Chapter 158: Night Raid

Zuo Qiu pinched Zhou Miao's cheek. "Well said, keep it up."

The entertainment industry is a colorful dyeing vat. Too many people lose themselves in fame and fortune after achieving success, seeing themselves as increasingly superior to others.

Treating others as human beings—such a most basic requirement—is something many people in the entertainment industry fail to achieve, especially those currently popular artists.

Zhou Miao irritably swatted her hand away. Talking is talking, why treat him like a child?

Zuo Qiu took a sip of her drink and suddenly asked An Qi, "By the way, Qiqi, how is your new album coming along?"

An Qi was taken aback. Didn't she just ask about this two days ago? But seeing Zuo Qiu secretly making faces at her, she instantly understood.

"Ah? Oh, oh, my new album... is still in preparation. I've contacted a few producers I've collaborated with before, but they seem pretty busy lately. It might take a while before they have time."

As she spoke, An Qi secretly observed Zhou Miao's expression.

Just as Zhou Miao was about to say something, Zhao Li suddenly put down her chopsticks. "Brother Miao, I've been trying to write a few songs recently. Could you take a look at them for me?"

Zhou Miao looked somewhat surprised. "You've even started learning to write songs? Not bad, little girl, I have high hopes for you!"

Putting aside whether they were well-written or not, the fact that Zhao Li was willing to actively try and learn already made Zhou Miao think she was remarkable.

Zhao Li took out her earphones and handed them to Zhou Miao. The two of them each shared one earbud and began to appreciate the song Zhao Li had written.

Seeing this, An Qi immediately pouted, aggressively stabbing her chopsticks into her bowl, tearing the already soft and tender pig's trotters into a messy pulp.

Zuo Qiu quietly patted her hand, signaling her not to be impatient.

After listening through once, Zhou Miao dragged the progress bar back to the beginning. "The verse part isn't catchy enough. You can try writing it with a 4-5-3-6-2-5-1 progression. That's my most commonly used chord progression, and it matches your lyrics very well."

"I'll bring you a few books on music theory later. Your foundation is a bit weak, so you actually don't need to rush into writing songs too much. Just study other people's sheet music more often, see how others match emotions and write chords, and it will be much smoother once you've built up some accumulation."

...

After Zhou Miao helped her sort things out like this, Zhao Li's thoughts suddenly became much clearer.

The common flaw of newcomers writing songs is that they think too well of themselves and cannot hear their own problems. However, with Zhou Miao's help, Zhao Li finally knew the direction in which she needed to improve.

"Also, just knowing how to play the guitar isn't quite enough. I suggest you learn the piano. The piano encompasses multiple theories such as harmony and counterpoint, and many theoretical systems of composition are built upon the piano. Using the piano regularly for ear training is a huge help, whether for transcribing music or composing."

Zhao Li nodded solemnly. Her desire to write songs wasn't a sudden whim, but a decision she had made after thinking about it for a long time.

Singer-songwriters are already scarce in the domestic music scene, and female singer-songwriters are even rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. If she truly managed to succeed on this path, she would instantly pull away from 99.9% of female singers.

"Brother Miao, if I write well in the future, can I write a song for you? The kind that goes on an album?" Zhao Li asked suddenly.

Zhou Miao looked at her with amusement. "Ever since I debuted, it's always been others asking me for songs. You're the first one who wants to write a song for me! You should know my standards for the quality of album tracks. Are you really that confident?"

Zhao Li shrank her neck guiltily. "Not confident. I just want to try it out, consider it a goal."

Zhou Miao tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Alright! I promise you, as long as the quality passes, I can squeeze out a spot for you on the album."

Hearing this, Zhao Li's eyes lit up and she raised her wine glass. "Is that a promise?"

Zhou Miao clinked glasses with her. "A promise!"

Watching the two of them clink glasses and drink together, An Qi almost bit her chopsticks in half with her pearly white teeth. Well, you scheming Zhao Li, using a trick like this and already setting your sights on Brother Miao's album!

After finishing a drink, Zhou Miao smiled at An Qi. "Don't go around asking other people for songs for your new album. Since you've come to Rainbow, if you still go asking others for songs, where am I supposed to put my face?"

An Qi, who had thought her chances were dead for the night, was instantly overjoyed and said rather bashfully, "I saw that you've been really busy lately, so I just wanted to try finding something on my own first."

Zhao Li put down her wine glass and muttered under her breath, "Hypocritical."

Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the private room heard it crystal clear.

An Qi was so angry her delicate eyebrows arched upward, and just as she was about to lash out, Zuo Qiu deftly jammed a chopstick full of potatoes into her mouth. "Come on, try the specialty of this place. I always order it whenever I come here."

"Mmm~ Hot!"

Zhou Miao wasn't quite used to this kind of scheming atmosphere among girls, and he couldn't be bothered to deal with their petty drama, so he quickly used the "excuse of going to the restroom" to flee the confrontation scene.

You don't drive if you drink, and you don't drink if you drive. Zhou Miao patted his beloved car parked by the roadside. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow."

It wasn't very far from his home anyway, so Zhou Miao simply decided to walk back.

Walking slowly against the evening breeze, after a fast-paced day of life, this momentary tranquility was exceptionally enjoyable.

On the deserted street, Zhou Miao swaggered along carefree, the streetlights stretching his shadow way out behind him.

Suddenly, Zhou Miao's gaze narrowed. Behind his shadow on the ground, another shadow was quietly approaching him.

The person walked closer and closer, their footsteps light. If not for the shadow, Zhou Miao truly wouldn't have noticed them.

Zhou Miao walked on unperturbedly, the muscles in his body tightening slightly as he kept close watch on the movement of the shadow on the ground.

The two of them got closer and closer. Finally, the figure behind him reached out a hand toward him!

Zhou Miao abruptly stopped in his tracks, grabbed the arm reaching out from behind him, and with a crisp and neat shoulder throw, slammed the person heavily to the ground!

"Ah!" A painful and familiar scream rang out.

Zhou Miao widened his eyes abruptly. "How is it you?"

Zhao Li lay on the ground in agony, her facial features scrunched up from the pain, unable to say a single word for a long time.

Realizing he had made a huge blunder, Zhou Miao hurriedly helped her up. "Ah, I'm sorry. I thought someone was trying to attack me. Are you alright?"

Zhao Li was in so much pain that tears welled up. "Don't move me, it hurts so much!"

Zhou Miao scratched his head. "You don't think you broke a bone, do you? I might have used too much force just now. I'll call an ambulance for you."

"No!" Zhao Li hurriedly stopped Zhou Miao. If an ambulance were called, wouldn't she make the trending searches overnight?

*Shocking! Zhou Miao heavily beats Zhao Li while drunk late at night, emergency rescue dispatched, feared to be in critical condition!*

Zhao Li moved slightly, and the pain in her backside made her gasp sharply.

"I should be fine. I'll just rest for a moment."

Zhou Miao was extremely awkward. Holding Zhao Li now, he could clearly feel her whole body trembling from pain. After thinking for a moment, he said, "How about we go to my place first so I can put some medicine on you for that?"

"Go to your place?" Hearing this, Zhao Li's pale little face instantly gained a hint of redness.

"Don't worry, Hu San is at home."

"Then... alright."