Chapter 68 I want to formally invite you to be my…
Wang Jinxu's sudden remark startled Fang Xingu, causing his hand to tremble and the fruit knife in his hand to clatter to the ground.
Fang Xin was shocked that his secret, which he had kept hidden for so many years, would be discovered. His pupils constricted as he stared at Wang Jinxu in astonishment, instinctively wanting to deny it: "I didn't..."
Wang Jinxu interrupted him: "Don't rush to deny it, do you really think I'm blind?"
Back in Beijing, she noticed that Fang Xingu was always hanging out with Jing Yitong. Now, knowing that Fang Xingu would even cook and peel fruit for Jing Yitong, Wang Jinxu was no less surprised than Fang Xingu was at that moment.
Does Fang Xin seem like someone who would take care of others?
When she went to Beijing before the New Year, why didn't this guy cook her any dishes?
After much thought, Wang Jinxu could only come up with one possibility—Fang Xingu liked Jing Yitong.
A person will only go to great lengths to be good to another person if they like them.
Fang Xingu was embarrassed for a moment after his thoughts were exposed. He hurriedly picked up the fruit knife and it took him a while to come to his senses. He then felt that what he had just done was quite silly: "Yeah, he just likes Jing Yitong, and there's nothing shameful about that."
Fang Xingu tacitly agreed, and asked in a low voice, "Is it that obvious?"
“Very,” Wang Jinxu sighed softly, “You’ve always been a stubborn child. I wondered how you could accept an arranged marriage. I was afraid you would compromise, so I wanted to go to the capital to see you. But the more I looked, the more something seemed off.”
“No wonder you gave my brother such a big red envelope,” Fang Xingu laughed. “I didn’t expect you to be so open-minded, Grandma.”
Wang Jinxu glanced at him and said, "I'm not old-fashioned. If you like her, why don't you try pursuing her? You're a boy, you need to be a little thick-skinned."
Fang Xin washed the knife clean, returned to continue peeling the apple, and said with his eyes lowered, "What if I get rejected? Will I even lose my brothers and friends?"
"How do you know you'll be rejected if you don't confess at least once?" Wang Jinxu looked at Fang Xingu with that disappointed look in her eyes again. "Besides, with the marriage alliance as a trump card, are you still afraid your brother will run away?"
Fang Xingu blinked, and it seemed to make sense. In any case, he now had the safety net of a marriage alliance, so how bad could the outcome be?
But he didn't expect Wang Jinxu to say such a shameless thing, and said in surprise, "Grandma, I didn't expect you to be so cunning."
“I’m so worried about you,” Wang Jinxu rolled her eyes at him. “Besides, Xiaotong is a good kid, and I think he treats you very well. If you two could be together, that would be wonderful.”
"yes."
As Fang Xingu looked at the increasingly long apple peel, he thought to himself that no one had ever treated him better than Jing Yitong.
Wang Jinxu concluded, "If it weren't for this arranged marriage, were you really going to keep this feeling bottled up inside forever? Wouldn't you regret watching Xiaotong get together with someone else? No matter what, you have to muster up the courage to try, at least so you don't have any regrets, right?"
Fang Xingu was quietly thinking when the ward door was pushed open. Jing Yitong came in from outside, holding his phone. He saw Fang Xingu and Wang Jinxu, one lying down and the other sitting. Neither of them spoke, but they just stared at him intently.
Jing Yitong found the grandfather and grandson quite amusing. Then, noticing the apple Fang Xingu had peeled in his hand, he asked in confusion, "Why are you peeling an apple? Don't you dislike apples?"
Fang Xingu waved the apple in his hand at him: "Oh, I peeled it for you."
Jing Yitong sat down next to him: "When did I become so well treated?"
Fang Xingu cut off a piece of apple flesh for him, while he gnawed on the apple core himself: "I'm treating you to something since you've worked so hard these past few days."
Jing Yitong swallowed a piece of fruit and asked curiously, "What were you talking about just now? You were so serious."
Fang Xin threw the clean apple core into the trash can: "...we were talking about some philosophical topics."
Jing Yitong: ?
.
More than a week later, Wang Jinxu's condition stabilized and she was finally able to be discharged from the hospital. She only needs to come to the hospital regularly for chemotherapy.
During this period, Haijiao Entertainment, which had been exposed for spreading rumors and then retaliated by revealing Wang Jinxu's hospital address, was sued. Subsequently, Fang Zhiheng's side found several financial problems with them, which led to Haijiao Entertainment's demise.
They handled things cleanly and efficiently, and none of these miscellaneous matters reached Wang Jinxu's ears.
After her serious illness, Wang Jinxu lost a lot of weight, but she regained her original spirit. She even sent Fang Xingu and Jing Yitong back to Beijing, claiming that she was annoyed by them and just wanted to enjoy her retirement in Jiangcheng.
After confirming that Wang Jinxu's physical condition was acceptable, the two returned to Beijing to continue their work.
As March arrived, Fang Xin started going to Cao Yangxi's studio every day to confirm that the arrangement of the entire album was completed, and then he threw himself into the busy recording work.
Not only does he have to record songs himself, but he also has to find a professional team to record instrumental accompaniment, and he even participates in some of the accompaniment recording work himself.
Fortunately, Cao Yangxi Studio is very experienced in this area. After several months of cooperation and adjustment, Fang Xingu has great trust in Cao Yangxi Studio. Considering that he is too busy, Fang Xingu simply outsourced this part of the work to them.
After returning to Beijing, Fang Xingu continued to live at Jing Yitong's house, but he was extremely busy every day, either going to Cao Yangxi's studio or on his way to record.
Although Fang Xin-gu sang each song a few times before recording "Love Without Limits" and "The World Is So Big" and the producer was satisfied with his performance, making him happy to relax, he completely entered a different state when it came to his own album.
He has extremely high standards for his albums because even a slight difference in a breath or a pause can change the mood of the entire song. Therefore, Fang Xin-gu records each song dozens of times, constantly trying and exploring to adjust his rhythm. Sometimes he might not even finish recording a song in a day.
Even the recording engineer sometimes couldn't understand Fang Xingu. Fang Xingu's voice and singing skills were already the best among the singers he had ever seen. Even his a cappella singing in the recording studio sounded flawless, but he still recorded it again and again without getting tired of it.
What's even more amazing is that every time you watch it, you get a different surprise.
This recording method is undoubtedly extremely inefficient and akin to burning money, but the results are surprisingly good.
After a few days, the recording engineer was completely impressed by Fang Xin Gu. Every day before leaving, he would say that when the album was released, he would definitely buy a vinyl record to collect and beg Fang Xin Gu to give him an autograph.
During this period, Fang Xingu was busy traveling every day, while Jing Yitong stayed at home as a full-time househusband, trying different ways to fatten Fang Xingu's cheeks every day, and only occasionally returning to the studio to handle work.
Fang Xin's recording went smoothly that day, and he returned home early, only to find Jing Yitong reading a script on the sofa.
He paused for a moment before realizing that Jing Yitong had apparently taken on a period drama, which was supposed to start filming in Guangzhou in March, so it was probably going to start at the end of the month.
Fang Xingu moved closer to Jing Yitong, leaned over to look at his script, and asked, "When are you starting filming?"
Jing Yitong patted his face with his backhand, quite satisfied with the feel, and then pinched it again, saying, "There are still half a month left. The crew sent me the complete script today. I think I'll be quite busy for the next half month, so I'll start reading it now."
Fang Xin leaned back on the sofa: "Going to be busy again?"
Jing Yitong began reporting his schedule: "My suspense film 'Water Eats Sand,' which has been shelved for a long time, will be released later this month. I will attend the premiere in a couple of days, and then I will do a few roadshows. After that, I will go to Guangzhou to film."
Fang Xingu wasn't unaware of his schedule, but she hadn't dared to think about it too much. Now, hearing him rattle off all these tasks in a rapid-fire manner, Fang Xingu realized that the time for her to separate from Jing Yitong was fast approaching, and her mood immediately plummeted.
Fang Xin was thinking about what Wang Jinxu had taught him. He had originally planned to involve Jing Yitong in his work so that Jing Yitong would feel his importance. But before he had even started anything, they were about to part ways.
But not wanting Jing Yitong to notice his little mood, he forced a smile and said, "Water Devouring Sand is finally going to be released? Congratulations! Do you need me to book a whole theater to support you?"
Jing Yitong pondered for a moment: "Booking the entire theater isn't urgent, but I'd really like to invite you to the premiere."
Fang Xingu hesitated and said, "Should I go? Won't someone find out?"
Jing Yitong rarely showed a bit of anxiety. He frowned and said, "Actually, I am not only the lead actor in this movie, but it is also the first time that I have participated in the investment and production. As a result, the director team was changed when the movie was first started. Later, the submission for review coincided with a policy change. It was rejected and re-edited because of the blood and violence. In the meantime, we missed several suitable screening periods, and it was delayed until now before it was released."
Jing Yitong paused, looked at Fang Xingu, and continued, "Actually, I'm quite unsure. Although I think the film is pretty good, I don't know how the audience and media will react. If you were here, I would feel more at ease, and I would also like to hear your opinion."
Fang Xingu was almost immediately captivated by Jing Yitong's uneasy gaze. He put himself in Jing Yitong's shoes and realized that the movie was indeed too full of twists and turns, and Jing Yitong had put in a lot of effort. The significance of "Water Devours Sand" to Jing Yitong was equivalent to the significance of Fang Xingu's new album to him.
He completely understood Jing Yitong's anxiety and unease, so he squeezed Jing Yitong's hand: "Okay, then I'll sit in the corner of the audience. If the media makes things difficult for you, I'll... um? I don't think there's anything I can do?"
Fang Xingu made himself laugh as he spoke, and Jing Yitong couldn't help but chuckle as well. He nudged Fang Xingu with his head and said with a smile, "It's alright, your main focus is on companionship, and I'm very happy with that."
Fang Xingu laughed for a long time: "I can only offer some company. After all, I'm not a professional, so I can't offer any constructive suggestions. I can only comment on the music."
Upon hearing this, Jing Yitong suddenly said, "By the way, speaking of background music, there's an interlude in 'Water Devours Sand' whose lyricist and composer is Feng He. Don't you know him?"
Upon hearing the familiar name, Fang Xingu nodded: "Yes, he's the OST I recorded for an ancient costume drama called 'Love Without Limits.' He also wrote the lyrics and music for that song. I told you about it when I was on the Affogato ship, saying that his skill level was beyond that of an ordinary student. He also composed music for you guys this time? How was it?"
Jing Yitong thought for a moment and replied, "I'm not in charge of the music, but if someone is selected, their skill level must be quite high."
Fang Xingu didn't think much of it and laughed, "That's great. I think highly of him. I was even thinking of signing him into my studio before. This is a good opportunity to test his skills at the premiere."
Jing Yitong joked, "You've already found yourself a job."
Fang Xin grunted in response. Jing Yi had finished discussing matters here, but his own original plan was still unresolved.
Fang Xingu hesitated and tentatively said, "Brother, actually I also have something I'd like to ask you for help with, it's related to my album."
Jing Yitong asked in confusion, "Hmm? My relationship with music is similar to your relationship with film and television. How can I help you?"
Fang Xingu felt his heart beating faster and slowly said, "There is a song on my new album called 'Parallel Parallelism.' I arranged this song myself. It will focus more on the vocals and less on the accompaniment. The arrangement is not complicated, and the accompaniment involves relatively few instruments."
"Before recording, I suddenly remembered that when I was in Antarctica, I was struggling to find an instrument to accompany me. After listening to 'Silence Has a Voice,' you asked why I couldn't do the instrument recording myself. At the time, I thought you were dreaming, but when I got back to my room that night, I realized that what you said made a lot of sense. Why can't I do it myself?"
"But the arrangement of the song 'Silence Has a Voice' is too complicated, and I definitely can't handle it by myself. However, the song 'Parallel Parallelism' is very suitable. The strings, piano and drums involved are all instruments that I know how to play, but the piano part requires two people to work together."
"So this time I would like to formally invite you to be my piano accompanist. Would you be willing?"
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Author's Note: Jing Yitong: I do!
So Teacher Jing began practicing the piano like crazy at home every day [cat emoji]
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