CHAPTER 64: CHAPTER 60: NEW SONG RELEASE, SNIDE REMARKS

From sunrise to sunset, the day had passed in the blink of an eye.

The office at Cloud Summit Culture gradually grew quiet.

The editor-in-chief reached for his water cup, intending to take a sip, only to find it empty.

He lifted his head. It was already dark outside; the city lights were just beginning to twinkle. Only then did he realize an entire day had passed.

"It’s dark already? That was too fast, wasn’t it?"

The editor-in-chief stretched, moved his body a bit, glanced at the water cup, then shook his head and sighed with a wry smile.

He had never imagined this book would be so captivating; he simply couldn’t put it down. Unconsciously, he, the editor-in-chief, had spent the entire day engrossed in a novel, slacking off.

Luckily, he was the editor-in-chief and had his own private office; otherwise, what would others think if they saw him?

He decided against water; his family was probably getting anxious by now.

He glanced at his phone. Over three hours had passed since the workday ended. He grabbed his laptop and prepared to go home.

He turned off the light and locked his office door. The lights in the common office area outside had already been off for some time.

He strode toward the exit. As he reached the doorway, he glanced back and suddenly saw a patch of light, faintly illuminating a pale blue face.

"Holy shit!"

Having read *Candle in the Tomb* all day, his mind was filled with all sorts of bizarre supernatural events. Seeing such a scene in the pitch-black darkness, how could he possibly remain calm? He was scared out of his wits!

"Editor-in-Chief? What’s wrong?"

"Ah! Qiu Ye, you scared me to death! Ugh..."

Clutching his heart, the editor-in-chief slowly crouched down. He groaned softly as he looked at the person who had spoken, only relaxing when he confirmed it was Qiu Ye, one of his editors.

"Are you okay, Editor-in-Chief? Did I scare you?"

"Qiu Ye, why didn’t you turn on the lights?"

The editor-in-chief sank weakly to the floor, still clutching his laptop bag tightly, and spoke helplessly to Qiu Ye.

"Hm? Eh? Is work over? I didn’t know."

Well, Qiu Ye was also bewildered. She had originally planned to help Nanmeng organize the novel, but she had become so engrossed in reading that she hadn’t even realized it had grown dark.

"Where is everyone else? They haven’t all left already, have they?"

"What do you think?"

The editor-in-chief, having finally regained some composure, gave her an irritated look but then quickly realized something.

"Don’t tell me you got so engrossed in the novel that you lost track of time?"

"Uh... Editor-in-Chief, I..."

Caught off guard, Qiu Ye immediately tensed up. She opened her mouth, stammering, unable to quickly think of a good excuse.

"Sigh, forget it. Read if you must," he relented. "Just don’t let it happen again. And also, remember to turn on the lights when you’re working overtime. My poor heart can’t take such scares."

What could he say? Reprimand Qiu Ye? He himself had been reading all day; what right did he have to criticize others?

He had to admit, Nanmeng’s novel was just too well-written. No wonder they were all captivated. Such a captivating story, with its tightly woven and engrossing plot—it was difficult not to get absorbed.

"I’m sorry, Editor-in-Chief. It won’t happen again."

"No problem, no problem. It’s getting late; you should head home too."

"Okay, Editor-in-Chief."

Seeing that the editor-in-chief wasn’t blaming her, Qiu Ye watched him leave and breathed a sigh of relief. However, before she could fully exhale that sigh, the editor-in-chief suddenly stopped.

"Right, Qiu Ye, don’t just read. Make sure to organize everything properly. Was today’s content updated?"

"Ah? Oh! I... I’ll update it right away!"

If the editor-in-chief hadn’t reminded her, she truly might have forgotten.

...

Thank goodness I reminded her.

Looking at the flustered Qiu Ye, the editor-in-chief sighed and shook his head as he walked away. Then, as he walked, he suddenly chuckled.

A novel actually got two people into such a state of chaos... Well, Nanmeng, oh Nanmeng, just who could this master be?

...

Chu Tian had no idea that the novel he’d submitted had caused such a stir. At that moment, he was sitting in the backseat of a car, listlessly staring out at the passing traffic, feeling completely drained.

He had been dragged around by Xu Qingqiu to three different places as soon as he arrived at the company that morning. He had no idea how much money they’d made; he only knew his legs felt like they were about to break.

"Um... Sister Hua, it’s so late. Shall we go grab a bite?"

"Sure, what do you feel like eating?"

Xu Qingqiu peeked into the backseat, a hint of apologetic guilt on her face. Whether intentionally or not, she then suggested, "How about barbecue?"

"Are you crazy? Barbecue this late at night?"

"Well, I’m really tired tonight," Xu Qingqiu said. "I thought we could eat something good to restore our energy. It’s fine; I can just watch you guys eat."

"Alright, I’m not saying you can’t eat. A little bit is fine; it’s not a big deal," Sister Hua conceded. "But there’s a magazine shoot tomorrow, and the single is releasing in the afternoon. You also have to record a show to promote the song. If you’re photographed looking out of shape, it’ll just stir up more rumors."

Hearing the sounds from the backseat, Xu Qingqiu’s face lit up with a captivating smile as she readily agreed.

"Okay, Sister Hua."

The moment Chu Tian heard "barbecue," he sat up straight, feeling instantly revitalized.

But he quickly overheard the talk about the single.

A single? Which single?

He couldn’t recall Xu Qingqiu recording any singles recently. The only one that came to mind was the song he had given her.

Wasn’t it sent for master tape production? Could it be finished?

Considering it had only been a few days, that was impressive efficiency! And they’re preparing to release it right after finishing the master tape?

This is great! If it’s released tomorrow, won’t that mean more prestige points for me?

But the moment he thought about the content of the song, he opened his mouth but didn’t dare to ask.

Forget it, better not ask. I’ll find out when the time comes.

The mere thought of his state during the song’s recording made him shudder. He was afraid of seeing that inexplicable look in Xu Qingqiu’s eyes again—it was all too easy to get flustered by it.

「Early the next morning」

Chu Tian was dragged out again for work. This time, it was a photo shoot for a fashion magazine, no less.

Although it wasn’t for the cover, it was still quite good. Landing this kind of job showed she was genuinely gaining some traction.

Simultaneously, a new song was released on music platforms. Xu Qingqiu’s Weibo and her studio’s Weibo account also updated at the same time with information about the song’s release.

The first to click in were, of course, Xu Qingqiu’s hardcore fans.

"Wow! President Xu released a new song?"

"It’s a single this time! Awesome!"

"I’ve been looping ’From Morning to Midnight’ from two days ago! It’s a pity it’s a live version. Is she finally releasing a studio single?"

"Sob, sob, President Xu is so unfair! Why is there a new song when the previous ones are still only live versions? I want to hear the studio versions!"

While the fans were buzzing with excitement, creating quite a stir, others in the entertainment industry were baffled.

"What’s going on? It’s not a holiday or any special occasion. Why suddenly release a single out of the blue?"

"Xu Qingqiu? Wasn’t she recently soliciting songs for an album? What’s with this single?"

"What else could it be? Maybe she couldn’t get any good songs, so she’s just throwing out a single to get by, huh?"

"Hahaha, what do you mean ’get by’? Who is she trying to appease? Doesn’t she have Youmeng? Why would she even need to solicit songs?"

"Who knows? Maybe Youmeng finds her boring now? Or perhaps she didn’t ’cater’ to him well enough?"

"Stop talking nonsense. This song is also by Youmeng. It’s already out; you’ll know once you check it."