Chapter 42: Lick

《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 could be called a national web drama, its heat holding steadily high. AMVs and fan edits of it were everywhere on A-station and B-station. The most popular was a three-minute fan edit titled 《Half a Lifetime of Joy》. Its background music was an original song by online singer Qiao Anan, written specially for the drama. “Raising a cup to you from a high tower, this parting for Jiangnan, waters long. Chance meetings, many partings; life will never have such a good inn again…”

The lyrics were simple but gave Qiao Anan a modest taste of fame. The official Weibo of 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 even reposted it. This was the era of mass online creation—never mind web novel writers; online songwriters and comedians could also attract huge followings. For a TV drama to spark broad discussion, it had to ignite netizens’ interest in recreating and re-spreading, like cutting fan videos and writing songs, thereby generating even wider discussion and dissemination.

Clearly, the actress-in-a-male-role drama 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 had achieved this. Many satellite channels were now contacting the director and production team, hoping for second-window broadcast rights. In the internet economy, with a young division of labor, the second dimension and third dimension had long interpenetrated. Online things could go viral offline; real things could be sold and communicated online.

When school started, Cheng Jinzhi’s followers had surpassed eight million, and Rong Si’s tag had become a hot topic. Xinqi was also negotiating with Rong Si, hoping she’d open a Xinqi Weibo account. Xinqi Weibo had originally built itself on celebrity effect, inviting many celebrities to open accounts and draw in fans.

At the new semester, Rong Si entered her sophomore year, and Cheng Jinzhi her senior year. At the start of senior year, the class couldn’t even gather fully—people were off shooting commercials and filming under the excuse of internships. The school turned a blind eye. In this respect, Jingying’s requirements weren’t as strict as Huaxi’s. Huaxi demanded high professional standards; even seniors had to sign in, and some majors had morning and evening self-study.

“Gou Yu, nice work.” Xia You gave Gou Yu a thumbs up, hooking the gold chain around Gou Yu’s neck. “One summer away, and you’re a rich lady.”

“Not rich, just okay.” Gou Yu’s tone was still smug. She twisted the gold chain, taking off the thumb-thick one. “This one—I’m planning to give it to my mom. What do you think?”

“Such straight-male aesthetics.”

Gou Yu snapped her fingers and opened the box at her side. Inside was a not-small golden Buddha. “This one’s been blessed.”

Xia You clapped her palms together, applauding Gou Yu. “Now I’ve seen a real nouveau riche.”

Cheng Jinzhi, meanwhile, had sprawled comfortably, collapsed alone onto a massage chair.

Xia You took a step and collapsed onto another one. “Rich people are so generous—buying three massage chairs at once.”

“This one’s for home and one for my studio too.” Gou Yu lay in the massage chair, putting on a massage eye mask. Relaxed, both hands on the armrests. “Xia You, do you have a plan after graduation?”

“Why?”

“I have massage chairs here.”

“What about massage chairs… ohhh… so comfortable… like I can’t afford one?” Xia You let out a very comfortable moan.

“Xia You, that’s enough. I know you have a sex life.” Cheng Jinzhi “couldn’t stand” Xia You’s moans. She took off her eye mask and swung her long legs over Xia You’s.

“Mm ah… Jinzhi, don’t… don’t touch… mm…” Xia You’s acting kicked in.

“Baby, the fire you started, you’ll have to put out yourself.” Cheng Jinzhi hooked Xia You’s leg, both hands propped on either side of Xia You’s head.

Gou Yu, who’d taken off her eye mask, happened to see the position. She covered her eyes. “Oh my god, I’m burned.”

“Please, please, spare my massage chairs. Look, the tags aren’t even off.”

Cheng Jinzhi patted the chair. “Just checking if it’s sturdy.”

“Ooh—can’t tell you two were carnivores.” Gou Yu’s tone was teasing.

Cheng Jinzhi and Xia You exchanged a look, stood up, and smiled at Gou Yu with extreme ambiguity. “You bet.”

Gou Yu swallowed, pulling at her pants. “You two… what do you want…”

The three quickly degenerated into a wrestling match in the massage chairs.

Tired, they sprawled on the big bed.

“Starving. Go cook.” Cheng Jinzhi poked Gou Yu.

“Look at my kitchen. Has it ever been used?” Gou Yu lay limp. “But I’ve got instant noodles in my fridge. What flavors do you two want?”

“Let’s order takeout.”

“Fine.”

None of them moved. After a while, they said in unison, “So hungry.”

After holding out for a bit, Cheng Jinzhi gave up. “I’m going back to find Rong Si.”

“I’m going back to find Ah Sheng too.” Xia You sat up too.

“Hey, you two are going to find ‘food’… what am I supposed to find?” Gou Yu sat up, holding out her palm to them.

“Find the Diva.” Cheng Jinzhi and Xia You said at once.

The moment those words came out, Gou Yu collapsed on the bed again. “Then I’d rather starve.”

The three dawdled out the door. Cheng Jinzhi was a bit famous now; she wore a mask, looking rather “sneaky.”

At a quiet Chinese restaurant, they booked a private room. Only then did Cheng Jinzhi take off her mask.

“Just now at the counter, the waitress asked if you had an infectious disease.” Gou Yu said.

“What did you say?”

“Terminal illness.”

“If I get thrown out, prepare to die.” Cheng Jinzhi ate a piece of cold dish.

Midway, the hall started getting noisy. Gou Yu poked her head out with seaweed in her mouth and saw a crowd of young fans in the corridor. She quickly slurped up the seaweed. “Jinzhi, your fans are closing in.”

Cheng Jinzhi coughed, lightly shielding her nose with the back of her hand, hurriedly wolfing down a few more bites. “Then I’ll slip out the back.”

“What back door? There isn’t one. How about you jump out a window?”

“Pfft! This is the nineteenth floor.”

Gou Yu poked her head out again and saw several security guards arriving, apparently to disperse the fans. The scene was briefly chaotic. Gou Yu quickly waved at Cheng Jinzhi. “Stop eating! Quick, run while it’s chaotic!”

Cheng Jinzhi rarely ate out anymore—this was her first time since the summer. Before, she’d had a few small fans and occasionally got “cornered.” After 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 made her a bit famous, people really started chasing her—like right now. Xia You and Gou Yu served as shields, but she still got her clothes torn. Climbing into the bodyguard’s car at the door, she barely saved half her life.

“Miss Cheng, do the fans’ pursuits and blocks cause you any trouble?” Gou Yu, panting, beamed at Cheng Jinzhi.

“Before answering the question, can I shout a bit?”

“You may.”

Cheng Jinzhi covered her cheeks, shoulders shaking, then clenched her fists. “So awesome! I have fans!”

No more astroturfers arranged by DC. No longer mistaken for some other A-lister. It was her, Cheng Jinzhi. Cheng Jinzhi had fans.

So awesome.

Rong Si also had plenty of fans, but since she wasn’t signed, she naturally lacked a professional PR team for broad publicity. Unlike Cheng Jinzhi, Rong Si seemed to enjoy “quiet” more. In the later stages, when she got truly popular, fans and media started blocking her at school. The teaching area was fine, but elsewhere, security wasn’t as strict. Walking from the teaching building back to her apartment, Rong Si did feel some inconvenience. People at the school continuously reported to administration that Rong Si’s fans were disrupting teaching discipline. The school adjusted, tightening the division between tourist areas and the faculty-student teaching and living areas.

Because Rong Si’s looks and temperament were so outstanding, many advertisers came looking. When Cheng Jinzhi came home, she saw Rong Si looking over the materials advertisers had sent. Cheng Jinzhi took milk from the fridge and was about to head upstairs, but paused at the stairwell, turned around, sat on the sofa, and pulled the ads from Rong Si’s hands. She swept Rong Si’s materials aside, pulled out her laptop, and started typing. “For the same product category, it’s best to pick the one with the biggest promotional push, the one that can afford nationwide rollout.”

“An ad—the celebrity promotes the product, and the product promotes the celebrity.” Cheng Jinzhi turned the screen toward Rong Si. “Generally speaking, for the same product category, a celebrity only gets to pick a single brand for at least five years. Take watches—once you settle a brand, other watch brands won’t approach you. You don’t want the public confusing brands.”

“The ones you picked have fat paychecks, but they do little for your personal image.” Cheng Jinzhi said, tapping away at the business email. “Dilika watches asked about you a couple days ago. I’ll create a work email for you now and send one to Dilika.”

Rong Si watched Cheng Jinzhi. There was still milk on her lips. Cheng Jinzhi extended her pink tongue, licking the corner of her mouth. The milk still wasn’t licked clean.

“Mm.” Rong Si reached out, her finger lightly wiping the corner of Cheng Jinzhi’s mouth.

Cheng Jinzhi was focused and didn’t notice Rong Si’s movement. She sent the email, said two more things, and went upstairs with her milk cup.

It was still a little warm, and Cheng Jinzhi’s shorts were a bit short. Rong Si watched her go upstairs. Her ankle had been scraped somewhere, still pink and tender. Her fair, straight legs were very sexy. A few days ago, when Cheng Jinzhi had danced in front of her, Rong Si had lifted her head and watched her with the same focused gaze. Alluring. Utterly bewitching.

Rong Si looked down at the dried milk on her finger, extended her tongue, and licked it lightly.

Lips and tongues entwined.

“Want me…”

That night, Cheng Jinzhi had sat in her lap, clenching tightly around her hand.