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Shen Xingsui held the phone like a hot potato.
Wang Meican was still looking at him curiously, so Shen Xingsui withdrew his hand a little, and said in a faltering manner, “Wang-jie, it’s not that I don’t want to show you, but I don’t usually use this trumpet, I only use it today because of this matter. So… uhm…”
The agent also saw how unwilling Shen Xingsui was.
Originally, she actually didn’t need to monitor this account activity, as it was clear that Shen Xingsui had long since abandoned it. It’s only after seeing Shen Xingsui trying so hard to hide it does it arouse her curiosity. But since the youth resisted it so much, she wouldn’t cross this line by forcing him to confess.
Wang Meican smiled and said, “It’s okay, if you really don’t want to tell me, then no need.”
Shen Xingsui finally breathed a sigh of relief!
After returning to this trumpet, he saw many traces of the past. The last Weibo he posted was two years ago. At that time, Fu Jinxiao once again won three Best Actor awards. There were quite a few netizens who followed along and gave him their congratulations. While this happened two years ago, the comment section looked lively.
[Gege is the best!]
[I knew it, Madam would post a congratulation right away.]
[He proved himself once again!]
However, of course there were netizens who came to talk smack. This type of person was everywhere, like a stubborn toe fungus.
[It’s your idol who won the award, not you. Stop being so excited, lol. So annoying.]
[Some fans are really funny, they’re as excited as actually winning it themselves.]
[Well, what do you expect from useless people like them? This is probably the only time they “won” something.]
[Can your idol give you the honor and money if they won?]
[Definitely not! He won’t come to rescue you either.]
These comments were very annoying. It’s as if the fans were idiots – of course they knew they were very far from their idol.
While the idols themselves cannot physically save the fans from danger, it doesn’t matter. Only those who have really pursued idols will understand that there is really no need for idols to go to mountains and seas to come to you. It’s enough for them to be that small spark of joy that lightens up your day. The one last hope to keep you going through your day.
Shen Xingsui opened the private message tab. Apart from the greetings from his online friends, the other private chat window was Fu Jinxiao’s.
He sent many messages to Fu Jinxiao.
He also have received many auto-reply messages.
He scrolled further and further, and finally…
He found a musical score. It was written on ordinary rice paper with an ordinary black pen. It looked very messy at first glance, but the melody and chord progression was still clear.
However, this music score wasn’t the one that was in the center of the scandal. He had written many, many songs, and sent them to Fu Jinxiao. He must’ve misremembered as to which one he sent.
It’s a pity, but this couldn’t be served as evidence.
To be on the safe side, Shen Xingsui said softly to Wang Meican, “Wang-jie, I have one of my old composition here. It’s not the one Jian Zhi took. But, this one can’t be regarded as completely unrelated, because the sub-key of this song and that one are basically the same. You see, because I self-study music at the beginning, I began to develop a bad habit. In the past, I only knew how to play around with the thirteen chords in the orthodox sense1if this sounded like gibberish… because it probably is. Idk about the technical side of music, so I just use the literal translations., which is different from what many professionals use – the eighteen chords. This is true for these two songs, which I composed back during my high school years. You see, this turning point on the chord progression around the chorus right here is my personal habit, which is why it sounded the same — they both are E minor.”
Wang Meican immediately became more energetic hearing about this. She immediately demanded, “Let me see.”
Shen Xingsui saved the photo to his phone, and then handed it to Wang Meican.
“Suisui, your handwriting… is a little intelligible…” Wang Meican smiled awkwardly, and then said, “Well, I don’t really understand these technical stuffs. So just tell me straight, with this music score, can this be counted as evidence that Jian Zhi plagiarized your song?”
Shen Xingsui analyzed, “Both songs are chock-full of my personal habits and preferences. Any musical expert can definitely see that this was made by the same person. Though.. I don’t understand why Jian Zhi didn’t notice this. Maybe he didn’t remember? Anyhow, as long as we release this, any knowledgeable netizens should be able to spot it.”
Wang Meican said immediately, “Then post it! We are not afraid of him!”
Shen Xingsui smiled when he heard her words.
Different from the previous few times, this time he was really going to pursue this until the very end. While he didn’t want to cling to the past, that didn’t mean he would let Jian Zhi walk all over him. He cherished his creations. He wouldn’t let it be stolen.
Suddenly, the door opened with a loud “click”, immediately catching these two’s attention.
Shen Xingsui and Wang Meican turned their heads together, and saw Fu Jinxiao appearing at the door. He was not wearing regular clothes, but instead he dressed in a fitting wine red suit. Without the right temperament, such color would appear as vulgar. But with Fu Jinxiao… it looked mellow, elegant, and sensual.
His steady footsteps broke the tranquility of the room, and the overhead lights somehow made him look glamorous.
But, Fu Jinxiao himself wasn’t feeling very well at this moment. He rubbed the center of his brows, and said in a low and hoarse voice, “I’m finally here.”
Wang Meican stood up and said, “Aren’t you still attending the event in other provinces last night? Why did you come back so soon?”
“Well, it ended early. So I just come back as soon as possible.” Fu Jinxiao laid down directly on the sofa, and naturally positioned next to Shen Xingsui. The sofa sank a little because of his weight, and the distance between the two of them suddenly became closer. He greeted Shen Xingsui as he continued to nurse his throbbing headache, “What about your side? How is it?”
Wang Meican glanced at Shen Xingsui and said, “The outside PR team has been already contacted. We have arranged for the water army to help dissuade the public’s enmity towards Suisui. The hot search has been taken down, and the supertopic also has been cleaned. Thanks to that, the popularity has begun to drop a lot.”
Fu Jinxiao nodded, and then glanced at Shen Xingsui again.
When Shen Xingsui was swept away by his gaze, his whole state was different. He subconsciously sat up straight. He felt a little anxious in his heart, worried that Fu Jinxiao would listen to those gossips on the Internet, thinking that he was a dirty plagiarizer. Habitually, he wanted to defend himself. “Teacher Fu, I didn’t plagiarize him, it was him…he took my composition as his own.”
Fu Jinxiao raised his eyebrows, he was simultaneously amused and distressed. ” You don’t need to explain, I guessed it when I saw the news.”
Shen Xingsui was really surprised, “How do you know?”
“Isn’t the answer obvious?” Fu Jinxiao’s slender legs overlapped as he crossed it. He cushioned his head with his arms to help ease down his hangover. With a lazy posture and sarcastic tone, he explained, “Jian Zhi is an idiot waste of a person. Without the help of his family name and many, he won’t be as popular as today.”
“…” Nobody could reply to that.
Wang Meican even covered her lips and smiled. If she hadn’t had some scruples, she might have clapped her hands and applauded.
Shen Xingsui used to admire his ex-brother so much. But for some reason, when Fu Jinxiao criticized Jian Zhi, he actually felt that there was nothing wrong with it. He even felt that it’s only within his rights for Fu Jinxiao to dish out harsh criticism.
At the same time, his heart also relaxed.
It felt really good not to be misunderstood. After this incident happened, he was very anxious about this. Thankfully, Shen Xingchen believed in him without reservation. His family, friends, and agent around him all chose to stand by his side without hesitation.
This feeling was pure bliss.
It gave him confidence to go through this scandal unscathed.
Wang Meican came over and poured a glass of water for Fu Jinxiao. “Our biggest hurdle is time. Because it happened many years ago, we can’t come up with strong evidence to refute it. I’m afraid Jian Zhi will use this to lay traps for us.”
Hearing this, Shen Xingsui felt a little uncomfortable. “It’s all my fault, I didn’t think about leaving any other evidence at the beginning.”
Wang Meican immediately comforted him, “Suisui, how can you blame me for this? If you want someone to blame, blame those evildoers! They are too brazen, you are not wrong at all.”
However, the low air pressure surrounding the room still hasn’t dissipated.
At this moment, Fu Jinxiao, who had been silent since just now, was playing with the water glass in his hands. He was not worried at all, and instead he said, “What’s the trouble? The time? Let’s just let him have this point. We have other ways. Especially… concerning his habits. Once a thief, always a thief, after all.”
Wang Meican was taken aback.
She looked at Fu Jinxiao in surprise, and when she met those dark and deep eyes, she seemed to understand something suddenly.
After many years in the entertainment industry, she was still surprised by Fu Jinxiao’s cunning and insidious schemes. This person was not only smart, but also very good at hitting the enemy’s vital points.
Wang Meican second-guessed her answer, so she asked for a clarification, “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Fu Jinxiao picked up the oranges in the fruit basket on the table. He then peeled them for fun. “Snatching someone’s work for your own profit is easy and time-effective. That idiot Jian Zhi must have been addicted to this effort-free success, hasn’t he? Let’s have a guessing game on how many songs he either stole from small-time composers or hired a ghostwriter to compose. I’m afraid he has already forgotten his own name at this point.”
Shen Xingsui was stunned by Fu Jinxiao’s line of logic.
Fu Jinxiao put the peeled orange into Shen Xingsui’s hands, the smile on the corner of his mouth deepened, but there was an undisguised evil in those eyes. “How about helping him remember? We are generous people, after all. We can give our service free of charge.”
“…”
Meanwhile, Jian Zhi suddenly felt a sharp chill down his spine. It’s definitely a weird feeling, as it hasn’t gotten that cold.
1if this sounded like gibberish… because it probably is. Idk about the technical side of music, so I just use the literal translations.