141: Chapter 141 What should we do? We can't exactly say we're together, can we?

The two of them tossed and turned in the game until almost one in the morning.

Lu Li yawned, and his eyelids were already starting to fight each other.

Shen Qingxue was no better off; although she didn't say anything, her operations were obviously much slower than before, and her character kept bumping into walls from time to time.

"Alright, let's call it a day here."

Lu Li put down his phone and rubbed his sore eyes.

"We still have to release a song tomorrow. Don't show up on camera with two dark circles under our eyes, or the fans will think we got beaten up."

Shen Qingxue hummed an affirmative "Mm," and then exited the game.

"Sleep early, we're still busy tomorrow."

Lu Li stood up from the sofa, stretched, and his bones cracked in a series of pops.

"Mm, you too."

Shen Qingxue stood up as well and walked toward her room.

When she reached the entrance of the hallway, she suddenly stopped and tilted her head to glance at Lu Li.

"Good night."

"Good night."

Lu Li waved at her and turned to walk into his own room.

...

The next morning, Lu Li was woken up by a phone vibration.

Feeling around for it, he saw it was a message sent by Shen Qingxue.

"Get up and eat breakfast."

Lu Li stared at those words on the screen for two seconds, threw the phone beside his pillow, turned over, and buried his face in the quilt.

He didn't want to get up.

He really didn't want to get up.

Playing games until almost one in the morning last night, making him get up now was simply more painful than killing him.

But Shen Qingxue obviously wouldn't give him a chance to stay in bed.

The phone vibrated again.

"Three minutes, if you don't get up, I'll eat by myself."

Lu Li pulled the quilt over his head and replied in a muffled voice.

"Give me another five minutes..."

"Three minutes."

"Four and a half minutes."

"Two minutes."

"Fine, fine, fine, three minutes it is!"

Lu Li suddenly sat up from the bed, with a head of hair messy like a bird's nest, and before his eyes were fully open, he started moving toward the edge of the bed.

When he stepped in slippers and walked out of the bedroom, Shen Qingxue was already sitting at the dining table.

On the dining table were two bowls of porridge, two fried eggs, a small dish of side dishes, and a cup of warm milk.

Lu Li walked over, sat down with a thud, picked up the milk, and took a big gulp first.

"Drink slowly, no one is fighting you for it."

Watching him look like a starved ghost reincarnated, Shen Qingxue couldn't help but say.

Lu Li put down the cup, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a fried egg, and swallowed it in two or three bites.

"What time did you sleep last night?"

Shen Qingxue scooped a spoonful of porridge into her mouth, chewed it leisurely, and then spoke.

"Probably a bit earlier than you."

"How much earlier?"

"Should be around ten minutes."

Lu Li's mouth twitched.

"Then what's the difference between that and me?"

Shen Qingxue glanced at him and didn't pick up the conversation.

Lu Li didn't mind either; he lowered his head, slurped down a couple of mouthfuls of porridge, and then slowed down his pace.

Halfway through eating, he suddenly raised his head and looked at Shen Qingxue.

"Right, besides releasing the love song today, what other arrangements are there?"

Shen Qingxue put down her spoon, picked up a tissue to wipe the corner of her mouth, her movements unhurried.

"I received a text message on my end. There is a video interview this afternoon, arranged by the competition officials, and every popular contestant has to record it."

Lu Li was stunned for a moment.

"An interview? Where are we recording it?"

"Right at home. Their side will send a team over, taking about two hours or so."

Shen Qingxue's tone was still calm, but Lu Li noticed her brows furrow slightly.

"What, don't you want to record it?"

Shen Qingxue was silent for a second, then shook her head.

"It's not that I don't want to record, it's just..."

She paused, as if weighing her words.

"During the interview, they will definitely ask about the relationship between us. After all, there are too many rumors online recently."

Lu Li leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and thought about it.

"Then you just tell the truth. We are partners, and living together is also for the convenience of work."

Shen Qingxue glanced at him, the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.

"Do you think anyone else will believe that?"

Lu Li was choked up by that.

To be honest, even he himself didn't quite believe it.

Ahem, a lone man and woman living together, going out to buy things late at night and getting caught, and saying it's a pure cooperative relationship...

When these words are said, let alone netizens, even he himself felt guilty.

"Then what should we do? It's not like we can say we are together, right?"

After Lu Li finished saying this sentence, he himself was stunned for a moment.

Shen Qingxue's earlobes turned slightly red, but quickly returned to normal.

"We'll see how things go when the time comes. Avoid it if we can, and if we can't... handle it vaguely."

Lu Li nodded and didn't say anything more.

After finishing the meal, Lu Li cleared the bowls and chopsticks as usual, and Shen Qingxue didn't stand on ceremony with him either, leaning on the sofa and starting to scroll through her phone.

When Lu Li came out of the kitchen, her expression was a bit more serious than before.

"What's wrong?"

Lu Li walked over and sat down beside her.

Shen Qingxue turned the phone screen toward him.

"Look at this."

Lu Li lowered his head to look. On the screen was a Douyin trending search, and the title was...

[Starlight Entertainment Chairman Zhao Ming: Regarding artist contract terminations, we have always upheld the most humanized handling approach]

Clicking in to take a look, it was an interview video.

Zhao Ming was wearing a dark gray suit, his hair combed meticulously, sitting in the office with a smile on his face.

The reporter asked: "President Zhao, the recent matter regarding Shen Qingxue's contract termination has been causing a great uproar. Can you reveal the specific reasons?"

Zhao Ming smiled, his tone gentle.

"Qingxue is a very talented artist, and we have always valued her. The contract termination was proposed by her personally, and we respect her choice."

Pausing for a moment, he added another sentence.

"Although there were some small twists and turns in the process, in the end we reached a consensus and parted ways peacefully."

The reporter pressed further: "Then how do you view the Rock Sugar and Pear Duo formed by her and Lu Li now?"

Zhao Ming's smile remained unchanged.

"I bless them and hope they go further and further on the road of music."

The video wasn't long, but every sentence was airtight and watertight.

After watching, Lu Li couldn't help feeling a bit puzzled.

"This guy really knows how to speak. It seems like there's truly nothing wrong with it."

Shen Qingxue took back her phone, lowered her head to look at that video again, her brows slightly furrowed.

"You probably don't understand Zhao Ming very well. The more airtight his words are, the more problematic they are."

Lu Li leaned against the sofa, resting his hands behind his head, and thought about it.

"In other words, is he building a persona for himself? By the way, implying that the termination was unpleasant, and the responsibility lies with you? Also paving the way for possible future actions."

Shen Qingxue nodded.

"I think so too."

The two of them looked at each other, both seeing a trace of solemnity in each other's eyes.

The living room was quiet for a few seconds.

Lu Li suddenly spoke up, his tone much more relaxed.

"However, screw him. Water comes, earth covers; if he dares to make a move, we'll take it on."

Shen Qingxue stared at him for two seconds, then nodded slightly.

"Makes sense."

Lu Li grinned and stood up from the sofa.

"So don't think so much anymore. Let's release the song first, record a good interview in the afternoon, and talk about other things later."

Shen Qingxue hummed an affirmative "Mm," stood up as well, and walked back to her room to prepare to change clothes.

...

Ten in the morning.

Lu Li exported the complete audio source of the love song, paired it with a solid-color cover, edited the copywriting, and sent it out.

Less than half an hour after its release, the play count broke one hundred thousand, and the comment section was extremely bustling.

[Finally waited for the full version! I was almost waiting until I grew white hair!]

[This song is truly amazing, reserved for single loop playback]

[An entire universe in exchange for a single red bean, this is my favorite lyric, I can remember it for a lifetime]

[What kind of deity is Lu Li anyway? Writing songs is as simple as drinking water]

[Indeed, I heard that after he terminated his contract, he took off instead]

[The goddess sings well too, the cooperation between the two of them is seamless]

[Rock Sugar Pear is the eternal god!]