Xu Tingsheng and Lu Zhixin sat in the riverside residence for a while, talking about Hucheng and talking about themselves, new topics constantly arising. During this period of time, Xu Tingsheng felt like lighting up a cigarette a few times. Still, looking at Lu Zhixin before him, he resisted the urge to, as if he was currently in someone else’s house.

  He had indeed already not been staying here for quite a long time. Instead, this place was coming to seem more and more like Lu Zhixin’s home.

  Also, there was something Xu Tingsheng had always been considering: If he still had no choice but to come here in the future, he would definitely have to find a time to replace all those warm yellow light bulbs that illuminated the room.

  These lights were too warm and too enchanting as a feeling of insobriety would descend out of nowhere. If it were a couple interacting in such an environment, in each other’s embrace as they whispered sweet nothings on and on, it would indeed be nice. Yet, that wasn’t how things were.

  The month of June in the south, a lone male and a lone female.

  After bathing, Lu Zhixin changed into some light pyjamas. Her hair partially wet, she casually flipped it over her shoulder……carrying a bottle of red wine and two wineglasses as she walked over towards Xu Tingsheng.

  Xu Tingsheng’s eyes were closed as he appeared to be reciting something.

  “What’re you saying?” A curious Lu Zhixin asked.

  “The form is nonexistence, and nonexistence is the form. Red powder adorns skeletons, white bones beneath skin and flesh. All arts exist in nonexistence, all is naught but empty delusions,” Xu Tingsheng magnified his voice somewhat, clearly enunciating the words of the sutra.

  Lu Zhixin snorted before intentionally asking in a cloying tone, “Master, why don’t you dare open your eyes? Is it that you’re unable to save yourself and can only pray to Lord Buddha for help?”


  Such a Lu Zhixin was actually very rarely seen. Perhaps there was only Xu Tingsheng who had seen her like this before.

  Hucheng’s employees had a comparative evaluation of Xu Tingsheng and Lu Zhixin. Generally, it went like this: If you work in Hucheng and you’ve made a mistake, it would be better for you to receive a scolding from Xu Tingsheng than be called over by Lu Zhixin to talk with her……such an atmosphere would be completely worlds apart.

  Everyone felt speechless at how a beautiful woman like Lu Zhixin who was in the spring of her youth just seemed never to take herself as a woman when in front of them. She always seemed even more concerned about Hucheng’s discipline and development than Xu Tingsheng was.

  As Xu Tingsheng was hesitating on whether it would be impolite for him to try to escape to a motel for the night, the door was pushed open, a bunch of drunkards stumbling into the room before randomly lying down on whatever empty space there was available.

  A moment later, the sofa and the floor were strewn with bare-bodied males.

  Lu Zhixin fled in a panic.

  Xu Tingsheng commented from behind her, “See, Lord Buddha’s sent people to save me.”


  After changing her clothes, Lu Zhixin left her room and locked the door before saying, “Xu Tingsheng, help send me back home.”


  Standing by the doorway, Fang Chen and Yuqing waved, “Us too.”


  Xu Tingsheng looked at the floor where a drunken Fang Yuqing was all entangled together with Huang Yaming and Tan Yao in an unsightly manner. He could only nod, retrieving the car keys from his pocket and leading the three girls out of the house.

  At around 3am in the morning, Xu Tingsheng sent the three girls back according to the distance to their homes. He sent Yuqing home first. Next came Lu Zhixin. Finally, there was only Fang Chen left in the car. Revving the engine, Xu Tingsheng turned and looked back at that row of luxurious villas that Lu Zhixin was walking towards.

  “Who would have thought, right?” Fang Chen asked.

  “It’s unexpected, yes,” Xu Tingsheng replied.

  “The three largest home appliances stores in Yanzhou are all run by her family. There’s also a number of other things, but I’m not too clear on them. Also, of the 1.2 million yuan I gave you last year, 200000 of it was taken out by her as a private loan. She asked me not to tell you about it,” Fang Chen said, “Right, Zhixin’s also an only child.”


  “Hey, Xu Tingsheng, why aren’t you saying anything?” Seeing that Xu Tingsheng wasn’t speaking even after some time had passed, Fang Chen asked.

  “Didn’t she ask you not to tell me about it? I’ll return the money to you after a while, and you can return it to her. Just take it that I don’t know about it. It’s pretty good like this,” Xu Tingsheng said before opening the windows wide and stepping down harder on the accelerator.

  Leaning back on her seat, Fang Chen smiled, only asking after a long time, “How’s Apple been recently?”


  “Haven’t you been in touch?” Xu Tingsheng asked back.

  “She’ll definitely tell me that everything’s great.”


  “That’s also what she always tells me.”


  “Sigh, Xu Tingsheng, how many woman debts do you have to accrue in your lifetime?” Fang Chen asked, “I’ve reached, stop the car, hurry up and stop the car. This old woman’s decided that I definitely can’t stay too long together with a women black hole like you, even if I must die.”


  The ‘black hole’ stopped the car by the roadside, finally able to light up a cigarette.

  Earlier, Lu Zhixin had asked, “Xu Tingsheng, if every girl understood your weak point, knowing that they would be able to get so much just by making you feel that you owe them, whatever would you do?”


  She should have been wrong. There weren’t that many people who could do that. They might not even be able to touch Xu Tingsheng’s heart as all.

  Still, it also did seem logical. For example, Lu Zhixin had indeed caused Xu Tingsheng’s heart to soften like she had said somewhat. Yet, from the way things seemed now, this exchange should had been a completely unnecessary one for her.

  Apple called Xu Tingsheng at more than 3am in the morning, “I’ve just finished talking to Song Ni. I thought that you probably haven’t slept yet. Congratulations! It’s great that you didn’t sell it back then.”


  Xu Tingsheng said, “Thank you. It’s so late, but you still haven’t slept yet. You aren’t performing tomorrow?”


  Apple said, “I am. Still, it’s fine. I’m used to it.”


  “Where will you be performing?”


  “A city in Yunnan. After that, I’ll be going someplace in Guangxi. Yet after that, I don’t know where it’ll be yet. My agent will tell me.”


  “Send me a message wherever you’ve gone to next time.”


  “Yeah, okay.”
……

  For the next few days, Lu Zhixin was forced home to sleep every night, because the Euro Cup had begun.

  Xu Tingsheng’s roommates, classmates and football mates occupied the second floor of the riverside residence. The floor of the warm, happy home Lu Zhixin had originally created was strewn with empty bottles of wine and cigarette butts every day.

  This bunch of people argued about their favourite teams non-stop every day. Meanwhile, Xu Tingsheng remained staid as a bedrock, watching on as a bystander. He had already known from the start that this summer, a Greece legend would be unfolding in this Euro Cup.

  Meanwhile, Rui Costa and Luis Figo of Portugal’s golden age would be tasting defeat in the finals on their home soil.

  When someone from the ringtone company called Fu Cheng, he just happened to be together with Xu Tingsheng.

  “We really aren’t intending to do ringtones for these two songs, sorry……is there anything else? Oh……I understand. Hold on,” Fu Cheng spoke on his handphone for a while before handing it over to Xu Tingsheng, saying, “There’s someone who wants to buy the two songs’ copyrights.”


  “Tell them that we’re not selling,” Xu Tingsheng said.

  “The boss of the ringtone company said that if it was just anyone who was looking for us there, he would already have rejected it on our behalf long ago. Still, this person is somewhat special. He feels it best if we communicate on this a little.”


  Xu Tingsheng received the phone, asking, “Hello. Who’s this person that you’re talking about?”


  “Tianyi Media’s Shi Zhengjun.”


  Xu Tingsheng thought about it for a moment before saying, “Help me to arrange a meeting with him.”


  “This might be a little hard. You might not be clear on how much weight Tianyi and Shi Zhengjun hold in this industry, but usually, something like buying songs still isn’t something that he would personally come out for.”


  “I know. Still, I’ll only talk to him in person. Help me to convey the message, and give them our contact number as well.”


  Xu Tingsheng hung up, the boss of the ringtone company smiling wryly on the the other end, “What the hell? How is it that the world is just full of these youngsters these days who don’t known the height of the heavens and the boundlessness of the earth?”


  Xu Tingsheng was certainly aware of the significance of Tianyi Media’s Shi Zhengjun. However unconcerned he had been about the entertainment industry in his previous life, it would also be impossible for him to have overlooked this future tycoon who would have established an empire which he would be single-handedly controlling in a few years’ time.

  In those years, due to the vastness of the local market, the local entertainment industry would have completely surpassed that of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

  It was precisely because of this that Xu Tingsheng was willing to negotiate. Also, the reason for him being adamant on talking in person was that what he wanted to talk about was far from just the copyrights of those two songs.

  Not long after, Fu Cheng’s handphone received a call from an unknown number.

  “Hello, I am Shi Zhengjun.”


  “Hello, I am Xu Tingsheng.”


  “Xu Tingsheng?”


  “Yes.”


  “Rebirth……and, Xu Tingsheng?”


  “Yes.”


  “The same Xu Tingsheng who discovered the Anyang Mausoleum? The same Xu Tingsheng of Hucheng Education?”


  “Yes.”


  “Arrange a time then. I’ll make a trip over to Yanzhou.”


  “I’m fine anytime.”


  “I’ll come as soon as possible then. Give me your handphone number before that.”


  In Shi Zhengjun’s office, his secretary who was dressed in a professional suit had just heard him scolding, ‘These youngsters who don’t know the height of the heavens and the boundlessness of the earth are the most troublesome’ before finally calming down enough to dial that number.

  “Meet in person? Don’t even think about it. Calling you in person is already giving you enough face,” Such was what the secretary had thought.

  Then, she had heard the process of the entire conversation, seeing the astonishment on her boss’s face and his sudden change in attitude. Not only had he agreed to meeting face-to-face, he even seemed like he intended to go over to meet the other party where he was located.

  “Boss, I heard all of it. Even if the other party……is that Xu Tingsheng, it still doesn’t warrant you treating him like this, right? Also, his line actually isn’t related to ours at all,” The secretary asked quizzically.

  “As long as it’s business, all of it is related. Do you know how many people there are now who want to invest in Hucheng Education?”


  “I heard a little about it.”


  “Right, but that’s actually still not the main point.”


  “Then?”


  “The main point is that he’s just twenty, having built up his own business from scratch. Don’t you think that such a person is worth meeting?”


  “I understand now.”


  “Help me to arrange my schedule. Try to get this meeting arranged for as soon as possible.”


  “Okay.”