Chapter 51: The Love Story of the Rising Film Starlet and the Original Grand Villain

After Zhou Ran posted on Weibo, the comments soared to over a thousand within just three minutes, and the number was still climbing at an astonishing speed.

“Missing person returns series!”

“My idol’s back!”

“My dear Ran, I’ve been longing for your new album for so, so long!”

“Zhou Ran, do you know? I’ve always been waiting for your new songs!”

“Zhou Ran, fly bravely—your fans will always be by your side!”

“Zhou Ran’s flight, off we go!”

Lin Ting thought Zhou Ran’s Weibo post was already the biggest surprise of the day. After liking, commenting, and reposting, she went downstairs to fetch her newly arrived takeout.

Not long after, Lin Ting returned with her food. She opened the container and inhaled deeply. “Wow, it smells like tomato chicken rice! Absolutely delicious!”

The aroma awakened her appetite, and she was just about to dig in and enjoy her meal when, after two bites, she paused.

Something felt missing, leaving her oddly uncomfortable—a strange feeling she couldn’t quite put into words.

“Oh right, I haven’t watched a video while eating! No wonder, it always feels like something’s lacking.”

After pondering for a while, Lin Ting realized it was because she hadn’t watched her usual dinner-time videos.

What’s the point of eating takeout without a video to go with it?

She quickly searched online for a random twenty- or thirty-minute video. “Street Interviews?” The title sounded normal enough. Lin Ting planned to just watch anything to fill the time.

Within two or three minutes of watching, she paused the video. The young man being interviewed looked familiar, and the girl seemed vaguely recognizable too, but she just couldn’t place them.

Lin Ting took a screenshot and posted it in a Zhou Ran fan group she belonged to, hoping someone could help identify them.

After sending the screenshot, she went to the bathroom because she had accidentally gotten tomato sauce on her hand while eating.

When Lin Ting returned to the living room after washing her hands, she saw her fan group had exploded with messages—over ninety-nine new ones, and dozens of people had tagged her.

She was confused. She was practically invisible in this group—why would anyone tag her?

Lin Ting hurriedly scrolled up to her own recent post and read the replies.

“Tingting Doesn't Eat Cilantro: Who is this? Looks so familiar.”

“Zhou Ran’s Number One Fan: Huh! This person looks familiar. I feel like I’ve seen them somewhere too!”

“Second Hurt: This guy kind of looks like Zhou Ran, don’t you think?”

“Kure Is Handsome: There’s a resemblance, though this guy is way slimmer than Zhou Ran. But the eyes are pretty similar!”

“Ran and Feng’s CP Fan: Not sure if the guy is Zhou Ran, but the girl should be Feng’s little sister, right?”

“Was Zhou Ran With Me Today?: Oh wow, now that you mention it, she really does look like Zhang Xiaofeng!”

“Was Zhou Ran With Me Today?” tagged “Tingting Doesn't Eat Cilantro”: What show is this?

Seeing this, Lin Ting suddenly had a flash of insight. “That’s it! No wonder they seemed so familiar!” The more she watched, the more she believed the young man in the video was Zhou Ran.

After posting the show’s name, “Street Interviews,” in the group, she closed the chat and resumed watching the video.

At that moment, Lin Ting felt as if she’d uncovered some earth-shattering secret—her heart raced with excitement and nervousness.

“What the heck! Both Miss Zhou and Mr. Zhang are in this?” Lin Ting couldn’t help but laugh. They were just too clever.

She was ninety-nine percent sure the two people were Zhang Xiaofeng and Zhou Ran.

Once she identified them, she found the ensuing storyline utterly captivating.

Both answered “movies” in perfect harmony—it was almost too much chemistry.

Even more astonishing was the way they looked at each other. The most outrageous part was the mutual confession during the celebrity interview segment at the end—was this a declaration of love?

Both said, “If I had the chance, I’d pursue her (him) too.” Zhou Ran, ever the joker, added, “Too bad I’m not worthy!”

Lin Ting watched with a perpetual auntie smile. “This is too adorable!” She decided from that moment onward she’d be a hardcore shipper of Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng. Their pairing—a blossoming film star and the original music king—was simply perfect.

After finishing, she couldn’t resist sharing the video with her friends and posting a moment: “Shocking! The love story of movie star Zhang Xiaofeng and original music king Zhou Ran!”

Lin Ting was just one among many viewers of “Street Interviews.” Many others also recognized Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng after watching, since viewers had the advantage of seeing everything from an omniscient perspective and could spot much more.

Among the audience, many followed Lin Ting’s lead, enthusiastically promoting “Street Interviews” on their own social feeds. Something so delightful had to be shared!

Thanks to this wave of spontaneous publicity, “Street Interviews” unexpectedly went viral.

Mango TV Data Department

Li Bo was a member of the Mango TV Data Department. His job was to monitor ratings for broadcast programs, manage the data, and report promptly.

Tonight, as usual, Li Bo was working the night shift, watching the program numbers.

“Hey, why is this show’s data so odd?” Li Bo noticed the ratings for “Street Interviews” were skyrocketing, shooting straight to the top of its time slot.

Li Bo was stunned. His first suspicion was whether someone had artificially boosted the numbers, since the backend showed the program had always been lukewarm—usually ranked seventh or eighth in its slot. How had it suddenly become number one?

But after checking the backend, Li Bo found all the data was perfectly normal. In other words, “Street Interviews” hadn’t been boosted—it had climbed entirely on genuine viewer interest.

Li Bo was at a complete loss. He immediately called his supervisor to ask what he should do next.