158: Chapter 158 Returning to Shanghai

After taking a shower, Lu Li wiped his hair, walked over to the window, and pulled open the curtains.

The night view of West Lake outside the window was fully in view, with the city lights reflected on the sparkling lake surface, very beautiful.

He stared at that patch of the lake for a few seconds, and the topic given by the host today automatically came to his mind.

Inspirational...

In that world before he transmigrated, there were still too many classic inspirational songs.

Which one should he pick?

Lu Li closed his eyes, and his playlist began to play in his mind.

Going through them one by one, screening them one by one.

For example, "Chasing Dreams with a Child's Heart", although classic, might not necessarily suit Shen Qingxue's vocal range.

And while some songs sounded good, the artistic conception of the lyrics did not fit the theme of the competition highly enough.

He repeatedly compared and weighed them in his mind.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Lu Li suddenly opened his eyes.

He had it.

JJ's "come on"!

Just choose this one! Whether it was the song title or the lyrics, they were very straightforwardly inspirational.

And as for the vocal range, it was actually quite suitable for Shen Qingxue.

After confirming, Lu Li turned over, pulled the quilt up to his chin, and closed his eyes.

Time to sleep!

...

The next morning.

Lu Li was awakened by a burst of knocking.

"Lu Li, Lu Li! Time to get up, it's past nine o'clock."

Shen Qingxue's voice came from outside the door, carrying a hint of helplessness.

Lu Li turned over, buried his face into the pillow, and muffled a reply.

"Got it..."

Lying in bed for another five minutes, he reluctantly climbed out of bed, stepped into slippers, and went to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Shen Qingxue was standing at the doorway, looking full of energy.

"Why did you get up so early?"

Lu Li yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"It's not early, it's past nine o'clock. Hurry up and wash up, go eat breakfast, and then go back."

After finishing, Shen Qingxue turned around and left.

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, then shouted at her back.

"Wait, go back to where?"

"Back to Magic City."

Shen Qingxue didn't even look back, her voice floating over from the other end of the corridor.

"The competition is over, why stay here?"

Lu Li's mouth twitched, wanting to say that her pace was simply too fast.

But on second thought, indeed, the competition was over, and there was nothing much to do staying in Hangzhou, so it was better to go back early.

"All right."

...

An hour later, the two checked out, dragged their suitcases out of the hotel, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the high-speed railway station.

On the high-speed train for the return trip, Shen Qingxue sat by the window, holding her phone and not knowing what she was looking at.

Lu Li sat next to her, crossing his arms with his eyes closed in a doze.

"Lu Li."

Shen Qingxue suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

Lu Li opened one eye.

"The theme for the next match is inspirational, do you have any ideas? If not, actually I have some inspiration here too..."

Lu Li thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I have one, but we can still refer to your ideas when the time comes."

Shen Qingxue turned her head to look at him, her expression a bit surprised.

"So fast?"

"It's not that fast, it's just... this song has actually been stored in my head for a long time, I just haven't written it out yet."

Lu Li casually found a reason, speaking ambiguously.

"What song is it?"

Shen Qingxue's tone carried a hint of curiosity.

Lu Li glanced at her, the corners of his mouth ticking up slightly.

"You'll know when we get back."

Shen Qingxue stared at him for two seconds, then withdrew her gaze and curled her lips.

"Deliberately being mysterious."

Lu Li smiled, didn't reply, and closed his eyes again.

...

At a little past twelve noon, the high-speed train arrived in Magic City on time.

The two dragged their suitcases out of the high-speed railway station, hailed a taxi, and gave the address.

By the time they arrived home, it was already past one in the afternoon.

Lu Li threw his suitcase in the foyer, changed his shoes, walked into the living room, threw himself headfirst onto the sofa, and let out a comfortable groan.

"Ah~ Home is still the most comfortable."

Shen Qingxue dragged her suitcase past him, glanced at him, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.

"Then you rest for a while, I'll go cook."

"Mm mm mm."

Lu Li buried his face in the sofa cushion and gave a muffled response.

Waiting until Shen Qingxue's footsteps disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, he turned over, stared at the ceiling, and let out a long breath.

The trip to Hangzhou was truly exhausting, but the gains were also truly massive.

The success of "hair like snow" not only proved Shen Qingxue's strength, but also proved the value of their "Rock Sugar Pear" duo.

More importantly, after experiencing that storm of public opinion, they used their works to fiercely strike back at those doubting voices.

Although the storm had not completely subsided, the wind direction had already begun to turn.

This was definitely a good thing.

Thinking of this, Lu Li couldn't help but want to greet Starlight Entertainment.

Truly a bunch of bastards! Making them utterly flustered; if this were an ordinary person, they wouldn't have been able to hold on long ago.

Just as Lu Li was scheming in his mind about how to dig a pit for Starlight Entertainment, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He fumbled for it and looked, and it was an unfamiliar number.

Hesitating for a moment, he still swiped to answer.

"Hello?"

"Is this Teacher Lu Li? Hello, hello, I am the Operations Director of Tianlai Music, my surname is Chen."

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Lu Li raised an eyebrow, instinctively sitting up from the sofa.

Tianlai Music?

He knew this platform; it was one of the top three online music platforms in the country, and its strength was on the same level as domestic Penguin Music and Cloud Music.

As for Qishui Music, it was in the second tier.

But the question came, this giant suddenly came looking for him... what kind of situation was this?

"Director Chen, is there something?"

"It's like this, Teacher Lu, we greatly appreciate the works of you and Teacher Shen, and we have also seen the popularity of these works on Qishui Music..."

Director Chen paused and continued speaking.

"Therefore, we want to talk to you about an exclusive licensing cooperation. I wonder if it is convenient for you?"

Lu Li's brows raised slightly.

Exclusive licensing?

So bold, wanting exclusive licensing right off the bat?

Lu Li thought about it for a while, then gave a reply.

"Director Chen, I have heard your proposal, but I need to discuss this matter with my partner and give you an answer later."

"Of course, of course, you can add my WeChat, it's this mobile number, and then I'll wait for Teacher Lu's good news."

Hanging up the phone, Lu Li leaned back on the sofa and thought.

Tianlai Music taking the initiative to approach them showed that the popularity of their works on Qishui had already attracted the attention of these giant platforms.

This was a good thing, but they couldn't rush to agree.

After all, for a matter like exclusive licensing, once signed, it was equivalent to binding one's livelihood to a single platform.

He had to listen to Shen Qingxue's thoughts first.

Lu Li stood up from the sofa and walked to the kitchen doorway.

Shen Qingxue was wearing an apron and standing in front of the stove, with dishes cooking in the pot, bubbling and steaming.

"Um, I have something to tell you."

"Speak."

Shen Qingxue replied without even turning her head.

"Just now, the operations director of Tianlai Music called, wanting to talk with us about an exclusive licensing cooperation."

Shen Qingxue's stir-frying motion paused for a moment, then she turned off the fire and turned around.

"Tianlai Music?"

"Mm."

Lu Li leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms.

"What do you think?"

Shen Qingxue lowered her head to think for a moment, then raised her head.

"Exclusive licensing is not impossible to discuss, but it depends on the conditions, and we can't just talk to one; we have to let several platforms compete with each other so we can get the best terms."

"Of course, in the end, we still have to reserve a license for Qishui, after all, we also started out from Douyin..."

Lu Li was stunned for a moment, then gave a thumbs up.

"Awesome, I really didn't think of this, why are you so smart."

Shen Qingxue ignored his flattery, turned around, and continued cooking.

"Eat first, we'll talk after dinner."