Chapter 23: Guo Fucheng's Envy

The sun set, outside the hospital gate.

Zhou Jielun, who had called his mother in advance to say he wouldn't be home for dinner tonight, stood at the intersection with his teeth gritted, holding his waist with one hand, his grimace looking as if he had just taken a fall—

Not long after, a sedan pulled up in front of him.

"Get in the car, Jielun. The restaurant is booked; we'll go first. Wen Lan still needs to put on makeup, so she'll arrive a bit later." Liu Genhong, wearing sunglasses, rolled down the window and raised a hand to greet his sworn brother.

Zhou Jielun, grimacing in pain, panted "hiss-hiss" through his teeth and hurried into the car. This strange appearance naturally aroused Liu Genhong's suspicion—

"What's wrong, Jielun? Has the gas poisoning not been dealt with yet?"

"Nothing, I just slipped on the stone steps a moment ago and fell."

Feeling the searing pain in his waist, Zhou Jielun, who was grimacing from the pain, shook his head to indicate he was fine: "Where is Zhou Yi? When is he arriving? Did he say?"

"He said he's still discussing the dance choreography for his MV with the choreography teacher; he should arrive around seven." Seeing that his sworn brother was indeed fine, Liu Genhong restarted the car and casually replied while turning the steering wheel.

"Dance choreography for the MV? Is he a dancer?"

"I'm not sure, but with Guo Fucheng setting a high standard at Warner, plus Zhou Yi's excellent appearance, it's not impossible to promote a new Guo Fucheng."

Liu Genhong, speaking of this savior, spoke with deep emotion: "Luckily, Warner arranged for Zhou Yi's apartment to be on the same floor as mine, and that night he came back late from practice; otherwise, we probably would have all died there."

Zhou Jielun, in the passenger seat, shuddered at these words, his expression clearly still haunted.

He was still young, only twenty-one this year, with his mother, grandmother, and other relatives at home. If he had died from gas poisoning, he couldn't even imagine the scene of white hair sending off black hair...

May heaven protect us.

"Genhong, what do you think I should give him as a thank-you gift?" Zhou Jielun, having thought and pondered for a long while without figuring out what to give to express his gratitude, spoke up.

One couldn't just say someone saved your life and then settle it with a meal. Even if Zhou Yi could accept that, Zhou Jielun himself could not accept it in his heart.

The awkward part now was that he couldn't afford anything too expensive because he was poor;

but he couldn't bring himself to offer anything cheap either, stuck awkwardly in the middle.

"There's no way around it; we don't know what he likes, so we can only give something expensive for now. At least it's a token of our gratitude."

Liu Genhong, speaking of this, also seemed a bit troubled, but financially he was very considerate of his sworn brother Zhou Jielun: "I'll cover your share for now; you can pay me back slowly once you earn money later."

As an artist, although he had basically become a fading star, Liu Genhong had clearly saved quite a bit of money.

"I asked Brother Xian. Zhou Yi is a top student from a mainland university and is currently a junior. So I bought you an expensive fountain pen; take it tonight and give it to him as a thank-you."

At the moment of waiting for the traffic light, Liu Genhong pointed to the empty back seat. Zhou Jielun turned his head, and two exquisitely wrapped gift boxes immediately came into view.

"I noticed he wasn't wearing a watch, so I got him a luxury watch. Wen Lan is preparing to give him a luxury wallet."

"Although these gifts still pale in comparison to the debt of saving a life, at the moment, these are the only things we could think of."

Speaking thus, Liu Genhong paused: "How about this, Jielun? See if you can compose a few more songs tailored specifically for Zhou Yi? He's a singer; songs should be very important to him, right?"

As a creator, Zhou Jielun's talent was widely acknowledged within several small circles in the company.

"I'll do my best, but I don't know what style his album is, and I'm not sure if he can accept my songs."

Due to the continuous rejection of his songs over the past two years, Zhou Jielun's confidence was clearly not as strong as before.

Moreover, for a new artist that a big company like Warner was determined to promote, his songs probably wouldn't even be considered.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yi, at the dance studio, glanced at the time, said goodbye to his dance teacher, went to the restroom to splash cold water on his face, and then hurriedly took the elevator downstairs.

It was time for him to set off.

Although the restaurant address Wen Lan mentioned over the phone wasn't far from this dance studio, one still had to consider the problem of taxi traffic jams in between.

It was currently the peak hour for traffic jams.

Zhou Yi had planned well; with half an hour, he could arrive on time no matter how bad the traffic. Until, he discovered another problem—

Damn, I can't even hail a taxi!

Watching taxi after taxi carrying passengers roar past the building's entrance, Zhou Yi, who had no car and no Taiwan driver's license, felt numb.

At this moment, he missed the convenient and fast ride-hailing apps of the future.

Should he call his agent, who was always busy with who-knows-what, to come and pick him up?

Zhou Yi, pulling a Nokia out of his jeans pocket, fell into thought.

However, before he could ponder for long, two sharp honks suddenly pierced his eardrums—

Surprised, Zhou Yi instinctively turned his head and looked in the direction of the sound; a deep red Ferrari sports car immediately came into his view.

In the driver's seat of the sports car, a young, beautiful single-eyelid beauty rested her elbow on the window, offering him a warm smile: "Zhou Yi, do you need a ride?"

"Miss Xiao? What are you doing here?"

At the sight of Xiao Yaxuan, Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow, his gaze then falling on her eye-catching fashionable attire.

Her jet-black long hair was simply tied into a ponytail; the tight, midriff-baring short sleeves clearly outlined her figure at the height of her youth; beneath the blue hot pants, the muscle lines of her long, powerful legs, honed by dance practice, were perfect.

As the only diva among the "Four Big and Three Small" of the early millennium whose personal fashion sense had been at the forefront of trends since her debut, Xiao Yaxuan's temperament was indeed outstanding at this stage.

"I practice dance here every day to prepare for my second album. Also, didn't I say last time? Just call me Elva."

Xiao Yaxuan, slowly driving the sports car to the roadside, threw the bag from the passenger seat into the back, then turned her head and tilted it toward him: "Taxis are very busy at this hour; if you don't mind, I can give you a ride."

"Then thank you very much, Elva."

Zhou Yi glanced at the time, thought for a moment, didn't refuse, and instead thanked Xiao Yaxuan gratefully.

"You're welcome. Taxis in Taiwan are like this; I hope you don't mind."

Watching the man get into the car, Xiao Yaxuan restarted the engine and asked: "Where are you going?"

"Taoyixuan. Do you know where that is, Xiao—Elva?"

Recalling the restaurant name Wen Lan had mentioned over the phone earlier, Zhou Yi, fastening his seatbelt briskly, gave the shop's name.

"Of course. I've eaten there a few times; the taste and environment are great. Good taste."

The sports car's engine roared, blasting off into the street in an instant. Zhou Yi, squinting slightly due to the strong wind, surveyed the city night scenery rushing past at high speed, somewhat curious: "By the way, you're a popular artist now; aren't you afraid of being photographed without any disguise?"

The paparazzi in Taiwan were no less aggressive than those in Hong Kong when it came to photographing popular artists.

"Let them take photos if they want. Since my album sold so well, I've gotten used to it; even going out for a meal can get me photographed by paparazzi a dozen times." Xiao Yaxuan, having experienced the early stages of fame, had clearly adjusted her mindset and was completely indifferent to it.

She debuted at the end of last year, and her first album's sales, nearing fifty thousand copies to date, have placed her on equal footing with the veteran diva Lin Yi, who switched labels; together, the elder and the younger have single-handedly carried Virgin Records.

This has caused everyone at Virgin Records to treat her, barely twenty-one this year, as a treasure; Yao Qian, the general manager who discovered her, has firmly secured his position and greatly increased his influence within the company.

The most direct consequence of her mentor's enhanced influence is that he can handle many annoying paparazzi for Xiao Yaxuan; otherwise, she wouldn't be driving such a flashy sports car to practice dance.

In a certain sense, this is also a provocation toward the paparazzi.

Young people, after all, all have tempers.

Watching Xiao Yaxuan, who clearly hasn't yet been beaten down by the media and still radiates vigor, Zhou Yi could only silently sigh at the passage of time.

Xiao Yaxuan, still under Virgin Records and under the care of her mentor Yao Qian, clearly still possesses that audacious, all-conquering drive.

Red fortune nourishes a person.

When she later transferred to Warner and became a casualty of executive infighting, buried and shelved, her subsequent albums failed to match her past peak performances; the once soaring, upward drive within Xiao Yaxuan vanished completely, leaving her merely a soulless commercial machine.

At one point, she ranked among the top three highest-earning entertainers on the island solely through commercial performances—imagine how frequent those gigs were.

Since then, news about her has been nothing but dating rumors, commercial performances, or rumors of more plastic surgery—truly heartbreaking.

"You're so laid-back. Driving me around this late at night—aren't you afraid of gossip? You're a red-hot idol right now," Zhou Yi asked, curious given his full awareness of the island's paparazzi.

By normal standards, though he and Xiao Yaxuan had gotten along well last time, they could barely be called acquaintances—just nodding friends.

Even if Xiao Yaxuan's nature inclined her to help others, under these circumstances, she wouldn't risk being photographed by voluntarily giving him a ride.

"I don't care. Ever since I became famous, the newspapers have printed everything about me—what's one more story?"

Seeing Zhou Yi seemed unaccustomed to the sports car's speed, Xiao Yaxuan instinctively slowed down, reached into the glove compartment, and pulled out a pair of unopened women's sunglasses, handing them to him: "Honestly, you're so handsome—gossip linking you to me wouldn't hurt me at all."

"... That's quite the excuse. You really are laid-back."

Zhou Yi glanced at his reflection in the rearview mirror, reluctantly put on the sunglasses, and chuckled: "But I like hearing that. Say more."

"For a current female superstar like me to compliment someone? That comes with a price tag—one ten thousand."

"Could I put it on credit? Pay you back after my album drops and I become famous."

"So many people release albums on the island every year—how confident are you that you'll stand out? What if you get drowned out?" Xiao Yaxuan teased while driving.

"Let me correct you."

Sensing her tone, Zhou Yi rested his elbow on the window frame, smiled, and let the evening wind tousle his bangs as he said with playful confidence: "I won't just break through among all the singers—I'll outshine you."

"So confident?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll wait and see."

Xiao Yaxuan, noncommittal, gripped the steering wheel, executed a smooth drift, and the eye-catching wine-red Ferrari slid into the designated parking spot outside the restaurant.

The tires screeched against the pavement, so shrill they drew the attention of everyone present—

As Jay Chou stepped out of the car driven by Liu Genhong outside the restaurant's main entrance, the first thing he saw was this striking scene.

A beautiful woman driving a Ferrari had, in an extremely flamboyant manner, stolen his gaze.

"Wait— isn't that Zhou Yi in the passenger seat?"

The first to react, Liu Genhong immediately noticed the tall figure stepping out of the passenger seat, his eyes widening in shock.

What's going on?

Didn't he just arrive from the mainland?

How come a woman driving a Ferrari is dropping him off for dinner?

This definitely doesn't look like a taxi.

"Zhou Yi?"

Prompted by his best friend, Jay Chou also recognized the man who had just folded and returned the sunglasses to the woman: "Wait, Genhong—is that woman… Xiao Yaxuan?"

"Impossible—Xiao Yaxuan is Virgin Records' top star, and Zhou Yi is from Warner—fuck! Is that really Xiao Yaxuan?!"

Liu Genhong, who had still doubted, now clearly saw the woman stepping out of the driver's seat under the night's brilliant neon lights, and couldn't help blurting out a curse.

This is insane.

"What's going on? Isn't she with Virgin Records? How is Zhou Yi with her?"

"Wait, Genhong—something's off. They've noticed us. They're walking over." Jay Chou, seeing Zhou Yi, who had been talking to Xiao Yaxuan, now turn toward their parked car, nervously swallowed and nudged his best friend.

To be honest, he was nervous—but also a little envious.

According to Zhou Yi's own words, he'd only just arrived on the island from the mainland, yet suddenly he was this close to Virgin Records' little diva…

Xiao Yaxuan had even driven him here in a sports car to have dinner…

He now felt his pen might not be good enough to give as a gift—this was way out of his league.

He was twenty-one and still grinding away, while Zhou Yi, at nineteen, was already chatting casually with a top star…

Being tall and handsome really does let you do whatever you want.