Chapter 32

Chapter 32

After Su Xingyao finished speaking, the room went dead silent, and everyone turned to him at once.

"What did you say, Kitty?"

It was Sheng Yan who spoke, looking at Su Xingyao with curiosity and surprise, almost sure he'd misheard.

"You can contact Lance?"

Su Xingyao felt uneasy under everyone's intense gaze.

He didn't speak again, just gently nodded his cat head.

Su Xingyao's movement was subtle, but with this nod, Sheng Yan's look at him instantly changed!!

The other contestants were also delighted, immediately feeling their confidence reignited by this gesture.

The rapper was the first to snap out of it.

He was so excited that he didn't even care about the cameras recording, and blurted out, "Damn, that's amazing!"

The singer and dancer next to him still had some sense left. Although he had a lot to say, considering the limited practice time, he finally said to Su Xingyao, "Quick, Kitty, can you try reaching out to him now?"

Seeing everyone's urgency, Su Xingyao spoke again, "Give me a sec, I'll check."

Time was running out, so Su Xingyao didn't waste any.

He quickly found a camera-free spot after leaving the practice room, pulled out his phone, and called Lance.

However, the call rang for a while before it automatically disconnected, and Lance still didn't answer.

Su Xingyao had expected this.

He guessed Lance was probably busy writing a new song.

He usually turned off all distractions while writing songs.

While others didn't know Lance well, Su Xingyao had his habits down pat.

Lance, a music fanatic, spent 70% of his time creating.

The other 30% was spent pushing his music's limits.

Given his insane schedule, it was no surprise Sheng Yan's team couldn't get through to him last night.

Thinking of this possibility, Su Xingyao was a little concerned about his group's timeline.

Their group urgently needed the song's copyright, but if they didn't secure the copyright soon, it would definitely mess up their rehearsals.

Su Xingyao tried calling again, but it still didn't connect. He opened WeChat and sent a voice note, hoping Lance would see it when he was done.

Thanks to Su Xingyao, his roommates all used WeChat now, and it had become their go-to for communication, aside from calls.

Su Xingyao quickly hit the voice button and sent two messages.

"Lance, are you tied up right now?"

"I need to talk to you about something urgent."

Su Xingyao had just sent two voice messages when his phone rang immediately.

Lance had called him back.

Su Xingyao quickly tapped to answer, but his cat paw slipped because he tapped too fast, succeeding only on the second try.

The moment he pressed the answer button, Su Xingyao's ears were filled with perfectly fluent foreign language.

"Unbelievable!! Yao, you actually called me!!"

Before Su Xingyao could even say Lance's name, the emotionally charged Lance had already swiftly switched to a pitiful tone, his voice dropping slightly.

"It's been ages since you contacted me..."

Then it rose again, "Three months, seventeen days, and fifteen hours!"

Hearing Lance's whiny complaint, Su Xingyao quickly apologized, "Ah, sorry about that."

After Lance's reminder, Su Xingyao thought about it.

He really hadn't been in touch with Lance in ages.

The last time they had contacted each other was when he added Lance as a friend after getting a new number.

But at that time, Lance was busy with his concert rehearsals, and after adding each other, they only exchanged a couple of brief words.

Su Xingyao knew that, in Lance's eyes, that definitely didn't count as a proper contact.

So... their last proper contact had been before his fall off the cliff.

It really had been way too long.

His roommates, though each more talented than the last, were also each more eccentric and tsundere.

They almost never initiated contact with anyone, and over the years, their challenging roommate relationship had been maintained solely by his active efforts to stay in touch.

So if he didn't reach out, they could indeed go ages without speaking.

Lance on the other end of the phone was clearly easy to placate.

As soon as Su Xingyao apologized, Lance hummed like a proud big dog, "It's fine, I'm not mad at you."

After saying this kindly to Su Xingyao, Lance seemed to remember something, his tone turning a bit resentful.

"But that guy Leon deliberately posted on his Moments two months ago, bragging about the signal booster he sent you."

Lance couldn't help but complain, "Why is he messing with that kind of junk now? Is he strapped for cash or something?"

Su Xingyao's four roommates, though they had lived together for four years, were usually at each other's throats whenever they met.

Especially Lance and Leon, one a music maniac, the other a tech guru, each looking down on the other, and their meetings were always filled with endless bickering.

Hearing Lance mention the signal booster, Su Xingyao explained, "He was worried I wouldn't get any signal when I went to the mountains to film..."

Lance immediately changed his tone, "Did you end up using it?"

"I did use it."

"Oh... then I guess he's still somewhat useful."

Su Xingyao heard Lance's muffled voice and couldn't help but laugh, picturing the mix of defiance and resignation on his face.

In the past, Su Xingyao might have chatted with Lance about random things.

But today, he had a mission to accomplish, so he had to get straight to the point and directly explain the problem he was facing.

"Lance..." Su Xingyao began, "So here's the deal, I'm currently participating in a singing competition called 'The Voice of Heaven.'"

"We have an upcoming competition, and I need to use your song for it."

Su Xingyao quickly filled Lance in on his decision to hide his identity during the show and the current state of his team's grouping.

After listening, Lance readily agreed, "No problem at all, whether it's a cover or an adaptation, feel free to use it. Don't worry too much about it."

After making this call, Su Xingyao quickly returned to the practice room.

The anxiously waiting crowd looked at Su Xingyao like a triumphant hero.

"How did it go, Kitty?"

Sheng Yan took a few steps towards him, eagerly asking.

Because of the headgear, Sheng Yan couldn't see Su Xingyao's expression, so he couldn't be sure about the outcome of the copyright issue.

Although emotionally he trusted that Su Xingyao wouldn't talk big or make empty promises.

But logically, he knew how difficult this matter was.

Even though everyone had wondered how Kitty managed to contact Lance, his quick return made them worry he might not have even reached him.

After all, Lance was notoriously difficult to deal with, a musical genius who only attended award shows abroad based on his mood.

As Sheng Yan was thinking, he heard the robotic voice.

"We can start practicing now—he agreed."

Hearing this, except for Sheng Yan, everyone else stared at Su Xingyao without blinking.

Hearing him announce the result so casually, everyone felt a surreal sense of disbelief.

At that moment, an assistant from Sheng Yan's team hurriedly ran into the practice room and excitedly shouted to Sheng Yan, "Brother Yan, Lance's team has reached out to the show's production team!"

The assistant, excited, spoke loudly, and everyone in the practice room caught every word.

Did he... actually do it?

Was it... really that easy?

The contestants were all in shock.

After all, this was something that even Sheng Yan, their mentor, couldn't accomplish after spending an entire night.

But Kitty, the tycoon, did it so effortlessly... he managed it!

He just stepped out to make a call, and it took less than ten minutes!

The contestants' feelings at that moment were beyond words.

Their minds were racing with six words—How did he do it?

Cat Tycoon is incredible!

The contestants all looked at Su Xingyao, their eyes filled with awe for the tycoon.

Not only is Cat Tycoon exceptionally skilled and a great singer, but his connections are truly top-notch... solving problems at lightning-fast speed!

Even Sheng Yan, as a mentor, was stunned by the efficiency, and it took him several seconds to regain his composure before asking Su Xingyao.

"Cat... how did you do it?"

If he hadn’t tried himself and faced obstacles at every turn, he would have believed that this matter was as simple as it seemed.

When asked, Su Xingyao didn’t respond immediately.

Explaining his roommate relationship with Lance was a bit complicated, and mentioning it would only attract more attention.

Moreover, considering that Lance also didn’t like to share his private life, Su Xingyao thought for a moment and vaguely said.

"I knew him when I was in school, and we connected on WeChat..."

Su Xingyao, who rarely lied, felt a pang of guilt and lowered his eyelids, his gloved hands fidgeting nervously.

He was afraid that everyone would notice the oddity of why an overseas person would connect with him on WeChat...

But at that moment, no one noticed these small details, instead assuming that Su Xingyao and Lance were classmates.

This assumption stemmed from Su Xingyao's musical prowess.

While Su Xingyao was out making the call, those unfamiliar with Lance looked him up and discovered he had attended a prestigious and highly selective international music college.

And those who could get in were almost all exceptionally talented.

Given Su Xingyao's exceptional skills, everyone assumed he had received top-tier training, so when he mentioned knowing Lance from school, they naturally thought they were alumni.

"So you're alumni, no wonder Cat, you're so impressive too!"

Since the show hadn’t revealed the contestants’ identities, everyone remained curious about Su Xingyao’s background.

After all, someone who knew a singer like Lance couldn’t be ordinary.

Out of respect for both Lance and the show’s rules, everyone held back their curiosity and didn’t pry further.

After the copyright was settled, everyone's anxieties finally settled down.

With that weight off their shoulders, everyone instantly felt more at ease.

Everyone quickly gathered in a circle on the floor, holding the lyrics printed by the staff, and began assigning their parts.

Although this group was formed in an unusual manner by Shen Huaixi, the contestants were very united and harmonious.

No one had any hidden agendas, so they quickly finished dividing the lyrics through discussion.

As soon as the lyrics were divided, Lance’s electronic contract arrived at the show’s office.

The staff, who had been anxiously waiting online to avoid missing the deadline, quickly received the contract.

As the contract specialist, she immediately noticed how generous the terms were.

After reviewing the contract and finding no issues, she couldn’t resist another glance at the copyright fee column, marveling at its generosity and couldn’t stop praising the terms.

"What a kind-hearted angel Lance is, offering such a generous copyright fee," someone exclaimed.

Hearing his roommate described this way for the first time, Su Xingyao was taken aback.

Sheng Yan, sitting next to Su Xingyao and evidently knowing Lance well, was also surprised by this description and looked curiously at the staff member.

"How generous is it?" he asked.

The staff member held up five fingers and then two fingers, "He only charged a symbolic amount of 520 yuan for the copyright fee."

For a commercial program, it was indeed unbelievably generous for a singer to charge such a minimal fee.

After saying this, the staff member turned to Su Xingyao and explained the terms of the contract.

"They instructed the program team to transfer the money directly to you."

The rapper was taken aback and looked at the staff member with an inquiring gaze, "Are you sure this amount of money... is to be given to Cat Cat?"

The staff member nodded.

An awkward silence fell over the room.

The contestants all looked at Su Xingyao with odd looks.

Seeing everyone's hesitant expressions, Su Xingyao, feeling self-conscious, asked, "Is there a problem with transferring it to me?"

Seeing Su Xingyao's confused expression, 77 smiled and explained to him, "There's no problem with transferring it to you, but in a few days, it will be May 20th..."

It was only then that Su Xingyao understood...

No wonder everyone gave him such odd looks after hearing about the 520 yuan.

Su Xingyao knew that Lance definitely hadn't thought of this, but his action had caused a misunderstanding, which put him in an awkward position.

Afraid of further misunderstandings, Su Xingyao hurried to explain, "This number is not what you think..."

After saying this, he quickly looked at the staff member for confirmation, "He must have given the amount in foreign currency, right?"

The staff member, prompted by Su Xingyao, nodded repeatedly.

"Oh, right."

"He wrote 100 on the contract, but I often automatically convert these into local currency. The exchange rate between their country and ours is 1:5.2, which is easy to calculate, so I just habitually said it."

At this, everyone understood that it was indeed a misunderstanding.

520 coinciding with May 20th can easily be misinterpreted.

But if what he actually said was 100 yuan, then it's perfectly normal.

After all, international remittances are a hassle, especially for such a small amount as 100 yuan.

Lance had already been generous enough to practically give up the copyright fee, so he probably didn't bother to collect the money and just let his acquaintance Cat Cat receive this symbolic fee.

After the program team signed the contract with Lance, they quickly sent the 520 yuan to Su Xingyao.

Suddenly receiving a windfall, Su Xingyao hesitated to spend it and quietly sent a WeChat message to Lance.

Su Xingyao: Why did you transfer the money to me?

Lance replied instantly this time.

Lance: Can you help me transfer the money to Leon?

Lance: "Cool"

Today, Lance kept mentioning Leon in every sentence. Su Xingyao, instantly understanding what he meant, replied with just a period.

There's no need to use the song's copyright fee to pay for the signal booster Leon sent earlier.

After realizing Lance's intention, Su Xingyao felt the copyright fee he just received was now a hot potato.

After pondering for over ten seconds and still unsure what to do, he just opened his Moments.

Su Xingyao hardly ever posts on Moments and rarely checks them.

Opening it today was completely by chance.

But when he opened Moments for the first time in forever, he saw Lance proudly posting a status.

Lance directly posted the electronic contract he had just sent to the program team on Moments.

Lance: Yao's gonna cover my song "Cool" "Heart" "Can't wait"

Lance's post was less than ten minutes old, with no likes but already three comments.

Leon: Copyright fee? If you're broke and can't afford food, just Venmo me and I'll send you 50 "Pick nose" "Pick nose" "Pick nose"

Under Leon's comment, there were two more.

One commented with three eye-rolling emojis, the other with three vomiting emojis.

Both were totally dismissive.

After reading the post and comments, Su Xingyao: ...