Chapter Fifteen: Miss Luo

"Impressive!" Luo Xiaoyi remarked mercilessly.
"I thought you said you’d never debut. When I invited you to Heartmark, you refused to come."
"Heh, well, when someone helps you, you can’t just take and not give back, can you? Since she helped me, I have to repay the favor somehow."
"Besides, I’ve already made up my mind—no matter how the competition goes, I’ll withdraw after the first episode."
The main reason Chen Nian agreed to join New Voice at Zhou Lu’s request was actually to help Luo Xiaoyi secure a backup plan.
For Luo Xiaoyi’s sake, she’d gone head-to-head with Heartmark and Mingpai.
The consequence was simple: after offending the company’s top star, Luo Xiaoyi’s career options would be limited.
To help her, Chen Nian made a deal with Zhou Lu: he’d participate in New Voice and perform a song with her, and in return, Zhou Lu would sign Luo Xiaoyi when her contract expired, allowing her to continue her music career.
This wasn’t an unreasonable demand for Zhou Lu or Tianxing Entertainment; in fact, even if Chen Nian hadn’t brought it up, they’d have tried to recruit Luo Xiaoyi anyway—she was the hottest new talent around.
"Withdraw after just one episode? Why?" Luo Xiaoyi was stunned.
From her perspective, with Chen Nian’s talent, making it to the finals might be tough, but staying a few episodes was no problem.
"I’ve said before, I don’t want to debut. I had my reasons for agreeing to Zhou Lu’s invitation to New Voice. Oh, and by the way, the rights to my three songs, and this one—Cinderella—I’m giving them all to you."
"Are you out of your mind?" Luo Xiaoyi shot up from her bed.
Any one of those songs could take the music world by storm, and Chen Nian was just giving them away?
Was this some kind of international joke?
Could it be that she meant that much to him?
At the thought, Luo Xiaoyi’s face flushed with embarrassment. "Oh, right. Sister Mei said she wanted to thank you for helping out the other day and would like to treat you to a meal."
"No need," Chen Nian refused without hesitation.
Sister Mei was a contracted agent at Heartmark Entertainment; at a time like this, inviting him to dinner—Chen Nian didn’t need to guess her intentions.
"Then, what about if I invite you?" Luo Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment before asking.
"You? Just you alone?" Chen Nian asked, a bit confused.
"No, no," Luo Xiaoyi quickly shook her head, "my parents too. I’d like to invite you to my home."
"Alright, of course," Chen Nian thought for a moment and didn’t refuse.

"Great! Are you free tomorrow?" Luo Xiaoyi was so excited she danced around.
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow." Chen Nian gave a gentle smile and hung up.

Just as Chen Nian finished his call with Luo Xiaoyi, an all-too-familiar number called.
Seeing the number that had blocked him for so long, Chen Nian frowned slightly, hit decline, and added it to his blacklist.
On the other end, after being hung up on, Lin Xinrou was undeterred and tried to dial again, only to see she’d been blacklisted.
Stunned, Lin Xinrou’s eyes brimmed with tears of grievance.
Chen Nian was truly infuriating—so what if they’d broken up? What right did he have to block her?
Just then, a flashy man passed by Lin Xinrou’s dressing room and saw her silently crying through the door crack.
He paused, then flashed a strange smile.
"Xiaorou, what’s wrong? Did someone bully you?" He pushed the door open and walked in.
As Heartmark’s top star, Lin Xinrou’s affairs were never a total secret among the company’s artists, but the man still pretended ignorance.
Seeing him, Lin Xinrou was briefly taken aback, then cried even harder, tears streaming down her cheeks.
He Wei was an old hand at Heartmark. Unlike idol artists like Lin Xinrou, he’d built his reputation on real talent—arguably the company’s strongest male vocalist.
Most importantly, he too had been invited to participate in New Voice.
"Senior He Wei, I..." Lin Xinrou recounted everything that had happened between her and Chen Nian, sobbing.
After listening, He Wei feigned outrage and slammed his fist on the table.
"That Chen Nian is out of line! It’s clearly his fault—how can he blame you? Don’t worry, since he’s also joining New Voice, I’ll make sure to avenge you!"
"Brother He Wei, thank you—thank you so much!" Lin Xinrou threw herself into He Wei’s arms, crying.
"No worries, it’s the least I can do," He Wei said, gently patting her back, his expression unreadable.
As a veteran, He Wei knew the inside story of this whole affair.
But after hearing Chen Nian’s songs, he was convinced—they couldn’t possibly have been written by Chen Nian himself.
As a capable singer-songwriter himself, he didn’t believe someone of Chen Nian’s age and experience could write something like Cinderella.
He was certain: there was someone behind Chen Nian.

But New Voice was nothing like live streaming. It took place both online and offline, testing a person’s true ability to perform on the spot.
With his years of experience, He Wei was confident that even if Chen Nian sang Cinderella, he could outshine him on the show.

The next morning, Luo Xiaoyi called Chen Nian early to give him her home address.
Following her directions, Chen Nian took a cab into an upscale neighborhood.
"Your family is really well off, huh?" Chen Nian marveled at the sprawling villa before him.
He’d thought Luo Xiaoyi came from a slightly privileged background, but hadn’t expected even the stools at the entrance—just for receiving guests—were made of huanghuali wood!
Inside, the villa was classic and elegant, adorned with calligraphy and paintings everywhere.
"It’s alright," Luo Xiaoyi said with a playful nod. "If I don’t work hard at singing, I’d have to come home and inherit the family business."
Chen Nian smiled slightly. It seemed his agreement with Zhou Lu was unnecessary after all.

Luo Xiaoyi led him into the living room.
It was empty—her father clearly didn’t care much about his daughter’s friends.
"Dad! Dad!"
Luo Xiaoyi searched the house, finally finding Luo Youdao in his study.
"Hello, I’m Chen Nian, a friend of Xiaoyi’s." Seeing Luo Youdao practicing calligraphy, Chen Nian waited quietly outside the door until he finished before speaking.
"Mhm," Luo Youdao nodded, not even glancing at him.
He’d always opposed Luo Xiaoyi’s desire to enter the entertainment industry.
As a well-known entrepreneur in Xinxiang City, Luo Youdao knew all too well how treacherous the industry could be.
His daughter had always been pure and kind; he didn’t trust the idea of her joining that world.
After finishing his second piece of calligraphy, Luo Youdao finally set his brush down.
"I’ve heard Xiaoyi play your Cinderella. The lyrics are well done—I like them very much."