Chapter 83: "A Person Like Me"

“What’s wrong, don’t you like watching the show?” Zhang Yang sensed that the female fan beside him wasn’t really paying attention to the program, but was instead watching him.

“I thought you wouldn’t watch Lin Ze, brother,” the girl whispered.

Her words caught Zhang Yang off guard. “Well... Our creative workshop was shut down, so now I’m studying the competition…”

As he spoke, the camera shifted to Su Zitan and Lin Ze. Su Zitan naturally took Lin Ze’s hand and placed it on her own waist.

The clothes from Zitan’s brand were originally quite loose, but worn by Su Zitan, one could vaguely see the shape of her figure beneath the fabric.

Zhang Yang swallowed hard.

With Su Zitan’s family background, she should be with someone like him, a suitable match.

How come she’s with Lin Ze? Every good thing in this world seems to fall into Lin Ze’s lap.

The more Zhang Yang watched, the more envious he felt, quietly slipping his arm around the waist of the girl beside him.

She had a decent figure and appearance, but still fell short compared to Su Zitan.

The girl’s heart was pounding.

Zhang Yang could feel her racing heartbeat and leaned in closer.

The staleness from not brushing his teeth after drinking milk last night wafted onto the girl’s face.

“Why is your heart beating so fast?”

Her stomach churned as she dodged his face. Zhang Yang assumed she was just shy and said nothing, only curling his lips into a wicked smile.

All of Zhang Yang’s little gestures were noticed by the girl. He watched the show with his eyes glued to Pei Xue and Su Zitan, blatantly sizing them up.

She had imagined Zhang Yang as a lively, cheerful young man, but seeing him today, she realized he was actually so greasy.

Now… she just wanted to go home.

She picked up her phone and quietly sent a message to her best friend, asking her to call soon.

“I have a private cinema at home, and a professional recording studio. Let me show you around,” Zhang Yang said, standing up.

The girl had no choice but to follow him.

After touring the recording studio, Zhang Yang sang a song with his off-key voice.

The girl anxiously glanced at her phone, wondering why her friend hadn’t called yet.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Yang asked, still savoring his performance as he took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

Just then, the call came in. The girl picked up the phone and answered as if she were acting.

“Mom, what is it? Okay, okay, why so suddenly? I’ll come home right away…”

She exchanged a few perfunctory words and hung up. “Brother Zhang Yang, something happened at home, I need to go back immediately…”

Zhang Yang sneered inwardly. He had seen the girl’s phone screen—her caller’s avatar was an anime character and the voice sounded young, hardly her mother.

“Well… Let’s just check out the private cinema, then I’ll let you go… let you head home.”

The girl nodded obediently, and the two went upstairs toward the cinema.

The private cinema was dimly lit; as the girl entered, Zhang Yang flipped on the switch, bathing the room in warm yellow light.

Inside, the cinema was filled with sofa beds.

“Click.”

The sound of the door locking echoed.

The girl’s heart skipped a beat. She spun around abruptly, bumping right into Zhang Yang’s chest.

“You signed the confidentiality agreement; did you really think you could leave?”

…

Lin Chunshui rushed in and wrapped his arms around Ji Chen. With tears streaming down, Ji Chen stood quietly in place.

As the two reunited, a woman happened to pass by.

“Hey?”

Hmm?

Everyone was taken aback at the sight of her.

“What a coincidence! Isn’t that Zhang Ya? Hahaha…”

“I thought Ji Chen was leaving out of heartbreak, but turns out it’s an elopement!”

Zhang Ya turned her head, noticed the camera following behind, and flashed a sweet smile, tilting her head at Ji Chen.

“Hurry up, or we’ll miss the flight.”

“Huh?” Ji Chen stiffened, turning his head back to look at Lin Chunshui.

Lin Chunshui gritted his teeth, forcing a smile as he turned to Zhang Ya.

“You—damn it…”

…

“Our Love broadcast suffers an incident: Singer Lin Chunshui caught hitting minor actress Zhang Ya at the airport.”

“Lin Chunshui slaps Zhang Ya, loud sound recorded on site; suspected evidence of Ji Chen’s infidelity.”

These were from authoritative accounts, but some smaller marketing accounts posted even wilder claims.

“Ultimate love triangle exposed! Zhang Ya and Ji Chen have always been secret lovers. That day, Zhang Ya also privately contacted Lin Ze. Ji Chen, upon learning of this, caught them in the corridor. When Zhang Ya realized things had gone south, she claimed Lin Ze forced her…”

As everyone started tagging Lin Ze, he posted a microblog.

“Don’t listen to their nonsense. Instead of wasting time on their idle chatter, why not listen to @Singer Chen Nan’s new song, ‘Someone Like Me’.”

Lin Ze posted a link to the song.

With nothing better to do, everyone commented under Lin Ze’s post and then clicked the link.

Chen Nan was a familiar name; his songs were good.

Not only Lin Ze, but even Li Xiyan, who hadn’t posted since the last incident, also shared the song.

Fans saw their idols’ posts and clicked in.

As the melody began, even uninterested fans suddenly perked up.

A sadness tinged with warmth made everyone feel a bit dazed.

“Someone as outstanding as me should have lived a brilliant life.”

“How come, after twenty-some years, I’m still drifting in the crowd?”

“Someone as clever as me should have left innocence behind long ago.”

“Yet I still traded a love for a body full of scars.”

Chen Nan’s deep, magnetic voice seemed to tell a story.

But as the listeners paid close attention, they realized it wasn’t him speaking, but their own hearts.

…

Little Wang was an ordinary office worker. Tonight, it was past nine when he finally left the company.

Now it was just a matter of taking a cab home, eating, showering, and getting ready for bed.

The ride he booked had already arrived. Little Wang opened the car door and collapsed onto the back seat.

“Hey, just getting off work, kid?” The driver greeted him warmly.

“Yeah…” Little Wang nodded, too tired to say much.

The driver didn’t mind, twisting the car’s music player knob.

“All right, fasten your seatbelt.”