An hour later.
The reporters were dumbfounded. How could Lin Fan’s scallion pancake business be this good? The reporters then planned to interview Lin Fan after he was done for the day.
But who would have imagined that the queue would keep on growing longer?
How long was it going to take?
Lin Fan was equally at a loss for words.
Just how many ingredients had Fraud Tian prepared? The ingredients were not even showing any signs of running out. The long snaking queue was wildly terrifying.
Lin Fan slipped away on a toilet break to get out.
The crowd that was waiting for Master Lin to return started growing more impatient. He was nowhere to be seen.
“That d*mned Master Lin. He ain’t coming back.” The people were all devastated that they couldn’t get to eat Master Lin’s scallion pancakes.
The townsfolk who didn’t get scallion pancakes stared at the reporters who were nearby. They thought it was the reporters who forced Master Lin to run away.
*Angry stares!*
*Grumbles!*
The reporters looked back at the stares from the townsfolk. They nervously swallowed hard. Arguing with the townsfolk was as good as asking for trouble.
Hence, the reporters dejectedly slipped away.
Fraud Tian looked at the situation unfolding in front of him and was left speechless. Had Lin Fan thrown all the responsibility onto him?
“Please call Little Boss.”
“You work for him, right? Hurry up and urge him a little. The reporters have already left. Our scallion pancakes should be coming soon, right?”
Fraud Tian was surrounded by the crowd of people that were shouting and demanding that Lin Fan returned.
“Don’t snatch my phone. I’ve tried but I can’t reach him.”
“Little Boss turned off his phone. I couldn’t reach him either. Trust me. Stop snatching my phone away. I spent a few thousand dollars on that thing.”
The crowd started ringing Lin Fan.
“He really turned off his phone…”
“Little Boss really ran off. What a drag…”
*Sobs*
“I thought to today would be my lucky day. Turns out I didn’t even get a chance.”
The surrounding shop owners all looked at Master Lin’s stall in awe. Who would have expected that Master Lin would become this popular? He was almost as good as a national treasure.
What they didn’t know was that, behind the scenes, their much adored Master Lin was actually depressed.
On the road.
Lin Fan was driving his car, not knowing where to go, but one thing was for sure – he couldn’t return to his shop. He knew that once he went back, he would be surrounded. He also didn’t know what the reporters wanted. It would take a lot of effort to drive them away.
Lin Fan sighed in frustration. If he had known what was going to happen today, he wouldn’t have done anything in the first place. He had brought nothing but trouble upon himself.
Isn’t it obvious why fighting with Han Lu would be a bad decision?
If I agree to fight just because someone challenges me, what would that make me?
If there are even more troublemakers in the future, how would I be able to face them all?
Wang Ming Yang’s company.
“What’s wrong with this d*mned Ying Jin?” Wang Ming Yang seethed with rage, “This billionaire tycoon dealt fairly with you, yet, you still dare take advantage of me.” He wanted so much to punch a pillar.
He had been played by Ying Jin.
“Chief Wang, calm down. Let me deal with this situation. Perhaps I can clear things up.”
“Clear things up my a*s! This old hag doesn’t even respect me, what use is there to even try?” Wang Zing Yang said helplessly. He was at a loss for words. Ying Jin could be likened to an empress with a huge network of contacts. If she wanted to tear down a billion dollar real estate business, there was nothing one could really do.
Although she didn’t have a lot of money compared to Wang Ming Yang, she was a powerful figure in the entertainment industry. She knew many big shots. There was nothing much Wang Ming Yang could really do to help himself.
“This old woman played dirty. I would have fully sponsored ‘The New Voice’ if I knew she was going to do this, and I would have asked her to get lost.” Although Wang Ming Yang was a billionaire, he was still young. When he got mad, all the expletives flooded out from his mouth.
*Knock knock*
Someone was knocking on the door.
“Chief Wang, there’s some guy called Lin Fan at the door looking for you.”
The angry Wang Ming Yang lightened up for a moment. “Quick, let him in.”
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, Lin Fan arrived.
“I had to make an appointment just to get in here.” Lin Fan smiled as he walked in.
Lin Fan didn’t have anything to do, so he decided to pay Wang Ming Yang a visit since he had never been here before.
“My men don’t know who you are. But they’ll know after today,” Wang Ming Yang said gleefully. He motioned to his men, “Remember his face. This is my brother. Please welcome him every time he pops by this company.”
“Understood, Chief Wang.” His men nodded before they took their leave.
Wang Ming Yang smiled as he patted Lin Fan’s shoulders. “How come you’re so free to visit today?”
“Sigh… don’t bring it up. Everything is so frustrating.” Lin Fan uncourteously plopped himself on Wang Ming Yang’s seat, head in a flurry.
Xiao Chen, Wang Ming Yang’s personal assistant, stared in disbelief. After a while, he finally understood that their bond wasn’t just any ordinary friendship.
“Did you watch the competition last night? It was absolutely unfair! This Ying Jin. I just want to throw melon seeds at her till she dies.” Wang Ming Yang said in a frustrated tone.
Lin Fan laughed. “How big is this thing that has gotten even you so worried?”
“How can I not worry? Out of the four judges, she’s the worst. Everyone knows that Wang Yu Chen is her relative,” Wang Ming Yang replied.
“Chief Wang, Teacher Yang Chen has arrived.”, Xiao Chen said.
Wang Ming Yang nodded. “Let him come in. I wonder what’s going on.”
A man in his fifties walked in briskly. “Chief Wang.”
“Teacher Yang, what is it?” Wang Ming Yang asked politely.
Yang Chen was a nationally acclaimed composer. He had written many songs which later became top hits. Wang Ming Yang had hired him to undertake a task. It seemed that they were going to collaborate to compose something.
But wasn’t there insufficient time? If they wanted to create a classic within such a short time, it would be undeniably hard.
“Are you guys planning to write an original song together?” Lin Fan asked curiously.
“That’s right. The others are also doing the same, so I can’t lose out on this. If Wang Yu Chen comes up with another original song for the next round in two days time and doesn’t slip up, Wu Huan Yue would be in deep trouble. Shouldn’t you also be nervous? Because no matter what you say, she’s still your girl.” Wang Ming Yang explained.
Lin Fan waved. “If word of this were to get out, people might misinterpret your words.”
“I’ll need to discuss this with Teacher Yang. Please just sit a wait for a moment.” Wang Ming Yang replied.
Lin Fan sat there, scribbling on a piece of paper while looking around at the interior of Wang Ming Yang’s office. One look was all it took to know that it wasn’t any ordinary office. The furnishings and the interior were eye-catching and everything was made for comfort, with a pleasant environment. When Lin Fan heard that the outcome of the discussion wasn’t to Wang Ming Yang’s favor, he chuckled to himself.
“Teacher Yang, you’re an expert in this field, aren’t you?” Wang Ming Yang said.
“Chief Wang, this isn’t a matter of getting it as and when you want it. A song needs some soul in it, and that takes time. That original song which Wang Yu Chen sang was painstakingly written with great effort and soul. They came prepared.”
“What can we do about this then? We’re going to lose this. I wouldn’t say anything if we get into the top 3. But we won’t even get past the top 12.” Wang Ming Yang was getting angry. Third place was good enough for him. But the problem was that they still had yet to get past the 12 out of 24 stage.
“Frankly, this competition isn’t everything. If you want, you could invest in other things like movies or television series.” Teacher Yang was also at a loss on what to do.
He had no other choice. There wasn’t much time left. If he were to casually compose and let Wu Huan Yue sing a different song, it might do her more harm than good. The song had to match with Wu Huan Yue’s vocals.
Wang Ming Yang waved his hands. “That can’t be done. Movies and television serials aren’t as popular as singing competitions.”
Teacher Yang heaved a loud sigh. “I really can’t be of any help then. The time is too tight. Moreover, composing and producing the song as well as getting the singer to familiarize herself with the song would require even more time. Even if you got the greatest composing minds in the country, the task still can’t be finished on time.”
“You’ve got to think of something. You’re her music producer…” Wang Ming Yang was anxious. He wouldn’t have lost much if he couldn’t accomplish the task of making her popular.
But he didn’t want to concede when the situation was this unfair. The more injustice there was, the more he wanted to do something about it to make it right.
Teacher Yang’s face was blank. This task was no ordinary task. This task was too difficult.
The quiet Lin Fan put down his pen and stretched, letting out a huge yawn. “This is just a small matter. It’s not like it’s a life or death situation, right?” Lin Fan said with a cheerful tone.
“In this situation, how can you not be nervous.” Wang Ming Yang said.
Lin Fan picked up the two pieces of paper in front of him and handed them to Teacher Yang. “Teacher Yang, could you take a look at these?”
Teacher Yang was suspicious, but he went up and took the papers from Lin Fan.
“What’s that?” Wang Ming Yang asked.
Lin Fan grinned. “It’s a song. Weren’t you two fussing over this just now?”
Wang Ming Yang looked stunned. “You can write songs?”
Lin Fan looked out of the window, “I had some inspiration, so I wrote it down in a song. Teacher Yang, could you take a look and tell me what you think?”
Wang Ming Yang watched as Teacher Yang’s expression slowly changed. However, he still had his doubts.
“Could it really be?”