CH 30

Translator: Lynn

After watching the show, it was already eleven o’clock. Normally, Jian Jie would have already gone to bed at this time, and he was now feeling so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open. He said to Long Zichen, who had been in an oddly excited state, “Brother Chen, the show is over. I’m going to bed. Are you going to rest now?”

“I’ll go to bed too. I have to get up early for work tomorrow. I usually go to bed early to be healthy!” Compared to staying up until two or three in the morning, going to bed at twelve seemed very early to Long Zichen. He didn’t want to pretend to have a lot in common with Jian Jie, but he was determined to keep pace with him in all aspects.

Jian Jie, feeling drowsy, nodded and said, “Okay, good night then.”

“Good night, have sweet dreams!” Long Zichen wished him.

“You too.” Jian Jie opened the door to the master bedroom, suddenly feeling a little strange in his heart.

Except for Shui Xiaoren, there were very few outsiders staying in his place. How long had it been since he said goodnight to relatives? It was after his eldest brother and sister-in-law Xinya got married. Although his eldest brother didn’t want him to move out at all, and sister Xinya didn’t mind, he felt it would be awkward to live with them. Besides, there was no spare room at home, so he decided to move back to live alone.

At first, it was lonely, but he gradually got used to it. He always wanted to live independently, and he couldn’t rely on his brother forever. He never thought he would become such good friends with someone like Long Zichen. Their temperaments were completely opposite, but they got along well. Long Zichen was lively and funny, and though he had his mood swings, he was considerate and supportive of Jian Jie. Jian Jie felt happy working with Long Zichen.

Feeling content, Jian Jie went to bed and soon fell asleep. He didn’t know that Long Zichen had been staring longingly at his door for a while before reluctantly heading back to the guest room.

In his dream, Jian Jie recalled his childhood home with a green wall decorated with beautiful animal patterns. In the living room, his mother and father were playing the piano together, and his brother was bouncing around. As a little boy, he tried to climb up the piano bench with his short arms and legs stretched out. His mother lifted him up and placed his chubby little white hands on the black and white keys. He gleefully struck them, not in tune at all, but his father and mother smiled brightly.

In the early morning, Jian Jie woke up. The room was still dark, and he couldn’t tell the time. He lay there for a while, then turned on the desk lamp. The alarm clock by the bed showed that it was just five o’clock.

He got up, put on his long johns and pajamas, and opened the door to wash. As he entered the living room, he heard someone humming softly in the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of vegetables being cut. It was only then that Jian Jie remembered he wasn’t alone at home last night.

“Brother Chen, you’re up so early too.”

Long Zichen was cutting purple potatoes and yams, which he bought at the supermarket yesterday. Rice was soaking in the pot, and he planned to make purple potato and yam porridge later. When he heard Jian Jie’s greeting, Long Zichen smiled and said, “I woke up early. I’m making purple potato and yam porridge. Do you want to do some morning exercises later?”

“Sure.”

“Great, let’s exercise together for a while. I set the rice cooker’s timer, so we can have breakfast when we get back. I bought sliced bread and bacon yesterday. I’ll heat it up when we return, and I’ll fry an egg. Can we have this for breakfast today? Unless you’d like something else.” Long Zichen thought that he might suffer from insomnia at night, but surprisingly, he fell asleep with a smile on his face, wasting his emotions without an outlet. Now, he was up early in the morning and cooking. He told himself that at this stage, he could only implement the “grasp the heart first and grasp the stomach” policy.

Jian Jie possessed basic emotional intelligence and didn’t want to be picky. He replied with a smile, “That’s fine. Brother Chen can make anything delicious.”

Long Zichen was overjoyed.

After Jian Jie freshened up, they took Amu to the park for morning exercises. It was extremely cold outside, and the brisk morning wind made them all feel refreshed.

After jogging for a few laps, Jian Jie went to the usual spot to practice singing, while Long Zichen held Amu’s leash, enjoying the feeling of being the master for a while, but the sassy Amu ended up leading him around in a panic.

After their morning exercise, while they were having breakfast, Long Zichen’s phone rang. It was Tang Xiaohui calling.

As soon as the phone connected, Tang Xiaohui bombarded Long Zichen with questions, “Has Xiaochen woken up? Did you watch Xiaojie’s show yesterday?”

“What’s the matter? Is something wrong?” Long Zichen asked, sensing the urgency in her voice.

“I’m about to explode here. I’ve been calling Xiaojie early in the morning to inquire about various invitations. Last night, the number of hits on his homepage skyrocketed, and the company’s website crashed. If you want to get up, hurry up and come to the company. I called Xiaojie to tell him to come over quickly. The company has an emergency meeting.” Tang Xiaohui didn’t expect the response to be so overwhelming, but she was happy about it and saw it as a test of the company’s emergency mechanisms. She believed there would be more situations like this in the future.

Long Zichen took a bite of his bread, chewed it, and replied, “Don’t call anymore. Xiaojie and I are having breakfast, and we’ll come to the company after we eat.”

Tang Xiaohui was left speechless by their early breakfast together.

After hanging up the phone, Long Zichen casually shared the news with Jian Jie, “Miss Xiaohui called. Yesterday’s show received a very good response.”

“Oh,” Jian Jie replied, not fully grasping the implications of the news.

Long Zichen understood better and advised, “Be mentally prepared for fame. With popularity come both benefits and challenges. Stay focused on your original intentions, and I believe you can handle it.”

At that moment, Jian Jie was still unsure about the concept of fame, but he would soon learn what it truly meant to be “popular” and the price that came with it. Every star had to walk this path, and though Jian Jie had taken fewer detours than others, he was not completely exempt from it.

Before 8 o’clock, Jian Jie and Long Zichen arrived at the company and were immediately summoned to an emergency meeting. Due to Jian Jie’s unexpected success on the show, the company decided to analyze the development of the newcomers and plan their next steps.

Several other newcomers were present, and Chai Xuyang, the manager, presented various statistics: Tong Liangliang’s record sales had reached 250,000 so far, and the company decided to produce a second album for him immediately. The HR combination of Chen Hang and Tao Qianrui, who took the singing and dancing route, sold 170,000 records and had good sales for their peripheral products. They were receiving invitations for idol dramas, suggesting a possibility for diversified development. The only female newcomer, Fang Fei, had sold 100,000 albums so far.

After discussing the others, Chai Xuyang inquired about the progress of Jian Jie’s album, asking Long Zichen, “Xiaochen, is Xiaojie’s album almost ready? Can we release it next week? After yesterday’s response, we need to capitalize on the momentum and release the album as soon as possible.”

“The post-production is almost done, and there’s absolutely no problem with releasing it next week,” Long Zichen replied.

Chai Xuyang nodded and continued, “That’s good. Xiaojie, after you release the album, I want you to pair up with Feifei for promotions. You’re a little lacking in eloquence, and Feifei has performed very well in several promotions. The two of you together will make it less stressful. Xiaochen, I apologize for putting this on you, but why don’t you create a duet song for Xiaojie and Feifei? A collaboration between schoolmates will be very popular.”

Jian Jie had no objections and didn’t understand Chai Xuyang’s intention to create a scandal. Unaware of the potential rumors, Jian Jie agreed to the idea. On the other hand, Long Zichen was not pleased and questioned Chai Xuyang, “Brother Chai, you’re going too far. Does Xiaojie need to rely on gossip for success?”

Chai Xuyang defended his approach, stating, “Given the online connections between Xiaojie and Ding Tianwang, gossip with a girl will be better than rumors of him being associated with the king. Also, it’s a good way to generate publicity. And don’t tell me about your ‘hunger sales’ nonsense!”

Although Long Zichen was unsatisfied, he knew that Chai Xuyang’s approach was effective. Gossip with a female companion was less likely to turn into a scandal, and it was a tried and tested method for hype.

After the meeting, Long Zichen rushed to Jian Jie, feeling remorseful, “Xiao Jie, I’m sorry. I couldn’t persuade Brother Chai.”

Jian Jie reassured him, “It’s okay, Brother Chen. We’re just on the show together. No matter what others say, it’s not true anyway.”

“But if we keep appearing together, the rumors might become true…” Long Zichen’s tone turned sad.

Jian Jie pondered for a moment and mentioned, “I heard Xiao Liang mention once that Fang Fei and Tao Qianrui seem to be in love. Does the company allow that?” He quickly added, “I’m sorry for talking about their personal matters.”

“Don’t worry, I can’t do anything about it,” Long Zichen replied with emotion, wishing he could pair everyone up, as long as they didn’t compete with him for Jian Jie.

Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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