Chapter 29: Bustle on One Side, Loneliness on the Other

Chapter 29: Bustle on One Side, Loneliness on the Other

When the two of them arrived at Yucheng Airport, it was already past eight, nearing nine at night.

Their seats were in the economy class, relatively close to the exit door. After the plane stopped, they walked out quickly.

Just as they entered the airport terminal, a wave of heat hit their faces.

Zhong Lei frowned tightly. “It’s so hot.”

Chen Feng nodded. “Yeah, a bit.”

Compared to Hanzhou, Yucheng is located further south, with a much warmer climate.

Even though it was night, the terminal was inexplicably packed with people. Added to that, the airport spared no expense in keeping the warm air conditioning running, making the two feel unbearably hot.

“What the heck, it’s so late. Why is the domestic flight terminal still so crowded?”

Chen Feng shrugged. “Who knows?”

As he spoke, he took off his jacket and hung it over his arm. “You should take off your jacket too. I can see sweat on your face. Going from cold to hot, catching a cold would be a real hassle.”

Zhong Lei seemed a bit hesitant.

“We came all the way here, betting everything we have. You wouldn’t want to get sick from the heat, would you?”

Chen Feng urged anxiously.

Zhong Lei nodded helplessly and then, somewhat awkwardly, followed his example and took off her white coat.

Only after she really took it off did Chen Feng understand why she had been so reluctant.

It turned out the blue high-neck sweater she was wearing underneath was very fitted, clearly revealing her slender waist and the curve of her chest.

Such a striking figure stood out remarkably in the crowded airport terminal, drawing many people’s gazes toward her.

Zhong Lei was very uncomfortable with so many people staring. She lifted her coat to cover her face, feeling slightly better.

“What’s going on!”

Her voice came out muffled through the coat.

Chen Feng also felt the situation was a bit strange.

Although Zhong Lei’s looks were flawless, and the curves shown by her fitted sweater were quite impressive—enough that a casual street photo posted online could make her somewhat famous—these people’s eyes were still too enthusiastic.

It felt as if they were looking at a famous superstar.

Right at that moment, not far from them, someone shouted first, “Wow! Lu Wei is here!”

That did it. The dense crowd surged and moved, rushing toward them.

Chen Feng and Zhong Lei were startled and stepped back repeatedly, trying to keep their distance from the crowd.

Chen Feng felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. “Something’s wrong. They’ve mistaken you for someone else. In a moment, I’ll try to distract these people. While it’s chaotic, you make a run for it.”

Zhong Lei asked, “How will you distract them?”

Watching the approaching crowd, Chen Feng gritted his teeth. “I’ll take off my pants! I’ll streak!”

Zhong Lei: “…”

“That dedicated?”

“No choice. You don’t know how crazy fans can be. If this crowd rushes forward all at once, there’s no guarantee a stampede won’t happen.”

Hearing this, Zhong Lei also got anxious. She simply took off her coat, pointed at her own face, and shouted loudly, “I’m not Lu Wei! Look clearly! I am not Lu Wei!”

The crowd, which was already on the verge of a commotion, calmed down a little.

“Huh, she really isn’t? She seems taller than Lu Wei.”

“Her chest is bigger too.”

“Who shouted just now?”

A small, timid voice said, “It was me. Actually, I don’t know Lu Wei. I just thought she was very pretty, like a star, so I assumed she was Lu Wei.”

“Seriously? As a fan, be more professional!”

“No, actually, I was just passing by and watching the excitement. I’m not a fan.”

“Okay then. Actually, we can’t blame you entirely. This girl does look very special, very classy. She must be a star too, just not as famous as Lu Wei.”

People chatted like this. Some who were more polite even came forward to apologize to Chen Feng and Zhong Lei.

There were even people who wanted Zhong Lei’s autograph, which left her flustered. But she couldn’t resist the enthusiasm of those asking, so she took the pen and paper, ready to sign.

She thought to herself that maybe she would have a day like this sooner or later. Practicing a bit early wasn’t bad.

Just then, loud noise and commotion suddenly came from another exit.

“Lu Wei is here!”

“It really is Lu Wei!”

In the blink of an eye, the people in front of them ran off and were gone.

Zhong Lei stared blankly at the pen and notebook in her hands.

The person who had been waiting for her autograph had disappeared.

In the vast airport terminal, the corner where the two stood became empty and quiet.

In stark contrast, the other end was crowded and bustling, shoulder to shoulder.

Somehow, the person from before rushed back, snatched the pen and paper from Zhong Lei’s hand, and only threw out one sentence, “Sorry, Lu Wei over there said she wants everyone to line up for autographs…”

Before finishing, the person was already far gone, out of sight.

Chen Feng sighed. “Don’t look. You don’t need to envy her. You’ll be more famous than her in the future, much more famous. About… ten times more famous, maybe.”

Chen Feng wasn’t very good at comforting people, so he could only state facts.

Zhong Lei abruptly turned her face away and walked quickly toward the airport exit. “I’m not envious at all!”

Chen Feng didn’t expose her lie.

It wasn’t until they took a taxi, checked into a hotel in the suburbs, and were about to go to their separate rooms that Zhong Lei said, “Okay, I lied earlier. I thought I could stay calm. I’ve told myself more than once that I make music not for fame, but just because I like it. But seeing those people like that, I still felt a bit down.”

Chen Feng shook his head. “That’s only human.”

“Do you really think I’ll be more famous than Lu Wei in the future? She’s already almost at the peak of fame! I don’t have her good family background, and I don’t have as many resources as she does. You don’t study music; you don’t know how much money this industry burns. I really don’t dare to compare myself to her. I can’t surpass her.”

Chen Feng smiled. “You’re wrong on two points. First, she hasn’t reached her peak yet. Second, you definitely can.”

“Thanks for the kind words.”

Zhong Lei nodded and went back to her room.

Chen Feng, however, wasn’t in a hurry to wash up and sleep.

He hadn’t expected Lu Wei to be on the same flight today, but she must have been in first class, so they didn’t run into her.

He didn’t know why Lu Wei came to Yucheng, but it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

However, the stark contrast between Zhong Lei and Lu Wei today served as a wake-up call for him.

He had to find a way to settle matters with Q Music. He couldn’t just rely on the contract version from KuGe. Otherwise, if they couldn’t even get through Q Music’s door at the start, that would be a big problem.

After all, the cost of this trip was too high. Chen Feng and Zhong Lei couldn’t afford to lose, and they couldn’t afford to waste time either.

Chen Feng looked around the simply furnished hotel room, feeling his heart bleed a little.

This lousy hotel had windows that creaked and groaned when opened or closed.

Once the air conditioner was turned on, you could hear it buzzing loudly.

The TV wasn’t a new flat, ultra-thin model but an old domestic LCD that clearly had seen better days.

In short, if this hotel were in Hanzhou, a night would cost at most a little over a hundred.

It didn’t even deserve to be called a hotel; it should be called an inn.

But in Yucheng, a highly developed city economically, this lousy inn’s standard room actually cost 488 per night! And they even called it a special offer!

Now they needed two rooms. For each extra day, including meal expenses, at least twelve or thirteen hundred would be gone.

They could only hold out for three days at most.

After hesitating for five minutes, Chen Feng took out his phone and called Zheng Rou.

After some brief and insincere polite exchanges, Chen Feng stated his intention.

Although Chen Feng felt a bit embarrassed asking for help like this, Zheng Rou readily agreed and promised to handle it.

This time, Lu Wei came to Yucheng to hold a large solo concert.

As for Zheng Rou, she would take advantage of this trip to visit some well-known companies and important channels, including the copyright department of Q Music.

Even the president of Q Music’s business department would personally attend Lu Wei’s concert in the VIP seats.

“Alright, tomorrow morning I’ll go to Q Music headquarters. When I’m there, I’ll mention it to their copyright department director, Ma Tianhua, and give him your phone number. He’ll definitely save it and help arrange a time for a face-to-face meeting with you. Since I’m the one introducing you, he shouldn’t delay. It should happen within the next couple of days.”

Chen Feng thanked her repeatedly.

Zheng Rou teased, “Mr. Chen, you’re really playing favorites. Before, when we helped Chen Li try to buy this song from you, you wouldn’t sell it. Now, not only did you let this person sing it, you’re even accompanying her to sell the song.”

Hearing this, Chen Feng could only laugh awkwardly, trying to brush it off.

He came to Yucheng with Zhong Lei not to pursue her, but because most of the song’s value originally belonged to him.

“Alright, I won’t press you further. You artistic types can always find a reason for anything.”

Chen Feng really couldn’t handle the subtext in Zheng Rou’s words and could only continue laughing awkwardly.

However, Zheng Rou didn’t dwell on this issue for too long and soon revealed her real purpose.