The night air of Beijing carried a faint chill.
Under the streetlights outside the hotel, Luo Zheng's breathing remained steady as he moved at a relaxed pace. Anyone looking at him would genuinely think he had just finished an evening workout.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the call, Gao Yuanyuan sat by the window in her apartment, holding her phone while staring outside at the city lights.
Even after agreeing to meet him tomorrow, she still felt something strange.
Running?
At eleven-thirty at night?
And his breathing sounded far too stable.
No matter how she thought about it, something felt suspicious.
Still, after hesitating for a while, she eventually convinced herself.
Luo Zheng was busy.
Extremely busy.
Marvel, Blue Whale Entertainment, movie projects, music projects—he was involved everywhere. Maybe he really was one of those strange workaholics who exercised at midnight.
Thinking this way, she finally hung up.
Back at the hotel, the instant Luo Zheng tossed his phone onto the bed—
"Ah!"
Dong Jie immediately cried out in surprise and released her grip.
She looked at Luo Zheng with widened eyes, half embarrassed and half unwilling to admit defeat.
A woman with experience truly was different.
Especially when it came to competitive spirit.
An hour later, the room finally returned to silence.
Dong Jie leaned weakly against the pillow, exhausted enough that even speaking seemed difficult.
But despite that, she still lifted her eyes toward Luo Zheng.
Because she wanted an answer.
Seeing her expression, Luo Zheng couldn't help smiling.
That stubborn little look practically had "Did I win?" written all over it.
After a few seconds, he finally nodded in approval.
"You really are a tough little girl."
As he spoke, he suddenly reached toward the bedside table and picked up something.
A key.
He lightly pressed it against her shoulder.
Dong Jie looked confused.
"What is this?"
Her voice sounded slightly hoarse.
Luo Zheng casually replied:
"A reward."
"I bought you an apartment near Beijing's Second Ring Road."
"From now on, if we meet, we can use that place."
For a moment, Dong Jie froze.
Her tired eyes suddenly widened.
Second Ring Road?
And a large apartment?
Even without asking, she knew what that meant.
In Beijing right now, property prices near that area were already frightening.
Actors worked hard for years and still struggled to afford decent homes.
Yet Luo Zheng casually gave one away.
Just like that.
No hesitation.
No bargaining.
No conditions.
The more she thought about it, the sweeter she felt inside.
She had originally thought Luo Zheng was someone who simply liked excitement and novelty.
But now...
Maybe he truly cared.
A little.
Her eyes unexpectedly became slightly moist.
Then she slowly moved closer and whispered mischievously beside his ear:
"I still want another reward..."
Luo Zheng narrowed his eyes.
Greedy.
Very greedy.
He immediately looked down at her and said:
"You've learned badly."
Dong Jie blinked innocently.
"What?"
Luo Zheng simply smiled.
Some things required practical education.
—
The following morning.
Another leave request appeared at the set of The Story of a Noble Family.
And once again—
Director Li Dawei nearly exploded internally.
But only internally.
Externally?
His face looked full of warmth and kindness.
Not only did he approve immediately, he even approved faster than before.
Because this time he had already learned.
When Dong Jie requested leave yesterday, he still tried maintaining authority.
Today?
No need.
Absolutely no need.
After all, some lessons only required learning once.
Since the female lead was gone, filming could only continue using the male lead's scenes.
As a result—
Chen Kun, who had happily begun enjoying his day off, suddenly received a call asking him to return.
After arriving and learning the reason—
he immediately fell silent.
His expression became complicated.
Then eventually—
he sighed deeply.
"President Luo is... really energetic."
That was all he said.
Nearby staff immediately nodded in agreement.
Very reasonable.
Extremely reasonable.
On the other side, however, Liu Xiaoli had a completely different reaction.
The moment she heard Dong Jie had taken another day off—
she directly called Luo Zheng.
After the call connected, concern immediately filled her tone.
She first asked about work.
Then asked about health.
Then subtly and not-so-subtly reminded him:
"Young people should still take care of themselves."
"You shouldn't exhaust yourself."
"And Sissi still hasn't grown up yet."
"Don't wear yourself out early."
Her words sounded caring.
But beneath them...
another meaning quietly existed.
Luo Zheng naturally understood.
Unfortunately—
he simply didn't care.
Kidney problems?
Physical exhaustion?
Impossible.
Other people had supplements.
He had a system.
After casually replying several times, he quickly escaped the conversation.
Not long afterward, the car slowly stopped outside Blue Whale Entertainment.
After entering the building and arriving at his office—
he immediately saw Gao Yuanyuan sitting on the sofa.
Long black hair.
White heels.
A simple dress.
Even while sitting quietly, she still attracted attention effortlessly.
Seeing Luo Zheng enter, she slowly crossed her arms.
"President Luo finally arrived."
Luo Zheng smiled.
"Sorry."
"Something came up."
Gao Yuanyuan raised an eyebrow.
Then she looked at him meaningfully.
"Oh?"
"Busy running at night?"
Beside them, Liu Yan nearly laughed out loud.
She quickly turned away and bit her lip.
Because she understood perfectly.
Very perfectly.
Luo Zheng, however, remained calm.
His face showed not even the slightest panic.
Instead, he nodded seriously.
"Exactly."
"You know how popular I suddenly became recently."
He walked over while loosening his tie.
"Jane Zhang's album exploded."
"Now people everywhere are asking me for songs."
This time—
he truly wasn't lying.
Because after Jane Zhang's album completely took off, news spread rapidly throughout the entertainment circle.
And after people learned Luo Zheng personally wrote every song—
things became chaotic.
Movie crews came.
Television crews came.
Record companies came.
Even Tencent came.
Especially Tencent.
Thinking about it now still gave Luo Zheng a headache.
Because the person who contacted him wasn't an ordinary employee.
It was Brother Ma personally.
At first Luo Zheng had been completely confused.
Tencent?
A messaging company?
Why did they need songs?
What?
Promotional songs?
At first he criticized Brother Ma quite mercilessly.
But after calming down—
he suddenly realized...
it actually made sense.
QQ.
Qzone.
Youth culture.
Internet social platforms.
And suddenly, songs from his previous life immediately surfaced in his mind.
QQ Love.
Gray Avatar.
Weren't these practically born for Tencent?
After sorting through his thoughts, Luo Zheng immediately called Brother Ma back.
The moment the call connected—
Brother Ma nearly sounded emotional.
As if he had been waiting beside the phone.
Luo Zheng reluctantly said:
"I'll do it."
The opposite side almost exploded with excitement.
But before Brother Ma could start thanking him—
Luo Zheng interrupted:
"Wait."
"Not one cent less payment."
Silence.
Immediately afterward—
Brother Ma's voice suddenly became weak.
"Can... we owe it first?"
"You know how things are lately..."
"User numbers are increasing too quickly..."
"Servers..."
"Hiring..."
Luo Zheng stared blankly.
"Weren't you just given five million dollars?"
Silence.
Then:
"Almost gone."
This time Luo Zheng truly became shocked.
Internet companies burned money fast.
But this fast?
Then he remembered.
QQ Show.
Qzone.
Features he had introduced early.
More users meant more employees.
More servers.
More expenses.
Money disappeared like water.
Finally he sighed.
"Fine."
"You can owe me."
"But Tencent only gets usage rights."
Instantly:
"No problem!"
Brother Ma agreed so quickly that Luo Zheng suddenly felt tricked.
But then he remembered Tencent's future value.
Immediately—
his mood improved.
Afterward, during his free time that night, he wrote several songs.
QQ Love.
Gray Avatar.
Then Youth Memorial Album.
Then My Turf.
Every song perfectly matched Tencent's youthful style.
When Brother Ma received them later—
he thought he was dreaming.
Morning request.
Night delivery.
Five songs.
Finished.
Not only that—
each perfectly matched Tencent's products.
He immediately wanted to praise Luo Zheng.
Unfortunately—
the line disconnected.
Because Luo Zheng had already hung up.
Compliments wasted time.
Working made money.
Simple.
Back inside the office—
after hearing Luo Zheng explain everything—
Gao Yuanyuan's expression softened considerably.
Because she understood his personality.
He was busy.
Very busy.
And while she could occasionally act spoiled—
she couldn't overdo it.
Otherwise...
there were too many women around him waiting for opportunities.
Finally she snorted lightly.
"Fine."
"I'll believe you this once."
Then she stood up.
White heels tapped softly across the floor.
Step by step—
she walked directly toward Luo Zheng.
Then before anyone reacted—
one hand grabbed his tie.
The other wrapped around his neck.
She leaned close.
Very close.
Then whispered softly beside his ear:
"So..."
"Mr. Busy President Luo..."
"Is my song ready?"