Chapter 375: A Bet Is a Bet, Miss An

Chapter 375: A Bet Is a Bet, Miss An

Wu Yurong kept her surprised smile in place, looking first at Wu Chen, then at An Menglan.

She hadn’t expected a request like this.

After all, An Menglan knew exactly what kind of relationship Wu Yurong had with Wu Chen in private.

Wasn’t she worried Wu Yurong would side with her lover?

“I see…” Wu Yurong murmured sweetly. Her eyes sparkled, as if she found the whole thing rather amusing. “Of course. But… musical taste is very subjective. All I can do is pick the one I think is better. It’s only my opinion…”

“That’s fine. It doesn’t matter,” An Menglan said with a smile. “Ms. Wu, you only need to tell us which one you choose.”

“Is that really necessary?” Wu Chen said, a takeout container in hand. He smiled and shoveled in another couple of mouthfuls.

He was completely relaxed about it.

It wasn’t as if he were meeting Wu Yurong for the first time. There was no need to put on a show for Song Xuan.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” An Menglan turned to him, entirely serious. “Mr. Wu, we disagree, and neither of us can convince the other. There has to be a verdict. Ms. Wu knows music, and she’s formally trained. I think she makes a very fitting judge.”

She was clearly still irked.

Normally, anything could be talked through. An Menglan wasn’t a stubborn person.

But Wu Chen wouldn’t give an inch. There was simply no reasoning with him.

So this was the only way.

She also wanted Wu Chen to understand something.

When it came to writing songs, she couldn’t match him.

But when it came to singing them,

he couldn’t match her.

“So…” Wu Chen looked at her and smiled. “After Ms. Wu chooses, then what? Whichever one she likes, that’s the version we go with?”

“Right. Exactly!” An Menglan nodded.

“Sure.” Wu Chen smiled. “Or let’s make it even simpler. One song, two versions, and Ms. Wu picks. If she thinks you’re right, from now on we do everything your way. But if she thinks I’m right, we do everything my way. Every song. Deal?”

He even raised an eyebrow at her when he finished.

It bordered on a challenge.

“Fine! Absolutely!” An Menglan raised an eyebrow right back.

“Then it’s settled.” Wu Chen smiled.

“And one more thing! No dropping hints to Ms. Wu or getting her to help you cheat. Win or lose, it’s fair and square,” An Menglan added.

Nothing in those words hinted at any special relationship between Wu Chen and Wu Yurong. An Menglan chose her words with care; she gave nothing away.

“No problem. Then I won’t even go down to the studio. You and Ms. Wu go. Play her the song without telling her anything. She won’t know which version is yours and which is mine… We’ll make it a blind evaluation.” Wu Chen was still smiling.

“Good!” An Menglan said crisply, then turned to Wu Yurong with a smile. “Sorry to put you to the trouble, Ms. Wu.”

She stood.

“No trouble at all,” Wu Yurong said with a sweet smile, and rose as well.

There was nothing complicated about it. They only had to go down to the basement studio and listen.

Wu Yurong and An Menglan went down together.

Everyone else stayed in the living room and went on eating. They hadn’t even finished lunch.

Wu Chen didn’t look the least bit nervous. He hardly seemed to care. The lavish takeout appeared to hold more interest for him.

“Senior…” Song Xuan suddenly scooted closer to him, food container in hand.

“Mm?” Wu Chen answered through a mouthful.

“Are you confident?” she asked quietly.

“Of course.” He smiled.

“That confident?” she asked again.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” He smiled and turned it back on her. “You don’t have faith in me?”

“No, it’s not that,” Song Xuan said quickly in her soft, sweet voice, then hesitated. “It’s just… my mom has her own favorite styles of music, so maybe…”

Sitting beside Wu Chen, Song Xuan naturally leaned a little toward his side.

Had An Menglan been sitting there instead, she would surely have leaned toward An Menglan.

She couldn’t help it.

On one side was her dazzlingly gifted senior.

On the other was her idol.

“Don’t overthink it. We’ll find out soon enough,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

Ten minutes later.

The click of high heels came from the stairs.

An Menglan and Wu Yurong were back.

Everyone in the living room turned to look. Wu Yurong wore her usual sweet smile. An Menglan’s expression, though, was a little off. She looked as if she weren’t entirely convinced.

Wu Chen watched them sit down.

He had already finished eating. He wiped his mouth with a tissue, took a sip of cola, let his gaze pass over both women, then asked An Menglan, “Miss An, what’s the verdict? Which version did Ms. Wu choose?”

“The second one,” An Menglan said.

“The second one. Whose was it?” Wu Chen asked, glancing at Wu Yurong.

“I don’t know,” Wu Yurong said in her soft, sweet voice. “I just thought the version I heard second was a little better. Miss An never said whose it was.”

“Whose?” Wu Chen asked An Menglan again.

“Yours,” she answered.

She didn’t look away from him.

She took it squarely.

An Menglan had lost.

And she was absolutely certain Wu Chen couldn’t have cheated.

Wu Yurong had judged blind. She hadn’t even known whose version came first and whose came second. Even if she’d wanted to help Wu Chen, she couldn’t have.

Her verdict was subjective, but it was fair.

The result came as no surprise to Wu Chen.

Every song he had given An Menglan had been a one-day hit during his thousand-year loop. The styles he had settled on over those thousand years were the best styles for them.

They had been tested on vast numbers of listeners online…

An Menglan hadn’t lost unfairly.

Of course, she had no way of knowing what Wu Chen had been through.

Deep down, she still wasn’t quite convinced. It was only one person’s blind test, after all. Taste was subjective. It could just as easily have gone the other way.

“A bet is a bet, Miss An,” Wu Chen said with a smile.

“I’ll keep my word,” An Menglan replied.

Unconvinced or not, she would never go back on her word over something like this.

Conceding defeat and remaining unconvinced were not mutually exclusive.

They chatted a while longer.

Rested.

Half an hour later, they all went back down to the basement and resumed recording the demos.

It went far more smoothly this time.

An Menglan no longer argued. Whatever Wu Chen asked for, she simply did.

Wu Yurong didn’t leave. She had nothing else to do, so she followed them down to watch, mostly for the entertainment.

She wanted to see…

exactly what game Wu Chen was playing with An Menglan.

Wu Yurong, too, got to witness Wu Chen in his true form: the recording-studio tyrant.

Everyone did what he said.

If he said a thing should be done a certain way, that was how it was done.

More than that, they all gradually realized Wu Chen seemed to know everything.

He was like a producer with decades in the business.

There was nothing in that studio he couldn’t do.

Before anyone noticed, it was past six in the evening.

The demos for all seven songs were finally finished.

Every song had been sung over and over. Whenever An Menglan sang a part wrong, or simply in a way that didn’t satisfy Wu Chen, he made her sing it again.

That was why it had taken until now.

At last, they were done.

They all went up to the living room, worn out, and took a short rest.

Wu Yurong suggested they all go out to dinner, but Wu Chen said he already had plans. He’d promised to have dinner with Li Ruobing.

Unless it was necessary, Wu Yurong had little interest in a meal with Li Ruobing at the table, so she didn’t press.

She was far more interested in dining with An Menglan and getting a chance to talk with her.

Around six-thirty.

Wu Chen left first, driving out of Tianheng Manor.

Once the Lamborghini reached the main road, he steered with one hand and called Li Ruobing.

She picked up right away.

“I’m done. Where are we eating?” Wu Chen asked.

“Laopinxuan. I’ve already booked it. Are you out? Then we’ll head over now…” Li Ruobing said.

“I’m out.”

“Good. We’ll talk when we get there.”

The call ended.

A few minutes later.

At a red light, Wu Chen eased onto the brake and brought the Lamborghini to a slow stop before the crosswalk.

Both hands resting on the wheel, he tilted his head slightly and glanced at the rearview mirror.

A slow smile curved his lips.

He was being followed.

He’d noticed two minutes ago.

Directly behind the Lamborghini was a black Volkswagen Touareg with Modu plates.

It was Peng Wei.