145: Chapter 145 We should always look on the bright side, or how about we hug and have a good cry first?

Shen Qingxue ignored Lu Li's flattery and quickly found the first number in her contacts list.

The contact note was Lin Yan.

She was a female celebrity who debuted around the same time as her, and back then, at the exact same drinking gathering, she had sat right on her right side.

They were not particularly close, but they didn't have any bad blood either.

The call rang several times before it was answered.

"Hello? Qingxue?"

Lin Yan's voice carried a hint of surprise, as if she hadn't expected to receive a call from her.

"Lin Yan, long time no see. Sorry to disturb you." A hint of solemnity crept into Shen Qingxue's tone.

"Um... There's something I'd like to ask your help with. Is it convenient to talk for a moment?"

The other end of the phone fell silent for two seconds.

"You mean... the stuff on the internet?"

Shen Qingxue froze slightly before letting out an "Mn."

"The photos from that drinking gathering have been dug up. I want to ask you to help testify that it was just an ordinary business dinner and there weren't any so-called... things like that."

The other end of the phone fell silent again.

This time, the silence lasted even longer.

"Lin Yan?"

"Qingxue..."

Lin Yan finally spoke, her voice much softer than before, carrying a hint of hesitation.

"It's not that I'm unwilling to help you, it's... as you know, I'm still at Starlight, and President Zhao's side... it's hard for me to offend him."

As soon as those words came out, Shen Qingxue already knew the result.

"I understand. Sorry to have bothered you then."

"Qingxue, I didn't mean that, I really..."

"It's alright, I understand."

Shen Qingxue interrupted her, her tone remaining calm.

"Thanks for answering my call. I'm hanging up."

She didn't wait for Lin Yan to say anything else and directly pressed the hang-up button.

The living room fell quiet for a fleeting moment.

Lu Li leaned against the sofa with a solemn expression.

"She won't help?"

Shen Qingxue shook her head, said nothing more, lowered her head to flip out the second number, and dialed it out.

This time, the phone rang five times before it was answered. The other party didn't even bother with pleasantries and spoke directly.

"Sorry, Teacher Shen. I saw the stuff on the internet, but you and I aren't very close, and I don't remember that drinking gathering. Apologies."

She hung up right after saying that.

Shen Qingxue stared at the phone screen. That word "apologies" still echoed in her ears, ice-cold and devoid of any warmth.

She paused for a few seconds, then flipped out the third number, the fourth, and the fifth.

Every single one of them refused.

Their reasons varied.

Someone was under Starlight and dared not offend them.

Someone was afraid of getting burned and wanted to protect themselves.

Someone simply didn't answer the phone, not even giving her the chance to be rejected.

By the sixth one, the number Shen Qingxue dialed directly displayed that the call you dialed was currently on another line.

She had been blacklisted.

Obviously, the matter of her asking people for help had already spread around that small circle.

Shen Qingxue sighed, then slowly removed the phone from her ear and placed it on the coffee table.

How fickle the world is.

When things are going well, a large crowd of people can't wait to rush up and suck up to you, but once the curtain falls, that same group can't wait to sever ties with you and run as far away as possible.

One can only say that human nature is bound to be like this.

The living room fell stiflingly quiet for a moment.

Lu Li sat on the sofa, looking at Shen Qingxue's expressionless appearance, and suddenly felt a bit choked up inside.

He had known Shen Qingxue for so long and had never seen her like this.

"Um..."

Lu Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he felt that whatever he said wouldn't quite hit the mark.

Shen Qingxue turned her head to glance at him.

"It's fine, if they won't help, so be it. I didn't hold out much hope to begin with."

Lu Li sighed.

She still liked putting up a hard front so much. If she really didn't hold out any hope, she wouldn't have called them one by one.

Lu Li scratched his head, intending to comfort her.

"Don't worry so much for now. As long as the lawyers handle things over there, it can at least share a portion of the public opinion pressure."

He paused, his tone becoming a bit more serious.

"After all, those dirt pieces are all forged. Once the technical appraisal comes out and we send a lawyer's letter, that trending search topic will basically be dead."

Shen Qingxue nodded gently.

"Mn."

"As for your side..."

Lu Li weighed his phrasing.

"Although no one is willing to come forward to testify right now, it doesn't mean no one will ever be willing. Once the limelight passes, someone will eventually speak up."

Shen Qingxue put the water cup back on the coffee table and raised her head to look at him.

"Are you so certain?"

"Uh... not certain."

Lu Li answered honestly. After all, he couldn't just say directly, 'All these words I said were just to comfort you, right?'

"However, we always have to think on the bright side. What else? How about the two of us cry in each other's arms first?"

Shen Qingxue's mood improved slightly, and she gave Lu Li a sideways glance in annoyance.

"Go away. Who wants to cry in your arms."

"There you go, just relax your mindset."

Lu Li laughed heartily, then glanced at Shen Qingxue, his tone subconsciously softening a bit.

"Besides, we're going to Hangzhou soon, and the song hasn't even been written yet. If your state is affected by these damned matters, that would be playing right into their hands."

Shen Qingxue froze for a fleeting moment, staring closely at Lu Li.

"What are you staring at me for?"

Lu Li felt a bit uncomfortable being looked at by her and subconsciously touched his face.

"Nothing."

Shen Qingxue withdrew her gaze and picked up her phone.

"Right, do you have any ideas for the national style themed song?"

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing.

"Your speed of changing the topic is way too fast, isn't it?"

"Otherwise what?"

Shen Qingxue glared at him.

"Instead of staring at each other blankly here, it's better to put our energy into things we can actually do."

Lu Li was choked up for a moment, opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally nodded resignedly.

"Alright, Teacher Shen is right."

He pulled that stack of blank manuscript paper out from under the coffee table, picked up a pencil, but didn't start writing immediately. Instead, he leaned against the sofa and closed his eyes.

The living room quieted down.

Shen Qingxue didn't urge him. She sat quietly opposite him, her gaze falling on his face.

But after quite a while, Lu Li still delayed putting pen to paper.

"What's wrong? No inspiration?" Shen Qingxue couldn't help asking.

Lu Li raised his head with a troubled look on his face.

"It's not that there's no inspiration..."

"Then what is it?"

"It's mainly that there's too much inspiration right now, and for a moment I don't know which one is more suitable to write."

Hearing this, Shen Qingxue didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

What does too much inspiration even mean? Could it be this absurd?

"Then just write according to your own thoughts..."

"Got it."

Lu Li suddenly opened his eyes and straightened his posture.

Shen Qingxue put down her water cup, her body leaning forward subconsciously.

"Thought of it?"

"Thought of it."

Lu Li picked up the pencil and wrote three characters on the manuscript paper.

Shen Qingxue glanced from afar and only saw the three characters "blue and white porcelain", her brows raising slightly.

Porcelain?

Is this considered national style? It should... be considered so, right?

But she didn't voice any interruption and waited quietly.

Lu Li wrote very quickly, the pencil rustling across the paper with almost no pauses.

After finishing the first verse, he didn't stop and continued writing downwards.

The lyrics and melody of the entire song were completed in one go.

"One down."

Lu Li put the filled manuscript paper aside and, with no intention of stopping, picked up another new sheet of blank manuscript paper.

Shen Qingxue was stunned for a moment.

Still writing?

She had thought this song "blue and white porcelain" would be the song used for the finals, but looking at this posture... was Lu Li going to write two for her to choose from?

But that was fine too; having one more choice was always good.