My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 188

The reason she first started singing was simply because she loved it. Even now, that hasn’t changed. Just as always, just like in the beginning. Only now, Xia An’ge’s mindset had shifted. The ordinary life of rice, oil, salt, and daily chores didn’t seem bad at all, she even longed for it.

And if the person sharing that life with her was him, that would be even better!

“An’ge-jie, when I came back just now, I saw Wang Yuyan leaving our lounge. Did she come looking for you?” Cheng Mengying pushed the door open with curiosity. She knew Xia An’ge and Wang Yuyan were acquainted.

Xia An’ge nodded, glancing carefully at Ruan Ying, who was helping her apply medicine. Her pale ankle had become swollen and red again. “She invited me to join Dynasty Entertainment.”

“For real?!” Cheng Mengying was stunned. Dynasty Entertainment was one of the top four companies in China, its strength beyond doubt. If Xia An’ge joined them, the exposure and traffic she’d get would be something Xingguang Entertainment could never give in this lifetime.

“What exactly did Wang Yuyan say?” Breathing quickly, Cheng Mengying sat beside Xia An’ge and grabbed her hand.

Xia An’ge thought for a moment. “She said they’d give me the same resources as her, make me a top-tier singer, and that I could even become an international superstar in the future.”

“A top-star contract?!” That was the only part Cheng Mengying cared about.

“Seems like it… ah!” Just as Xia An’ge nodded, her brows furrowed instantly. She pulled her white foot back under her skirt. “It hurts!”

Ruan Ying giggled a little awkwardly. She’d also been listening to the conversation. Hearing that Dynasty Entertainment directly offered a top-tier contract had shocked her into pressing too hard on Xia An’ge’s ankle. “Oops, didn’t notice, didn’t notice! An’ge-jie, why’d you get all flustered just now? I was just checking, look, now what?”

Xia An’ge pouted. “If you hadn’t lifted my skirt, I wouldn’t have panicked at all…”

But Cheng Mengying’s face was full of excitement, her eyes fixed on Xia An’ge’s little frown. “So, did you agree?”

Xia An’ge shook her head. “I said I’d think about it. The contract hasn’t expired anyway.”

“Think about it?!” Cheng Mengying could hardly sit still. What was there to think about? Dynasty Entertainment meant a guaranteed path to top-tier stardom!

“Mm, I’ll think about it.” After saying that, Xia An’ge, supported by Ruan Ying, stood up again. Cheng Mengying also hurried over to help, though she still felt it was such a pity.

“This is a really good opportunity… but I’ll respect your decision, An’ge-jie.”

“Thank you.” Xia An’ge said it sincerely. She knew it was indeed a great chance, but she wanted to wait for that brute. He also had an entertainment company, even if it was nothing more than an empty shell.

Xiao Li had just dropped Gu Zhinan off at Nature Entertainment. Looking at the company on the outskirts of Hangcheng, he was a little stunned.

“Teacher Gu, whose company is this?”

“That fat guy who came to pick me up earlier.” Gu Zhinan replied blandly. Though he was technically the boss, he preferred to push Lai Jingming out front as a shield, staying behind the scenes himself.

Tonight’s night scene had taken quite a while to shoot. Gu Zhinan pulled his clothes tighter against the chill. He wasn’t sure how the crew was doing, they hadn’t come back yet, and the cold was getting sharper.

Southern winters were brutal. No escaping it.

“Oh, then I’ll head back first. Can’t wait for your and Xia An’ge’s double act! The championship will definitely be ours!” Before leaving, Xiao Li shouted this with passion, startling Gu Zhinan.

“Are you crazy? Shouting like that in the middle of the night!” Pairing him with Lai Jingming would be absurd enough, but this? Even more ridiculous.

Xiao Li just grinned and drove off.

Checking his phone, Gu Zhinan saw that the new episode of Masked Singer had already hit the trending list. Netizens were dissecting the identities of the six finalists with carpet-bomb analysis. His performance of Tianxia had also entered the trending list, ranking fourth.

Fans had already figured out his “Frog” identity, using reasoning almost identical to those in the Sword and Fairy forum.

A few new reports had also surfaced, accusing him of being arrogant for refusing interviews. Three episodes of Masked Singer, and he’d never once spoken to reporters, always dodging or brushing them off. If he really was the Sword and Fairy author, the articles demanded he apologize, since reporters had a “right” to conduct interviews.

“Idiots!” Gu Zhinan scoffed. “You may have the right to interview, but don’t I have the right to refuse?” He didn’t need to think hard, this was clearly the work of those clowns from the underground garage.

Just then, he heard cars pulling in outside. From the third-floor balcony, he saw Lai Jingming returning with the crew. “Filming until nearly eleven at night, aren’t they cold?”

“Yo, big singer’s back? Not bad, huh? Loser-to-winner, ranked first place!” Lai Jingming shouted the moment he saw him. Even while filming, they’d kept track of Gu Zhinan’s progress. Stable advancement to the fourth round meant more money, 350,000 this time.

Gu Zhinan ignored him and instead smiled at the crew. “Thank you all for your hard work. I’ll make it up to you later.”

“It’s fine, we’re almost done filming anyway!” The crew replied warmly. Despite the bitter cold, not a single complaint. That warmed him more than his clothes did.

“Yeah, we’re shooting the final scenes now. Everyone just wants to push through quickly, this cold feels like snow’s coming.”

Director Situ Hongwei tightened his coat as he spoke beside him. “We should finish within about a week. End of the month, or early next at the latest.”

“Congrats, Director Gu, on entering the fourth round in first place! A few days ago, Xia An’ge came to the set looking for you. Turns out she’s also on Masked Singer. We thought something was going on between you two!” Yun Yinxue walked over with a coat draped around her shoulders, giggling.

“Yeah! We watched your part on the way back,Tianxia was amazing! I need to learn it. And your choice of Xia An’ge as a partner, obviously you two planned it!”

“No wonder she came to find you, Director Gu!” Meng Xingye, always more talkative than Chen Yuze, chimed in even while lugging props.

“Alright, pack everything up and rest. Next week’s going to be tough.”

Before Gu Zhinan could speak, Lai Jingming was already barking orders, though he also helped carry props back.

Late at night, “Fatty, tomorrow you’re carrying more props. Also, it looks like you’ve gained weight again. Starting tomorrow, just eat plain rice.”

“Why?!”

“Because I’m your boss.”

Lai Jingming was dumbfounded, instantly wide awake. “What did I do to deserve this? Was it about that blind date? But I was helping him!”

Lying in bed, Gu Zhinan sent a message to the landlady. “Xiao Ying said you twisted your ankle again?”

How many times had this happened? Always a “secondary injury”?

Earlier, Ruan Ying had messaged him, saying not long after he left, the landlady had twisted her ankle again. She was back at the hotel, and Ruan Ying had bought medicinal wine to reduce the swelling, but she refused to use it.

When Ruan Ying pressed her on how she recovered so quickly last time, she finally confessed, reluctantly, that it was Gu Zhinan who had helped her. Her expression had been pitiful. Now, Ruan Ying was certain her An’ge-jie and Teacher Gu had a secret relationship!

She even suspected that night in Beijing, before An’ge-jie knocked on her door in a hoodie, she’d gone out on a date with Teacher Gu. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. Not to mention, An’ge-jie was always itching to return to the little apartment, always asking when they could go back.

But in truth, Ruan Ying was thrilled. If An’ge-jie and Teacher Gu really got together, it would be a cross-century pairing, the number one idol with the number two idol! Especially with An’ge-jie’s cold and aloof nature, she couldn’t wait to see Teacher Gu bring out her lively, playful side.

Looking at the photo Ruan Ying had secretly taken, Gu Zhinan saw the landlady curled up on the hotel sofa, nose scrunched, hugging her leg nervously. Ruan Ying had then asked him how to massage for better blood circulation, saying she wanted to get rid of the bruising as soon as possible.

So, Gu Zhinan had no choice but to send her a voice message teaching her the techniques. Whether she understood was up to her, he himself had been self-taught.

Much later, a message finally came from the landlady. He thought she’d already fallen asleep.

“I didn’t twist it!”

At first, seeing the photo, he’d doubted. But when she sent that line with an exclamation mark, he believed her. He immediately forwarded the candid photo to her. Ten minutes of silence passed.

Then came Ruan Ying’s frantic message, she was doomed! An’ge-jie had said she was firing her tomorrow!