Su Yu returned to China with Lin Yanyu the day after "Era Music King" concluded.
Not living with everyone else, he paid no mind to whether other producers had departed.
The trip to Cuba had been, overall, quite good.
Not only had it marked a successful start to his career, but it had also been a successful start to his romantic life.
Despite Lin Yanyu's uninhibited demeanor in the audience, the two were still a little unaccustomed to each other in private.
Although they had done everything before, that final veil of mystery had remained. But now, they were at a stage where they knew each other intimately.
There was still a slight awkwardness in their interactions.
It felt like a change in status, or perhaps an added layer of mutual connection.
Like their departure, neither of them had announced their travel plans.
They had also worn masks upon disembarking, so fans in China were unaware of their return.
Chongqing City.
Inside Su Yu's villa.
Fatigued from their journey, they showered and went to bed, preparing to rest.
"Su Su, I have a singing variety show next month. I might not be able to accompany you to Eguo," Lin Yanyu said, drawing circles on Su Yu's chest with her finger.
"Then I'll go alone for the next trip. There's not much fun to be had in Eguo anyway," Su Yu replied, gently holding her playful hand.
He knew Lin Yanyu was ambitious and deeply loved the stage, so he wouldn't force her to abandon her career to accompany him abroad.
Besides, Eguo wasn't very peaceful recently; there had even been reports of conflict.
True peace was never absolute in this world; many countries were embroiled in war. The law of the jungle had always governed all living beings.
Of course, these matters were distant from Su Yu. He was merely a music producer, not a war god or a king of soldiers, and he harbored no desire to save the world. He only wished to fulfill his aspiration of "letting the whole world hear my song." Once that was achieved, he would be content.
"Mmm-hmm, Su Su is the best. To make it up to you, I'll be on top tonight!"
With that, Lin Yanyu flipped over and mounted him.
Su Yu's fatigue vanished from his eyes. He reached out to turn off the bedroom light.
"Don't, I like the light on."
...
The next day.
Su Yu woke up at eight in the morning.
Lin Yanyu, however, remained in bed.
"I used to think he was physically weak, how foolish of me. Isn't it said that there are no fields that can't be tilled, only oxen that are too weak to plow? Why is Su Su's spirit so high? I feel like I'm falling apart!"
She muttered a few words and buried herself back under the covers.
Su Yu's mouth twitched. He then walked out of the bedroom.
His body was in excellent health. Even if he expended vital energy, he could use the system'sæ°ªé (kegold, i.e., in-game currency/power-up) to quickly restore it. Therefore, as long as he had money, this ox could not be overworked...
Since Lin Yanyu was exhausted, the task of making breakfast fell to Su Yu.
Making breakfast for the person he loved was a happy endeavor. After a few minutes of busying himself in the kitchen, Su Yu prepared two steaming bowls of small noodles.
These were noodles cooked using the skills he had learned from his mother, Zhang Guizhi. Their noodle shop was now the number one in Chongqing City, and its taste had definitely passed the market's test.
Just as he finished preparing breakfast and brought it to the dining table, ready to wake Lin Yanyu up, Su Yu's phone rang.
"Sisi, what do you need me for?" It was his editor, Zhou Sisi.
"Of course, to congratulate our Ting Yu for the excellent results on 'Era Music King'," Zhou Sisi chuckled.
"I don't quite believe that," Su Yu teased.
Zhou Sisi was someone who never called without a reason. If she called, it meant something was up.
"There's another matter. Jiangnan, when will your new book be updated? Readers are about to tear down our website!" Zhou Sisi continued.
After his previous work, "Journey to the West," Jiangnan had published "A Complete Collection of Fairy Tales." While his fans loved it, fairy tales were ultimately stories for children, and Jiangnan's fans were mostly adults.
With no news for so long, they had grown anxious. They went to Jiangnan's Weibo to urge him to update; receiving no response, they went to Qingkong Literature to pester them. Qingkong Literature didn't know how to respond either.
They didn't dare to approach Jiangnan directly, as he was Qingkong Literature's golden boy. Everyone on the platform had to dote on him, fearing they might offend him and cause him to move to another platform.
Thus, this task fell to Zhou Sisi.
Everyone knew she had a very good relationship with Jiangnan, so urging him should not be a problem.
"Uh... I'm only a few tens of thousands of words away from finishing. Tell them my new book will be released tomorrow. The new book is still the martial arts genre we discussed before," Su Yu said after some thought. It was indeed time to start a new book.
Furthermore, "A Chinese Odyssey" was about to premiere, with a nationwide broadcast and even overseas dubbing.
Therefore, filming for "A Chinese Odyssey" could begin, capitalizing on the residual popularity of "Journey to the West."
"You're really writing Wuxia?" Zhou Sisi's tone held a hint of surprise.
"Of course, do you think I'm joking?" Su Yu replied, exasperated.
The Condor Trilogy was something he had planned long ago.
The history of this world was very similar to Earth's. Although there was no Yue Fei, there was a famous hero named Chen Lie, who bore similarities to Yue Fei.
Su Yu had learned about this when he released the song "Jing Zhong Bao Guo" (Serve the Country Loyally).
Of course, he wouldn't alter the names of characters in his book based on Earth's history. Instead, he would write it in a completely fictional setting from the beginning.
This way, readers could still find a background in historical figures, which would have no impact.
Moreover, the Condor Trilogy focused more on the spirit of chivalry, with history serving only as a backdrop and not a significant element.
"It seems you're going to make another genre popular. Send me the book title, and I'll ask the platform for promotion," Zhou Sisi said with a deep breath and a smile.
While she didn't doubt Su Yu's ability to write Wuxia, she knew the platform wasn't particularly optimistic about the genre. They would prefer Jiangnan to write Xianxia, retaining readers who came to the platform because of him and enjoyed Xianxia.
Everyone understood the concept of target audience. A very influential author once said that it's impossible to satisfy everyone; one only needs to capture the readers who enjoy their specific type of work.
Therefore, that author was very clear about his positioning, releasing five installments of a single book.
This was considered the best approach from a business perspective.
However, there were also many authors who pursued higher artistic goals, constantly pushing themselves, breaking out of their comfort zones, and challenging various genres.
Most of these individuals had faded into obscurity, with only a tiny fraction becoming industry leaders and earning excellent reputations.
Jiangnan was clearly following the latter path. He had stepped out of his comfort zone to write Wuxia, currently the most niche genre.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Sisi pondered for a long time and walked towards the office of the operations director. "To be frank, given Su Yu's current stature, the platform wouldn't dare to say much!"
...