Chapter 19 The Fruit Ripens

The sun shines brightly, the flowers smile at me, the new melons are saying "Cao cao cao," but why can't the badger sleep again?

The swaggering swagger in the melon field is busier than a typical 9-to-5 office worker. They are forced to enter the melon field at 8 a.m. to do their morning exercises in the comment section of Fu Yanle's new Weibo post.

[Nandu University? This is the result of all that photoshopping you did last night? How dare you?!]

[I'm a freshman at Nanjing University. The layout of this student photo is the same as the one of my senior classmates in the same major, and it even has the school badge on it, so it's definitely not fake!]

[French major? Not dance major?]

[The women above clearly joined the gossip circle halfway through; their dance major is just speculation, something Xiao Fu has never mentioned.]

[French? You son of a bitch! You never say a decent romantic phrase to comfort me, you just curse at me all the time. Is this how you went to university?]

[Since it's from Nanjing University, and there was a commotion all night, why hasn't Nanjing University responded?]

The haters got a new inspiration and immediately launched a new round of brainwashing comments around the theme of "Fu Yanle photoshopped student photos to smear Nanjing University". Then they used "Fu Yanle may be a student of Nanjing University, but he is of bad character, so Nanjing University does not want to claim him" to lead a new wave of public opinion.

The butler drove to the familiar meeting point and waited until Fu Yanle completed his familiar routine of rushing up, climbing, and landing before leaving through the back door and driving towards the parking area ahead.

Fu Yanle took off his gloves, turned around, and let out an uncontrollable scream—

"wipe!"

“…” An Shigou wiped his face and glared at the pink egg that had fallen from the sky.

The two tacitly took a step back, widening the legendary distance that was said to be either a fight or a kiss.

Fu Yanle patted his startled heart. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" An Shigou looked Fu Yanle up and down. "What did you do last night? Why did you change your clothes?"

"Do I look like someone who can't afford clothes?" Fu Yanle reached out and patted the tip of his trembling beanie before walking past him.

An Shigou quickly followed, "I've been eating melons all night!"

Fu Yanle turned his head and glanced at the two listless dark shadows under his eyes. "I can see that you exude a sharp and spirited aura."

"They're saying your student ID is photoshopped? Is it true or not?" An Shigou followed closely behind Fu Yanle. "I'm telling you, you're stupid. Why would you photoshop Nanjing University's ID? How dare you! It's a Double First-Class university, a top-tier prestigious university. It's very proud! Now things are getting out of hand. If Nanjing University finds out, you'll be slapped in the face!"

"As it turns out, it was someone else who offered their face up, begging me to slap them." Fu Yanle paused, then swiftly reached out and covered An Shigou's forehead as he lunged forward.

An Shigou was forced to stop his reckless, ox-like steps and said angrily, "What are you doing!"

"Nothing." Fu Yanle withdrew his hand, put two fingers together and touched the front of his forehead, and smiled gently. "I appreciate your concern. Don't worry, your dad never photoshops pictures, they're all real."

An Shigou was taken aback, then became even angrier. "Who cares about you! Stop patting yourself on the back! If you want to know whether I can or not, first see if you're even worthy!"

"Okay." Fu Yanle's gaze shifted from his flushed ear tips, thinking to himself that this scoundrel—oh, no, this young man is quite arrogant, which suits his name quite well.

An Shigou's thoughts were exposed, and he immediately didn't want to be in the same place as Fu Yanle. He squatted down and watched Fu Yanle's cheerful figure gradually walk away, then suddenly jumped up and stomped on the ground.

"Damn it! Why do you care about him? What does he have to do with you?!"

"Now that you've been seen through, are you satisfied? With Fu Yanle's character, who knows how smug he'll be in the future!"

An Shigou recalled Fu Yanle's smiling face and felt as if he had instantly transformed into a scorching and foolish firebird, just waiting to spread his wings and soar into the sky, shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

"...hu!"

An Shigou took three deep breaths, pulled out his phone from his bag, and skillfully accessed Fu Yanle's Weibo comment section using his alternate account. He found that Fu Yanle's haters were coming on strong and were organized and disciplined, and it seemed that the fans who were speaking up for Fu Yanle were about to lose.

He quickly opened his assistant's WeChat: [Has your friend who graduated from Nanjing University replied? Is it true?]

The assistant sent a short voice message: "The student ID is real. My classmate asked the French department, and there is such a person as Fu Yanle. Top universities are usually so busy that if I hadn't asked, they wouldn't have known about this at all."

Upon hearing this, An Shigou's throat tightened, and he confidently entered the Weibo comment section, commenting with his alternate account: 【What's the point of you all guessing here? Why don't you just let @NanduUniversity come and see for yourselves if it's true or not!】

As soon as the comment was posted, An Shigou quickly logged out of Weibo and fled down the alley.

Meanwhile, Fu Yanle had already entered the recording studio and received the lyrics with the parts assigned to him.

When the director entered the recording studio carrying a glass of soy milk, Fu Yanle had already listened to the demo twice and was leaning back on the sofa with a nonchalant expression. He walked over and said knowingly, "Yanle, what other surprises do you have that I don't know about?"

Fu Yanle looked up and said shyly, "So many."

The director took a sip of soy milk and became very suspicious of Fu Yanle's identity.

After Fu Yanle learned from his deputy that "the investors do not allow the use of Lin Qingtong", he replied "We can use her". Less than ten minutes later, Yaoguang Entertainment delivered the same reply.

Yaoguang Entertainment is a top-tier talent agency, not to mention it's backed by Zongchen Group and shares the surname "Yu".

Of course, this could be a coincidence.

But as a veteran in the industry, if one's eyes and sense of smell weren't sharp enough, they would have been swallowed up by the crowd of shrewd people long ago. The director was certain that with Fu Yanle's temperament and demeanor, he was either spoiled by some big shot or grew up in a life of luxury.

Perhaps the director's gaze was too direct and focused, because the music teacher next to him couldn't help but cough.

The director withdrew his thoughtful gaze. "Yanle, are you ready? If you are, let's start recording the song."

Fu Yanle made a gesture, "Okay."

The director said, "Okay, the film crew, come in and film some behind-the-scenes footage."

"We're here too." Tang Wanbai slipped into the recording studio, followed by An Shigou, who was still angry.

Tang Wanbai sat down on the sofa excitedly, looked around, and asked, "Where are Teacher Meng and the others?"

"They're recording in room number two, three people on each side." The director, captivated by An Shigou's pufferfish-like face, couldn't help but ask, "An, who's bothered you this time?"

Relying on Fu Yanle's presence inside, An Shigou boldly declared, "A dog."

The music teacher touched the headphones and said into the headset, "Come on, Yanle, don't be nervous. Give me a hint when you're ready."

"Okay." Fu Yanle did a split, manually adjusted the microphone distance, and sang along to the accompaniment, "The night is cool, the stars are three, I look up at the sky. On the long street, the wind is like a gust of wind, and you are separated by the Milky Way."

The music teacher's eyes lit up, and she immediately gave Fu Yanle a thumbs up in the inner room. She had been worried that Fu Yanle's singing wasn't good enough and was prepared to work overtime, but she never expected Fu Yanle to amaze her once again!

Fu Yanle's voice is clear and clean, but those two lines were languid and dreamy, with a hook at the end, conveying a romantic tenderness. What was even more surprising was that Fu Yanle sang with emotion, instantly transporting her to a long street, as if a night breeze was gently swaying, and the person she cherished was standing under the shadow of a tree.

The sweet surprise and the sudden sense of loss were both conveyed in just a few words.

The melody in the headphones was warm and delicate. Fu Yanle waited for the chorus to begin, then closed his eyes and sang: "I am on the starry road, far away, you are in the Milky Way, boundless. You and I walk hand in hand, day and night."

The music teacher adjusted her headphones and whispered a reminder: "Be careful with the volume during the final chorus chorus."

"Hey." An Shigou poked Tang Wanbai, who was cupping her face, "What do you think of Fu Yanle?"

"It'll definitely work!" Tang Wanbai pointed to the music teacher. "Didn't you see how happy the teacher is? And it's been two minutes and she hasn't called 'stop' yet. It's a one-take success!"

"Oh." An Shigou turned his head and saw the teacher give an OK sign, then secretly added a heart, and Fu Yanle returned the favor with a heart. The two of them then had a heart-shaped "biubiu" battle through the glass.

“…Heh.” An Shigou thought: Another mortal who has been captivated, how shallow!

Seeing this, the director breathed a sigh of relief and said to Fu Yanle who came out, "Yanle, you make me feel so good."

"Single Kesi." Fu Yanle smiled shyly and approached the music teacher. "Teacher, is there anything that needs adjusting?"

"No, it's perfect." The music teacher said in a voice full of affection, "Your tone is set up so well, I feel like I'm in love."

The two then engaged in a second round of heart-shaped Biubiu battles, until An Shi Gou, like a calf, burst through the gap between them.

"...Ahem." The music teacher reluctantly withdrew her heart-shaped hand gesture and returned to her work.

Fu Yanle walked to the sofa and sat down, taking the Wahaha drink that Tang Wanbai handed him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Yanle, you're the embodiment of surprises." Tang Wanbai said excitedly, "I originally thought you couldn't do anything, but you dance so well, you're good at studying too, and now you even did it in one take! You're like a treasure trove!"

Fu Yanle said, "Looks like you got quite a bit of gossip last night, huh?"

"I watched videos until 3 AM, and only when I checked Weibo at 1 AM did I realize you were trending again. I started following the gossip as soon as I woke up this morning, and even liked your posts on Weibo using my alternate account. Oh, right!" Tang Wanbai took out her phone and excitedly opened Weibo, "You were in there just now, you probably don't know the gossip is completely out of the woods now!"

Fu Yanle curiously stretched the dog's head out—

[Nandu University: Adopting a free-spirited and unrestrained darling. I'm late, so don't post anything on Weibo to scold me (fingers.jpg) @FuYanLe, the Invincible Beauty]

Tang Wanbai laughed heartily, "Your skill in roasting people is too strong, your reputation has spread far and wide."

“Goose!” Fu Yanle smiled politely and looked at the comments.

My dream school appeared in broad daylight!

[You idiot troll! Keep making things up! You're always spreading rumors to make money for your own funeral, I wish I could dig up your grave!]

[A Russian language major's perspective: Fu Yanle's looks should have placed him among the top three most handsome men in his class, department, and university, but he was truly unrestrained and loved freedom. He was very low-key, always wearing a hat, yet he consistently ranked first in his major, amassed numerous scholarships, and even spent a year abroad on exchange. It's just unclear why he didn't pursue a master's degree.]

[This is a direct junior of Senior Fu, brought here by the official Weibo account! The teacher said he studied French purely out of passion, and never intended to make a living from it.]

[Getting into Nanjing University just because of a hobby? Versailles, get out of here! Waaaaah!]

[I'm from the Broadcasting and Editing department next door. My bedtime ringtone is a short clip of "La Vie en Rose" that Fu Yanle sang during a class meeting back in the day. I recorded it by hiding behind the back door! I've listened to it for four years straight, and I'm pregnant 108 times already!]

A friend of mine wants to have 109 babies!

I've booked 110 pregnancies...

...

Fu Yanle turned his head as if sensing something, meeting Tang Wanbai's pleading gaze, "..."

Tang Wanbai pulled her hand away from her face, slowly cupping a flower-like face, and said longingly, "Yanle, let me have your 10086th child!"

"..." Fu Yanle quickly calculated his assets and suddenly felt poor.

I wonder if Yu Jingchen will pay for him to raise a few heaps of livestock.

Author's Note:

Da Yu: Oh? "La Vie en Rose" (Notebook.jpg)