CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 52: PERFECT PERFORMANCE! FORGOT TO SIGN THE NOVEL CONTRACT

Before she knew it, the song had ended. Xu Qingqiu knew she hadn’t performed her best this time. She shot Chu Tian an annoyed glance, then, smiling helplessly, removed her headphones and walked out of the booth.

She planned to adjust a bit and try recording again after her emotions had stabilized.

"Teacher Xu! You were amazing! Perfect, flawlessly perfect!"

The moment she stepped out, the sound engineer jumped up excitedly, shouting praises at her. This left Xu Qingqiu completely perplexed.

What was going on? My mind was completely on Chu Tian just now, and I felt my performance wasn’t good at all. Why such an extreme reaction from the sound engineer? What exactly went wrong?

"Wait a second, Teacher Lin, what do you mean?"

"Ah? What do you mean, ’what do I mean’?"

Her question stumped the sound engineer, who was momentarily at a loss for words.

"I mean, what did you mean when you said my singing was perfect? I don’t think I performed well, did I?"

"How did you not perform well?"

Hearing this, the sound engineer immediately became anxious.

"This is the take I feel was your best. If you don’t believe me, listen."

With that, he pulled Xu Qingqiu to a chair, handed her a pair of headphones, put on his own, and started the playback. As they listened, he said, "Teacher Xu, listen here. The way you handled this part is just too good! The regret of unrequited love, tinged with sadness, then progressing to heartache—it’s so layered and rich.

"Then the atmosphere shifts, becoming uplifting, echoing the pride in the lyrics. There’s a kind of haughty yet stubborn emotion in it.

"And then here, after the soaring high, there’s a desolation, like the lonely emptiness after a bustling scene has faded. It ends with a faintly joyful release, like passing clouds, a sense of reconciliation with the world, an inner peace and tranquility.

"This series of progressive transformations is simply sublime, down to the finest detail! Honestly, I’ve recorded so many songs, but this one has the most perfect handling of details. There’s no other like it!

"For someone your age, Teacher Xu, to be able to convey such rich emotional shifts and layers in the song is truly rare. In my opinion, this version is already perfect. I don’t know what else needs to be adjusted. Surely, Teacher Xu, you can’t still be unsatisfied?"

At this point, the sound engineer looked at Xu Qingqiu expectantly, hoping to hear the answer he wanted from her.

It was like an artist awaiting affirmation for their most satisfactory work, hoping for an appreciative audience to give a recognizing answer.

After listening, Xu Qingqiu remained silent for a long time.

I originally thought I’d made mistakes, as my emotions had shifted back and forth so many times, completely influenced by Chu Tian. But after listening to the complete playback, I have to say, this is also the version I’m most satisfied with so far. If I were to try again, I couldn’t even guarantee I could achieve this level.

Thinking of this, her face lit up with a smile, and she said happily, "It’s indeed very good. I like this version too. Why don’t we use this one?"

"That’s great! Hahaha, Teacher Xu, this song is definitely a classic in the making. With your vocals, I guarantee it’ll be a hit! I’ll go back right away and get to work on the production. If there are no surprises, the master tape can be ready within a week. Is there anything else you need to instruct, Teacher Xu?"

"Nothing else, thank you for your trouble, Teacher Lin."

"No trouble, no trouble at all! Just hearing this song today made it all worthwhile, hahaha."

"Thank you, thank you."

After the sound engineer and his team left, Xu Qingqiu finally let out a sigh of relief. The song she had just sung and the sound engineer’s affirmation still echoed in her mind, making her so happy she almost jumped up.

But when she turned around, she saw Yiyi and Chu Tian staring at her. Only then did she realize she had gotten too excited and, in her happy gesturing, had accidentally exposed her midriff.

She quickly pulled her clothes down. Her face flushed red as she glanced at Chu Tian. Seeing him looking completely dumbfounded, she didn’t know why, but she felt a tiny thrill of pride, mixed with some excitement.

Why was Chu Tian looking dumbstruck? Of course, it wasn’t because of that fair and tender little waist... cough, cough, definitely not. It was because this was the first time he’d seen Xu Qingqiu act like a young girl, and he just found it a bit novel. That must be it.

"To celebrate our recording success today, dinner is on me tonight. What do you want to eat?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the little assistant, Yiyi, jumped up impatiently, raising her hand and saying, "Seafood, seafood, I want a seafood feast!"

"Okay," Xu Qingqiu agreed with a smile, then turned to Chu Tian. "What about you?"

"Me? I’m fine with anything. If there’s barbecue..."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, oh, then I’ll have seafood too! Yes, the seafood feast!"

Seeing Xu Qingqiu purse her lips and glare at him fiercely, while the little assistant beside her also glared fiercely, raising her small fists, he got scared and quickly changed his tune.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of these two seemingly delicate young women. Him, a tall fellow nearly six feet, afraid of two delicate little girls? Hilarious. I just feel that as a grown man, why fuss over food? Besides, seafood isn’t bad either.

"Let’s go, time to head out!"

"Boss, it’s not quitting time yet."

"I’m in a good mood today, so I’m granting you permission to leave early!"

"Then, Boss, my salary for this month..."

"Shut up!"

"Yes, ma’am!"

Chu Tian followed behind, speechless, feeling like this month’s salary was drifting further and further away from him.

But at least there’s a seafood feast tonight. I’ll eat a lot, preferably enough to eat her out of house and home! he thought resentfully. Soon, the three of them walked further and further away.

However, on the way there, Chu Tian couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d forgotten something.

...

At Cloud Summit Culture, Qiu Ye was distracted all day. She kept refreshing the web page and checking the chat box, but there was still no news.

She opened her messenger app and couldn’t resist sending another message:

’Hello Nanmeng, has the contract signing process been completed?’

However, after the message was sent, it was like a stone sinking into the ocean—no reply.

She held her phone, uncertain whether or not to make a call.

Maybe the other party is busy? Would calling them disturb them?

It was no wonder she was so anxious. From the very beginning, this novel had displayed a completely different style and a strange, magnificent worldview. After today’s update, it was already over ten thousand, approaching twenty thousand words. A vast, eerie, and mist-shrouded world of Tomb Robbing had already leaped vividly before her eyes.

Anyone who wasn’t blind could see the novel’s immense potential and the sensation it could cause in the future. But until now, the novel hadn’t been signed. How could she not be anxious?

"Qiu Ye, I saw that a novel called ’Candle in the Tomb’ has been locked by you for almost three days now. Why hasn’t it been signed?"

"Ah? Editor-in-Chief? Are you scouting books today?"

"Yes, I had some free time, so I took a look. What’s going on with that novel? I just read it, and I can say it’s excellent. It’s very possible it could contend for this year’s Alliance Hierarch. But you’ve had it locked for several days and haven’t signed it."

"Is there some problem? If the author’s demands are high, the conditions can be relaxed a bit. I’ll give you the authorization for that."

Faced with the Editor-in-Chief’s questions, Qiu Ye had no choice but to tell the truth.

"You mean, the author doesn’t seem to know how to operate the system, didn’t see the contract message before, and hasn’t replied since you called today?"

"Yes, Editor-in-Chief."

Could this... be some old literary scholar?