76: Chapter 76 Both fell out, are there still any problems?

When Jiang Fan woke up, Shen Nian was curled up in the quilt with her back to him, only half the back of her head visible.

He turned his head to glance at the phone on the nightstand: 7:12 AM.

The system panel popped up automatically.

[Current Lifespan Value: 21500 points]

[Remaining Lifespan: 43 days and 5 hours]

Jiang Fan closed the panel and carefully slipped out from under the quilt.

He got dressed and went downstairs to buy breakfast.

While he was plating the food, a slight sound of turning over came from the direction of the bedroom.

Shen Nian emerged from the bedroom wearing her pajamas.

Her hair was messy, with a stubborn tuft of hair sticking up at the back.

She stood in the bedroom doorway, the morning light streaming in from the window and landing right on her face.

The grayish-blue tint that had permanently hung under her eyes had completely faded.

Her cheeks were flushed with a light pink, her eyes were much brighter, and her whole person radiated a charming glow.

Jiang Fan lingered on her for two extra seconds.

Shen Nian felt uncomfortable being stared at and turned her head away.

"What are you looking at?"

"You're getting prettier and prettier."

Shen Nian didn't respond.

"Hurry up and wash up so we can eat."

Jiang Fan didn't tease her further; one must exercise restraint when necessary.

There was a lot to do today, and he still had to visit Diva Xu in the evening.

— —

After finishing breakfast, Jiang Fan went back to his own apartment to take a proper shower.

Then, he headed out to the company.

Since it was Sunday, no one was working, and the entire floor of the Studio was empty.

He entered his office and opened his computer.

Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and brought up the system store.

He typed four words into the search bar: fleet of time.

In his previous life, this song was sung by Faye.

Ethereal, detached, and carrying a kind of bystander's compassion.

But on Blue Star, the person who could sing it with that flavor—

Diva Xu was the most suitable.

Redeem.

[Deducted Lifespan Value: 200 points]

[Remaining Lifespan Value: 21300 points]

The complete lyrics and composition unfolded in his mind.

Jiang Fan opened his eyes, switched his computer to music notation mode, and began to organize it.

He worked until a little past 3:00 PM, checked it one last time, and found no issues.

He printed it out and placed it in a folder.

He locked the Studio door and took a taxi to Diva Xu's small villa.

— —

Entering the door code, Jiang Fan pushed the door open and went straight in.

There was a new bouquet of pink roses on the shoe cabinet in the entryway, placed in a slender glass vase.

As he was changing his shoes, the buzzing sound of a hairdryer came from the direction of the bedroom.

Jiang Fan placed the folder on the dining table and walked toward the bedroom.

The hairdryer stopped.

Footsteps emerged from inside.

Diva Xu was wearing a black lace nightgown, her hair freshly dried and resting fluffily on her shoulders.

One shoulder strap had slipped down to her arm, and she didn't bother with it.

As she walked out of the bedroom, the pleasant scent of shampoo followed her.

Her skin was so fair it was almost translucent, and even the section from her neck to her collarbone shimmered with the luster of porcelain.

She glanced at the folder on the dining table.

"What is that?"

"A song."

Diva Xu walked to the dining table and picked up the folder to open it.

The first page: the song title.

fleet of time.

Her gaze moved downward, landing on the lyrics.

"fleet of time, how many times did we say goodbye before dragging it out..."

"Pity, no one has, love was never a debate fueled by passion..."

She flipped to the chorus.

"If we couldn't have red eyes when we met again, could we still have red faces..."

"Just like that beautiful rumor of eternity we hastily carved that year."

Her fingers stopped turning the page.

"The lyrics are well written. Is this for me?"

"It's for you to sing. This song is the theme song for a movie."

Diva Xu leaned against the edge of the dining table, arms crossed.

"What movie?"

"A campus youth film, currently in post-production."

He skipped over the name Su Yuyan cleanly.

In fact, Su Yuyan didn't intend to sing it herself—she was just acting as a bridge, but there was no need to elaborate on such details in front of Diva Xu.

It would only save him from having to pay back two more songs.

Diva Xu's attention was entirely on the song.

She flipped back to the first page and read it through from the beginning again.

Her fingers tapped on the lyrics, her lips moving slightly as she hummed the melody in her heart.

Seeing how focused she was, Jiang Fan went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water and sat on the sofa.

About two or three minutes later.

Diva Xu closed the folder and patted the cover twice with her palm.

"Put this song in my new album; it can be the lead single."

After speaking, she paused for a moment.

Seeming to realize that she was already thinking about how to stuff it into her commercial portfolio, she felt a bit embarrassed and added stiffly: "Of course, if you don't agree, that's another matter."

"Don't worry about the album for now. The movie theme song has a schedule requirement; let's record this one first."

Diva Xu didn't press the issue.

She tossed the folder onto the coffee table, curled up on the sofa, and naturally rested her feet on Jiang Fan's lap.

Her toenails were painted with light pink polish, looking very alluring.

"What do you want to eat tonight? I'll go make it."

Jiang Fan looked down at the feet resting on his lap.

Then he looked at her black lace nightgown and the shoulder strap that had slipped onto her arm.

"How about—"

Jiang Fan looked up.

"I eat you first."

Diva Xu blinked.

The foot resting on his lap was about to be pulled back.

Jiang Fan grabbed her ankle.

Diva Xu's ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

She struggled twice but couldn't break free.

"Let go—"

"Answer me a question first."

"What question?"

"That shoulder strap of yours—did it fall down on its own, or did you leave it down on purpose?"

Diva Xu looked down at the strap that had slid onto her arm.

She was quiet for two seconds.

She raised her hand—and pulled the other strap down as well.

"Now both are down, any more questions?"

This ice-queen Diva was no less talented at provocation than she was at singing.

Jiang Fan put her foot down and pressed his whole body over her.

Diva Xu's back sank into the sofa cushion, the neckline of her nightgown sliding down along with the two empty shoulder straps.

Her hands rested on the back of his neck, her fingertips cool.

"Be gentle."

"When have you ever seen that work?"

Diva Xu bit his shoulder.

The sofa cushion was knocked to the floor.

The water glass on the coffee table rippled, and at one point, the base of the glass spun on the surface, looking as if it were about to tip over.

Diva Xu reached out to steady it at the last moment.

Unfortunately, she couldn't even steady herself.

later, they moved to the bedroom.

Because the sofa was really too narrow, Diva Xu had fallen off twice.

The first time she didn't make a sound and climbed back up herself.

The second time she bit her lip and cursed two words—as far as a Diva was concerned, this belonged in the category of over-the-line vocabulary.

Jiang Fan picked her up horizontally.

Diva Xu's little lace thong was still hanging from her ankle, and her nightgown had long since been tossed into the gap between the coffee table and the sofa.

— —

Afterward.

Diva Xu lay on her side, using his arm as a pillow.

Her fingers were aimlessly drawing something on his chest.

"When are you planning to record this song?"

"Are you free tomorrow?"

Diva Xu took the phone from the nightstand and flipped through her schedule.

"I have a magazine shoot in the morning, finishing at 11:00. The afternoon and evening are both free."

"Tomorrow at 2:00 PM, at the Tianyu Recording Studio."

"Okay." Diva Xu tilted her head. "I'll give the recording engineer a heads-up."

"No need for a recording engineer; I'll do it myself."

Diva Xu looked at him but didn't say much.

Last time, for 《Red Bean》, he had handled everything behind the mixing console by himself.

At that level, the Tianyu recording engineer could only stand by and serve tea and water.

"Then I'll just have them clear out the Studio."

"Mm."

It was quiet for a while.

Diva Xu raised her foot and stepped on his calf.

"Go cook. I'm hungry."

"You cook."

"Did you forget whose house you're in?"

Jiang Fan looked at her righteous expression and sat up.

"Fine, Diva Xu. What would you like to eat?"

"There's food in the fridge; figure it out yourself."

Jiang Fan put on a T-shirt and walked out of the bedroom barefoot.

Behind him came Diva Xu's voice.

"Pick up my nightgown."

"..."