Chapter 48: I Have a Question

Two days later, at Zhang Yingjing’s recording studio.

Today was the mentor-guided creation session.

Xu Ze, Zhu Zhengting, and Sun Na sat together on the sofa in the recording studio, waiting for Zhang Yingjing’s arrival.

This studio seemed to be Zhang Yingjing’s private space, luxuriously decorated and fully equipped with all kinds of instruments and recording devices.

Accompanying them in the room were staff from the show’s production team, who would record today’s proceedings to be edited into the program later.

At this moment, Zhu Zhengting and Sun Na were a little nervous. After sending their demos to Zhang Yingjing, she had offered advice and guidance on their songs and creative direction.

Originally, both had been fairly confident about their songs, but after receiving her feedback, they couldn’t help but sigh at the vast gap between themselves and top-tier artists. There was still so much for them to learn.

Sun Na stole a glance at Xu Ze, curious whether he had finished his demo yet; he hadn’t submitted it even as the deadline approached the other day.

But now, with the cameras rolling, she didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask him.

Meanwhile, Xu Ze was absorbed in his phone, logged into his writer’s backstage on Shengshi Chinese Web, browsing through reader comments.

He had to admit, this batch of readers was particularly eccentric; their perspectives were so unique that even Xu Ze found them astonishing.

He also noticed that with the appearance of Biyao, his readership had split into three factions, each championing one of the novel’s main female characters.

There was the Tian Ling’er faction, the Lu Xueqi faction, and the newly emerged Biyao faction.

The debates were fierce; everyone was convinced Zhang Xiaofan should end up with their favorite.

Xu Ze suddenly felt a pang of guilt—everyone assumed "Zhu Xian" was a romance cultivation novel, yet little did they know that this romance was destined to be heartbreak.

He wondered whether readers would send him knives in the mail when the time came.

Xu Ze was reading with great amusement when suddenly a Maine Coon darted in from outside. It looked around, seeming not to find the familiar presence it sought.

Then, spotting Xu Ze, it leapt straight into his arms.

“What on earth—?”

Xu Ze nearly dropped his phone in shock, only to realize it was a cat that had jumped into his lap.

But the cat was enormous, its fur long and lush.

The Maine Coon stared at Xu Ze with wide eyes, then stretched its tongue out and began licking his fingers.

After a couple of licks, it curled up in Xu Ze’s arms and fell asleep.

Xu Ze chuckled and shook his head, gently stroking the cat’s back, wiping the drool onto its fur in the process.

In his previous life, he’d raised an orange tabby, a hefty, unmistakably well-fed feline.

Just then, Zhang Yingjing entered with commanding presence.

She wore a black business jacket today, her long, slender legs accentuated by high heels, and her sleek black hair draped over her back, revealing a cold, strikingly beautiful face.

“Hello, Mentor.”

Zhu Zhengting and Sun Na quickly stood up.

Hearing their voices, Xu Ze realized Zhang Yingjing had arrived, but with the cat in his arms, he didn’t want to disturb its sleep, so he simply greeted her from his seat.

Zhang Yingjing entered, nodded to the two, then paused when her gaze fell on Xu Ze.

Why was Xiaobai in Xu Ze’s arms?

Indeed, the Maine Coon nestled in Xu Ze’s lap was Zhang Yingjing’s own cat. It must have wandered over from the adjacent lounge.

What surprised Zhang Yingjing was that Xiaobai allowed a stranger to hold it.

Xiaobai had always been eccentric, ignoring everyone except her—never mind curling up in someone’s lap to sleep.

At that moment, Zhang Yingjing’s frown seemed to Zhu Zhengting and Sun Na like disapproval of Xu Ze for not standing up to greet her.

Both immediately felt worried for Xu Ze.

Zhang Yingjing quickly composed herself. After motioning for Zhu Zhengting and Sun Na to sit, she pulled over a chair and took a seat opposite the three.

She began discussing her evaluation and suggestions for their previous song demos—comments she had already given two days ago.

But with the cameras rolling for the program, it was necessary to record her feedback again.

After finishing Zhu Zhengting and Sun Na’s sections, everyone expected her to move on to Xu Ze, but she skipped him entirely and went straight to the next topic.

Both their first reactions were:

“It’s over—Xu Ze must have offended the mentor.”

Zhang Yingjing wasn’t even going to comment on Xu Ze.

Sun Na felt indignant on Xu Ze’s behalf, surprised at Zhang Yingjing’s apparent pettiness.

Zhu Zhengting cast a puzzled glance at Xu Ze, noticing he didn’t seem bothered at all; he was still absentmindedly fiddling with the big cat’s tail, his gaze somewhat vacant, as if—

He was daydreaming!

The cameraman was also uncertain. The director had instructed them to capture more shots of Xu Ze.

They’d already focused the camera on him, only for Zhang Yingjing to deliberately skip over him.

The cameraman was left perplexed: how was he supposed to give Xu Ze screen time if the mentor didn’t even comment on him?

He couldn’t very well film Xu Ze during someone else’s critique; that would be too forced.

Afterwards, Zhang Yingjing discussed some points on songwriting, then motioned for Zhu Zhengting to start singing his prepared piece.

With their revisions over the past two days, they had completed the main verse of the song.

Zhu Zhengting nodded and stood up. When Zhang Yingjing’s assistant cued up his accompaniment, he began to sing.

Zhang Yingjing nodded approvingly—the melody was much improved, the rhythm better than before.

Xu Ze, however, listened with a slight frown, glancing at Zhu Zhengting, uncertain about a particular thought in his mind.

When Zhu Zhengting finished, Sun Na applauded admiringly.

Zhang Yingjing began her critique, first acknowledging Zhu Zhengting’s progress, then pointing out two areas needing improvement.

Zhu Zhengting took out a notebook and carefully jotted down her comments.

After her feedback, Zhang Yingjing added, “Your song is quite good; you shouldn’t have any trouble against most contestants in the next round. But if you come up against someone like Huang Minghao, you’ll need to step up your game.”

Zhu Zhengting nodded, understanding her implication: with his current song, he’d stand no chance against Huang Minghao.

All he could do was hope not to encounter him.

As Zhang Yingjing was about to ask Sun Na to try her song, Xu Ze suddenly spoke up.

“Mentor, I’d like to ask Zhu Zhengting a question.”

Hearing Xu Ze, Zhu Zhengting looked baffled—what could he possibly want to ask?