"Little Yu," Lin Zhaoyang sat up and picked a grape from a bowl on the coffee table, placing it in his mouth.
"Mm," Su Yu replied obediently.
"Want to know who's participating in the next season of Masked Singer King?" Lin Zhaoyang asked proudly.
"No…" Su Yu was about to shake his head but suddenly remembered his role as the straight man in their banter. "Yes, who is it?"
He feigned curiosity.
Who cared who it was, it had nothing to do with him.
But as long as his father-in-law was happy, that was enough.
No matter what, one had to have a broad perspective.
Lin Yanyu beside them was amused by Su Yu's sudden change in tone.
Chen Rong also chuckled, covering her mouth.
"The four major entertainment companies in the capital, except for our Dynasty Entertainment, will all have their singers participating. The most formidable are the singers from Ding Sheng and Guang Nian Entertainment. Their vocal prowess is at the pinnacle of the industry, even stronger than Liu Haoyan, who just won."
Lin Zhaoyang ignored Lin Yanyu and her mother, continuing to speak as he ate his grapes.
After he finished, Su Yu nodded and solemnly echoed, "I see, pinnacle level. That's very impressive."
He felt that Lin Zhaoyang was a bit off today.
However, given Lin Zhaoyang's persistent topic of Masked Singer King, he vaguely guessed something.
He subtly shifted his seat closer to Lin Yanyu.
"Little Yu, hehe…" Lin Zhaoyang chuckled, looking at Su Yu with great enthusiasm.
"Dad, just say what you want to say…" Su Yu twitched the corner of his mouth.
"Do you want to spar vocals with these top masters?"
"No."
"Do you want to crush these Singer Kings under your feet?"
"No."
"Do you want to stand in golden rain and be adored by everyone?"
"No…"
Lin Zhaoyang: "…"
There was no other way, Su Yu was just like that.
He'd rather lie down than sit up.
Although he possessed astonishing talent, his personality was too low-key.
It wasn't just low-key; it was lazy now.
Yes, from Su Yu's words, he could tell he meant he was too lazy to compete…
Young people should be full of vigor. You're so talented in your teens, why are you just lying flat and giving up? What a loss to the Chinese music scene!
"Susu, I think you should go. Your singing is so strong, you'll completely dominate them."
Lin Yanyu had the same personality as Lin Zhaoyang. She believed that if one had strength, they should show it off. Moreover, she loved seeing Su Yu shine on stage.
Like the brightest star in the night sky.
Handsome and charming.
"Alright, if you participate in the competition, it doesn't matter if you win or not. After you marry my daughter, I'll give you the shares of Xinghui as dowry, how about that?"
Lin Zhaoyang smiled, popped a grape into his mouth, and then looked at Su Yu meaningfully.
"Dad, what kind of person do you think I am? Am I someone who gets greedy for money?" Su Yu quickly said with a serious expression.
The shares of Xinghui were too much to fathom.
Xinghui was currently valued in the billions. To just give away so much money?
This father-in-law was too straightforward…
"When I bought Xinghui Entertainment, I originally intended it for you, so you don't need to feel burdened." Lin Zhaoyang said with a smile.
"Why?" Su Yu asked, confused.
"Why so many whys? Do you think you're not worth this small investment?" Lin Zhaoyang retorted, not looking up.
"Uh…" Su Yu was speechless, unsure how to respond.
However, hearing Lin Zhaoyang's words, a warmth bloomed in his heart.
"I can try."
This decision wasn't made impulsively. He felt that since Lin Zhaoyang was helping him so much, it would be pretentious not to reciprocate.
As for the Xinghui shares, he'd rather decline. Being a boss was too busy; he just wanted to find some people to help him release songs, earn money, and live freely. After marriage, he'd spend time with his wife and raise their children, which was much better than being busy with company affairs every day.
"Haha, that's more like it! I'll call that old guy Shen Tianyue right away!" Upon receiving Su Yu's affirmation, Lin Zhaoyang happily picked up his phone.
He made the call right in front of Su Yu.
As soon as the call connected, he spoke loudly into the phone, "Old Shen, replace one spot for the next season of Masked Singer King. What are you asking so many whys for? Didn't I tell you last time? My son-in-law is participating. It's settled!"
Lin Zhaoyang was only uncharacteristically domineering when speaking to Su Yu. In front of others, he remained the overbearing overlord of the entertainment company.
After finishing, Lin Zhaoyang hung up the phone and beckoned to Chen Rong, "Wife, let's go upstairs to sleep."
Then, humming a tune, he walked towards the bedroom on the second floor.
Chen Rong smiled and gave Su Yu a thumbs-up, saying "Good luck," before following him.
…
Su Yu had his own room in the Lin family's house.
Late at night.
Chen Rong went to the refrigerator to get some water.
As she passed by, the door to Su Yu's room was slightly ajar, revealing a sliver of the interior.
From inside, she could hear Lin Yanyu's exertions.
"Mmm! Mmm! Susu, this one seems too small, I can't get it on."
"Hoo… Mine is too big."
"Then what should we do? Should I get a bigger one to put on?"
"Forget it, this one is soft, it should be able to fit in."
"Then I'll try again. You hold the opening, and you push it in, see if it fits."
"Okay."
"Ah? It's broken, what do we do?"
"We won't put it on then, it's fine like this. It doesn't make much difference not putting it on…"
"Ah, Susu, will you be uncomfortable like this?"
"It's okay."
…
Listening to the sounds from inside.
Chen Rong wore a peculiar smile and gently closed the door, "These two are too careless, not even closing their room door."
Then, she tiptoed towards her own room.
"I'm going to be a grandmother…"
She left behind a slightly excited remark.
Not long after she left.
Lin Yanyu came out of the room, holding a torn cloth, and said to the room, "Are you sure you don't want to get a bigger pillowcase? It might be uncomfortable sleeping with just the pillow stuffing since this one is torn…"
"It's fine. Go back to sleep. I'll change it tomorrow," Su Yu's voice came from the room.
…
Deep into the night.
Su Yu lay on the bed, lost in thought.
This was Su Yu's dedicated room in the Chen family's villa. Even if he didn't stay here, the maids would clean it.
The room was decorated warmly, with pictures of Lin Yanyu pasted on the walls.
Su Yu lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
During the competition where he played the suona, his memory seal showed no fluctuation.
He didn't know if it was due to insufficient stimulation or some other reason.
Even asking the system yielded no information.
However, another thing he couldn't figure out was that his normal memories from his previous life were gradually feeling unreal.
Su Yu guessed that this was a symptom of memory unsealing. As long as that portion of sealed memory was released, he would return to normal.
And he only knew of one way to release it: performing on a grand stage.
After winning the city qualifiers this time, the next step was the finals.
For the finals, Su Yu planned to sing himself.
The song didn't even need to be custom-made anymore.
It was the song "Yan Hua Yi Leng" (Fireworks Fade Easily) that he had previously obtained through a lucky draw.
The lyrics of this song were heartbreakingly beautiful, sharing a common trait with "Qing Hua Ci" (Blue and White Porcelain) and "Lan Ting Xu" (Orchid Pavilion Preface).
That was the brilliant application of three-character phrases.
"Blue and White Porcelain" had lines like "Outside the curtain, the banana trees are battered by sudden rain, the door knocker is tarnished by green rust, and I, passing through a Jiangnan town, was drawn to you…" known as the "three inductions of first encounter."
"Orchid Pavilion Preface" had lines like "Secrets tightly sewn into embroidered shoes, each stitch a grievance, if flowers resent butterflies, who would you resent…" known as the "three grievances of first love."
"Yan Hua Yi Leng" had lines like "Allow me to wait again, for history to turn, for the wine to mature, for you to play a guqin tune…" known as the "three waits of first separation."
Therefore, with the release of "Yan Hua Yi Leng," these three divine ancient-style songs would be complete.
"System, customize 'Shui Long Yin' and 'Bloody Love Story' for me."
Su Yu suddenly said.
[Successfully customized 'Shui Long Yin' for the host. It has been automatically placed in the system warehouse. Thirty million has been donated to the charity fund for the host.]
[Successfully customized 'Bloody Love Story' for the host…]
The promotional program "Treasure of China" was scheduled to air this weekend, so the theme song should be ready for them.
"Bloody Love Story" could be said to have taken the yandere archetype to its extreme.
Moreover, the vocal range was very wide, and the difficulty was extremely high.
Su Yu wasn't worried at all about whether Lin Yanyu could perform it.
Because he knew how terrifying Lin Yanyu's strength was. She had a foundation in opera and had practiced vocal music since childhood. It was just that she had never sung difficult songs since her debut, which was why her fans underestimated her.
Su Yu prepared this song hoping that she could amaze everyone with her vocal prowess and have a chance at a Best Actress nomination.
And this "Shui Long Yin" was the theme song Su Yu had prepared for the program.
It was an instrumental piece played by traditional Chinese instruments.
This piece couldn't be described as beautiful; that wouldn't be fitting. It should be described as exquisitely beautiful.
Every instrument had its moment of brilliance, interacting with each other, creating a truly shocking effect.
Especially after the melodious guqin played at the beginning, when the erhu entered.
No matter how many times he heard it, it would still give him goosebumps.
And when all the instruments played together later, it was a surge of national pride.
Chinese culture was truly magical. There were things you might not understand at all, and rarely listen to, but when they sounded, you could easily distinguish them as something of the same root and origin as yours, surging in your body like your own blood.
Su Yu believed that "Shui Long Yin," combined with the culturally rich national treasures featured in "Treasure of China," would create an extremely stunning effect.