"Not done yet?"
Yao An, who had been playing mobile games for an hour, couldn't help but ask.
The answer was no, the lady was still engrossed in recording her song.
The recording studio was very soundproof, so no movement could be heard from inside, but Yao An felt that Meng Lian singing for an hour straight was a sign of high professional quality; for an ordinary person, their throat would be exhausted.
Tang Qiang glanced at the time on his wristwatch and suggested,
"Why don't we go eat first? I don't think she'll be done recording anytime soon."
At the mention of food, Jiang Jingya perked up.
Yao An had originally planned to finish recording the song and then go shopping at a nearby mall with Little Cake, enjoying their time together.
But now, that plan would have to be postponed.
The food at Xingyue Cafeteria was very rich, with both Chinese and Western options. The price for employees was very cheap, and the food was excellent in color, aroma, and taste.
It was countless times better than the University of Finance and Economics cafeteria.
Yao An and Jiang Jingya ordered one Chinese meal and one Western meal, sharing bites back and forth, which made Tang Qiang a little envious.
He envied their youthful vitality and their close relationship.
He could tell that their relationship was genuinely good, not the superficial 'best friends' often seen online.
Logically, two very beautiful people together should be more prone to conflict, he thought, unable to understand it.
After eating and returning, the recording studio was finally free.
Yao An only recorded twice; the first time was to get a feel for it, and after adapting, she got it in one take.
The song was given to the audio engineer, who gave the feedback:
"No major issues, no need for much tuning. The timbre is a bit thin, but it's not a problem; it can be considered a personal characteristic. As an online singer, her vocal skills are more than sufficient."
It was the first time Tang Qiang had heard such high praise for someone from the engineer. He initially thought the engineer was trying to be lazy, but after listening with headphones, he dismissed his own idea.
Hmm, it really was good.
Her voice was clearer and cleaner than what he had heard in the video before, which, of course, was also related to the recording studio environment.
Yao An's singing seemed to have improved again.
For someone who hadn't received professional training, being able to sing like this was indeed impressive.
Actually, Yao An's singing hadn't improved; she had just found time to practice the lyrics these past two days.
"I'll send you a list of songs for which the company holds the Copyright Agency. See if there are any familiar ones. If it's convenient, you could record two more. Leveraging the traffic from your video to release them should generate more income."
Yao An looked at the song list Tang Qiang sent.
There were many popular songs, including those by top artists like Jay Chou and JJ Lin.
"Hmm... I'll sing 'Sunny Day' again."
Tang Qiang pondered for a moment and suggested,
"I'm not trying to interfere with your ideas, but I suggest you don't sing songs with such high popularity. Many people cover them, and various styles of 'Sunny Day' have been sung all over the internet. Without overwhelming traffic, it will be difficult for you to stand out."
Yao An felt he made a lot of sense, so she adopted his suggestion.
However, after looking through the list, she felt a bit dizzy and handed the choice over to Little Cake.
"How about singing this song?"
Yao An looked at the song she pointed to: "Tan Yun Xi."
It was that song: This is fate~
She looked at Tang Qiang, seeking his opinion.
"Alright."
Tang Qiang nodded, giving a positive reply... A total of three songs were recorded. Jiang Jingya even copied the original audio, saying she wanted to loop it at home.
As they left, Tang Qiang informed them of the songs' release date.
The day after tomorrow.
At that time, funds would start flowing into her bank account.
She was one step closer to her Phoenix Empress plan.
Originally, Tang Qiang wanted to drive them back to school, as Yao An was, after all, his benefactor.
But Yao An and Jiang Jingya wanted to look around the area, so they declined his kind offer.
"From now on, you'll be a little rich woman. I beg for your patronage."
Walking along the street, Jiang Jingya hummed along to a song, joyfully swinging Yao An's arm.
"This is fate, and also the most beautiful meeting in life~"
Yao An began to play along with her.
"There are quite a few people who want to be supported by me. If you start queuing now, it might be your turn next year."
"Ha! You kissed my lips raw last night, and now you're going back on your word, you scoundrel!"
"Don't talk nonsense. Only at the very beginning did I actively kiss you. Later, you were holding my neck and wouldn't let me leave, alright?"
Jiang Jingya blushed at her words, unconsciously spitting out a retort.
"You're so annoying. You've become glib now. You've changed."
Yao An couldn't help but laugh at her pouting expression.
"Then how about I make it up to you?"
Jiang Jingya's eyes lit up, and then the two said in unison,
"Dessert!"
It has to be said that people in Shanghai are very particular about refinement; there are many dessert shops nearby.
But the prices were really expensive. The two girls felt they hadn't ordered much but still spent over three hundred yuan.
It seemed they really needed to earn money, or else they wouldn't be able to afford desserts in the future, and Little Cake would lose her source of happiness.
Afterward, the two visited a nearby mall. Because the prices were too high, they only secretly took pictures of pretty clothes and planned to buy 'learning versions' online later.
They stopped in front of a claw machine arcade.
Most girls like delicate things, and also fluffy things, and Jiang Jingya happened to like both.
She didn't know how many blind boxes she had bought, and there was no place in her dorm to store those small figurines, so they just gathered dust at home.
"Little fox, which one do you want? Tell me."
Jiang Jingya stood with her hands on her hips, looking very smug and as if she could get anything.
"You say that as if you can actually catch one."
"Who are you looking down on? I'm a claw machine master!"
As she spoke, she pulled Yao An into the claw machine arcade.
After exchanging 50 yuan for game tokens, Jiang Jingya operated several machines like a tiger, only to look at the three remaining tokens in her hand with tears welling up.
"You won't catch any dolls like that. Didn't you notice how loose the claws on those machines are?"
"No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I'm going to talk to the store manager. How can they do this? I spent fifty yuan, they should at least give me a consolation prize."
Jiang Jingya made excuses for her lack of skill. Seeing Yao An standing still, she suddenly lost her nerve.
"Aren't you coming with me?"
Yao An shook her head, suppressing a laugh.
"I want to see how you talk to the store manager."
Jiang Jingya gritted her teeth, deciding not to talk to this annoying fox for a day... an hour... ten minutes.
"Alright, don't be angry. I have a way to make you hit every time."
Little Cake immediately forgot her decision not to talk to her for ten minutes and asked curiously,
"What way?"
Yao An showed her her phone.
On it was her chat history with customer service.
While Jiang Jingya was operating the machine, she had been observing the machine's model.
Then she searched for the same model on Taobao, consulted customer service, and quickly got the method to adjust the tightness of the claws.
"You, you, you, you're so cunning!"
Jiang Jingya was greatly shocked, not expecting such a trick was possible.
Yao An corrected her very seriously:
"I'm not cunning; I'm helping you deal with unscrupulous merchants. We are partners in justice."
"Hmm, you're right!"
Jiang Jingya strongly agreed, her eyes as determined as if she were about to join the Party.
Subsequently, the two divided the work: one secretly adjusted the tightness of the claws, while the other stood guard to prevent the unscrupulous boss from noticing their little actions.
After the adjustment was complete, Jiang Jingya finally caught her first doll, a green, ugly-cute rabbit.
"This is the result of our combined effort. From now on, it's our child, little fox. Give the child a name."
"Hmm... how about Little Little Cake? Or Little Little Fox? Or maybe Little Fox Egg?"
"...That sounds awful."
"Since this is our child together, I want to ask, who gets custody? Or should we try a bit harder and have twins, a dragon and a phoenix?"
Jiang Jingya refused.
"No, one child is enough. Any more and we might be partial. From now on, I'll take care of the child for a week, and you for a week. We'll let it have the love of two mothers simultaneously."