Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

The lights in the kitchen were bright.

The tea was ready, and Lin Wanzhou looked up with a slightly troubled expression.

"I'm not good at singing this song, 'Anhe Bridge'..."

Xu Qingyan glanced at her, continued his movements without stopping, and ladled out the baked milk.

"It's okay, we were just trying to see the effect. I'm not sure myself, but I thought singing folk music in the competition might add a niche buff."

"Right." Lin Wanzhou seemed a bit downhearted.

Xu Qingyan took a tray from the top cabinet, donned the oven gloves, and carefully placed the teapot and baked milk on it. As he cast his gaze downward, he thought that he still had much to learn about Lin Wanzhou.

He had thought that Lin Wanzhou would be able to handle this type of song, but it turned out that she couldn't quite capture that feeling. On the other hand, he could give it a try some other day, or perhaps sell it to someone else.

In any case, a good song should not be wasted—they shouldn't let songs they couldn't sing go unused but should try to make the most of them.

He was pondering this when he turned around and saw Lin Wanzhou looking pitifully lost where she stood.

"Uh... what's wrong?"

"I... I'm not really of any help," she said with a choked voice, her eyes becoming redder as she spoke, which gave Xu Qingyan quite a shock.

Only a few minutes in the kitchen and there were already tears threatening to fall; how would he explain this if they went outside?

"No, it's not just this one song. You just exit and scroll up."

At his words, Lin Wanzhou promptly stopped the tears from trickling out and looked up at him.

"Really?"

"Of course it's true, take a look for yourself," Xu Qingyan said as he picked up the tray and walked out of the kitchen, "I'm going to take the drinks out first, we can talk more later."

Before leaving, he paused for a moment and turned back to caution her anxiously.

"In short, don't be too anxious. If the effect isn't good, it's definitely the song's fault, not yours. There's still time, take it slowly."

After saying this, he turned and left the kitchen.

Lin Wanzhou was still holding his phone in her hands, mulling over his words. After a moment of confusion, she realized he was just comforting her.

Her cheeks puffed up as if in defiance, but she dared not sulk for too long. Everyone was in the living room, and she needed to go out quickly after she finished looking at the music score.

With that in mind, she took a deep breath and swiped the screen.

Indeed, there was another file just above 'Anhe Bridge', its name a mere four characters long.

"Hastily, That Year".

She glanced at it, and there was an introduction as well as a standard notation. It must have been completed in the last couple of days and was a completely different style compared to the 'Anhe Bridge' folk song she had been given earlier.

As she looked at it, Lin Wanzhou took a deep breath and began to sing softly,

"Hastily, that year, I wonder how many times we actually said..."

As soon as she began, she found herself easily immersed in the emotions of the song, not even needing to adjust deliberately. In contrast to the ethereal regret of 'Anhe Bridge', the regret in "Hastily, That Year" felt more palpable.

'Anhe Bridge' sings of regret--someone singing loudly into the night, clutching a wooden guitar under the bridge and belting out the song heart-wrenchingly. Beer cans thrown aside, the glow of a campfire dim on the riverbank.
Enjoy new chapters from empire

It's about someone trapped in the city, wavering between reality and dreams, taking that unfinished cigarette from their younger self, squatting in a corridor to smoke an entire pack.

She was only in her twenties, had not experienced a full youth, had no regrets from graduation, and never drank the alcohol of autumn, living entirely with a numb disconnect.

The summer of her remembered youth was the palpitation she never spoke out loud, yet it resonated with "Hastily, That Year". Hastily that year, she hadn't managed to say goodbye properly.

"If farewells can't be with tearful eyes, can they still be with blushing cheeks, just like that year we hastily etched forever together..."

The memories, green and naïve, spread like a mist, and Lin Wanzhou hummed the song quietly, with an increasing fondness the more she sang. Her lips curved gently, her eyes blinking one after another.

Feeling like she had forgotten something, she became aware of the silence in the kitchen, and then Qi Ting's voice came from the living room.

"Why isn't Sister Zhouzhou coming out? She's not snacking in the kitchen, is she?"

"I'll go see what's up. She'll get fat if she eats any more."

The voice and footsteps grew closer, and Lin Wanzhou suddenly snapped back to the present, her face flushing with heat. What was Ting Ting talking about? Who would sneak a snack in the kitchen!

Before Qi Ting reached the kitchen, she hurried out with her head lowered, pushing the glass door open.

"Sister Zhouzhou, you came out at the right time, try this baked milk."

"Oh, I'll drink it later."

Still lost in the embarrassment, Lin Wanzhou lamented inwardly, regretting not driving there herself. Qi Ting was like a ticking bomb, who knew what odd things she might say at any moment.

As long as she moved quickly, awkwardness wouldn't be able to catch up to her. She headed straight for the couch with her head down, then sat motionless.

In the living room, Xu Qingyan was chatting casually with Pei Muchan, idly scrolling through an older cellphone. His gaze lowered, he seemed somewhat distracted.

Lin Wanzhou sneaked a glance at him, then realized the phone in her lap was his.

"The number of posts attacking me is increasing. I had no idea I've done so many bad things," Xu Qingyan said, sitting on the couch with his elbow on his thigh. He bent over his phone, and the collar of his shirt was a bit low.

Lin Wanzhou, not intending to stare, inadvertently followed the line of his chest and her gaze slipped in.

Suddenly, she stiffened and averted her eyes.

"What if you actually did do those things?" Pei Muchan glanced at him, half in jest, "Like this one, causing trouble and fighting outside school."

"Pure nonsense. If I were really fighting every day, my mom would kill me. And those other smears are even more ridiculous. What's wrong with drinking free soup from the cafeteria?"