Chapter Forty-Eight: Chen Fang’s Romance

“Daughter, does this Chen Fang… have any faults?” Liu Ke asked tentatively.

Faults?

There were certainly plenty of those. Xi Yuanyuan was just about to say that Chen Fang was a lecherous slacker, but Liu Ke seemed to anticipate this answer and cut in, “Your father is lecherous too, otherwise how would you exist? So, putting aside lechery, does he have any other faults?”

Xi Dong coughed awkwardly a few times.

To say such things in front of their child!

But in truth, Xi Dong didn’t deny it. Back when he pursued Liu Ke, he was indeed attracted to her beauty. Especially before they were married—the two of them were inseparable, and their marriage later on was at least partly due to a child on the way.

In fact, Xi Yuanyuan should have had a younger brother. Unfortunately, when Liu Ke was pregnant with that little one, she had an accident and lost the child. After that, they decided not to have more children—having Yuanyuan was enough.

“What your mother means is, compared to our family, what are his shortcomings?” Xi Dong said cheerfully.

At this, Xi Yuanyuan thought for a moment. “He’s poor!”

Poor? That was wonderful news. The Xi family was never short on money; Xi Dong could earn tens of millions with a single film.

The next moment, Xi Yuanyuan realized something. “But he’s probably not poor anymore. Just a few days ago, he wrote a song for An Tinghan and got five million straight off.”

In an instant, the smiles on Xi Dong and Liu Ke’s faces froze a little.

But then, thinking it over, it made sense. Chen Fang’s talent for songwriting was extraordinary. Just one new song could bring him a handsome profit. Before long, Chen Fang would become one of those enviable young rich men.

With this thought, Liu Ke’s expression grew solemn, her tone especially earnest. “Daughter, you must act quickly.”

“Act quickly on what?”

“Snatch him up before someone else does!”

Liu Ke wasn’t joking. Xi Dong nodded in agreement.

Yuanyuan was exasperated. “Mom, there’s nothing like that between us.”

“Are you stupid?” Liu Ke tapped her on the head. “Chen Fang is so outstanding, and you’re his agent. You have the advantage of proximity—don’t you know that? You need to win him over before he makes too much money. Right now, our family’s biggest edge over him is wealth. If you wait until he’s rich, he might not want you anymore.”

Xi Dong nodded, “Your mom is right!”

Yuanyuan was baffled.

“Dad, Mom, you’ve never even met Chen Fang in person. Why do you like him so much?”

“Because he’s handsome.”

“Because he’s talented.”

Liu Ke answered first, followed by Xi Dong. Liu Ke was already imagining the future: Chen Fang was so good-looking, and their daughter was no less attractive. If they had children, those kids would surely be adorable!

Xi Dong valued Chen Fang’s talent even more. After all, talent meant a bright future.

Yuanyuan found herself unable to argue. Her lips parted a few times, but in the end, she could only resort to playing the rogue: “Anyway, I just don’t feel anything for him.”

Xi Dong and Liu Ke exchanged a look.

After a few seconds, Liu Ke asked earnestly, “Daughter, tell me honestly—are you gay?”

“It’s alright, your father and I are very open-minded. If you really are, we won’t pressure you to get married anymore.”

Yuanyuan’s eyes lit up. That sounded great! If she just admitted to being gay, she’d have peace and quiet from then on.

“You’ve found me out, Mom,” Yuanyuan said. “I like women.”

She figured if she was going to act, she might as well go all the way. If necessary, she could even rope in that little troublemaker You Nianwei to play along.

The next second, Liu Ke shouted, “Xi Dong, block the door! Watch me teach this daughter a lesson today—of all the things to learn, you learn to be a lesbian!”

Yuanyuan was dumbfounded.

Xi Dong said nothing, quietly got up, and locked the front door.

Seeing this, Yuanyuan felt a sense of doom.

“Mom, I was just joking!”

“Don’t hit me!”

“Dad, save me!”

For a while, the living room descended into chaos.

Xi Dong’s gaze lingered on the TV screen. “Chen Fang has great looks. Maybe we can cast him in an idol drama.”

Idol dramas didn’t require much acting skill. What was an idol drama, after all? To put it plainly, it was all about good looks. Plot? Not important. Acting? Not important. As long as the entire cast was attractive, the ratings would never be low. And the target audience was clear—young women.

With Chen Fang’s looks, he was sure to attract a huge following of fangirls.

Back at the audition venue—

After taking off his mask, Chen Fang stood quietly at center stage.

The four judges exchanged glances.

“I’ll go first,” said the male judge on the far left, smiling at Chen Fang. “Contestant Chen Fang, your performance today was as stunning as always. I believe this song, ‘Blue and White Porcelain,’ will become a new benchmark in national style music. Also, you included many uncommon instruments in the accompaniment—quite bold.”

“But I’m curious—what inspired you to write this song?”

National style could encompass many things, but no one had ever connected it to porcelain before.

Chen Fang smiled calmly. “When I learned that the theme for this round was national style, I had no inspiration at all. I struggled with it for a whole day. Later, while chatting with my agent, I noticed the azure patterns on her teacup, and that suddenly sparked an idea.”

“I wanted to write a song about porcelain.”

Everyone was surprised.

So, the inspiration for a song could come so casually. Just from a teacup.

Another judge asked, “But why blue and white porcelain? In our country’s porcelain history, there are many types more renowned and with longer histories. Blue and white porcelain is one of the least remarkable.”

You should ask Jay Chou and Vincent Fang that question, not me. How would I know?

Chen Fang mused inwardly, but aloud, he replied with a smooth, evasive line: “Precisely because it’s unremarkable, I wanted to write about it.”

He left half his answer unsaid, letting everyone else guess the rest.

Chen Fang was a master at this. Having spent forty years on earth, he was an old hand at feigning depth with empty words. He could spout such nonsense without missing a beat.

As expected, the audience erupted with excitement. Everyone began speculating about the meaning behind his words. The four judges, too, gave him looks as if to say, “We understand you.”

Chen Fang just smiled in silence.

Understand what, exactly? I don’t even understand myself.

After the commotion died down, the third judge spoke, quieting the crowd: “For most of the audience, blue and white porcelain is unfamiliar. I’d like to ask, does the song ‘Blue and White Porcelain’ have any deeper meaning in its lyrics?”

“The rest of the lyrics are quite straightforward,” Chen Fang replied. “But I’d like to explain the chorus in particular.”

“When making blue and white porcelain, it must be fired on misty, rainy days to achieve that exquisite sky-blue hue.”

“Only at the right moment can a rare masterpiece be created.”

“It’s like waiting for you—I must wait for the right time.”

So romantic!

Was this the unique romance of Chen Fang?

Blending elements of love into a song of national style—the lyrics were no longer plain and easy, but needed careful contemplation.

For a moment, every girl’s heart thudded with excitement.

Romance, after all, never goes out of style.