Chapter 147: Jiang Lele's Cousin

Hearing Jiang Lele's words, Lin Yu, who was in the middle of opening the door, glanced back at her and said word for word, "I'm sorry, no matter how fascinating something might be, it cannot compare to the safety of my friends."

Just at that moment, he suddenly noticed a red taxi pulling up in front of the Grand Western Bakery, from which three graceful figures emerged.

Seeing Yang Zhilin and Xiao Qiangwei stepping out from the back door, along with Qi Yue who was in the front passenger seat paying the fare, a faint smile appeared at the corners of Lin Yu's lips, and he thought to himself, As long as they are safe, everything is fine.

When the three of them sneaked toward the entrance like little thieves, Lin Yu walked back to his previous seat with a light smile, sat down opposite Jiang Lele, and said, "Pardon me, let's continue our conversation."

"Alright, then I'll carry on," Jiang Lele said with a smile, continuing, "After you went home, did you take a close look at that prize?"

"What prize? You know, what I care about is not this so-called prize," Lin Yu shook his head and said.

At the same time, the three lovely figures slipped quietly into the spacious hall of the Grand Western Bakery amidst the gentle strains of Western classical music.

Seeing that Lin Yu's back was turned to the three of them, a signature triumphant smile bloomed on Qi Yue's face, and the three of them chose a table in a remote corner far away from Lin Yu.

"The girls are quite amusing," Jiang Lele said, covering her mouth with a light chuckle as she figured out what was going on. She then went on, "I know what you need, and I can more or less guess what you are trying to do. The prize I mentioned is that honorary certificate presented to Qi Yue that day."

"What about that certificate?" Lin Yu asked with a puzzled expression. Now that he was certain the three girls were safe, he could finally relax.

"That certificate bears my cousin's signature, you know~" Jiang Lele said, a look of pride on her face.

Just as she spoke these words, a waiter arrived to serve the dishes. Taking advantage of the moment to make space for the server, Lin Yu glanced back at the three girls, a playful smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"They really are your true loves, aren't they?" Jiang Lele remarked, taking in Lin Yu's reaction.

"What are you even talking about? Let's get back to business," Lin Yu said after settling back into his seat. "Does your cousin's signature have anything to do with the matter I care about? Oh, right, it must have some connection after all, since he is the owner of the music store."

"No, no, no! The signature I'm talking about doesn't belong to Cousin Lang Yunfan, but to someone else~" Jiang Lele said with a mysterious smile.

"You certainly have quite a few cousins. Which one is this?" Lin Yu asked, pouring half a glass of red wine for both of them. He then raised his glass in a toast and said, "Regardless of everything else, I'm going to have to trouble you for your help this time. Let's have a drink."

"All right, cheers." Jiang Lele gracefully lifted her wine glass, swirled the contents lightly, and toasted with Lin Yu.

After finishing the drink, she continued, "That cousin of mine is named Lang Lang."

"Cough... Cough..."

Lin Yu, who was in the middle of savoring his red wine, nearly choked to death on a gulp of wine upon hearing the name Lang Lang. After coughing for a while, he asked in astonishment, "Say that again, what is his name?"

"Lang Lang, from Shenyang, Liaoning. He's extraordinarily talented and has won numerous major piano awards. He even has a certain degree of international renown~" Jiang Lele explained with a hint of pride in her voice.

"I know him, I know him," Lin Yu replied excitedly, a tempest of emotions stirring deep within his heart.

How could he possibly not have heard of the piano prodigy Lang Lang? According to his memories from his previous life, the man had been hailed by several authoritative American media outlets as "the most gifted and brilliant idol superstar of our time."

Furthermore, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the world-class Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Big Five orchestras of the United States.

He was even named by *People* magazine as one of the "20 youths who will change the world."

As for nicknames like "the most successful pianist in the world today" and "the symbol of China's soaring takeoff," there were simply too many to count.

Compared to ordinary pop singers and movie stars, Lin Yu held a profound fondness and reverence for this musical genius.

Although Lang Lang had already begun to make a name for himself on the international music scene by the year 2002, his domestic influence was not yet as massive as it would become a few years later.

Seeing that Lin Yu, who had remained calm all along, was suddenly so excited, Jiang Lele felt a slight trace of surprise. With a smile, she said, "We borrowed our recording equipment from his team. Cousin Yunfan is Cousin Lang Lang's paternal cousin, so his word carries a lot of weight."

"There's even that connection! Are they close relatives?" Lin Yu asked with curiosity.

Jiang Lele pondered for a moment, organizing her thoughts before replying, "Fairly close, I suppose. The grandfather of Cousin Yunfan and myself was a brother to Cousin Lang Lang's grandfather."

"Oh, then that really isn't a distant relation," Lin Yu remarked, beginning to turn various thoughts over in his mind.

"Hey, why are you zoning out? I was just about to get to the main point!" Jiang Lele said with a hint of dissatisfaction upon noticing Lin Yu's wandering attention.

The two of them had been chatting all this time, only occasionally taking sips of wine, while the steaks and caviar remained completely untouched.

Looking at the Western dishes quietly placed on the table, Lin Yu said with renewed interest, "Go ahead, I've been listening all along."

"Right, so last time your little girlfriends Qi Yue and Yang Zhilin both played piano pieces, didn't they? Cousin Lang Lang saw them in the video and felt that the two girls are very spiritual. He wants to know if there's any opportunity for collaboration. In particular, he loves that little poem very much and has been relentlessly asking who the author is!" Jiang Lele looked at him with expectant eyes after finishing.

After pondering for a moment, Lin Yu said, "That little poem is just a casual doodle of mine. If Master Lang Lang likes it, he is welcome to compose a piece of music to express the poem anew. As for Xiao Yue and Zhilin, their studies remain their primary focus for now, and they won't be branching out in other directions."

"Hehe, the moment your little girlfriend is mentioned, you get all excited. To be honest with you, my cousin said he simply fell in love with this poem and would like to meet the author to see if there's any chance of collaborating in the future," Jiang Lele explained in a crisp, clear voice.

Hearing her put it this way, Lin Yu smiled somewhat awkwardly. Feeling that he had acted a bit petty, he laughed at himself and then said with a serious expression, "It would be the utmost honor of my life, Lin Yu, to collaborate with Master Lang Lang. I wonder when he might have some free time?"

"Cousin will certainly be thrilled to learn that you agree to meet him. However, he is currently in Germany and won't return to China for another month."

Hearing Jiang Lele's words, Lin Yu felt a slight pang of disappointment, but a moment later, he smiled happily.

An amusingly classic line from martial arts novels popped into his head: *The green mountains remain unchanged, and the green waters flow on indefinitely.*

Right at that moment, however, a waiter who was serving dishes to Qi Yue and her companions suddenly cried out at the top of his lungs, "Wow, you're Jasmine!!"

At his shout, every gaze in the entire hall was instantly drawn toward them. In a flash, Xiao Qiangwei and the others were thrust into the absolute spotlight.