Long Jian thought that it was all thanks to Jin Liwei that their plans were going smoothly so far. Never could he imagine that most of the work were done by Iris herself and that Jin Liwei was only assisting her.

Iris knew how Long Jian thought of her, but she didn't care, allowing him to continue thinking this way. It was better for him to underestimate her and view her as a lesser threat than Long Hui because even though they were currently allied, she still couldn't fully trust him. Both of them were aiming for the same thing after all—to win the battle of succession.

After their meeting, she left Long Industries and hurried to her next work commitments. Her schedule today was packed to the point that she barely had any time to rest. Even while travelling from one location to another, she continued studying and working inside the executive van.

[This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! -Arria]

By evening, she met with Enrique Valdez at a five-star restaurant inside a hotel to finally discuss their music collaboration. The legendary hitmaker already felt tired travelling all over the country's tourist spots, so he decided that it was time to settle down in his penthouse unit at one of Iris' Gold Heights condominium buildings. Then he contacted Iris and urged her to start working on their collaboration.

Iris was very excited and had lots of ideas about what kind of music she wanted to create with the legendary hitmaker. In her past life as Evelina, Enrique Valdez was also her music instructor so she already felt comfortable interacting with him especially when it was about music. Of course, he didn't know that she was already his student in the past. All he knew was that Iris was very easy to get along with despite his intimidating taciturn personality.

Despite their connection in her past life, this would still be the first time that she would be creating music with him for the purpose of releasing it to the world. This was one of her ultimate dreams—to share her music to as many people as possible. What was even more amazing was that she was collaborating with the best of the best, the legendary hitmaker Enrique Valdez! A superstar!

She still had much to learn from such an illustrious figure in the music industry because Enrique Valdez had continued to improve a lot since their time as an instructor and student in her past life as Evelina. Geniuses never stopped learning and striving for their idea of perfection.

Inside the restaurant, the ambience was elegant and classy yet understated. The beautiful cello melody of Saint-Saëns's "Le cygne"("The Swan") played in the background. Both Iris and Enrique Valdez remained silent while eating their full-course dinner in order to appreciate the lovely classical music.

They were in a private room because not only was Iris a popular celebrity in China but Enrique Valdez was also a global superstar. Although this was a high-class restaurant and most of its guests wouldn't react like mindless fans upon seeing them, the two still decided to enter the restaurant incognito to prevent any unnecessary fuss. They preferred to have a peaceful dinner while discussing their music collaboration.

Iris had fond memories of this restaurant because it was where she had her first meeting with JJ and "auditioned" with "Phantom of Your Love". It was also where she met Madam Feng Wan and the lady's three posh friends who were now her loyal fans and important officers in her fan club, the Black Stars.

Remembering that time, Iris couldn't help but smile. That moment was when her dream of performing her music to the world finally felt achievable. So many things happened since then. It felt like yesterday but also felt like a lifetime.

After a silent but comfortable dinner, Iris and Enrique Valdez enjoyed hot tea and began their discussion. She shared her ideas to him while he listened in silence.

"Your music is evolving," he commented after a pause in the conversation. "You're now shifting from darker and soulful tones to a more romantic style, starting from when you collaborated with Chonglin."

She nodded, smiling. "I just feel very inspired right now."

"I can see that. But based on "Shining Eyes" and "Passionate Flames", you still have a lot of room for improvement. There's still a sense of awkwardness and immaturity in the romantic aspect of your music."

Iris paid rapt attention to Enrique Valdez's words. They were discussing ideas for their music collaboration but she also treated this as a precious lesson time with a world-class music instructor. Indeed, after listening to Enrique Valdez's opinions about her latest music with Jin Chonglin, she agreed with him that she still had much to learn and improve in developing her repertoire of musical styles, techniques and execution.

If she was a normal person, she would have felt dejected after an ultra-bigshot like Enrique Valdez criticized her work. However, she wasn't normal. She was a certified genius like him! So instead of dejection, she felt energized, challenged and inspired.

"Reflect on what I told you," he told her.

"Yes, Teacher. I will. Thank you."

"For our music collab, I'll let you take the lead as to what kind of music you want to create. What I want people to remember when they hear our music is you first, not me. Understand?"

Her eyes lit up, feeling even more motivated. "Yes! I'll do my best."

"It might be you taking the lead but that doesn't mean that I'll let you do whatever you want. If what you present me is crap, I won't give you Enrique Valdez's seal of approval. Disappoint me and I'll abandon this collab and maybe even drop you as my student." His mesmerizing hazel eyes narrowed, observing her reaction.

She didn't back down and looked at him directly in the eyes, showing him her determination. "I understand. I won't disappoint you, Teacher."

He nodded, satisfied by her answer. Then he waved a hand, gesturing for her to get to work. He already said all he needed to say, so he reverted to his usual taciturn self who valued his words more than gold.

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