My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 164

The skies cleared after the rain. The morning sunlight streamed in through the curtains. Xia An’ge had woken up early and saw Gu Zhinan still sleeping quietly. She couldn’t help but sneak closer.

“An unromantic, thick-headed straight man… how can you write so many good love songs? Even The Legend of Sword and Fairy you wrote so well.” Propping her chin on her hand, Xia An’ge sat on the carpet and stared at Gu Zhinan at close range. His eyelashes were long, the kind girls often envied. Not her though, her own lashes were long enough.

The more she thought about it, the more her fingers itched, so she reached out to touch his lashes. 

Gu Zhinan was a sensitive person, a light sleeper. Her touch left him completely dazed. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his landlord’s hand frozen mid-air. “Planning to strangle me in my sleep?”

Xia An’ge froze, she never thought a tiny touch would wake him. She scrambled up, retreating to her own sofa, and muttered sulkily, “It’s morning, time to get up.”

“???” Gu Zhinan fished out his phone. “7 AM? Have you ever seen a novelist wake up at seven?” This past month he had been waking early on set to “slack off” at filming. Finally back at the apartment, and she still had to wake him!

Xia An’ge pouted. “Didn’t you say you wanted me to teach you to sing? If you sleep till noon, tomorrow noon you’ll be rushing off to Hang City. When will we have time then?”

“Oh, right!” Reminded by her, Gu Zhinan sat up at once, ruffling his messy hair before grinning. “Mighty landlord! Your humble tenant shall go cook breakfast at once!”

Xia An’ge turned her head away, hiding the smile tugging at her lips. She pulled open the balcony curtains again. Warm sunlight spilled across her face. Apartments facing the morning sun were the best, bright in summer, cozy in winter.

Gu Zhinan admired her taste in apartments. Maybe he should consult her before buying a place of his own in the future. 

He tested the appliances, still no electricity. But the kitchen had a gas stove, so breakfast wouldn’t be a problem. A simple porridge, plus some pickles from the fridge.

They sat at the dining table, facing each other as if it was already routine.

Glancing at a message from Lai Jingming, Gu Zhinan saw today’s filming was still indoors, and the crew also told him to “do well on Masked Singer.”

“Landlady, how’s your album doing?”

Xia An’ge sipped her porridge and answered slowly. “This morning Mengying got the numbers from Starlight Entertainment, 13th on the New Songs Chart, 26th on Best-Selling.”

“Are you satisfied with that?” Gu Zhinan asked softly. Compared to Summer Wind, the results were indeed a step down. But Xia An’ge nodded. After all, the year’s end was crowded with releases. She had just checked, Wang Yuyan held 1st on both charts.

Her own album had been out for just over a week, with three songs: two written and composed by Lin Xi, and one she had created herself.

“Actually, sales aren’t far off from Summer Wind.” She thought he was disappointed, so she added an explanation. “Summer Wind only blew up because of all the buzz around you. Especially your Crossing Donting Lake, and when you got tipped to write ads instead of updates…”

Gu Zhinan blinked, was she trying to comfort him? But he wasn’t the one with an album. “Why does it sound like you’re consoling me? The album’s yours.”

“But the title song is your work.” Xia An’ge lowered her eyes and sipped her porridge.

“I looked it over. Competition is fierce, several top-tier singers released songs, plus peak second-tiers. Even so, we can break into the top ten. It’s only the first day and already at 13th!”

While speaking, Gu Zhinan had already purchased Love Song online and started playing it. The full melody flowed through the quiet space. Xia An’ge’s cheeks flushed.

This brute was playing her own song in front of her first thing in the morning! Did he want her to die of embarrassment?

“Time is amber, tears locked away drop by drop…”

Gentle and soft, accompanied by a complete arrangement, the song carried far more atmosphere than the bare guitar version. Gu Zhinan glanced at her and smiled faintly. Hard to imagine this was the same landlord who sang Lime with him last night.

Xia An’ge had been listening too, but when she caught his smile, she went momentarily blank. It was indeed good. If it hadn’t clashed with so many big-name releases, the results would be even better. Still, this was no small achievement.

Gu Zhinan tapped open the comments section to see what stories netizens had spun. He always loved reading them, every comment might hide a piece of someone’s life. Sometimes, after reading too many, it felt like Net-Cloud depression.

“Some people’s names… once a password, now a secret.”

“People always cling to that first spark of heart-fluttering.”

“Clearly it’s a love song, but it made me cry. Why do Xia An’ge’s songs always strike so deep?”

“Who would think a novelist could write songs with such overwhelming resonance?”

“This straight guy, if he writes The Legend of Sword and Fairy as a tragedy, I’m terrified! I wasn’t worried before, but now I am!”

“Every line is regret…”

“An entire universe for one red bean. Damn it, Xia An’ge turned a whole song into pure heartbreak. If there’s nothing between these two, I’ll never believe it!”

“I thought autumn was here, time to let go of summer’s regrets. But then this straight man writes another song for her. I’m crying.”

Gu Zhinan read with relish, though he hadn’t expected so many comments dragging him in. A little exasperating. And that one about Sword and Fairy being a tragedy, he wanted to stab the guy!

After Love Song finished, the next track, Love Itself, had far fewer comments and was ranked lower. Back then, Gu Zhinan had thought releasing a soaring, high-spirited song right after Summer Wind would feel out of place, so he wrote Love Song for her album instead.

Clearly, the choice had been right.

“Teach me to sing?” He’d skimmed enough comments and wasn’t interested in the rest.

“Mm.” Xia An’ge gathered up her blanket, returned to her room, and flopped onto the sofa with it.

“How will you teach me?” Gu Zhinan was curious. His voice in this world had improved dramatically, songs he used to butcher, he could now sing well. That had been one of his biggest surprises. With Masked Singer ongoing and Blue and White Porcelain still ahead, pinpointing flaws would only help.

Xia An’ge didn’t answer right away. Instead, she played last night’s Lime recording again, cheeks heating, and listened with him. Slowly, she pointed out every spot where his pitch or tone needed adjusting, practically line by line.

Gu Zhinan nodded along earnestly. He did understand music theory; otherwise, how would he have learned guitar and piano?

Like a strict but careful teacher, Xia An’ge corrected his mistakes while urging him to practice and put more emotion into it.

Anyone could sing, but stirring emotions made a singer great. That was why some songs, at first listen, seemed simple, but later trapped you completely.