"Sister Hua, what are you talking about? I didn't tell him!"
Hearing this, Xu Qingqiu also began to hesitate.
It would be fine if it wasn't Chu Tian, but if it really *was* him, that would be social death!
After all, the password for the office door lock was Chu Tian's birthday, a fact that, besides Sister Hua and Yiyi, no one else knew.
What if it really was him? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing?
It was as if a long-hidden secret had suddenly been exposed.
Moreover, given their current relationship, if this secret were revealed, she had no idea how she would deal with it.
Was it him? It couldn't be, right? For some reason, Xu Qingqiu's heart was torn. Half of her hoped it was him, while the other half prayed it wasn't, the contradiction reaching its peak.
"Forget it. Don't worry about who it was," Li Chunhua said. "The show's about to start, and now that we have the song, we've passed this hurdle without having to pay a penalty fee. Hurry up and practice; you can't afford to mess up when the time comes!"
"Wait! Don't rush," Li Chunhua interjected. "Have you checked? Has this song been registered for copyright? Who are the lyricist and composer?"
While Xu Qingqiu's mind was in disarray, Li Chunhua had already considered various possibilities and swiftly raised two crucial points.
"Ah? I... I haven't checked yet!"
"Hurry up and check! What if someone is setting a trap for you? If you sing it and then someone exposes it as plagiarism, you'll be completely ruined!"
Li Chunhua hurriedly opened the copyright website, feeling fortunate for her caution.
But after searching the website for some time, she couldn't find any information.
"Hmm? Nothing! No copyright information, nothing online, not a single trace! Could it really be a completely original new song?"
Xu Qingqiu, watching her, also snapped back to her senses.
"What should we do now? Sing this song or not?"
Li Chunhua thought for a moment and said, "Don't rush. Let me try registering the copyright first. If there are no issues, then we can sing it!"
She couldn't help but be careful; this was her most vulnerable time, and one simply couldn't be too cautious.
The copyright registration went smoothly and was approved in less than an hour.
"There, it's done. No problems now. We can sing with confidence."
"Ah? You've already finished registering? But wait! How did you register it without knowing who the author is?"
"It's simple. I just put your name down, didn't I?" Li Chunhua clapped her hands, looking completely unconcerned.
"How can that be okay?"
In this regard, Xu Qingqiu had a bit of a purist streak; it was clearly not her work, and having her name suddenly attached to it made her feel rather awkward.
"Oh, come on, what choice do we have? You don't know who created it, and neither do I. Should I have put my name down instead? Do you still want to sing this or not?"
"But Sister Hua, haven't you considered what happens if it's a trap? What if someone sues us?"
"I understand your concern. I've actually asked lawyers about this before. They said that even if it is infringement, at worst, we'd just have to compensate them for all the earnings."
"Are earnings what you're worried about right now? So what if you have to pay it all back? What you lack is exposure and fame, understand?"
"You'll earn it all back once you're on the show or getting endorsements!"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this part!"
"No, that's just not right. If it comes to it, I just won't sing."
"For heaven's sake! At a time like this, you're still agonizing over these things? Whoever gave you this song clearly wanted to help you."
"Even if we don't know who it is now, we'll find out sooner or later, right? If it comes to that, we can just update the registration information later, can't we?"
"Besides, we're just registering it; we're not announcing it to the world. When you upload the work, you can just clearly state the author's source, or even credit it to 'Anonymous,' right?"
"The copyright is just registered under your name; it's not like you're falsely claiming someone else's work! If they sue, we'll just admit it!"
After much persuasion from Li Chunhua, Xu Qingqiu finally relented.
By now, it was past ten in the morning, and the company staff were only just starting to trickle in. These employees were clearly late. However, since Xu Qingqiu and Li Chunhua hadn't paid salaries in a while, they didn't have strict expectations and decided it wasn't worth fussing over.
In stark contrast, Chu Tian was still fast asleep in bed. Having experienced time travel the day before, exhausted his brain cells assimilating new memories, and then spent considerable energy "observing the drama," he was utterly drained. He had collapsed into bed the moment he got home and hadn't woken up since.
Hmm? Where am I?
Waking up, still unaccustomed to his new identity, he looked around the messy, twenty-something-square-meter rented room in a daze. It took him a good while to realize he had time-traveled. He was no longer in his previous world; the six-story mansion was a thing of the past, never to return.
Never mind, he thought. I lived in a group dorm for over four years as a trainee, and then another three in a different one after debuting. Neither of those places was as comfortable as this. I came from humble beginnings anyway; I'm not that delicate. What's wrong with a rented room? Even if it's a kennel, as long as it's comfortable, it's fine.
Lying dejectedly on the bed, he picked up his phone and glanced at it: 11:20 AM. I can't believe I slept this long.
Wait a minute! 11:20 AM?
Damn it! Wasn't I supposed to go to work today?
This is terrible! Slacking off occasionally is one thing, but being this late... they wouldn't fire me, would they?
If I lose such a good job, wouldn't I really end up with nothing to eat?
No, absolutely not! I can slack off, I can goof around, but I absolutely cannot lose this job!
He sprang out of bed, washed his face and brushed his teeth with lightning speed, then dashed out to catch a bus to the studio.