingshi cleared her throat awkwardly, then turned to ask a staff member, who informed her that Huai Xu had gone out with the program team.

Having her silly behavior seen by another person, Song Yingshi cleared her throat awkwardly. However, she quickly got over her embarrassment and turned to ask the staff member about Huai Xu's whereabouts, only to learn that Huai Xu had left the filming location with the production crew.

During the show's filming, trainees weren't allowed to leave the filming location without reason. However, it was completely fine for them to do so if the production crew gave them time off or special arrangements.

Normally, the production crew would notify the trainees involved about such situations in advance. But this time, they didn't. At least, Song Yingshi hadn't heard Huai Xu mentioning anything of the sort.

Hence, Song Yingshi was momentarily stunned when she heard the news.

"Does she have some work to do?" Song Yingshi asked.

"I didn't ask, but Director Wu seemed to be in quite a rush when he left with Huai Xu," the staff member said, shaking his head.

Song Yingshi raised an eyebrow, thanked the staff member, and lowered her gaze to process the information.

Generally, when trainees went out for work, whether they were doing it under their company's or the production crew's arrangements, they would only have one or two staff members accompany them. It was rare for a director to accompany them, much less the chief director. Although Song Yingshi knew Director Wu valued Huai Xu highly, she doubted he would personally handle such trivial matters for her.

There was only one possibility that could explain this situation.

The person they were meeting was of extraordinary status.

…

On a sedan speeding away from the White Tower…

Director Wu and Huai Xu sat at the back of the sedan, and driving the sedan was a young man from the production crew studying under Director Wu.

Leaning forward, Director Wu asked, "How much longer until we arrive? We mustn't be late for this meeting."

"About 40 minutes if we take the overpass and there's no traffic. We should make it," the young man replied.

"We can't make Old Fu wait; he's never been patient." Director Wu nodded, smiling. Then, he turned to Huai Xu and sighed, "I am genuinely surprised. I didn't expect you to win him over."

…

The "Old Fu" that Director Wu mentioned was his longtime friend, Fu Qi, a professional producer and arranger in the industry.

When Huai Xu performed her original song at the Initial Rating Performance, Director Wu immediately saw it as a potential hot topic to promote. Hence, he privately discussed with Huai Xu about letting the production crew help her produce and release her first solo single through Star of Spring's platform.

However, Star of Spring wasn't a charity, so Huai Xu had to make some compromises when it came to copyrights.

Nonetheless, the conditions set for Huai Xu couldn't be considered harsh. After all, today's entertainment industry was different from how it was a decade ago. Nowadays, if a song wanted to go viral, it not only needed to be catchy, but it also needed publicity from various channels.

Even if Huai Xu had immense potential, if she missed the prime moment of the Initial Rating Performance to release the song, it would lose its freshness in front of the audience. This, in turn, would hamper the traction it could gain.

Furthermore, no one could guarantee that Huai Xu would eventually debut.

Yet, Huai Xu rejected Director Wu's offer, presenting him with another plan.

Huai Xu wanted to reach out to arrangers and producers on her own. She wanted to cover all the costs and produce her song independently of Star of Spring's production crew. The only help she needed from the production crew was permission for her to participate in other activities during the show's filming.

When Director Wu heard about this arrangement, he didn't agree to it immediately.

According to Star of Spring's contract, trainees were required to unconditionally comply with the production crew during the show's filming and not engage in work unrelated to the show.

However, Huai Xu immediately presented a condition that caught Director Wu's interest.

…

When Director Wu thought back to the day he approved of Huai Xu's plan, he couldn't help but laugh.

Happily.

Fortunately, Huai Xu had pushed Director Wu to give her plan a try, which, in turn, allowed him to gain a huge windfall.

Director Wu also couldn't help but admire Huai Xu's courage.

Despite being a nobody in the entertainment industry, Huai Xu dared to ask the renowned producer Fu Qi, a winner of multiple Golden Melody Awards, to produce a song for her. What was even more surprising was that she succeeded in persuading Fu Qi!

At this point, Director Wu no longer doubted Huai Xu's courage. Curious, he asked, "What if you fail and Old Fu ignores you? What will you do then?"

Huai Xu held a black A5 notebook and wore a composed expression unbefitting her age. Even at Director Wu's question, her expression remained unfazed. From an outsider's perspective, it didn't seem like they were talking about one of the top producers in the industry, nor an event that could decide the fate of Huai Xu's first single.

At Director Wu's question, Huai Xu turned to face the man and said, "There is still the production crew."

Director Wu: "…" So, the production crew is nothing but a backup plan to you?

Huai Xu's answer frustrated Director Wu a little. However, thinking it over, he realized this was a win-win situation for him, so he quickly felt relieved.

At this time, Director Wu's phone rang.

Huai Xu tactfully looked away, staring out the window as she listened to Director Wu giving out orders through the phone.

…

Regarding Director Wu's question, Huai Xu felt the possibility of failure was low.

According to the memories Huai Xu inherited, Zheng Qiyi originally intended to create a demo of her creation with a producer he was familiar with. During this process, Fu Qi, who happened to be in the same studio at the time, overheard the song's melody.

At the time, the song's melody had intrigued Fu Qi so much he asked Zheng Qiyi to handle the arrangement, and together, they created "Sealed Love," the song that made Zheng Qiyi into an overnight sensation.

Zheng Qiyi also attempted to recruit Fu Qi to join his creative team after the hit single, but Fu Qi declined his offer.

Later, Huai Xu stepped forward and exposed Zheng Qiyi's plagiarism, causing a massive shift in public opinion.

When Fu Qi learned who the actual creator of "Sealed Love" was, he arranged to meet her at a teahouse where they would share an enjoyable conversation.

Simply put, Fu Qi had a very favorable opinion of individuals with musical talent.

However, by that time, Huai Xu was no longer focused on making music but rather crushing her enemies underfoot. Music had gone from being her hobby to becoming her sharpest, most merciless weapon.

In the days that followed, Fu Qi became Huai Xu's best craftsman, refining her weapon and making it even more captivating.

…

Although Huai Xu knew that Director Wu was friends with Fu Qi, convincing Fu Qi to produce her song wasn't guaranteed. Fortunately, the Fu Qi in this life was very similar to the one in her memories. A few days after their initial contact, Fu Qi had traveled to N City and was now staying in a hotel downtown.

When Huai Xu met Fu Qi in the executive lounge, there was a teapot in front of him. He was catching up with Director Wu while pouring tea for both of them.

Huai Xu didn't interrupt, sitting quietly beside them. Her lips naturally curved into a slight smile, looking calm and relaxed.

When Fu Qi poured tea for her, Huai Xu curled her right index finger and lightly tapped the table twice.

Fu Qi paused his conversation with Director Wu and momentarily looked at Huai Xu. Director Wu also glanced over. Then, the two friends exchanged a knowing look and smiled.

The atmosphere around the table remained pleasant throughout the rest of the discussion.

Fu Qi had no intention of making things difficult for Huai Xu. After two cups of tea, they got down to business.

Huai Xu took out her lyric book, showing Fu Qi the changes she made to some of the lyrics. She hummed a few uncertain melodies, and they began discussing the song.

Huai Xu wrote this song during high school when she had little knowledge of music theory. She didn't understand how the tonal aspects of Chinese characters could harmonize with melody and rhythm, so her song's melody was somewhat rough and weak.

Without Fu Qi's revisions, Zheng Qiyi's "Sealed Love" wouldn't have received such a great response.

After inheriting the memories of her other self, Huai Xu would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night thinking of that song and feeling mixed feelings. Although she would eventually use "Sealed Love" as a weapon to expose Zheng Qiyi's deceit, the past couldn't be erased. Even if everyone eventually knew the song belonged to her, it carried the persistent weight of public opinion and the stories attached to it. Whenever anyone brought it up, they would mention Zheng Qiyi's repulsive name.

But now, Huai Xu had a fresh start.

Huai Xu could use the music theory and production knowledge her other self had learned over the years and remake her song with the best producer.

Most importantly, this time, at the age of eighteen, her first song would be entirely her own, free of any contamination. It was simple and pure.

"Have you named this song yet?" Fu Qi asked, looking at the empty space above the first line of lyrics.

Huai Xu suddenly thought of the previous night.

It was like a graceful bird flying across her heart, chirping sweetly, its white wings creating a gentle breeze.

Huai Xu's eyes dulled momentarily as she said, "It's called 'Falling Asleep.'"

Difficulty, falling asleep.