Chapter 109: Returning to the Classics (Additional Update—Seeking Monthly Votes at the Start of the Month)

Li He did not pay much attention to the heated discussions about him online, but he knew for certain that many people must be furious. He didn't need to check comments or trending topics; he could directly monitor the flood of negative emotion values in his system backend. It was far more intuitive and accurate.

Li He returned to the office the day after coming back from the Mushroom House. Originally, the company had granted him leave, allowing him to stay home and rest until the filming of the second episode. In August, Li He's personal assignments were waived as usual, but he had submitted a "truncated version" of *The Ordinary Road*, which counted as completing his assignment ahead of schedule.

A three-month waiver of personal assignments was a perk every songwriter at Shengshi Entertainment dreamed of. Yet, Li He, an anomaly among them, had received this honor but seemed no different than if he hadn't. Every month, he still produced a high-quality song for the company. The executives at Shengshi Entertainment were all puzzled, ultimately concluding that Jiabei simply loved the company too much.

Clocking in.

When Li He walked into the Seventh Group, all his colleagues paused for a second; they had assumed Jiabei wouldn't be coming to the office anymore. After all, having planned a variety show and served as its chief producer on-site, his status in the company was undeniably different, regardless of whether the show succeeded.

"Welcome back."
"Welcome."

After the momentary shock, a round of polite applause and cheers followed. Li He could see that his colleagues were genuinely happy for him. Only one person was an exception: the head of the Seventh Group, Old Qin.

Suddenly remembering something, Li He greeted his enthusiastic colleagues briefly and turned to walk away, then immediately broke into a run.

"You brat, stop right there!" Old Qin, not about to let him get away, took off in pursuit.

He had finally caught sight of this kid; there was no way he was letting him escape. Li He was far too wicked—wicked to the bone. That night, after watching the singing video Li He sent, he and his wife had both gone to work the next day with dark circles under their eyes. Only someone truly malicious could do such a thing. Was this even human behavior?

Li He ran at top speed, dove into the elevator, and mashed the close button with incredible dexterity.

*With this, he surely can't catch up to me...* Li He relaxed. But when he turned his head to stretch, his neck stiffened.

"Sister Yang... good morning!"

Li He felt like collapsing. How had he just escaped the wolf's den only to stumble into the tiger's lair? This was just too unlucky!

Zhang Yang’s lips parted, but she ultimately held back any reprimand, merely stifling a comment: "Old Qin is getting on in years; don't keep tormenting him."

Seeing the look of grim determination on Old Qin’s face, Zhang Yang could guess that she wasn't the only one who had received that video. And it seemed Old Qin had it much worse—he had likely been asleep when Li He called to wake him up, leaving him with a case of insomnia. By comparison, Li He had been much more respectful toward her.

Li He felt awkward. *What does "don't keep tormenting Old Qin" mean? It sounds like we have some sordid secret. It was perfectly innocent, alright?*

Zhang Yang lifted the folder in her hand and smiled. "Perfect. Since I ran into you here, I don't have to go down to call you. Come to my office; someone wants to see you."

*Ding!*

The fourteenth floor arrived, the doors opened, and Zhang Yang stepped out first.

"Sister Yang, who wants to see me?" Li He instinctively felt that whoever it was, they were no friend. His right eyelid kept twitching—a sign of impending disaster.

"You'll know when you see them. Don't worry, it's not Old Qin." Zhang Yang pushed open the glass office door, walked in, tossed the folder onto her desk, and sat down gracefully.

Li He felt uneasy and anxious, sensing that something big was about to happen. Zhang Yang watched him with a strange look, making Li He feel uneasy. Why did everyone seem so odd today?

After a moment, Zhang Yang withdrew her gaze and said curiously, "I've noticed your persona is very consistent. You manage to shift all the blame onto others without anyone even noticing."

"Huh?" Li He didn't understand what the cold, elegant executive was talking about.

Zhang Yang smiled and said no more. Just then, the office door was pushed open from the outside. Zhang Yang stood up from her chair instantly, beaming. "Teacher Xie Shun, Teacher Yang Shu, you're here."

Hearing those names, Li He's heart skipped a beat. *Oh, no.* The cold, elegant executive had actually defected and invited these two over. He knew exactly what they were after: the second half of *The Ordinary Road*.

Xie Shun and Yang Shu sat down on either side of Li He, sandwiching him.

"We meet again." Xie Shun wore a smile, looking very pleased. He had been waiting for Li He to show up, knowing the kid wouldn't be able to resist coming to the office despite his vacation.

Li He regretted it deeply. He shouldn't have come in today; staying home would have been so much better.

"Teacher Xie Shun, Teacher Yang Shu, what brings you to the company?" Li He asked, his face mournful, knowing the answer already.

"What kind of question is that?" Xie Shun feigned a stern expression. "We are employees of this company too, and members of the Seventh Group. It's only natural for us to be here."

There was no logic in staying away from the office when one was supposed to be working. Li He sighed, knowing there was no escaping now. With these two heavyweights involved, it was going to be troublesome! Still, it wouldn't have much of an impact; he had already harvested the negative emotion values. Whether he produced the full version now or in a few days made little difference.

In truth, Xie Shun and Yang Shu were well-intentioned. They were worried that Li He might struggle with the second half and compromise the quality of the song. To have a legendary composer and a legendary lyricist personally looking out for him—that was a level of treatment unique in the music industry.

Li He gave a bitter smile. "Teacher Xie Shun, Teacher Yang Shu, even if you hadn't come to find me today, I was planning to look for you!"

*Strike first.*

"Look for us?" Xie Shun paused, then reacted. "You've finished writing it?"

Li He kept a straight face. "I finished it last night."

"You finished it!" Zhang Yang was excited too. She had been tortured by that half-finished song as well.

Li He took out his phone. "Sister Yang, I'll email it to you." He sent the lyrics and the score; there was no need to send the electronically synthesized version again.

After receiving the email, Zhang Yang downloaded it to her computer and printed it out using the small printer in her office. After reading the lyrics and music, she looked up at Li He. "Are you planning to sing this yourself?"

Xie Shun and Yang Shu, who were also engrossed in the score, looked up at Li He as well. Was the era where songwriters sang their own songs and released them as singles finally arriving?

Li He nodded. The song’s story was very similar to the original owner's experiences; he could find emotional resonance in it.

Yang Shu looked at his old partner. "What do you think?" He was referring to the song.

"A classic!" Xie Shun gave a definitive answer.

It was high praise, yet no one felt it was inappropriate.