Chapter 020: An Unexpected Encounter with a Fan?
Liu Nan on Basketball: I actually already sent a private message to Soaring Centipede, but didn’t get a reply. Now that everyone’s bidding openly, I’ll offer fifteen thousand!
The commentator for tonight’s game, Liu Nan, had joined the bidding war as well.
His participation surprised no one—after all, he’d experienced the game firsthand, and with that little post-game “incident” during the interview, this jersey carried even more significance for him as a collector.
“Coach Liu, just tell us a joke instead!”
“Seconded~!”
“Seconded~!”
The moment Liu Nan appeared in the comments, the netizens playfully “caught” him red-handed.
As the online crowd continued to stir, yet another influencer joined the fray.
Qin Ruolin’s Music Kingdom: Soaring Centipede, I bid twenty thousand! Plus a personally signed album! Also, Liu Nan on Basketball, Wu Xing without Actor Zeng Yi, three big brothers, your little sister is a die-hard Jiangning fan—could you let the jersey go to her? Thank you~~~!
What the—! Qin Ruolin!!!
Am I seeing this right? It’s actually Qin Ruolin!
Shen Feng is truly legendary—even a music superstar is now a fan!!
Lin Feng, the diva wants your jersey; you’d better hand it over quickly!
Qin Ruolin’s appearance instantly triggered a seismic wave in Lin Feng’s comment section on Weibo; within a minute, thousands more comments flooded in!
There was no helping it—Qin Ruolin’s fame was simply immense.
At the recently concluded 2015 Chinese Music Awards, she astonishingly swept up three unprecedented honors: Best Female Singer of the Year, Most Popular Female Singer, and Album of the Year!
With this formidable achievement, she officially ascended as the new queen of the Chinese music scene.
In this universe, the title of “diva” was no trivial matter—nobody could simply crown themselves after snagging a few minor awards.
To attain the title, one must achieve a grand slam: Best Female Singer and Most Popular Female Singer at all four major Chinese music awards, and boast album sales exceeding ten million.
Because the requirements were so demanding, only a handful of singers could ever lay claim to the diva title in this world. Each one was a living legend. At present, only four such divas remained active in Chinese music, and Qin Ruolin was one of them.
Seeing her message, Lin Feng wavered for a moment, tempted to simply gift her the jersey. After all, his future lay in the entertainment industry—establishing good relations with such a superstar could only benefit him down the road.
But this thought merely flashed through his mind. In the end, he resolved to keep his earlier promise and hand the jersey to the user named Soaring Centipede. After all, a man is nothing without his word.
Whether in life or work, integrity comes first.
…
The following day.
Reports of Game Six of the CBA Finals dominated the front pages of all major newspapers and online portals.
“Jiangning Annihilates Beicheng by 52, Setting CBA Record for Largest Margin Ever!”
“Shen Feng Racks Up 51 Points—Game Over in the First Quarter! Finals Tied at 3-3!”
“Massacre! Beicheng Routed by 52 in Away Game—Two Humiliating Records in One Night!”
“A Night of Records! Seven New Marks Set in Game Six of the CBA Finals!”
“16 of 19 from Three! Lin Feng: Who Else Dares?!”
…
With his supernatural performance in Game Six, Lin Feng once again found himself at the very center of public attention.
His Weibo followers surpassed three million this morning.
In other words, in just the dozen or so hours since the final whistle, almost two million new fans had followed him—a staggering rate of growth.
But Lin Feng had no time to savor the thrill of his exploding popularity. Early that morning, he’d received a call from Wu Daren, notifying him to travel to Yanjing the day after tomorrow for the filming of “Original Good Songs.” According to Wu Daren, one of the judges had a scheduling conflict, and the director demanded that all preliminary recordings be completed within three days. Contestants unable to participate would be automatically disqualified from this season’s show.
Of course, Lin Feng didn’t want to give up this chance to appear on “Original Good Songs,” but the seventh game of the CBA Finals was scheduled for the same day. If he traveled to Yanjing for the recording, he risked missing the championship decider.
Fortunately, “Original Good Songs” would film during the day, and the CBA Finals would tip off in the evening. Since it only took two hours to travel from Yanjing to Beicheng, although the schedule would be tight, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
After weighing his options, Lin Feng decided to take the risk.
He secretly booked his flight and boarded the plane to Yanjing.
Before departure, he sent a message to Shen Ziqiang, saying he had personal matters to attend to and would meet up with the team in Beicheng on the day of the finals.
With the championship game looming, the team’s star suddenly vanished!
Lin Feng could well imagine how furious Shen Ziqiang would be when he read the message, but right now, he had no other choice.
He simply turned off his phone.
On the plane.
Lin Feng pondered which song to perform.
In this world, he had a massive advantage in “original music”—his mind was filled with hit classics from Earth.
His only worry now was which one to choose.
Whoosh!
A faint sound of breathing drifted to his ear. Lin Feng turned his head and saw that the woman seated beside him, deep in sleep, was slowly leaning in his direction.
The woman was rather mysterious—she wore a baseball cap, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose, and a mask over her face. The full disguise was worthy of a true superstar. If she weren’t flying economy, Lin Feng might have really believed she was someone famous.
She seemed absolutely exhausted—she’d been asleep since Lin Feng boarded, and even as the plane neared its destination, she hadn’t stirred.
Thud!
The woman’s gradually tilting body finally slumped onto Lin Feng.
Her head found the perfect spot on his shoulder, yet she showed no sign of waking.
Lin Feng considered rousing her, but seeing how soundly she slept, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Forty minutes later, the plane touched down at Yanjing Airport.
Only then did the woman, still nestled against Lin Feng’s shoulder, finally wake.
“Sorry, I must have been really out of it.”
Realizing she’d been leaning on a stranger’s shoulder, the woman was clearly embarrassed, quickly pulling away.
Her voice was melodious—bright, clear, and gently soothing.
“It’s fine. Traveling can be exhausting,” Lin Feng replied mildly.
“Mmm!” she murmured, yawning lightly, then stretched, revealing a captivating silhouette before Lin Feng’s eyes.
Only now did he notice what an extraordinary figure his fellow traveler possessed.
“Could you please help me with my luggage?” she asked, pointing to the overhead bin above Lin Feng.
“Of course.” Lin Feng stood and reached for the latch.
“You’re so tall!” His height caught the woman’s attention, and she couldn’t help but look him over.
Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Wait—you’re Lin Feng?!”
“Uh…” Lin Feng was startled; he hadn’t expected her to recognize him.
Though his profile was higher now, it was still rare for someone to pick him out in public—after all, he’d only played two games so far, totaling just over ten minutes on the court. Most basketball fans wouldn’t recognize him.
“Didn’t expect you to be a fan,” Lin Feng said as he handed her the luggage.
“I’m a die-hard Jiangning supporter!” she replied proudly, puffing out her chest. “And ever since Game Five of the finals, I’ve become your die-hard fan too. I even follow you on Weibo.”
“Thank you.” Lin Feng smiled softly.
“Wait, something’s off. Shouldn’t you be in Beicheng right now, preparing for the seventh game? What are you doing here?” she asked, suddenly puzzled.
…