My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 158

The atmosphere was warm and cheerful, it turned into an impromptu farewell for Gu Zhinan, with the crew becoming his first group of loyal fans.

After dinner, Gu Zhinan returned to their third-floor lodging with Lai Jingming, Chen Yuze, and Meng Xingye.

Lately, Lai Jingming had been working so hard during the day that he no longer snored at night. Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye barely used their earplugs before they realized they weren’t needed anymore.

Lying in bed, Lai Jingming rolled over and finally asked, “Zhinan, how many episodes do you think you can last?”

“Director Gu is definitely taking the crown!”

Gu Zhinan was still staring at the ceiling when Meng Xingye’s voice piped up from the lower bunk next door.

“I think so too! I haven’t heard Director Gu sing before, but I just know it’ll sound amazing!” Chen Yuze now felt the same kind of blind confidence in Gu Zhinan that he had in Lai Jingming.

Although Gu Zhinan spent most of his days slacking off, whenever the actors struggled to get into character, he always pointed out what they were missing, helping them snap back into form quickly.

They had originally assumed Gu Zhinan was a film major just like Lai Jingming, otherwise, how could he be the lead director? But then Gu Zhinan told them he’d majored in electronics information in college and had only just started reading filmography textbooks.

They were stunned and left looking at him like he was some kind of freak. This guy was too unbelievable.

Lai Jingming chuckled when he heard the two boys fawning over Gu Zhinan. “Why are you two so confident? If you’re going to suck up to someone, shouldn’t it be me? Your Director Gu is leaving tomorrow.”

“Oh, come on, Director Lai, your skills already have us kneeling in worship!”

“Yeah, totally!”

“Hahaha, you little punks. Who taught you this stuff?”

Under the dim lighting, Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye glanced down at Lai Jingming’s lower bunk and silently thought, “You’re the one who always talks to Director Gu like a fanboy. You just don’t realize it…”

Gu Zhinan rolled his eyes as the three of them kept hyping each other up. When they finally quieted down, he spoke flatly, “I’m just going there to show my face. Everyone on that show’s got real talent, I’m nowhere near as good as you all think.”

“Oh, please,” Lai Jingming scoffed. “Let’s be realistic, there are ten episodes total. If you survive the normal elimination schedule, you’ll need to appear in at least five. I’m not asking for the moon, just make it through two rounds!” He set the goal for Gu Zhinan.

Gu Zhinan stuck his head down and looked at him. “Then why don’t you go instead?”

“I can’t.”

“Then what are you talking for?”

“Because I like talking!”

“Yuze, Xingye, if Lai doesn’t help carry props tomorrow, let me know. Tell your Brother Situ too. If he loses his temper with you, come to me, I’ll fire him.”

“What the hell?!” Lai Jingming sat up in bed, looking shocked at Gu Zhinan’s mischievous grin.

“Got it, Director Gu!”

“Understood!”

Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye giggled but responded immediately.

“What are you staring at?” Gu Zhinan asked.

With a pout, Lai Jingming sulkily turned and went to the balcony to smoke, his back looking slightly pitiful. He had been planning to slack off on his diet once the “tiger” (Gu Zhinan) left, thinking he’d rule the roost while he was gone. He’d lost a little weight, sure, but it had been torture.

The night passed quietly.

The next morning, “We’re heading to the set. You’re going back alone, right? They say it’s going to rain today. Don’t wander off, we’re shooting the indoor fairytale scene.”

Gu Zhinan nodded. “What’s Hangzhou’s rain got to do with Lin City?”

He was just going to the high-speed rail station, no big deal. The current scene they were filming was in the middle section of the script, relatively easy, and the team wanted to finish it in the next couple of days.

Naturally, Gu Zhinan fully supported this, after all, the sooner the shoot wrapped, the less money they’d have to spend. Their 4 million yuan budget was already stretched thin. Gu Zhinan was prepared to throw in the remaining 600,000 he had.

If that wasn’t enough, he’d have to find a way to scam, I mean borrow, more money from the landlord. But she hadn’t even removed him from her blacklist yet. “Ridiculous!”

Back at his small apartment, Gu Zhinan glanced up at the gloomy sky. Definitely not great weather for filming, hopefully Fatty Lai’s forecast was wrong. Gu Zhinan had never seen a weather app get it right anyway.

He collapsed onto the couch and let himself zone out. Luckily, he’d kept up with his Legend of Sword and Fairy updates, so Cheng Mengxi had no excuse to dock his pay.

After lounging for a while, he returned to his room and played a few rounds of ranked matches, something he hadn’t done in ages.

Some people are just naturally talented, he stomped the first match, but got crushed in the second. No way he was going to write today. He deserved a break, and he had enough chapters stocked up. “Time to indulge a little.”

After uploading today’s update, he remembered, midnight tonight was the 17th. His landlord’s album would drop then, and he had a royalty cut! A devious idea briefly popped into his head, but he dismissed it. He’d just post a normal chapter comment instead. “You don’t get lucky with rich fools like Young Master Wang every time.”

Lately, there had been some dumb haters trolling his comment section. Yesterday, Young Master Wang led his fans into a full-on war and even secured the top comment spot for Gu Zhinan.

“Fine.” Gu Zhinan shook his head. “Once is enough. I’ll post a simple chapter note and maybe update an extra chapter, nothing too much.”

After all, Starlight Entertainment had pulled out all the stops to promote the landlord’s album, funding, effort, you name it. A company full of love, truly.

He was just helping her out a little. So he posted a special author’s note after the final chapter, plugging her new album, explaining that he’d written the lyrics and composed the music, and asked readers to go “wildly—er, reasonably” support it.

Then he opened Weibo and checked the landlord’s profile. As expected, just a single elegant promo photo with a simple caption announcing the midnight release. Minimalist, as always.

What caught Gu Zhinan off guard was that she’d credited the songwriter and composer as Gu Zhinan the Straight Man.

“What the hell? Was it a typo?” But then he saw the comments. Someone had asked, “An’ge, did you mean to write that?”

She replied, “Not a mistake. That’s for the straight man who refuses to update Legend of Sword and Fairy properly.”

Her reply immediately fired up the fans, who swarmed into Gu Zhinan’s comment section to complain about his recent short breaks and jokingly crowned her the “Number One Update Enforcer.”

With a heart that was one-third resistance, one-third reluctance, and one-third corporate pressure, Gu Zhinan shared the post and added a caption, “Fellow cultivators, please show your support!”

Ah, capitalism is ridiculous. His once pure soul was now thoroughly corrupted. After all that, he even treated himself to a nice dinner, three dishes and a soup. Delicious!

By evening, the autumn skies darkened early. Outside, it looked like storm clouds were gathering. He texted Lai Jingming and saw that it was pouring in Hangzhou. The team had wrapped early and returned to the company. Only then did Gu Zhinan relax.

“Let it rain in Hangzhou. It’s not like Lin City’s going to flood too, right? They’re far apart.” Perfect weather for sleeping. But Gu Zhinan wasn’t lazy enough to nap just yet. 

He grabbed the landlord’s guitar from the room and strummed a few chords. He hadn’t played in half a month, but when he lived in this apartment, he used to practice daily.

The soft melody of a love song drifted through the room like a gentle breeze. Gu Zhinan chuckled to himself, “Maybe I really do have some talent?” But the song for Masked Singer and the theme for First Love, those were still problems. So many things are piling up again.

As he sank deeper into thought, his mind drifted.

Downstairs, the latest model of a white Huayu car pulled up.

Wearing a pale yellow evening dress with a coat over her shoulders, Xia An’ge, the landlord herself, stepped out. She had bought this car recently. Cheng Mengying had questioned her choice, why Huayu and not a Benz or BMW?

Xia An’ge hadn’t explained, she’d simply said she liked it. After all, a certain brute once said he wanted a Huayu but didn’t have a driver’s license. And truthfully, Huayu was cost-effective and fit this modest apartment perfectly.

She looked up at the darkening sky, the chill of late autumn making her shiver. It reminded her of that night in the rain, when a certain straight man had come running to find her. A small smile curled her lips. She wasn’t wearing a mask, just light makeup, stunningly beautiful.

Ever since Gu Zhinan compared her to Daji, she’d asked her stylist for a new look. And the stylist had finally discovered her softer, more delicate side.

“Wonder what that brute is doing now?”

She pulled out her phone and, as she climbed the stairs, finally removed Gu Zhinan from her blacklist. He’d been blocked for over half a month.

“What’s he even up to in there?” She wondered as she reached the sixth floor and walked to the apartment door.

Just as she was about to open it, the sound of a guitar floated softly from inside.

She froze. “Is that brute… playing the guitar?”

She suddenly didn’t want to open the door. She just stood there, listening. The notes were simple, but beautiful. Xia An’ge could feel the deep nostalgia within, like the love songs he always wrote.

“Is he composing again? But why are his songs always so tinged with sadness? He’s never even been in a relationship… right?” Her hand hovered over the doorknob, suddenly nervous. She was afraid Gu Zhinan had lied to her.

The music eventually faded. He hadn’t sung a single word, just sat on the floor, leaning against the couch, quietly strumming while the wind howled outside the balcony. He was completely lost in it.

Just as he prepared to play again, the door opened.

A swish of pale yellow fabric stepped through the doorway. Gu Zhinan looked up to see the landlord, wrapped in her black coat, staring straight at him.

Then she glared.