The proposal came too suddenly, entirely without any preparedness!
Mei Ran thought she ought to take a step back. She eyed the distance between the steps and where she stood. With his long arms and legs, the space was clearly insufficient if he were to kneel down later. Yet, thinking this, for some reason, she took a step forward.
Seeing her suddenly draw near, Fu Shijin was momentarily stunned. Then, a gentle light emerged from the depths of his dark brown eyes as he opened his arms, pulling her entire person into an embrace.
Mei Ran: "???"
"Cold?" The man very considerately wrapped his coat around her.
Mei Ran grabbed the hem of his coat, her hands deftly probing into the side pockets, finding a phone and a wallet, but precisely not the imagined little velvet box.
Ahem, so it was a misunderstanding on her part.
The last step was rather high, so his bow had a larger degree.
"Yes…! A little cold." Mei Ran cooperated by stamping her feet twice. "Let's hurry back to the car."
Sitting in the car, holding warm milk tea in her hands, she lowered her head and took a big sip. A warm fragrance welled up inside her. Mei Ran sighed contentedly.
"Do you want a sip?"
Fu Shijin didn't particularly like such sweet, cloying things, but those eyes brimming with amusement made it impossible to refuse. Glancing at the road ahead, he quickly tilted his head over, bit onto the straw, and drank while gazing intently at her, his eyes extremely scorching.
Mei Ran only saw his Adam's apple slightly bobbing. That and his heavily suggestive motion brought to mind countless images evocative of speculation… She didn't even notice when the car had already come to a steady stop downstairs in the residential complex.
"We're here."
She came back to her senses. "Oh."
Checking her watch, it was only 9:07 PM. Still early. She didn't want to part with him so quickly.
The man sensed her meaning from her silence. "Shall I come up for a glass of water?"
His deliberately slowed voice was simply more captivating than the moonlight in the sky.
Mei Ran asked lightly, "Just one glass of water?"
With a "click," he had already leaned over to undo her seatbelt for her. His well-defined knuckles pressed against the side of her leg. His warm breath also drew close as he slowly curled his lips into a smile. "What else would you have me do?"
"It's… not yet the time," Mei Ran's voice was as faint as a mosquito's.
"It will be sooner or later."
Speaking, he had already gotten out of the car, walked around to her side, pulled open the door, and stood tall and slenderly to one side, waiting for her to step out.
At this hour, there weren't many people in the elevator. It soon stopped at the 17th floor. Mei Ran rummaged her keys from her bag, opened the door, changed her shoes, and hurriedly went to the kitchen to wash her hands. Minutes later, she emerged with a glass of warm water.
Fu Shijin sat lazily on the sofa, raising an eyebrow to glance at her. Without saying anything, he tilted his head back and drank. In a short while, he had finished more than half.
Mei Ran sat down beside him. She had intended to chat a little, but a sudden burst of warmth surged from somewhere between her legs. She immediately stood up, flustered. "I'll go take a shower first."
"Mn."
Half an hour later, Mei Ran came out of the bathroom and saw the person sitting on the edge of the bed, her steps halting abruptly.
When… when had he come in?
She had only closed the bedroom door, leaving the bathroom one slightly ajar. So… after the water stopped, the unmistakable sound of her tearing open the sanitary pad wings… Had he heard all that?
Fu Shijin set down the "Compendium of Materia Medica" in his hand, his gaze deep and inscrutable as he looked over. "Why are you standing there?"
Mei Ran walked over instinctively.
"Going to sleep now?"
"… Okay." She climbed onto the bed, quickly wrapping herself in the blanket.
He sat by the bedside, watching her sleep.
Her long black eyelashes fell like two small, quiet fans. Fu Shijin looked at the shadows under her eyes, and his heart ached. He reached out to brush away the stray hairs by her cheek, never expecting her to suddenly open her eyes.
"I'm here," he stroked her hair. "I'll leave after you've fallen asleep."
Mei Ran closed her eyes again, reassured, and soon sank into a dream.
Her breathing was steady and even; she must be deeply asleep. Fu Shijin was just about to stand up when the phone by the bedside suddenly vibrated once, then several times in succession. Picking it up, he saw that it was her assistant sending messages.
Tian Tian: Senior Sister, I just returned from the mountains and heard you've been 'suspended with pay and retained your position'!
Tian Tian: How can those people talk about you like that?! It's infuriating!
Tian Tian: So angry that I wasn't by your side at the time!!
A while ago, a slot came down from above for medical aid in a remote mountainous area. Since she hadn't suffered much since childhood, she purposely went to the temple to burn incense, hoping to avoid it. Unexpectedly, she couldn't escape after all.
Staying in the mountains for over half a month had thinned her considerably, not to mention her phone was basically always searching for signal, depriving her of her only bit of fun. Finally returning to City A, she heard about Mei Ran's situation. She was so angry she could only eat half her dinner.
With a "ding" from her phone, Tian Tian quickly swiped the screen open. Seeing the content, she was somewhat dumbfounded.
—Any other matters? She's asleep now.
It wasn't her senior sister!
Tian Tian held her breath and responded carefully: "May I ask who this is?"
The other side sent three characters. Unable to contain herself, she slid off the sofa. Fu, Fu Great God!
So late, why is he with senior sister? Could it be!
Ahhh, are they living together?!
Her mind racing with imagination as she sat on the floor, she even forgot to ask the most crucial thing.
Over there, Fu Shijin kissed the person on the bed on the forehead. "Good night."
Then he turned off the light in the bedroom and went out quietly on tiptoe.
When Mei Ran woke up, it was already past 9 in the morning. She had slept nearly twelve hours, her entire body relaxed and limp, yet it seemed vitality filled her bones.
After washing up, she switched on the TV casually and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
The much-anticipated live broadcast finals of "China's Best Singer" would be tonight. A certain TV station had started the prelude promotion a week ago, and it was said they had invited highly esteemed music critics from the industry to serve as professional judges. The lineup was grand.
Mei Ran drained the last sip of milk, rinsed her mouth with warm water, picked up her phone beside her, and made a call.
The other side answered quickly. "Thinker."
"Good morning, Dad."
Mei Ran asked, "Are you free tonight?"
"For my daughter, I'm free anytime."
Suddenly, Secretary Wang's voice came from the other end. "This quarter's…"
Mei Ran realized they were likely still in a meeting. She quickly lowered her voice. "Dad, okay then, you go ahead and be busy. See you tonight."
After the call ended, she suddenly felt somewhat unaccustomed to such an idle day. She walked a circle around the house, inside and out, front and back, then stood on the balcony sunbathing for a while before lazily entering the bedroom.
All the in-season clothes from the walk-in closet were laid out on the bed. Mei Ran tried each on, one by one, finally selecting a dress, a coat, and a shawl. Satisfied, she twirled in front of the mirror.
Most of her clothes were made by a tailor shop back home that her family had collaborated with for many years. The fabric was soft and body-hugging, the cut was proper, and the styles were quite unique. Every spring and autumn during fashion shows, her father would also have a few sets sent over. However, due to work, she rarely wore these outfits in daily life.
The finals were finally here. For such an important moment of her good friend, she had no reason to be absent.
5 PM arrived quickly. The audience was all settled, and at the live broadcast venue, all tasks were progressing closely and in an orderly manner.
In the backstage lounge, the makeup artist was doing makeup on Mei Mengran. Her manager, wearing a bright red long coat, couldn't hide the joy in her eyes. "Mengran, if you win the championship this time, what's to fear of the previous gossip? We'll also have sufficient leverage to reverse the previously unfavorable situation…"
However, Mei Mengran felt her heart flutter a little with trepidation. For some reason, starting last night, she had felt unsettled.
Perhaps more accurately, starting from when Mei Hongyuan held the press conference and issued his statement.
"Ah!" Cen Chen exclaimed. "Mengran, why are your dark circles so heavy? Makeup artist, put more powder on her."
Like a puppet doll, Mei Mengran was moved about by others. She didn't say another word throughout. Time flowed away bit by bit, finally settling steadily at 18:00 sharp.
"Hello, viewers and friends, welcome to the live finals of 'China's Best Singer.' I am the host…"
As the host's words fell, a "battle" slowly began to unfold.
The order of performance was determined by previous comprehensive scores. Apart from a certain previous setback, Mei Mengran's subsequent performances had been pretty good, so she was arranged second to last. Meanwhile, Yu Sheng consistently performed stably every time, securing the prime position of the final performance.
The judging panel comprised audience judges and professional music critics, adopting a live voting method. The final score for each contestant would be weighted at 40% from audience votes and 60% from professional votes.
The first seven contestants included new-generation singers and veteran powerhouses. The excellent renditions of original or classic songs immersed the entire audience in an audio-visual feast.
Soon, it was Mei Mengran's turn to take the stage.
She wore an elegant silver short dress, walking slowly out of a gentle orange spotlight. Some in the audience couldn't restrain themselves, standing up excitedly and shouting, "Go, Goddess! We'll always support you!"
Standing at the center of the stage, listening to those bursts of cheers, Mei Mengran's heart suddenly calmed. She revealed a sweet smile, bowed slightly, her gaze inadvertently sweeping across the first row to the right of the audience seats. She froze as if petrified, her eyes wide open, filled with shock and horror.
It felt as if her heart had shattered!
Mei Hongyuan, Mei Ran, Fu Shijin, Ye Qihan.
Why were they here?
Mei Mengran looked again at the middle-aged man on the far left. He was also looking at her, his gaze full of coldness, seemingly tinged with a trace of disgust. In her memory, this person had always been gentle and graceful like flowing water. She had never imagined he could have such a spine-chilling look.
The blood in her entire body began to turn cold, but her face was burning hot. A "buzz" filled her ears. Before her eyes, everything suddenly turned black, and her legs could barely hold her steady, nearly collapsing.
A lively intro began to play, but the person standing in the beam of light was like a stone statue, unmoving. Though the director quickly cut to shots of the audience, her stupefied appearance had still been seen by many.
Some began to discuss in low voices:
"What happened? It seems like she's suddenly enchanted or something?"
"Is she still going to sing?"
Mei Ran was also puzzled about what had happened to her. Just as she raised her head to look over, the hands to her left and right were simultaneously held. "Hm?"
Mei Hongyuan: "She saw us."
Fu Shijin: "She knows we're in the audience."
The two spoke nearly in unison.
Mei Ran suddenly understood.
Could Mei Mengran think they had some purpose in being here? In fact, she was really overthinking. Their presence here was all for one person.
Yu Sheng was her mother's only student. Her mother had always placed high hopes on her, a pity… Mei Ran had invited her father to come, actually to fulfill her mother's wish.
As for Fu Shijin, for his girlfriend's best friend, how could he not come to lend support?
As for why Ye Qihan would also appear here, his motives were evident to all.
The intro had been playing for over ten seconds. Downstage, her manager Cen Chen watched anxiously, frantically trying to signal her.
Mei Mengran finally snapped back, bowed apologetically again, hurriedly caught up with the rhythm, and began to sing. However, her performance was clearly off. Throughout the song, it was intermittent; she not only forgot lyrics but also went off-key in several places…
Even an ordinary newcomer wouldn't make so many mistakes at once, yet she had managed several. In short, she performed extremely poorly.
The expert panel exchanged glances, shaking their heads one after another, appearing exceedingly disappointed.
Even the audience sensed something was off with her. Their enthusiasm, like cold water thrown on a fire, rapidly dwindled, ending with only perfunctory voting.
Strictly speaking, it was a completely failed performance, and happening live, it severely dragged down the overall standard of "China's Best Singer."
Fortunately, the powerhouse queen delivered the final performance, saving the day.
This time, Yu Sheng broke away from her usual "deeply emotional singing" mode. A fast-paced song matched with passionate, fiery salsa. The moment she appeared, she almost captivated everyone's attention, pushing the atmosphere to its peak!
That sexy, sheer red dress left her curvy figure nowhere to hide. That soft, graceful waist danced with the music like a nimble snake. The tattoo on her arm—a microphone specially painted with luminous powder, shining golden.
Most crucial were the provocative winks she occasionally threw towards the audience—seductive and captivating, inciting countless men to stand up, cheer, and applaud for her.
Ye Qihan's hand hanging at his side clenched tightly into a fist, faint blue veins bulging on its back. He kept his gaze unwavering on the woman onstage, taking several deep breaths to calm the heat rising within him.
Bold indeed, exposing so much at once.
Little did anyone know how much he wanted to stop the show, drive all those men infatuated with her out. This woman's charm and allure—he didn't want to share her with any other man!
As the song and dance ended, the entire audience seemed still in a daze. Only when the host came out to announce the start of voting did thunderous applause erupt almost in unison, nearly bursting the massive studio.
In the professional judges' exchanged glances, only two words could be seen: dazzling.
Before this, no one knew the “virtuous songstress" queen could also dance such an impassioned routine. After this, the previously stereotyped "virtuous songstress queen" had nothing more to do with Yu Sheng.
Without a doubt, after voting concluded, Yu Sheng won the highest votes, single-handedly taking the crown of "China's Best Singer."
Easily PK-ing the strongest opponent Mei Mengran, although in Yu Sheng's view, it was too easy a win, almost unfair in nature. Yet, she cared more about the result.
She won!
After the awards ceremony, there was also an audience appreciation segment. Changing into a lake-blue long gown, Yu Sheng stood smiling in the center. "On the stage of 'China's Best Singer,' I began with the song 'Love is the Best Encounter in the World.' So, of course, it must also end with this song."
She looked in a certain direction. "Although, in the end, I never waited for you to return, I know you are always by my side. This song, still for you, my dearest…" The microphone suddenly cut off sound. Actually, she silently mouthed two words with her lips.
Mei Ran smiled towards her and waved. Coincidentally, the camera swung over, capturing the scene.
"In my most beautiful moments, meeting you was my luck…"
Mei Ran followed along singing with her below stage. Soon, the audience joined in. The entire venue was enveloped by lingering, moving singing. Even after finishing, the applause remained unceasing.
Those MR fans who had specifically come, after the disappointment with Mei Mengran, quickly had their passion ignited by this familiar song:
"Yu Sheng! MR! Yu Sheng! MR! Goddess! Goddess!"
After the audience dispersed, Mei Ran, carrying a bouquet of flowers, came backstage. "Sheng Sheng, congratulations!"
Yu Sheng ran over and hugged her. "Darling! Why did you come? And without prior notice—you scared me!"
Mei Ran smiled. Clearly, the one scared was another, okay?
Ecstatic and emotional, Yu Sheng embraced her tightly and pulled her into the lounge. "I never imagined Uncle also came together. I'm so happy!"
For him to come, it was as if her teacher had come.
"Ah!" Seeing the man following in behind, Yu Sheng nearly jumped up. "Ansel!"
Fu Shijin politely smiled at her. "Hello."
Oh my god! Even the Great God came. Why hadn't she noticed him sitting in the audience earlier?
Yu Sheng gathered her coat. "Hello!"
He was so, so much more handsome in person than in photos! Beneath her calm exterior, her little universe was about to explode. She really wanted to ask if he had time to write a song for her!
"Ahem!" Suddenly, a few light coughs came from outside the door. Yu Sheng looked over. "What are you doing here too?"
Ye Qihan was carrying an insulated lunch box. "Why can't I come?"
Yu Sheng threw him a light glare.
"Where's my dad?" Mei Ran asked.
Fu Shijin answered, "On the way, he ran into the station manager, so he let us come over first."
"The dance was quite good," Ye Qihan suddenly said.
Yu Sheng clicked her tongue at him. "Of course!"
Three minutes on stage, ten years of effort off stage. She started practicing dance at three years old and later began learning the piano with Mu Rong. Though life was busy, she never neglected her dance skills.
Recalling something, a faint gleam of amusement flickered in her eyes. "Ansel, can I trade a secret for one song you compose?"
Fu Shijin raised an eyebrow. "That depends on whether your secret holds enough weight."
Yu Sheng was confident of victory. "Of course! Only if it has real value would I dare ask such a thing!"
Mei Ran was originally chatting with Ye Qihan. Seeing her friend sneakily glancing over from time to time, while that man wore a look of intrigued anticipation, she asked puzzledly, "What are you two talking about?"
Yu Sheng waved, grinning, "Nothing, nothing!"
Soon there was a victory celebration banquet. The remaining time wasn't much. Assistants came in and out. The manager was busy dealing with things. Mei Ran and Fu Shijin left first.
"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
Ye Qihan sat down beside her and opened the lunch box. A fresh fragrance instantly overflowed.
"What's this?"
"Fish soup."
"For me?"
He snorted lightly. "Obviously."
All that singing and dancing earlier had drained a lot of energy. Later, the victory feast would likely just be a "drunken-fest." This warm fish soup really came at the right time!
Yu Sheng took a sip. The taste seemed quite good. She smiled. "Being so kind, surely you're not up to no good again?"
"Right now you're the cleaver, and I'm the fish," Ye Qihan suddenly leaned closer. "What more could I possibly plan?"
Oh, right! Yu Sheng belatedly remembered their previous bet. She won, meaning she could demand he do one thing!
So, his earlier words about her winning the championship were genuine, not just casual flippancy or biting sarcasm?
Thinking of this, Yu Sheng's face flushed slightly.
"Huh?" Suddenly fishing out a dark reddish object from the fish head, she thought of a possibility. "Ye Qihan, you didn't cook this soup yourself, did you?"
He didn't even clean the gills properly!
Ye Qihan raised his chin. "What do you think?"
Yu Sheng shot him a look full of crushed dreams.
Damn! The first time in my life I cook, yet I'm nitpicked left and right. Is dating even possible at this rate?!
Meanwhile, Mei Ran and Fu Shijin were on their way to the parking lot.
"I heard," he asked, "your dancing is also very good?"
"Ah?" Mei Ran was momentarily stunned. "Who did you hear that from?"
Who else could it be?
Mei Ran: "Sheng Sheng is exaggerating."
"Hm?"
"Actually… it's not that great."
"Someday dance for me," the man's breath skimmed her ear. He emphasized word by word, "For me alone to see."
Mei Ran: "…"
"It's been a long time since I danced. My body's not as flexible as before. I'm afraid… hm?"
Her waist was suddenly wrapped by a warm hand. Mei Ran swallowed her words. The man's fingers traced along her back and waist. His scorching gaze also fell, stopping at a certain spot on her chest. After a long pause, he said two words, "It's fine."
Fine with what? Mei Ran blinked blankly.
"Very soft."