Chapter 134: Song Selection and High-Profile Endorsements

Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong...

The phone chimed repeatedly. Fang Xing picked it up to see a string of messages from Li Caiwei. Opening them, he found six photos—all of food. Braised fish, yellow-braised chicken, pineapple fried rice, minced pork stuffed tofu—every one of the six was a dish.

Fang Xing: "What’s this? Switching careers to become a chef?"

Li Caiwei: "Sister Hong negotiated the spot for me to join the show as a replacement contestant. I want to treat you to a meal, cooked by myself. Pick three dishes."

Fang Xing: "The minced pork stuffed tofu is fine. Anything else is up to you."

Li Caiwei: "Then I’ll pick my signature dishes. Are you free tonight?"

Fang Xing: "I'm free tonight."

Li Caiwei: "It's settled then. Dinner at six, I’ll send you the address later."

At six in the evening, Fang Xing drove to the Binjiang Huating residential complex where Li Caiwei lived. He bought a fruit basket downstairs and carried it upstairs.

Ding-dong!

Fang Xing rang the bell and didn't have to wait long. The door opened to reveal Li Caiwei in an apron. "Come in, it'll be ready in a moment. Little Bean Sprout, get those new slippers for Uncle."

Little Bean Sprout, dressed in a princess dress with her hair in two little pigtails, giggled. She ran over, pulled open the shoe cabinet, retrieved a pair of large slippers from the top shelf, and crouched down to place them in front of Fang Xing. After handing over the slippers, she shyly ran back to the kitchen, peeking out from behind the door.

Fang Xing put on the slippers, set the fruit basket on the dining table, and walked over to pinch Little Bean Sprout’s cheek. "You seem to have grown taller."

"That’s how kids are. They change every day. If you don't see them for a while, it feels like they’ve grown so much," Li Caiwei said while continuing to work in the kitchen. Her movements were practiced; it was clear she hadn't just learned to cook for this occasion.

Little Bean Sprout tilted her head, held up a finger, and said in a milky voice, "I grew one centimeter! I grow a little bit every day, and soon I’ll be as tall as Mommy."

"It's not that fast, you little clingy thing. Mommy still has to worry about you for at least another twenty years." Though she spoke of worrying, her tone was filled with pure happiness.

"I'll grow up really fast," Little Bean Sprout said with conviction.

"Take your Uncle to wash his hands," Li Caiwei instructed.

Little Bean Sprout ran out of the kitchen, stopped at the bathroom door, and pointed at the sink. "Over here."

Fang Xing walked over and turned on the faucet. Little Bean Sprout stood to the side, pointing at the bottles and jars on the counter. "This is for washing hands, that one is for bath time..."

Fang Xing squeezed out some hand soap. After washing his hands, he asked, "What about you? Did you wash yours?"

Little Bean Sprout, not yet tall enough to reach the sink's surface, pouted and said, "Grandma holds me up to wash. Grandma isn't home today."

Fang Xing picked her up and held her in front of the sink. "Is this better?"

Little Bean Sprout scrubbed her hands earnestly. Only after cleaning both her palms and the backs of her hands did she say, "All done."

Fang Xing set her down and walked back to the living room, where the dishes were already being served. A steamed sea bass, a portion of pineapple fried rice, and a pot of shiitake mushroom chicken soup.

Li Caiwei, wearing oven mitts, brought out a plate from the steamer. "The minced pork stuffed tofu you ordered, and a plate of stir-fried greens. If you're hungry, you can start."

With that, she headed back to the kitchen to smash some garlic and prepare the greens. She was making stir-fried sweet potato leaves, which had to be eaten hot, so she saved them for last.

Little Bean Sprout walked over and tugged on Fang Xing's hand.

Fang Xing looked down. "What's wrong?"

Little Bean Sprout pointed at the disinfection cabinet and whispered, "I can't reach."

Fang Xing went over, took out three sets of bowls and chopsticks, and then lifted Little Bean Sprout under her arms and helped her into her high chair. Now, all that was left was to eat.

The sweet potato leaves were done in a few minutes. Once placed on the table, Li Caiwei invited him, "Go ahead and eat, don't wait. Everything is here." She returned to the kitchen to turn off the range hood, clear the kitchen waste, wipe down the counter, and wash her hands before joining him.

"Try it, it’s all home-style cooking. Do you want to eat rice or have soup first?" Li Caiwei reached for the bowl in front of Fang Xing.

"I'll have rice," Fang Xing said, accustomed to eating first.

Li Caiwei served him a bowl of rice and then filled a bowl of soup for herself. "I'm used to having soup first. Go ahead and eat." While speaking, she began peeling chicken meat for her daughter, using scissors to cut it into small pieces for the girl's bowl.

Fang Xing tasted the minced pork stuffed tofu first and nodded in approval. "The taste is excellent."

Li Caiwei smiled. "Little Bean Sprout likes this dish too, but she only eats the filling. Grandma usually helps her finish the tofu skins; she's been spoiled."

Little Bean Sprout pouted in protest. "I didn't! I eat the skins."

Li Caiwei used the scissors to cut up a piece of tofu and put it in the girl's bowl. "Uncle is here to eat today. If you throw a tantrum, you won't be cute."

Little Bean Sprout muttered, pouting, "I'm not throwing a tantrum." She then began using her spoon to shovel the food into her mouth.

Watching the girl's stubbornness, Fang Xing found her quite adorable. He picked up some sweet potato leaves and ate them with his rice. "You've got the heat control down perfectly."

Stir-frying sweet potato leaves is a very common dish. It looks simple, but it requires real skill because the timing is critical. Cook it too long, and the leaves turn black and mushy; cook it too little, and they remain raw. Though simple, it’s difficult for a beginner to master.

After finishing a bowl of rice, Fang Xing filled a bowl of soup and brought up the main topic. "So, Sister Hong has already secured the spot for you to join as a replacement?"

"Yes, it's all settled. We sign the contract tomorrow. We wouldn't have been able to negotiate it otherwise; it was thanks to you. The production team only agreed because you promised to help me produce my competition songs," Li Caiwei said, her heart full of joy.

"When do you start recording?" Fang Xing asked. Even if the spot was secured, signing the contract now might mean missing the next recording session.

There were only four days left until the next recording of *The Voice*. Singer schedules are usually set a month in advance, and even for last-minute replacements, they are usually booked two weeks ahead. The production team of *The Voice* wouldn't do anything so hasty.

Li Caiwei replied, "I'll join in two weeks, for the fifth episode." Since *The Voice* only eliminates a primary contestant every two episodes, the replacement singers only join every two episodes as well.

Fang Xing nodded. "That gives us more time. Do you know the song selection rules for the fifth episode yet?"

"Not yet. The production team will notify me after the contract is signed," Li Caiwei answered.

"I'll decide what you should sing once I know the rules," Fang Xing said.

"Okay. Actually, I was thinking I could sing 'Painted Heart' for the first episode. I'm just not sure if it fits the competition theme."

" 'Painted Heart' is a possibility. We'll decide depending on the situation," Fang Xing said, unfazed.

*The Voice* had only recorded two episodes so far; there were still over two weeks until the fifth.

After dinner, Little Bean Sprout dragged Fang Xing to the sofa to watch TV together. They were watching a very young children's cartoon, yet Fang Xing found himself surprisingly engaged. Li Caiwei washed some fruit, cut it up, and brought it to the coffee table.

Little Bean Sprout shouted, "Mommy! Watch Mommy sing!"

"Don't you watch that every day? Let's not watch it today," Li Caiwei said.

"Watch it! I want to watch Mommy sing!" Little Bean Sprout began to act spoiled.

Li Caiwei had no choice but to pull up the video of "Red Opera" for her to watch. There was also a movie trailer for "Painted Heart," but it was a story from *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*, and Li Caiwei hadn't shown that to her daughter.

Li Caiwei used a toothpick to stab two pieces of apple and handed them to the girl. "Give one to Uncle."

Little Bean Sprout tilted her head back, fed the apple to Fang Xing, and then ate her own piece. After the fruit, the girl insisted on performing a program, dancing to "Firefly" from her kindergarten party. Watching her cute performance, Fang Xing became lost in thought.

In his previous life, he had been just one step away from starting a family. If he really had gotten married back then, he probably would have had a child this cute, right? It was just that meeting the right person at the wrong time was the greatest regret of his past life. In that previous relationship, he had also dreamed of life after marriage—having a cute child and living a happy, fulfilling life.

But life is realistic. The two families were not well-matched. Fang Xing had chosen to join a musical troupe, hoping to achieve success quickly. But time didn't wait. The days spent doing odd jobs at the musical troupe had to be endured alone. By the time he finally landed a role in the Cantonese version of the *Midnight Diner* musical and his career started to take off, that relationship had already become a thing of the past. No matter how successful he became in the musical theater world later, the past was gone. The happy life he had once envisioned no longer belonged to him. Since then, he hadn't dared to imagine what it would be like to have a family and raise children. That dream of beauty had become a permanent regret.

Watching Little Bean Sprout dancing the adorable "Firefly" in front of him, Fang Xing suddenly thought of the competition theme for the next episode of *The Voice*, and he knew exactly what song he wanted to sing. It was a song where the verses told a sincere story. It was a peculiar song; when listening, it didn't seem hard to sing, but when you actually tried, you realized it was difficult. The lyrics were realistic, using concise words to tell a profound story. It was a song that became more poignant the more you sang it, and more heart-wrenching the more you listened.

After leaving Li Caiwei's house, Fang Xing returned to his place, started composing and arranging, and in the dead of night, alone, he played his guitar and sang that song to himself.

...

The next day, Fang Xing received a WeChat message from his agent, Qiao Yinghong, saying there was a work meeting and he needed to go to the company. Usually, if there was no notification, Fang Xing wouldn't go to the office. Since this meeting required his attendance, he arrived early in the morning.

His personal studio's management team had already been formed, consisting of six employees in charge of operations, business negotiations, and the career planning for the studio's artists. Once Fang Xing arrived, the meeting began.

Qiao Yinghong announced, "Boss, you said to minimize endorsements and commercial shoots, but we can't pass up this brand: the international luxury menswear label, Boboli. I’m currently negotiating with their Asian regional distributor, but it hasn't been finalized yet. We have two or three competitors, and you've only had one show aired so far. If we were negotiating after *The Voice* had aired, I’d be absolutely certain we’d land it. But right now, the competition is fierce. One of the strongest competitors is someone you know—Liu Hongsheng. Currently, Boboli is leaning toward Liu Hongsheng, feeling that your experience is a bit too shallow."

Since starting the studio, the staff had called Fang Xing "Boss." At first, he hadn't been used to it. Only Guo Keda still called him "Brother Fang." Now that Guo Keda led the agency team, him using "Brother Fang" actually helped establish authority in front of the other employees.

After hearing Qiao Yinghong’s explanation, Fang Xing understood the situation. Boboli was indeed a top-tier international brand, dealing not just in menswear but also womenswear and luggage. Its international influence was massive; endorsing Boboli could even elevate a celebrity's status.

Fang Xing mused, "In my impression, Boboli has always followed a mature and steady style. I clearly don't fit their requirements." Although he had become a top-tier celebrity, only *Star of Tomorrow* had aired so far, which was a boy band talent show. In terms of prestige, it wasn't quite enough. Thus, regarding seniority, he didn't fit Boboli's traditional brand image.

Qiao Yinghong nodded. "True, Boboli has always favored a mature style. However, at this year's International Fashion Week, they launched a new collection with a younger aesthetic. This is due to their newly hired chief designer, whose style is more avant-garde. It means Boboli is looking to tap into a younger market, which is why the endorsement fee they're offering is much higher than in previous years. Because the new line is younger and more avant-garde, they are considering top-tier celebrities. However, their upper management hasn't had a major shakeup, so their marketing strategy is still in flux. It's not yet certain what kind of ambassador they will choose."

Fang Xing nodded. "In that case, let’s try our best. If we get it, great; if not, it doesn't matter." He wasn't in a hurry. You can't get fat from one bite. As long as he walked the path of a singer step by step, if he didn't get this endorsement now, others would come looking for him later.

But Qiao Yinghong was anxious. As an agent, her goal was to monetize the artist's popularity. *Star of Tomorrow* had ended nearly three months ago. They were at the tail end of that show's heat; if they wanted to land a major endorsement, this was the last chance.

Qiao Yinghong continued, "There's one more thing. Xu Liren, the music director of Puxiang Records, has requested a meal. He hopes you can show him the favor."

"Puxiang Records? Is this about 'Painted Heart'?" Fang Xing asked, puzzled. He had dealt with Puxiang Records once before, during the bidding for the theme song for *Strange Tales: Painted Skin*. Puxiang had lost that bid, so the interaction shouldn't have been particularly pleasant for them. Of course, competition between record companies was normal. Under normal circumstances, a company wouldn't hold a grudge over a single lost theme song contract.

Qiao Yinghong shook her head. "Boss, have you forgotten? Heavenly King Liu Hongsheng's company is in partnership with Puxiang Records." Liu Hongsheng's Hongsheng Entertainment was just a company responsible for managing Liu Hongsheng's personal entertainment resources. It had no music production capabilities itself. Therefore, Liu Hongsheng had always been affiliated with Puxiang Records, and all his albums were produced by them. In a sense, Liu Hongsheng could be considered a Puxiang Records singer.

"Oh, I didn't think of that. What do they want to talk about?" Fang Xing asked.

"It’s likely related to the Boboli endorsement. If there are too many competitors, a price war wouldn't be good for anyone," Qiao Yinghong suggested.

"What do you think?" Fang Xing asked.

"I suggest meeting with Xu Liren. Even though we won the 'Painted Heart' contract on merit, it’s polite to give them some face. The circle is small, and we're bound to run into each other; it's better to keep the path open," Qiao Yinghong explained.

"Fine, let's go have dinner," Fang Xing agreed.

...

Six in the evening. Jingtailan Hotel.

Fang Xing and Qiao Yinghong arrived at the hotel's private dining room. As soon as Qiao Yinghong entered, she greeted the Puxiang Records staff warmly. "Director Xu, long time no see. You're looking more spirited than ever."

"Director Qiao, the same to you. I heard you've had a promotion recently."

After some mutual flattery, they took their seats. Once they had tasted the food and wine, Qiao Yinghong got to the point. "Director Xu, what brings you to invite us so grandly? It doesn't seem to be about Boboli, as I don't see anyone from Hongsheng's agency here."

Xu Liren laughed heartily. "Director Qiao is too impatient. We're not here to talk business today, just to foster our relationship."

Qiao Yinghong smiled. "Director Xu is a very busy person. If there were no business, you wouldn't have time to treat us to dinner."

Xu Liren maintained his smile. "It really isn't about business. Just catching up. By the way, Mr. Fang, is the song for the next episode of *The Voice* ready?"

Fang Xing replied casually, "Just about."

Xu Liren picked up a wine bottle and poured a glass for Fang Xing himself. "Are you confident you'll take first place again next time?"

Fang Xing thought for a moment. "I can't be sure, but there should be a chance."

Xu Liren continued, "For the next episode, we at Puxiang have re-arranged a new version of a love song that made Heavenly King Liu famous all over the country. Our goal is to take first place. Surely the Heavenly King deserves at least one first place, right?"

Qiao Yinghong smiled. "Of course, of course. Who doesn't know the Heavenly King's strength and popularity?"

Xu Liren added, "And about that endorsement... actually, the Heavenly King feels it can still be discussed, and that we should give younger people more opportunities."

Qiao Yinghong and Xu Liren continued to trade polite barbs. Fang Xing found it rather tedious. Having eaten enough, he stepped out to get some air.

Half an hour later, Qiao Yinghong came out after finishing the talk and translated Xu Liren's words: "The message from Liu Hongsheng's side is that they hope we'll hold back a bit on *The Voice*. If the competition is too intense, it won't look good for either side. If we are willing to step back, they won't drive down the price for the Boboli endorsement."