CH 155

Seeing Song Shengsheng was originally just a matter of going to the bakery for breakfast, but now it had become a huge problem, and the complicated public relations matters involved were beyond Lin Chen’s imagination.

When he got off work, he and Xing Conglian stopped by to take Uncle Chen home.

It was already evening, and the people at the entrance of the shop had scattered.

The alley was quiet as Uncle Chen opened the rolling shutter door. He had left in a hurry, so the tables and chairs weren’t wiped clean, and the pot of soy milk in the shop had already spoiled.

Xing Conglian took out money to compensate for the loss, but Uncle Chen refused to accept it. Xing Conglian had no choice but to help Uncle Chen clean up his shop.

Lin Chen wanted to help, but he was pressed to a chair.

This was a rare scene. Xing Conglian had rolled up his cuffs, revealing his fair, strong arms, and began wiping the tables and chairs.

Outside the shop, the slanting sun hung on the eaves and was gradually sinking west. Lin Chen watched Xing Conglian doing the most ordinary labor under the warm sunset light. After he finished his drink, he said to Uncle Chen, “Can I go see where Song Shengsheng slept?”

“Feel free. It’s in the back,” Uncle Chen replied.

The back kitchen was cleaner than imagined, with neat utensils and bright countertops. Lin Chen stroked the long table, imagining Song Shengsheng wiping every tile here.

There was a small room separated from the innermost side of the back kitchen, which should be where Song Shengsheng had lived for three months.

But the compartment was too small—so small that it was impossible to put anything else down after setting up the bed. Luckily, there was a window.

Lin Chen sat down on the bed.

The air was clean, with the smell of lemon detergent. He stroked the soft and clean bedding. If he had doubted whether Song Shengsheng was really working here before, when he sat on the bed, he was sure that Song Shengsheng indeed did stay here.

When the sun finally set, he took off his shoes and laid down on the bed in a smooth manner.

He was certainly not such a casual person, but when he sat on the bed where Song Shengsheng once slept, he felt that he needed to lie down.

It was quiet all around as he lay down, one hand resting on his head and the other leaning on the edge of the bed. The sound of water could be heard from a distance. Lin Chen gradually closed his eyes.

It wasn’t comfortable, but it was quiet enough. He only needed to work in the back kitchen every day. Except for the shopkeeper, who would sometimes nag, no one could disturb him. No one could disturb him…

Lin Chen’s thoughts gradually drifted far away, until the sound of creaking and the door being pushed open brought him back.

“What, too tired?”

Xing Conglian stood at the door with a broom in his hand.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and held the edge of the bed to stand up, but suddenly, he was stunned.

Probably seeing him suddenly awake and in a strange posture, Xing Conglian squatted down in front of him and asked, “Cramp?”

Lin Chen shook his head, sat up straight, then stared at his hand for a long time, and then said to Xing Conglian, “Go a little outside the door.”

Xing Conglian was confused, but he still backed out the door. Lin Chen squatted down and gently stroked the edge of the bed with his hand, then he stopped suddenly. Sure enough, what he touched just now wasn’t an illusion.

The room was dim. He was just about to take out his phone from his pocket when Xing Conglian had already turned on the flashlight on the cellphone.

With that bright light, Lin Chen could clearly see that there was a clear scratch on the edge of the wooden bed where Song Shengsheng slept. The mark was very deep. It looked like it had been carved with just nails. Only after countless tracings would it form such a deep impression.

At this moment, Xing Conglian also came over. The two of them squatted in the narrow aisle, looking at the symbol carved by Song Shengsheng. They had a creepy feeling it was an “&”.

The symbol “&” logically meant that the two were indispensable, and it could also mean one person and another person, which was synonymous with “and”.

In order to figure out what this symbol meant to Song Shengsheng, Lin Chen chose the fastest and easiest way. He asked Wang Chao to log into Song Shengsheng’s personal website “Be With You” and register a new account to post for help—[Newcomer here asking for help on what & is and what it means.]

The post written by Wang Chao attracted too many two-dimensional fans, and soon, many enthusiastic sisters responded to the post.

In the living room, when Mu Wenhua saw the post, she smiled lightly and posted a video.

In the old house on Yanjia Lane, Wang Chao slid over the mouse wheel. “Oh, it’s really a meme.”

Lin Chen sat beside him and read the replies carefully. Sure enough, the symbol & was of great significance to Song Shengsheng and his fans. Rock musicians always invent something with special symbolic meaning, and this symbol was something like that.

[The name of our website comes from this symbol. I will be with you forever~]

Wang Chao continued to refresh the page, and a video appeared in the replies. He clicked on it, and Song Shengsheng’s panting voice came from the speaker.

It was a grand concert stage. Song Shengsheng sat crossed-legged on the edge of the stage during the break between songs.

He looked very young on the video. He had silver-dyed hair that was drenched in sweat. He obviously looked tired and was still smiling. His brows were glowing, like the brightest star in the night sky.

The girls in the audience were screaming, shouting some slogans together.

“You said you’ll protect me forever?”

Song Shengsheng held down the headset and held up the microphone with a smile.

The girls screamed louder. “Yes!”

They shouted excitedly.

The singer in the black leather jacket tipped his head slightly, listening quietly to every word the girls were shouting.

After a long time, the surroundings gradually quieted down. He suddenly held the microphone and laughed. “Because I’m more handsome, I’ll protect you.”

The girls were so excited that they screamed again. Their bright smiles seemed to blend into the sea of bright lights in the background.

Song Shengsheng tilted his head to the outside of the stage. As if he had heard something wrong, he raised the microphone to his ear again. “Well, let’s make an agreement.” He waved his arms and casually drew a symbol in the air. “Because I’m stronger, every time you draw this symbol, I’ll come to you and give you good luck and strength.”

The young man on the stage smiled so brightly. His eyes were firm and powerful, as if he could shatter all darkness.

All the fans in the audience followed his movements.

Lin Chen couldn’t help but also draw an & on the desk.

The picture ended with Song Shengsheng’s handsome figure standing up. “In English, it means I will be with you forever, so the following song is dedicated to me, who’s the strong. If one day I die, please sing this song for me.”

Song Shengsheng laughed.

For a long time after the video ended, the room was quiet.

Lin Chen remembered that during the rehearsal of the Watermelon Music Festival, Mu Zhuo kept drawing symbols when he was almost out of strength on stage.

If he guessed correctly, Mu Zhuo should’ve been drawing this &.

So, even Mu Zhuo was willing to join in on this belief.

Lin Chen thought that even people who hated Song Shengsheng, framed him, and plunged him into the abyss of hell were still trying to draw powerful energy from him. What kind of person was Song Shengsheng?

Wang Chao asked, “A’Chen Gege, so what does the symbol next to Song Shengsheng’s bed mean?”

“I’m afraid he wants to remind himself to persevere for the sake of people who once loved him.”

Lin Chen sat on the shores of the riverbank, looking at the stars in the sky as he said this.

In the two days since then, he had been watching Song Shengsheng’s interviews and had commissioned Wang Chao to get all of his concerts on Blu-ray through special channels.

When he had time for leisure, he would sit on the balcony by the river, watching Song Shengsheng sing over and over again as he gazed at the starry sky dyed with the colors of the setting sun.

In fact, he had very little free time these past few days. He and Xing Conglian were extremely busy. After all, they had made a huge mess. They not only have to accept questions from various departments but also write a small mountain of reports regarding the case. Even the matter concerning Li Jingtian’s extradition needed numerous phone calls and written reports to be completed.

Only at very late hours could he and Xing Conglian occasionally sit down face to face.

Xing Conglian brought a cup of tea, set it down on the coffee table, and then sat opposite of him.

The sound of water on a summer night was intoxicating.

Lin Chen took a sip of tea and found that today’s drink had been changed to chrysanthemum tea. He put down the cup and looked at the person sitting opposite of him.

Xing Conglian had a low smile and said, “Those grandma and grandpa from across the street asked me if Wang Chao finally disliked those songs sung by sticky little girls and had changed to men.”

Lin Chen turned down the volume and asked him, “How did you answer?”

“Oh, I said yes,” Xing Conglian replied naturally.

Lin Chen raised the teacup and clinked it lightly with Xing Conglian’s. “Thank you, Wang Chao.”

“Thank you, Captain Xing,” Xing Conglian said.

Lin Chen looked at the night. The river breeze blew across the face of the other person as he smiled and drank half his cup of tea.

Xing Conglian put down his teacup, crossed his legs, and asked, “What is Consultant Lin’s fan experience today?”

“I like Song Shengsheng very much,” Lin Chen said calmly.

Xing Conglian raised his brows. “Are you being empathetic?”

Lin Chen didn’t expect him to use such a psychological term, and he was stunned for a moment. “I can’t say it’s empathy, because Song Shengsheng is really cute.”

Although Song Shengsheng had been tough for the past two days and refused to see him, and even Lin Chen felt that he shouldn’t bother him anymore, it shouldn’t be too much just to look at his video materials. As Lin Chen spoke, he turned the laptop over in front of him so Xing Conglian could also see it.

On the screen was the campus concert when Xiang Ye discovered Song Shengsheng. This was extremely precious information. According to the veterans of Song Shengsheng’s personal website, it took a lot of effort to find it in the archives of Song Shengsheng’s high school.

Lin Chen turned up the volume. Perhaps because the singing was too noisy, Xing Conglian covered his ears as if he had a headache.

In the dark, yellowish picture, a young man was holding a guitar. The young man had dyed blond hair and a row of shiny earrings, giving him the standard look of a bad student. He stood on the stage of the school gymnasium, singing loudly and playing his guitar. He jumped up and down on the stage, roaring and shouting, looking arrogant and domineering but smiling brightly.

At the end of the song, the teenager panted on the stage and winked at all the female students in the audience.

The campus host in a suit looked like he had the same headache as Xing Conglian. He walked up to the teenager and put the microphone in front of him. “Classmate Song Shengsheng, how do you think you did today?”

“What do you think?” Song Shengsheng raised his voice and asked the girls in the audience.

Several groups of girls screamed.

“It seems that Classmate Song is very confident in himself, so what if the judge doesn’t let you advance?”

Song Shengsheng proudly gave the middle finger to the old men in the judging panel and said, “So what? I’m not singing for them. Only those who are beautiful can understand the songs I sing.”

As he said this, he continued to wink at the audience.

Song Shengsheng, who was only 16 years old at the time, already knew how to release his charm.

Lin Chen pressed the pause button.

Xing Conglian gave him an incredulous look. “So you like this?”

“It’s really cute,” Lin Chen said with emotion.

“So, if Song Shengsheng has a concert, do I need to book tickets for Consultant Lin?”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian and said very seriously, “Captain Xing, you shouldn’t be able to get them. You must recruit Wang Chao.”

“So scary?”

Lin Chen opened the Be With You webpage and pointed to the thousands of high-rise buildings for Xing Conglian to look at. “Related news revealed that Song Shengsheng may be holding a fan meeting in the near future with no entry for the media as the first stop of his comeback. Of course, this is just internal gossip. It’s even very likely that this fan meeting won’t be announced to the public.”

“Just because of this rumor, fans are discussing it this much?”

“Of course not.” Lin Chen pointed to another post with 3,000+ replies and showed it to Xing Conglian. “That’s the building where the meeting is being discussed, and this is the building where the discussion on how to grab tickets.”

“What are they talking about?”

“It’s not talking. It’s arguing.”

Lin Chen said helplessly. “Song Shengsheng’s fans are arguing with Xiang Ye’s performing arts company. That is to say, if Shengsheng really wants to hold a fan meeting, the way to grab tickets online is too unfair. Maybe there will be people with ulterior motives mixed in. There are so many die-hard fans who have supported Shengsheng for more than ten years. It’s not appropriate for them to compete with those new fans. So, they were arguing about these things. Later, the performing arts company put out a notice to reassure everyone. Xiang Ye said that what Shengsheng wanted to see was the people who have always supported him, so he might not be able to use the method of online ticketing at this time, but rather they will distribute the tickets directly from Shengsheng’s personal website, Baidu, and the fan club. In short, it will satisfy everyone.”

“So in order to get a ticket, you want Wang Chao to create a fake identity as a senior fan club member?” Xing Conglian asked.

“Ah, this is what he should do,” Lin Chen said.

Xing Conglian suddenly asked, “But isn’t the fan meeting still undecided?”

“Planning ahead.”

“Wait, you want to meet Shengsheng now?”

“Yes, Shengsheng.”

Hearing what he said, Xing Conglian reluctantly took a sip of his tea. “I think your purpose of wanting to see Song Shengsheng is now impure.”

Lin Chen laughed. “I really hope that he can stand on stage again.”

The waterside was peaceful, and the wind was calm under the serene starry sky. When Lin Chen remembered what happened in those days much later, he still felt it was all too unreal.