Chapter Thirty-Five: An Event of Great Magnitude, Earth-Shattering News

Footsteps echoed on the stairs.

Lin Ze descended, cradling a child in his arms.

The two police officers were suddenly confronted by the bizarre sight of an old woman, nearly six feet tall with unmistakably masculine legs, holding a baby. For an instant, goosebumps prickled across their skin.

The female officer, visibly shaken, grabbed hold of her colleague’s leg.

“I’m the one who called the police—this should be Zhu Juan’s child,” Lin Ze said, reverting to his natural voice.

The scene could not have been more peculiar. At last, the more senior officer recovered his composure.

“Ahem, please wait a moment. I’ll contact the precinct.”

...

That afternoon, Su Zitan received a message from the production team: Lin Ze had found the child and was unharmed.

Only then did Su Zitan breathe a sigh of relief and instruct Xiao Qian to restart the livestream.

She herself sat before the ethereal drum, practicing the piece she would perform the next day.

In the park, a few uncles and aunts were still dancing, having hauled a large speaker to the square, where they played “Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond.”

Before long, as everyone practiced, their hands unconsciously drifted into the melody of “Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond.”

“Let’s take a break, take a break,” Old Wang said, waving his hand.

The group paused their rehearsal.

“That song is everywhere these days—even I’m sick of it,” Old Wang said helplessly. “If this keeps up, we’ll have to find a quieter room to practice.”

[Old Wang’s sick of it too. I can’t stand it either. The aunties downstairs dance to it morning and night—I have ‘Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond’ stuck in my head.]

[Damn, bro upstairs is just like me. That song’s everywhere—I’m starting to feel nauseous just hearing it.]

Su Zitan considered. “We could go to a music shop, or maybe rent a music room at the school.”

“The competition is tomorrow… let’s just stick with this for now.”

Soon, Old Wang received a message from the organizers.

Eight groups had passed the preliminary round. The eight teams would be divided into four groups for the next stage, with one group eliminated in each match-up. The specific opponents would be determined by drawing lots.

And—

This time, because the higher-ups knew “Moonlight Over the Lotus Pond” was Lin Ze’s work, they required the competition to be livestreamed, not only online but also by the television station.

In recent years, Tong County had been developing its tourism industry, using the old research institute at the foot of Jiuqu Mountain and Jingtian Mountain as its foundation for growth.

This event was a chance to greatly raise Tong County’s profile.

Old Wang, reading through the messages, couldn’t help but sigh. “Looks like we really might hit it big. If we get selected as an arts troupe, even if we’re not famous nationwide, we’ll be known at least in Sichuan.”

“All thanks to Lin and Su,” he added.

“It’s nothing,” Su Zitan replied with a smile. “Lin Ze always told me that making music is all about the joy of it. As long as we’re happy, it’s worth it—even if we don’t become famous.”

“Exactly,” an aunt chimed in, nodding. “We never set out to make a name for ourselves. But if more people get to see us… it just feels good, like someone’s acknowledging us.”

Su Zitan had prepared costumes for everyone—they’d all tried them on and the fit was perfect. The costumes, based on qipao and Zhongshan suit designs, would certainly make for a striking stage appearance tomorrow.

Once Lin Ze finished giving his statement to the police, he hurried over to the park.

He’d changed back into his previous outfit, as if that towering old woman had never existed.

The moment Su Zitan saw him, she grabbed his arm, feeling him over to make sure he was unharmed.

“Hey, I heard you even got into a fight?” Su Zitan scolded, pinching Lin Ze’s arm hard—a habit from their childhood that had not changed.

“Ouch…”

Lin Ze quickly covered the tender inside of his arm.

“That wasn’t my intention. I disguised myself as a neighborhood auntie to check on the baby, but they wouldn’t let me in—obviously suspicious.”

He drew Su Zitan into a hug. “It scared me to death. That guy came at me with a switchblade.”

“Hmph,” Su Zitan snorted. “How could you dare?”

“When the arrow is nocked, it must be released,” Lin Ze sighed.

Fortunately…

Fortunately, in his previous life, he’d had a deranged fan trailing after him, which had forced him to learn some self-defense.

“What happened, Lin?” Old Wang asked.

The two of them suddenly remembered the group of aunts and uncles watching nearby, and quickly separated.

“Big things,” Lin Ze said with a grin.

“Oh? How big?” Old Wang raised an eyebrow, unscrewing his thermos and taking a drink.

“Huge—way more important than singing.”

“Yeah, right,” Old Wang scoffed, unconvinced.

[Lin’s back? Where’d he go—spend all afternoon in the bathroom?]

[He looks healthy—I didn’t expect him to be so frail.]

[At today’s competition, someone sang Lin’s ‘What Kind of Man,’ and everyone backstage looked grim.]

Lin Ze couldn’t talk about the afternoon’s events yet—the police were still interrogating the suspects, trying to see if there was anything bigger behind them.

“I missed lunch. I was looking forward to it,” Lin Ze said, disappointed.

“If we win tomorrow, we’ll go again—my treat!” Old Wang declared grandly.

“Thank you, Brother Wang,” Lin Ze said, bowing.

“Get lost—call me Uncle Wang.”

...

That evening, just as the two of them returned to the villa, Ji Chen appeared out of nowhere.

“Lin, I heard you had quite an adventure today?” Ji Chen asked with a mischievous grin. “What happened?”

“Can’t say, can’t say,” Lin Ze replied, clapping a hand over his mouth.

Just then, another car pulled up and Zhao Funing and Pei Xue got out.

Pei Xue narrowed her eyes at the sight of Lin Ze and Su Zitan.

“Director Zhang asked me some pointed questions this afternoon, and that was exactly when Lin disappeared…” Pei Xue drawled, fishing for information.

“It was me!” Lin Ze admitted.

“Oh? You—”

“Can’t say,” Su Zitan cut in for him.

So mysterious…

The other two groups eyed them with suspicion.

Chen Weiguo and Bai Qiong soon returned as well.

As soon as they got out, Chen Weiguo beamed at Lin Ze. “Hey, Lin!”

But Su Zitan and Lin Ze shook their heads quickly. “Can’t say, can’t say…”

“What do you mean, can’t say? I saw in the chat someone said Lin had diarrhea all afternoon. We bought you some medicine at the pharmacy.”

Bai Qiong gently handed a box of medicine to Su Zitan.

“It’s normal to get an upset stomach after eating spicy food here—don’t be embarrassed.”

“Uh…”

“Well done, Lin,” Ji Chen joked, slapping Lin Ze on the shoulder. “You really did something big—still standing here after a whole afternoon in distress. That’s impressive!”