Chapter Nine: Our Love

“Lin Ze! Su Zitan!”
“Lin Ze! Su Zitan!”
Arriving at the exit, Lin Ze finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He still remembered in his previous life, every time he got off a plane, the crowds were overwhelming, and he always had to apologize publicly on social media.
This time, a few fans had come, but there were only about ten. Lin Ze and Su Zitan slipped into a corner to sign autographs for them, then hurried into the program’s car.
The first stop of “Our Love” would be filmed in Sichuan. The three had flown in from Shanghai, a journey of just over two hours.
Once in the car, a staff member, dressed in a shirt bearing the show’s logo and wearing a polite smile, began introducing the first week’s program to everyone.
“Our first week will take place in a village near Ducheng City. Tonight, we’ll rest in Ducheng, and tomorrow we officially enter the group.”
“The show is very simple—just behave as you would on a normal trip. However you act in daily life, do the same on the program.”
“But, during recording, you can’t use your phone, and you can’t spend your own money.”
“You two are okay with that?”
These requirements were perfectly reasonable, and the pair had no objections.
“For our first week, we’ll be filming near Tong County. At night, you’ll stay at Teacher Chen Weiguo’s country villa.”
Chen Weiguo had been retired for years. With his wife Bai Qiong, he’d built a small villa near their old family home in Tong County and begun a peaceful retirement.
The staff then produced a camera resembling a projector.
“Normally, when everyone’s together, we use traditional cameras. But if you go out for location shoots, our photographer will use this mini-camera.”
“Tomorrow at noon, the program will send a car to take you both to Tong County.”
Lin Ze nodded, “No problem.”
He recalled that the first week’s task was role play.
All four couples would be assigned an identity—such as street vendors, or small restaurant owners.
After makeup, they’d live together in a small county, returning each evening to the film emperor Chen Weiguo’s country villa.
During the role play, they had to hide their real identities so the other couples wouldn’t discover them.
If they figured out another group’s identity, the program would reward them; if discovered, there’d be penalties.
Thus, each night when the groups returned to the villa, their mutual probing became quite interesting.
Lin Ze remembered that the identity cards for the first week weren’t random; the director assigned them directly, without a drawing segment.
The identity of a wandering singer would likely go to his group.
Soon, they arrived at the hotel arranged by the program. The staff led the two to their room.
At the door, a young man was already waiting. He looked about Lin Ze’s age; the moment he saw Lin Ze, he hurried forward.
“Brother Lin! Hello! I’m your fan! My name is Qian Cheng, you can just call me Xiao Qian!”
“This is your follow-cam photographer. He’ll be in charge of filming you when you go out.”
“Hello, hello.” Lu Lin shook hands with Xiao Qian. “We’ll be relying on you for a while.”

Qian Cheng’s face was full of excitement as he looked at the two. “It’s no trouble at all!”
After a brief chat, Lu Lin signed an autograph for him. Then the staff pulled Xiao Qian away.
“Zitan, keep an eye on Lin Ze—I won’t be tagging along. I’m going to Tong County to check on things there,” Wang Xue instructed.
“Safe travels, Sister Wang!” Lin Ze said cheerfully.
Wang Xue rolled her eyes. “Don’t let anything go wrong at a time like this.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here,” Su Zitan promised.
Wang Xue nodded. “I do trust you.”
“Come on! Let’s get hotpot!”
As soon as they put their bags down, Su Zitan pulled Lin Ze out the door.
Both donned baseball caps and masks, covering their faces completely.
Lin Ze carried an empty backpack.
“After hotpot, let’s find an old shopping mall and buy some clothes.”
“Huh?” Su Zitan blinked. “Buy what?”
…
“These!”
The corridors in the old mall were crowded. Lin Ze struggled to pull Su Zitan out, clothes in hand.
Su Zitan glanced at what Lin Ze was holding.
“You… what are these clothes? They’re really ugly!”
They weren’t truly hideous, just decades out of style.
Lin Ze had bought two pairs of ripped jeans with chains dangling, white T-shirts, leather vests studded with metal spikes, and for shoes, two pairs of canvas liberation shoes.
He stuffed everything into his backpack.
“We might need these for the show.”
“Hotpot again tonight?” Lin Ze asked.
“No way, we have to go to Jian She Road for snacks!”
Su Zitan flicked Lin Ze’s head. “You need to plan ahead if you’re going out.”
“Well, with you here, I don’t need to!” Lin Ze grabbed Su Zitan’s hand and shouted, “Let’s go!”
“Keep it down! Keep it down!”
It was getting late, and all the snack shops on Jian She Road had just opened.
Lin Ze and Su Zitan each held a cup of lemon tea, standing on the street, watching the passing crowd.
“It’s been so long since we went out together,” Su Zitan suddenly felt sentimental. “It’s wonderful. When we have time, let’s travel the world.”

“Mhm.” Lin Ze gazed at an elderly couple tugging at each other in the crowd. “Life is long. We still have plenty of time to tell our story.”
“I want to see you smile, want to tease you, want to hold you in my arms.”
“One moment, blushing again…”
“….”
As they spoke, singing could be heard nearby.
“Who’s providing the soundtrack?”
They turned to where the music was coming from.
On a patch of open ground, a young man was playing guitar, a microphone standing before him, his voice amplified by a nearby speaker.
He sang well.
Lin Ze nodded quietly to himself.
Their voices were somewhat similar.
Through the crowd, Lin Ze snapped a photo of the young singer.
He’d post it online tonight!
When Lin Ze checked his social media, he saw over 99 notifications. He opened it—countless private messages.
First place on the trending list.
“Piano master Jack claims singer Lin Ze’s ‘Later’ plagiarized his piano piece ‘Memories.’”
Just then, Wang Xue called.
“Lin Ze, there’s trouble!”
Hearing her voice, Lin Ze’s brows furrowed.
“What happened, Sister Wang? Is it about the piano master?”
“Yes, and because of it, the program’s biggest investor has pulled out.”
Pulled out?
“Is it connected to Zhang Yang?”
Lin Ze zeroed in on the key point.
“The former investor was Zhang Huai, Zhang Yang’s father,” Wang Xue confirmed. “The piano master is also linked to them.”
“With this pullout, most of the funding is gone—ten million, just before filming officially starts. They’re clearly trying to direct public opinion against you.”