Chapter 95: Zhang Yang, the Man Who Values Beauty Over Friends…

To be fair.

In the short year or so since Zhang Yang arrived in this world, he had heard the name Zhao Yiman more than once.

In the depths of his inherited memories, Zhao Yiman was the original owner’s goddess!

A single, accidental glimpse had stirred ripples of beauty in the young man’s heart, which then grew into waves of obsession from which he could not extricate himself.

The old Zhang Yang had truly adored Zhao Yiman.

In his eyes, she was both intellectual and gentle, with a smile like a big sister next door that satisfied every fantasy a young man could have about a perfect life.

Of course, there were no lewd fantasies involved.

A goddess was a goddess because she was not to be profaned, not even by oneself.

He used to fantasize that one day he would go to Zhao Yiman’s concert, stand on stage with her, and sing a duet while the crowd below cheered wildly…

Unfortunately!

Fantasies are always beautiful, while reality is often bleak.

The young man had carried a weight he shouldn’t have had to bear. Driven to a dead end by his father, his spirit finally broke in despair, and he ended his life by jumping into a river.

This had resulted in the transmigrated Zhang Yang choking on several mouthfuls of water, leaving him with a lingering sense of suffocation to this day.

October 28th.

Zhang Yang went to Taiwan to meet the effeminate Zheng Chen.

His primary goal was to scout out the Taiwan branch of Star Entertainment Group. If things looked good, they could establish a short-term direction for cooperation.

And then…

He met Zhao Yiman.

The real Zhao Yiman was much more beautiful than she appeared on television. Moreover, she radiated an indescribable fragrance that could be detected from quite a distance.

Her voice was lovely and incredibly gentle, the kind of sound that made one’s bones feel soft. At first glance, she seemed highly intellectual, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a faint, icy brilliance that made others feel inexplicably inferior.

She seemed almost ethereal!

It was the first time Zhang Yang had ever heard such a voice.

It reminded him of Kurosawa Akira from his previous world, yet she wasn’t as cutesy; her voice was entirely natural.

Zhang Yang thought she was like a devil, yet also like an angel!

She was a true stunner!

That was Zhang Yang’s first thought…

Of course, Zhang Yang was no longer that young boy from before, and his head wasn’t filled with nothing but breasts. After a very brief moment of being starstruck, he regained his composure.

His phone needed a spokesperson.

The male spokesperson was Zhou Yang…

As for the female spokesperson, Zhang Yang had originally considered Liu Ruohan, but now he felt he had found an even better candidate!

Zhao Yiman!

It had to be her!

“Miss Zhao!”

“Yes?”

“Hello, Miss Zhao. Though this may seem abrupt, I want to say quite seriously: you are very lucky to have met me!”

“…”

“Miss Zhao, the very moment I met you, a beautiful melody surfaced in my mind. That melody has transformed into a wonderful song…”

“…”

“The Buddha said: it takes five hundred glances¹ in a past life to earn a single brush of shoulders in this life. Five hundred brushes of shoulders in a past life to earn one meeting in this life…”

“…”

Zhang Yang looked at Zhao Yiman.

Whether it was because of his predecessor’s influence or some other reason, Zhang Yang suddenly became very invested, unconsciously slipping into a theatrical mode.

His eyes were clear as water, filled with endless sincerity and even a hint of deep affection.

Well…

He didn’t feel it was cheesy at all.

Standing nearby, the effeminate director Zheng Chen was stunned by the scene.

He felt as though Zhang Yang had suddenly become a different person!

Is he… confessing his love?

Holy crap…

This is too explosive!

That single thought dominated the director’s mind.

When Zhang Yang saw that Zhao Yiman had stopped and didn’t seem repulsed, but was instead looking at him seriously, his smile grew even brighter.

“In fact… at this very moment, a voice keeps echoing in my head. If I don’t say it out loud, I’ll feel like I’m going to burst…”

“What voice?” Zhao Yiman seemed curious as she looked at this young man who had suddenly appeared.

She had naturally heard of him before and had even played his games.

She hadn’t expected this young man to be quite so interesting in person!

“Miss Zhao, I hope you will become the product spokesperson for my company. At the same time, our new game will feature an exclusive character image custom-tailored for you, free of charge…”

“President Zhang, you said all that just to say this?” Zhao Yiman was completely stunned.

The deeply affectionate Zhang Yang…

His ultimate goal wasn’t a confession, nor was it to declare how much he liked her…

It was…

To invite her to be a spokesperson?

“Yes! Director Zheng just mentioned that you’re about to make a comeback, so I thought we must have many areas where we can cooperate. What do you think?”

“…”

Zhang Yang’s gaze remained flawless…

Clear as a spring, sincere to the extreme, and perfectly natural…

For a moment, Zhao Yiman didn’t know how to react.

The effeminate director², watching this, suddenly felt a sense of disappointment.

Fine…

Even he didn’t know why he felt that way.

…

Zhao Yiman was indeed making a comeback.

She had been quiet for two years and was now officially returning with new work.

In the past…

She had always stood quietly on stage to sing.

But now, her music videos featured elements of dance…

She wanted to showcase her beauty in a different form.

In fact, during those two years away, she had been practicing dance constantly…

Everyone in the company was very optimistic about Zhao Yiman’s new album.

In the dance studio.

Her manager He Min, the director Zheng Chen, and even the big boss’s secretary Zhou Hong had all come to see her.

Zhang Yang was among them.

As he watched Zhao Yiman dancing gracefully like a butterfly among flowers, waves of admiration flashed through his mind…

At the same time!

Could a person’s waist really be that supple³?

Immediately after, images of Zhao Yiman transformed into a game character involuntarily surfaced in his mind. He then began to ponder what kind of clothes he should dress her in!

In that brief moment, scenes of Zhao Yiman wearing at least dozens of different outfits flashed through Zhang Yang’s mind!

He was excited!

The moment the dance ended, he was the first to burst into applause. He then strode into the center of the dance floor, contract in hand. Under the shocked gazes of everyone present, he couldn’t resist stepping forward to talk to Zhao Yiman about his ideas!

Only one thought occupied everyone’s mind!

Is this guy a magician?

How does he have a contract on him at all times? Where was he carrying it just now?

And why didn’t he go talk to her manager? The manager was literally standing right there!

Are you really that impatient? Couldn’t you let Zhao Yiman rest for a moment after her dance?

Normally…

In business collaborations with entertainment companies, one should seek out the person in charge of business affairs, which basically means looking for the manager.

However…

Zhao Yiman didn’t seem to mind Zhang Yang’s abruptness. After lightly wiping away some sweat, she listened intently to Zhang Yang’s rambling.

At the same time, she was somewhat curious about him!

Zhang Yang truly possessed a certain legendary aura!

“Miss Zhao!”

“We are standing at the forefront of a new era. This game I’m going to develop in the future is the epitome of an era, a trend… It doesn’t just need you; it needs the collective cooperation of everyone in Star Entertainment Group…”

“I believe that in the future, when people who lived through this era look back, they won’t be able to avoid this game. And of course, they won’t be able to avoid the people who defined this era…”

“…”

“…”

Zhang Yang prattled on, completely lost in his introduction to Zhao Yiman.

And Zhao Yiman listened seriously.

“President Zhang, I heard you’re very good at writing songs?”

“I’m alright…”

“You said that when you met me, a melody appeared in your mind, and that melody became a song. So, can you tell me what song it is? I’m quite interested!”

“I can, but I need to talk to you privately!”

“…”

Zhao Yiman didn’t seem particularly interested in Zhang Yang’s game.

What she seemed interested in was Zhang Yang himself…

Among the people she had met, she felt that Zhang Yang was a very pure person.

So pure that when he looked at her, his eyes were filled with nothing but ambition.

The two of them entered a room.

They began to talk about the new song…

During the conversation, Zhang Yang even sang a few lines himself…

This startled Zhao Yiman.

However, the outcome was perfect. Zhao Yiman signed Zhang Yang’s contract.

When they left the room, they even walked side by side, completely unaware that a paparazzi from the most notorious media outlet, “Oriental Weekly,” just “happened” to be passing by…

And thus, a scandal was born…

…………………………

The night of October 31st.

Before Zhang Yang could even catch his breath after returning to the office, the building was already surrounded by reporters.

Naturally, Zhang Yang had seen the news.

After seeing the reports, Zhang Yang’s expression became quite colorful!

“What? They’re saying I’m having a secret affair with a young model?”

“What the hell? When I walked out, there was clearly a whole group of people behind me. Why does the photo only show me and Zhao Yiman?”

“These paparazzi… their ability to make up stories based on a single picture is truly unrivaled!”

“…”

In truth, Zhang Yang had only one goal for his trip to Taiwan.

To get the largest entertainment group in Taiwan to grant him the licenses for all their songs first…

That was the primary objective.

As for Zhao Yiman and the others, in Zhang Yang’s view, they were an unexpected bonus!

He had indeed spoken with a Taiwanese singer and model – well, an intern who was preparing to enter the music scene under a “pure and innocent” persona.

But…

Those conversations had basically all taken place in public areas of Star Entertainment!

Forget about things getting heated; he hadn’t even held her hand, okay?

These media outlets had turned everything into a piece of tabloid news…

Zhang Yang read an entertainment report. The entire article claimed he was a philanderer, even capturing the secret detail of him going to America with Liu Ruohan…

Zhang Yang felt that these people were painting him as a modern-day Casanova⁴!

However…

Zhang Yang wasn’t particularly upset. Instead, he looked at the reporters below as if he were looking at a mountain of gold and silver!

This was all traffic!

Massive traffic!

It would be a huge help in promoting the game!

Then…

He straightened his clothes and a smile appeared on his face.

…………………

Liu Zhongshan had been in a bad mood lately.

Seeing Zhang Yang’s name on his phone made him feel increasingly uneasy.

Tonight…

His irritation had reached its peak!

These gossip reporters!

What exactly do they mean!

What’s this about his daughter going to America with Zhang Yang to spend a “sweet night” together? What does that even mean?

Isn’t this just fabricating lies to ruin someone’s reputation…

He was even tempted to sue those unscrupulous, messy reporters.

Then, he saw Zhang Yang’s clarification video online.

“Miss Zhao and I hit it off quite well, but it’s not what you think. Well, I believe it won’t be long before Miss Zhao releases a statement to clarify this matter. It’s not convenient for me to say too much about the details. In short, in my eyes, Miss Zhao is a very beautiful, gentle, and intellectual girl…”

“Like her? Of course I like Miss Zhao. She’s so beautiful, who wouldn’t like her!”

“I, Zhang Yang, am a man of my word. If I’ve done something, I’ll certainly admit to it. Well, that young model you mentioned does have a certain relationship with me, but I can’t make that relationship public for now. It’s private…”

“Yes, this trip to Taiwan, besides seeing Miss Zhao and that young model I’m involved with, was actually more importantly about discussing a collaboration…”

“What kind of cooperation?”

“Exactly! I’m laying my cards on the table. My new game, Plants vs. Zombies, will be released for free in the latter half of November. At the same time, I am about to venture into online gaming…”

“It’s not just Star Entertainment, but other entertainment companies as well. I’m using your platform today to publicly announce that, if possible, I hope to cooperate with all of you and the artists under your management…”

“Huh? With Miss Liu, the daughter of Mumaen Technology?”

“What does this have to do with Miss Liu?”

“I was short a translator, so I invited Miss Liu Ruohan to help. She happened to be free, so she assisted me. I even have the payment invoices here; everything followed official company procedures. You can even go check our hotel records…”

“…”

When Liu Zhongshan heard Zhang Yang’s interview, his first reaction was shock!

Wait!

Was this for real?

Zhang Yang’s new game was coming out so soon?

It was releasing in mid-November?

What?

He was moving into online games?

How could this man’s pace be so fast? Did his games really require cooperation from so many entertainment companies?

Then, immediately following that!

He felt a sudden surge of thunderous rage.

What is going on!

My daughter actually lowered herself that much to act as your translator!

You’re not worthy!

He immediately called Liu Ruohan, his voice brimming with fury…

A short while later…

He heard a knock at the door.

“Come in!”

He found it wasn’t Liu Ruohan, but his assistant, Liang Qiu, who walked in silently holding a report.

“President Liu.”

“Speak…”

“The annual TCA Game Awards will begin its selection process on November 2nd of this year… One of our company’s games has been shortlisted for the selection…”

“Oh.” Liu Zhongshan managed to force a small smile upon hearing the news.

If the biggest event in the film industry was the Oscars, then the annual event of the gaming world was the TCA.

The TCA was referred to as the Oscars of gaming.

The TCA gala was established five years ago. The first event was a game award competition jointly created by the veteran Japanese game company Heaven Technology⁵, EA Technology, and many other heavyweights in the global gaming circle.

Every year, a month-long voting process took place to select the Game of the Year, Best RPG, Best Fighting Game, and so on…

This gaming event enjoyed a high reputation worldwide. It had always upheld a series of game selections based on player voting and the fair and just attitude of the judges.

Being selected for this competition not only brought in massive revenue but also provided more traffic and international exposure. More importantly, it was a demonstration of one’s strength on the international stage.

He then looked over the list of several companies…

His mood brightened considerably.

These were all the most famous game brands in the country…

And…

Wait!

This wasn’t right!

“What! Zhang Yang’s game was selected too?”

However…

When he saw that Zhang Yang’s Road Rash was actually among the selections, his expression instantly darkened again.

Just as he was about to say something, another knock sounded at the office door.

“Come in…”

“Zhang Yang, what do you mean by this? You’re all secretive and vague with those celebrities, but you clarify things so bluntly when it comes to me. Do you think I’m inferior to them? That I’m not as valuable to you as they are? You’re such a lecherous, ungrateful wolf! I hate you! Also, when you need my help, you call me Ruohan⁶, but when you don’t, you call me Miss Liu? How can you be so hypocritical!”

“…”

Hearing these words…

Liu Zhongshan felt like he was about to cough up a mouthful of blood.

(End of Chapter)

Translator’s Notes