10 Flamed and Frozen

When Chu Lian was seventeen and Chu Ju sixteen, Chu Duyi got into a car accident and died upon arrival in the hospital. The rest of the family grieved and even Chu Lian was saddened by this as even though she didn't really consider him as a father, he still treated Chu Lian as his own flesh and blood.

When Chu Duyi's lawyer announced how the assets would be distributed, the mother and daughter pair was even more aggrieved. Chu Duyi founded the Good Times Inc., it was a well-off publishing corporation where they have a number of newspapers, magazines, and even a number of books published under them. Almost half of Chu Duyi's properties were donated to charities while the remaining were given off to his family.

The remaining half of Duyi's properties were equally divided between Chu Lian and Chu Ju; and because of this, both mother and daughter hated Chu Lian even more. They think that as an adopted child, she didn't deserve to be on equal footing as Chu Ju, the legitimate heiress. Li Jiaming was distressed when half of the assets were given off to charity, so she didn't let Chu Ju take a fourth of Chu Duyi's fortune.

Chu Ju didn't want to argue with them so she herself gave up some of the inheritance and this somehow pleased the mother and daughter. She only kept the publishing firm that publishes books and comics as she herself likes to read. She also thought that it was the least she could do for her late foster father, Chu Duyi also wrote some books often about inspirational encounters he had as a philanthropist and he published his works under the same publishing firm.

Li Jiaming and Chu Ju was still unsatisfied that they didn't get everything from Chu Lian; however they just let it be as they think that the publishing firm was not earning much anyway and it's bound to close down soon and that is where the witch and her spawn were mistaken. It is one of Chu Duyi's regret in life he didn't had an heir, also one of the reasons why he gave up most of his life's work to charity. He knew very well about his wife and daughter's abilities in business and only left them with more than enough fortune to live their lives in comfort.

After Chu Lian graduated from high school, she moved out of the Chu residence and rented out an apartment near her university with her high school friend, Rou Xi. Chu Lian majored in computer science, she had no particular dream but she and Rou Xi found fun in adventuring the web; sometimes they would even do barely legal stuffs.

Chu Lian is not lacking in money as she still had the publishing firm running but most of its income were donated to the orphanage she came from. She only left enough of the earnings for her apartment rent and bills; she didn't had to pay for her school fees as she was so smart she, and Rou Xi as well, had full scholarships. She only did some part-time jobs so she would have some extra money to buy some snacks and gifts for the children in the orphanage.

Rou Xi, noticing that the ice cream was melting, woke Chu Lian from her daze, "Perhaps I could use your earlier endeavours as an inspiration for a new song but first check this out," she handed her headphone to Chu Lian then played the music she was listening earlier. She also handed the notepad with notes and lyrics on it.

Chu Lian listened to the music through the headphones and sang the lyrics in her mind with the notes as a guide for the melody. She nodded her head in appreciation as the song finished; she then said to Rou Xi, "As always, it is good but it's still a rough stone that needs polishing." "And that is why I waited for you here. We can arrange some of the parts to make it a duet then we can record and add a new playlist after I finish the other songs in progress." Rou Xi answered.

"I have written a few lyrics but had no tunes yet. I think it somehow matches the theme of that song just now." Chu Lian rushed to her own room and took a white notebook with various writings on it. She handed it to Rou Xi in which Rou Xi hummed a tune while reading the lyrics with her eyes. Rou Xi nodded and said, "This is also great, we can arrange this part this way."

They then got into serious work in making new songs. Back in high school, it was through music that two opposite people got close together. Chu Lian was a quiet and mature woman while Rou Xi was wild and feisty, she could also be pretty childish most of the time. Even their physical appearance is a contrast as well; if Chu Lian's beauty was like a gentle winter breeze, then Rou Xi is a whirlwind in the midst of summer. Chu Lian couldn't count how many times had she cleaned up Rou Xi's mess, and this is also the reason why Rou Xi's parents were really glad their untamed daughter have a friend like Chu Lian, despite the humble background of the latter.

When the two decided to move in together as they coincidentally chose the same university as well, they also began to record the songs they used to compose back in high school and uploaded the audios online under the pseudonym Flamed and Frozen. More than two years since then, they already had hundred thousands of fans online who liked their music and abbreviated the singers' name as FnF.

However, the two of them never showed their faces as they want people to like their music for the music, and not because of them as the singers.