180 Fan Chang Wen
“Yuanfang, what do you think?”
(T/N : Yuanfang, what do you think? (元芳，你怎么看？): A very popular Chinese internet meme originating from the TV series Amazing Detective Di Renjie. Di Renjie frequently asks his bodyguard Li Yuanfang this question. It’s used to ask for someone’s opinion on a matter, often humorously.)
Pei Ningle said this to Wang Heng with a straight face.
At this moment, the two were sitting on the sofa in the apartment. The laptop screen in front of them displayed the private message from NetEase Cloud Music.
Wang Heng rubbed his forehead. “Stop using that meme. It gives me a headache.”
Pei Ningle was a little strange. “Why?”
Wang Heng: “…Anyway, the problem now is this private message. Let’s discuss serious business.”
Pei Ningle: “Then do you think we should meet this person?”
Wang Heng thought for a long time and said, “Whether we meet or not, it’s best to communicate first. But leave this to me. They said they wanted to provide support, right? This kind of business communication is part of a manager’s job.”
With that, he replied to the private message using Pei Ningle’s computer and sent his own phone number to the other party.
After dealing with this, Wang Heng closed NetEase Cloud Music and opened Penguin Music—compared to NetEase Cloud Music, this platform had a larger audience, so there was no reason to let it go.
As a new original singer who hadn’t signed any exclusive agreements, Pei Ningle could naturally release songs on both platforms. It was just that compared to NetEase Cloud Music, the process of Penguin Music was much more troublesome, and it didn’t pay much attention to original singers nowadays, so she hadn’t opened a Penguin Music account before.
However, before he finished the operation, his phone rang.
The caller ID showed an unfamiliar number.
Pei Ningle: “Who is it?”
Wang Heng: “…Don’t know.”
Pei Ningle: “Could it be that fan who sent the private message?”
“Anyway, we’ll know soon.”
With that, Wang Heng answered the call.
On the other end of the line was a low female voice, slightly husky: “Hello, is this Miss Pei’s manager?”
Wang Heng: “Yes. May I ask who you are…”
Strange woman: “I read that article. You’re her brother?”
Wang Heng: “Yes.”
The other end of the line was silent for a few seconds, then said, “That article touched me deeply because I also experienced a situation like Miss Pei’s back then. Hearing her song gave me a feeling… like hearing myself back then. I hope she can persevere.”
Wang Heng: “Were you also a singer back then?”
“Hehehe…” A low and helpless laugh came from the phone.
After a brief silence, she asked again, “Which city are you in?”
From the other party’s words, Wang Heng didn’t hear any sense of fraud. Moreover, even if there was danger, he could just go back and ask the hamster to prepare in advance, so he didn’t intend to refuse the other party.
He replied, “We are in Rongdu.”
“Just right, I’m quite free recently. Are you free tomorrow? I’ll fly over tomorrow.”
Fly over just like that? So rich, where did this rich lady come from?
Wang Heng: “Okay, then I’ll send you the address of a bar later. Pei Ningle will sing there tomorrow night. You can come and listen.”
“Okay, I’m looking forward to it.”
The other side hung up first.
Pei Ningle couldn’t wait to ask, “How was it? Do you think she’s a scammer?”
Wang Heng thought for a moment and shook his head slowly. “Probably not.”
The girl blinked. “Then, what kind of person is she?”
Wang Heng: “…Probably a rich lady who wants to find her original intention?”
Pei Ningle: “?”
**
Chang Wen sat on the plane flying to Rongdu, looking at the afternoon sun outside the window.
The sun shone on the sea of clouds, glowing with brilliant golden light, a bit dazzling. For someone flying for the first time, this scene might be worth watching, but she had flown too many times over the years and had long lost interest in it.
Chang Wen lowered the sunshade and lay down.
The seats in first class were more spacious than economy class and could be fully reclined to serve as a small bed for a nap. She was going to a bar to listen to someone sing at night, so Chang Wen naturally needed to rest well now.
She put on her headphones, opened the NetEase Cloud Music app on her phone, and started playing Pei Ningle’s “Lost Path”—she had listened to this song no less than twenty times in the past two days.
Three or four minutes later, the song ended, and the next song automatically played was “Delusion.” The name displayed in the singer column was Chang Wen.
This was a song she wrote herself more than ten years ago.
Listening and listening, she gradually fell asleep. And in the headphones, only these two songs with different names but somewhat similar styles played in a loop.
**
At past eight in the evening, Chang Wen arrived at that bar.
As soon as she walked in, she heard the girl’s ethereal singing voice:
“The brightest star in the night sky, can you hear clearly, the loneliness and sighs in the heart of the person looking up…”
Chang Wen stopped in her tracks and stood at the door. From here, she could see the petite girl on the small round stage, singing softly with her eyes gently closed.
Compared to Chang Wen, who was nearly 1.7 meters tall, the girl who was less than 1.6 meters tall was obviously quite different in stature. Looking at the face, the difference in appearance was also not small. Chang Wen was a typical glamorous mature woman when wearing makeup, and a mature big sister without makeup today. And Pei Ningle was a sweet and pretty little girl, giving a feeling of not having grown up yet.
But looking at Pei Ningle, Chang Wen had an indescribable sense of familiarity. Not appearance, not stature, nor temperament, but the feeling when singing.
That feeling of being completely devoted to interpreting a song…
Business in the bar was very good, and the customers were almost all young people. From their clothes, it could be seen that most of these customers were not very rich, and their childish appearances seemed like university students. They almost didn’t order high-end drinks, but they filled the seats in the bar.
Logically speaking, such customers wouldn’t be welcomed by bar owners, but they listened to Pei Ningle’s singing quite seriously.
Chang Wen glanced at the bar’s menu and suddenly realized—it turned out that this bar was originally low-priced and aimed at students, no wonder.
After waiting for a while, Pei Ningle finished singing a song, and there was a round of applause in the bar. At this time, someone finally left, and Chang Wen finally had a seat.
The waiter came over, handed over the paper menu, and asked, “What would you like to order?”
Chang Wen pointed to the most expensive cocktail on the menu. “This one.”
The waiter sized her up calmly, his smile becoming more respectful. “Okay, miss, please wait a moment.”
A few minutes later, the cocktail was brought over, and Pei Ningle returned to the stage after resting, ready to start the next song.
Chang Wen took out her phone and sent a text message to that manager’s number: 【I’m already listening to the song in the bar. Let’s talk after the performance ends.】
Soon, the other party replied: 【I’m also in the bar. Where are you?】
Chang Wen: 【I’m standing up now.】
After sending the text message, she stood up. Then less than half a minute later, a handsome and gentle young boy walked over.
His eyes met Chang Wen’s, and after looking at each other for two seconds, he confirmed he had found the right person.
“Hello, my name is Wang Heng.”
The handsome boy said with a smile.
