Chapter 40: Zhang Jianlong

"Chen Jiang, how on earth is your brain wired?" Yi Yunxue asked with envy.

"You churn out classic hits effortlessly. You're truly the most monstrously talented songwriter I've ever seen," Sister Li echoed.

"I'm made of flesh and blood just like you guys, my parents gave birth to me the same way. There's really nothing special about me."

In the car, facing the two people's flattery, Chen Jiang explained with a helpless smile.

He really wasn't exceptionally gifted; he simply had access to the entire musical catalog of planet Earth!

After dealing with Dan Yuna's matter, the three of them decided to head back to the studio.

Office.

Watching Yi Yunxue review the submissions in the backend, Chen Jiang asked in confusion, "Aren't these submitted sheet music pieces handled by dedicated staff? Why do you still need to look through the scores yourself?"

"They do a preliminary review below, and the ones that pass come to me for a final look. Our studio isn't very large right now, so we can't let those subpar scores slip through," Yi Yunxue explained.

Seeing that she looked a bit exhausted, Chen Jiang smiled and asked, "Didn't sleep well again last night?"

"Yeah, I'm a light sleeper. I easily suffer from insomnia whenever something's on my mind." Yi Yunxue gave a gentle yawn.

"Tell me your criteria, and I'll review the scores for a bit while you take a short nap on the sofa," Chen Jiang said.

"Okay!" Yi Yunxue explained the general standards to Chen Jiang, then lay down on the sofa and closed her eyes.

For some reason, she quickly drifted off into a deep sleep this time.

Watching her curled up on the sofa, she looked extremely serene.

Chen Jiang took off his coat and draped it over her.

Yi Yunxue pulled the coat tighter, drawing it up to cover half her face. Inhaling the scent lingering on the jacket, she fell into an even deeper sleep.

Chen Jiang took her place at the office desk, looking through the submissions sent by various lyricists and composers in the inbox.

At two-thirty, a warm ray of sunlight fell upon Yi Yunxue, and she pouted her lips slightly.

Chen Jiang stretched his back, his gaze falling upon her stunning face.

For some reason, his heart skipped a beat.

"You're this old and you're still drooling," Chen Jiang couldn't help a smile curling the corners of his lips.

It wasn't until the sun was close to setting that Chen Jiang finished reviewing the submissions.

He stood up and woke Yi Yunxue up: "Time to get up, we should head back."

Yi Yunxue's long eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes somewhat reluctantly.

Still half-asleep, she sat up for about two minutes before she fully regained her senses.

"Is this your coat?" Her face turned red.

She immediately noticed that a spot on the jacket was damp.

"How mortifying!" she panicked inwardly.

"I... I'll take it back and wash it for you."

"It's fine, I'm not blaming you. I'll wash it myself." Chen Jiang took the coat from her hands:

"Let's go home for dinner, I ordered delivery."

"Okay," Yi Yunxue answered awkwardly.

"I cleared out your inbox. I didn't expect that just as our studio is starting out, so many lyricists and composers would submit their work to us," Chen Jiang remarked.

"Of course, especially after Maya released her song, even more people started submitting," Yi Yunxue agreed.

Chen Jiang suddenly noticed a trace of crystalline moisture at the corner of her mouth, took a small pack of tissues from his pocket, and handed it to her: "Wipe your mouth."

Yi Yunxue had almost forgotten about the awkward moment just now, and this made her face turn even redder:

"Thanks."

After returning home and finishing dinner, Yi Yunxue went back to her own apartment.

Chen Jiang retreated to his study to type out his manuscript.

He had been a bit lazy these past two days and hadn't written a single word.

...

The next day.

Early in the morning, right after finishing breakfast, Chen Jiang was at home writing.

Suddenly, his phone rang: "Who will I meet and what kind of dialogue will we have, how far away in the future is the person I'm waiting for..."

Chen Jiang looked at the contact name: [Zhang Jianlong (Unfilial Son)]

"Hello, how do you suddenly have time to call me?" Chen Jiang asked in surprise.

"You unfilial son, hurry up and open the door, I'm right outside your house," Zhang Jianlong's raspy, mischievous voice sounded.

Chen Jiang was momentarily stunned.

He hurried to open the door, and the sight that greeted him was a man standing in the doorway—none other than Chen Jiang's good buddy, Zhang Jianlong.

A strange girl was following right behind him.

This girl looked to be around Zhang Jianlong's age, quite tall, easily standing at one hundred and seventy centimeters.

Her features leaned towards a cool, elegant look, and she gave off the strong vibe of a fashion model.

No wonder Zhang Jianlong had fallen for her at first sight; she was indeed very attractive.

"You came back to Shenzhen without even telling me?!" Chen Jiang asked in astonishment.

"Didn't I want to give you a surprise?" Zhang Jianlong wore a full smile.

"Come on in quickly. Is this my sister-in-law?" Chen Jiang asked.

"Hello," the girl in the back revealed a polite smile.

"This is my girlfriend, Wang Yue," Zhang Jianlong introduced.

"Xiao Yue, this is the buddy I've mentioned to you, Old Chen."

Wang Yue was holding a paper bag: "Brother Chen, these are some Suzhou specialty snacks, osmanthus pastries, that I brought for you."

"You shouldn't have gone to the trouble of bringing specialties," Chen Jiang said, taking the bag.

"I told her the same thing, that our relationship is so close we don't need to bring gifts, but she wouldn't listen. She said the closer the relationship, the more important it is to bring something," Zhang Jianlong explained with a smile:

"My partner is from Suzhou. Before coming back here, I went back to her hometown with her."

"You went to meet her parents?" Chen Jiang looked at him incredulously: "Your background..."

"She already knows. The day I told her, she even threw a tantrum with me," Zhang Jianlong chuckled. "It took a lot of effort on my part to coax our Xiao Yue back into a good mood."

"I always thought he came from an ordinary family and worried that because he didn't have a household registration in Suzhou or Shanghai, my parents wouldn't approve of us dating. But then that day when I called him, he actually told me that the entire company belonged to his family!" Wang Yue shot Zhang Jianlong an exasperated look.

"Since Old Zhang has already met your parents, have you met his parents yet?" Chen Jiang asked out of curiosity.

"I haven't been taken to his home yet, but he already told his dad. His dad said he supports him in dating freely, and his dad had actually seen her at the company before and said Xiao Yue is a really nice person," Zhang Jianlong said with a smile.

Chen Jiang put some water on to boil and pulled out a bag of tea leaves he had previously brought from his hometown: "It looks like things are going very smoothly between you two. When are you planning to get married?"

"In a couple of years, maybe. It's still too early right now," Zhang Jianlong said:

"Out of the four of us in our dorm, three are taken now, leaving only you."

"Do you want me to let Xiao Yue introduce you to a Suzhou girl? They're extremely gentle."

"No need. This is the most crucial period for developing my career; where would I have the spare time to date?" Chen Jiang refused without hesitation.

Besides, he had already promised Yi Yunxue that they would stay single together and neither of them was allowed to look for a partner.

He couldn't break his promise!

"Developing your career? Are you starting a business too, kid?" Zhang Jianlong asked in surprise.

They didn't know about Chen Jiang buying Bitcoin, but they did know he had made a windfall previously and wasn't short on money.

"Yeah, I opened an entertainment studio," Chen Jiang nodded.

"Stop joking around, you opening an entertainment studio... It would be slightly more believable if you said you opened an internet company." Zhang Jianlong's face was plastered with disbelief.

After all, for the past four years, Chen Jiang had never shown any knowledge in that field in front of them.

"Believe what you want." Chen Jiang didn't bother to over-explain.

During his university days, he had kept a very low profile, which was why he hadn't displayed his knowledge of music in the dorm.

In reality, he had already mastered those skills in his past life.

At that moment, the doorbell suddenly rang.