Chapter 24: A Tale of Two Studios: Fire and Ice

"Really?" Li Yanzhi’s eyes lit up, full of envy. "Xixi, does that mean you two are almost official?"

"Whether we become a couple or not depends on his sincerity," Xu Xi replied, pretending to be coy, though ripples of excitement stirred within her heart. She had always believed that a wealthy young heir like Gu Haotian was the goal she truly ought to pursue. Lin Qianfan? He was nothing more than a sycophant. Yet, recalling his cold attitude toward her earlier, a sense of unwillingness surfaced. "I'd like to see how long he can keep up this arrogance."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Qianfan returned to the classroom, tossed his backpack onto his seat, and began searching through his desk. Xia Ruo, sitting nearby, stole a glance at him, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately lowered her head to continue her homework. Lin Qianfan grabbed a notebook and left again.

In the corridor, other students lowered their voices, whispering. "Did you hear? Lin Qianfan is setting up some kind of campus e-commerce platform, and the school even provided him with a classroom."

"Is that for real? Since when has the school cared so much about him?"

"What else could it be? He took first place in the math competition; the principal has to curry favor with him."

"Tch, if I had known, I would’ve worked harder. Maybe I could’ve gotten that kind of treatment too."

These conversations reached the ears of Gu Haotian just as he arrived at the classroom door. He frowned slightly and turned to his lackey. "Lin Qianfan? He’s starting an e-commerce platform? And the school gave him space?"

"That’s right, Brother Haotian, I just heard it from someone," the lackey nodded eagerly.

"Heh, he’s just a sports student. What kind of platform could he possibly build?" Gu Haotian sneered, his tone dripping with disdain.

Gu Haotian never lacked girls chasing after him, but he had no interest in these infatuated types. He had been paying attention to Xia Ruo lately; she was different from the girls who only circled him—low-key and resilient—and he found her attractive. What annoyed him was that every time he saw Xia Ruo, Lin Qianfan was always there. Hearing these rumors now stirred an inexplicable hostility within him.

"Let’s go see what kind of mess he's making." Gu Haotian strode toward the East Building, his lackey scurrying to keep up.

In Classroom 305 of the East Building, Lin Qianfan and a few friends from his dorm were huddled around computers. Several brand-new machines were set up in the room, and the tables were piled with documents.

"This shopping cart function needs optimization; the user experience is too stiff," Lin Qianfan said, pointing at the screen and offering revisions.

"Got it, noted," Yong Pan replied, tapping away at the keyboard.

"And the payment interface—we need to integrate that as soon as possible. There’s a significant issue there," Lin Qianfan added.

Just then, the classroom door was pushed open. "Yo, quite busy, aren't we?" Gu Haotian walked in, his gaze sweeping over the others before landing on Lin Qianfan.

Lin Qianfan looked up. "Something you need?"

"I heard you were building some e-commerce platform, so I came to take a look." Gu Haotian walked over to a computer, flipping through the documents on the table with a look of disdain. "This is it?"

"Yes, this is it," Lin Qianfan replied flatly, refusing to take the bait.

Gu Haotian raised an eyebrow, a cold smirk tugging at his lips. "Lin Qianfan, aren't you being a bit naive? With just this, what kind of splash do you think you can make?"

"Whether or not I make a splash is none of your concern, Young Master Gu," Lin Qianfan replied calmly.

"Heh," Gu Haotian scoffed. "You really think you're something, don't you? Starting an e-commerce platform? Do you even understand business?"

"Better than you do," Lin Qianfan looked up, meeting his eyes with a steady gaze.

Gu Haotian was choked by the retort, his expression turning sour. "Fine, we’ll see about that." With that, he turned and left the room.

"Qianfan, what was that all about?" Yong Pan asked with a frown.

"What else? He just doesn't like the look of me," Lin Qianfan shrugged. "Ignore him, let's keep working."

"Do you think he’s going to try and start something too?" Da Wei asked with concern.

"Let him," Lin Qianfan said dismissively. "If he wants to compete, we just need to achieve even better results and show him what real capability looks like." The group nodded and returned to their work.

Meanwhile, after leaving the East Building, Gu Haotian went straight to the principal's office. "Principal, I have an entrepreneurial plan as well, and I’d like to request a classroom."

The principal looked up. "Oh? You want to start a business? Tell me about your plan."

"I want to create a high-end student service platform," Gu Haotian said confidently. "We have many wealthy students in this school, and their needs cannot be met by a common e-commerce platform."

The principal nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting, but you need to present a concrete plan first."

"No problem," Gu Haotian agreed. "I’ll have it ready as soon as possible."

At the same time, the meeting room at Lanxing Studio was buzzing with activity.

"The click count has broken two hundred thousand!"

"It hasn't even been three days since the launch—this is insane!"

"The comments section is full of praise, especially regarding the lyrics; they’re being hailed as legendary!"

A group of people crowded around the screen, pointing at the data charts and discussing excitedly. Director Song Qiyun stood by the table holding a briefing; though her expression was composed, her eyes betrayed a sense of triumph.

"This is the kind of performance we should have." She closed the briefing and scanned the room. "But don't get too happy; this is only the beginning. Next week, I want to see this song on the trending list across all platforms."

"Understood!" the staff replied in unison.

However, the atmosphere at Xunmeng Studio was a stark contrast. Director Xiao Peng slammed his files onto the table, his rage reaching a boiling point.

"Less than five thousand clicks! The comments section is nothing but negative reviews! Look at this garbage!" He pointed to the song playing on the screen. "With a melody like this, does it even deserve these lyrics? Are you all blind?"

The conference room was deathly silent; no one dared to speak. Supervisor Ning Yuanzhou kept his head down, his palms sweating.

"Director Xiao, this... this might be an issue with the target audience..."

"Audience?" Xiao Peng sneered. "You dare blame the audience? Then how did Lanxing Studio’s *Jiangnan* become such a hit?"

"They used Lin Qianfan’s lyrics too. Why can they succeed while we fail?"

Ning Yuanzhou gritted his teeth and whispered, "Lanxing... their production team is stronger. Our side... the budget was limited, and perhaps..."

Xiao Peng slammed the table. "Limited budget, so you wrote the melody yourself? And what is this? A kindergarten broadcast exercise?"

Ning Yuanzhou kept his head low, unable to reply.

Xiao Peng continued with a cold laugh, "And you still dare to talk about the audience? Look at the comments—anyone can tell the melody is the weak link! I think all of you are just useless trash!"