After leaving Xu Jinglei's place, Luo Zheng didn't waste a second. According to the schedule Liu Yan had prepared for him, he headed straight toward Gao Yuanyuan's residence.
Even Liu Yan had looked at the packed itinerary and clicked her tongue in amazement.
Film editing. Company meetings. Script arrangements. Artist management. Songwriting. Recording plans. And somehow, between all of that, there were women scattered through every opening in his schedule.
If another person lived like this, they would probably collapse from exhaustion in less than three days.
Yet Luo Zheng still looked energetic.
Or rather... absurdly energetic.
Although he had just seen Gao Yuanyuan not long ago, this upcoming separation made things different. Soon, Luo Zheng would be flying to America, while Gao Yuanyuan was preparing to join the production team of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.
The two would spend far more time apart than together.
Under such circumstances, seeing each other again naturally felt like dry wood meeting fire.
The moment Gao Yuanyuan opened the door and saw Luo Zheng standing outside, she crossed her arms and snorted lightly.
"You finally remembered I exist?"
Luo Zheng smiled and stepped inside.
"Someone sounded pretty upset on the phone yesterday."
Gao Yuanyuan shot him a glare.
"Who told you to go 'night running' at eleven-thirty?"
The words "night running" carried an especially heavy tone.
Luo Zheng immediately coughed.
"Ahem... exercising is healthy."
"Hmph."
Gao Yuanyuan clearly didn't believe him.
Still, seeing that he had rushed over immediately before leaving the country softened her mood considerably.
As she looked at him, her originally cold expression slowly disappeared.
Then, a few moments later—
The room lights remained on.
The curtains were quietly pulled shut.
As for what happened afterward...
Even the moon outside wisely hid itself behind clouds.
...
The next morning.
Luo Zheng still looked calm and refreshed.
Meanwhile, Gao Yuanyuan buried herself under the blanket and refused to come out.
Seeing her exhausted appearance, Luo Zheng rubbed his nose guiltily.
Looks like... he had been a little too enthusiastic.
A little.
Only a little.
After leaving her place, Luo Zheng headed home briefly to change clothes before going straight to the airport.
Today was departure day.
Fan Bingbing personally came to send him off.
Standing outside the car in sunglasses and a coat, she looked cool and elegant. But anyone could see the reluctance hidden in her eyes.
"Call me after you arrive," she said softly.
Luo Zheng nodded.
"Of course."
Fan Bingbing walked over and adjusted his collar.
"Don't cause trouble overseas."
Luo Zheng looked innocent.
"When have I ever caused trouble?"
Fan Bingbing stared at him.
For three full seconds.
Then she laughed.
Neither of them spoke again.
Some things didn't need words.
After Luo Zheng got into the car, the driver slowly pulled away.
But instead of heading directly toward the airport, the vehicle made a turn and drove toward the set of The Story of a Noble Family.
Soon, Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei got in.
Liu Yifei looked especially excited.
"Brother Zheng! Are we really staying in Beverly Hills?"
Luo Zheng smiled.
"Yes."
"Really really?"
"Yes."
"What does it look like?"
Luo Zheng thought for a moment.
"Big."
Liu Yifei blinked.
"How big?"
Luo Zheng raised an eyebrow.
"Very big."
Liu Xiaoli sitting nearby rolled her eyes.
"What kind of answer is that?"
Luo Zheng shrugged.
"I'll let you see for yourself."
As for Dong Jie—
This trip did not include her.
...
At nearly the same time.
In Beijing.
Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang arrived outside Zhang Yadong's Music Studio.
Ever since Luo Zheng decided to push Huang Bo toward music, Huang Bo had practically disappeared into the company practice rooms.
Aside from sleeping, he spent almost every waking hour studying.
Breathing techniques.
Pitch training.
Rhythm.
Pronunciation.
Professional vocal knowledge.
He trained desperately.
Because he knew clearly:
President Luo had handed him an opportunity that countless people could only dream about.
And if he failed...
He would never forgive himself.
The car slowly stopped.
Huang Bo looked out at the studio entrance and swallowed.
Nervous.
Extremely nervous.
Wang Baoqiang beside him scratched his head.
"Brother Bo... are you scared?"
Huang Bo instantly glared at him.
"Who said I'm scared?"
"Your legs are shaking."
"..."
Damn.
Exposed.
Soon, Zhang Yadong personally walked outside.
"Welcome, welcome."
Huang Bo hurried over.
"Teacher Zhang!"
Wang Baoqiang also quickly followed.
"Teacher Zhang!"
The two shook hands with excitement written all over their faces.
For people at their level, Zhang Yadong absolutely counted as a top figure in the music world.
What surprised them even more was Zhang Yadong's warmth.
"Don't be nervous."
"Since you're President Luo's people, treat this place like home."
As he spoke, he glanced toward the assistants behind Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang.
His expression immediately changed.
Assistant.
Driver.
Makeup staff.
Complete support team.
These two newcomers hadn't even debuted properly yet and already had this setup?
Blue Whale Entertainment was terrifyingly rich.
Actually, Huang Bo and Wang Baoqiang had been equally shocked.
When the company assigned personal assistants, they had both thought:
Is this real?
Can newcomers receive this treatment?
At that moment they almost wanted to sign lifetime contracts.
Soon, Zhang Yadong led them toward a lounge room.
"I have some friends here."
"Perfect timing."
"Let me introduce you."
The door opened.
Huang Bo froze.
Inside sat nearly half of China's music world.
Liu Huan.
Piao Shu.
Karen Mok.
Qi Qin.
Joey Wong.
And sitting at the center—
The queen herself.
Faye Wong.
Even though she simply sat there casually, she still radiated overwhelming presence.
Huang Bo suddenly felt his scalp go numb.
Wang Baoqiang nearly shrank into a corner.
After introductions, everyone exchanged greetings.
Fortunately, none of these big stars acted arrogant.
After chatting briefly, attention soon shifted.
Toward Huang Bo.
Or rather—
Toward Luo Zheng.
Liu Huan smiled.
"Brother Huang, let us see President Luo's songs."
Huang Bo immediately nodded.
"Okay!"
Soon the lyric sheets and scores were distributed.
The room instantly grew quiet.
Faye Wong looked down.
Song title:
Begging Buddha.
Her eyes moved downward.
As she softly hummed the melody, surprise slowly appeared in her expression.
Simple.
Direct.
Catchy.
But strangely memorable.
Then came:
Ten Thousand Reasons.
Don't Say You Love Me When You're Lonely.
Why Can't Lovers Be Together.
One song after another.
As they continued reading, everyone's expressions gradually became serious.
No one spoke.
Several minutes later—
Liu Huan finally raised his head.
"These songs..."
He paused.
Then sighed.
"They're too good."
Everyone nodded.
Faye Wong couldn't help laughing.
"Your President Luo really doesn't seem human."
The room burst into laughter.
Even Zhang Yadong looked speechless.
Yesterday someone asked for songs.
Today four songs arrived.
And not only were there songs—
Each one could become a major hit.
What kind of monster was this?
Meanwhile Huang Bo stood nearby, ears turning red from praise.
Although the songs weren't written by him—
People saying these things still felt amazing.
Soon recording officially began.
Huang Bo followed Zhang Yadong into the studio.
As for outside—
Everyone became curious.
Could this ordinary-looking man really carry these songs?
...
Meanwhile.
Across the Pacific.
Los Angeles.
After nearly ten hours of flying, Luo Zheng and the Liu mother-daughter pair finally stepped out of the airport.
The moment they exited—
Liu Xiaoli suddenly stopped.
Liu Yifei's eyes widened.
A row of black Audi S8s had stopped outside.
Perfectly aligned.
Uniform.
Luxury vehicles stretched into the distance.
Then doors opened one after another.
A group of people got out.
At the front—
An elderly man quickly walked forward with an excited expression.
Roy Disney.
The moment he saw Luo Zheng, his face bloomed with joy.
"William!"
"Hahaha!"
"I finally waited for you!"
Before Luo Zheng could react, Roy Disney directly hugged him.
Nearby passengers stared blankly.
Even Liu Xiaoli looked shocked.
Because she suddenly realized—
In America...
Luo Zheng's status might be even more terrifying than she imagined.