Chapter 34 Love Letter: The Proudest Boy in Her Heart
Zhou Yu was taken aback, wondering if she had figured something out from what she said.
She knew she couldn't hide it from her mother; if you opened Chen Jingchi's music page, the top four most popular songs were all written by her. So she honestly admitted, "Yes, he invited me to write the lyrics."
Liu Xianya didn't say anything, just nodded, then remembered something and said, "You two were high school classmates?"
“Hmm,” Zhou Yu said, “We’re not in the same class.”
"Where is he studying at university now?" Liu Xianya pressed.
At this point, Zhou Yu already knew what her purpose was. She hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "In Jiangchuan."
Liu Xianya smiled but didn't ask any further questions. She simply said ambiguously, "That's quite a coincidence."
While watching TV in the living room that evening, Zhou Yu made an excuse to go to the kitchen to wash fruit. When he came back, he stood behind the sofa and secretly glanced at Liu Xianya's phone screen. One second she was playing Candy Crush, and the next second she opened the app store and downloaded Weibo.
She knows that young people nowadays use Weibo to follow celebrities online, and they can't find Chen Jingchi himself on short video platforms.
Zhou Yu waited for ten minutes, then opened Weibo and cleared the thousands of unread messages. He then opened his homepage and saw that he had more than four thousand followers.
It's obvious they're all fans of Chen Jingchi. As for whether they follow her out of genuine liking or just to watch the show, that's unclear.
Opening the follower list, I saw that the latest person I was following was a new account with a default gray profile picture and a random name. The account's profile page was empty, and it only followed two people: her and Chen Jingchi.
Zhou Yu secretly followed the account and changed the contact name to "Mom".
Soon, two messages popped up in the likes section, showing that Liu Xianya had liked two of her Weibo posts.
Before going to bed that night, Liu Xianya started listening to songs from Chen Jingchi's debut album, keeping the volume very low.
When they moved to Xianhai, Liu Xianya specifically chose a two-bedroom apartment because she knew Zhou Yu would need her own room after starting high school. However, when they first moved in, Zhou Yu would have nightmares every night, often waking up in a cold sweat. Liu Xianya didn't dare leave her side for even a moment. Even after she entered high school, the mother and daughter still slept in the same bedroom, and they still do now.
Another unoccupied bedroom was converted into a study, filled with Zhou Yu's various books and materials, which he hadn't thrown away after graduating from high school and had neatly arranged on the bookshelf by Liu Xianya.
Liu Xianya used to relax by watching short videos before bed, but now she doesn't watch short videos anymore. She just listens to songs and looks at the lyrics page several times. She glances at Zhou Yu a few times, but when she sees that Zhou Yu is reading a book, she doesn't want to interrupt her.
Zhou Yu found it somewhat amusing. She closed the book and put it aside, asking, "What are you trying to say?"
Liu Xianya pretended to be nonchalant and asked, "Not watching anymore? Then go to bed early."
Zhou Yu turned off the desk lamp beside him: "Okay."
She knew what Liu Xianya wanted to ask, but she couldn't explain too much about this topic. It was actually more convenient for her that Liu Xianya didn't bring it up herself.
As the Spring Festival approaches, Liu Xianya's work becomes increasingly busy. When someone in the department takes leave, someone has to fill in. Since she lives close to the hospital, she is happy to help.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Chen Jingchi posted a poster on Weibo announcing his participation in the online Spring Festival Gala broadcast live on the Xinghuo video platform. The gala was scheduled for the day before Lunar New Year's Eve, avoiding the actual eve of the holiday.
This Spring Festival Gala was not pre-recorded; it was a live, live broadcast, which better showcased the singers' vocal abilities and, of course, made it the place where lip-syncing was most likely to trend on social media.
The program schedule has been released, and Chen Jingchi is scheduled to perform fifth.
That evening, Liu Xianya turned on the TV early and switched to a live streaming platform. It was showing a TV drama, and she complained about the plot to Zhou Yu as she watched. Zhou Yu knew that she had ulterior motives, so she didn't expose her and just chimed in with a few words.
The gala officially started at 8 p.m. Chen Jingchi's performance was at the beginning. After the opening dance, when the first guest came on stage, Zhuo Wencheng called on everyone in the group to come and watch. He also complained that the first singer was able to keep his breath perfectly steady while singing and dancing throughout the entire performance, making it hard not to suspect that he was listening to a studio recording.
Zhan Li: [She's already dancing, why don't you let her have a turn?]
Tan Bei: [Yes, as long as it looks good, that's all that matters.]
Zhou Yu didn't participate in the discussion; she knew too few celebrities, and didn't even know who the people dancing on stage were.
After the fourth program ended, there was a game between the hosts, and Zhuo Wencheng sent a "zao hou" (a Chinese internet slang term for someone who is very agitated) emoji.
Liu Xianya asked casually, "Who's next?"
Zhou tried to suppress a laugh: "It's Chen Jingchi."
"Oh, what is he singing?"
“An invitation to the night,” Zhou Yu replied.
"You wrote this song too?"
"yes."
Liu Xianya finished asking her questions.
After finally getting through the awkward interactive segment, the song title that popped up on the screen wasn't "Invitation to the Night," but "Shahe."
Zhou Yu was stunned. Had they changed the song at the last minute?
The phone rang a few times.
Zhuo Wencheng: [What does that mean?]
Tan Bei: [Why is it the next song?]
After the song title disappeared, the person standing on the stage was not Chen Jingchi at all, but a middle-aged male singer whom Zhou Yu had never seen before.
Liu Xianya was also puzzled: "Who is this? Wasn't it Chen Jingchi who came on stage?"
Zhou Yu was also bewildered: "I don't know, let me check the program schedule."
She pulled up the previously saved program list and confirmed that it was correct. Chen Jingchi was supposed to go on stage after the interactive segment, but she didn't know what was going on.
Zhou Yu's phone kept ringing, and he looked down at the group chat.
Zhan Li: [Did I time travel? The performance is already over?]
Zhuo Wencheng: [There was no performance, why was it skipped?]
Xu Yue: [Finished]
Tan Bei: [What's over?]
Xu Yue: [I just checked, and the director of this gala is the same director who directed "I Hear Your Voice"].
Zhuo Wencheng: [? ? ? Using public office for personal revenge?]
*
Backstage at the Spring Festival Gala live stream, in a single-person dressing room.
"What kind of bullshit reason is that!" Du Heng's face turned ashen with anger, and he couldn't help but curse, "They're just playing favorites!"
Five minutes earlier, a male staff member apologetically informed them that Chen Jingchi's performance time had been shortened to only half a minute due to the host's game interaction exceeding the allotted time. The male singer scheduled to perform after him was a highly respected vocal artist in the industry, who was very strict about time and required to be on stage at the designated time.
So the director made a decision to insert a commercial break to let the next program go first, and Chen Jingchi's performance had to be postponed.
He didn't know when it would be postponed; he was waiting for further notice.
While apologizing and explaining, the staff member's voice was trembling. He was clearly a scapegoat being pushed onto him. Du Heng saw that his employee badge showed he was an intern, so he barely managed to hold back his anger and told him to get lost.
Chen Jingchi remained calm, as if he had anticipated such an unexpected event.
"Coach Yu disliked me when I withdrew from the competition," Chen Jingchi said calmly. "It's hard to say it wasn't deliberate retaliation."
Not only did Chen Jingchi withdraw from the competition, but he also wrote a song called "By My Own Will" to satirize the alleged behind-the-scenes manipulation of the show's production team. Nearly half a year has passed, and this director is still holding a grudge, clearly angered and resentful after being hit where it hurt.
When Chen Jingchi received the notice for this online live performance, he saw that it was on the same video platform as "Hear Your Voice" and had a thought that he might run into Director Yu. After all, several of the voice-based variety shows he directed were very influential and popular on the platform, so there was a high probability that entertainment galas would ask him to be their director.
"With a temper like that, he doesn't even deserve to be a director! He's arguing with kids!" Du Heng said, suppressing his anger. "I knew they were being generous by providing us with a private dressing room. They probably thought we wouldn't be able to handle it if we made a scene."
Chen Jingchi reassured him, "Forget it, let's wait. They can't really not let me go."
The performance fee has already been paid. The director is petty, but he's not stupid.
Ultimately, it was Chen Jingchi who started this trouble first. He knew this in his heart, and even though he knew he would be made things difficult, he still planned to seize the opportunity.
He spent his weekends in January running around to music festivals, but that was just about using up his popularity to make quick money. He really wanted to sing on a more formal stage.
The two makeup artists had been working with Chen Jingchi for quite some time. Seeing Du Heng so angry, one of the makeup artists advised, "You should be more tactful in the future and avoid offending these people."
Chen Jingchi frowned in displeasure upon hearing this.
If asked if he regrets his decision to withdraw from the competition and write a song satirizing the show, Chen Jingchi's answer is no.
He craves opportunity, but he wants it to be fair and just, earned through his own abilities, not by pushing others down to rise to the top. He himself has worked his way up from obscurity to where he is today, and he understands very well that eliminating capable people could potentially alter the course of their lives.
He didn't respond, but Du Heng spoke up for him: "You can't talk to this kind of person without offending them. If they want to mess with you, they'll either do it openly or secretly. How can you possibly guard against them all?"
He was furious and spoke sharply, so the makeup artist didn't dare to say anything.
*
Zhou Yu was forced to watch the entire live broadcast of the gala, afraid of missing Chen Jingchi's performance. But when it was past ten o'clock, and there was only one last chorus left on the program, he still hadn't seen Chen Jingchi.
Liu Xianya cleared a few more levels in the match-3 game, then looked up and asked, "Not yet? Is he not playing today?"
"No way, the appearance fee for this kind of performance is quite high." Although Zhou Yu said this, he was actually not very sure himself.
People were chatting in the group, but Chen Jingchi hadn't shown up yet, and no one knew what was going on with him.
Opening Weibo, many people are asking why the originally scheduled program disappeared without any reason, and the official explanation has not been given.
It wasn't until the choral performance ended and the host came on stage that Chen Jingchi's name was finally mentioned. The host explained that due to scheduling issues, Chen Jingchi's performance had been delayed until now, and that everyone had been waiting for a long time.
It inexplicably became the grand finale; I don't know if that counts as a pleasant surprise.
Zhou Yu reminded Liu Xianya, who was still going through the challenges, "Mom, it's coming."
Liu Xianya gestured with her finger and replied, "I'll pass the test soon!"
After the song title disappeared, Chen Jingchi appeared in the center of the stage wearing a black tuxedo, and the audience immediately erupted in screams, which could be heard clearly even on the live broadcast.
Upon seeing this, Liu Xianya exclaimed repeatedly, "Wow, you know what? Wearing a suit really makes a difference; he instantly looks like a star."
Zhou Yu took it as a compliment to Chen Jingchi's good looks and echoed, "Mhm."
When Chen Jingchi spoke, his voice was as clear and pure as ever, but Zhou Yun could vaguely hear that his voice wasn't on the beat of the drums, whether it was because of the television or because of him.
She had heard this song countless times, and the arrangement was very familiar to her. After listening to a few more lines, she was certain that the problem must lie with Chen Jingchi.
Seeing him raise his hand to adjust his headphones twice, Zhou Yu had a bad feeling.
Zhou Yu once attended a live performance. The huge studio was full of audience members, and the sound system was very loud. If the singer's in-ear monitor malfunctioned and they couldn't hear themselves singing, not only would the rhythm be delayed and off-target, but various pitch problems would also occur.
Especially during the chorus, when the strings took over, it became completely chaotic. Even Liu Xianya noticed something was wrong and wondered, "Why does it feel like his voice is clashing with the accompaniment?"
Zhou Yu didn't know how to explain the problem to her, so he could only say, "It's a problem with the accompaniment."
"I knew it," Liu Xianya complained, "This kind of party is really unprofessional."
During the interlude, Chen Jingchi's emotions were no longer concealed on his face, and Zhou Yu was somewhat worried about the second half of the performance.
However, during the second verse, the TV's sound system seemed to be fixed instantly; Chen Jingchi's rhythm was no longer off, and his pitch was also correct.
Liu Xianya nodded: "I feel much better now after I finished scolding you."
"..." Zhou Yu understood that this was a studio version with the original singer included.
Chen Jingchi couldn't hear through his in-ear monitors, so he probably didn't know the accompaniment had been changed to the original singer. After the performance, he didn't bow as he had last time, but turned and left in a hurry.
He knew better than anyone what had gone wrong with the performance.
Zhou Yu felt uneasy. A few minutes later, the party ended completely. She opened Weibo and saw that there were indeed several trending topics about him.
#Chen Jingchi lip-syncing#
#Chen Jingchi's music is awful#
#Chen Jingchi is off-key#
The three entries were all marked with a deep red "爆" (explosive) and occupied the top three spots.
The real-time Weibo posts were filled with indiscriminate insults and even personal attacks.
@取月色二两: Is this the rising star in the music scene that your fans are praising? In the first half, he just sang whatever line he dreamed about. My dog barked a couple of times and it was more accurate than his pitch. In the second half, he just slacked off and played a pre-recorded song. What a great closing act! He made the whole nation laugh.
The insults were so vile, it was purely an emotional outburst. Zhou Yu glanced at them a few times, then left with a furrowed brow.
Those who wanted to smear him seized this opportunity to stir up trouble, and even some of Zhu Qi's fans infiltrated the fray, venting their pent-up frustrations from the past few days, and taking a jab at all sorts of shady characters.
Messages kept popping up in the group chat, all from friends expressing their sympathy for Chen Jingchi.
Zhou Yu clicked in and just saw Zhuo Wencheng's latest post: [Look at Du Heng's WeChat Moments]
She opened her WeChat Moments; five minutes earlier, Du Heng had posted a message:
[I've never seen such a shameless person! One excuse about being late made a kid wait from 8 to 10, and now they've tampered with his in-ear monitor, playing the original recording without a word, as if they think they don't have enough smears against him already! Someone as vindictive as you will be punished by heaven one day!]
It turned out there was a problem with the in-ear monitor.
This was the first time Zhou Yu had ever been so angry with Du Heng, who was usually so good-natured. She wondered how Chen Jingchi was doing now.
Liu Xianya always went to bed early when she wasn't on the night shift, so she had no idea what was going on online and still thought Chen Jingchi's performance had gone well. She turned off the TV and said to Zhou Yu, "Get some rest, we're going to Grandma's for dinner tomorrow."
Zhou Yu stood up: "Okay."
Just before going to bed, a notification popped up on Zhou Yu's phone screen from a Weibo follower. Zhou Yu clicked on it and saw that Chen Jingchi had posted an update at 10:30 PM.
@Chen Jingchi: Let's chat tomorrow night.
[Live Stream Reservation] January 28th, 21:00
*
Du Heng was still angry when he left the broadcasting building.
Although the performance was only broadcast on an online platform, Chen Jingchi took it very seriously and started preparing the costumes and styling half a month in advance. Now, not only has he been tricked by the director, but the overwhelming negative comments online are also unbearable to read.
Chen Jingchi was called on to perform at the last minute. He didn't even have time to adjust his microphone and in-ear monitor. When he sang the first line, he knew that this ordeal was far from over.
The director himself didn't dare to show up, so he sent two interns to apologize, leaving them with no outlet for their anger and forcing them to suffer in silence.
He turned to Du Heng and said, "Don't be angry. I'll do a live stream tomorrow to explain."
"It's the Lunar New Year, and I'm really going to have to deal with this unlucky guy. I just can't swallow this." Du Heng sighed helplessly. "It's easy to explain to the fans by going live, but he's just ruined all the goodwill you've built up with the general public."
Chen Jingchi looked ahead and said calmly, "Let's take it slow. This isn't something that can be accomplished overnight."
He knew in his heart that even if not now, at some point in the future, this director would not let him off the hook.
*
The next day was Lunar New Year's Eve. Liu Xianya took Zhou Yu to her maternal grandmother's house for lunch. When they wanted to come back in the afternoon, the two elderly people asked them to stay for New Year's Eve dinner, saying that there were many people and it would be more lively there, so that the mother and daughter would not have to spend the New Year alone at home.
My maternal grandmother had one daughter and two sons, and only when the whole family was together could the New Year feel like a reunion. My two uncles' children were both in elementary school, and Zhou Yu had exhausted his patience trying to tutor them with their winter vacation homework.
The two children were very polite, but no matter how they were taught, they just wouldn't learn; it was really difficult. Only when the Spring Festival Gala started did Zhou Yu finally escape his predicament and emerge from his study to catch his breath.
Fireworks are not prohibited in the city center. Firecrackers and fireworks started going off around 7 p.m. The whole family sat on the sofa watching TV. Auntie put out snacks and fruits on the coffee table and invited Zhou Yu to come and eat.
Zhou Yu ate a few strawberries, checked the time, and at five minutes to nine, got up and went back to his study. He closed the door to block out the noise and opened Weibo.
There were already thousands of viewers waiting in the live stream room. Zhou Yu found a phone stand in the next room, took it over, and plugged in his headphones.
In the dormitory group chat, Fan Xin posted a message: 【Guys, Chen Jingchi is going to do a live stream!】
An Kejia replied instantly: 【Great! I was just finding the skit boring. Where is it being streamed? I'll go check it out】
Fan Xin: [Weibo Live Broadcast]
In the group chat of six, Xu Yue also shared the link to Chen Jingchi's live stream.
Zhuo Wencheng: [How is Chi-ge doing? @Chen Jingchi]
Chen Jingchi: [Not bad]
He finally came out to respond last night.
Zhuo Wencheng: [Can I request to join a live stream later?]
Tan Bei: [What do you want to do?]
Zhan Li: [I want to replace Zhu Qi and sing "Evening Star Falls" with Brother Chi.]
Tan Bei: [Hahahaha]
Xu Yue: [He doesn't even know your Weibo username; he's probably just waiting in line to get his number.]
Zhuo Wencheng: [...]
Chen Jingchi started his broadcast promptly at nine o'clock. The background showed a corner of a bedroom. He was wearing headphones and a warm white sweater, which made him look gentle and approachable, like a friendly older brother next door.
He glanced at the camera with a nonchalant expression and asked if he could hear anything.
The barrage of comments was dazzling, with gift effects flying everywhere, and Zhou Yu had to click to clear the screen to get some peace and quiet.
"I started the broadcast to explain what happened last night." Chen Jingchi's voice sounded calm, as if he was not affected by the public opinion last night. "It is true that I sang off-key. After I went on stage, I could not hear any sound in my earpiece. I did not know that they played the original song in the second half. I am very sorry to have let you down and made you wait for so long."
His tone was very sincere.
In Zhou Yu's memory, Chen Jingchi didn't like to engage with fans on Weibo. He would only post photos with a few randomly chosen emojis and never replied to fans' comments. He had no sense of being a real person at all.
This was his first time interacting with his fans, and it felt more like a conversation between friends than a star and a fan.
“I saw the trending topic. No matter the reason, you have to face all kinds of opinions when you stand on stage, I don’t deny that,” Chen Jingchi added. “But I want to clarify one point: don’t put the title of ‘recording studio singer’ on me.”
Chen Jingchi looked directly into the camera, seemingly meeting Zhou Yu's gaze across the screen.
An audio software page appeared on the screen, and Chen Jingchi said, "Now you can see the status of my microphone. When I sing later, I will only turn on the reverb."
Starting with the first song on the album, Chen Jingchi sang all six of his original songs that he has released so far, including a promotional song for a mobile game and an ending theme song for an anime.
She had listened to so many of his songs and never doubted his talent. This time, Chen Jingchi wanted to prove that his mistake last night was indeed an accident.
He couldn't explain everything, so this was the only way he could give his fans an explanation.
Zhou listened attentively from beginning to end and concluded that his ability was beyond doubt, and that it was almost identical to the studio version.
After finishing his song, Chen Jingchi said to the camera, "Tonight is New Year's Eve, so I won't disturb everyone's New Year celebration. I wish you all a Happy New Year in advance."
Zhou was touched and wanted to open the chat section to send him a Happy New Year message. It was her first time watching a live stream, and she didn't recognize any of the icons. There were several buttons at the bottom, and she accidentally clicked one. Suddenly, a white box popped up in the middle of the screen:
[Request for live stream connection successful]
Zhou Yu stared blankly at the line of text, and hurriedly tried to retract it, but didn't know where to press. In his panic, he accidentally pressed the button again.
The message popped up again, indicating that the request to connect for the live stream had been successful.
"..."
Zhou wanted to chop off his own hand.
We can only hope that Chen Jingchi didn't see it.
However, things did not go as planned.
Just as Chen Jingchi was about to end the live stream, his gaze fell and he suddenly noticed a name appearing in the chat list. Without hesitation, he immediately accepted the request, and Zhou Yu's avatar appeared on the right side of the screen.
After almost an hour of live streaming, he finally smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Yu covered her face with her hands, feeling a faint sense of impending death. She was relieved that it was just a live chat and there was no camera. She explained softly, "I accidentally clicked it."
She had somehow brought the chat back up, seemingly after hearing a female voice in the live stream, and a large number of question marks floated across the chat.
At the same time, a message from a WeChat group chat popped up at the top of the screen.
[Cat's Eye Sisters]
Fan Xin: [?]
[Liuwei Dihuang Pills]
Zhuo Wencheng: [? ? ?]
[Liuwei Dihuang Pills]
Zhan Li: [Now you're the clown.]
Chen Jingchi grunted in response, then ruthlessly exposed the truth: "I accidentally clicked it twice."
Zhou Yu glanced at the top right corner; there were over 20,000 people watching online. She felt so embarrassed that her scalp tingled and her palms were sweating. She didn't even know what she was babbling about: "I haven't watched the live stream, I don't understand."
Who's this? Does he have a girlfriend?
You don't know Zhou Yu? Have you really heard his songs?
[They're all fake fans, I'm speechless.]
[I believe she really did order the wrong thing, her voice sounded so nervous, hahaha]
[The lyrics are so grand and majestic, yet the singer has a sweet, girlish voice!]
[So, could you please tell me when your second album will be released?]
Knowing it was an accident, Chen Jingchi originally didn't intend to make things difficult for her, but after seeing a comment, he couldn't help but reply: "When will the second album be released? We'll have to ask Zhou Yu when he can finish writing it."
Zhou Yu's computer was still crashing, and he couldn't urge him to end the broadcast immediately, so he could only bite the bullet and answer, "You didn't say what you were going to write."
The smile in Chen Jingchi's eyes deepened: "Now I'll tell you."
Zhou Yu thought he was going to talk about this during the live stream, but Chen Jingchi's next sentence was: "That's all for today, see you next time."
The live stream abruptly ended, and the next second, my phone rang; it was Chen Jingchi calling.
Zhou Yu let out a long sigh of relief, the tension instantly disappearing, as if he had been reborn.
She answered the phone and heard him say, "We're working on a second album, and the initial plan is for six songs."
Zhou Yu was somewhat surprised: "So many songs? How long will it take to finish?"
"I can't say for sure. I have a lot of ideas I want to try, like making a music video." Chen Jingchi laughed and said, "Tonight I will make a New Year's wish, hoping to make it within six months."
Hearing this, Zhou Yu stared at Chen Jingchi's WeChat profile picture on the screen and said softly, "Then I'll make a wish."
There was silence for several seconds after she finished speaking. Chen Jingchi hummed in confusion and asked, "What do you mean by 'allow'?"
Zhou Yu's mind flashed through many images of him, finally settling on the scene from last night where he wore an expensive tuxedo but hurriedly left the stage due to his unsatisfactory performance.
She sincerely said, "I hope you become famous soon, so famous that no one will dare to bully you."
The boy she was most proud of deserved a grander stage and the most enthusiastic praise.
-----------------------
Author's note: Thank you, everyone, for the nutrient solution!!!
Reader "keyee" added 5 units of nutrient solution to the water.
Reader "keyee" added 5 units of nutrient solution to the water.
Reader "Qiqiqiqi" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the water.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
