Chapter 48: A Perfect Match

Chapter 48: A Perfect Match

If Zhong Lei had not said those words, Chen Feng’s misunderstanding of her would probably have continued.

Before, in Chen Feng’s mind, Zhong Lei was the spokesperson for low emotional intelligence. She completely lacked social skills and lived a life as simple as one plus one equals two.

Now it seemed she was not like that.

She just couldn’t be bothered to use her brain in those aspects, focusing only on things she truly liked.

She ignored He Jiaqi simply because there was no point in befriending He Jiaqi.

But with Lu Wei, because she had her eye on that person’s recording studio, even though she was far away in Zhonghai, she still came back to accept the invitation.

To call her noble and aloof was certainly not accurate.

To call her worldly, but her goal was merely to make better music.

There was one thing Chen Feng had not yet figured out.

Clearly, Zhong Lei had not produced any mature works so far. On the surface, it seemed she had always been living attached to Chen Feng.

But the change in her attitude was not obvious enough.

She respected Chen Feng more, even suggesting she wanted to become his student.

Yet she never became fawning, completely different from the other extreme, Qin Lu.

It seemed deep down she had some inexplicable persistence and confidence. She never stopped moving forward, never gave up her motivation to create independently, and firmly believed she could write songs on the same level as Chen Feng, or even better.

If it were an average person, meeting a collaborator like Chen Feng who was such a perfectly compatible soulmate, they would probably have given up creating long ago. They would just focus on being a singer, quietly waiting to reap the rewards.

But Zhong Lei was not like that.

She wanted to become his student only to surpass him, not to attach herself to him.

Deep inside her, there seemed to be a flame that would never go out, making her completely ignore the blow of her creative ideas being “plagiarized” and “stolen.”

Chen Feng thought this almost blind persistence must have run through her entire life, ultimately forging her into someone unique.

The next afternoon, Chen Feng waited for the travel-worn Zhong Lei on the commercial street.

She had come directly by taxi after getting off the plane, wearing plain casual clothes.

Chen Feng looked at his watch. “There’s still an hour and a half until five. Let’s find a place to sit for a while first.”

Zhong Lei shook her head. “No.”

Chen Feng asked, “Huh? Do we need to hurry and practice the song?”

Zhong Lei pointed to the mall next to them. “Let’s go buy some nicer clothes. We don’t know what the party organized by such a big star like Lu Wei requires. Now we have a favor to ask, it’s better to dress more formally.”

Chen Feng was shocked.

This person thought things through so thoroughly!

She was truly someone with a very clear purpose!

“What’s that look on your face? Oh, did you prepare a gift?”

Chen Feng shook his head blankly. “Do… do we need to bring a gift?”

Zhong Lei looked at him as if he were an idiot. “I don’t know how you’ve managed to live this long. It serves you right for being single until now.”

“I’m proud to be single! I’m saving resources for the country…”

“What?”

“Nothing. What gift did you prepare?”

Zhong Lei pulled a disc from her bag. “A semi-finished DEMO of ‘Monotony.’ After we officially release it, this will be a collector’s edition CD. How’s that? Sincere enough?”

Chen Feng nodded, shamelessly saying, “Very sincere. I wrote the song, you sang it. Let’s consider it a gift from both of us together.”

Although he thought, in one timeline, Zhong Lei had sung this song for Lu Wei. Now, not only did Zhong Lei sing it herself, but she also gave the DEMO as a gift before its release, which stung a bit. But he was the only one who knew this. Anyway, as long as the sincerity was sufficient.

The two walked side by side into the mall.

They had to admit, good-looking people easily attracted attention.

Even wearing ordinary clothes, Zhong Lei couldn’t avoid being the focus of people’s stares in the mall.

Walking into a branded store whose name neither of them recognized, but whose clothes had hefty price tags, Zhong Lei complained, “These people are annoying. It’s like they’ve never seen a woman before.”

Chen Feng laughed. “Everyone has seen women, but ones as good-looking as you are probably rare.”

Zhong Lei shrugged. “What’s the use of being good-looking? Even the prettiest face will grow old, with sagging breasts and a wrinkled face one day. In a lifetime, what really matters is how many timeless things you can leave behind.”

Chen Feng really didn’t want to speak.

Who knew how this woman’s brain worked.

You’re only twenty-one!

Can’t you not live so thoroughly?

“Are you two shopping for clothes? Our Feijieluo just launched a new spring collection, showcased just last week at Paris Fashion Week. All designs are from the Philmino studio in Italy. The garments are fully imported and entirely handmade. We can also take measurements and offer high-end custom tailoring.”

A salesperson walked over with a smile, introducing enthusiastically.

Hearing this, Chen Feng was a bit intimidated.

Zhong Lei also hesitated slightly.

“You two are a perfect match, obviously not ordinary people. But clothes make the man, and a Buddha needs gilding. Better fashion can better highlight your temperaments. No matter what occasion you attend, you won’t be impolite.”

This sentence from the salesperson completely convinced Chen Feng and Zhong Lei.

A little over half an hour later, the two walked out of the store completely transformed.

Chen Feng changed into a fitted trench coat, paired with stylish checkered pants. Combined with his already athletic build, he really made people see him in a new light.

Zhong Lei was even more impressive. She wore a sky-blue long dress with a translucent light blue plain shawl over her shoulders. Her whole person had an air of a fairy descending to earth.

As she saw them off, the salesperson showered them with endless praise, though it was unclear how much was genuine and how much was fake.

Chen Feng’s heart was bleeding a bit.

They each paid their own share. His outfit actually cost eighty thousand!

Zhong Lei’s outfit was cheaper, only a little over thirty thousand.

If he had to blame something, he could only blame his own looks not being explosive enough, so he needed better clothes to bring out his aura.

This time, when the two walked out of the mall, even more people stared.

They didn’t notice a sneaky figure hiding in the crowd behind them, pointing a phone at them and clicking away.

That wasn’t all. Since Zhong Lei’s photo was released together with “Dullness” on the Q Music platform, she was recognized. She had to sign over a dozen autographs before it was over.

“Sigh.”

After walking far from the mall and reaching an unnoticed corner, Zhong Lei sighed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think I probably won’t have many chances to go shopping in a mall like this in the future. Peaceful, free days are numbered. Even though I try to avoid exposure programs, I can’t escape this kind of thing.”

Chen Feng nodded. “That’s the fate of an artist.”

“I’m just a singer. Why can’t I just sing purely and never show my face? Isn’t listening to the song enough?”

Zhong Lei seemed to be asking Chen Feng, and also asking the air.

“Who knows? That’s just how the world is.”

Now Chen Feng understood one more thing.

No wonder there were so few video recordings of Zhong Lei left a thousand years later, only a pile of photos and very few videos.

To understand her, one mostly had to rely on written biographies.

Others thought she was deliberately creating an aura of mystery, but in fact, she really didn’t like being in the public eye.

The two arrived exactly on time at No. 52 East Street, Caiwei Cottage. Two tall, burly security guards stood at the door. They recognized the pair at a glance and let them in directly.

Presumably, Lu Wei had made arrangements in advance, and these security personnel were very professional.

Something unexpected happened. Less than five meters into the courtyard, they saw someone they didn’t want to see.

Zhou A.