Chapter 68: The Five-Thousand Yuan Promise

Chen Fang was furious.
How could she think like that about a perfectly upright man!
Granted, Chen Fang had a weakness for beautiful women.
But he didn’t go for just anyone.
At the very least—
They had to be at Ji Mei’s level of allure.
He shot Xi Yuanyuan a sidelong glance. “I’m not so desperate that I’d prey on female fans. Don’t worry.”
Xi Yuanyuan brightened at his words. If he wasn’t going to go after fans, then the only women left were those around him. That meant her odds were better.
The next instant, her face stiffened.
What did it mean, her odds were better!
She had no designs on Chen Fang!
Xi Yuanyuan hastily dismissed her own thoughts.
She poked at her drink with a straw, bored, and asked, “The food isn’t here yet anyway. Let’s just chat.”
At her words,
Chen Fang thought for a moment.
“I like women with good figures.”
Chatting was fine.
Anything to pass the time.
Xi Yuanyuan glanced down at herself. Her figure wasn’t bad, truth be told—it was just that her chest was a bit on the small side. She hadn’t inherited Liu Ke’s excellent genes in that department.
A pity, really, to have such a good mother.
“What kind of figure counts as good?”
Xi Yuanyuan asked expectantly.
As she spoke, she instinctively straightened her back, trying to make her proportions a little more obvious.
Chen Fang pictured Ji Mei’s figure in his mind—only that could be called perfection. “Full chest, slim waist, shapely hips, legs with some flesh.”
He disliked women who were too thin.
All bones—no comfort!
A woman with curves, now that was something extraordinary.
Xi Yuanyuan frowned slightly. That was it for her, then. She had only the slim waist, nothing else.
“You’re so shallow,” she sneered.
Ha!
Chen Fang smirked inwardly.
If you don’t have it, maybe reflect on yourself before calling others shallow.
He glanced out the window. The street outside was bustling, pretty women in light clothes laughing as they passed by. To see such sights every day—life was good.
He drew his gaze back in, lounging lazily in his chair, eyes half closed. “Stop reading those sugary romances. In this world, who really cares about spiritual connection or soulmates? Shallow desires are the real truth.”
Xi Yuanyuan was stunned.
She hadn’t expected—
Chen Fang could say something with such depth.
But the next second,
she asked in confusion, “What’s a sugary romance?”
Chen Fang: …
He’d forgotten!
This was Huaguo, not Earth. Here, there were no such novels, no talk of Platonic love.

“In any case, being shallow is the right way.”
He didn’t bother explaining.
These things only got more complicated the more you tried to clarify.
Xi Yuanyuan pursed her lips and said nothing more.
Soon after,
the waiter brought their steaks.
The taste was passable!
Chen Fang was mostly just hungry, wanting to fill his stomach—as long as it wasn’t terrible, he’d eat it.
Xi Yuanyuan, on the other hand, ate only a few bites before putting down her knife and fork.
Partly,
she wasn’t that hungry,
and partly,
the steak just wasn’t to her taste.
After the meal, the two returned to the company’s recording studio. “East Wind Breaks” had only finished its arrangement and accompaniment; the vocals were still waiting to be recorded.
Chen Fang didn’t have the habit of napping after lunch.
Xi Yuanyuan, however, sat on the sofa drowsily, as if she might fall asleep at any moment.
He considered telling her that if she was tired, she could go back to her office to rest—he could handle the studio alone—but seeing her fighting to stay awake, he found the girl rather endearing.
“I’m going to start singing now,” he said softly.
Whether she heard him or not, she just murmured an “mm.”
With that,
he entered the inner booth and put on his noise-cancelling headphones.
A few seconds later,
the intro to “East Wind Breaks” began to play.
A lone lamp of sorrow stands by the window
I pretend behind the door that you haven’t left
Returning to old haunts, the full moon only deepens the loneliness
The midnight candle flickers; it cannot bear to blame me
The prelude and melody of this song were subdued and low, so Chen Fang didn’t force his voice lower, but used a raspy falsetto to bridge the lyrics.
The blend of pipa and drums was a perfect match.
Ordinarily,
drums would be a passionate instrument, but in this performance, Chen Fang used a simple technique, placing each beat at the end of every phrase, so the percussive feeling was softened and less intense.
All in all,
this song relied more on technique than emotion—
Especially certain small flourishes,
which were intricate but practical.
Chen Fang became completely absorbed in the song, forgetting Xi Yuanyuan’s presence entirely.
A few minutes later, he emerged from the booth.
“East Wind Breaks” was finished in a single take, but because he’d used so many subtle techniques, it would need more post-production tuning than usual.
Too much technique could be a double-edged sword.
A song required a balance between emotion and skill.
Of course,
one could weigh them differently—
A little more emotion was fine, since the more feeling the singer put in, the more easily the audience was moved.

But too much technique, and it became mere showboating—detrimental to the song itself.
“Asleep?”
Chen Fang looked at the beauty sprawled on the sofa and shook his head helplessly.
It had only been a few minutes, yet Xi Yuanyuan had already nodded off, posture anything but graceful. Fortunately, she was wearing slim pants and not a skirt—otherwise she’d have exposed herself long ago.
He walked over to her.
In her sleep,
she wore a silly, contented smile, her lips moving as if murmuring in her dreams.
Chen Fang chuckled.
She was far cuter like this than when she was all stiff and serious.
The studio wasn’t cold,
and it was June, the peak of summer heat.
Even without a blanket, there was no need to worry about her catching a chill.
He gently lifted her legs onto the sofa so she could lie down fully—at least she wouldn’t wake up with numb limbs.
Once done,
he returned to the control desk.
After a spell of meticulous, painstaking work, at last, editing and tuning completed, the full version of “East Wind Breaks” was finished!
Chen Fang checked the time.
It was already five in the afternoon.
How quickly time had passed.
He turned to look—
Xi Yuanyuan was still sleeping soundly, dead to the world.
He shook his head.
He couldn’t decide whether to praise her for her hard work or for her ability to sleep so soundly…
He saved the two completed tracks onto a USB stick, slipped it into his pocket, and planned to drop it off at the publicity department on his way out. They would handle the promotion and release from there.
Chen Fang was about to wake Xi Yuanyuan—
when his phone rang in his pocket.
He glanced at the number. It looked familiar—seemed to be the company reception desk.
“Hello?”
He answered quietly.
“Chen Fang, someone’s here to see you at the front desk.”
The receptionist’s soft, lilting accent was music to his ears.
So pleasant!
Chen Fang had always liked that melodious, gentle tone.
There was no such dialect in Huaguo, so the receptionist’s voice must have been naturally sweet, giving the impression of someone easily bullied.
“Who’s looking for me?” he asked, smiling.
The receptionist hesitated for a few seconds. “A… very, very tall woman.”