Chapter 14
The name Miss K dropped sent Xiang Qingwei into a daze.
Of course she knew Zhou Yuehe. From an unknown individual, Zhou Yuehe had skyrocketed to fame three years ago, becoming a household name. The singer not only had a great voice, but he was also a talented songwriter.
Every song on his debut album, twelve tracks in total, bore his name as both composer and lyricist. Within a year of his official debut, he'd won the Best Song Award and launched a national tour, selling out every venue.
His first single released online this year had sold fifty million copies, effortlessly breaking the record previously held by a top celebrity, and making him the new golden boy of the industry.
Now, Zhou Yuehe could grace any event with his presence and expect to be the center of attention.
But three years ago, Zhou Yuehe had been no more than an insignificant guest at a dinner table full of celebrities.
Xiang Qingwei had attended that dinner with Fu Yanbai.
As the host, Fu Yanbai naturally took the seat of honor, and as his female companion, Xiang Qingwei sat right next to him.
Quite a few people crowded the table, all of them prominent figures in the industry.
To Xiang Qingwei's right sat the famed producer hosting the dinner, Sister Wen.
Within her circle, she was known for her promiscuity, and she particularly liked young men who were clean and untouched.
Xiang Qingwei had heard about her for a while, and he snuck a few glances at her. She looked like an average forty-year-old woman. Brown hair with small curls, a large face with small eyes, casually dressed in a baggy shirt that covered her rather portly figure.
Xiang Qingwei then shifted his gaze to the young man seated beside her.
As expected, the rumors were true. He was indeed the type of man Wen Jie liked—slender and tall, with a refined and quiet demeanor.
Xiang Qingwei felt a hint of pity as he glanced at him. To think such a clean and refined person would also sell himself for fame and fortune.
At the start of the dinner, everyone maintained their decorum. But once three rounds of drinks had passed, the alcohol stripped away the facade, revealing their ugly true selves.
Xiang Qingwei saw Wen Jie place her pudgy hand on the young man's thigh after a few cups. He clearly saw the young man frown and attempt to move Wen Jie's hand away under the table, only for Wen Jie to grab his hand and squeeze it instead.
The young man's complexion turned greenish.
Xiang Qingwei felt sorry for him. Why did he even bother testing her if he couldn't bring himself to follow through? Yet she kept an eye on the scene unfolding before her.
Wen-jie smiled flirtatiously at the man across from her, but under the table, her thick hand slid further up his leg.
The expression of the young man's face twisted, looking as if he was reaching his breaking point, ready to explode at any second.
Suddenly, he lifted his head and met Xiang Qingwei's gaze.
She was shocked by the look in his eyes—pained, ashamed, furious, yet filled with immense discomfort.
In that moment, Xiang Qingwei realized that he hadn't consented to this.
As their eyes met, the man's complexion grew even more sallow, his discomfort and shame palpable. He averted his gaze, his lips pressed tightly together.
Xiang Qingwei sighed internally. Unable to bear it anymore, she plastered a delighted smile on her face and stared at him, calling out, "Hey! Are you Zhou Yuehe?!"
Her voice was loud enough to be heard throughout the entire room.
Even Wen Jie jumped from her voice, quickly reeling in her hand.
Zhou Yuehe was also startled, his ashen face frozen as he stared at Xiang Qingwei.
Fu Yanbai, who had been chatting with someone else, turned his head, unsure of what Xiang Qingwei intended.
"Are you Zhou Yuehe?" Xiang Qingwei played the role of a fan meeting her idol, her face filled with excitement and joy. "My god! I love your songs! I can't believe I ran into you here!"
Zhou Yuehe stared at her, dumbfounded.
Before he could react, Xiang Qingwei had already grabbed Wen Jie's arm and begged, "Wen Jie, can I switch seats with you? I want to sit with Zhou Yuehe. Can I? I'm his fan, I love his songs."
Wen Jie looked at Xiang Qingwei, still unsure. But Xiang Qingwei's eyes glistened, her face flushed with excitement, just like a star-struck fan, easing all of Wen Jie's concerns.
Though she couldn't bear to part with the fresh meat beside her, everyone knew that Xiang Qingwei was the apple of Fu Yanbai's eye. The man brought his young girlfriend everywhere, and rumor had it that this time, he was serious, though Wen Jie never quite believed it until now.
Even just tonight, Fu Yanbai had introduced Xiang Qingwei as his girlfriend, a first-time occurrence, and Wen Jie had seen him serve Xiang Qingwei food with his own chopsticks, a task he seemed quite practiced at.
She had no choice but to give this woman some face, especially since sitting next to Fu Yanbai would make business discussions much easier.
Thus, Wen Jie gave her a gracious smile, like an elder, and said, "Of course." She paused slightly, then glanced at Fu Yanbai. "I'm just not sure if Mr. Fu minds."
Mr. Fu minded very much; his displeasure was written clearly on his face.
Yet Xiang Qingwei didn't seem to care about that at all, paying Fu Yanbai no heed as she smiled and said, "He won't mind. You two can sit closer together, which will make it easier for you to discuss business." She stood up as she finished.
Wen Jie saw this and stood up to switch places with Xiang Qingwei.
Xiang Qingwei sat down next to Zhou Yuehe and didn't budge the entire night.
Xiang Qingwei pulled her wandering mind back and watched the car carrying Miss K drive away, thinking that Zhou Yuehe would likely not want to be reminded of such a sordid affair from his past.
They hadn't met since that dinner party, which had taken place years ago.
Xiang Qingwei feared Zhou Yuehe might remember her not as a benefactor, but as the humiliation he had suffered at that dinner party. How could she dare to bring up their shared history?
The thought of Zhou Yuehe being her mentor for Super Idol gave Xiang Qingwei a headache. She hoped Zhou Yuehe had forgotten her; after all, they hadn't met since that dinner party.
Having successfully secured Miss K's cooperation, Xiang Qingwei sighed in relief, only to be weighed down by the fact that Zhou Yuehe was her mentor.
It had been a while since she'd last met Miss K, and as colleagues in the same industry, there was much to discuss. The two parted ways only after two hours of nonstop conversation over dinner, accompanied by copious amounts of alcohol.
Xiang Qingwei, fortunately, had a high tolerance for alcohol, and merely felt slightly tipsy after dinner. She called a cab back to her hotel and fell asleep almost immediately upon arrival.
She woke up at ten the next day, picked up her phone, and noticed that the list of contestants' profiles had already been emailed to her.
After washing her face, she began to study the materials.
Xiang Qingwei waited until her stomach began to ache from hunger at 3 P.M. before calling room service, then ate a bit and continued to study the files. She stayed in the hotel the entire day, not leaving her room, until her eyes stung before she finally stepped into the bathroom to wash herself up and head to the restaurant on the sixty-eighth floor for dinner.
The waiter seated Xiang Qingwei on the balcony, where the night breeze cleared her muddled head from spending the whole day studying files. She looked down, taking in the view of half the city's lights, feeling much more refreshed.
She ordered a steak dinner set, then sat alone, enjoying her meal while looking at the night scenery, sipping on red wine.
Xiang Qingwei wore a light yellow dress that made her skin appear even fairer and dewier, her hair casually pinned up behind her head, framing her delicate neck and elegant profile as she held the wineglass with an air of leisure.
"Little miss, all alone for dinner?" A young man dressed head to toe in brand-name clothing sat across from Xiang Qingwei with a mischievous grin.
Xiang Qingwei's hand stilled momentarily before she gave a small smile. "Yes."
Fang Xingzhi, sitting by a window inside the restaurant, glanced over nonchalantly and noticed that Xiang Qingwei, who had been alone a moment ago, now had a young man sitting across from her, chatting with her with a grin. The smile on his lips froze slightly.
The woman sitting across from him followed his gaze and immediately felt a sinking sensation in her heart.
"Someone you know?" she asked with a smile.
"A friend." Fang Xingzhi lightly retracted his gaze, the faint smile that had lingered on his lips as they chatted earlier now gone.
"My apologies, but I'd like some time to myself tonight." Xiang Qingwei looked at the young man who had come over to chat, her smile apologetic yet courteous.
"That's fine, can I add you on WeChat?" The young man was smitten by Xiang Qingwei's faint smile, unable to look away.
"Sure." Xiang Qingwei readily exchanged WeChat information with him.
"Then I won't disturb you anymore." Having received her WeChat information, the man was satisfied and prepared to return to his friends, with whom he would undoubtedly boast about his conquest.
Xiang Qingwei nodded with a smile as she watched the man leave. In the corner of her eye, she noticed Fang Xingzhi and the woman in the blue dress sitting inside.
On a date?
Xiang Qingwei only glanced briefly before turning her gaze away, not particularly concerned, and instead returning her attention to the night sky outside the balcony.
After finishing her drink, Xiang Qingwei signaled to pay for her bill, only to be told it had already been taken care of. She looked toward Fang Xingzhi's empty table, then back at her own, slightly puzzled.
Xiang Qingwei returned to her hotel room, where she first deleted the young man's number from WeChat, then organized her documents and sent them to Xiao Wu for printing before stepping into the bathroom to draw a bath.
When facing men who approached her in such a way, Xiang Qingwei's method was to add them on WeChat and then promptly delete them, which made it an easy way to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
After drying her hair, she lay on the bed to check the practice videos of Ning Yang sent by his dance instructor, Zhan Lun.
The instructor was very diligent and had sent over ten separate videos of Ning Yang practicing for the day. Xiang Qingwei watched every single one carefully.
In the videos, Ning Yang's black hair was slightly damp, and his T-shirt was often stained with sweat. He practiced diligently, fully focused on perfecting his movements.
She sat up and called Ning Yang, but the phone rang for a long while with no response. Xiang Qingwei didn't call again, instead lying back down to sleep. Just as she was about to doze off, her phone rang once more.
She squinted as she grabbed the phone, saw it was Ning Yang, then closed her eyes and answered, "Hello?"
Her voice carried a distinct sleepy undertone, soft and fuzzy, in sharp contrast to her usual tone.
There was a moment of silence on the other end before a cool-sounding voice spoke. "You're looking for me? I was practicing just now, so I didn't hear my phone ringing because the music was too loud."
"Mm-hmm." Xiang Qingwei rolled over. "It's fine. Nothing's wrong. I just watched the video Mr. Zhan sent me and wanted to check in with you, see how your practice is going and if you're okay."
Ning Yang glanced at Zhan Lun, who was drinking water with his head tilted back, then looked back at his phone and hummed in response, "I'm all right."
"That's good," Xiang Qingwei said. "Oh right, have you video-called your mother?"
"I did today. She's doing well." Ning Yang's expression softened. "Thank you."
During their call earlier, his mother had excitedly shown him the house she was living in through the video call. It was spacious and bright, with plenty of natural light.
Through the screen, she told him she'd never lived in such a nice house before.
"Miss Xiang is truly kind," she said.
"It's good that your mother is happy," Xiang Qingwei said, her voice gentle. "Also, don't stay up too late practicing; make sure to get enough rest."
Ning Yang hummed, then paused, returning the sentiment. "You as well."
Xiang Qingwei couldn't help but smile. "Okay. Goodnight."
Ning Yang's lips also curved into a faint arc, matching the other's smile. "Goodnight."
Xiang Qingwei hung up.
"Girlfriend?" Zhan Lun suddenly asked, nudging over.
Ning Yang extinguished his phone, his lips returning to their neutral position. "No."
"Then it must be someone you like," Zhan Lun said with a grin.
Ning Yang frowned. "No."
Zhan Lun continued grinning. "Don't deny it! Aside from when I saw you smiling while video chatting with your mom these last few days, I only saw you smile just now, and it was such a sweet smile—so who else could it be if not someone you like?"
"Boring." Ning Yang coldly placed his phone by the wall and walked away to continue practicing.
Zhan Lun followed him, asking, "Hey, Ning Yang, why isn't your manager coming to watch you anymore? She's so aloof—I sent her lots of videos but she never responded. Hey, do you think I have a chance if I pursue her?"
Ning Yang froze.
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The entire book has been translated, with a total of 414K words and more than 1,200 pages.
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