Chapter 973: The Croatian Rhapsody

For Guai Ling, Luo Quan felt nothing at all.

Although she herself hadn’t reaped the same benefits as Guai Ling, every era has its own limitations—such things can’t be forced.

Whether Guai Ling ultimately fulfills people’s expectations of her has nothing to do with Luo Quan, after all, it’s not her money being spent.

But judging by the current situation, Guai Ling’s momentum is still extremely strong—she’s won two gold medals in just three weeks and now ranks first in the world in her event.

Domestic manufacturers, spotting the business opportunity, rushed to sign endorsement deals with her; the sales impact remains unknown, but the advertising fees have already reached hundreds of millions.

Thus, after merely returning to Huaxia for a brief visit, filming a few ads, and giving a handful of interviews, Guai Ling became one of the highest-earning athletes of 2020—truly surreal.

Such an opportunity is one that the Huaxia athletes at the Tokyo Olympics will likely never encounter in their lifetimes.

This phenomenon is undoubtedly problematic, but since Guai Ling is currently “the people’s choice,” no one dares question it.

If Luo Quan were to speak up about this, it would attract considerable attention.

But if she spoke out, everyone would assume she was jealous of Guai Ling’s gains—so it’s better to stay silent.

These people are cheering loudly now, but when they’re proven wrong, they’ll be mortified.

So even though many on trending topics are pushing narratives about her, Luo Quan didn’t engage—she focused on her own work.

“The Greatest Work” sparked an artistic wave; she wanted to add a strong dose of fuel to this rising flame—another song.

Netizens said the song was pleasant to listen to, but its musicality was slightly lacking.

So this time, she’d compose a piano piece that balanced both melody and musical depth.

This production wasn’t as complex as “The Greatest Work”—though she used instruments beyond the piano, the overall workload was far lighter.

Thus, Luo Quan finished the song in just one morning the next day.

After lunch, she opened her livestream and, in this growingly cold winter, brewed herself a cup of Youlemei milk tea.

“You are my Youlemei.”

The live chat, seeing the milk tea cup cradled in her hands, immediately recalled this iconic ad slogan.

“What, do you all want to cradle me in your palms too?” Luo Quan chuckled.

This line appeared constantly in her childhood; her most vivid memories were Youlemei, then Bu Bu Gao, and then Nao Bai Jin—she knew their ad scripts by heart.

Nowadays, TV rarely shows ads with such creative, catchy, brainwashing charm—most are just low-pitched male voices mechanically reading lines, devoid of emotion, all technique.

“Thinking about it, this is childhood nostalgia—when I recall it now, my heart feels both sweet and sour, like an apple.”

“Great analogy, but I prefer the ads Luo Quan made recently.”

“Luo Quan made ads?”

“Rarely, but yes—one for Huawei, one for her company’s car, and one for Chanel.”

“That Nigula car ad was insane—like a Qiu Ming Mountain Drift King, and the BGM was fire.”

“Wait, is Luo Bao really that good at driving?”

“In the car ad video, Luo Quan drove herself—no stunt double—and she drove like a demon.”

“True speed is in the curves—anyone can floor it on a straight.”

“Exactly—the curves. Check out that triple hairpin turn—it’s not something just anyone would dare attempt.”

“If it’s Luo Quan, then doing all this is perfectly normal.”

………………

To this day, fans treat Luo Quan’s omnipotence as routine—as if no problem in the world could possibly stop her.

Driving, a mundane skill, is obviously no challenge—so no one finds it remarkable.

After a few casual remarks, Luo Quan looked into the camera and brought up the real topic: “Guess what good news I’m about to share with you all?”

As before, she teased them first; fans immediately launched into wild speculation:

“Is this good news that you’re going to shoot another swimsuit photo shoot?”

“That’s great—suggest shooting more high-res video this time.”

“What, are we going to the beach again?”

“As long as you’re wearing a swimsuit, everywhere is Hawaii—swimsuit shoots don’t have to be by the sea.”

“You can even shoot at home—if you want to, you can do it right now!”

“Just do it!”

………………

Calling this wild speculation is an understatement—Luo Quan’s habit of granting every request has truly spoiled them.

“You’re dreaming,” Luo Quan denied outright to avoid misunderstanding. “There are already so many people on Weibo accusing me of pandering to men—if I released a swimsuit shoot now, wouldn’t I just be handing them a knife?”

As a healthy, green-minded celebrity, I shouldn’t do things that contribute nothing to society.”

Hearing this, fans immediately protested:

“How can this not be a contribution? You shooting swimsuits is like a living Bodhisattva—immense merit!”

“Haha, it sounds weird, but that’s exactly how it is.”

“Luo Bao’s reputation peaks every time you release swimsuit photos—then anyone who dares insult you will be drowned out by us!”

…………

People always become hyperactive when they have a demand—they gain motivation.

But Luo Quan had no intention of shooting such a thing—at least not yet. She gently shook her head: “Don’t get your hopes up. The last swimsuit shoot hasn’t even been long ago—how could I shoot another so soon?”

Besides, I don’t have the time right now—so stop dreaming. We’ll talk about it later.”

Though this outcome wasn’t unexpected, fans still felt deeply disappointed upon hearing her firm reply—and they blamed the feminist trolls on Weibo.

In their view, if those women hadn’t constantly attacked Luo Quan over such things, she wouldn’t have so many reservations—perhaps if they begged harder, she’d have relented.

Now, with Luo Quan so resolute, it was clearly the feminists’ fault.

To prevent similar situations in the future, fans decided to properly deal with these feminists.

Not to eliminate them entirely, but to ensure they never dared mention Luo Quan again.

You can insult others—we don’t care—but if you insult Luo Bao, it’s absolutely unacceptable!

Thus, over the next few days, Weibo feminists were inexplicably attacked by massive mobs—the online environment became unbearable.

Of course, that was all later. After clearing up the misunderstanding about swimsuits, Luo Quan pulled out her prepared surprise:

“A lot of fans said one song wasn’t enough—I’ve recorded another, but it’s pure instrumental. Do you want to hear it now, or wait until tonight to release it?”

This question was unnecessary—fans naturally wanted to hear it as soon as possible; their replies were urgent:

“Do we even need to ask? Just serve it up now!”

“You’ve already recorded it—stop hiding it, show it to us!”

“You guys are unbearable—fine, just once, okay? (Undressing.jpg)”

“Haha, you guys are truly skr geniuses.”

“Play all you want, joke all you want—I still want to hear the new song the moment it drops.”

“Agreed. Luo Bao, stop delaying.”

………………

The crowd's cheers were loud. After reading it, Luo Quan knew exactly what to do—she opened the folder on her desktop and began scrolling through it.

She had many self-composed songs stored in this folder; since she was too lazy to search, she scrolled slowly with the mouse wheel.

“By the way, Luo Bao’s desktop is such a mess—so many folders.”

“Normal. She’s always filming movies and releasing new songs—there’s tons of material. If it weren’t in folders, it’d be even messier.”

“I just saw a folder called ‘Study Materials.’ (Funny.jpg)”

“Are you Le Wen Hu Ke? But I’m curious what’s inside—could it really be study-related?”

“Haha, Luo Bao graduated college ages ago—why’s she still keeping study files? I bet yours aren’t what they seem!”

………………

Among countless fans, a few have exceptionally sharp eyes—in a fleeting two or three seconds, they spotted the folder named “Study Materials” among the hundreds of desktop icons.

As everyone knows, when a folder is labeled “Study Materials,” 99% of the time, its contents have nothing to do with studying.

This is standard misdirection—but whether Luo Quan has something to hide, no one knows.

Seeing fans chat about it, Luo Quan gave a wry smile: “What’s there to guess? These are your actual study materials.”

You don’t think all the skills I’ve mastered came out of thin air, do you? Or do you really believe those fantasy-world claims?”

Knowledge doesn’t magically increase—it requires countless hours of study and accumulation to gradually rise from novice to expert level.”

Behind your backs, I’ve spent countless sleepless nights buried in books to become the all-around expert I am today!

This solemn speech revealed to fans how hard-won her skills truly were—how much blood, sweat, and tears she’d invested.

Just as the song says: behind glory lies solitude. Learning is something no one can do for you—you must push yourself.

Hearing this, fans all sighed—each success is never easy. They’d grown used to seeing Luo Quan as a goddess, forgetting that even geniuses must work relentlessly.

Talent is merely a ladder to success—some take winding paths, others walk a straight, broad highway.

But effort—that’s the key that unlocks the door to success!

In just a few sentences, Luo Quan served her fans another helping of soul-stirring chicken soup—live chat flooded with promises to start studying tomorrow.

Why not today? Because today has already arrived—but they still have no intention of studying.

Tomorrow? Who knows what tomorrow’s mood will be—maybe tomorrow they’ll decide to lose weight instead, and studying gets postponed again.

After all, tomorrow after tomorrow, tomorrow is endless—just wait. One day, they’ll remember.

But as fans made their vows, no one noticed the fleeting flicker of tension deep in Luo Quan’s eyes.

She thought: Thank goodness I fooled them—if they’d asked me to open the folder first, it would’ve been trouble.

As everyone initially guessed, this folder definitely wasn’t study material.

But if you really want to stretch it, there is indeed a tiny connection to learning, since the protagonists of these materials are affectionately called “teachers” by Chinese netizens.

Since they are all teachers, the content they produce is naturally learning material.

So Luo Quan lied with perfect confidence.

Fortunately, no fans questioned her—her Oscar-winning acting skills were on full display; no one noticed anything off about her gaze or tone, all of them lulled into a daze by that bowl of soul-stirring chicken soup.

The minor incident ended, and Luo Quan finally found a file named “Rhapsody” in the folder.

Double-clicking to play, the barrage instantly thinned out; everyone took a deep breath, ready to savor the piece.

(PS. Original title: Croatian Rhapsody, original performer: Maksim.)

The music began—it was not merely a piano piece, but also incorporated other electronic instruments, with an overall fast tempo and unexpectedly catchy rhythm.

Melodies that build emotion layer by layer are more likely to captivate the ear; the hidden emotion in Croatian Rhapsody is the devastation after war, the steadfast determination to rebuild one’s home.

Amid the pleasing melody, fans felt the quiet serenity lurking beneath its passionate surge.

This is a piano piece blending pop and classical, though primarily leaning toward pop.

But its rich emotion deeply moves listeners; just one listen is enough to fall in love with it.

The only flaw is that it’s too short—just as fans began to sink into it, the music abruptly ended, leaving everyone stunned, staring blankly at the screen.

“That’s it?”

“Too short, I didn’t get enough.”

“Upload it fast—I want to loop it!”

“No wonder it’s called Rhapsody—this flavor is spot on.”

“Two songs in two days—Luo Bao has exceeded her quota. She’s been incredibly diligent lately—deserves praise.”

………………

Effort always brings rewards—at least, after Luo Quan suddenly became diligent and released her work, fans no longer chased her as usual, demanding more songs or movies with “unfulfilled cravings.”

This time—or rather, during this period—Luo Quan had finally fed these fans well.

But how long it would last was anyone’s guess; perhaps tomorrow she’d be hungry again?