My Possessive Boss Is Unexpectedly Needy - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

“Yang-ge? Yang-ge? You’re off-beat!”

Prompted by the sound engineer, Li Yiyang hurriedly snapped back into his vocal performance.

Throughout the entire recording session, Yu Zining remained silent. Before Li Yiyang could come out of the booth, Zining turned to the staff beside him and said, “His voice is very penetrating; the recording is perfect. Since we’re finished, I’ll head out now.”

Zhang Jie interjected, “Wait, Teacher Lemon! I know you prefer to keep things mysterious, but please come to my office first. There are a few things I’d like to discuss with you.”

With that, Yu Zining turned and left the recording hall.

Moments later, Li Yiyang came sprinting out. “Was… was that Teacher Lemon?”

Liu Momo patted him on the shoulder. “Guessed wrong again, didn’t you?”

“No, something feels very strange!” Li Yiyang muttered, before charging out of the studio.

“Hey, hey!” Zhang Jie tried to stop him, but she was too slow.

Liu Momo said to Zhang Jie, “It’s fine. They used to discuss music constantly on WeChat. It’s only natural he’d be a bit overexcited to see the real person.”

…

Yu Zining was sitting in Zhang Jie’s office when the door behind him was pushed open. Thinking it was Zhang Jie, he stood up and turned around, only to see a breathless Li Yiyang. Zining instinctively averted his gaze, not daring to look him in the eye.

Li Yiyang looked Yu Zining up and down, his burning gaze making Zining feel incredibly uneasy.

“You… are Teacher Lemon?”

Yu Zining lowered his eyes and spoke softly, “I… I am ‘Lemon Who Loves Fish.'”

The moment that clear, crisp voice emerged—even through the mask—it struck Li Yiyang’s ears like magic, leaving him momentarily dazed.

“Holy crap, you’re actually a guy?”

Yu Zining felt awkward and moved to leave. Li Yiyang grabbed his arm. “Hold on!”

Zining kept his head down. “Mr. Li, I never once said I was a woman. I have things to do, so I’ll be going now.”

“No, no, something’s not right. I feel like something is off!” Li Yiyang’s words made Zining tremble. Does he… know something?

“Yiyang, don’t scare Teacher Lemon!” Zhang Jie appeared at the door like a savior.

Li Yiyang reluctantly let go of Zining and sighed. “Well, there goes my fantasy. Teacher Lemon, you should have just said you were a guy earlier. I’m out!” With that, he sauntered out of the office in his usual cavalier fashion.

Only then did Yu Zining breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhang Jie smiled. “Teacher Lemon, please sit. Li Yiyang is just like that; don’t take it to heart, he was just joking.”

Zining lowered his gaze. “It’s fine…”

“Teacher Lemon,” Zhang Jie continued, “the company feels your talent is exceptional. We’d like to sign you as Li Yiyang’s exclusive composer. What do you think?”

Zining froze. He was trying his best to avoid Li Yiyang—how could he become his exclusive composer? Wouldn’t they be seeing each other constantly?

Seeing his hesitation, Zhang Jie added, “The company has taken your personal circumstances into account. We will help maintain your ‘mystery’ persona; it actually adds a layer of intrigue to our releases. You can work remotely—we fully allow that.”

Zining was still hesitant. “But…”

Zhang Jie opened the contract directly. “We’ve already transferred the fee for today’s session to your account. Take a look at the compensation for this contract. After all, being an exclusive composer is a highly coveted position.”

Zining looked at the figures. With the income from being a composer, he would finally have the financial backing to leave for good. Without further hesitation, he signed his name.

…

Meanwhile, back at the studio, Li Yiyang looked utterly dejected.

“What’s wrong, Yang-ge?” His assistant brought over some fruit, noticing his sour mood.

Li Yiyang looked at the assistant helplessly. “Tell me… how can something be so strange? What exactly is it?”

The assistant was bewildered. “Strange? What’s strange? Oh, I know! You must be practicing lines for a script, right? So impressive!”

“Get lost! Who’s practicing lines?” Li Yiyang snapped, leaving the assistant scratching his head in confusion.

“Alright, still sulking?” Liu Momo walked in with the contract. “Don’t think I couldn’t tell—you just wanted to flirt with this Teacher Lemon. Thank goodness he’s a man; I’m truly grateful for that.”

Li Yiyang glanced at her. “What is it?”

Liu Momo smiled meaningfully. “You and Lemon are destined. The company signed him as your exclusive composer. Here’s the contract.”

“What? I don’t want it!” Li Yiyang practically exploded.

“It doesn’t matter if you want it or not. This is a company arrangement. They want to use Lemon’s mysterious persona to drive more hype for the tracks. It’s a win-win!” Liu Momo held up two fingers and shook them triumphantly in front of his face.

Li Yiyang pouted. “You saw how much of a fool I made of myself today. How awkward is it going to be when I see him again?”

“Don’t worry about that,” Liu Momo said. “Because of his mystery persona, he basically won’t come to the office. It’s all remote!”

Li Yiyang scoffed. “Tch, pretentious.”

“Oh, now you’re being a hypocrite. I wonder who was saying—before they knew he was a man—that ‘the more mysterious, the more I like it’?”

Li Yiyang was so embarrassed he could barely speak straight. “Who… who said that? Wasn’t me.”

Liu Momo shook her head. “Fine, fine. Just try to be less reckless. Today was a small lesson; let’s see if you dare to go charging in like that again.”

Li Yiyang looked down at the contract: Lemon Who Loves Fish… His mind was filled with the scene of their meeting. Specifically, those eyes—they felt so familiar.

“Where have I seen them before?” His long fingers tapped on the contract. He was certain he had seen this person, but where? And who could it be?

…

Yu Zining ran out of R-Company, panting. He never wanted to see Li Yiyang again. When he returned to the villa, Lu Yeyan was sitting there.

Seeing Zining return, Lu Yeyan asked coldly, “Where did you go?”

Zining lifted the fruit in his hand. “There’s a fruit shop near my old place. I like their melons, so I went to buy one.”

Having become much more cautious and quick-witted, Zining had prepared thoroughly, fearing Lu Yeyan would question him upon his return.

Lu Yeyan’s eyes darkened. “Oh?” The “oh” rose in pitch, signaling skepticism.

“I told you, but you won’t believe me anyway!” Zining turned to go upstairs, but Lu Yeyan called out, “Come back!”

Zining turned to face him.

Lu Yeyan’s lips curled slightly. “I meant… let’s eat it together.”

Zining breathed a secret sigh of relief and handed the melon to the maid to be sliced.