Chapter 175: Boss, He Knows…

Chapter 175: Boss, He Knows…

“Then…” Song Xuan still looked doubtful. Faced with that attitude, she hardly knew what to say. Part of her even wondered whether the explosion of “Antidote for the Soul” had made him a little too sure of himself, though she would never say so aloud.

“Then make it about love…” she said after some thought.

“What style?”

“Style… lyrical…” She drew the words out slowly. “The chorus can pick up the tempo… and it would be best if it had a bit of a punk feel.”

Wu Chen smiled, raised an eyebrow, and nodded, his whole expression saying, Fine, no problem.

A lyrical love song with punk elements, especially in the all-important chorus, might sound contradictory. It was not. Plenty of songs opened on a beautiful, lyrical melody and then erupted the moment the chorus arrived.

That contrast could sharpen the explosive force of the chorus.

It was also difficult to write.

For Wu Chen, of course, it presented no difficulty at all.

He had a whole pile of songs he had confirmed could catch fire in a single day.

There were only so many broad categories of song, and love was the largest theme in music.

So he had one ready.

“Did I… ask for too much?” Song Xuan suddenly backed off. The more confident Wu Chen looked, the less sure she felt. “How about—just make it about love. Senior, write whatever you like…”

“Then I’ll write.” Wu Chen said nothing more and set to it, the pen moving fast across the notebook.

Again he did not pause once.

He wrote at extraordinary speed, as though thought did not enter into it.

Watching him, Song Xuan again began to suspect he was pulling out something written earlier to placate her.

But that did not quite work either, because he had only asked her today what kind of song she wanted.

A little over ten minutes, and the lyrics were done.

Less than ten minutes after that, the numbered notation.

Then the arrangement and mixing notes. Wu Chen marked the instruments, the harmonies, the vocal approach for each section.

He knew the timbre of Song Xuan’s voice and he knew her singing habits, so every note he made was cut to fit her.

When he finished, Song Xuan could take the notebook and record a demo straight from it, with nobody to guide or correct her.

The whole thing took half an hour.

Wu Chen finished, handed the notebook back, and smiled.

“Take a look.”

She took it and bent her head.

“‘A Song for Me’…” she murmured.

She was reading the title. That was what it was called.

It opened fresh and gentle, then burst into energy at the chorus. It was about love, and it carried a cool edge.

With only words on paper, Song Xuan could not tell how the finished song would feel.

But judged on the lyrics alone, it was very good.

“Thank you, Senior.” When she had read it she offered no verdict on the song. She only thanked him.

“I’m selling it to you. What are you thanking me for?” Wu Chen smiled.

That seemed to remind her.

“Oh, right!” She came back to herself and took out her phone. “Senior, what’s your account number? I’ll transfer the hundred thousand now. We can arrange the revenue-sharing contract another time. I definitely won’t go back on my word—”

“Scan this.” Wu Chen opened his payment QR code, laid the phone flat on the table, and pushed it toward her.

He knew that between Penguin Pay and WeChat alone, Song Xuan routinely kept several million yuan in spending money.

She scanned the code and paid.

One hundred thousand yuan received.

“All right. That’s it for today. I have things to do…” Wu Chen put his phone away and stood.

“Okay, Senior… let’s leave it there for now.” She stood too.

She was in a hurry to go herself. She wanted to get back and record the song, and had no wish to waste a minute.

“Senior, let’s meet again next time. I’ll buy you dinner and we can talk properly—”

“Sure. I’m off.” Wu Chen wasted no more words. He straightened his suit, smiled at her, and turned away.

Passing Bai Ling’s table, he seemed to glance idly at her as she busied herself with her phone, typing a message.

Bai Ling appeared not to notice him.

Only once he had gone by, his back to her, did she look over and tap Send on the chat screen.

Song Xuan watched him go.

Then she sat back down and gathered up her laptop bag and the rest of what she usually carried. Before putting the notebook away she looked at it again, lips pursed, brows faintly drawn.

She still thought the whole thing sounded unreliable.

The song Wu Chen had written was good, and the theme and style really were things she had only settled today, so it was entirely possible he had just written it. She did not doubt his talent.

But… would it be a hit?

Could it actually work?

How many long-established singers had whole teams of professionals around them and faded anyway? Their new songs simply failed. Nobody listened.

Making one song popular was hard.

How could Wu Chen dash something off and guarantee it?

Even so, she would certainly go back and record it and release it.

She had paid for it.

Of course she was going to try.

A few minutes later.

On Dongfeng Road, Wu Chen drove the Lamborghini at a moderate speed.

He kept checking the rearview mirror, because a car had been following him ever since he left the café.

At first there had been one.

A few minutes on, two more joined it.

Three vehicles now, tailing him together.

Wu Chen was not surprised in the least.

Another two minutes passed.

At last the fourth tail appeared. The first three were two sedans and an MPV; the fourth was a black SUV that turned right and slotted in behind the Lamborghini as he crossed an intersection.

Wu Chen knew what they intended.

He would give them their chance.

Just not yet.

He put his foot down.

The Lamborghini surged forward.

But not too hard. He made sure all four could keep up, while denying them the room to close and box him in and force him to stop.

Unless they wanted to cause a serious accident.

Clearly they did not.

And so it went on.

More than twenty minutes later.

Wanlong Road, East District, Donghai.

At the southeast corner of the intersection of Wanlong Road and Dongshi Avenue, right on that broad crossroads, stood a corporate building more than ten stories high. It looked as though it had some years on it—at least a decade—but its architecture had been far ahead of its time, distinctive and full of design. Even now it did not look dated.

The Lamborghini came racing toward it.

As it neared the building, Wu Chen began to slow.

Only when he pulled off the road did the four vehicles move to box him in. One overtook and stopped in front of him; the other three blocked him left, right, and rear.

Wu Chen braked and brought the Lamborghini to a steady halt.

He killed the engine, pulled the key, got out, and shut the door. Then he straightened his suit, slid a hand into his pocket, and stood there, unruffled.

Men climbed out of all four vehicles around him.

A crowd of bodyguards in black suits.

Wu Chen turned his head and looked straight at the man in charge—a broad-shouldered, thickset bodyguard in his thirties with short hair.

He did not need to study their positions or their stances.

He already knew which one led them.

Sure enough, the man walked straight over and stopped near him.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wu.” His tone was serious, and in fact fairly polite. “Please come with us. Our boss wants to see you.”

“Sure. Let’s go.” Wu Chen smiled.

Then he tossed the Lamborghini key to the short-haired bodyguard.

“Park it for me.”

With that he stepped around the man and walked straight toward the building’s main entrance.

The bodyguard’s expression turned strange.

He said nothing. Having gestured for several of the others to follow Wu Chen, he looked down at the key in his hand, then took out his phone and dialed a number.

It connected quickly.

“Did you stop him?” the other party asked at once.

A woman’s soft, gentle voice.

“Boss… we stopped him.” The bodyguard sounded stranger still.

“What’s wrong?” She caught it immediately. “He won’t cooperate?”

“No. No, it isn’t that.” He looked up toward the building.

At the very top, four large characters on a sign:

SENLAN GROUP.

“Boss, he’s downstairs right now. He stopped his car here… He seems to know… that you were looking for him…” The bodyguard sounded uncertain, and puzzled.

“What?!” Wu Yurong’s voice faltered.