Both Su Musu and Su Yue were certain that this was a wonderfully melodious song.
Whether it was the melody or the lyrics, everything was simply fantastic.
Yet, as Ye Ge sang it, something felt just a bit off...
Especially in Su Musu's heart, it left her with an itch she couldn't quite scratch.
How should she put it...
It was like an uncarved piece of jade, still waiting to be polished.
Su Musu desperately wanted to refine the song, perhaps by raising a certain note here or tweaking a rhythm there...
"Ahem, ahem. Well, it's pretty much like that." Ye Ge blushed slightly. "My pitch is a bit off. I'd better wait until I actually learn to read sheet music before I write it down properly."
Su Musu gently bit her lower lip, looking as though she were wrestling with some internal dilemma. Finally, she raised her delicate head, fixing those cat-tailed, peach-blossom eyes on Ye Ge with an alluring gaze, and began signing.
Su Yue translated, "Senior, my sister says she really likes this song. Could you try writing down the musical score for it?"
With a smile, Su Yue added, "Whenever my sister hears a melody she likes, she has this habit of transcribing the notes. Otherwise, she just feels restless all day."
"That shouldn't be a problem," Ye Ge nodded. "Except that I'm tone-deaf, so whatever I write down would probably be full of mistakes."
Su Musu quickly waved her hands dismissively, then pulled a blank staff notebook from her small bag. Relying entirely on her memory, she began transcribing the tune, even filling in the lyrics word for word without a single error.
Before long, Su Musu had finished writing out the sheet music. Ye Ge couldn't make head or tail of the various symbols on the staves, but the neat handwriting, entirely free of any corrections, was genuinely a sight to behold.
Su Yue took the notebook and, as she looked it over, began to hum unconsciously.
The moment Su Yue's voice rang out, Ye Ge froze in place.
Her singing was simply too breathtaking; her voice was nothing short of heavenly.
If being a genius meant being fed by the heavens, then Su Yue's talent was the heavens force-feeding you, shoving the food straight down your throat whether you wanted it or not, terrified that you might starve a second later.
Wait...
That didn't seem to be the main point here.
The main point was!
Su Musu had actually managed to recreate the song to absolute perfection!
Ye Ge had once come across a rumor online.
There were people who, despite never having heard a certain song before, could listen to you hum it nearby—even if you were completely out of tune—and still essentially guess what you were trying to sing, then write down a score that barely differed from the original composition!
At the time, Ye Ge had simply dismissed it as utter nonsense.
He never expected that such a person actually existed in this world!
If only Su Musu could speak...
What kind of shockwaves would this pair of sisters send through the music industry...
Just the thought of it made Ye Ge shiver.
"S-Sorry... I couldn't help myself..."
After finishing the song, Su Yue finally snapped back to reality, her cheeks burning red.
"It sounds wonderful," Su Musu smiled gently, gesturing in sign language.
"It really is gorgeous, and Su Musu is just incredible! This song is exact—down to the smallest detail—to the one playing in my head."
Smashing those two bricks over people's heads last night had turned out to be the absolute right move!
That single strike had somehow managed to unearth this pair of genius sisters!
"Su Musu, Su Yue, I have a proposal I'd like to discuss with you two."
Ye Ge had made up his mind. He could learn to read sheet music at his leisure, but this song needed to be released first.
"I plan to record this song, have Su Yue sing it, and release it online. As for any profits we make afterward, a fifty-fifty split between me and you two sisters. How does that sound?"
"Eh? Record a song? Put it online???" Su Yue was momentarily stunned before frantically waving her hands. "No, no, I can't... I really can't do that..."
Su Yue loved to sing, but at most she only sang at home, performing for her older sister because her sister loved to listen.
The thought of formally recording a song for countless strangers to hear made her head spin.
"It's really fine, Junior. You need to have more confidence in yourself. You really do sing wonderfully. Besides, you won't be showing your face, and even if you didn't sing well—which you do—nobody would know it was you."
"But... but..." Su Yue was still terribly conflicted.
At that moment, Su Musu gently patted Su Yue's shoulder.
"Older Sister..." Su Yue turned her head to see her sister looking at her with a gentle smile.
Su Musu's smile was like a spring breeze: "You can do it."
"..." Gazing at her sister's encouraging expression, Su Yue lowered her head to think once more, her small hands tightly gripping the fabric of her skirt.
"Then... could I give it a try?" Su Yue looked up, her eyes brimming with nervousness.
"Don't be nervous. I believe in you, Junior." Ye Ge nodded.
Are you kidding? This was the future Heavenly Queen!
If Su Yue couldn't do it, who could?
When Su Yue agreed, Su Musu's eyes curved into crescent moons. The young girl's faint smile was as pure as spring snow and as refreshing as a cool breeze in the dead of summer, her peach-blossom eyes carrying a subtle hint of allure.
Ye Ge caught a glimpse of it by accident, and his heart gave an involuntary flutter.
Frightened, Ye Ge hurriedly locked his heart away behind a wall of ice.
Su Musu signed to Ye Ge, and Su Yue translated, "Senior, my sister says you don't need to give us any share of the earnings. You've been a great help to us, and besides, you wrote the song in the first place. We can't accept any royalties."
Before she finished, Su Yue added, "I feel the same way."
"That won't do at all. A split is a split. We're business partners, and we need to keep personal and professional matters separate."
Ye Ge refused to take a free ride on the coattails of these two sisters.
Are you kidding? Was Ye Ge that kind of person?
Besides, he was looking for a long-term partnership with them. If he took a free ride this time, would he be freeloading off them every single time after?
Only when everyone benefited could they walk further down this road together.
"We really can't accept it, Senior. My sister says we truly shouldn't take it." Su Yue reiterated her stance.
"You really can take it."
"We really can't."
"We really can."
Finally, after a round of tug-of-war between the three of them—with Ye Ge remaining utterly adamant and even resorting to "using" his past kindness to coerce them—the sisters reluctantly accepted Ye Ge's proposal.
However, Su Musu and Su Yue insisted on taking no more than thirty percent at most, making that their absolute bottom line.
Left with no other choice, Ye Ge had to agree.
There was no written contract between them; it was entirely a verbal agreement.
Su Musu and Su Yue figured that even if the song did turn a profit, whether Ye Ge gave them anything or not was up to him—preferably not at all.
Yet Ye Ge was certainly going to pay them.
"Alright, it's settled then. I'll go scout out a recording studio over the next few days and give you a call."
Ye Ge planned to head out and look for one this very afternoon after seeing the sisters off.
"Okay."
Seeing that Ye Ge was about to leave, the sisters prepared to head home as well, since Su Musu still had her part-time job at the cafe that afternoon.
"Ye Ge?"
Just as the three of them prepared to leave together, Wang Hui's voice echoed from not far away.
Ye Ge looked up to see Yan Cici standing beside Wang Hui, staring at him in a daze.