My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 165

The power in the small apartment wasn’t restored until four in the afternoon. The first thing Xia An’ge did was take a nice hot shower, leaving Gu Zhinan to practice on his own.

“Can I use the piano in your room for a bit?” For the first time today, Xia An’ge looked at this brute with puzzled eyes. He was hugging his guitar, sitting on the carpet, looking somewhat embarrassed. “I have a melody I want to try out.”

“Another melody?” Xia An’ge quietly clenched her fists. Some people were clearly just novelists, yet they kept tossing out “melodies” one after another, and what they wrote always turned out to be beautiful pieces. The most infuriating part was when she asked, he only said he knew “just a little”!

“You can only use the piano. Don’t you dare touch my things!” Saying this, Xia An’ge went in, closed the door, and hid the book How to Successfully Win Over a Hardcore Straight Man that she had stuffed under her pillow into her wardrobe. Only then did she open the door for Gu Zhinan.

“It’s fine now.” She was guarding against him like he was a thief. Gu Zhinan was speechless. In such a plainly furnished room, what was there to snoop through? Her room couldn’t be simpler: a desk, a piano, a wardrobe, and a bed.

“Practice on your own.”

“Alright.”mSitting in front of the piano again, Gu Zhinan felt a little conflicted. In his past life, his reason for learning the piano had been crude and simple, just to flirt with girls. But in the end, for some reason, it never worked.

As his fingers brushed across the keys, he thought about how he had rarely seen his landlady play this piano. Perhaps it was lonely too.

Gu Zhinan smiled, pressed a key, and a crisp, pleasant sound rang out. “This will make a good opening song,” he thought.

Right now, his philosophy was simple: squeeze as much as he could out of every opportunity.

By the time Xia An’ge walked out of the bathroom, half an hour had passed. She had already caught faint bits of piano music from inside while bathing, though not very clearly. Now, with her head tilted slightly, she could hear the piano more distinctly from her bedroom.

“Another sad song? Was this brute trying to become a melancholy pop artist?” Xia An’ge puffed her cheeks. Though the piano playing was choppy and not very fluent, the melody itself was already firmly etched in her memory.

She walked to the doorway, her damp bangs sticking to her forehead. Gu Zhinan stopped playing and turned his head.

Her peach-blossom eyes looked at him with slight displeasure, her freshly bathed skin tinged with a rosy glow. The phrase “like a lotus rising from water” flashed across Gu Zhinan’s mind. But why was his landlady looking at him like that? “What’s wrong?”

“Was that supposed to be a song?”

“Of course. I’m not familiar with it yet, but I want to try it out on Masked Singer.”

“Another sad one?” Sitting at the edge of the bed, Xia An’ge’s faint fragrance reached Gu Zhinan, making him lower his head slightly. “More or less.”

“What’s it called?”

“Uh… that’s a secret!”

“Get out, I’m going to sleep!” She turned her head away, clearly sulking because he wouldn’t tell her the name.

“Then… I’ll take my leave.” Feeling awkward, Gu Zhinan hurried out. Anyway, his goal was achieved, he’d complete the song tonight and bring it to rehearsal tomorrow.

Bang!

The door slammed loudly behind him, making Gu Zhinan shrink his neck. Was this woman on her period? Now that he thought about it, the timing did match…

Back in his own room, he wrote out the complete song. He’d practice it at the recording site. Trying it out on the piano earlier was just to jog his memory, since the main melody was for piano anyway.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Gu Zhinan happily slept until noon. He only woke up when Lin Xi’s call came through. “Zhinan? Congratulations! The song you wrote climbed to 11th place on the New Song Chart today!”

“Huh? Who’s this?”

“You’re still half-asleep? It’s me, Lin Xi!” Listening to Gu Zhinan’s groggy voice, Lin Xi couldn’t believe it. It was already noon, was this guy still in bed? He better not ditch!

Lin Xi had read Gu Zhinan’s Legend of Sword and Fairy. The reason it had stopped updating was laughably simple. He had typed one sentence that hit his readers so hard they collectively “broke down.” Lin Xi’s own assistant, also a huge fan, was the one who told him, leaving him stunned.

“A pigeon walking along the wall, mwah mwah!”

In the end, his readers even translated it into: “forcibly abandoned!”

“Oh, oh! Brother Lin! I’m on my way, I’m on my way!”

“You literally just woke up…” If you hadn’t yawned just now, I might’ve believed you, Lin Xi thought, twitching at the corner of his mouth.

Gu Zhinan sat up and glanced at his phone. 12:30. If he left now, the timing would be perfect. What was there to worry about? “I’ll head over now.”

“I’ll send someone to pick you up.” Lin Xi didn’t quite trust him.

“I’ll take the high-speed rail. It’s quick.”

“Really?”

“…?”

“Do I look like a scammer? Besides, you haven’t even paid me yet. What are you nervous about?” Gu Zhinan grumbled internally.

“I’ll have someone wait for you at Hangcheng station.” After confirming the details, Lin Xi hung up.

Yawning, Gu Zhinan got up. He had originally wanted his landlady to teach him some singing techniques, but after her sudden outburst last night, he decided against it.

Xia An’ge was sitting quietly cross-legged on the sofa. She didn’t look up when he came out.

Only when he finished packing and slung his bag over his shoulder did she speak softly, as if in passing.

“There’s a bowl of noodles in the kitchen. I made too much.”

“Really?” Delighted, Gu Zhinan rushed back to the kitchen, and sure enough, his lunch was waiting.

“I’ll drive you to Hangcheng.” Sitting across from him, Xia An’ge spoke lightly.

Gu Zhinan was surprised, but shook his head. “I’ll just take the train. Lin Xi already arranged for someone to meet me. Oh, he said the love song climbed to 11th place on the chart?”

Xia An’ge nodded. “I’m heading back to Haipu. I’ll drop you at the station on the way.”

“Alright then.” It was indeed on the way, so Gu Zhinan had no objections. But when he saw that his landlady had actually bought a car, a Huayu, no less, his eyes widened. “When did you buy this?”

Raising her brows, Xia An’ge looked a little smug. “A few days ago. Get in.”

“Oh. Is it easy to drive? Let me try?” This Huayu had a different setup than the one Sitong Hongwei drove, and it felt pretty comfortable inside.

“You don’t have a license. Can you even drive?” Xia An’ge’s voice carried a trace of surprise.

“That’s because you don’t know about my glorious years racing on Mount Akina.” Gu Zhinan lifted his chin proudly.

“Even if you can drive, you can’t. No license.” She didn’t care what mountain stories he had, no license, no driving.

Gu Zhinan deflated immediately, muttering. “Why buy a Huayu, Landlady? Why not get a BMW, a Benz, or even a Porsche like Cheng Mengying? That way, when you have a boyfriend in the future, it’ll look more impressive.”

Turning her head, Xia An’ge’s peach-blossom eyes looked a little aggrieved. “My money was scammed away.”

“…That’s why I think Huayu is the best! The most cost-effective car in the country. A true symbol of domestic pride. As citizens, how could we not support it, right? Once I get my license, I’ll buy one too! Who needs BMWs and Benzes?”

“Oh.” The corners of Xia An’ge’s lips curved upward as she listened to his excuse. “Good luck. I’ll be watching your performance.” Her voice was gentle, though her eyes stayed on the road.

“She’s not mad anymore?” Gu Zhinan gave a small nod, answering lightly. “I’ll do my best.”

“Mhm.”

At the station, Gu Zhinan watched as his landlady’s sleek Huayu drove away before heading in to board his train.

At Hangcheng station, he immediately called the number Lin Xi had sent him. A young man’s enthusiastic voice told him to wait. Within minutes, a small van pulled up. The door slid open and out stepped a guy about Gu Zhinan’s age. With a wide grin, he reached for Gu Zhinan’s backpack.

“Straight guy, oh, no, Mr. Gu! I’m Bro Lin’s assistant, and also your agent for Masked Singer! Finally, we met!”