CHAPTER 284: CHAPTER 212: ONE DOG BARKS, THE WHOLE VILLAGE BUSTLES

Once she finally finished laughing, Chu Tian tentatively asked, "So, are you still going?"

"Forget it, I’m not going. Last time I laughed at her, she ignored me for half a year. Let’s just go back to the studio first."

Xu Qingqiu waved her hand, but the smile never left her face.

"Not going home to rest first?"

"It’s fine. I actually went to bed quite early last night, around twelve. I didn’t wake up until after six this morning, and I also slept a bit on the plane. I feel quite alright."

Chu Tian nodded and didn’t say more.

At her level, to be honest, neither resting nor not resting was a good solution. Work was too exhausting; not resting was purely a way of overdrawing on her physical reserves. Yet, if she did rest, it would mean she wasn’t far from fading into obscurity. Most people in her position faced this dilemma, forcing themselves to carry on day by day. They were waiting either to achieve even greater success and fame, or to earn enough money to quit.

He understood Xu Qingqiu’s approach perfectly.

Just when he thought everything was settled, Xu Qingqiu suddenly pulled out her phone, found Xu Ruyan’s contact, and sent a video call.

"Don’t say anything in a bit, okay? I want to tease her."

"Huh? Who? Your sister?"

"Yes, I’m really curious about how she looks now. By the way, is her face disfigured? Have you seen it?"

"Relax, I’ve seen it. It’s just a tiny scratch, the kind you get from a scrape. Just a bit of skin broken. It’ll be fine once the swelling and bruising go down."

"Okay, that’s good."

Xu Qingqiu nodded, eagerly waiting for the other side to connect, but as expected, the call was declined.

"Eh? She hung up. Let me try again."

She got hung up on again, and even quicker than before.

Xu Ruyan: [What are you doing? I’m in class!]

Reading the message from the other side, Xu Qingqiu replied nonchalantly:

Xu Qingqiu: [Nothing much. I just want to see how the injury on your face is. Is it serious?]

Xu Ruyan: [Argh, I told you it’s nothing! Just a minor injury, it’ll be fine in a few days.]

Xu Qingqiu: [Really nothing? Then why won’t you let me see?]

Xu Ruyan: [? Did someone tell you something?]

Xu Qingqiu: [Who? You mean Chu Tian? Next time you see him, address him as ’Big Brother,’ not ’that guy.’]

Xu Ruyan: [What do you mean? So he’s not ’Brother-in-law’ anymore? Did you change your tastes?]

Xu Qingqiu: [What nonsense are you spouting?! ...Calling him Brother-in-law is fine too, but don’t call him that to his face, understand?]

Xu Ruyan: [Σ(⊙▽⊙"a!!!! What does that mean? Are you two really together?]

Xu Qingqiu: [[Shy].jpg Yes, we’re together now. He’s your sister’s boyfriend!]

Xu Ruyan: [No way! [Flip table.jpg]]

Xu Qingqiu: [No swearing!]

Xu Ruyan: [You two are awful! Ganging up to trick me? I hate you!!!!]

Xu Qingqiu: [What do you mean? Who tricked you?]

...

Xu Qingqiu stared puzzled at the last message, but there was no reply from the other side for a long time.

"Chu Tian?"

"Hmm? What’s up?"

"What did you two talk about yesterday?"

"Nothing much. Just asked how she got hurt, and then took her out for a meal."

"You didn’t say anything? Then why does she think we are deceiving her?"

"Hmm?!! Let me see!"

The sudden news startled Chu Tian.

While waiting for the red light, he looked at the chat history on the smartphone Xu Qingqiu handed him, his expression unreadable.

Xu Qingqiu suddenly remembered the moment she had asked Xu Ruyan to call him brother-in-law, and her face instantly turned red with embarrassment.

But Chu Tian did not notice that at all.

"Did you just tell her about us like that?"

"Ah? What’s wrong? Can’t I say it?"

"It’s not that you can’t say it, but... why didn’t you say it before?"

"Before? I’ve been a bit busy recently, and Ru hasn’t been responding much to my messages because she’s busy with something. I never had the chance to tell her..."

Chu Tian looked at Xu Qingqiu’s large, innocent eyes blinking at him, and his heart let out a silent wail. Now it was going to be hard to explain. He had originally planned to give his sister-in-law a surprise, standing before her in his capacity as her brother-in-law, ready to blow her mind. But Xu Qingqiu had just blurted it out. Didn’t that mean his entire charade from yesterday was exposed? Wouldn’t all the things he’d said now seem like blatant lies to Xu Ruyan? This was a complete disaster...

Xu Qingqiu, confused, noticed something was off.

"What’s going on? Tell me..."

"Sigh... Yesterday..."

Chu Tian recounted everything: how Xu Ruyan had looked down on him, then how she advised him on pursuing Xu Qingqiu, and finally, some things about Xu Qingqiu’s "dark history."

After he finished speaking, he felt a sense of utter despair. Xu Qingqiu, however, was furious.

"That little brat! How dare she sell me out! Just wait and see how I deal with her later!"

Chu Tian opened his mouth, but after a moment’s thought, decided it was better not to say anything more, lest he draw her fire onto himself.

Before they realized it, they had arrived at the studio. Xu Qingqiu was still a bit angry when they parked the car and went upstairs.

"Qingqiu, you’re here? Come over here first."

They had just gone upstairs when Sister Hua called them over.

"What’s the matter, Sister Hua? What happened?"

"Look at this. We’ll talk after you see it."

Li Chunhua handed her the tablet, then stood aside with her arms crossed.

Chu Tian and Xu Qingqiu looked at the content on the tablet. It was a Weibo interface, displaying a verified account named ’Mingcheng Music’—the official account of Mingcheng Music company.

[Singer Yu Xin’s latest album, ’Xin’s Aspiration,’ is about to launch! Don’t miss it at 12:00 PM! [Album Cover.jpg]]

Chu Tian and Xu Qingqiu looked at the Weibo post before them, their expressions distinct.

Xu Qingqiu was puzzled, while Chu Tian was somewhat surprised.

He was surprised that among so many people, Yu Xin was the first to release.

Yu Xin was a singer under Bay Island’s Mingcheng Music. She had been crowned Best Female Singer at the 36th Bay Island Rain Voice Music Festival, earning her the title of Queen. About four years older than Xu Qingqiu, she was Mingcheng Music’s leading new-generation female artist.

"It’s okay, we can’t stop others from releasing albums. Let them release it," Xu Qingqiu said calmly.

Seeing Li Chunhua’s grave expression, Xu Qingqiu offered some comfort.

"Qingqiu, it’s not as simple as you think. I received news as soon as I got back; she’s not the only one releasing an album."

"It’s fine. Our album has already been released anyway. Since we can’t change the situation, let’s just prepare to face whatever comes," Xu Qingqiu said reassuringly.

"Alright then."

Given Xu Qingqiu’s remarkably calm demeanor, Li Chunhua, though still worried, didn’t press the matter further.

Chu Tian had actually known about this for a while. However, he had a feeling these people might have miscalculated and were likely headed for a disastrous failure. He just chose not to say it.

And indeed, that turned out to be the case.

With the release of Yu Xin’s new album, it was as if a switch had been flipped.

Ever since Xu Qingqiu’s album became a massive hit, many people had seen her success and were instantly green with envy. Far too many were eager to jump into the ring.

However, everyone had done an excellent job of keeping things under wraps. Only a few, like Qin Xiao, Jiang Haoyue, and Li Xiang, had generated significant buzz with their promotions.

No one had expected Yu Xin, who had been completely quiet, to suddenly emerge and take the lead.