Chapter 116: Why Does Your Voice Sound a Little Breathless?

Monday, 9:00 a. m.

Inside the Huayue Film and Television conference room.

Ying Zhicheng chaired the meeting; after listening to the entire proposal, he confirmed there was nothing left to add, then turned to Yuan Wanqing on his left.

"The new album will go live precisely at noon today, and the pre-release promotion has already run for a month," Ying Zhicheng said. "Soon, Weibo will trend it—your studio must coordinate: post one message on your official account, following the proposal's content and style."

"Press appearances begin in the afternoon; the schedule is already set."

"Three entertainment media interviews, brief interactions with several top Weibo entertainment influencers, and more variety shows to follow."

"Especially on variety shows, the scripts will include singing performances—handle them yourself."

"Many will question whether your vocal ability still exists after a decade away from the industry."

"So each of the three variety shows is targeted: one entertainment-focused, asking you to sing brief high-point clips; one celebrity travel show as a last-minute guest, requiring a cappella to emphasize authenticity; the last is a singing competition, showcasing your full vocal strength."

Huayue Film and Television's resources within Qianjiang Province are still quite substantial.

They have also taken Yuan Wanqing's comeback seriously.

After hearing Ying Zhicheng's words, Yuan Wanqing nodded silently, signaling understanding; after the meeting ended, she left the company with her assistant, boarded the chauffeured car, and prepared for the afternoon's engagements.

Soon, as promotional materials and Weibo trends spread, news about Yuan Wanqing's new album grew increasingly abundant.

The new album, *Ten Years Like a Dream*, quickly entered the public eye.

Many older fans, who once believed this singer might have become the next queen of the industry at the turn of the century, sighed in nostalgia, never expecting to witness her return.

Yet there was no shortage of criticism and derision, picking faults in the new album.

After its release, the album's initial popularity was indeed strong.

Yuan Wanqing's lead single also stirred excitement online for a while.

But as new internet phenomena emerged, public attention shifted rapidly.

The current era is one where physical albums have hit rock bottom; Huayue Film and Television focused entirely on digital album promotion.

Yet despite heavy resource allocation, digital sales across platforms remained negligible.

On charts like QQ Music's album rankings, it barely cracked the top ten, then slipped again within days.

Of the album's ten tracks, only the lead single, *Dancing Like a Dream*, briefly reached the top three, then fell out of the top ten after the hype faded.

For a newcomer, such results wouldn't be considered a failure—even respectable.

But for Yuan Wanqing, they were far below expectations.

As for Yuan Wanqing's comeback, it was nearly irrelevant to high school students at Fu Yi High School.

Most were barely born at the end of the last century; they had no familiarity with Yuan Wanqing, let alone interest in entertainment gossip.

Only someone like Li Luo, due to his connection with Yan Zhusheng, had learned a little about the situation.

Once the album's performance settled, Li Luo sighed.

He had never heard much about Yuan Wanqing's comeback in his past life, proving the album's impact was truly minimal.

The entertainment industry changes rapidly; miss one opportunity, and you may never get another chance to return to fame.

From Yan Zhusheng alone, it was clear Yuan Wanqing's vocal skill was certainly not lacking—indeed, it was exceptionally strong.

But as the internet entered the smartphone era, the importance of traffic gradually overshadowed raw talent.

Many talented artists simply needed one opportunity to unlock traffic.

Clearly, Yuan Wanqing had failed to achieve this.

After researching Yuan Wanqing's current situation on his computer, Li Luo became slightly more cautious when speaking to Yan Zhusheng in class the next day.

But Yan Zhusheng quickly noticed his unease and asked, "What are you worried about?"

"Nothing," Li Luo shook his head, then said, "Your mom's new album was released—did you download it on your phone? We can listen together at lunch."

"Oh," Yan Zhusheng nodded. "Did you listen?"

"I listened a bit these past two days."

"Was it good?"

"Besides the lead single, I liked *Dream Wanderer* and *Original Heart*—they suit your mom's vocal style perfectly."

"I'm glad you liked them," Yan Zhusheng didn't care about the album's sales; hearing Li Luo's praise, she quietly noted it in her heart.

At lunch break, she quietly passed him one earbud, then lay face-down on her desk, turning her cheek toward Li Luo as she slept.

Listening to Yuan Wanqing's voice through the earbud, with the singer's daughter sleeping beside him, Li Luo leaned on his desk and gazed at Yan Zhusheng, feeling something strange about the moment.

But halfway through lunch break, Yan Zhusheng's phone suddenly lit up with a message.

She glanced at it furtively, then told Li Luo she was going to the restroom to take a call.

When she returned, lunch break wasn't over, and classmates were still resting.

So Yan Zhusheng took Li Luo's scratchpad from his desk drawer and wrote on it.

【Yan Zhusheng】: My mom called me.

【Yan Zhusheng】: She said she might have time to come to the parent-teacher meeting on Saturday.

Li Luo glanced at the note, raised an eyebrow, and formed a guess in his mind.

Perhaps because the album's performance was poor, her packed schedule had been trimmed?

In that case, it wasn't entirely bad—she could at least attend her daughter's first high school parent-teacher meeting.

【Li Luo】: Will your mom be free Saturday noon?

【Yan Zhusheng】: I don't know. Why?

【Li Luo】: Didn't your senior say your mom wanted to treat us and our parents to a meal?

【Yan Zhusheng】: Oh, that? I'll ask her tonight.

……

By evening.

The second evening self-study session will end in about ten minutes.

Li Luo pretended to go out to the restroom, but actually went downstairs toward the playground.

Not long after, Yan Zhusheng also came out and met Li Luo on the playground.

Originally, he and Yan Zhusheng had agreed to meet on the playground after the second evening self-study to go for a run and exercise.

But Yan Zhusheng later thought better of it, worried that if Ying Chanxi and Xu Youyu were waiting for Li Luo to go home together, it would be too much trouble for them.

That's how this current arrangement came about.

Li Luo was the class monitor; a brief absence of ten minutes during the second session wouldn't draw any comment.

Yan Zhusheng skillfully slipped earphones into Li Luo's ears, then put on her own, turned on the music on her phone, and the two began running laps.

During the first few night runs, Li Luo had felt slightly uncomfortable.

But as the次数 increased, and with Yan Zhusheng beside him, Li Luo gradually began to enjoy the rhythm of his body.

Undeniably, a young body is wonderful.

In his previous life, at age thirty-five, his body had already fallen apart.

Acne-prone, oily face, dark circles, thinning hair, flabby physique, poor kidneys—he was perpetually lethargic, lacking energy for everything.

Even climbing stairs or carrying a package left him gasping for breath, let alone running a few steps.

Now, reborn into this life, after running at night with Yan Zhusheng, Li Luo suddenly realized he needed to consciously maintain exercise.

Occasional basketball wasn't enough.

Something like this—running every day, sticking with it—wasn't bad at all.

To be honest, Li Luo had once disliked the school's daily mandatory running drills.

But once he grew older, he'd realize that those daily forced ten-minute exercises were enough to keep a person relatively healthy and energetic.

Yet after entering society, most people couldn't even manage ten minutes of exercise each day.

After all, from morning till night they were exploited by their bosses, their vital energy long drained—where would they find the strength to exercise?

While running, Li Luo let his thoughts wander, thinking about these things.

Until Yan Zhusheng suddenly stopped, and Li Luo halted too, asking in confusion, "Why stop? Class hasn't ended yet."

"I have time right now, I can call my mom," Yan Zhusheng said. "Didn't we say we'd ask about lunch on Saturday?"

"Now?" Li Luo paused, then nodded. "Alright, go ahead and ask."

So Yan Zhusheng dialed Yuan Wanqing's number.

A few seconds later, the call connected.

"Hello?" Yuan Wanqing asked疑惑ly on the other end. "Shengsheng? What's up?"

"Mom," Yan Zhusheng glanced at Li Luo. "After the parent-teacher meeting on Saturday, do you have any other plans?"

"Saturday?" Yuan Wanqing asked her assistant, then replied, "No special plans—just a meeting at the company in the afternoon. Why?"

"Oh, it's like this," Yan Zhusheng explained. "A friend of mine wants to invite you to dinner then."

"Really?" Yuan Wanqing frowned, feeling it was troublesome.

Although she was now past her prime, she was still a public figure and didn't want to get entangled with parents from the school.

But remembering it was Yan Zhusheng's friend, her tone softened: "Which friend? Do I know them?"

"It's Li Luo—the one I mentioned to you before," Yan Zhusheng whispered. "My best friend in high school."

On the other end, Yuan Wanqing fell silent.

After a few seconds of thought, she said: "Tell Li Luo I'll come. Thank him for me in advance."

"Mm," Yan Zhusheng glanced at Li Luo, who was keeping watch beside her, and nodded lightly.

Just as she was about to hang up, Yuan Wanqing suddenly asked: "Shengsheng, your breathing sounds heavy—are you sick?"

"Oh… no," Yan Zhusheng shook her head honestly. "I was just night running with Li Luo, so I'm a bit out of breath."

"This… this is how it is…" Yuan Wanqing's tone grew heavy. "Hmm… keeping up exercise is good. I've got something else to attend to—I'll hang up now. See you on Saturday."

"Mm, bye."

After hanging up, Yan Zhusheng walked lightly behind Li Luo and tapped his shoulder. "My mom agreed—she'll come to dinner."