Chapter Thirty-Eight: Becoming the Most Ambitious Toad

Taking the stage with a mask and changing the judges essentially meant the same thing: to minimize the influence of impressions from the first two rounds. To put it simply, it meant that all twelve contestants would start from zero, competing on equal footing. Of course, this wasn’t specifically targeted at Chen Fang. After all, everyone was starting from scratch, and in the end, it would still come down to true vocal ability, so Chen Fang had no worries in that regard.

However, the theme of the third round was a bit targeted. In this world, Chen Fang hadn’t even attended university, and the national style genre demanded a creator with deep cultural grounding. After all, only with an understanding of culture and history could one compose original pieces in this style.

Creating national style songs was difficult—much more so than the previous two rounds. For the other contestants, this didn’t matter much; they all chose existing songs from the national repertoire to cover, so creation wasn’t a barrier for them. But Chen Fang was different—he had wowed everyone with two original songs in the previous rounds, so for the third round, he would have to present another original. Otherwise, he would let down the expectations of the audience and his fans.

It was precisely for this reason that Chen Fang felt targeted. Wasn’t this just picking on the honest guy? Picking on someone for lacking a formal education!

Ji Mei had also considered this, which was why she had Chen Fang come pick her up at the airport, using the opportunity to discuss serious matters: “The production team doesn’t require an original song, so you could just pick something from the national repertoire.”

She was right, but he couldn’t do that. These days, everyone online was anticipating what his next original would be. If Chen Fang failed to deliver a new song, his hard-earned popularity would surely wane.

“I’ll keep using my originals,” Chen Fang said, gently stroking Ji Mei’s hair, already pondering which song to use next. If worst came to worst, he still had his system.

“When does the third round start?” he asked.

“Next Monday,” Ji Mei replied.

Chen Fang calculated the time—only three days left. It was a tight schedule.

With that in mind, Chen Fang began to take off his pants.

Ji Mei was stunned. “What are you doing?”

“Starting tomorrow, I’ll need to focus on songwriting, so tonight I want to make the most of our time together.” He tossed his pants aside, standing naked in the living room, arms outstretched.

Ji Mei blushed. “At least let’s go to the bedroom…”

“No, right here,” Chen Fang said, pressing Ji Mei down on the sofa.

Soon, the spacious living room was filled with the sound of heavy breathing and moans. The battle was intense, spreading to nearly every corner of the villa. It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that the passion in the villa gradually subsided.

...

The next morning, Chen Fang woke early. Ever since drinking two bottles of the strength-enhancing tonic, he hadn’t really felt tired. The effects were truly powerful!

Because of this, Chen Fang suspected that something had been put in Xi Yuanyuan’s car—given his physical condition and energy, it was strange that he’d felt so sleepy as soon as he got in.

“She’s exhausted,” Chen Fang thought, glancing at Ji Mei, still asleep in bed. He hadn’t held back last night. She’d already been tired from her flight, and he’d kept her up until midnight. She’d probably sleep the whole day.

“Rest well,” he murmured, kissing her on the forehead and quietly getting dressed.

The living room was a mess, with water stains still visible here and there. Suddenly, Chen Fang remembered something. He went to the kitchen, poured a large glass of warm water, and placed it by the bedside.

Women really are made of water, he mused. Especially someone like Ji Mei, who was enchanting to the core—she nearly drowned him.

After tidying up the living room a bit, Chen Fang left Ji Mei’s villa and headed back to his rented apartment. On the way, he called out in his mind, “System, open the box.”

He’d had so much fun yesterday that he’d forgotten the midnight box opening.

“Opening box…”

“Congratulations, host, you have obtained a ‘One-Day Bad Luck Card.’”

“This can be used on anyone; their luck will drop below zero for 24 hours.”

A bad luck card? Chen Fang was momentarily stunned. What use did he have for something like that? More importantly, he had no suitable target. It would just sit in his inventory gathering dust.

“Oh well. At least it’s a card and not some random household item.”

Feeling more at ease, Chen Fang soon returned to his apartment. Now that he was making money, maybe it was time to find a better place to live.

Originally, he could have just moved into Ji Mei’s villa, but abandoning Pang Tong wouldn’t feel right. Besides, now that he was signed with a company, if people saw him frequently coming and going from Ji Mei’s neighborhood, it would surely attract attention.

After some thought, he decided to keep living with Pang Tong.

“Hey, Fatty!” Chen Fang called out.

No answer.

Puzzled, he pushed open Pang Tong’s door—no one was in bed.

That was odd. Pang Tong usually slept in late.

Just then, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the front door. Pang Tong stumbled in, dripping with sweat and bracing himself against the wall.

“Did you go for a run?” Chen Fang was shocked. Goodness, Pang Tong must really be craving a woman; who would’ve thought he’d be so motivated to lose weight this time?

Chen Fang hurried over to help him. Pang Tong was short of breath, so Chen Fang waited until he’d caught his breath before handing him a glass of water.

“Losing weight is such torture,” Pang Tong groaned.

But at the thought of slimming down and getting a girlfriend, he perked up like a pig in heat.

“Who are you trying to chase?” Chen Fang asked. By the look of him, he must have someone in mind.

With a solemn expression, Pang Tong replied, “Xi Yuanyuan.”

Chen Fang was taken aback.

“Take my advice, Xi Yuanyuan is way out of your league. She’s too complicated for you to handle.”

“Too complicated? I thought it was just that she’s got a lot going on physically,” Pang Tong said, scratching his head.

Chen Fang kicked him. They’d been having a serious conversation, and suddenly he was making crude jokes. Besides, how would Chen Fang know if she was really that way?

Chen Fang sighed. “That girl has a terrible temper—always has a face like you owe her millions. Imagine finally getting together with her, and every day you have to look at that sour face. How would you feel?”

Pang Tong shuddered at the thought. Terrifying! Just thinking about her cold, forbidding look made him lose all interest.

Seeing this, Chen Fang smiled. “You could go after someone else.”

“Someone else?” Pang Tong was puzzled.

Chen Fang grinned slyly. “Remember that day when we finished busking and Xi Yuanyuan stopped us? There was another girl with her—her name is You Nianwei. She’s got that baby-faced look you like, and more importantly, her family is loaded. They own an entire street of restaurants in the capital. Since you want to open a restaurant yourself, it’s fate!”

Pang Tong’s eyes lit up. That made sense! But then he quickly grew dejected. “Her family is so rich—I wouldn’t dare go after her.”

Chen Fang shot him a disdainful look. As if Xi Yuanyuan’s circumstances were any less intimidating.

But as Pang Tong’s best friend, Chen Fang was determined to support him. “If you’re going to be a toad lusting after a swan, why not go for the biggest swan?”

Pang Tong was speechless.

Ignoring his friend’s resentful glare, Chen Fang continued, “You Nianwei is definitely wealthier than Xi Yuanyuan, and just as pretty. The key is, she has a good personality—she won’t be cold to you every day. Aside from being a bit flat-chested, I can’t think of any other flaws.”

Flat-chested? Pang Tong glanced down at his own chest.

No problem. His chest was big enough—he didn’t need to worry about a few ounces of flesh up front.

“Go for it, young man! When you’re down to 150 pounds, I’ll find a way to introduce you two,” Chen Fang promised, clapping Pang Tong on the shoulder.

Pang Tong was deeply moved. With Chen Fang’s full support, he secretly vowed that even if he was just a toad, he’d be the most ambitious toad of all.