On the first day of the New Year, the Chen sisters slept over at Lin Shuwen’s place.
Early in the morning, Sister Shan came storming over.
“Wenwen, Happy New Year.”
“Sister Shan, Happy New Year.”
“As long as you’re happy, that’s fine. I’m not happy at all,” Sister Shan said with a helpless look.
“Sister Shan, don’t tell me something bad happened to you on the first day of the New Year?” Chen Sichu said as she handed Sister Shan a bowl of century egg and lean pork congee.
Sister Shan took the bowl and downed it in one go, then said, “Don’t even get me started. My studio has a few actors affiliated with it, right? Yesterday one idiot — the authorities had banned fireworks, but he went and set them off anyway.
And the key thing is, he set them off and didn’t even run. He just stood there like a fool and got caught by the police, and then the whole thing trended online. Running into this mess on the first day of the New Year — tell me, how am I supposed to be happy?”
Luo Ming and the Chen sisters exchanged glances and guiltily lowered their heads.
“What’s with those expressions? All of you looking like quails — don’t tell me you guys also went and set off fireworks yesterday?”
“N-no, nothing like that! Sister Shanshan, w-we—”
Luo Ming let out a long sigh and thought to himself: “Chuchu, if you’re nervous you could just not say anything. Now you’ve gone and confessed on your own.”
Sure enough, Sister Shan’s face went dark immediately.
She raised her hand and gave each of the three a flick on the forehead as a New Year’s gift, then turned and left.
“Ouch! Sister Shan hits so hard!” Chen Sichu said with teary eyes once Sister Shan was gone.
Chen Junmiao’s forehead was also red. She turned to look at “Lin Shuwen.”
“Lin Shuwen’s” forehead was still smooth and flawless.
Feeling Sister Shan’s favoritism, Chen Junmiao’s forehead suddenly hurt even more.
“Ding dong~” Suddenly, Lin Shuwen’s WeChat chimed.
Luo Ming picked up the phone and glanced at the message — it was from Lin Shuyue: “Wenwen, I’m on the plane now. Send me your home address.”
Luo Ming immediately sent a location pin.
“Ok, I’ll take a taxi straight there when I arrive. You don’t need to send anyone to pick me up.”
“I’ll wait for you at home then. What do you want to eat for lunch? I’ll prepare it in advance.”
“You’re cooking?”
“My period isn’t over yet. Next time for sure.”
“Next time then. I actually really want to try your cooking. Auntie’s cooking is delicious — I wonder how much of her skill you’ve inherited as her daughter.”
Luo Ming thought about Lin Shuwen’s cooking skills and replied: “Who knows, maybe I’ve surpassed the master!”
“Big talk! Alright, that’s it for now. I’m switching my phone to airplane mode.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you at home.”
After reading “Lin Shuwen’s” reply, Lin Shuyue smiled and turned off her phone.
Yesterday, Lin Shuyue had asked around among her colleagues. Lin Shuwen’s business partner was really no simple character.
Zhuoguang was a company that had been established just a month ago and had only developed two games so far — one was “2048” and the other was “Plants vs. Zombies.”
Both games had caused quite a stir.
“Plants vs. Zombies” in particular was extremely popular overseas — you could see people playing it on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
Domestic single-player buy-to-play games had never been this wildly popular before.
Lin Shuyue’s colleagues who knew the industry estimated that “Plants vs. Zombies” had already earned Zhuoguang at least 50 to 60 million yuan, and that number was still rising. By the end of 2014, the game could bring Zhuoguang 400 to 500 million yuan in revenue.
Lin Shuyue was stunned when she heard her colleagues’ analysis.
A company established just one month ago had already earned that much money?
Of course, Lin Shuyue also knew that a game as polished as “Plants vs. Zombies” couldn’t possibly have been created in just one month.
Before the company was founded, this game was almost certainly being developed by that Mr. Luo alone.
After the company was established, the Zhuoguang employees most likely just followed Mr. Luo’s vision to complete the game.
In other words, a huge part of why “Plants vs. Zombies” was so profitable was because of Luo Ming himself.
At that point, Lin Shuyue had actually already acknowledged her sister’s eye for choosing business partners.
But it was obvious that Luo Ming wasn’t just Lin Shuwen’s business partner.
So Lin Shuyue still had some wariness toward Luo Ming.
At 10:40 in the morning, Lin Shuyue arrived at Lin Shuwen’s home in Shanghai.
“Wenwen, your place is pretty big!” Lin Shuyue said with a hint of envy as she walked in.
“It’s alright, I guess! Just a four-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, two-bathroom, one-study layout.”
“Why does that sound a bit like Teacher Sa?”
“Teacher Sa?”
“Yeah, lately he keeps saying things like ‘Peking University is just okay’ or ‘CCTV is passable’ — it makes you want to hit him.”
“Pfft~” Luo Ming couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
Looks like Sa Ning had already grasped the essence of humblebragging.
“What are you laughing at?” Lin Shuyue asked with a confused look.
“N-nothing, I just think Teacher Sa is kind of cute.”
“Cute? The way he talks is just… uh, I can’t think of the right word.”
“Passive-aggressive.”
“Hey! That word works. It really is pretty passive-aggressive.”
Luo Ming chatted with Lin Shuyue for a while, and then the Chen sisters returned from grocery shopping.
“Miaomiao, Chuchu, let me introduce you — this is my sister Lin Shuyue. You should have met her before when we went to CCTV to record the show.
Sister, these are my two assistants. The one without boobs is Chen Sichu, and the one with small boobs is Chen Junmiao.”
“Sister Wen! If you keep talking about my boobs, I’m going to get angry!” Chen Sichu said with a pout.
Lin Shuyue also glared at “Lin Shuwen” — because her size was only a B too.
Only Chen Junmiao didn’t care about size at all. Her clothing and style were already on the tomboyish side, and she kept a neat short haircut — having a bigger chest would actually make it harder to pull off that look.
After the introductions, Lin Shuyue curiously asked, “By the way, Wenwen, are you a C or a D?”
That question really stumped Luo Ming — he didn’t know Lin Shuwen’s size either!
“Sister Wen is a D. When I do her makeup, I have to take size into consideration, so I’ve measured before,” Chen Junmiao answered.
“A D! I’d be satisfied with just a C,” Chen Sichu said enviously.
“Keep dreaming. Sister Yue might have a chance, but you—”
Hearing this, Lin Shuyue looked down at herself. She’d heard that breasts develop again during breastfeeding, so it was indeed possible.
And as for Chen Sichu…
Lin Shuyue very politely didn’t look her way, but silently observed three seconds of mourning for Chen Sichu in her heart.
At noon, the Chen sisters prepared a sumptuous lunch. After eating and resting for a while, Lin Shuyue brought up business: “Wenwen, have you thought about that song I mentioned?”
“Sister, is this TV drama a war drama?”
“No, it’s about national awakening and the struggles of our forebears.”
“I understand. Sister, let me sing it for you a cappella.”
“You’ve already written it?”
“Yeah, the inspiration just flashed through my mind last night while watching the fireworks,” Luo Ming said casually, making it up on the spot.
Lin Shuyue nodded and looked at “Lin Shuwen” with anticipation.
Luo Ming cleared his throat and, imitating Faye Wong’s singing style, began to sing:
“You are the distant road
The lamp in the misty wilderness
I am a child, walking in your eyes
You are the bright moon and gentle breeze
I am the dream you shine upon
Whether we meet or not, I’ll hold you in my arms all my life.”
After Luo Ming finished the first verse, Lin Shuyue felt tingles all over her scalp.
In Lin Shuyue’s view, the soul of a song was definitely the melody.
Although Luo Ming sang this song a cappella without accompaniment, the melody was clearly revealed through the lyrics, and the melody was unquestionably rich and full.
Lin Shuyue could even imagine how grand and majestic this melody would be when enriched with orchestral instruments.
What surprised Lin Shuyue even more was that the melody was grand yet graceful — it wasn’t the kind of melody that grabs you immediately, but rather had a sense of gentle, unhurried storytelling.
This section sounded simple and clear, like someone whispering softly in your ear.
Lin Shuyue’s expression grew more serious as she pricked up her ears to listen to the second verse’s lyrics and melody.
“And I will love the world you loved
Fulfill the smiles you wished for
I’ll hold your hand as I stumble along
Please take me to tomorrow.”
In this section, “Lin Shuwen’s” voice rose higher — from gentle storytelling to deliberate, word-by-word narration, instantly stirring up emotions.
Lin Shuyue, Chen sisters all knew that the chorus was about to begin.
“If you once tasted bitterness so I could taste sweetness
I’m willing to live out your wish
May it not be in vain, may you go bravely on
Through every day of this prosperous era.”
“Holy crap! Sister Wen is amazing!” Chen Sichu couldn’t help blurting out.
Neither Chen Junmiao nor Lin Shuyue blamed her for speaking out — because she’d said exactly what they were thinking.
The lyrics and melody of this song were truly wonderful!
“Lin Shuwen’s” singing was also impressive — flowing like a gentle stream when confiding, grand and powerful when expressing deep emotion.
Lin Shuyue wasn’t a professional music critic. Things like chest resonance, high notes, and vocal technique — she couldn’t really pick up on those.
She only noticed that Lin Shuwen sang every word of this song in the most fitting way, and every line hit the most sensitive spot in her emotions, touching her feelings.
By now, Lin Shuyue had goosebumps all over her arms.
“Wenwen, don’t sing the rest for now,” Lin Shuyue interrupted before Lin Shuwen could continue the a cappella.
“Sister, is there a problem somewhere?”
“No, no problem at all. It’s just that I think this song shouldn’t be sung a cappella — it should have grand, majestic accompaniment.
Wenwen, write out the sheet music this afternoon and come with me to meet a friend tomorrow. Let him help you get the accompaniment done.”
“Sister, no need. Our company has professionals in that area, and professional recording equipment.”
“This friend of mine is the conductor of an orchestra. Letting him help you with the accompaniment will be way better than anything you could produce in a recording studio!
Besides, this song deserves that kind of treatment! My friend will definitely be willing to help.”
Luo Ming’s interest was piqued too — having an entire orchestra help produce the accompaniment? That was top-tier treatment!
“By the way, I haven’t asked what this song is called yet. Wenwen, what’s its name?” Lin Shuyue asked.
“‘As You Wish.'”
