Chapter 363: Peppa's Gift |
"Wow, Yi-yi, look at this!"
Golden Lion Group, afternoon. A long time had passed since the end of the second variety show recording.
Bai Yi had changed out of her glamorous stage outfit into more comfortable everyday clothes.
Standing in front of the elevator, she was adjusting her black hair. Just as she put on her sunglasses, she heard her mother's exclamation beside her.
Turning toward the sound, she saw Zuo Jiangqin holding up her phone with a face full of excitement.
"What is it?"
Taking a quick glance, she saw a trending search list on a social media platform.
"Look quickly, you made the trending list!"
As Zuo Jiangqin swiped her finger, a hashtag about her clearly appeared further down the Hot Search List.
Seeing this, Bai Yi didn't say anything, but her starry eyes suddenly widened slightly.
She hurriedly reached out and tapped the search term. The very first result that popped up was a live broadcast clip of her singing her New Song at the variety show just moments ago.
Less than a few hours had passed, and it already had hundreds of thousands of views.
Looking at the top comments below...
Well, the first and second ones were both men and women sharing their past regrets in love.
Well...
Even though they weren't directly praising her singing, being able to evoke everyone's resonance meant her skills were up to par, right?
Moreover, this was just a simple version without a proper arrangement.
Once the official version was released later, it would definitely be even more popular!
"Oh my, look, the popularity is still rising! See, I told you coming to this variety show was the right choice! And you didn't believe your mother's eye..."
"Heh... Isn't it because my song is written well?"
"Without a platform and exposure, do you really believe gold will just shine on its own? What era are we in now? It's all about traffic! Traffic!"
"..."
Bai Yi scoffed, too lazy to argue.
At this moment, she finally realized that they had been so busy looking at the Hot Search List that they forgot to press the elevator button.
Coincidentally, an elevator was coming down from upstairs. Bai Yi quickly pressed the "Down" button to avoid waiting for another one.
"Oh, say, after this, do you think any big projects will take a fancy to you? The Linmen projects are too small, it's best to aim for international ones... How about the Sakura Country?"
Speaking of this, Zuo Jiangqin's eyes darted around as she looked at Bai Yi beside her.
"Hey, you know, that Lemon's appearance fee is ten times yours! Say, if she invited you to collaborate in the Sakura Country, do you think you could reach her level in a few years?"
Hearing this, Bai Yi frowned, but she suddenly realized something and asked directly,
"How do you know how much her appearance fee is?"
Income was an extremely private topic. Why would an artist reveal it for no reason?
Besides, she had just had a conflict with Lemon not too long ago.
For Zuo Jiangqin to suddenly say this, Bai Yi, who was familiar with her mother's nature, instantly had a bad premonition.
But Zuo Jiangqin didn't feel anything was wrong. Just as she was about to explain, the elevator chimed.
Ding-dong~
The elevator had arrived.
The elevator doors slowly opened, unexpectedly revealing Yan Huan inside, dressed in a sharp suit.
He was the only one inside.
"!!"
Bai Yi was just about to step in when she looked up and made direct eye contact with him.
Even behind her sunglasses, Bai Yi's heart still skipped a beat, and her pupils shrank slightly.
But she quickly recovered.
Her initially stunned expression instantly morphed into an aloof and cool, expressionless face. Even her motion to step inside halted, leaving her rooted to the spot.
"..."
Seeing this, Yan Huan blinked and smiled helplessly.
He didn't say much, simply offering a slight smile as he greeted Zuo Jiangqin,
"Auntie Zuo."
"Oh my! It's Yan Huan!"
In stark contrast, Zuo Jiangqin looked incredibly excited the moment she saw the handsome young man inside.
"Oh my, oh my, it's been a long time..."
She hurriedly stepped inside, looking Yan Huan up and down in his suit, clicking her tongue in admiration.
"Auntie almost couldn't recognize you in a suit. You look really handsome... Hey, Yi-yi, why aren't you coming in?"
"I'm not taking this one. I'll take the next one."
Hearing her mother praise Yan Huan's appearance, Bai Yi also sneaked a peek at him, having not seen him for a while.
Indeed, Yan Huan in a suit felt a bit more mature and elegant than he did back at school.
Hmm?
Wait...
Was it just because of the clothes?
She couldn't shake the feeling that, at this moment, Yan Huan gave off a faint aura of...
A married man?
It was that specific vibe—like someone who had just gotten married, had money, had a partner, and was riding high on the crest of success.
Was this right?!
After breaking up with her, shouldn't he be drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day and living a muddle-headed life?
Why was this scumbag man living so well, as if he were in paradise...
"Oh dear, look at this silly child, she got shy the moment she saw you... Haha..."
Bai Yi was still complaining inwardly when, in the very next second, Zuo Jiangqin forcefully pulled her into the elevator.
"Hey, Mom!"
Bai Yi glared at Zuo Jiangqin, but the older woman was completely oblivious to the subtle atmosphere between her daughter and Yan Huan.
"We're going to the first basement level, B1. Could you trouble yourself to press the button for us?"
"Sure, Auntie."
Seeing Yan Huan's completely natural gaze, Bai Yi shot him a resentful glare before quickly looking away.
'It was my mom who pulled me in. I didn't come in on my own.'
'Normally, I wouldn't step inside even if you begged me!'
"Hmph!"
Bai Yi crossed her arms, imagining a cool scenario in her mind where Yan Huan invited her into the elevator, and she pushed up her sunglasses and coldly rejected him.
Meanwhile, Zuo Jiangqin kept looking Yan Huan up and down, growing more satisfied the more she looked, especially after the matter with Lemon.
Previously, although she knew about Yan Huan's relationship with Ye Lan, she figured an adopted son probably wouldn't inherit much.
Otherwise, just think about it—why would he still be living in that rundown South Ward? Shouldn't he have moved to Kyogo Ward?
But now, learning that he was interning at two major companies—Golden Lion Group and Ye International—simultaneously, plus his connection with Lemon...
Although he wasn't a top-tier wealthy second-generation heir, he was still an incredibly rare and excellent catch.
Zuo Jiangqin didn't want to worry about the future for now, but no matter what, she had to use his connections to get Lemon to help Yi-yi out...
"..."
Inside the elevator, Zuo Jiangqin's appraising gaze made Yan Huan feel a bit awkward.
However, since he was also secretly observing Bai Yi's condition, it kind of evened out.
He noticed that Bai Yi was doing pretty well.
And recently, ever since Ye Shiyu calmed down that night, he had been frequenting the Golden Lion Group and found no signs of Bai Yi using her Modifier at all.
While relieved, he still felt guilty about what happened before.
Honestly, aside from Aruiya, whose power activated automatically, Bai Yi was the most restrained when it came to using her Ability.
In the beginning, when she splashed paint on his desk and tried to draw a turtle on it, he had thought she was utterly detestable.
Now, compared to the others who casually engaged in zero-frame activation attacks, bombed Tokyo with tentacles, or played battle royale with clones, Bai Yi was truly gentle and harmless.
When she mistakenly thought she had blown up Sakuramiya Hitomi, she had cried until she was a weeping beauty. She even taught Ye Shiyu how to do makeup and dress up...
Yet he had lied to her all along. Even after being exposed, she still hoped he would chase after her to win her back...
"Oh my, speaking of which, Auntie really needs to thank you, Yan Huan."
The floor was very high, so the elevator descended slowly.
Fortunately, no one else entered midway.
"Thank me?"
Zuo Jiangqin's sudden words left both Yan Huan and Bai Yi thoroughly confused.
Especially Bai Yi, who stared wide-eyed at her mother with a shocked expression of being "betrayed by her own side."
'Yan Huan made me shrink under my covers, feeling so wronged that I cried until midnight, and you are thanking him?!'
"Yes! Auntie never expected that you and that Lemon were such good friends when you were kids... Tell Auntie honestly, did you say something to Lemon to make her look out for Yi-yi?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, don't hide it from Auntie. Lemon already told me. She said it's all because of you that she plans to help promote Bai Yi in the future!"
Hearing this, Yan Huan recalled how Lemon had previously wanted to treat him to a meal.
'Was she trying to compensate because I didn't show up?'
'But how did she know about my past relationship with Bai Yi?'
Thinking this, Yan Huan glanced at Bai Yi.
Coincidentally, from behind her sunglasses, Bai Yi was also staring at Yan Huan with wide eyes.
"Umm..."
Seeing him look over, she hurriedly averted her gaze, maintaining her aloof and cool state.
But at the same time, she felt a slight jolt in her heart.
"..."
'Right, speaking of which, I slapped Lemon earlier.'
'I was completely prepared to face her stormy revenge...'
'But all these days, she hasn't made a single move.'
'For someone with such massive star status to just swallow an insult in silence... I couldn't understand it at all.'
'But...'
'If it was because Yan Huan went to see her, then everything makes sense.'
'Could it be that day he wasn't actually flirting with Lemon, but rather it was because of...'
'Me?!'
At this thought, Bai Yi's pupils couldn't help but contract.
Recalling the first day Yan Huan visited the set, her mind had originally fabricated a whole scenario of "Scumbag Yan deceiving another female star."
But now, it morphed into: "Yan Huan knows he owes me, so he doesn't dare ask to get back together, and only dares to secretly protect his ex's career."
'I never expected him to care about me this much...'
'As expected, he still wants to get back together, doesn't he?'
"..."
Bai Yi's expression softened slightly, and the corners of her lips seemed eager to curve upward.
But in the very next second, she instantly patted her cheeks, forcing herself to calm down.
'Calm down! Bai Yi! Don't be as easy to coax as a little puppy! Even though he treated you like that before, the moment he shows a little kindness and waves his hand, you're ready to run back with your tail wagging!'
'Besides, if he went to see Lemon in private for my sake, didn't I also slap her for his sake?!'
'So this cancels out!'
'Right!'
'It cancels out!'
Thinking indignantly, Bai Yi suddenly pursed her lips again.
'But...'
'Like this...'
'Doesn't it feel a bit like a mutual pursuit?'
'Just like that story written by that... Henry guy...'
'Um...'
'What was it called?'
'Ah, I remember now!'
'The... Peppa's Gift!'
'Hmm?'
'I think that's what it was called?'
'That story about the young couple who, without communicating beforehand, both subconsciously thought of each other!'
'Then...'
'Then...'
'Doesn't that mean... even though we're not married yet, we already have the synergy of a married couple??!!'
"..."
With these thoughts, Bai Yi nervously gripped the hem of her skirt.
She sneakily glanced at Yan Huan's side profile from beneath her sunglasses, and her face couldn't help but become rosy.
'Well...'
'Seeing as he cares about me this much...'
'If he breaks up with Sakuramiya Hitomi and then begs me to get back together, it's not entirely impossible to give him a chance to turn over a new leaf...'
"Hmm?"
But when Yan Huan sensed her gaze and turned his head to look at her, he found her still wearing an aloof and cool, expressionless face, looking like she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
"Auntie, I actually think that with Bai Yi's songwriting skills, she'll shine brilliantly even without Lemon's help... I listened to the song she sang just now, it was very beautiful."
"..."
The aloof and cool Bai Yi pursed her lips, and the grip on her skirt tightened.
'Idiot...'
'The lyrics are entirely cursing you, and you still say it sounds beautiful...'
'Do you... like me that much?'
Zuo Jiangqin glanced at the two of them, sensing the "mutual affection" in the air, and chuckled,
"True, true, haha! Lemon looked at her sheet music before and also said it was exceptionally written!"
"Huh? When did you show my sheet music to her?"
"Just... oh, what's the big deal? It's just a piece of sheet music. Anyway, Lemon also said you could 'bloom in two fields', acting and singing, wouldn't that be great..."
"You... you really are..."
Bai Yi was furious, but she had absolutely no way to deal with her infuriating mother. She could only grit her teeth and turn her head away.
Hearing this, Yan Huan also glanced at Zuo Jiangqin.
Ding~
There was no time to say anything more, because the elevator had arrived.
It was the first floor.
"Then I'll be going now, Auntie Zuo."
"Hey, make sure to come see Yi-yi more often!"
'Who wants him to come see me?!'
Hearing this, Bai Yi puffed her cheeks out in anger as she thought to herself.
But on the surface, she said nothing. She merely crossed her arms and maintained her aloof and cool state, waiting for the elevator doors to slowly close.
They were going to the first basement level to drive back.
Just as the elevator doors closed and it began descending, Yan Huan could even hear Bai Yi instantly blowing up inside, starting an argument with Zuo Jiangqin,
"Don't touch my sheet music in the future, you hear me?! If there's a next time, I'll turn hostile immediately, believe it or not!"
"It's just one piece..."
As the elevator slowly descended, the sound of the mother and daughter arguing gradually faded. Myau-chan materialized on Yan Huan's shoulder and locked eyes with him,
"Meow~"
Yan Huan couldn't help but laugh helplessly.
Honestly, he was admiring Bai Yi more and more.
Having stayed by Zuo Jiangqin's side for so long, to think she only used 'Indifference' to splash paint and draw turtles...
With such patience, Bai Yi, you'll succeed in whatever you do!
"But it really is strange, Myau-chan..."
"What is, meow?"
Yan Huan pinched his chin, showing a thoughtful expression,
"Isn't Lemon being a bit too enthusiastic towards Bai Yi and me?"
"Maybe she's like An Le and likes you too, meow?"
"...I don't think so."
As he said this, Yan Huan pulled out his mobile phone, planning to send a message to their "small group chat" to ask if they needed him to buy any groceries.
Ah, yes.
Ever since that night, Yan Huan had initially felt a bit awkward, but An Le turned around and created a "three-person group chat".
She euphemistically named it the "Resolve the Modifier Task Force," but the daily messages were all:
"President, do you want to head back together tonight?", "We're out of cooking oil at home, Xiao Huan, buy some", "Vice-President Sakuramiya, see which pair of slippers you like, I'll buy them for you..."
Anyway, it was all trivial, mundane matters. It really felt like a "Happy Loving Family" group.
He could only say that An Le was truly too authoritative.
That night, not only did she make Sakuramiya Hitomi realize the meaning of "my lowest limit is several times your absolute peak," but she also didn't make Sakuramiya Hitomi feel defeated. Instead, she only brought her extreme bliss...
Therefore, Sakuramiya Hitomi's current attitude was actually quite ambiguous.
"President, tonight I... I'll head back with you too, okay?"
"Ah, okay. I'm downstairs now, come on down."
"Alright. An Le, do you want us to buy any groceries? @An Le"
"No need~ I've prepared everything. We're having hotpot tonight~"
Thinking about having hotpot together tonight, Yan Huan's face couldn't help but flush.
'Sigh, this fertility is the death of me!'
"Hmm?"
However, just as he was about to open a video sharing site to scroll through some clips, the app interface he hadn't closed earlier appeared.
Inside, it was still the live broadcast recording of Bai Yi's performance.
But compared to the previous top comments, the new ones rapidly climbing to the top felt a bit off...
Looking at the contents of the comments, the smile on Yan Huan's face gradually faded.
He narrowed his eyes and clicked on another video recommended in the comment section below.
Putting on his bluetooth earbuds, he stood rooted to the spot and watched the entire video.
Suddenly frowning tightly, he turned back to look at the Golden Lion Mansion behind him, seemingly realizing something.
"..."
The next second, he immediately took off his bluetooth earbuds and sprinted back into the Golden Lion Mansion.
The floor number he pressed in the elevator was precisely the floor for Golden Lion Entertainment.
Inside, Lemon still hadn't left.
"Hah?! What the hell is this..."
Kyogo Ward, Bai Yi's boudoir.
Hugging her guitar, Bai Yi had just hung up her agent's call and hurriedly opened a certain video website.
She searched her own name, and a flood of videos popped up.
Videos of her singing "Fan A" at the comic convention, the music video for the song, and the live broadcast clips from the variety show just now.
But surprisingly, none of these ranked higher than one particular video whose popularity was skyrocketing.
"I Was 'Referenced' by a Genius Female Singer"
Bai Yi's eyes widened, and she quickly clicked on the video.
After finishing it, her eyes were bulging in absolute shock.
"Hah?! You're saying I plagiarized?!"
But as she kept watching, she realized something was wrong.
Because the video included many comparisons of sheet music melodies, which made it look incredibly credible.
Bai Yi frowned tightly, backing out of the video to visit the uploader's main page.
She discovered that it was the account of a female internet singer with hundreds of thousands of followers.
In the past, the account was filled with short videos covering the climax part and chorus of various songs. However, just a few days ago, she had uploaded an "original song."
It was titled "That Person."
Bai Yi listened to the melody. Indeed, many parts of the melody were similar, with only a few notes making the difference.
How could it be such a coincidence?
At first, Bai Yi wondered if it was just an unfortunate coincidence between the two of them.
But as she thought about it, she suddenly recalled the words Zuo Jiangqin had spoken in the elevator.
In an instant, she understood everything.
"..."
"Bang!!"
In the next second, she violently kicked her own bedroom door open.
Bai Yi carried her guitar in one hand. With bloodshot eyes, she swept her gaze back and forth across the first-floor living room, searching for her detestable enemy like a bloodhound.
"Clatter clatter..."
However, she didn't see anyone. Instead, from a certain room on the first floor of the villa, the sound of an automatic mahjong table shuffling tiles drifted out.
"Oh my, you have excellent luck today. How many big hands have you won already?"
"Of course! My daughter is famous now, so her mother also needs to make a little profit at the card table..."
"Hahaha! Come, come, enough chatting..."
Inside, Zuo Jiangqin was still organizing her tiles while covering her mouth to laugh. The very next second, the door to the mahjong room was kicked wide open.
"Bang!"
Zuo Jiangqin froze slightly. Looking up, the sight nearly scared her half to death.
She saw her daughter staring at her with bloodshot eyes, wielding her guitar in one hand as if she were carrying a broadsword.
"ZUO! JIANG! QIN!!"
"Oh my, oh my, what are you doing?!"
Zuo Jiangqin was momentarily stunned. But before she could react, Bai Yi was already so furious that her hair was practically standing on end.
Gritting her teeth, she raised the guitar and smashed it down onto the mahjong table, terrifying the other wealthy ladies into screaming as they scrambled to their feet.
"Ahhhhhh!!"
Zuo Jiangqin also hurriedly stood up, only to watch helplessly as Bai Yi's guitar strike sent all the tiles on the table flying, scattering across the floor.
Seeing this, Zuo Jiangqin's eyes widened, and she looked as if she wanted to beat her chest and stamp her feet in despair.
"Are you crazy?! My all-character flush! You smashed my winning tiles!!"
"All-character flush! I'll give you an all-character flush!!!"
Seeing that her mother still hadn't realized what had happened and was still crying over her flush, Bai Yi completely overheated.
Panting heavily, she hoisted the guitar up again, turned around, and swung it down for another smash.
"Clang!!"
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
"Yi-yi!!"
"You... you're crazy! Ouch..."
The other wealthy ladies were so frightened by the enraged Bai Yi that they scattered like birds and beasts, hurriedly fleeing out the door.
Only Zuo Jiangqin was left inside, using the mahjong table as a centerpoint while desperately dodging the guitar Bai Yi swung at her.
Seeing the other ladies leave, she yelled even as she dodged,
"Hey, don't go! You still haven't paid me for the hands you lost earlier!!"
"Clang!"
"Yi-yi!! Are you... are you crazy?! Ouch... I... if you smash your old mother to death, you'll regret it, you know?!"
"Clang!!!"
"Yi-yi!!!"
The mahjong room was in total chaos.
Within the villa, a drama of "matricide without regrets" was passionately unfolding!