Luo Ming’s tone was completely natural—not a hint of guilt or awkwardness could be heard.
Lin Shuyue looked at the man sitting on the sofa, then at her phone screen, and finally chose to temporarily believe “Lin Shuwen’s” explanation.
“Wenwen, Uncle and Auntie probably don’t know about this, right?”
“They don’t. I didn’t tell them.”
“That settles it then. I came back today for a filming task, and after it ended…” Lin Shuyue then explained the whole situation to Luo Ming on the other end of the line.
Hearing this, Luo Ming silently cursed his bad luck.
Lin Shuwen, sitting on the sofa, also hadn’t expected that it was her own father’s meddling that had led to such an awkward encounter.
“Wenwen, have you been busy lately?” Lin Shuyue asked, changing the subject.
“Pretty good, not too busy. I’ve just got one MV in the works right now.”
“Well then, I’ve got a ‘topic-assigned song’ here—want to give it a try?”
“Why is there another ‘topic-assigned song’!” Luo Ming couldn’t help but complain.
“Another? Oh! Right—the World Cup is coming up again next year. Your company must be preparing a World Cup theme song too, right?”
“Yeah. The higher-ups at the company were actually upset about it today.”
“To be honest, the domestic music style isn’t really suited for this kind of occasion. Even if you submit something, it might not get selected.”
“That’s true, but the company’s stance is that it’s the participation that counts.”
“Fair enough. If you don’t even participate, that’d just be absurd. You’re an entertainment company after all. So? Do you want to write this song?”
“How could I! It’s not like I’ve got nothing better to do.” Luo Ming said without hesitation.
“Perfect then. Listen to my topic-assigned song over here. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of Huaxia! Whenever it’s a year ending in 5 or 10, CCTV always does something special—this year is no exception. There’s a TV drama in the works.”
“So you need a red, positive-energy theme song, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Can I sing it myself?”
“As long as the song fits, leave the rest to me. I guarantee you a chance to show your face.”
“Deal! No problem.”
“Agreeing so quickly? Don’t tell me you already have ideas?”
Lin Shuyue still couldn’t forget—last time Lin Shuwen was at her place, from 10 PM to 3 AM, just five hours, and she’d finished composing “Qingming Rain” and even had a simple accompaniment done.
That’s why she wondered if Lin Shuwen’s quick agreement meant she already had ideas.
“How could I be that fast? I just have confidence in myself.”
“How about I come find you on New Year’s Day! I know a thing or two about vocal music—maybe I can help.”
“No need! Sis, you finally get a break—just relax!”
“If we can land this theme song, it’ll benefit both you and me. That’s way more important than a vacation.”
Since Lin Shuyue put it that way, Luo Ming had no reason to refuse and could only nod in agreement.
Lin Shuwen, sitting on the sofa, felt a twinge of jealousy listening to their conversation.
I was the one who became your sister first. I was the one who met Luo Ming first. I was first for everything—so why are you two chatting so happily!
After hanging up, Lin Shuyue turned to Lin Shuwen and said, “Mr. Luo, since it’s my sister who lent you the place, I can’t really say anything about it. But it’s not appropriate for the two of us—a man and a woman—to be living together alone. I’ll go find a hotel to stay at in a bit.”
“How about I go out instead! It’s almost 10 PM, and you’re a woman…”
“It’s fine. This is Huaxia—it’s safe to go out anytime. Mr. Luo, rather than that, I’d actually like to know more about your games. I don’t usually play games—could you introduce me to your company’s works?”
Lin Shuwen instantly understood—her sister was here to vet things on her behalf.
How had she never noticed before that Lin Shuyue would actually look out for her like this?
“What’s wrong? Mr. Luo, you keep staring at me—is there something you can’t say?”
“No, no. I was just organizing my thoughts.”
“What’s there to organize? Just start with what games your company has released.”
Lin Shuwen nodded and, following Lin Shuyue’s lead, began talking about the games Zhuoguang had released.
Lin Shuyue kept a listening posture the whole time, quietly noting down the numbers Lin Shuwen mentioned. She planned to ask a knowledgeable colleague about it after leaving Lin Shuwen’s place—to see what was really going on and whether Lin Shuwen had been fooled by anyone.
As she listened, a flicker of doubt crossed Lin Shuyue’s brow, but she quickly suppressed it.
Once she had a decent understanding, Lin Shuyue said her goodbyes. Lin Shuwen saw her out the door and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Pretending to be someone else in front of family—even family you’re not that close to—is exhausting.
The moment the elevator doors closed, the smile on Lin Shuyue’s face vanished.
She wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she’d noticed that this Mr. Luo’s speech habits—especially his use of modal particles—were very similar to the old Lin Shuwen.
It was so similar that while listening to him talk, Lin Shuyue kept feeling like she was facing the Lin Shuwen from when she’d first gone to the capital.
“A person’s speech habits can be unconsciously influenced by the people around them and change over time. If this Mr. Luo’s speech habits are so similar to the old Wenwen, doesn’t that mean the two have known each other for a long time? And that they’ve influenced each other deeply?
If that’s the case, then Wenwen and this Mr. Luo can’t be just simple business partners. Are they boyfriend and girlfriend? Or something else…”
Lin Shuwen had no idea she’d already made Lin Shuyue a little suspicious. At that moment, Lin Shuwen had already called Luo Ming and was coordinating their stories!
“Luo Ming, good thing you were quick-witted earlier and didn’t try to cover for yourself—otherwise it would’ve blown up right there. If you’d answered at first that I hadn’t lent you the place, my sister probably would’ve called my parents directly.”
“I’m not stupid. Your sister called to ask—that meant she was definitely already at your place. Plus it was almost 10 PM. I figured you two had run into each other. What was there to hide?”
“You guessed right. When I was entering the password earlier, the door suddenly opened. Seeing my sister in my place almost scared me to death.”
“Relax, we’ve already fooled her! What’s there to worry about?”
“I hope we really did fool her. I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but I keep feeling like my sister was looking at me strangely earlier.”
“Surely not! My answers were flawless. You must just be feeling guilty.”
“Uh, that’s fair. I do feel pretty guilty. Alright, alright! Never mind. Luo Ming, that song my sister mentioned—do you really have confidence in it?”
“Yes! And it’s the kind that really suits you.”
“No wonder you asked my sister if I could sing it.”
“Keep the good stuff in the family! If you can sing a theme song for a drama like that, your path ahead will definitely be much smoother.”
Lin Shuwen felt touched—Luo Ming was always thinking of her!
“By the way, one more thing. Remember how I told your sister about the World Cup theme song submission? Old Huang sent me a melody today…”
Luo Ming then told Lin Shuwen about his agreement with Old Huang.
“So Luo Ming, you’re planning to try using Long Ye’s alias?”
“Right. I’ve already had Miaomiao set up a studio. Once the studio registration is done, the two of us will probably switch back. I’ll find time to write the songs—you find someone to sing with you, or just go to Old Huang and have him find you a singing partner. Then just submit it.”
“Sounds good! Then I’ll wait for your two big works. If even one of them gets selected, my industry status will rise significantly—and we’ll be one step closer to our goal.”
“Then let’s see whether you become a diva first, or Zhuoguang becomes a company on par with Huayue Entertainment first!”
“Speaking of Zhuoguang—Luo Ming, Plants vs. Zombies’ domestic sales dropped quite a bit today. Less than 60,000.”
“That’s expected. What about overseas? How’s it doing abroad?”
“Overseas, Plants vs. Zombies broke 100,000 in sales today, and the rating went up by a point.”
“Looks like Plants vs. Zombies’ reputation is about to start fermenting! Wenwen, tomorrow morning at 9, go check YouTube and see how many streamers are playing Plants vs. Zombies.”
“Got it.”
The next day, Luo Ming opened his eyes and felt the pain in his lower abdomen had lessened considerably. Before, it had been constant stabbing pain; now it was just a dull ache that came and went.
This was way better than yesterday. After experiencing yesterday’s severe pain, Luo Ming felt this little bit of discomfort today didn’t affect him at all.
“Finally got through it. I hope I never experience that again.” Luo Ming murmured to himself.
Meanwhile, Lin Shuwen arrived at the company, used a VPN as Luo Ming had told her, and opened YouTube.
What she saw nearly knocked her out of her chair.
Today was December 30, 2013. According to Sister Shan’s arrangements, there should still be just two Plants vs. Zombies streamers.
But when Lin Shuwen clicked on the live streaming section and glanced at the front page, she found no fewer than 10 streamers playing Plants vs. Zombies.
Some were the ones Sister Shan had paid to advertise, but most were just regular streamers playing on their own.
Even more impressive—with so many streamers playing Plants vs. Zombies, each one’s viewership was still decently high.
This showed that Plants vs. Zombies had a strong fan base!
In other words, as long as streamers played Plants vs. Zombies, people would watch—some would even send gifts and gain followers.
The more viewers there were, the more streamers would naturally be drawn to play Plants vs. Zombies, and at the same time, the game’s popularity would keep rising, and sales would rise along with it.
This kind of virtuous cycle was the best thing that could happen to Plants vs. Zombies.
At this rate, barring any surprises, Plants vs. Zombies’ overseas sales would keep improving until the market reached saturation. Comparatively, domestic sales weren’t as important.
Because US dollars really are sweet.
