Chapter 27: Who Could Possibly Write This!

“…Want to collaborate on a song with me?”

Su Chen raised an eyebrow, startled by the abrupt request.

Wang Bingling shyly stuck out her tongue and confessed, “To be honest, I came to the mainland this time to look for inspiration.”

“My creative process has hit a bottleneck. I’m completely trapped by the ‘Sweetheart Queen’ title and have no idea how to break through.”

“I originally wanted to write a heartbreak ballad, but when I shared my idea with my fans, they all stopped me…”

As Wang Bingling spoke, her mood visibly sank, her face clouded with confusion and disappointment. Her soft accent, paired with her reddened, large eyes and that look of vulnerability, made Su Chen feel almost overwhelmed.

But Su Chen had lived two lives; what beauties hadn’t he seen? He hadn’t just seen them—he’d experienced them, and in his previous life, he’d indulged in them to the fullest.

Ordinary beauty could no longer sway him, nor could anything less than extraordinary.

He had plenty of songs in his mind, but the greatest fear with resources was wasting them. As the saying goes, the best steel should be used for the sharpest blade.

Yet, at this moment, Su Chen didn’t see Wang Bingling as someone he absolutely had to invest in.

So Su Chen turned his attention to Zhang Fuyu, wanting to see what she thought.

“Bingling has recently hit a bottleneck. She wants to change her musical path and style to reinvent herself, but fans back in the Bay Province have been loudly protesting, so Bingling doesn’t know what to do.”

“She’s even approached top lyricists and composers, but no one dares take it on. The awkward situation she’s in means the requirements for the song aren’t just about whether it sounds good—it’s about whether the fans will accept it. If they don’t, no matter how well-written it is, it’ll be labeled as a flop, and both the creator and the song will be attacked relentlessly by fans and netizens!”

Zhang Fuyu sighed deeply, “The titles fans give us are sometimes not just honors, but shackles.”

She hesitated, then looked up, secretly winked at Su Chen, and then spoke to Wang Bingling, “Bingling, your situation is actually more serious than mine. A person’s reputation, a tree’s name—it’s not easy to change.”

“At the very least, the song has to suit you, achieve the transition, and reach the popularity and acclaim of something like ‘Queen of Heaven.’ That’s extremely difficult. I don’t think Su Chen can guarantee it…”

Su Chen realized Zhang Fuyu was helping him increase his “margin for error”—whether he agreed to help or not, she was raising the flag for him.

Moreover, Zhang Fuyu hadn’t made a decision for Su Chen, but laid out the whole issue for him to see.

Su Chen understood: writing a song for Wang Bingling now was essentially betting his future.

If he succeeded, he’d gain not just fan acclaim, but also industry respect for taking on a project no one else dared touch—his status would soar overnight.

But if he failed, he’d be cutting off his own prospects! How could a newcomer withstand the onslaught of the Sweetheart Queen’s fans?

By all logic, gambling was not a wise move.

“…I know, but I really have no other options,” Wang Bingling said with a bitter smile.

After speaking, she looked steadily at Su Chen and said, “Two million! And I’ll give you twenty percent of the future profits from the song! If the fans react negatively, I’ll do my best to shoulder the blame myself!”

…Two million?

Su Chen’s body tensed in surprise!

With a guarantee like that, how could this be called gambling?!

This was charity!

“Of course, this is just my request. Su Chen, if you’re not confident, you don’t have to…” Wang Bingling saw Su Chen hesitating and thought she’d put him in a tough spot, so she hurriedly tried to explain.

But before she could finish, Su Chen suddenly spoke.

“I’ll take it!”

“…Ah?” Wang Bingling was stunned.

“What I mean is, your next song must be written by me!” Su Chen said.

Wang Bingling was delighted at first, but worry quickly flickered across her face—she feared Su Chen was acting on impulse.

If she ruined his career, she couldn’t escape blame!

“…Are you really sure about this?” Zhang Fuyu also cast an inquiring look at Su Chen. Everyone present knew this was a high-stakes gamble.

But Su Chen, at the center of it all, just smiled lightly and said, “There’s nothing to consider. If Bingling needs it, of course I’ll help!”

In truth, Su Chen valued not the money, nor the rise in status, but the two million as a threshold.

He knew the song he wrote for Zhang Fuyu would be excellent—the hot song chart was a certainty. As a newcomer, if each of his first three released songs made the charts, industry insiders and major companies would all seek him out.

In the entertainment industry, it’s hard to refuse such requests. If enough people came looking for him, even rejecting them one by one would take a huge amount of time. So Su Chen simply raised his price!

The logic was simple: think about whether you see more BYDs or BBAs on the street. If Su Chen set the threshold for song requests at two million each, those who wanted to try or lacked funds would naturally stop coming.

Of course, Wang Bingling couldn’t possibly think of this.

Despite knowing Su Chen was joking, Wang Bingling still felt a warmth in her heart, and a growing sense of guilt.

She felt like a giant pit, luring Su Chen to jump in.

Women truly are mysterious creatures.

“But my requirements for this song are a bit high… Maybe you should hear my idea before deciding?” Wang Bingling said softly.

Su Chen replied with a smile, “It’s fine, just say it. I’m pretty confident in my ability to write heartbreak songs.”

“Alright… So, my fans don’t want me to change styles, but I have no choice now. I’m still young, but can I still be the Sweetheart Queen when I’m older? That would make me the Sweetheart Auntie!” Wang Bingling laughed at her own words.

Su Chen’s expression twisted strangely at that.

He wanted to say that you could remain sweet—didn’t Xinling in his previous life still hold the Sweetheart Queen title at forty or fifty? Even after appearing on variety shows, she drove a bunch of older men crazy. For Xinling to win the championship, the TV station’s stock price even fluctuated!

One vote from me, one vote from you—Xinling at eighty still singing and dancing!

But Su Chen kept silent; after all, it was her own choice.

“…But I think if I jump straight to a heartbreak song, that’s too big a leap. Even if it’s really good, fans probably won’t accept it. So I was thinking I could compromise…”

As she spoke, Wang Bingling’s face flushed.

Even she felt her request was ridiculous—she wanted a heartbreak song, but still wanted sweetness. Who could write that?

Even Zhang Fuyu at the side couldn’t help but twitch her lips.

No wonder no creator dared take on Wang Bingling’s song—who would?

Both instinctively thought Su Chen would give up, but his expression remained unchanged after hearing her out.

“Alright, I understand.”

“You… you can write that?” Zhang Fuyu exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes.”

Su Chen said this, then grabbed a pen and paper, and began writing directly at the table.

Wang Bingling was stunned. She covered her mouth in disbelief.

He… he’s just starting to write?

Doesn’t he need to think about it?!