“Along the undulant tender curve of rivers and mountains…
“I gallop around the loving country land.
“Upon meeting icy wind and sharp rain as my companion…
“I do treasure these golden years given from the heavens.
“Being a person must have guts; there’s nothing to fear if you’re a man.
“The pride would not change even after years.
“Being a person was sweet and bitter, separating kindness and evil.
“All for the tomorrow in our dreams.
“Watch as the iron heel travels thousands of miles through rivers and mountains.
“I stand at the edge of waves, holding onto the sun and moon rotation…
…
Qin Baobao was singing her voice hoarse in the well-equipped recording studio. However, her voice was gentle and seductive and could not bring the openness and power of the song to life. It was tough for her to sing such a powerful song with a gentle voice like hers.
After a few tries, Qin Baobao was still unhappy with it. She took a sip of water to moisturize her throat and take a break.
The sound engineer jumped up excitedly and clapped. He gave Qin Baobao a thumbs-up through the glass.
“Delete it for me.” Qin Baobao walked out of the studio listlessly.
In her personal office, she got more upset and indignant the more she thought about it. She grabbed her phone and sent her brother a message. “My song was hijacked by someone else.” She then added on a wailing emoji.
She waited and waited, but she did not receive a reply from her brother. She then sent another message paired with a teary-eyed emoji. “Ah Ze?”
Qin Ze’s reply came after a long while. “Oh, oh, I’m helping Sister Zijin make dessert. I’ll talk to you tonight.”
Qin Baobao was upset and indignant. She yearned for her brother’s comfort, but now, she only felt rage surge in her, the kind that made her want to sweep everyone on the table onto the floor.
D*mn it, who’s your real sister?
Qin Baobao was seething with anger. She called Qin Ze directly. “Qin Ze, come over. I’m waiting for you in my office. Block B, room 2501,” she said loudly.
Qin Ze’s confused voice came from the other end of the line. “What am I doing at your company? Besides, I still have to make dessert…”
Qin Baobao’s tear-filled voice cut him off. “Just hurry on over…”
After a short pause, Qin Ze responded. “Oh.”
He was a little upset. His sister was too willful.
At three in the afternoon, Qin Ze arrived at the Star Talent building. He arrived on the 25th floor as per the address. The receptionist let him in after calling to confirm with Qin Baobao.
As he walked through the long hallway, he passed through the pantry. He heard two girls gossiping. “I heard that the company gave Qin Baobao a composer, but Xu Lu hijacked it.”
“I heard it, too. That’s good. Let’s see how she’s going to stand out on the ‘I am a Singer’ stage now. We’re the same batch so why does she get better treatment than we do?”
“Hmph, she probably slept with one of the higher-ups. Look at her, I won’t believe it if you tell me she hasn’t slept with any of the higher-ups.”
“So what if she did? Xu Lu is an A-lister, there’s no way she won’t have to give up her song. She can’t even say anything about it.”
“She hasn’t been out of her office the whole afternoon. She’s probably fuming, hahaha.”
“Shh, not so loud. Someone’s coming.”
However, Qin Ze had heightened hearing and vision. He had heard everything. He instantly knew what had happened to Qin Baobao.
Qin Ze found the office according to the number on the doors. He opened the door, and Qin Baobao was seated on the big chair. She set her teacup down, and joy flashed across her eyes. “You’re here,” she said joyfully.
Qin Ze laughed coldly. “You’re quite a big shot, huh. So what can I—a peasant—do for you, big shot?”
Qin Baobao was always the kind to take a yard when giving an inch. She coughed then said plainly. “It’s nothing; I’m just asking you to write a song. Take one out if you have one.”
“I don’t have any.” Qin Ze turned to leave. He was really upset. She called him over when he was in the midst of making dessert, and now, she wanted his song? Why did she not think of this when she was insulting him the day before?
Qin Baobao got anxious when she saw that he was leaving. She panicked and ran while wearing high heels. She grabbed his right arm that was on the door. “Why are you like this? Your sister’s in trouble, and you’re not helping her. Why are you leaving?” she said angrily.
“Didn’t someone say confidently the other day that you won’t be using the lousy songs that I write? Did you forget?”
Qin Baobao pouted. “Petty fellow. I’ll apologize, okay? There are no overnight feuds between siblings.”
“En, I forgive you.” Qin Ze nodded. “However, I really don’t have a song. I can’t help you.”
“Don’t be like this. I’ll give you a kiss.” Seeing that her apology did not work, Qin Baobao tried to give her brother a kiss.
Qin Ze avoided his sister’s kiss. “I still have to go back and make dessert for Sister Zijin. You called me here for nothing. You crazy?” he said impatiently.
He shrugged his sister’s hand aside, opened the door, and prepared to leave.
Before he left, he turned to take one more look and was stunned.
Qin Baobao was standing at the door, her face filled with tears.
Qin Ze did not know what to do. Even though his sister was willful and could not win Qin Ze in arguments or physical fights, she was resilient. When she failed, she would grumble for a few days and would be as usual in a few days. She basically had not cried before him, not to mention like an abandoned kitten.
Qin Ze walked back into the office and closed the door. “What are you crying for?”
When the door was closed, Qin Baobao seemed to have lost all reservations and burst out crying. “Go, go, I don’t need the songs you write. I don’t want it. We’re through.” She wailed.
“What are you talking about?” Qin Ze was not sure to laugh or cry. “Qin Baobao, if you keep this up, I’m going to get upset. Oh, you’re allowed to lose your temper, but I’m not? You went overboard in mocking me the other day. You insulted me in front of Sister Zijin; I have my pride, too. Now, you call me down here for a stupid song? Is it my fault your new song got hijacked?”
She threw a tantrum a few days ago, and she mocked him mercilessly before Wang Zijin. It would have been fine if it was before, but Wang Zijin—who he liked—was next to him. Qin Ze was therefore unable to accept it. Qin Baobao was acting weird, too. She would shoot her brother down whenever Wang Zijin was around. It was as if she wanted him to look like a good-for-nothing.
Qin Baobao squatted down on the floor. “You have a temper, then you go. You heartless cad. I’m not nice to you, but you’re throwing a tantrum at me just because you’re upset… wuwuwu. You’ve only known Wang Zijin for a few days, and yet you can’t get enough of her already. You don’t even know how indignant I am. My song was hijacked, and I can’t lose your temper. I have to put up with it. I told you about it, but you didn’t console me. All you know is to make dessert for Wang Zijin.”
The more she cried, the more upset she got. Snot started coming out of her nose, too.
Qin Ze softened his tone. “Okay, okay, I’m wrong, okay? Don’t cry, I’ll write songs for you. I’ll have as many songs as you want.”
What was Qin Baobao like? She was the kind to ask for a yard if you give her an inch. The more she was cajoled, the harder she cried. Besides, she did go through a lot today. Her brother no longer loved her, and she was really sad.
Qin Ze reached out to grab her. He tried a few times but still could not pick her up. Her pretty face was all messed up from the crying, and her makeup was all smudged.
Exasperated, he picked her up and placed her on the table. He pulled a few pieces of tissues and passed it to her. She grabbed the tissue and wiped her eyes and nose as she continued to cry.
Qin Ze suddenly thought of a saying on the internet on how to stop women’s tears. According to netizens, the fastest way to stop an incessantly crying woman was to toss her on the bed and have her begging for mercy.
Fight fire with fire, stop crying with crying.
Of course, Qin Ze could not do something like that. That was something that Qin Ze should not even consider.
Therefore, he just quietly handed her tissues without saying anything. One handed tissues over diligently while the other cried and cried. After a good half hour, Qin Baobao was finally out of tears. However, she refused to stop and was still sniffling.
“Sis, I’m wrong. Really. Just stop crying.” Qin Ze sighed.
This is really awkward.
“What did you do wrong? You’re not in the wrong.”
“My sister is unhappy so it’s my fault. So this means I have not done my part as a brother. I didn’t pay attention; I deserve to die.”
Qin Ze had always been good at pacifying his sister. Seeing that his sister was done venting, he was starting to butter her up, saying whatever she liked to hear. The truth did not matter since she would believe it either way.
Qin Baobao’s eyes were red. “And my song?” she asked pitifully.
“Yes, yes, yes, I’ll write it for you now.”
“Really?” Qin Baobao sniffled in surprise.
She really did not expect Qin Ze to have a song. She just intended to whine to Qin Ze to vent, but Qin Ze was ambivalent. He even told her that he was making desserts for Wang Zijin so she felt terrible, leading to the outburst.
She was just breaking out into a smile when she retracted it and glared at her brother. “Didn’t you say that you didn’t have one earlier?”
She pinched Qin Ze’s waist.
His mouth twitched, but he had to put up with the pain and smile. “I said that out of spite. Please forgive me, okay?”
“Since you’re admitting to your mistakes too readily, I’ll forgive you for now.” She sniffled.
“What song do you want?” Qin Ze asked.
Qin Baobao paused.
“En?” Qin Ze looked at her.
“You have several?” Qin Baobao was intelligent and immediately caught his slip of the tongue.
“It’s not that many; I’m just afraid that it would not fit your request.” Qin Ze tried to save himself.
“Love songs.” Qin Baobao thought about it, and she thought that the title of Queen of Love Songs was not too bad.
“Okay, bring me a pen and paper. I’ll write for you…” Qin Ze suddenly paused.
“Ding! Mission alert. Help Qin Baobao become the champion of I am a Singer. 500 points will be rewarded upon success. The same will be deducted should you fail.”
“What’s wrong?” Qin Baobao tugged on the corner of her brother’s shirt when she saw that he was spacing out.
Qin Ze did not look too good. He only had 378 points now. The mission was offering a reward of 500 points. The same was the penalty if he failed. That meant that there was no room for failure. Once he failed, the system would have negative points and would automatically eject him; and he would become a vegetable.
Game over.