"You were just..." Pei Muchan was already much more alert, following behind with a black mask on.
Strangely, she hadn't been given an injection, nor had she taken any dication, but after seeing the doctor, she felt as if she were already fine. She even thought she didn't need an injection and could go ho right away.
"Bluffing, that kind of person is just a bully who's soft at heart and looks for an excuse to be pressed," Xu Qingyan said, carrying a plastic basin with saline solution, his expression calm.
"You have a fever, and it would have been bad if a conflict arose," he added.
"Mm," Pei Muchan responded softly, rembering the ruffian's final look, she couldn't help but look up, "Won't that man co looking for trouble with you?"
"No, he wouldn't dare," he replied.
"What if he does?"
"You still have a fever, what could you do?" Xu Qingyan smiled, "Just block him."
Upon hearing this, Pei Muchan breathed a sigh of relief.
"I thought you would say beat him up."
"Not necessary, my mindset is different now," Xu Qingyan slowed his pace, "I used to work part-ti late at night on the streets, and once got robbed by a drunk, just for a hundred yuan."
"The situation was different then; I really needed that hundred yuan back then, but now I don't lack it," he explained.
"That guy just now seed tough, but he's only afraid of soone stronger or richer than him. As long as you show you're richer and tougher than him, he'll weigh the consequences himself," he continued.
Reaching the nurse's station, Xu Qingyan didn't continue speaking.
Pei Muchan wanted to ask sothing else, but when she turned her head, she saw the nurse carrying an IV over. Her face, which had been slightly flushed, suddenly turned pale; she swallowed hard.
"It's a bit hard to find your vein, yours is thin, eh, are you afraid of needles?" the nurse asked kindly, "If you're scared, just don't look at the needle."
"Then... look where?"
"Don't look at the needle, don't think about it, look at sothing else that can distract you," the nurse suggested.
She looked up and t Xu Qingyan's gaze; he stood there neatly, his eyes filled with humor, unwavering, clean, and simple.
In that instant, she was dazed, and the nurse had already secured the needle with tape.
It was only 9:30 am, the hospital had just started its day, besides the earliest batch of early birds, there weren't that many people, they ca in waves.
Sitting next to each other, Pei Muchan played with her phone, head down and mask on, her body angled toward Xu Qingyan, her left arm that was receiving the injection placed far away on the other side.
It looked rather comical, as if the hand wasn't hers.
"Are you afraid of needles?" Xu Qingyan asked.
"...No," she replied.
"Then take a look," he challenged.
"No!"
The atmosphere between the two wasn't too awkward, mainly because there was still a layer of professional relationship. Without caras aid at them, interacting was actually more natural.
The idea of making an album had been ntioned before, but it was more of a half-joking probe. Neither took it seriously, the specifics would depend on how things went, and it was not brought up again.
Xu Qingyan's gaze dropped to the spotlessly clean and reflective floor, he spoke softly.
"The doctor said you need to sleep more, and the results for 'Qing Tian' are out. With almost no promotion, just a bit of exposure, hitting daily sales of 140,000 is already very good," he said.
"You don't have to keep putting pressure on yourself, even if 'Qing Tian' isn't hot right now, it doesn't an it won't beco a big hit in the future, or even an enduring classic," he added.
Pei Muchan's eyes curved into a smile.
"Are you really afraid I'll just give up?" she asked.
"Yes," he nodded earnestly, "You won't stay cooped up in that small studio forever, your future is much bigger than mine, and anwhile, I'll tag along and make a little sothing off your success."
"So... is that why you are betting on Lin Wanzhou?"
"Huh? No, no way," Xu Qingyan coughed, "Uh, you misunderstood, my collaboration with her is still uncertain, mainly because I can't just not earn the money that's there."
"That's true; actually, it's beneficial for too," Pei Muchan said, "If Lin Wanzhou's rendition of your song becos a hit, it might drive up the sales of 'Qing Tian'."
"I wouldn't put it that way, I predict 'Qing Tian' will sell even more," Xu Qingyan didn't take the bait, effortlessly changing the subject, "I reckon it has already increased quite a bit, maybe by the ti we get back, the data will have exploded."
"140,000 is the total sales across all platforms, what kind of explosion are you talking about?"
"Look, here, ninth on Penguin Music's New Song Chart," he passed his phone to her, pointing at the rank, "I bet by the ti your IV is done, it will have climbed into the top ninety."
"What if it hasn't?"
"Then I'll treat you to a al, whatever you want to eat... though the doctor suggested having porridge."
"If it doesn't reach the top ninety, you're having porridge with !"
"Alright."
Dealing with a spoiled child is exhausting; a sick female star is even harder to handle, Xu Qingyan felt like he was spending all his patience of the past twenty years on Pei Muchan.
Chatting idly, the ti went by quickly.
Around eleven in the morning, the two left the hospital together. Pei Muchan looked at her slightly greenish hand repeatedly, her spirits much improved, but she ultimately didn't say anything.
Xu Qingyan casually picked a shop and ordered two servings of lean at and vegetable porridge to go.
They checked the data at noon, and nothing had happened.
There wasn't much to see, actually; the sales were slowly rising. It had climbed from ninety-eighth to sixty-third place. One could say the future looked promising, but calling it a huge success was definitely a stretch.
Without precise recomndations from websites and hopage exposure, a surge in sales was still just out of reach. It was like grasping at straws, stuck in limbo, which was frustrating.
Lin Wanzhou's Weibo only had limited impact; following a stern warning from Cloud Wing Entertainnt, the post was taken down after just one day, so the exposure was limited.
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