Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ruan Lingfeng had no idea that Tao Zhi’s inner thoughts were doing such complicated somersaults; he was simply feeling blindsided. Since this morning, surprises had been raining down: first, the collaboration with Tao Zhi was suddenly back on; then, Tao Zhi himself showed up uninvited and overheard their intern’s reckless trash-talk.

However, hearing Tao Zhi’s accusations, Ruan Lingfeng strangely felt that this situation might not be so difficult to handle. While Tao Zhi was indeed annoying, he wore his heart on his sleeve. Based on Ruan Lingfeng’s years of experience dealing with all sorts of people in the workplace, those who expressed their emotions so bluntly were actually the easiest to coax.

Moreover, Ruan Lingfeng felt somewhat guilty. Regardless of their past unpleasantness, Tao Zhi had helped him, and for the foreseeable future, the man was going to be his “gold provider” (financial backer). It wouldn’t be right if he didn’t help clear the man’s name.

After losing his professional composure several times in front of this client, Ruan Lingfeng made a silent vow: from this moment on, he was going to win back the upper hand.

Thus, Ruan Lingfeng adopted the warmest attitude he’d used since they met, promising Tao Zhi a proper disciplinary result for the intern.

His tone was gentle, but the content was stern. The intern involved immediately slumped his shoulders, likely thinking that the saying “trouble comes from the mouth” was painfully true.

However, Ruan Lingfeng didn’t think Tao Zhi would actually pursue the matter. He watched Tao Zhi intently, placing a bet. Sure enough, after uttering a few more nonsensical remarks, Tao Zhi waved his hand dismissively: “Forget it. I won’t hold it against you guys.”

Got him. Ruan Lingfeng breathed a mental sigh of relief. He had the intern apologize again, gave the kid a genuine lecture about not gossiping, and then invited Tao Zhi into the VIP meeting room.

The contract details were being handled by others; Ruan Lingfeng figured Tao Zhi had come mainly to discuss the creative content.

Now alone in the meeting room, Ruan Lingfeng used his prior research to prepare a coffee for Tao Zhi: an iced latte, subbed with oat milk instead of dairy, light sugar. When he handed the cup to Tao Zhi, the singer frowned: “Thanks, but I don’t drink this.”

Ruan Lingfeng sat opposite him. “I used oat milk.”

Tao Zhi paused, eventually taking the cup. When he looked at Ruan Lingfeng again, his expression became complex.

“How do you even know I switch to oat milk?” he asked.

Ruan Lingfeng replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “You mentioned it in an interview.”

“There’s no need for that,” Tao Zhi said. He didn’t specify what there was no need for. After a moment of hesitation, he lowered his head and took a sip. The aroma was rich and fragrant.

Of course, Tao Zhi hadn’t come here just for coffee and small talk. He quickly got down to business: “I didn’t come here because I’m bored. I have things to tell you.”

“I know,” Ruan Lingfeng said.

“Then I won’t waste words. Let’s not waste each other’s time. I’ve finished looking at your proposal…” As he spoke, Tao Zhi glanced around, only to find Ruan Lingfeng immediately handing him an iPad. Yesterday’s proposal PPT was already open and ready for him to swipe through. Tao Zhi continued, “There are a few points I need to address. First, the emotional progression you mentioned—starting slow and then building up.”

“Yes?”

Tao Zhi said, “What you said makes some sense, but I don’t like it. I want the audience to be excited throughout the entire show.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

What the hell? Ruan Lingfeng thought. However, he maintained a beaming smile and explained, “The audience will certainly be excited, but excitement needs layers. Generally, the opening is high-energy, and then we transition to a few slower songs…”

“Do you think I’ve never been to a concert before?” Tao Zhi cut him off. “I just don’t want to be like everyone else.”

Ruan Lingfeng thought for a moment and tried a metaphor: “Even on a roller coaster, the thrill comes from the ups and downs… Besides, you do have some slow songs, don’t you? They work perfectly as transitions in the setlist.”

Tao Zhi: “Of course. I’m going to sing the slow songs, but you have to arrange them so that they make the audience feel very excited.”

Ruan Lingfeng felt a headache coming on. “But…”

Tao Zhi: “But what? Am I the client, or are you?”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

There are many jokes online about the relationship between clients and providers, usually involving designers—like wanting “colorful black,” or wanting a font to be “bigger but also smaller.” Ruan Lingfeng felt Tao Zhi’s request was on par with those jokes.

Does anyone understand? In a two-hour concert, this guy wanted the audience to stay in a state of madness the whole time—he even wanted them to go wild during ballads.

He actually said: Make the slow songs feel exciting.

Why not just sing love songs while doing a headstand-spin on stage? Everyone would be excited then!

Ruan Lingfeng cursed him as an idiot in his head, finally understanding why no other team would take his work. Despite this, his smile grew even more benevolent. He replied, “You are.”

Tao Zhi: “Then just shut up and take down the requirements.”

Ruan Lingfeng took a silent, deep breath. He did indeed record Tao Zhi’s demands. Having been in this industry for so long, he’d seen plenty of eccentrics; Tao Zhi was just one more. He’d find a way; he’d deal with whatever challenges came his way.

Tao Zhi raised a few more points he wanted to change. With the “all-excitement” premise already laid out, when Tao Zhi later said things like, “I want to interact with the audience more, but I don’t want them to focus too much on things outside the music,” Ruan Lingfeng actually found it somewhat acceptable.

They talked for a while longer. Tao Zhi was clearly enjoying the rant, but Ruan Lingfeng felt like he was reaching his limit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t use “feeling unwell” as an excuse today. His social pleasantries and the smile on his face were like a pre-set program—even though he had cursed Tao Zhi ten thousand times in his mind, the “Smile.exe” program remained running.

Beyond that, his obsessive-compulsive perfectionism kicked in.

Specifically, while he didn’t agree with Tao Zhi’s demands, his brain began spinning frantically, hoping to find a few “inspiration bubbles” that could actually satisfy them.

To achieve what Tao Zhi wanted, he made a request of his own: “Are you free over the next few days, Teacher Tao? Would it be convenient for me to shadow you?”

Tao Zhi had rattled off a bunch of ideas that even he knew were illogical, picky, and irritating. He had proposed these ideas to other teams before, but without exception, they either said it was impossible or agreed and then produced a pile of garbage.

This was Tao Zhi’s first 10,000-seat stadium tour. It would be a lie to say he didn’t care about it. He didn’t know if Ruan Lingfeng could create his ideal concert, but he truly did have expectations for him.

If he hadn’t seen Ruan Lingfeng’s past work, and if he didn’t like most of the current proposal… and if he truly couldn’t find anyone else… only then would he have insisted on this person.

After all, this Omega clearly wasn’t a “fuel-efficient lamp” (wasn’t a simple person).

At their first meeting, he had the audacity to sway in front of him while giving off pheromones, then got angry and denied it when called out. He’d even “indiscreetly” provoked another Alpha, dragging Tao Zhi into a fresh tabloid scandal.

He was much more restrained today, though his actions remained suspicious.

For instance, making a coffee exactly to his taste—would any other planner go that far?

But Tao Zhi believed he was a clear-headed person. Even if this Omega didn’t seem entirely “proper,” as long as he didn’t do anything else out of line, Tao Zhi was willing to take a few steps back for the sake of the performance he wanted.

He would endure what he had to.

So, he focused on work and said his piece, fully expecting Ruan Lingfeng to argue with him. He wanted to see if they could strike any interesting sparks, but to his surprise, after a few initial rebuttals, Ruan Lingfeng really did just “obediently take down the requirements.”

When they finally finished, Tao Zhi saw Ruan Lingfeng about to speak and assumed he was going to give a final summary. However, what Ruan Lingfeng said didn’t seem to have much to do with the work they had just discussed.

Tao Zhi: “Huh? Why the hell do you want to shadow me?”

Ruan Lingfeng pressed on: “I won’t disturb you too much. I just…”

Seeing that Ruan Lingfeng really seemed to want to follow him, Tao Zhi’s thoughts began to spiral rapidly. Before Ruan Lingfeng could even answer, he asked something else: “By the way, I forgot to ask—did that sh*tty ex-boyfriend of yours harass you again after he went back yesterday?”

Tao Zhi asked this to find a “dignified” excuse first.

Ruan Lingfeng didn’t know why the topic had changed so fast, but he followed along: “He did send me a few texts, but I ignored him.”

He then added politely, “Thank you for your concern, Teacher Tao.”

So he is at risk of harassment, Tao Zhi concluded.

Though, he didn’t rule out the possibility that it was just an excuse from the Omega.

“Tsk, what a pain… If you’re worried about that Alpha looking for trouble again, then you can follow me if you want,” Tao Zhi pondered for a while. Finally, he frowned and, after much internal struggle, added: “But you better not have any other intentions.”

It took Ruan Lingfeng a moment to digest those words. Once he understood, the “perfect service provider” mask he’d maintained all morning finally cracked: “What do you mean ‘worried about him looking for trouble’? What ‘other intentions’?”

Tao Zhi was clearly getting annoyed. His long limbs had felt cramped and uncomfortable on the low sofa in the VIP room. Now that the conversation was over, he didn’t feel like bickering anymore. He stood up, looking down at the still-seated Ruan Lingfeng, his voice impatient: “How should I know what ‘other intentions’ you have? You’re the one who suddenly said you wanted to follow me.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

Deep breath. Deep breath.

Maintaining a stiff smile, Ruan Lingfeng explained: “It’s like this, Teacher Tao. I want to shadow you to observe your usual state of work and life. It will help me better understand your needs and the kind of stage you want to present… Whenever conditions allow, I always spend some time with my other partners.”

Ruan Lingfeng was telling the truth, though not the whole truth. The reason he wanted to observe Tao Zhi was that he felt the singer hadn’t fully articulated his real needs during their talk. Since he wanted to do a good job, he had to find a way to discover what Tao Zhi truly wanted. Polished words can lie, but a person’s behavior does not.

He hadn’t expected this lunatic to be so narcissistic and have such a wild imagination.

It was truly unheard of.

Ruan Lingfeng thought for a moment and said: “Teacher Tao, you might not be ‘ordinary,’ but you truly are incredibly confident.”

Tao Zhi: “…Why you motherf—!”

Fun Fact: Tao Zhi was a drummer in his old band!