Chapter 15 – Guan Lan’s Lavish Harem

Yang Peiqing went all out to poach Zhuang Lin.

Even though Guan Lan and Chen Jin had broken up, Chen Jin had a notorious history of being entangled with his exes, so Yang Peiqing remained highly vigilant about Guan Lan. It would be best if Guan Lan became obsessed with some fresh-faced young man and forgot about Chen Jin entirely, allowing Chen Jin to get entangled with the right ex instead.

Zhuang Lin’s former company had mentally prepared themselves for this. Ever since Zhuang Lin had signed his record contract elsewhere, they knew Tianlong wouldn’t stop halfway in poaching him—they would take both the person and the songs. At the moment, Zhuang Lin wasn’t popular, nor did he show any signs of becoming so. As long as they could sell him for a good price, the company wouldn’t feel too much of a loss.

But what they didn’t know was that Yang Peiqing intended to take Qi Fei along as well.

Yang Peiqing was quite cunning. On one hand, he haggled with Huixin over Zhuang Lin’s contract, putting on a business-like demeanor; on the other hand, he secretly contacted Qi Fei, operating behind the scenes. As soon as Zhuang Lin’s contract transfer was finalized, Qi Fei submitted her resignation. By the time Huixin realized they had lost their top agent, Qi Fei had already completed her onboarding at Tianlong.

Zhuang Lin: “Well, now both the person and the songs are in their hands.”

Qi Fei: “Your songs are in Guan Lan’s hands, but you’re still in mine. My boss is Yang Peiqing; you need to understand the company’s structure.”

Zhuang Lin: “We’re in the same company. What’s the difference?”

Qi Fei: “Rumor has it that Guan Lan and Yang Peiqing don’t get along. There’s some kind of emotional conflict between them.”

Zhuang Lin was startled by the term “emotional conflict”: “What kind of emotional conflict?”

Qi Fei: “Just gossip from the industry, all hearsay and unreliable. There are plenty of reasons why colleagues might not get along; it doesn’t necessarily have to be about that kind of thing. But it’s true that they don’t get along.”

Zhuang Lin was annoyed: “This guy… how does he manage to provoke everyone?”

Qi Fei looked at him sharply: “Did he provoke you too?”

Zhuang Lin shut his mouth.

Can’t a person just speak normally?

Fortunately, Qi Fei didn’t press further: “I know that jumping ship like this wasn’t the most ethical move. But do you know how much Tianlong offered me? I work for the money; why would I turn it down?”

Zhuang Lin: “It’s called free choice of employment. You signed a labor contract, not a slave contract. Sister, I don’t think you did anything wrong.”

Qi Fei: “So, you only hold Guan Lan to a higher moral standard, huh?”

Zhuang Lin: “…That’s not the same thing!”

Qi Fei: “Then what is it? Some childhood trauma your dad left you?”

Zhuang Lin: “…What does my dad have to do with this?”

Qi Fei: “Isn’t your dislike for promiscuous men because of your dad? Or maybe you were harassed by some sleazy teacher abroad, so you’re extra sensitive about it?”

Zhuang Lin: “What are you even talking about? Your imagination is way too wild!”

Qi Fei: “Your dad betrayed his marriage, while Guan Lan is just enjoying his single life. There’s a fundamental difference; you need to get that straight.”

Zhuang Lin: “That’s ancient history. Even my mom doesn’t remember it anymore; why would I still hold a grudge? It has nothing to do with this!”

Qi Fei sighed: “If you’ve ruled out all those possibilities, then there’s only one explanation left.”

Zhuang Lin already knew what she was going to say: “…Don’t say it.”

Qi Fei: “I’m going to say it.”

Zhuang Lin: …

Qi Fei: “Harem rivalry.”

Zhuang Lin thought, if I were actually in the harem, it would be one thing, but the problem is I’m still sweeping the streets outside the palace gates!

How could I not be pissed?

—

With Zhuang Lin’s contract transfer going smoothly, his securing of Ode to the River was a foregone conclusion.

In the end, the TV series used Zhuang Lin’s version as the ending theme, and thanks to Tianlong’s efforts, the online release prior to the show’s airing featured a duet version with Zhuang Lin and Hu Qianqian.

Just before Autumn in the Han Palace aired, the production team invested heavily in promotion. The internet was flooded with trailers and clips of the show, and the ending theme song gained popularity even before the series premiered. Tianlong seized the opportunity to release the music video, and Zhuang Lin’s appearance in it instantly garnered him a large fanbase. When “concerned netizens” reposted Zhuang Lin’s previous videos from YouTube and dug up his impressive academic background, the Yellow V Weibo account he had just opened, with a single “Hello everyone” post, quickly amassed over a hundred thousand followers.

Everything happened so fast that it almost felt unreal to Zhuang Lin.

By the time Autumn in the Han Palace officially aired, with viewership breaking records and climbing past 3% and then 5%, the song began dominating major music charts, becoming a true hit sung by people everywhere.

One day, while scrolling through Weibo, Guan Lan saw Zhuang Lin trending again.

“Musical Prodigy Zhuang Lin: The Song’s Popularity Has Nothing to Do with Me.”

Reporter: Now that Ode to the River has achieved such great success, how do you feel about it?

Zhuang Lin: A senior once told me that whoever sings this song will become popular, and I should definitely seize this opportunity. It seems that’s exactly what happened. The reason I’ve gained some fame now is because of a great song and a high-quality TV series. Honestly, it’s not really about me. Anyone who sang this song would have become popular. So, this isn’t the kind of recognition I want; I’m still far from my own goals.

…This kid really knows how to speak his mind.

Surprisingly, netizens loved it, praising him for being a straightforward and honest guy.

Reporter: You’ve now signed with Tianlong Entertainment. Can we expect any collaboration with Guan Lan in the future?

Zhuang Lin: I can say that it was Guan Lan’s persistence that ultimately convinced me to join Tianlong.

…Three visits to my humble abode? Have you been abroad too long to use idioms properly, or do you just not know how to be modest?

Netizen: You’ve joined Guan Lan’s lavish harem.

Guan Lan: …

—

During the time Zhuang Lin was rising to fame, Guan Lan found time to appear on a variety show.

He had turned down most invitations, but he still occasionally gave in for the sake of the appearance fees.

It was Supernova again, Chen Jin’s show.

This time, it was a special friendship edition, where each regular member was asked to invite a friend to team up with them and complete competition tasks.

Chen Jin called Guan Lan: “Three days and two nights, a trip to Hainan for two. Interested?”

Guan Lan was somewhat tempted by the idea of a vacation, but after learning the details, he was speechless: “Buddy, have you forgotten that we’ve already broken up?”

Chen Jin: “Can’t exes still be friends?”

Guan Lan: “…Did you just say ‘friend’ or ‘fuck buddy’?”

Chen Jin: “Well, this time we’ll be eating and living together. It’s not like I couldn’t find someone else, but pretending to be close with someone for three days is exhausting. Even if my acting is fine, if the other person’s acting is awkward, it’ll just attract criticism.”

Guan Lan interpreted this as Chen Jin’s roundabout way of saying, “You’re my only friend,” or at least, “You’re my only friend in the entertainment industry.”

In the end, Guan Lan agreed—half out of consideration for Chen Jin, and half for the allure of Hainan.

It had been a long time since he’d gone on a trip.

But after getting off the plane, enduring a three-hour bus ride and a two-hour cart ride, he realized something was wrong—where was the sunshine, the beach, the coconuts, the ocean? Where the hell was this mountain village?

That liar Chen Jin! If I ever believe him again, I’m an idiot!

The so-called “Hainan trip for two” was neither in Hainan nor for two.

When they arrived at the campsite prepared by the production team and met up with the other teams, a young man greeted him enthusiastically: “You’re here too, Teacher Guan!”

It was Ning Xun, the leader of NEXT.

Guan Lan was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar face: “Yeah, I came with Chen Jin. What about you?”

Ning Xun pointed behind him: “Fang Long brought me.”

Guan Lan only vaguely recognized these variety show regulars; he didn’t really know them. He guessed Fang Long was probably a senior from the same company as NEXT.

Ning Xun: “I heard we’ll be sharing rooms. Let’s stay together. I just looked around, and I’m not that close with anyone else.”

Guan Lan: “Really? Who else is here?”

Ning Xun started counting them off one by one: “Liang Yanyan and Chen Ru, Qin Zhongwen and Liu Mo, Li Yanyao and Zhuang Lin, Zhang…”

Guan Lan interrupted him: “Wait, who and who?”

Chen Jin: “Yep, your Zhuang Lin.”

Guan Lan didn’t bother correcting the “your Zhuang Lin” comment. All his thoughts condensed into one sentence: “…Why?”

Chen Jin: “After Li Yanyao finished the last episode, he became really interested in variety shows. He went home and begged his dad for a few million to invest in the show, then stayed on as a regular. They’ve done several episodes now, but you don’t watch TV, so you wouldn’t know. Zhuang Lin is the friend he invited.”

If you say someone’s name too many times, that person will appear.

Guan Lan, with Ning Xun on his left and Chen Jin on his right, looked up and met Zhuang Lin’s gaze.

He recalled the online comments he’d seen earlier and thought this episode could be renamed “Guan Lan’s Lavish Harem.”