Chapter 55: Copyright
Because An Ran'er was going to the station to see her parents off, Li Nuo went to school by himself after breakfast.
As usual, he arrived at school, but he quickly noticed that things felt different today.
The moment he walked through the school gate, a group of boys who had apparently been waiting there for a long time surrounded him.
Questions came at him from all directions.
"Can you tell us how you managed to win Classmate An's heart?"
"And why does your voice sound so much like the original singer of The Girls? Is it just a coincidence or what?"
"Coach, I want to learn flirting—uh, no, I mean singing!"
"How long have you and Classmate An been together? Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"Which one of you confessed first?"
………………………
One question after another bombarded him.
Li Nuo felt his ears buzzing and his head spinning. He wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to go.
The crowd had completely surrounded him, and more students were still coming over. Some to watch the excitement, others to join in the questioning.
Just then, a loud voice rang out.
"You people are like a bunch of flies. Why don't you all get lost already?"
The voice was so powerful that everyone's attention immediately turned toward its owner.
The speaker was Zhou Qikuan.
He pushed through the crowd, walked up to Li Nuo, and pulled him out from the middle.
A few boys looked like they wanted to continue bothering him, but after seeing Zhou Qikuan's tall, muscular figure, they quickly backed down.
Only after the crowd finally dispersed did Li Nuo breathe a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, bro."
"No problem."
Zhou Qikuan waved his hand.
"Those guys never mind their own business and are always causing trouble. I've been annoyed with them for a long time."
Then he suddenly remembered something.
"Oh right, did you ask about the thing I told you last Friday?"
"Last Friday?"
Li Nuo thought for a moment and remembered.
"You mean why Ye Feilu blocked you?"
"Exactly. Tell me."
"Uh..."
Actually, after Li Nuo mentioned the matter to An Ran'er that day, she added him to a group chat and told him to ask Ye Feilu directly.
So he did.
Ye Feilu did not hide anything and told him exactly why she had blocked Zhou Qikuan.
The reason surprised Li Nuo quite a bit.
"What is it? Hurry up and tell me."
"Do you really want to know?"
"Of course."
"Alright. It's actually because of your fiancée, Su Wenwen."
"Why is it her again?"
"I remember you said she transferred schools, right? You probably don't know which school she transferred to."
"I don't."
Zhou Qikuan immediately shook his head. Then he suddenly realized something.
"Wait... don't tell me..."
"That's right."
Li Nuo nodded.
"She transferred to the same girls' school that Ye Feilu attends. And she told everyone there that she's your fiancée, so..."
Li Nuo then explained everything Ye Feilu had told him, including how Su Wenwen had bullied and teased her during the first few days after transferring.
After hearing the whole story, Zhou Qikuan stood there silently with a gloomy expression.
"I say... are you okay?"
Li Nuo waved a hand in front of him worriedly.
Coming back to his senses, Zhou Qikuan quickly forced a smile.
"I-I'm fine. Honestly, I should have guessed it was something like this."
After thinking for a moment, Li Nuo said,
"If you still like Ye Feilu, maybe you should find a chance to explain everything to her face-to-face."
Zhou Qikuan sighed.
"I don't even have her contact information anymore. Where am I supposed to get that chance?"
Seeing how depressed he looked, Li Nuo's eyes lit up.
"Don't be so discouraged. Maybe I can help create an opportunity."
The moment Zhou Qikuan heard that, his eyes brightened. He instantly came back to life and grabbed Li Nuo by both shoulders.
"Xiao Nuo! Are you serious? You can really help me get her out to meet me?"
"Oww! Oww! That hurts!"
Li Nuo winced.
"Calm down! Stop squeezing so hard!"
"Ah! Sorry, sorry."
Zhou Qikuan quickly let go.
"But you're serious, right? You really have a way to help me meet her?"
"If it's just arranging a meeting, it should be possible."
Li Nuo rubbed his sore shoulders.
"That's great!"
Zhou Qikuan looked overjoyed.
"I'm counting on you again, Brother. If you make it happen, you can pick another figure from my collection."
"What?"
Li Nuo raised an eyebrow.
"What do you take me for? Do you think I'm the kind of guy who only helps friends when there's something in it for me?"
"Y-Yes... no, no, that's not what I meant!"
Zhou Qikuan nodded, then immediately shook his head.
"Of course you're not that kind of person. I misspoke. Just pretend I never said it."
The moment Li Nuo heard that, he realized something was wrong. He quickly held up two fingers and said awkwardly,
"W-Well... one figure isn't really enough. At least... at least two, right?"
"Deal!"
Zhou Qikuan patted his chest confidently.
"As long as you help me make it happen, you can have as many as you want."
"Then it's settled."
……………………………
Since it was Monday, the school held its usual half-hour flag-raising ceremony.
Even after the ceremony ended, Li Nuo still had not seen An Ran'er.
When he returned to the classroom, he finally received a message from her.
[I have something urgent to take care of. I won't be coming to school today.]
Looking at the message, Li Nuo did not think much of it.
Ever since The Girls reunited and released their new album, An Ran'er seemed to be busy every day.
Missing classes occasionally had become normal for her.
Li Nuo was already used to it.
……………………………
At a café in S City.
Three people sat around a table near the window.
They were Yu Haoshen, An Ran'er, and a middle-aged man in a suit sitting across from them.
An Ran'er frowned as she looked through the contract the man had handed her.
After reading it for a while, she asked,
"So you're saying you want to buy the copyright to Carousel and use it as the theme song for your new movie?"
"That's correct, Miss An."
The man nodded.
"Why?"
"I've already explained the reason to Mr. Yu. You can ask him later. The main reason we invited you here today is to get your permission and signature on the contract."
"What makes you think I'll agree?"
An Ran'er handed the contract back.
"We only want the copyright to this one song."
The man calmly replied,
"We won't stop [The Girls] from performing it. You'll only need to submit a request before any performance."
He continued,
"We also know that your record company has required your band to get at least one song into the Top 10 of this year's annual music chart."
"Our movie, Unicorn, will be released on the seventh of next month. If you're willing, we can promote your song while promoting the movie this week. Reaching the Top 3 might be difficult, but getting into the Top 10 is definitely possible."
After taking a sip of coffee, he set the cup down.
"I'm sorry, but I can't make that decision."
An Ran'er shook her head.
"Why not?"
"Because I didn't write this song. You've come to the wrong person."
"But Mr. Yu said you're the leader of the band."
"I am the leader of [The Girls], but I didn't create this song."
The suited man looked surprised.
"This..."
He turned toward Yu Haoshen.
"Please excuse us for a moment."
Yu Haoshen stood up and pulled An Ran'er outside the café.
Outside, he said,
"Ran'er, do you realize that this is our only option now?"
"If we don't get enough publicity, there's no way we'll make it into the Top 10 with only a few days left."
"But Li Nuo wrote the song."
An Ran'er frowned.
"If we're selling the copyright, shouldn't Li Nuo be the one making the decision?"
"Not exactly."
Yu Haoshen explained,
"The song was recorded by all of you together. I also rewrote the lyrics and arrangement afterward. And as the band leader, you have the authority to make decisions regarding the song's copyright."
"But..."
She still hesitated.
"This happened very suddenly."
Yu Haoshen sighed.
"Otherwise, I would have invited Miss Li Nuan too. Aren't you living together now? You can explain everything to him afterward. I'm sure he won't object once he understands the reason."
"But if the company finds out, won't that be a problem?"
"The company never signed a copyright agreement with us for this album."
Yu Haoshen shook his head.
"To them, we're already abandoned pieces. So you don't need to worry about that."
"..."
"And it's only one song's copyright. For us right now, the benefits clearly outweigh the disadvantages."
After weighing everything carefully, An Ran'er finally sighed.
"Fine. We'll do it your way."
After returning to the café, they signed the contract transferring the copyright of Carousel.