Chapter Twenty: Men, Creatures of Desire

“If the full version of this song is released, I’ll be the first to listen,” Guo Ping said with a smile.

She had high hopes for Chen Fang.

Over the past years, the entertainment industry had produced only one superstar—An Tinghan. Now, it seemed the second was about to emerge.

Chen Fang nodded and smiled as well.

“Approved.”

Guo Ping raised the card indicating her approval.

Four votes, all in favor!

Tonight, the second contestant to receive unanimous approval was born.

But truthfully, had Chen Fang performed before Cheng Jie, there might not have been a second unanimous contestant at all.

After all, the difference was too obvious.

The preliminary round didn’t rank contestants; as long as three judges approved, the contestant advanced. Yet anyone with discerning eyes knew that Chen Fang’s “Fragrant Rice” was several levels above Cheng Jie’s original song, making him the undisputed champion of tonight’s preliminary.

“Well done, Chen Fang!” Pang Tong shouted excitedly from the audience.

Chen Fang bowed slightly, picked up his guitar, and walked toward the backstage.

His performance had ended, but online, the barrage of comments still crazily flooded with his name.

“A ten-year fan, here without invitation!”

“From today on, I’m a die-hard fan of Chen Fang. I just love singers who have both looks and talent!”

“Became a fan because of his looks, stayed because of his talent.”

“Why can’t I find Chen Fang’s personal account on Weibo?”

“Yeah! I want to follow him, but can’t find anywhere to click.”

“Go to Kuayin.”

“Chen Fang has a personal account on Kuayin.”

As the hottest short video app in the country, Kuayin had a vast audience. Upon realizing Chen Fang had a personal account there, countless people flooded into Kuayin, searching for his profile. His followers soared at a pace visible to the naked eye.

One hundred thousand...

Two hundred thousand...

Three hundred thousand...

Five hundred thousand!

The number kept rising until it settled at five hundred and sixty thousand.

Compared to celebrities, this follower count was still modest.

But the momentum was astounding!

With just one song, Chen Fang skipped the entire “account nurturing” phase.

From this moment on, he no longer needed to sing on the streets.

His Kuayin account was now mature—it should learn to earn money for its owner.

Backstage, Chen Fang felt a lingering sense of excitement.

These days, he sang for four or five hours each day. Now, having sung only one song, he felt he’d barely warmed up.

Ji Mei walked over, her cheeks flushed. She wanted to do something exuberant to celebrate, but with so many people around, she restrained herself. “Congratulations, you’ve advanced to the next round.”

“Is there no reward?” Chen Fang asked with a smile.

“Well... how about coming to my place later?” Ji Mei lowered her voice, not sounding like she was joking.

Chen Fang’s heart stirred.

Last time, you were drunk and got away. This time, let’s see how you escape.

“Don’t change your clothes then—I like what you’re wearing now.” Chen Fang smiled, noticing the eyes of those nearby fixed on them, so he stopped chatting and waved, heading toward the lounge.

Hearing this, Ji Mei glanced at her outfit.

A fitted blazer, professional skirt, black stockings, red-bottom heels.

How shameless!

He actually had a thing for cosplay!

Ji Mei felt shy, but anticipation burned within her.

Tonight, she’d lock the door tight!

No one would leave early!

Let’s see who’s stronger—the bull or the plow!

She collected herself, returning to arrange the next contestants backstage. As the executive director, she couldn’t leave before the show ended, and even some wrap-up tasks required her attention.

Contestants could leave once their performance ended.

Chen Fang estimated that the show would finish late.

Waiting here for Ji Mei seemed dull; it would be better to grab Pang Tong and go out for a stroll.

With this in mind, Chen Fang sent Pang Tong a text message.

Then, Chen Fang left the backstage area.

At the venue’s exit, Chen Fang waited for a while until Pang Tong, lugging his hefty frame, jogged out, panting hard.

“Fatty, you really need to lose weight,” Chen Fang shook his head.

With his size, even if he found a girlfriend someday, Chen Fang worried he might accidentally crush her...

“I’m working on it, working on it,” Pang Tong tried to put his hands on his waist, but after searching around his thighs for a while, he couldn’t find it, so he leaned against the wall to catch his breath.

After a moment, Pang Tong waved his phone. “I recorded everything on stage!”

Chen Fang’s Kuayin account was on Pang Tong’s phone. Usually, Pang Tong watched cool beauties on his own account; when posting videos, he’d switch to Chen Fang’s.

“If you upload the video, the follower count will spike again.”

Chen Fang thought Pang Tong’s filming skills were good—no editing needed.

“Chen Fang, can you really make money from this?” Pang Tong still had doubts.

Chen Fang shot him a contemptuous look. “Do you really think those bikini-clad girls post videos because it’s a hobby? Fatty, if you open the comment section on those beauty videos, you’ll always see this line: ‘Give me a like and a little flower, remember to follow me~’”

“Think about it—why?”

Why?

Pang Tong frowned deeply.

“Because she’s a good person.”

Pang Tong replied with a serious face.

Chen Fang raised a middle finger.

If you date someone, your girlfriend might never dress so cool for you, but online, a stranger shows off her sexy abs while calling you ‘handsome,’ why?

It’s definitely for the money!

But saying more is pointless.

Only when Pang Tong actually saw money coming in from short videos would his mind open a bit.

Pang Tong switched to Chen Fang’s account, about to upload the video. Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Fang asked.

Pang Tong’s hands trembled as he pointed at his phone screen.

“Followers...”

“Almost sixty thousand...”

Chen Fang leaned over for a look.

Sure enough!

Over fifty thousand followers, soon to reach sixty thousand.

Not only that, Chen Fang’s account inbox showed 99+ messages, impossible to keep up.

He opened the inbox and quickly scanned through.

All messages came because of tonight’s “Fragrant Rice.”

It could only be said—the power of a legendary song was immense!

Just one tune brought tens of thousands of fans; if he sang a few more, Chen Fang felt he wouldn’t need to join the entertainment industry at all. He could run his Kuayin account and live freely every day.

“No need to reply to messages.”

“Keep your distance from fans—distance creates beauty.”

“No need to edit the video, just post it.”

Chen Fang instructed.

Pang Tong nodded.

Whatever Chen Fang said, he did.

Barring accidents, they’d see the revenue in a few days. If things went well, there’d be no more street performances.

Pang Tong’s job was simple: daily account maintenance.

Chen Fang’s singing videos, daily clips, all could be posted.

“Let’s eat,” Chen Fang’s stomach rumbled; he needed to eat more.

Otherwise, later at Ji Mei’s place, it’d be her eating more.

Suddenly, Chen Fang thought of something and cautioned Pang Tong with a suspicious expression, “Fatty, don’t use my account to like or comment on beauty videos! You may not care, but I still have my reputation!”

Pang Tong was immediately unhappy. “Are you saying you don't trust me?! I’d never do that. Besides, your account doesn’t even show beauty videos—I scrolled forever yesterday and didn’t see a single one.”

Chen Fang: ...

This fatso obviously had the intention.

Chen Fang had a feeling: One day, he’d see a trending topic online—Chen Fang secretly liked and followed XXX beauty. All men are creatures of desire!