Chapter Five: Show Yourself!

“Let’s sing some songs in the stream tonight.” As soon as Lin Ze finished speaking, he spotted the words “plagiarist dog” scrolling by in the chat.

“Plagiarist dogs have no professional ethics! Can’t even be a decent person, let alone an artist! Bad influence on minors! I propose we ban Lin Ze the plagiarist dog!”

Yes, the songs are ones I’ve carried over—but they’re from another world. What does that have to do with you?

With a hint of playful affection in his tone, Lin Ze said, “Every day it’s ‘plagiarist dog’ this and that, but when I ask which song I supposedly plagiarized, you all can’t name a single one. You guys…”

“You really are a bunch of little rascals.”

Even the haters were caught off guard by this.

“What???”

“Streamer, did you drink lard for dinner? Why are you so greasy?”

“Ugh…”

The number of viewers soared; by now, everyone who was coming had probably arrived. Lin Ze patted his guitar and cleared his throat.

“Alright, first song! ‘Andersen Never Regrets’—this one’s for you all!”

“When I was a child, loud and willful, Old Johnny would always tell me stories to coax me. After hearing so many, I started making up my own. The grown-ups all praised little An for his extraordinary talent.”

The moment Lin Ze opened his mouth, it was a rap. The audience was stunned.

That very morning, Jiang Dasheng had commented on Lin Ze’s wildly inconsistent creative style. Who could have guessed that by the evening, Lin Ze would switch genres again and perform a rap?

“Is this a clapback? Lin is awesome, go Lin!”

“Haters, listen up! You’re about to get schooled!”

“Wait a second, these lyrics…”

Almost as if responding to the comment, Lin Ze rapped the next lines:

“Eyes drift from the work itself, stirring up topics and news. Making mountains out of molehills, speaking as if by accident. Wishing for a meteoric rise, but never getting noticed. Wilted now, wilted, and you call me a diva, Andersen.”

The chat exploded. Many passersby and even some who usually disliked Jiang Dasheng instantly hit the follow button.

Well, now he’s just openly insulting him!

Music critic Jiang Dasheng was also in the stream at that moment. Listening to the song, his face turned as black as charcoal.

Every word seemed to stab straight into his heart; it was as if Lin Ze was about to spell out his ID number in the lyrics.

Jiang Dasheng opened a document, ready to hammer out a response, but after raising his hands and thinking for a long while, he didn’t know what to write.

Frustrated, he closed the document and stared at Lin Ze, who was still singing.

When Lin Ze finished the song, he set his guitar aside.

“Alright, that’s my reply. I won’t name names.”

He spoke lightly, stretched lazily, and said, “Song requests, anyone? What do you want to hear next?”

As Lin Ze scrolled through the chat, he suddenly noticed a comment:

“Lin, why is there a red mark on your neck? It’s even shaped like a heart! Is that a tattoo sticker?”

“Heh, good question.” Lin Ze leaned in closer to the camera, showing his neck.

“It’s a hickey. Take a look, everyone. I’ve seen people online doubting our relationship. But tell me, when your boyfriend or girlfriend gives you a hickey, can they just magically make a heart shape in one go?”

“Oh!”

Lin Ze suddenly seemed to realize something, covering his mouth in mock shock.

“Oh my god! Don’t tell me there are still people here who are single?”

Viewers who had watched last night’s bar stream all wore polite smiles.

He’s at it again!

This guy is at it again!

At that moment, the bedroom door knocked twice before opening. Su Zitan walked in, carrying a bowl of cut fruit.

“Have some fruit,” Su Zitan said softly, placing the bowl on the table beside Lin Ze. “I’ll head out now.”

“Don’t go!” Lin Ze grabbed her hand. “I’m about to sing a love song. If you’re not here, I won’t be able to sing it.”

“What are you saying! There are so many people in the stream…” Su Zitan blushed.

Lin Ze stood up, pulled her to sit down, and then ran out to bring in another chair.

“Hello, everyone!” Su Zitan waved to the viewers.

The chat erupted.

“She’s so beautiful!”

“I want to do as Cao Cao did, yet I lack Dian Wei to guard me…”

“A perfect match, talented man and beautiful woman…”

Lin Ze watched the comments as Su Zitan offered him a piece of watermelon.

With a hint of pride, Lin Ze threw a glance at the camera. He didn’t say anything, but the meaning was clear.

Tigerfish Live’s staff also noticed Lin Ze’s stream and immediately promoted it to the top spot in the music section.

The popularity shot up. Even people who hadn’t paid Lin Ze much attention before entered the stream.

By now, Lin Ze had swallowed the watermelon and swept his fingers across the guitar strings.

“Get ready, next song—‘Those Years’!”

As the guitar chords rang out, Lin Ze began singing with a voice full of youthful nostalgia.

“Back to the very beginning, your fresh, innocent face in my memory. We’ve finally made it to this day. Old photos beneath the desk mats, countless memories connected.”

“Tonight, the boy is keeping his last date with the girl.”

As Lin Ze sang, everyone seemed transported back to their own youth.

“I wish I could go back to those years. Back to the classroom, to tease you for a gentle scolding. The combinations on the blackboard—would you solve them? Who sat with whom, and who loved whom?”

The stream grew quiet—even the haters fell silent.

Lin Ze let out a gentle breath.

“The rain we missed, the love we missed. I wish I could hold you, to have the courage I missed. Once I wanted to conquer the world, but looking back, I found—the world, every bit of it, was you.”

Jiang Dasheng sat frozen at his computer.

The lyrics weren’t particularly ornate, nor did the song have the gut-wrenching sorrow of other love songs.

Yet somehow, he felt transported back to high school, sitting in class, tentatively flirting with the girl he liked.

But youth always leaves regrets.

The song pulled everyone back to that time, those memories of things left undone.

“If I meet you again, I’ll hold you tight, so tight…”

As the song faded, the audience remained lost in reminiscence.

Suddenly, a cry snapped everyone back to the present.

On the stream, Lin Ze was clutching his arm, grimacing in pain.

Beside him, Su Zitan looked at him with a half-smile.

“So you can’t sing without me here, is that it?”

“Want to go back to those years? Back to the classroom, teasing someone for a gentle scolding?”

“Tell me, who was sitting in front or behind you?”

Back then, even though Su Zitan was two grades ahead of Lin Ze, she often came to his class to see him.

Now that she thought about it, memories flooded back.

“That little girl surnamed Li, right? I remember you used to bring her breakfast every day!”

With Lin Ze’s past exposed, the chat burst into laughter.

Showing off, were you? Serves you right!