106: Chapter 106 A Man's Mouth is a Deceitful Ghost

The stadium lights turned on.

Seventy thousand people stood in place, no one in a rush to leave.

In the front row, a girl was hugging her friend, her shoulders heaving as she sobbed.

Shen Nian stood in the VIP area, her hands still clutching the hem of her skirt, not letting go for a long time.

Jiang Fan patted her on the shoulder.

"Let's go."

Shen Nian snapped out of it and turned to look at him, her eyes still red.

"You wrote it?"

Jiang Fan did not deny it.

Shen Nian opened her mouth, wanting to say something. Her lips moved twice, but in the end, only one phrase popped out:

"...Pervert."

Jiang Fan chuckled and pulled her toward the VIP exit.

There weren't many people in the passageway, but everyone who passed by had a strange expression on their face—as if they had just come out of a movie theater and hadn't yet detached themselves from the plot.

A middle-aged man in a suit was leaning against the wall making a phone call, his voice kept very low.

"Hurry up and check. Xu Qingya's last song is called 'as you wish'. Who wrote the lyrics and music? Yes, check it now. I don't care what method you use, I want to see the results before tomorrow morning."

Shen Nian followed behind Jiang Fan, her pace even slower than when she arrived.

It wasn't entirely because her legs were sore.

The melody of the song kept spinning in her mind.

During the chorus, when Xu Qingya's voice soared, every hair on her body stood on end.

You clearly didn't know why, but the tears just started flowing.

That feeling couldn't be summarized by the words "it sounds good."

"Jiang Fan."

"Hmm?"

"When will you write a song like this for me too?"

Jiang Fan turned his head to look at her. Shen Nian's expression was very serious; she wasn't joking.

"When you are ready."

"I am ready now."

"The thickness of your voice right now cannot support this kind of arrangement." Jiang Fan said very directly, "Practice for another half year."

Shen Nian pouted, not refuting him.

She knew he was telling the truth.

When Xu Qingya sang that song, the high-pitched range of the chorus was ridiculously stable; every long note could be fully sustained, and the vibrato of the trailing notes was precise to the millimeter.

That was the foundation built from over a decade of professional training.

She was still far off.

But she remembered the number "half a year."

The two of them exited the Shanghai Stadium, and the square outside was packed with people.

Fans were gathered in groups of three or five, and everywhere one could hear people discussing the last song.

"I recorded it! I recorded it! That part in the chorus!"

"Post it, post it!"

"Wait, let me finish crying first..."

A girl with pigtails was squatting by the flower bed, crying her eyes out.

Beside her, her boyfriend was handing her tissues, looking at a loss.

Jiang Fan hailed a car and took Shen Nian to the backseat.

As soon as the car drove out of the parking lot, he took out his phone and opened Weibo—four of the top ten trending searches were already related to tonight's concert.

#Xu Qingya Concert New Song as you wish# — Trending #1.

#Xu Qingya God-Tier Performance# — #5.

#Who Is The Composer Of as you wish# — #8.

#Seventy Thousand People Stood Up# — #10.

Shen Nian leaned over to take a look, then took out her own phone and clicked into the first topic.

There were already dozens of recorded video clips from the scene.

The video quality was uneven, but the view count of every single one was skyrocketing.

The one with the highest views had been posted for less than twenty minutes, and it had already surpassed five million views.

The comment section was even more exaggerated.

"I've lived for twenty-eight years, and this is the first time I've cried at a concert."

"The big brother next to me, who was over 1.8 meters tall, was crying like a child."

"From today on, Xu Qingya is not a diva. She is a goddess."

"Please, when is this song going to be released? I want to put it on repeat ten thousand times."

Shen Nian scrolled down and found a Weibo post with over ten thousand reposts.

The blogger was a music critic, and their bio said "Veteran Music Producer."

The post was very long, so she clicked to read the full text.

"Just got out of Shanghai Stadium. My hands are still shaking. Let me calm down a bit before I say anything."

"Stating a few facts: First, the lyrical and musical quality of 'as you wish' can be ranked in the top three within the entire thirty-year history of the Chinese music scene. Second, Xu Qingya's vocal state tonight is the peak of her career, bar none. Third, who exactly is the producer of this song? If the same person completed the lyrics, music, and arrangement, then this person is not a genius, they are a monster."

Shen Nian turned the phone screen toward Jiang Fan.

Jiang Fan glanced at it and withdrew his gaze.

"Monster." Shen Nian repeated the word, looking at him, "That's talking about you."

Jiang Fan didn't respond, looking at his own phone.

There was an unread message on WeChat.

It was from Xu Qingya.

Just two words: "Thank you."

A photo followed it.

The photo was taken from the side of the stage, with the angle facing the audience.

Seventy thousand people were standing, the phone lights shining into a sea of white.

Jiang Fan looked at it for two seconds and replied with three words: "You sang well."

Xu Qingya replied instantly: "That's it?"

Jiang Fan typed: "I'll praise you heavily tomorrow."

Xu Qingya sent an eye-rolling emoji.

The car arrived downstairs at the apartment building.

The driver stopped, and Jiang Fan got out first, walking around to the other side to open the door for Shen Nian.

When Shen Nian got out of the car, her legs were trembling a little—having sat for three hours, plus the aftereffects from last night, her knees were soft.

Jiang Fan reached out to support her.

Shen Nian steadied herself by holding his arm: "It's all your fault."

The two entered the lobby and waited for the elevator.

The elevator door opened, and Shen Nian walked in, pressing the button for her floor.

She then pressed Jiang Fan's floor too.

"Don't come up with me."

Jiang Fan raised an eyebrow.

"My legs are almost ruined." Shen Nian's face turned red again, her voice kept very low, "If you come up, I really won't be able to walk tomorrow."

"I'll just go up and sit for a bit. To make sure you get home safely."

"Just sit?" Shen Nian tilted her head to look at him.

Shen Nian stared at him for three seconds.

"Swear it."

"I swear."

Shen Nian hesitated for two seconds, then pressed the button for Jiang Fan's floor again to turn it off.

The elevator stopped at Shen Nian's floor.

She opened the door and went in, with Jiang Fan following behind.

The living room lights were turned on.

Shen Nian kicked off her white canvas shoes, stepped barefoot on the floor, toes spreading out, and sighed comfortably.

"I'm going to change clothes."

Jiang Fan went to the kitchen to pour two glasses of water and sat down on the sofa.

Shen Nian came out after changing clothes—a white silk pajama set, her hair casually tied in a low ponytail.

She took the water glass, took a sip, sat down on the other end of the sofa, crossed her legs, and pulled a blanket over her knees.

Shen Nian took out her phone and started scrolling through Weibo.

"The number one trending search has already broken two hundred million views."

"Hmm."

"Can you not just say 'hmm'?"

Jiang Fan pulled Shen Nian's feet out from under the blanket, placed them on his lap, and squeezed her ankle.

Shen Nian flinched: "What are you doing?"

"Helping you massage them."

"...Keep your hands behaved."

Jiang Fan was indeed well-behaved for about three minutes.

His hands moved from her ankles up to her calves, massaged a few times, and then moved further up.

Shen Nian's attention was still on her phone, and she didn't notice.

By the time she realized it, Jiang Fan's hand had already reached her inner thigh.

"Jiang Fan!"

Shen Nian kicked him.

"You said you were just coming up to sit!"

"I'm helping you massage."

"Massaging up to the root of the thigh? Which massage school did you graduate from?"

Jiang Fan held her legs down, his other hand continuing to move up.

Shen Nian clamped her legs shut, using both hands to pry his wrist away—she couldn't budge it.

"You—you swore!"

"I said I was coming up to sit, I didn't say I wouldn't touch you."

"Jiang Fan, you liar—"

Jiang Fan scooped her over from the other end of the sofa, pulling her onto his lap.

Shen Nian struggled twice, and the blanket slid to the floor.

Her pajama top was lifted up a bit.

Shen Nian bit her lip and glared at him, her ears completely red.

Jiang Fan picked her up directly.

Shen Nian's legs reflexively hooked around his waist—.

By the time she realized what this position meant, she had already been placed on the bed.

"Jiang Fan... I still have to go practice singing tomorrow..."

"It won't interfere."

The next morning.

The first thing Shen Nian did upon waking up was to try and move her legs.

Every muscle was protesting.

She turned her head to look at Jiang Fan, who was still sleeping beside her, and reached out to pinch the flesh on his waist.

Jiang Fan's eyebrows twitched; he turned over and continued sleeping.

Shen Nian stared at him for five seconds, picked up a pillow, and smashed it onto his face.

"Jiang Fan."

"Hmm..."

"My legs are ruined. Are you satisfied?"

Jiang Fan revealed half his face from under the pillow, his eyes not opening: "I'll carry you on my back."

"Get lost."

Shen Nian got out of bed, holding onto the nightstand for three seconds before she could stand steadily.

She walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror—two red marks on her neck, and another one by her collarbone.

"..."

She took out concealer and started covering them up one by one.

When she reached the third one, her hand stopped.

She discovered that the corners of her mouth in the mirror were curled upward.

She hurriedly pursed her lips straight.

A man's words are a deceptive ghost.