Chapter 57: Scammer Decides to Be a Good Person 32 – What You Like Is Someone Else

The final stop of the tour concert.

The fans below the stage were reluctant to say goodbye.

Onstage, the lead cast spoke one by one about everything they had experienced along the way. After saying the same things more than forty times, anyone would start to feel a little numb.

When it was Du Heng’s turn, his speech was different from all the others before.

He bowed to the fans in thanks.

“Thank you all for loving Qin Feng¹, the character I played. I’m also very happy that Qin Feng was able to accompany you through a part of your youth. Now that the tour concert is over, my journey as Qin Feng has come to an end. And I am about to begin another journey in life.”

The fans shouted from afar.

“We’ll always love Qin Feng!”

“Qin Feng will stay in our hearts forever!”

Du Heng listened carefully, then smiled.

“That’s good.”

The giant screen magnified his smile.

The fans kept screaming, sometimes chanting Qin Feng’s name, sometimes shouting for Du Heng.

He raised a hand to calm them, and the venue quieted a little.

He said, “Compared to Qin Feng, I’m the luckier one.”

“I have a lover. We met when we had nothing. Back then, hardly anyone was willing to even look me in the eye. When I walked down the street, passersby would automatically avoid me. And yet someone like that, someone like me, was loved by a person who didn’t despise me in the slightest, who held me in her arms.”

“I really want to say that the two of us supported each other all these years and made it to where we are today. But the truth is, she supported me all the way here. Without her, there would be no Du Heng standing before the screen, and there would certainly be no Qin Feng.”

The entire venue fell silent.

Everyone was listening to Du Heng speak of his happiness.

“My time as Qin Feng is over for now, because we’re getting married.”

“She helped me choose roles, and she helped me plan how I dressed and presented myself.”

“A lot of people like me. You think what you like is me, but it isn’t. What you really like is the imprint left on me by another girl’s soul.”

“So bless me. Bless that girl you’ve never met, but have long since become familiar with.”

“My lover.”

Du Heng bowed once more.

The whole venue erupted into screams again.

It was impossible to make out what they were shouting anymore.

But to Du Heng, it no longer mattered. He had simply done what he wanted to do.

He did not want his girl to be blamed and criticized by the fans. He wanted everyone to know how wonderful she was. They were in love, and they had every right to be. He did not want to sneak around or keep his relationship status shrouded in secrecy.

If someone had to be called unworthy, then the fans should know that person was him, not his girl.

Meeting her was the greatest fortune of his life.

–

Du Heng’s public announcement of his marriage plans at the concert had not been part of the original plan. At the very least, Shi Lan had heard nothing about it in advance.

She only found out the next day, when entertainment papers were plastered wall to wall with coverage of it.

The newspapers were full of speculation about who Du Heng’s fiancée was.

Some even wrote: Du Heng digs his own grave, Qin Feng is dead.

But even more headlines read: Qin Feng’s love could not be fulfilled, while Du Heng’s happy event is drawing near.

That idiot!

Shi Lan hurriedly contacted Long Haoshu.

Long Haoshu said, “Don’t panic. He discussed it with me beforehand and also reported it to the company. The company didn’t agree at first either, but Du Heng insisted. He also managed to convince them. The situation is under control now, and many of those press releases were actually issued with the company’s approval.”

“How could the company possibly agree to that?” Shi Lan asked in surprise.

Long Haoshu laughed. “I asked the same question at the time.”

“What did Du Heng say?”

Long Haoshu sighed. “He said Qin Feng had already brought enough while the role was at its peak. If they kept marketing it, people would only start feeling it was dragging on and overstaying its welcome. Besides, the popularity brought by the role had already far exceeded his own presence as an actor. If this kept up, he would end up trapped inside that role. No matter what character he played in the future, he would never be able to outshine Qin Feng. In the long run, that would do nothing for his career.”

“So right now, what he needs is an event to cool the role down, to sever, or at least weaken, the connection between him and Qin Feng. He convinced the company. So this whole thing was planned very carefully.”

Shi Lan: “…”

He’d had her worrying for half the day.

Long Haoshu asked curiously, “You’re not angry?”

Shi Lan said, “Why would I be angry? As long as it was all planned out, it’s fine. I was just worried he’d acted on impulse without thinking about the consequences.”

“From a partner’s perspective, having the person at the height of their fame announce your existence to the whole world and make such a passionate confession should be something very romantic. But then it turns out that romance came from strategic profit calculations.”

After Wind-Blown Sand became a hit, a flood of idol drama scripts suddenly started arriving, many of them sent directly to Long Haoshu, inviting Du Heng to play the male lead.

Shi Lan felt that Long Haoshu’s brain had probably been ruined by reading too many of those lovey-dovey scripts lately.

He could even come up with that kind of melodramatic misunderstanding plot himself, the sort that went, “I loved you so much, and yet you were using me.”

Did his wife know that?

Would Shi Lan be angry?

Of course not.

No one understood Du Heng’s feelings toward her better than she did.

Now that she had heard Long Haoshu’s explanation, what she felt more than anything was happiness.

Happiness that her family’s “dummy” had finally grown up! He now knew how to make use of the resources around him and engage in schemes, whether open or covert.

So Shi Lan answered Long Haoshu, “If my existence can help him, then I’m very happy.”

After a moment of silence, Long Haoshu let out a laugh.

It carried a deeper meaning.

“So you’re the domineering female CEO, not Cinderella.”

Shi Lan: “…”

This manager really had been poisoned by idol drama scripts, hadn’t he?

One moment it was domineering CEO, the next it was Cinderella.

“Congratulations. You’ve already mastered the core formula for first-generation idol drama traffic.”

Du Heng came hurrying back, travel-worn and dusty.

Shi Lan was in the kitchen making milk tea.

Fresh milk, fresh tea. She had even made pudding, tea jelly, tapioca pearls, and taro balls herself.

With so many toppings piled into the bowl, it looked less like milk tea and more like dessert.

When she heard the door open, she called out, “I knew you’d be here soon. Hurry up and wash your hands, then come eat something good.”

Du Heng came over and kissed her first, not with desire, but with lingering tenderness.

Only then did he lower his head and take a taste.

“Taiwanese pearl milk tea?”

She gave him a thumbs-up.

Her dummy had now traveled far and wide. He had become a dummy with broad experience and knowledge.

Now, whenever she made something fresh and unusual, he was no longer surprised.

That sense of accomplishment was just a tiny bit less than before.

But her dummy had also gotten much better at coaxing people. “It’s delicious, even better than the milk tea I had in Taiwan. What’s this amber-colored one? It’s so light and refreshing.”

Even though she knew he was probably just hyping her up and praising her on purpose, Shi Lan was still delighted.

In high spirits, she explained to him, “It’s tea jelly. You just add gelatin and flavoring to tea, then chill it until it sets like this.”

“Wow, that’s amazing?” Du Heng replied, putting on an exaggeratedly impressed expression.

Shi Lan was so amused that she giggled nonstop.

She had originally prepared two servings.

But the clingy little couple naturally ended up sharing one.

Sitting on the sofa, Shi Lan curled up in Du Heng’s arms. He held the bowl of milk tea, took a bite himself, then fed her a bite.

Shi Lan didn’t mind his dusty clothes from outside either. Buried against his chest, she rambled on and on.

“The fast food market is pretty much covered by now, so next I’m planning to open up a new area, milk tea shops.”

“Dessert shops?”

“No, beverage shops.”

Selling milk tea, even without any modern additives, was just as hugely profitable as selling boxed meals.

Millennium was just around the corner.

What was Millennium?

Millennium was the great divide between the old era and the new.

After Millennium, everything familiar from Shi Lan’s own era would gradually begin to emerge.

And in that process, how could there be no happy drink like milk tea?

As she talked, she grew more and more excited. She, Shi Lan, was definitely going to become one of the key figures leading the dining industry of the age.

Suddenly, her wildly flailing fists were caught and pinned above her head.

The man holding her shifted his posture, lowered his head, and kissed the mouth that had been chattering away nonstop.

The lips and tongue that had been passionately holding forth a second ago were taken into his mouth and sucked for a long, long time, without being released.

The base of Shi Lan’s tongue went numb, and with a muffled sound, she shrank back a little.

She widened her big innocent eyes and looked at the man who had just been up to no good, putting on the act of a sweet, pitiful little thing. “What are you doing?”

It was obvious that the man’s breathing had grown a little heavier.

He bent down again, the tip of his tongue sliding over her ear and making her shiver.

In a breathy whisper, he declared to her, “Actually, every time you talk seriously about work in front of me, it gets me really excited…”

How perverted.

But she liked it so much!

She looped her arms around his neck. In that case, what were they waiting for?

–

Du Heng handled almost all of the wedding preparations. Shi Lan’s only jobs were trying on wedding dresses and paying the bills.

Her wedding dress was produced by a major luxury brand that Du Heng worked with.

It wasn’t haute couture, but it was still a ready-to-wear piece that had never been shown before.

The wedding invitations were sent out extremely widely.

There were Du Heng’s friends from the industry, business partners, and investors, as well as Shi Lan’s friends from the business world.

There were a great many guests.

There were also relatives from both of their hometowns.

On Shi Lan’s side, there was only her uncle’s family.

From Du Heng’s family, his parents, older brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews all came, along with the old village secretary and his son.

Speaking of which, it was quite a coincidence. After the old village secretary’s son graduated from college, he ran into a policy reform² and failed to get a job assignment. In the end, through a twist of fate, he wound up joining Shi Lan’s company.

At first, she had no idea there was such a person among her employees. It was only when Du Heng went to find her that the pieces fell into place.

Among Shi Lan’s employees were quite a few people from Shujia Village, most of them girls.

She didn’t mind hiring friends and relatives into the company, but they had to pass the job assessment. It could also be considered a bit of a benefit she was giving Du Heng’s hometown.

When she saw Du Heng’s family again,

the atmosphere was completely different from the first time she had met them.

His two older brothers were rather quiet. Whenever she looked their way, they would just smile at her.

The Eldest Sister-in-law no longer had the aggressive domineering air she once used to bully her, and the Second Sister-in-law no longer seemed like some marginal figure either. When they spoke to her, they were all cautious, with an ingratiating tone.

Not just toward her, but toward Du Heng as well.

But they kept letting the little kids, too young to know any better, come over and interact with her.

That left Shi Lan a little helpless.

Back when they had returned to Shujia Village that time, the brothers had made quite an ugly scene over those things in their hometown.

After that, they hadn’t contacted each other for two or three years.

Shi Lan sent money to Du Heng’s parents every month, and had also taken them out for trips before. But they weren’t used to staying in the city.

As for the two older brothers and their wives, she had never seen them again.

Later, when Du Heng was filming nearby, he went back once. When he returned, he told Shi Lan that he had invested some money for his second brother to open a lumber processing workshop. As for the eldest brother, he had bought a storefront in town to run a small convenience shop.

At least it counted as a way to make a living.

Shi Lan thought that was pretty good too.

No matter how badly things had gone at home, Du Heng was now a public figure. It wouldn’t look right if he did absolutely nothing to help his own brothers.

In any case, it didn’t cost that much.

Not even as much as the money they had put into building roads in the village.

Truthfully, Shi Lan didn’t have particularly strong feelings about the wedding itself.

It felt more or less like putting on another grand event.

But her silly man cried onstage like an idiot. Somehow, she ended up crying too.

With so many employees and business associates watching from below… it was so embarrassing.

A dummy really was a dummy.

After being with him so long, she’d gotten a little dumb herself.

If there was anything enjoyable about holding this event, it was being able to openly wear especially extravagant beautiful clothes.

So gorgeous.

For one wedding, Shi Lan picked out twelve outfits. All kinds of styles!

Ah, so satisfying.

In order to show off the clothes, she was full of enthusiasm for the toasting round.

Shi Lan had deliberately arranged for several of her vice presidents to sit at different tables, specifically so they could help entertain the guests.

When she got to Li Wei’s table, she discovered he was already drunk.

Shi Lan clicked her tongue. “How much did he drink?”

The executives at the same table laughed and said, “Not that much, really. Anyway, it’s nothing compared to President Li’s usual capacity. I guess President Shi’s wedding today just made him too happy.”

What a letdown!

He was supposed to block drinks for her, and instead he’d knocked himself out first.

Qin Luo came over from the neighboring table and motioned for two people to carry Li Wei away.

“President Li was up late last night looking over an acquisition case, so he’s worn out. Sorry for the laugh, everyone.”

As Li Wei was being hauled up and taken past Shi Lan, he seemed to sense something and woke for a moment.

When he saw Shi Lan, he mumbled something.

Listening carefully, she realized he was saying, “Line up.”

Shi Lan: “…”

Qin Luo quickly got him away from the scene and smoothed things over. “He’s still thinking about work. Business is too good, and he’s been considering how to solve customer lines more efficiently and improve user experience.”

It was utterly baffling.

Beneath the layers of her skirt, Du Heng took hold of Shi Lan’s hand.

Shi Lan looked up. “What, don’t tell me you’re drunk too?”

“I just missed you.”

Shi Lan: “…”

The dummy’s condition was acting up again.

That night, after all the guests had left,

Shi Lan, still wearing her final gorgeous dress, stood on the hotel’s rooftop balcony enjoying the breeze.

Their bridal suite was on the thirtieth floor. From where they stood, they could take in the entire city at a glance.

It was New Year’s Day tonight. Festive lights and decorations were everywhere, and the night view was breathtaking.

Shi Lan was wearing a velvet mermaid gown woven with silver threads.

Under the night sky, it shimmered brilliantly and looked especially beautiful.

Several times, Du Heng tried to drape his jacket over her shoulders, only to be refused each time.

“I said I’m not wearing it. What’s with you? This dress is so pretty. If you cover it with a loose jacket, it’ll look awful.”

Du Heng said helplessly, “But it’s cold.”

Shi Lan stamped her foot.

“But I think it’s fine.”

Left with no choice, Du Heng put on the jacket himself, then wrapped a certain stubborn looks-obsessed woman into his arms and enclosed her in the coat.

“If you won’t wear it, this works too.”

Shi Lan couldn’t break free anyway. She put up a token struggle twice, then felt that his chest was quite warm.

Forget it, this was fine. She nestled contentedly in her husband’s arms and went back to admiring the night view.

Looking out from here, she could see the words “Happy Millennium” flashing across the city’s landmark building downtown.

Shi Lan tilted her head up and looked at her husband.

Excitedly, she said, “I have an idea.”

Du Heng remained calm, with a trace of teasing in his tone.

“You always have ideas.”

She glared at him.

Du Heng wrapped her more tightly and indulged her with affectionate patience.

“All right, all right. Let’s hear your idea.”

Shi Lan said, “I want to spend the next Millennium with you too.”

“The next Millennium?” Du Heng shook his head. “I don’t have ambitions that big.”

“It’s not impossible. By then we’d only be a little over a hundred years old. We have to believe in future medicine and technology.”

“A little over a hundred?” Du Heng was speechless. “My dear President Shi, the next Millennium is the year 3000. If you somehow make it that far, you’d be over a thousand.”

“Ah? Really? I was actually thinking of 2100.”

She didn’t know why her brain had suddenly short-circuited and made her think 2100 was the next Millennium.

It was pretty funny, having a random stupid moment like that.

It had to be the dummy rubbing off on her. There was no way it was her own problem.

She’d scored over 130 on the math section of the college entrance exam.

That dummy, though, didn’t laugh at her much. Resting his chin on top of her head, he said, “If there’s another life, then in the next Millennium, I’ll definitely go find you and spend it with you.”

Idiot.

That was Shi Lan’s silent verdict in her heart.

“Look, it’s snowing,” Du Heng suddenly said.

It really was.

At some point, sparse snowflakes had begun drifting through the night sky.

Snowflakes blew onto the balcony. Shi Lan stuck out the tip of her tongue and lightly curled it, catching a snowflake in her mouth.

Yes, it was sweet.

Translator’s Notes