Chapter 13

"Don't try to find out anything about Chu Yourong's case—our law firm protects client confidentiality."

Seeing Zhang Xian seemed very interested in Chu Yourong, Zhang Laidi quickly added again.

"What if I said Chu Yourong was my wife?"

"Say it's so, then!"

Zhang Laidi scoffed, twisting her mouth: "There are at least eight hundred thousand men online claiming to be Chu Yourong's husband—your claim isn't one more."

"Besides, Chu Yourong has already publicly announced her relationship—her topic has been trending on Weibo for hours!"

"What?"

"Announced her relationship!" Daily Novel Companion, tttkst. tw, so thoughtful

Zhang Xian immediately opened Weibo—the topic #ChuYourongRelationship# was number one on the trending list, followed by a bright red "EXPLODING" tag.

Clearly, this topic had extremely high popularity.

Zhang Xian clicked into the related topic and saw that four hours ago, Chu Yourong had posted a Weibo: "For the rest of my life, it's you."

Below it were three photos: all intimate pictures of Chu Yourong and a man, except the man's face was replaced by a cartoon pattern.

In the comment section of that post, Chu Yourong herself replied: My boyfriend is outside the industry; I don't want him overly exposed.

At this moment, the comment count on her self-revealing post had reached 320,000, and likes had surpassed one million.

"Baby, be happy!"

"Announcing your relationship while you're at your peak—sister, you're so brave!"

"No wonder she's been inactive lately—she's been dating!"

"A popular girl group member reveals her relationship—does she want to destroy her career? Love-struck girls are terrifying!"

"Nai Rong actually has a boyfriend? I can't even imagine how lucky he must be!"

"Holy shit! My wife has a boyfriend now—I'm shattered!"

"Bro, promise me—go for IVF, don't touch Nai Rong!"

Zhang Xian flipped through a few of the netizens' comments; most were still quite friendly, and among Chu Yourong's fans, male fans outnumbered female fans.

Male fans tended to be more rational: they fanned out, they liked her, but even though they shouted "wife" daily, it was just online banter—they knew deep down she was unattainable.

Learning she had a boyfriend didn't trigger extreme reactions, but for male idols with large female fanbases, announcing a relationship caused wildly intense responses—they truly immersed themselves, mostly as "girlfriend fans" or "wife fans."

So for male idols, revealing a relationship was essentially career-ending.

But judging from the comment section of Chu Yourong's Weibo, her fans' reactions weren't nearly as intense.

Zhang Xian examined the three photos Chu Yourong posted again—she had indeed protected him well: not only had his face been obscured by cartoon patterns, but even his clothing had been color-altered.

If the photos hadn't been taken at the café and he hadn't been there himself, Zhang Xian might not even have been sure the man beside Chu Yourong was him.

Hmm, as long as it doesn't affect me.

After dinner, Zhang Xian went straight to his room to play games.

The next day.

Zhang Xian woke up naturally again.

Ding!

Number One Lying Flat Assistant's yesterday's income settlement.

Number One Lying Flat Assistant's yesterday's income: 36,000 yuan!

Host received double earnings: 72,000 yuan!

Just opening his eyes, over seventy thousand yuan had just landed.

It seemed the popularity of Apple Fragrance was still fermenting; Zhang Dongshan's livestream room had grown even busier, earning over thirty thousand yuan in one night.

After breakfast and lunch.

Zhang Xian went out again, fishing rod on his back.

Yesterday, because of Chu Yourong's interruption, he still hadn't broken the curse of catching nothing.

Today, Zhang Xian decided to try a different fishing spot.

"Brother Xian, off fishing again?"

Over the past two days, the NPC at the Liu family gate had changed from Liu Fusheng to Liu Dongxu—the guy dressed neatly, hair combed perfectly, holding a briefcase—looked like he was either interviewing or going to work.

Wait a minute!

Zhang Xian instinctively frowned, because he noticed Liu Dongxu's head now had an extra red thread.

He remembered Liu Dongxu had six red threads before—today there were seven.

Could he have been taken by Wang Jiajia?

"Brother Xian, why are you staring at me?"

"Too handsome?"

Liu Dongxu fondled his hair, self-admiring.

"So, did you get a job, or are you going for an interview?" Zhang Xian asked.

"Interviewing—big company, says they'll offer 400,000 yuan annual salary."

Liu Dongxu spoke proudly.

"That's really good!"

"Wish you success!"

Liu Dongxu chuckled: "Thanks for your good wishes, Brother Xian—but 400,000 yuan isn't that much actually; I interviewed for another job that offered nearly 500,000."

"By the way, Brother Xian, drop me off at the alley entrance—better to catch a taxi there."

"Alright, hop in!"

This small favor Zhang Xian could easily help with.

So Liu Dongxu sat down on the backseat of the small electric scooter: "Xian Ge, as your brother, I still have to advise you—spending all day fishing and playing games isn't a solution; you need to find a real job."

"Otherwise, you'll truly end up a bachelor—tell me, which woman would want a jobless layabout?"

"Mm-hmm, you're right!"

Zhang Xian nodded, then added: "But I actually have a girlfriend."

"Xian Ge, you have a girlfriend? Then why were you going on blind dates with Jiajia before?"

Liu Dongxu asked curiously.

"The blind dates were arranged by Grandpa—I had no idea about them."

"Oh, I see. Then when you have time, bring your girlfriend along—I'll invite Jiajia, and we'll all have dinner together. No need to wait—how about tonight?"

Liu Dongxu was very curious what kind of girlfriend Zhang Xian could have found.

Based on his estimation, given Zhang Xian's current condition, even if the woman wasn't ugly, she was unlikely to be good-looking—he and Wang Jiajia would easily outshine her.

"Tonight probably won't work—she's quite busy with work."

"Then ask your girlfriend when she's free—it doesn't matter if it's later; Jiajia and I both have time."

"Alright, I'll ask her later."

Zhang Xian brushed him off casually.

But he had no intention of joining this boring gathering—he'd just make up an excuse to cancel it later.

After dropping Liu Dongxu off at the alley entrance, Zhang Xian rode his small electric scooter straight toward the river.

Today he changed his fishing spot, determined to reclaim the dignity he'd lost a few days ago.

【Jingxi Electronics Factory】 livestream room.

After yesterday's rain-fishing incident, today's livestream audience had grown even larger.

"9:56:12, he hasn't arrived yet."

"9:58:24, he hasn't arrived yet."

"It's 10:00! Why hasn't he shown up yet!"

"Host, can you switch the camera angle? If you've been getting zero catches, you must've moved spots!"

"Yes, yes, switch to a few different angles—it must be a new fishing spot!"

The livestream staff, being responsive, immediately switched the camera to two new angles.

"There it is! There it is!"

"He really moved spots!"

"Haha, he's really back!"

"I wonder if this guy really doesn't have a job? He fishes every single day!"

"He doesn't just skip work—he's got a hot girlfriend too!"

"He fishes in the rain and his girlfriend brings him an umbrella—I can't even imagine his household status!"

"......"

With Zhang Xian's appearance on camera, the livestream room erupted again.

But Zhang Xian, now at a new fishing spot, had no idea he'd become a "digital pet" for tens of thousands of viewers—every move he made was under intense scrutiny.

However, changing spots didn't bring Zhang Xian any luck—two hours passed, and he still caught nothing.

Ding!

Check-in successful!

This is the host's fifth day of lying flat and not working!

Reward: 10,000 R Coins!

Random reward: one Entertainment Blind Box.

The system notification sounded again.

Zhang Xian, who had been nearly dozing off, suddenly perked up.

He quickly opened the Entertainment Blind Box.

Ding!

Entertainment Blind Box opened successfully!

Obtained Z-Space song "The Song of the Common Man"!

Ding!

Song "The Song of the Common Man" has completed copyright registration in this timeline.

Copyright information available on "China Copyright Network."

With a series of notifications, Zhang Xian's China Copyright Network account now had another original song: "The Song of the Common Man"!

However, following the popularity of "Apple Fragrance," Zhang Xian's China Copyright Network nickname 【Sixth Sense】 had been tagged as "Renowned Creator."

Once any work is published under a user's copyright network account, the nickname cannot be changed.

Zhang Xian's nickname 【Sixth Sense】 had been chosen back in high school, when he uploaded two original songs to the China Copyright Network, dreaming of selling them for a fortune.

But his works at the time were too immature and drew zero attention.

Ironically, after "Apple Fragrance" went viral, music companies began sending him private messages offering to buy those two long-ignored songs.

The songs were the same songs—their quality hadn't changed at all—but now people were willing to buy them.

Zhang Xian knew his limits—he knew those two songs, even if officially released, wouldn't make any splash, and wouldn't earn much anyway, so he decided not to sell them.

Now, as he logged into the copyright network again, another song, "The Song of the Common Man," appeared under his name—but it was currently in "Hidden for Sale" status.

After uploading a song to the copyright network for review, the singer could choose either "Public Sale" or "Hidden for Sale."

If "Public Sale" was selected, the song would automatically enter the "Copyright Pool," where singers or music company staff would "fish" for songs.

But as the music industry developed, fewer and fewer people went to the copyright pool to fish for songs, because the works of well-known creators sold themselves without needing to be dumped into the copyright pool, so the quality of works entering the pool was usually poor.

Of course, there were still a tiny number of novice geniuses who had no sales channels and could only submit their works to the copyright pool first.

Zhang Xian was now also a well-known creator; his works sold themselves easily, so he had no reason to dump the system-awarded "Song of the Common Man" into the copyright pool.

Moreover, Zhang Xian's current top priority was to make his father, the Number One Lying Flat Assistant, famous.

The system-awarded song? Of course it was meant for his father to sing.

Zhang Xian carefully read through the entire "Song of the Common Man"—the lyrics were plain, the melody simple.

At twenty-two, he couldn't fully grasp all the ideas the song intended to convey, but the charm of music lay in the fact that even without full understanding, one could still sense part of the creator's message through the lyrics and melody.

Zhang Xian reviewed the lyrics several times; unlike many pop songs, this one's lyrics weren't particularly "elegant," lacking flamboyant, ornate phrasing.

It used the simplest, most straightforward language to articulate many truths of life.

Perhaps, this was what was meant by "Heavy sword without edge, the Dao is simplest."

Hmm, this song was perfect for his father, with his rich life experience!

Maybe it would become another hit.

But there was no rush to release it yet—first, let his father fully reap the benefits of "Apple Fragrance."

Zhang Xian made up his mind and turned his attention back to the river.

At that moment, his phone suddenly rang.

It was Chu Yourong calling.

"Let's have dinner tonight—I'll arrange for someone to sneak photos, but don't worry, I'll blur your face in the news reports!"

The call connected, and Chu Yourong's voice came through.

Hearing "blur your face," Zhang Xian felt a pang of annoyance—it made his face sound like a private part.

It reminded him of some internet celebrity whose face was always blurred.

But Chu Yourong meant well, and Zhang Xian had no intention of "showing his face" anyway.

Once he became a public figure, his life would inevitably be disrupted—that wasn't what Zhang Xian wanted.

"Just the two of us?"

"Can I bring friends?"

Zhang Xian thought of his invitation from Liu Dongxu—he'd planned to make up some excuse to decline, but since Chu Yourong had reached out, he might as well go to dinner and spare Liu Dongxu the pleasure of thinking too highly of himself.

"Sure, that'll make it more authentic."

"I'll send you the restaurant address and time via WeChat."

"By the way, tell me how many friends you're bringing."

After hanging up, Chu Yourong immediately sent the restaurant address and meeting time.

Then she sent a voice message: Arrive an hour early—I have something to discuss with you in person.

Five-thirty.

Zhang Xian arrived punctually at the restaurant Chu Yourong had booked.

It was a high-end sushi restaurant called Dayu; before coming, Zhang Xian checked—it cost over a thousand yuan per person.

But he wasn't worried at all—his "wife" was paying.

Under the server's guidance, Zhang Xian entered the private room, where Chu Yourong was already waiting.

"Here's a set of clothes—change into them."

Seeing Zhang Xian arrive, Chu Yourong handed him a shopping bag directly.

"Change clothes again?"

Zhang Xian was reluctant, mainly because it felt too much trouble.

"Couples' outfits—we have to play the part fully!"

"Go change in the bathroom!"

Chu Yourong pointed to the restroom inside the private room.

"Fine, I'm in your debt."

Zhang Xian went to the bathroom and changed into the clothes Chu Yourong had prepared—a casual outfit from a major brand, the kind celebrities often wore.

Zhang Xian had always been good-looking with a fit build; after changing, Chu Yourong's eyes brightened: "Hmm, nice!"

"You like it? Good—after all, you're the one paying."

Zhang Xian sat down casually across from Chu Yourong.

"Sit beside me—you're bringing two friends, aren't you?"

"It'd be weird if you sat across from me."

Chu Yourong pointed to the seat beside her.

"Fine, you say where—I'll sit there!"

Zhang Xian immediately stood up and sat beside Chu Yourong, fully cooperating.

"Did you see the news?"

"Didn't you say you didn't know me before?"

Once Zhang Xian was seated, Chu Yourong asked.

"Yeah, now I know you." Zhang Xian nodded.

"To be honest, I want to end my contract with my agency by getting married—I need your cooperation."

"The news is already out; now we need to build up the romance. My people are already sneaking photos across the street at this restaurant—tonight's date will hit the internet."

"But that's not enough—I want something with ceremony. Any good ideas?"

Chu Yourong rested her chin on her hand, looking at Zhang Xian beside her.

"Do you want a sense of ceremony? The grand kind?" Zhang Xian asked.

"Yes!"

Chu Yourong nodded: "The grander, the better—we'll take part together!"

"Then, I'll take you to visit the graves!"

"Is that not ceremony enough??"