The little incident with the fan was over.
Su Zhiyi and Jiang Yuanheng's script was actually finished. Their companies only wanted them to be photographed by paparazzi at the concert and then have a trending topic together the next day to hype up the rich brother-and-sister CP. Originally, the work was completed successfully, and they were supposed to go their separate ways. But Jiang Yuanheng had indeed booked the restaurant, so Su Zhiyi had no choice but to go eat with her old classmate.
An old classmate she hadn't seen in a long time. It sounded like they'd have a lot to catch up on, didn't it?
Actually, after absorbing the world's pre-existing memories, Su Zhiyi still didn't have much of an impression of Jiang Yuanheng—less so than even the hateful ex-agent who was now in prison. As expected, hatred was the most enduring emotion.
On the way to the restaurant with Jiang Yuanheng, she tried hard to recall any interactions she'd had with him in high school, but she still couldn't remember a thing.
Restaurant private room.
"Any dietary restrictions?" Jiang Yuanheng took the menu handed over by the waiter, removed his mask and baseball cap, casually marked a few dishes, and then handed the menu to Su Zhiyi. "I don't know your preferences well. Since it's our first time, you order."
Su Zhiyi marked two dishes she liked on the menu.
"I don't have any restrictions. As for what I like, just these two dishes. If we order too much, we won't finish." She could eat all flavors—sweet, sour, bitter, spicy—but preferred sweet and sour.
Jiang Yuanheng had already ordered spicy dishes on the menu, so she went with her own preferences and ordered two sweet-and-sour ones.
"Squirrel-shaped mandarin fish and sweet-and-sour pork ribs?" Jiang Yuanheng took the menu, looked at the two added dishes, read them several times to memorize, then handed the menu to the waiter. "You like sweet-and-sour dishes? I'll remember that."
Su Zhiyi asked, "Yeah, why are you remembering this?"
Jiang Yuanheng smiled faintly. "Because I want to have more meals with Sister Zhiyi in the future, so naturally I need to remember your preferences."
They chatted as the dishes were served one after another, leaving just the two of them and a table of delicious food in the private room.
The paparazzi arranged by the company had already taken their photos at the concert venue and entrance, without any script for them to eat together. Jiang Yuanheng genuinely seemed to want to have dinner with Su Zhiyi and catch up.
Su Zhiyi didn't know what they had to catch up about. She had almost forgotten all her high school classmates, let alone a junior who wasn't even in the same class or grade. She wanted to refuse, but Jiang Yuanheng was too enthusiastic, so after thinking it over, she agreed. It was also a free meal—no loss. They might develop a long-term cooperative relationship later, so she could take this chance to talk and build rapport.
Su Zhiyi, unilaterally, wasn't familiar with Jiang Yuanheng and didn't know what to talk about. Jiang Yuanheng, on the other hand, seemed to have a lot to say. As soon as the dishes were served, he proactively started a topic.
"Actually, this collaboration with you was something I actively arranged with the company." Jiang Yuanheng picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of the freshly served sweet-and-sour pork rib, and placed it in Su Zhiyi's bowl.
"Thank you... Wait, why?" Su Zhiyi showed a surprised expression.
She recalled the concert scene and grew more puzzled. "You seem very popular right now, at the peak of your career. You don't need to stir up a CP, do you? Why choose to collaborate with me?" She had been curious from the start why such a good opportunity came to her, since Jiang Yuanheng's status was much higher. Little did she expect that Jiang Yuanheng himself had sought out the company.
"Because I've seen you a few times before. Later, my pursuit of music, studying abroad, and entering the entertainment industry were all because of you. Now that I have some fame, I can finally come to you openly." Jiang Yuanheng's eyes suddenly changed, becoming tender as if reminiscing about the past, his voice soft as flowing water. "I know you're not really my fan. Saying you're my fan and often listening to my songs was just to cheer me up and make me happy. But I am your fan. I've liked you for many years. I've watched every drama you've starred in."
Su Zhiyi: "?!"
She was so shocked she almost dropped her chopsticks. What was Jiang Yuanheng saying? He was her fan and had watched every drama? A new-generation singer who became popular as soon as he debuted was a fan of her—a third-rate actress with bad acting, poor resources, only her looks, and starring in money-grabbing, low-quality dramas?!
"Are you... joking?" Su Zhiyi laughed awkwardly. "You don't need to cheer me up. I—"
"I'm not joking." Jiang Yuanheng directly denied her statement. "Sister Zhiyi, do you still remember the school Top Ten Singers competition in high school?"
"Top Ten Singers competition...?" Su Zhiyi tried hard to search her high school memories for that competition.
She had attended a very famous public high school. From her first year, she was recognized as the school beauty. Pretty, good grades, and not arrogant—many subconsciously thought she might be a well-mannered young lady from a wealthy family. Teachers especially liked her because she had a good image, so every event, they pulled her in to host. In her sophomore year, it seemed the school had held a Top Ten Singers competition. She was one of four hosts. Most winners were awarded by ceremony assistants, but she personally presented the trophy to the champion.
That champion's name seemed to be...
"Ah!" With Jiang Yuanheng's reminder, Su Zhiyi suddenly remembered. "You were the champion back then?"
"Remember now?" Jiang Yuanheng's eyes were filled with a smile.
System 030 happened to find information about Jiang Yuanheng from high school and relayed it to Su Zhiyi. "Jiang Yuanheng didn't have many encounters with you. The first meeting was at the Top Ten Singers competition. He was the champion, and during the award ceremony, he had close contact with you and exchanged two sentences. The following times were all him watching you from afar on campus. It might have been because of the inspiration he got from that competition, plus he was very interested in music since childhood. Between sophomore and junior year, he went to study in Country F, attending the most famous music school there. During university, he formed a band in Country F for two years, achieving great success. Later, he returned to China to develop his career, and with the support of the Jiang family, he became a sought-after new-generation singer in just one year."
Truly a smooth life without any setbacks.
"I have a slight impression, but not deep," Su Zhiyi nodded without much emotion. "In high school, I was busy as hell, hosting too many events. Who can remember the champion of a campus singing competition?" She said this perfunctorily to System 030, but when facing Jiang Yuanheng, she immediately changed her expression, as if genuinely reuniting with an old friend she had been close with long ago.
She covered her mouth, her beautiful eyes wide, blinking as if stars shimmered in them. "It really is you! I still remember—your singing was great back then. I listened carefully, and it was the best among those contestants. They originally wanted a ceremony assistant to give you the award, but because I loved the song you sang and your voice so much, I took the initiative to say I wanted to present it to you."
That was a lie.
In reality, because her appearance was so outstanding, she was specifically arranged to present the award to the singing champion, along with a photo for the school's official account.
"Our photo together actually became a little popular on campus back then." Jiang Yuanheng actually believed Su Zhiyi's words and added another sentence.
The combination of a handsome man and a beautiful woman always catches eyes. The school account post featuring them achieved unprecedented views, and the school's confession page had people confessing to Su Zhiyi for a whole month.
Jiang Yuanheng was a very talkative person, always finding topics that could keep Su Zhiyi engaged without boredom. Some topics revolved around him—talking about his years studying music abroad. After finishing his part, he would steer the conversation to Su Zhiyi, discussing the dramas she had starred in. He even remembered the magazines she had shot, brands she had endorsed, and ads she had taken early in her career.
"When I was studying abroad, I really wanted to come back and see you. Do you remember your first magazine shoot? I asked a friend back home to buy your first fashion magazine. Unfortunately, only the cover had you, and the content was too boring."
"Oh, oh, I remember that fashion magazine I shot right after entering the industry... Was it called LISA? If I remember correctly." Su Zhiyi covered her lips and smiled awkwardly. "You were following me even when you were abroad?"
The fashion magazine she shot when she first debuted had a small explosion in popularity because of her stunning cover. But along with the fame came criticism—saying the magazine content wasn't good, etc. Her ex-agent didn't care, making a fortune off her outstanding looks, and realized she was a perfect candidate for the 'black-and-red' route. Knowing her acting was terrible, he still signed her onto bad dramas. Those bad dramas also loved to approach her, as they didn't need acting skills, only the beautiful faces of male and female actors, some capital support, and heavy promotion. Her bad reputation was built up bit by bit like that. Even her fans knew her acting was terrible, couldn't bear to see her get scolded by passersby and haters, and tactfully advised her, "Sister, can you stop taking dramas? Why not switch careers to modeling and shoot magazines and ads?"
No one likes to be scolded, and Su Zhiyi didn't want to be either. But could she simply not? Damn unscrupulous company! Damn heartless agent! Damn hateful capitalists! The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, cursing the company and ex-agent countless times in her heart.
"When I returned to China, I wanted to find you immediately..." Jiang Yuanheng paused, then continued, "But by then, you were already a star, and I was just a small singer in China with no works, no fame, and not yet debuted. I wanted to wait until I had some fame to meet you."
"Now, I guess I'm a little famous, right?" He curled his lips into a smile, a small dimple forming in the corner of his mouth, revealing that cute little canine tooth again. "Sister Zhiyi, am I now qualified to stand by your side, just like when we stood together on the award podium in high school?"