Chapter Four: Hello Everyone, I Am the Singer Lin Ze

Lin Ze showered quickly inside. Today had truly exhausted him—he’d drunk so much and sung two songs. His head was still foggy even now, and all he wanted was to get to bed as soon as possible.

After his shower, Lin Ze wandered out, half-awake. Su Zitan, clutching her clothes, slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

“Zitan, hurry up! I’m waiting for you in bed,” Lin Ze called out.

Hearing his voice, Su Zitan’s face flushed a deep red. He’d just confessed today—wasn’t this moving too fast? But then again, they’d known each other for over twenty years, growing up side by side. Maybe it wasn’t too soon after all…

Caught between hesitation and anticipation, Su Zitan finished her shower. She stared at the cool, light pajamas in her hands, steeled herself, and put them on, biting her lip. Then, for good measure, she covered them with a robe.

She lingered in the bathroom for quite a while, wrestling with her nerves, before finally mustering the courage to open the door.

The master bedroom lights had already been dimmed by Lin Ze.

Tiptoeing, Su Zitan slipped under the covers and gently wrapped her arms around Lin Ze.

“You brat, do you know how long I’ve been waiting for you to confess?” she whispered. “Every time I tried to tell you, you’d change the subject. I know what you’re thinking—you want to make a name for yourself so people won’t gossip. But if this goes on, your big sister will grow old waiting… Luckily, you…”

She kept talking, but Lin Ze gave no response, lying with his back to her.

“…Lin Ze?” she called softly.

A snore escaped Lin Ze, jerking himself awake. Groggily, he turned over to see Su Zitan staring at him.

“Mmm… Zitan, you finished your shower?” he mumbled, reaching out to pull her close, his eyes drifting shut again immediately.

“You brat!” Su Zitan scolded, half exasperated, half amused.

So much for the effort she put into her outfit…

“Hmph, sleep then!”

She turned over, nestling into Lin Ze’s arms. She closed her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. With a faint sigh, she thought—everyone says eight-pack abs are great, but sleeping like this is like hugging a washboard. What’s so good about it?

…

The next morning, Lin Ze woke to the buzz of his phone. He sat up, enduring a sharp headache. Su Zitan was already gone from the bedroom.

He glanced at his phone—Wang Xue was calling.

As soon as he picked up, Wang Xue’s serious voice came through.

“Lin Ze, be honest. That song of yours, ‘Later’—you didn’t plagiarize it, did you?”

“No, I haven’t plagiarized any song in this world,” Lin Ze replied without hesitation.

He was a singer. Only he knew whether any songs from this world overlapped with those in his memory.

“That’s good.” Wang Xue sounded relieved. “Check Weibo—there’s a well-known music critic stirring things up, hinting at plagiarism between the lines. Zhang Yang’s bought some bots, too. You’re dominating the top three trending topics.”

“Plagiarism?” Lin Ze chuckled. “Alright, I’ll take a look.”

“We’ll issue a statement from the company first,” Wang Xue said before hanging up.

Lin Ze opened Weibo.

“Lin Ze gives heartfelt performance of new song ‘Later’ at bar—some people, once missed, are gone forever!”

“Lin Ze’s new song ‘Later’ accused of plagiarism! Renowned critic Jiang Dasheng speaks out!”

“Lin Ze proposes to CEO Su Zitan at bar—passionate embrace confirms romance!”

Unbothered, Lin Ze clicked on the trending romance tag. Besides livestream screenshots, there were also photos and videos taken by bar-goers. Some were so clear they looked almost like artistic portraits.

Grinning, Lin Ze saved a bunch of the photos and videos.

As for that Jiang Dasheng, Lin Ze opened his lengthy post and read:

“‘Later’ is indeed a refreshing song, but after listening twice, I found it oddly familiar. Heh. I checked Lin Ze’s previous works, listened to them all, and I have to say, I suspect the Lin Ze singing ‘Later’ is not the same person as the one I found. The styles and quality are worlds apart—even though only three months separate their release. Those who know, know. If this is truly an original, let’s look forward to more good songs from Lin Ze, heh.”

Lin Ze frowned at the review. With his current temperament, he couldn’t let this pass.

He immediately reposted it, adding his own comment:

“What kind of review is this? Why not actually critique the song itself? Or did I hit your blind spot?”

No sooner had his repost gone live than Lin Ze saw the comments filled with laughter.

Then came the insults.

“Plagiarist dog, get out of the entertainment industry!”

“So that’s why you suddenly know how to write songs—you stole them!”

“Zhang Yang’s songs might be trash, but at least he doesn’t plagiarize.”

Lin Ze read the comments. He couldn’t help but feel a sort of fondness for these little anti-fans who were boosting his popularity.

One song isn’t enough to silence the haters? Then why not a few more!

Lin Ze put on his shoes and left the bedroom, finding Su Zitan lying on the sofa, frowning at her phone.

“What’s wrong? Trouble at the company?” he asked.

Su Zitan sat up, patting the seat beside her.

“No, I’m using a side account to argue with the trolls in your comments! They have no evidence, just spouting nonsense!” She pouted, her furrowed brow making her look especially adorable.

Unable to resist, Lin Ze pulled her into his arms, burying his nose in her hair and taking a deep breath.

“Hey! Where did this big dog come from?”

Su Zitan struggled, but couldn’t break free. Instead, Lin Ze’s neck ended up right in front of her.

Today… today was the perfect day for leaving a mark.

A while later, Lin Ze stood in front of the mirror, looking at the heart-shaped hickey on his neck.

Su Zitan stood with hands on her hips, triumphant. “See? Even my hickeys are shaped like love!”

Lin Ze laughed, fingering the mark.

“Come here, let me see what kind of mouth my Zitan has.”

“Ew, you haven’t brushed your teeth—no kissing… mmm!”

…

They lingered at home for a while longer, only leaving around noon. After lunch, they sneaked back to Lin Ze’s apartment.

They brought back his guitar and keyboard, along with some fresh clothes.

When they returned home in the afternoon, the key to the small bedroom mysteriously turned up.

Lin Ze carefully arranged the small room, then opened his Tigerfish livestream.

He posted the link to Weibo, adding, “I found a really handsome guy with an amazing voice—come check him out!”

Curious fans clicked the livestream link. On screen, Lin Ze sat on a stool, guitar in hand.

[???]

[Where’s the handsome guy?]

[Shameless, calling yourself a handsome guy?]

The number of viewers skyrocketed. Lin Ze’s lips curled into a smile.

“Hello, everyone. I’m singer Lin Ze.”