Su Zhiyi had never been a fan of anyone before. At most, she watched movies and TV dramas, and only to improve her acting skills. This was her first time attending a concert. The concert was long, and after a while, she grew a bit tired. Having to sit still for so long made her muscles ache.
In the first half, she still had the leisure to listen carefully to Jiang Yuanheng's singing, but in the second half, she basically alternated between listening to the music for a while, secretly interacting with Jiang Yuanheng on stage so the fake paparazzi could snap some photos, and then glancing at the script on her phone, using Jiang Yuanheng's singing as background noise. She was going to start filming in a few days and needed to familiarize herself with the script.
Jiang Yuanheng bowed to the audience, the lights dimmed, and he exited the stage. The concert was over.
"I knew I should have brought my camera today. What a shame—I never expected Brother Jiang to look this way so many times!" The girl watched the video she had recorded, nodded in satisfaction, then put away her phone and packed her backpack. She picked up her bag, ready to leave like all the other fans.
"Wait a moment." Su Zhiyi, still seated, called out to her.
"Huh?" The girl stopped. "Is there something else?"
Su Zhiyi shook the support fan in her hand, tilting her head toward the girl. "Forgotten? To thank you for your gift, I want to give you one in return."
"Ah...?" The girl let out a bewildered laugh. "Look at my memory—I almost forgot. What gift is it?"
Su Zhiyi didn't reveal the surprise, keeping the mystery. "You'll know in a moment."
Just then, Xiao Chen walked up beside Su Zhiyi and said in a low voice, "Miss Su, Brother Jiang is waiting for you backstage. He asked me to lead the way."
"Mm, got it. Thank you for leading the way." Su Zhiyi nodded to Xiao Chen, then turned to look at the confused girl behind her. "By the way, can I bring someone along?"
Xiao Chen glanced behind Su Zhiyi and readily agreed. "That's fine, but as for the follow-up arrangements..."
"I haven't forgotten the follow-up arrangements," Su Zhiyi said cryptically.
The girl, being a die-hard fan of Jiang Yuanheng, recognized not only Xiao Chen's face but even the face of Jiang Yuanheng's driver. She followed Su Zhiyi in a daze until she entered the backstage, only then snapping back to reality.
Suppressing her excitement, she leaned close to Su Zhiyi and whispered, "Sis, who exactly are you? How do you know Brother Chen? He's Brother Jiang's assistant!"
"Are you a friend of Brother Chen?"
"To be precise, Xiao Chen and I aren't friends." Su Zhiyi lied without batting an eye. "Jiang Yuanheng and I are friends."
Actually, she hadn't seen Jiang Yuanheng since high school graduation. This was their first meeting since then, and it was all arranged by the company.
Just as she said this, before the girl could be shocked, a clear male voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention.
"Sister Zhiyi!"
Jiang Yuanheng, who had just been singing and dancing on stage like a super idol, now stood before them. The moment he saw Su Zhiyi, his handsome face lit up with undisguised joy, his tone lifting at the end as if hooked, like a long-lost close friend.
He had removed his stage makeup, revealing a fresh, handsome face. His flashy performance outfit had been replaced by casual clothes. His physique was excellent; the loose clothing didn't make him look bulky but instead accentuated his narrow waist and long legs, making him look like a youthful college student.
When their eyes met, Jiang Yuanheng smiled at Su Zhiyi. His eyes sparkled, his smile was radiant, and he showed a little canine tooth.
Su Zhiyi's mind went blank for a moment. Then her first thought was: no wonder Jiang Yuanheng became a top new-generation singer so soon after debuting. His voice and appearance were flawless. Calling him the most handsome and youngest 'fresh meat' male star of this generation would almost be an understatement. He was even more handsome than many of the popular young male actors she had acted opposite.
Jiang Yuanheng put one hand in his pocket and casually walked up to Su Zhiyi. "Sorry I'm late. I was removing makeup and changing clothes. Did I keep you waiting long?"
Su Zhiyi snapped back to reality and shook her head. "Not long at all. I waited until most of your fans had left before coming in. I just got backstage with your assistant."
"Mm, now that the concert's over, I don't have any more plans. Have you had dinner yet? Want to grab something together?"
"Not yet. Since your concert is over, let's go eat together."
"Which restaurant do you want to go to?"
Jiang Yuanheng said to Xiao Chen beside him, "Make a note and book the restaurant in advance."
"Yes," Xiao Chen replied.
Su Zhiyi searched her memory, thinking of all the nearby restaurants. The first one she ruled out was the French restaurant. After a moment, she decided on Chinese food. "I feel like having Chinese. Let's go to that Chinese restaurant on South Lane Street."
Without needing direction from Jiang Yuanheng, Xiao Chen took out his phone to book the restaurant. "Got it. I'll reserve a table now."
The girl who had come with Su Zhiyi felt a thousand horses stampeding in her heart; she couldn't calm down. When she saw Xiao Chen, she might have been momentarily dazed, but seeing her favorite star appear before her and casually talk to the beautiful girl she had been watching the concert with made her brain go blank.
It wasn't until Su Zhiyi and Jiang Yuanheng decided on the dinner restaurant that she gradually came back to her senses.
Jiang Yuanheng also noticed the girl following Su Zhiyi. He looked at her and politely asked Su Zhiyi, "And this is?"
Only then did Su Zhiyi take off the mask and baseball cap she had been wearing, revealing her face—widely acknowledged in the entertainment industry as a beauty with no replacement. She brushed the chestnut hair that had fallen by her ear, tucking it behind her ear, revealing her elegant, swan-like neck.
"Hello." She parted her red lips and gave the girl a sweet smile. "I just came to see a friend's concert and didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Sorry for hiding it from you." "I really liked your little gift. I didn't know what to give in return, so I could only give you a surprise."
Su Zhiyi had shed her disguise. The girl instantly recognized her as the female star who was constantly embroiled in scandals, known for her terrible acting skills, but who made up for it by being rich and beautiful—the young lady of the Beijing circle.
The concert lights had been changing constantly, and Su Zhiyi's eyes were hidden under her cap, so she hadn't recognized her before. Now, she truly did.
The girl had been in the entertainment industry for many years, and the only star she liked was Jiang Yuanheng. She knew a lot about entertainment gossip. In the industry, Su Zhiyi was labeled as a "once-in-a-millennium beauty," "born to eat the entertainment industry's rice," "a Beijing circle heiress experiencing the entertainment industry," and "will return to inherit hundreds of millions of assets if she quits the circle." Along with negative labels like "bad acting," "just a pretty face," "prima donna attitude," and "likes to throw her weight around."
Because of these rumors, the girl's first impression of Su Zhiyi hadn't been great, but she still thought the actress was incredibly beautiful. Now, meeting Su Zhiyi in person and spending a few hours with her, she felt those negative labels seemed inaccurate. She hadn't seen Su Zhiyi throwing her weight around or having a bad temper. In the short time they'd spent together, she could tell Su Zhiyi was a very gentle, good-tempered person.
Now that she saw her favorite star was friends with Su Zhiyi, any negative impressions she had due to gossip vanished. A good person like Brother Jiang would surely have good friends.
The girl was flattered, waving her hands and shaking her head. "No, no, I recognize you—I've seen the dramas you've acted in. Your acting..." The words "great acting" stuck in her throat; she wanted to say them but couldn't. Finally, after a pause, she said tactfully, "You're very beautiful and very photogenic."
Su Zhiyi knew why the girl held back the second half of her sentence, but she didn't mind. She had already achieved her purpose in bringing the girl backstage.
"She's your fan," Su Zhiyi said to Jiang Yuanheng, shaking the support fan in front of him. "She was watching your concert with me just now and gave me this handmade fan of yours."
Jiang Yuanheng's eyes lit up in understanding, and he immediately switched to his signature sunny smile from his public persona. He said to the girl, "I'm going to have dinner with my friend later, so I can't bring you along." He picked up a black marker from the table beside him and uncapped it. "How about this: do you have any of my posters or albums with you?"
"Yes, yes! I brought Brother Jiang's new album from three months ago."
Seeing Jiang Yuanheng take out the marker, the girl instantly understood his intention. She quickly rummaged through her bag, pulled out a brand-new album, and handed it to Jiang Yuanheng with both hands, looking at him expectantly, then casting a grateful glance at Su Zhiyi.
"Can I sign on the cover?"
"Sure, Brother Jiang, sign wherever you like!"
Jiang Yuanheng signed his name neatly on the album cover, put the cap back on, and returned the signed album to the girl with both hands.
The girl took back the album, looking at the still-wet signature, her excitement and joy almost overflowing. "Thank you, Brother Jiang! Thank you, Sister Zhiyi! I won't disturb you two!"
She happily left with the album. Her favorability toward Su Zhiyi kept climbing, and she had already placed Su Zhiyi second among her favorite stars. After all, Su Zhiyi was just a little lacking in acting skills—she didn't need to view her through tinted glasses like the masses who went with the flow. Because... who wouldn't like a beautiful female star who was approachable and didn't have a prima donna attitude?