Chapter 19: Su Chen, Say Hello to Everyone
Jiang Yan casually flipped open the notebook on the table.
Hmm? Sheet music?
She turned the pages quickly, the paper rustling noisily.
An entire notebook, all of it!
She paused on a random page and saw a song title handwritten in black ink—“Don’t Trouble Me.”
The handwriting was bold and vigorous, flowing with a natural grace.
Well, the script is rather beautiful, Jiang Yan thought.
“Was this intentional?”
“Did I offend someone?”
“Everything has gone awry today.”
“I just wanted to take a detour.”
“And ended up at the airport.”
“Realized I had no money on me.”
Reading these lyrics, Jiang Yan couldn’t help but scoff. They sounded like a web novelist’s stream-of-consciousness, she thought, shaking her head.
At least there’s effort here, she mused, but the skill seems lacking.
Yesterday, before meeting Su Chen, Wen Yan had mentioned him to her.
Though not in detail, she got the general idea.
What a pity!
Suddenly, her phone rang. Jiang Yan got up from the bed to answer it; the caller ID showed Wen Yan.
Oh no! Did anything embarrassing happen last night?
With a nervous heart, she answered.
“Hello? Yanyan?”
“Jiang Yan, where are you?”
She replied, somewhat guilty, “I… I’m out. What’s up?”
“Oh, I saw you called me many times last night. Is everything alright?”
“I didn’t see it last night, and then my phone died.”
Phew! Thank goodness!
“I’m fine. I just saw you were so anxious, so I called to check if anything was wrong. As long as you’re okay!”
Wen Yan mustn’t know she spent the night at Su Chen’s place, or she’d never be able to face anyone again.
“That’s good!”
“How many more days will you be staying in River City?”
Jiang Yan thought for a moment before replying, “Maybe two or three more days. I snuck out this time and made Sister Hong furious.”
“I’ll have to rush back to Beijing soon; the song business is still unresolved.”
“She’s invited some reputable composers in the industry; when I get back, I’ll need to visit them.”
Wen Yan acknowledged with a hum, “Alright, let’s try to meet up before you leave, if you have time!”
“Sure!”
Just as she was about to hang up, Wen Yan hesitated and said,
“Um… Jiang Yan.”
“Su Chen’s temper is just like that. Don’t take it to heart—he’s not a bad person.”
Jiang Yan laughed it off. “No problem.”
“He even messaged me after going home last night, praising you.”
“He asked me to apologize to you on his behalf!”
Jiang Yan was speechless. If she weren’t here, she might actually believe Wen Yan.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind.”
“Well, if you have the chance in the future, help him out a bit. You’re connected on WeChat now.”
Already helped him right into bed, Jiang Yan thought, her cheeks flushing.
Since when did she become so improper?
But she still smiled and replied, “I understand.”
After hanging up, a sudden thought struck her.
She blacked out last night—did she send any inappropriate messages?
She quickly picked up her phone to check.
Thank goodness! There was nothing in her chat with Wen Yan.
Then she noticed hundreds of unread messages in a group chat. She tapped in.
Wait—everyone’s tagging her?
How do they know about Su Chen?
Oh no! Her heart pounded, as if she’d been caught in the act.
She hurriedly scrolled back, searching the chat history, all the way to when Su Chen was added last night.
Reading “You have invited Kindergarten Boss into the group, please start chatting!” made her want to cry.
She had no memory of what happened.
She’d even tagged Wen Yan in the group, though Wen Yan wasn’t a member.
But by looking at her own messages, she could guess the scene at the time.
What should she do?
This group was made up of close friends from the industry; it was created because they got along well.
Ji Xiangyang was a TV host, Luo Zhe a rock singer, Jiang Jing an actress.
The rest were all public figures in their fields.
Usually, they chatted, played games, or shared inside news.
Now this situation was impossible to explain.
She thought long and hard before finally typing a message.
“Sorry, everyone, I got drunk last night and accidentally added a friend to the group.”
“He’s just a regular guy. @Lu Yuanqing, Brother Qing, could you please remove him? I can’t kick people myself.”
Even though it was still morning, those two sentences triggered a flurry of responses.
[Luo Zhe: You finally showed up.]
[Luo Zhe: And you were drinking? Oh my god! What gossip have I stumbled upon?]
[Ji Xiangyang: ‘A Night Out and My Ordinary Friend’]
[Jiang Jing: Where are you? Did anything happen? Do you need help?]
[Jiang Yan: …]
She knew it—there was no explaining anything with this group.
Time to use her trump card.
[Jiang Yan: @Luo Zhe, do you want me to send your last embarrassing incident to your wife right now?]
[Luo Zhe: Help, I’ll stop!]
[Ji Xiangyang: What dirt does Luo Zhe have? Tell us for a laugh!]
[Jiang Jing: What dirt does Luo Zhe have? Tell us for a laugh!]
After much commotion, she finally cleared things up.
Through Jiang Yan, they learned Su Chen was just an ordinary guy, and last night he had only helped Jiang Yan escape a crowd.
In truth, all the banter was just that—banter.
Jiang Yan’s credentials were top-tier, even among celebrities.
Many male stars had publicly declared her their goddess.
But she’d never had any gossip or scandals; she was known for her self-discipline.
How could someone like her be involved with a regular person?
So from the start, none of them believed anything had happened between Jiang Yan and Su Chen.
Most of what was said in the group was just teasing—Jiang Yan herself often teased them.
As the conversation grew lively, a new message popped up.
[Lu Yuanqing: Xiao Jiang, inviting people is your right, but kicking them out is mine.]
[Lu Yuanqing: Our group is democratic. Whether someone stays or goes is up to everyone. It’s not just your call!]
Lu Yuanqing was the group owner and a superstar male singer, though he rarely spoke in the chat.
[Ji Xiangyang: Damn, you even got our aloof Brother Qing to show himself—well done, Jiang Yan!]
[Jiang Jing: Long time no see, Brother Qing!]
This time, Luo Zhe kept quiet—probably still shaken by Jiang Yan’s earlier threat.
The others, however, greeted the superstar warmly.
After some discussion, Ji Xiangyang made a suggestion.
[Ji Xiangyang: Didn’t a senior say before that entertainers should stay grounded?]
[Ji Xiangyang: It’s rare to have a regular person in our group; chatting with him now and then could be nice.]
[Ji Xiangyang: Let’s keep him. What do you all think?]
The responses came quickly.
[Jiang Jing: Agreed!]
[+1]
[+1]
[Jiang Yan: …]
Jiang Yan hadn’t anticipated this outcome, but it didn’t matter—if they wanted to keep him, so be it.
She just wondered if they could handle Su Chen’s sharp tongue!
[Lu Yuanqing: Since everyone agrees, let’s keep him for now!]
[Lu Yuanqing: Let’s welcome our new member, @Kindergarten Boss. Change your nickname and introduce yourself to everyone!]
…
P.S. Original performer of “Don’t Trouble Me”: Tanya Chua. Lyrics and music by Tanya Chua.