"Female: I don’t know what you’re thinking

Still at that same place, on that same street

The night we broke up

Both: That lingering, intimate place..."

It was a duet for a male and female singer.

Long Yue made a point of looking up the male singer’s name. It turned out to be Cang Hong, her sister-in-law’s singer partner.

And the song’s title was "Bund No. 18."

She didn’t know what the title meant, but based on the lyrics, she gathered it was a place steeped in memory.

"Male: A rainy night

Female: A street all too familiar

Male: All the feelings

Female: Have lost their fervent flame..."

Having never experienced a love so deep it was etched into her very bones, Long Yue couldn’t quite empathize with the song’s lyrics.

But that didn’t stop her from finding it beautiful.

As for those who could relate, they were mostly struck by the line: "I understand all too well that love isn’t everything you want."

After all, even in the Interstellar era, couples were still broken up for being a poor match in social standing.

This was especially true for the mothers of certain males. They had long since arranged their sons’ marriages and would not tolerate them dating freely. Unless the female they chose possessed a superior family background and talent, it was out of the question.

One only had to look at Ni Jia. Even if he wanted to escape the Ni family, he couldn’t just find any female.

So, there were certainly people who could relate.

But what resonated more deeply with most people in the Interstellar era was the feeling of being mismatched. Due to incompatible talents, many didn’t even dare to confess their love.

...

After listening to the two songs, Long Yue played them on repeat twice more, left a comment, and then turned off her Light Computer.

The people around her had also listened along several times.

"Axiu, you’re a pretty good singer, aren’t you? Come on, let’s give this ’Bund No. 18’ a try."

Axiu was quite interested in the song himself, so he readily agreed. "All right."

The two began their karaoke session while the other males continued to drink alcohol-flavored Inhibitors. The private room was bathed in dim, suggestive lighting.

The other males exchanged glances. Once Long Yue was occupied by the others, they immediately followed Axiu to the men’s restroom.

They taunted him, "Just what you’d expect from a flamboyant Mermaid Beastman. You sure are quick to hook up with a female."

"Thank you for the compliment. We Mermaid Beastmen are indeed popular with females. It’s a genetic gift, so there’s no point in being jealous."

After admiring his own beauty in the mirror for several tens of seconds, Axiu washed his hands and made to leave.

However, these males, who usually had so much fun with him, apparently weren’t going to let him off that easily.

"Axiu, we’re all friends here. Since you’ve hooked up with Princess Long Yue, you should be willing to help us out, right?"

"Oh? And how am I supposed to help you?"

"It’s simple. Put in a few good words for us with Her Highness, or just tell her you want us to be like brothers.

If that doesn’t work, just invite us to hang out more often so we get a chance to interact with Her Highness."

Axiu asked with a smile, "Anything else? There are so many of us. Surely you don’t all want to marry the same female master, do you?"

"Of course not. If we all married the same female master, wouldn’t we have to compete for her favor?

When the time comes, you can have Princess Long Yue introduce us to the other princesses. Her sister-in-law, Miss Jiang Qin, is a good option too."

In the past, they might not have even considered Jiang Qin.

After all, for them, a female from the Federation, even an S-level one, was a choice of last resort.

But things were different now. Since the release of her film, Jiang Qin’s status had transformed completely.

In the future, both the Federation and the Empire would be clamoring to work with her.

Therefore, becoming her partner wouldn’t invite ridicule. On the contrary, they could leverage the influence of those who wanted to collaborate with her or owed her favors.

If they managed to become her partners, even their own families might have to start treating them with deference.

Just look at Ni Jia now.

Ever since helping Jiang Qin a few times and securing her agency rights, he had not only raked in a fortune but had also gained a significant voice within the Ni family.

Therefore, Jiang Qin was now on their list of potential mates.

Hearing this, however, Axiu just laughed. "What do you take me for? A Wishing Spring?"

First other princesses, then Princess Long Yue’s sister-in-law... They were talking as if he was the princess’s one true love.

’We just sang one song together. Even I don’t dare to think that way, so how dare they!’ 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not willing to give your brothers a leg up?"

Axiu’s dazzling, almond-shaped eyes crinkled in an even brighter smile. "How could I dare? If I actually said that, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be walking out of this restroom today, would I?"

"Good. As long as you know. We’re all brothers here. Don’t force our hand."

Faced with their ruthless glares, Axiu remained utterly unfazed, even taking a moment to leisurely adjust his shirt cuffs.

"Of course I know. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve pulled something like this.

Don’t worry. If the day ever comes that I make it big, I certainly won’t forget you... my dear ’brothers.’"

Only then did the men break into smiles. "See? We’re all brothers. Better to stick with us than compete against strangers you don’t know. This way, we can all help each other out."

After they finished, the group left, laughing and talking amongst themselves, leaving Axiu alone to watch his own smile slowly vanish in the mirror.

He then walked out of the restroom, his expression blank, and returned to the private room.

Throughout the entire exchange, Long Yue hadn’t noticed the subtle tension between them. Or perhaps she simply didn’t care.

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Qin thought no more of the matter after releasing the songs.

’It’s so great having a partner who can sing,’ she thought. ’Now I’ll always have a fixed partner for duets.’

In the following days, she busied herself with contacting people to film *Farewell My Concubine*.

After giving it some thought, the first director who came to mind was Mrs. Yin.

And Mrs. Yin, after reading the script, expressed great interest. "I can’t believe it. Just the other day I was telling you I hoped we’d have the chance to collaborate again.

And so soon, ’next time’ has already arrived."

"I didn’t expect it either. To be honest, you were the first person who came to mind."

"In that case, I’ll shamelessly accept," Mrs. Yin replied. "I have a feeling this film will be a massive hit. It should do just as well as *Rebirth Night* is doing now."

Jiang Qin smiled. "Honestly, I’m not that fixated on whether it becomes a hit. I just want to produce these works and share them with everyone."

"You live so freely, Miss Jiang Qin. When I was your age, I couldn’t be nearly as carefree."

When Mrs. Yin was young, she was proud and fiercely ambitious, singularly focused on directing films that could win awards.

She would almost never accept a script that interested her personally if she didn’t think it would be a critical success.

But at her current age, she had set aside her competitive nature and begun to take on scripts that genuinely piqued her interest.

Of course, having spent so many years in the entertainment industry, she had read innumerable scripts, so it was truly rare for one to capture her attention.

And yet, Jiang Qin had presented her with two such scripts in a row, both of which she was eager to work on.