Three days before the award ceremony, a gold-stamped invitation arrived at Lu Zhixian's studio.

He opened it and took a look. The nomination list was printed clearly—Best Lyricist of the Year, Best Composer of the Year, Best Arranger of the Year, Best New Producer of the Year, and Producer of the Year.

Five.

Lu Zhixian placed the invitation on the table, and the system panel in his mind popped up on its own.

["From Behind the Scenes to the Forefront" task progress updating. A key milestone is approaching; please be prepared, Host.]

He stared at the four words in the task reward column—"Exquisite Timbre" and "Super Vocal Cord Function."

His fingers unconsciously tapped out a rhythm on the tabletop. This award ceremony wasn't just about receiving awards.

---

The night before departure, his phone rang incessantly.

Jiang Cheng sent a total of eleven voice messages, each using a different tone to express the same thing.

Lu Zhixian picked the shortest one and clicked it.

"Xian-ge! You were nominated for five awards! Five! Did you secretly cast a spell on the judges?"

Lu Zhixian typed back: "Why don't you say I cast a spell on you too?"

Jiang Cheng replied instantly: "That's different! I was won over by your talent!"

Followed by a string of bowing emojis.

Su Qing's message was much more normal. A properly phrased congratulatory text, with a small sun emoji at the end.

Concise, but its weight could be felt.

Shi Lei was the most straightforward. Two words—"It's solid."

After Lu Zhixian finished replying to each one, he casually scrolled through the full nomination list for the Golden Song Awards.

Flipping to the "Hot Single of the Year" column, "dispelling sorrow" was prominently listed. Further down, in the "Best Single of the Year" nominations, the name "bubble" followed Su Qing in third place.

He stared at the screen for two seconds.

Jiang Cheng, Su Qing, plus Shi Lei, who was invited as an award presenter. These people he had helped were all now standing before the highest stage of the Chinese music scene.

Lu Zhixian didn't feel particularly sentimental. He tossed his phone aside and went to his wardrobe to find the suit he would wear tomorrow.

---

The night of the award ceremony.

Magic City International Convention Center.

The reporters on both sides of the red carpet had their telephoto lenses set up like artillery batteries, and the flashes never stopped from beginning to end.

Lu Zhixian's custom black suit was sharply tailored; he didn't wear a tie, and the top button of his shirt was undone, making him look relaxed yet spirited.

When he stepped onto the red carpet, a small commotion arose among the reporters.

Most people had only seen him in variety show outtakes and backstage photos; this was the first time they saw him in person.

Standing 185cm tall, with long legs and clean shoulder lines, his walking posture was both lazy and poised.

To be honest, he didn't look like a producer but rather a newcomer pushed forward by some talent agency.

"Teacher Lu! Look over here!"

"Teacher Lu, one more shot!"

He cooperatively stopped his pace and smiled at the camera.

The flashes merged into a sheet of white.

---

Inside the venue, the lighting was soft, with round tables and long rows of seats interspersed.

The usher led Lu Zhixian to the guest seats in the first three rows.

He looked down at the seat nameplate.

To his left was the name of a veteran musician, which was no surprise.

On the nameplate to his right, three characters were printed.

Lin Shiya.

Lu Zhixian froze for half a beat, then sat down.

About three minutes passed. A very faint scent of perfume drifted over—not the sweet and greasy kind, but a woody scent, clear and cold.

Lin Shiya took her seat.

Her brown hair was half-tied and half-loose, and her black velvet dress outlined her figure cleanly and elegantly.

At 177cm tall, she had a strong presence even while sitting.

As the side lighting hit her, the tear mole below her left eye was clearly visible.

She glanced at Lu Zhixian and nodded slightly.

"Teacher Lu."

Her voice was neither cold nor warm, polite but with a sense of distance.

Lu Zhixian smiled. "Hello, Teacher Lin. I've heard much about you."

Lin Shiya didn't respond to that.

She picked up the program in front of her and opened it, her long fingers flipping through the pages one by one as her gaze fell upon it, no longer looking at him.

A few seconds of silence passed.

Lu Zhixian wasn't in a hurry to find something to say either.

He also picked up his own program and began to read it slowly.

When the opening VCR began to play, highlight clips of the year's music flashed across the large screen.

The scene cut to the finale night of "Heavenly Voice Partners," with Su Ran standing under the spotlight singing "Listen," while Lu Zhixian sat behind a grand piano.

The bridge section—where all accompaniment suddenly vanished, Su Ran sang a cappella, and then the piano and all parts surged back in simultaneously within half a second—was played in its entirety.

A round of applause erupted throughout the hall.

Lin Shiya turned her head.

"The hard cut in the bridge of 'Listen,' was that your idea?"

The first time she spoke proactively, it wasn't a polite pleasantry.

Lu Zhixian nodded.

"Very bold," she said.

Just two words, but the sense of distance in her tone had clearly faded.

Lu Zhixian leaned back in his chair, neither humble nor boastful.

"If it weren't bold, that climax wouldn't hold up. Su Ran's vocal range has enough explosive power, but it needs an absolutely clean vacuum as a springboard. When you go from extreme silence to an explosion, only then is the emotional impact achieved."

Lin Shiya didn't respond immediately. After two seconds, she said, "Your logic for arrangement is different from most producers."

"How is it different?"

"Most people start from the instruments and lean towards the vocals. You do the opposite. You map out the emotional line of the vocals first, then have all the instruments fit into it."

Lu Zhixian raised an eyebrow. That hit the mark.

The two of them began to chat just like that.

Their voices were kept very low so as not to affect the people around them, but the density of the content was high.

Lin Shiya asked of every question was precise—from the harmonic progression of "Listen" to the rhythm design of the drum kit in "against the current," and then to his reasons for choosing Cantonese songs for Su Ran.

It wasn't the fawning of a fan, but the deconstruction between peers.

Lu Zhixian discovered that this person, labeled by the media as the "Ice Queen Diva," was a complete music fanatic at heart.

Her sensitivity to sound details was ridiculously high.

He answered very relaxedly, occasionally throwing out one or two less-than-serious metaphors.

"The low-frequency processing in the chorus of 'against the current' can be understood like cooking. If the heat isn't enough, the meat won't be flavorful; if the heat is too high, it burns. What I need is that state where it's just starting to sizzle with oil."

Lin Shiya's lips twitched.

It wasn't quite a smile, but the corners of her eyes crinkled.

When they talked about differences in arrangement philosophy, she suddenly lowered her voice.

"I want to change directions for my next album, but I haven't been able to find a suitable producer."

She paused and turned her face to look at Lu Zhixian.

"If you're interested, we can talk."

Her tone was calm, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

Lu Zhixian looked at her, neither nodding immediately nor declining.

"When there's an opportunity, we'll talk in detail."

Lin Shiya withdrew her gaze and didn't press further.

She closed the program and put it back on the table, her finger tapping twice lightly on the cover.

---

Ten minutes before the opening.

Jiang Cheng and Su Qing walked over side by side.

Jiang Cheng waved at Lu Zhixian from afar, but just as he reached him and was about to speak, his peripheral vision caught the person sitting next to him—his expression instantly froze.

Lin Shiya.

Lin Shiya, whose fans across the internet were nearing eighty million.

Jiang Cheng's mouth hung open as he forced out a sentence: "H-Hello, Teacher Lin."

His pitch was at least half a key higher.

Su Qing was much calmer than him and nodded gracefully.

Shi Lei also strolled over from the presenters' waiting area, placed a hand on Lu Zhixian's shoulder, and whispered, "It's a sure win tonight, don't be nervous."

Lu Zhixian rolled his eyes. "Do I look like the type of person who gets nervous to you?"

Shi Lei snorted, didn't argue, patted his shoulder, and left.

Jiang Cheng and Su Qing also returned to their respective seats.

Lin Shiya watched their retreating backs and said, "You have quite a few friends."

Lu Zhixian leaned back in his chair, hands crossed over his lap.

"Can't help it; I'm just charming."

Lin Shiya ignored him. But that curve at the corner of her mouth couldn't be hidden.

---

The house lights went out.

The giant LED screen lit up with the Golden Song Awards logo, and beams of light descended from the dome, illuminating the golden trophy sculpture in the center of the stage.

The host's voice echoed through the vast venue.

"Tonight, we are here to witness the most shining moment in the Chinese music scene."

Thousands of people fell silent.

Lu Zhixian flipped to the last page of the program and scanned the presentation order of the five nominated awards.

Best Lyricist of the Year and Best Arranger of the Year were in the first half.

Best Composer of the Year and Best New Producer of the Year were in the middle section.

The most significant "Producer of the Year" was the penultimate award, just before "Best Singer of the Year."

He closed the program.

In his mind, the system's mechanical voice rang out on time.

[Detected that a key event is about to be triggered. The "From Behind the Scenes to the Forefront" task has entered the activation stage. All of the Host's performances at the award ceremony will directly affect the task evaluation and the final reward quality. Please seize the opportunity.]

Lu Zhixian replied in his mind, "Got it."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze passing over the front row and landing on the golden sculpture in the center of the stage.

The host's voice rang out again—

"Next, we reveal the first award of the night. Best Lyricist of the Year!"

On the large screen, the names of the five nominees appeared one after another.

The last one: Lu Zhixian.

The camera cut to his face. He smiled at the camera.

Lin Shiya, beside him, turned her head, her voice very soft.

"Good luck."

Lu Zhixian didn't turn his head, his smile remaining.

"It's all skill."