Chapter Seventy: Cang Mountain and Ear Sea

Ever since the two of them came together, everything seemed to fall into place effortlessly, as if guided by fate itself. A match made in heaven, one might say.

This week, Lin Ze and Su Zitan went to Phoenix Park and signed the contract with Chang Zheng, renting an apartment for them. Soon, Thursday arrived, and tomorrow they would catch a flight to Night City to film a show. Now, Lin Ze and Su Zitan were nestled in bed, scrolling through their phones.

Suddenly, Lin Ze noticed the trending topics. The top search was no longer about him; he felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

“Li Xiyan elbows Wu Qian on set!”

Lin Ze nearly burst out laughing when he saw this headline. What was this? An elbow strike? The phrasing alone sounded comical.

“What’s up?” Su Zitan reached over and tapped the trending topic.

As soon as she opened it, there was a video to watch. It was quite clear; the clip showed Li Xiyan raising her arm and elbowing Wu Qian. But such a short video obviously couldn’t reveal the whole story. Lin Ze found Li Xiyan’s response video, which was much longer. In it, you could see Wu Qian pulling Li Xiyan into his embrace first.

“What’s with this guy? What’s he doing?” Su Zitan frowned. The man’s oily smile was unbearable.

“He’s a singer, not a particularly good one,” Lin Ze mused, considering the current situation. Wu Qian was trying to become the face of Chinese rap. He was about to launch a rap show. The problem was, he held a foreign passport and always believed Chinese music was inferior. So he mimicked foreign rap, but his basic skills were lacking, and he never truly mastered the overseas techniques either. He insisted on adding electronic music, but his singing was worse than AI-generated vocals. His private life was a mess too, making him the tumor of the entertainment circle.

After Lin Ze explained, Su Zitan’s brows knitted together. “What kind of person is he? So disgusting.”

“Being disgusting is normal. Zhang Yang isn’t much better. Strictly speaking, with the current state of the entertainment industry, these kinds of tumors will only multiply.” Lin Ze shook his head. “They get famous too easily now—just show their face, strike a pose, sing a couple songs, even if those songs are synthesized.”

“Then the capital behind them pushes the flow, and their fan numbers soar. Lacking experience and depth, few end up truly talented.”

Su Zitan found Lin Ze’s earnest demeanor amusing. She pinched his nose. “You sound like an old man.”

“Actually, I’m already sixty or seventy years old,” Lin Ze half-joked.

“That old? Don’t tell me you’re… not up to it anymore?” Su Zitan peeked at him mischievously.

Lin Ze’s head filled with question marks. “Is that a normal train of thought?”

“Hehe.”

Lin Ze glanced at the comment section and saw a barrage of insults. He felt uncomfortable, but didn’t have much standing to defend anyone. After all, Li Xiyan was just a potential client—jumping in would look like he was chasing clout.

As he was pondering, he noticed Zhang Yang had commented in the thread.

“Zhang Sheep: Pulling and tugging during a dance is perfectly normal, isn’t it? You’re overreacting, but no matter what, you shouldn’t hit someone.”

Lin Ze was irritated at Zhang Yang, especially since his comment was surrounded by sycophantic fans. Their words were particularly nasty.

“I want to curse him out,” Lin Ze glanced at Su Zitan.

“Go ahead,” Su Zitan tapped away on her phone.

Lin Ze looked over and saw Su Zitan defending Li Xiyan in the comment section. He joined in, replying under Zhang Yang’s comment.

“What business is it of yours? Why are you pretending to be a saint here? I don’t believe you’re ignorant of the truth.”

The animosity between them was already established; there was no chance for reconciliation. Lin Ze’s words were blunt and direct.

His comment was quickly noticed by bystanders, some of whom were his fans. With each like, his reply shot to the top beneath Zhang Yang’s.

“Haha, Brother Lin really nails it.”

“Genuine, that’s what he’s about.”

“Brother Lin secretly checks out beauties—aren’t you afraid your wife will catch you?”

Soon, a comforting comment from the account ‘Mu Mu Su’ also began to rise. Mu Mu Su comforted Li Xinyan while sarcastically mocking the pig-handed man.

At first, everyone just found Mu Mu Su’s words satisfying and helped boost them, but soon someone realized: Lin Ze quietly commented below, “My good sister is absolutely right!”

A flood of fans rushed in, and only then did they discover this account belonged to Su Zitan. As for the abusive fans, Su Zitan ignored them entirely.

As for Zhang Yang…

Zhang Yang now sat in the recording studio. Across from him, the teacher held the sheet music and lyrics, looking troubled. At this rate, the song wouldn’t be finished in time.

Zhang Yang suddenly gritted his teeth, “That Lin Ze…”

The recording teacher’s eyes lit up, coaxing him like a child. “Mr. Zhang, don’t be upset. This song is written by Old Shi—if you release it and outshine Lin Ze, wouldn’t that be a slap in his face?”

Zhang Yang’s eyes brightened. “Right! That makes sense!”

“Hurry, hurry, I think there’s only a little bit left, right? Let’s finish it! For some details, the post-production can handle them.”

“Alright, alright…”

...

Soon, the day to record the show arrived.

The second week in Night City’s Ear Sea.

Legend had it that Ear Sea was formed from the tears of a woman who waited for her husband to return from war for over a decade. When he finally came back, he found she had died, so he transformed into a mountain nearby—named Cangshan.

It was a beloved place for those chasing dreams with guitars in hand, and for idealists to encounter love.

In that slow-paced city, beauty and romance became the essence of life. Along the way, many hotels and homestays lined the shores of Ear Sea.

This time, the filming location was a guesthouse by Ear Sea. Director Zhang rented it, and four teams would run it together.

This week’s program was different from the last; the four teams would interact much more. Compared to the previous week, this felt more like a comfortable vacation.

Early Friday morning, Lin Ze and Su Zitan slept on their flight. By afternoon, they landed at Night City Airport.

This time, they wore makeup on the plane, transforming into two bright, youthful students. As expected, fans crowded the arrival area, holding signs and forming a large group—much more than last time.

Lin Ze and Su Zitan weren’t worried about their own fans, but rather those of others. Last time, someone threw rotten eggs. Who knew, after yesterday’s spat with Zhang Yang, whether his fans would act out?

After reaching a hidden spot, Lin Ze and Su Zitan contacted the staff and finally managed to board the show’s vehicle.