Superstar's Development Diary
Chapter 297 - 298 Adorable Mr. Sheng

Chapter 297: Chapter 298 Adorable Mr. Sheng

Mrs. He immediately agreed, "Okay, you said it. Bring someone back the year after next, I’ll remember."

There was a pause in the conversation before she worriedly added, "Just don’t find someone randomly just to satisfy the request, okay?"

He Jinxia was just short of thumping her chest in guarantee as she declared earnestly, "Of course not. If you think the person I bring is not good, and you say to break up, I’ll break up."

Mrs. He said, "You’re so silly. It’s not me dating your boyfriend. If I don’t like him, you two should try to make me like him. After all, you’re the one who will live with him, not this old lady."

He Jinxia acted coquettishly to her, pouting slightly as she said, "Mom, you are not old at all. In my heart, you’re forever eighteen!"

After continuing the chat with her mother for a little while, He Jinxia hung up the phone.

She stood up from the couch, ready to head to the bedroom, when suddenly she stopped in her tracks and saw Zhang You at the corner.

Zhang You was wearing army green pajama shorts, and at first glance, it looked like he was about to go on a camping trip.

He held an empty cup in his hand, scratched his head, and seemed unusually embarrassed as he apologized, "I ran out of water. I came to the living room to pour myself a drink, and then..."

Regardless of the turmoil inside her, He Jinxia maintained a calm facade.

She asked composedly, "How much did you hear?"

Zhang You cleared his throat and averted his gaze, "Pretty much everything."

FuckΣ(っ°Д°;)っ!!

He Jinxia cursed to herself, unsure whether to say her luck was good or just terribly bad.

A look of resignation crossed her face as she shrugged and said, "Don’t overthink it; it’s just the usual questioning from a parent."

Zhang You immediately nodded, seemingly to hide his awkwardness, and hurried into the living room to the water dispenser to pour a glass of water.

Seeing that He Jinxia stood still for a while and then decided not to continue the conversation but to leave, Zhang You suddenly spoke:

"I saw the statement your team released late at night. You didn’t want to create a scandal with me, did you?"

He Jinxia was taken aback, not expecting Zhang You to bring up the topic.

She turned to look at him, her eyes filled with confusion.

Zhang You was also looking at her sincerely, saying, "Creating a scandal with you was my team’s idea. This kind of publicity is common in the entertainment circle, so I agreed at the time without thinking much."

"My team originally thought yours would cooperate. We didn’t expect a sudden refusal from your side, which caused some trouble for my team."

Zhang You laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Initially, I actually felt uncomfortable about it, but later on, I thought it through. Not everyone loves Huaxia Coin, what made me think you’d surely cooperate?"

"I was the one at fault for starting the publicity without informing you first. If it caused you any trouble, I apologize to you here."

His apology came across as genuine and sincere, without trying to hide his missteps, nor did he boast about how his popularity would have soared if the publicity had succeeded. Instead, he considered things from her perspective and apologized.

Honestly, the apology made He Jinxia feel quite relieved.

Being suddenly linked with Zhang You at first made her quite baffled and helpless, and despite her attempts to ignore it, she still felt slightly annoyed deep down.

But her irritation had long since faded, and this belated apology allowed her to see Zhang You in a new light.

He Jinxia smiled faintly, her words polite, "No need to apologize. Publicity stunts like scandals are common marketing tactics in the industry. Your actions didn’t really harm me, it’s just that—"

Her tone shifted, becoming more resolute, "I don’t like using such methods and I won’t resort to them in the future!"

Zhang You seemed somewhat stunned as he listened to her emphatic answer, as if he saw himself years earlier, when he was deeply in love with music and immersed in it with all his heart.

Back then, he never thought about becoming a star or about becoming famous, nor had he imagined his songs would be loved by so many people.

When did things start to change?

Was it after he signed with the company during the talent show or even earlier?

It was only after stepping into the entertainment circle that one could discover how many people’s youth and sweat were buried behind its glamour and how many talented artists were forced to leave the industry just because they didn’t become popular.

Endless notifications, trending topics, popularity, headlines... had all become the main tune of his life, as if the moment he stopped, he would become obsolete.

Music had actually been put aside; now, he could have any of the dozens of songwriters in the company write songs for him whenever he wanted, and all he needed to do was select the ones he liked.

He had felt tired of this life, wanting to stop, but he was afraid of losing his fans, losing his popularity, and becoming a washed-up singer.

He had never been like He Jinxia, who bravely said no to some of the rules in the circle.

Zhang You thought that perhaps he had always been envious of He Jinxia.

Yes, he was envious of her, which is why his feelings for her were so complicated.

His fleeting thoughts paused for a moment; Zhang You then looked at He Jinxia seriously and asked, "Are we still friends?"

He Jinxia was stunned for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, and she replied quickly, "I would never refuse any friend."

At the end, she added, "Just friends."

Zhang You gave a gentle smile and shyly responded, "Yeah, just friends."

Yet, for some reason, he felt a sense of regret in his heart.

*

He Jinxia lay in bed once again, took a long sigh, and felt that her day had been quite eventful.

The daytime had been like a drama, and the night like a fairy tale; truly... She twitched the corner of her mouth slightly and rubbed her forehead, unsure of how to describe it.

Her phone buzzed with a vibration. He Jinxia looked down and her eyes widened suddenly.

Oh no, she had forgotten about Sheng Yan!

Upon opening WeChat, the latest message was one Sheng Yan just sent: an emoji of a little person turned away from everyone, silently crying.

He Jinxia quickly typed: [I was so busy today, I just saw the message!]

Sheng Yan replied quickly: [My mom arrived home half an hour ago.]

So?

Sheng Yan: [Aunt He had finished calling you half an hour ago.]

And so?

Sheng Yan: [When you finished the call, you were holding your phone.]

He Jinxia: "..."

At this point, Sheng Yan brought out what he really wanted to say, typing methodically—

[You didn’t just see my message.]

He Jinxia was utterly convinced.

Just as she was frowning, unsure of how to coax someone, Sheng Yan sent another message:

[Considering that you’ve preserved your chastity for my sake by refusing scandals, I’ll reluctantly overlook your negligence in not replying to my message immediately [Proud]]

The tiny emoji was lifelike; just by looking at it, she could imagine Sheng Yan making that expression.

It was definitely arrogant and his expression was cold.

Only she could glimpse the disparity between his outward indifference and his extremely calculating inner self.

He Jinxia gave a muffled laugh. What to do? Suddenly, she found Mr. Sheng very adorable.