Chapter 39

In the afternoon, after school.

On the rooftop of the teaching building.

Li Qian was practicing singing when he suddenly heard the sound of high heels. He stopped and turned his head to look at the entrance.

A moment later, it was indeed Qi Jie who came up.

"Hey! I knew you'd be here!" she said with a smile.

Li Qian smiled, not paying much attention to her pretense. Although he wasn't particularly shrewd, he had lived for over thirty years in his previous life and had worked on more than a dozen film sets, seeing all kinds of things. Since he found out about Qi Jie's recording, he could roughly deduce that it must have been one of those times when he was playing guitar on the rooftop, and Qi Jie, who was still in the office, heard him, leading to everything that followed.

After all, the third floor and the rooftop weren't that far apart.

Moreover, to be honest, although Qi Jie, the teacher, was a few years older than him in physical age, in terms of mental maturity, Li Qian saw her as just a little girl.

Her small actions, glances, and thoughts might have escaped a real high school student, but how could Li Qian not see them?

However, while he could understand Qi Jie's abnormal behavior, he couldn't figure out where it came from or what it was for.

In fact, during class today, he noticed something was off.

Although he hadn't counted, during the two Chinese classes, Qi Jie's gaze had drifted to him at least thirty times, if not fifty! And... it seemed that her mood was particularly good today, even making the usually dull review class lively, causing the classroom to burst into laughter four or five times in just over ten minutes!

This was absolutely exceptional!

"Teacher Qi, is there something you need?" Li Qian asked.

To his surprise, Qi Jie suddenly smiled, "Can't I come up to listen to you sing?"

Li Qian smiled but didn't respond.

Though his words were few, there was a subtle sense of intimacy. Combined with her abnormal behavior today, Li Qian was truly at a loss.

It was around five o'clock in the afternoon, and the balcony, which had been under the sun all day, was particularly hot. But Qi Jie didn't show any signs of disliking it. Without waiting for Li Qian to say anything, she naturally reached out to feel the temperature of the stone bench, then took out a tissue to wipe off the dust, and sat down—clearly, she was there to listen to him sing!

Li Qian quietly watched her actions from start to finish. When she looked up, he just smiled slightly.

Then, he said, "Actually, I also have something to talk to you about, Teacher Qi. Yes, two things."

As he spoke, he walked over, opened his guitar case, took out a few sheets of paper from the side pocket, and found a note from his large notebook. He returned to Qi Jie and handed her the note first.

Qi Jie was still smiling, but when she took it and saw the contents, she was instantly stunned, "A check?"

Holding the check, which read "20,000 yuan," with two fingers, she looked up at Li Qian, her expression changing several times, and her fingers gripping the check tightly.

"What do you mean by this?" she asked coldly.

Li Qian was surprised.

He knew that anyone would be shocked to suddenly receive a 20,000 yuan check, so he was prepared for Qi Jie's surprise and even had a speech ready to persuade her to accept the check. However, at this moment, the abnormality on Qi Jie's face was clearly not just surprise.

Confusion? And... anger?

Yes, Li Qian was sure he saw her face turn red with anger!

But this was giving her money, not asking for it, so why was she angry?

Li Qian was completely puzzled.

After a moment of hesitation, he made his prepared speech even softer, "I don't know the rules in the music industry, but in other fields, there's also a concept of referral fees. So, I hope Teacher Qi doesn't think this amount is too small. Of course, money is a small matter. You've done me a great favor, and I'm very grateful. If there's anything you need help with in the future, just let me know, and I'll do my best."

Qi Jie suddenly stood up, staring at Li Qian with a look of intense hatred, her chest heaving as if she was trying to suppress her anger.

Li Qian looked at her with a mix of surprise and confusion.

Qi Jie returned his gaze with a look of deep resentment.

Then, she suddenly brought her hands together, crumpled the check into a ball, and threw it at Li Qian, saying coldly, "I don't need your money! I don't need your help with anything!"

After saying this, she gave Li Qian one last angry glare and quickly turned to go down the stairs.

From the time she came up to the time she left, it was just a few minutes.

Li Qian was stunned, his eyes following her figure, then he listened to the sound of her footsteps echoing in the empty staircase—she was walking very fast, clearly very angry!

But why?

She was clearly happy when she came up, and she had been in high spirits all day. Why did he giving her a check make her so angry?

Could it be that he had given her the wrong amount?

Li Qian looked down at the check by his feet, picked it up, unfolded it, and smoothed it out, looking at the words "20,000 yuan" and his father's signature, feeling lost for the first time since his rebirth.

When did giving money start to make people angry?

The problem was, this money should have made the recipient happy!

After standing on the rooftop for a while, Li Qian was still puzzled. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he turned and walked to the edge of the rooftop, leaning over to look down—

Qi Jie was walking very fast!

She was wearing high heels, her posture straight, and she was walking quickly.

It seemed to take only a dozen steps for her to cross the small square in front of the building, turn, and leave the school gate.

Looking at her stubborn back, Li Qian sighed, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep puff, his frown deepening.

...

"Lao Liao..."

"Shh... Wait a moment, darling, wait..."

"..."

"Okay, I was just rehearsing in the recording studio. What's up?"

"I'm so angry!"

As she spoke, Qi Jie turned on the air conditioner, adjusting the vents to blow directly at her, but the cool air did little to alleviate the heat and frustration in her body.

"What happened? What's the matter?" Liao Liao on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback, then asked, "Is it about that... Lu Liang? Your fiancé? Did you have a fight?"

"Don't mention him to me! What does he have to do with this?"

"Uh... You really have a lot of fire in you. You must be really angry. What happened?"

Qi Jie took a deep breath, then another, and suddenly burst out, "He gave me money!"

Liao Liao's breathing paused for a moment before she said, "Gave you money? Who gave you money?"

"Li Qian!"

"Uh... He, he gave you money... Why are you angry about that? Did he tell you why he gave you the money?"

Qi Jie took another deep breath and said, "He said it was a referral fee."

"Oh... That's pretty good! Isn't that normal? By the way, I forgot to remind you to ask for it! You don't know, but in our industry, there's a rule for this. If you have an agent or a management company, it's not a problem, but if you don't, it's usually the introducer or intermediary who gets the job. They can't do it for free, so they get a commission or a referral fee. For small jobs, it's usually a few hundred yuan or a meal, and for big jobs, it's a percentage, usually between 3% and 8%, sometimes even 10% or 20%... I didn't expect this kid to be so savvy and considerate! Uh, by the way, how much did he give you?"

"20,000!" Qi Jie said irritably.

Hearing that Liao Liao also thought giving a referral fee was normal, Qi Jie felt even more frustrated.

"Oh... 20,000, that's 5%. That's not bad, he's quite generous! Why are you still angry? Just take it, it's what you deserve!"

"But... but you're my friend, and he's my student... Why should he give me money?"

On the other end, Liao Liao took a moment to understand her logic and said in surprise, "What you're saying... It's one thing to be friends, and another to do business. In the industry, everyone knows everyone. The old-timers who get the jobs and the people who take the jobs are all friends, all familiar. But being friends doesn't mean you don't pay. If you don't pay, who will get you the jobs next time? How will they eat and drink?"

Qi Jie felt even more frustrated, "But I'm not in your industry, and he... he's not either! He's my student!"

Liao Liao was taken aback and said, "Darling, what's wrong with you? Why are you suddenly so stubborn? He's considerate and willing to pay, so just take it. What's the problem with him giving you money?"

Qi Jie was silent for a long time.

Liao Liao called out "Hello" several times, but Qi Jie suddenly lowered her hand, looked at the screen, and hung up the call.

A moment later, her phone rang again.

Qi Jie hung up.

Soon, the phone rang again.

Qi Jie hung up again.

Then, after about ten seconds, a text message came in. She looked down and saw it was from Liao Liao, who said: "Are you on your period?"

She stared at the screen for a moment, then pressed the power button.

A moment later, "Goodbye" appeared on the screen, and after a series of rings and vibrations, the phone screen went black.

Suddenly, two tears rolled down her cheeks.

Soon, more tears followed.

She wasn't crying, but she was shedding tears.

After a moment, she threw her phone aside and covered her face with her hands.

He wouldn't understand.

She wouldn't understand either.

He was a musical genius, and so was she.

"But, I'm not."

Yes, Li Qian was her student, so when she found out that the person playing guitar and singing on the rooftop was Li Qian, she was surprised and amazed. When she learned