Chapter 53: "New Album Teaser"

"Fine, fine!" On the other end of the line, Li Wen listened to Zhang Xiaofeng’s explanation, rolled her eyes in exasperation, and fell silent. Although it was the truth, she still found it utterly speechless.

"By the way, let me ask you something, just out of personal curiosity—do you like Zhou Ran? Pure gossip!"

"My goodness, you’re so nosy! You even know about the closed training Zhou Ran and I did together! What’s there to like? I won’t consider dating anyone until I win an international Best Actress award."

When she heard Li Wen’s question, Zhang Xiaofeng’s heart skipped a beat, but she pretended nothing had happened and answered as calmly as she could.

After hanging up, Zhang Xiaofeng’s face was flushed red. She didn’t know how to respond to Li Wen’s probing, only that being around Zhou Ran made her feel at ease and undeniably happier than when she was alone.

"So annoying! Ahhh!" Zhang Xiaofeng’s thoughts spiraled, growing more and more ridiculous by the minute.

Her cheeks burned with embarrassment until she rushed to the bathroom, turned on the tap, and submerged her face in cold water.

She held her breath beneath the water for over half a minute before resurfacing, gasping for air. The chill calmed her nerves, and at last, her mind was free of wild imaginings.

Zhang Xiaofeng had never been in a relationship before, nor did she have many male friends. She truly had no idea what it felt like to be in love.

Anyone experienced in matters of romance would immediately recognize her symptoms as the first stirrings of young love.

After calming herself for a while, Zhang Xiaofeng forced herself to abandon those errant thoughts and redirect her focus onto the movie script in front of her.

She was clear about what she needed and what she was supposed to be doing: at this stage, her most important task was to act well in every role and take every step with diligence. As for romance, there was no hurry—it could wait.

She had always believed in her mother’s words: what is meant to be yours will always be yours, and what isn’t, no amount of striving can claim. Let fate run its course.

...

Meanwhile, Zhou Ran had already handled the situation. After all, there was nothing shameful about shopping with Zhang Xiaofeng.

Everything was reasonable and aboveboard—there was nothing to hide from the public. Zhou Ran had even given Chef Huang a heads-up, and not only did Chef Huang have no complaints, he actually felt a bit apologetic toward both Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng.

From the beginning, Chef Huang had never intended to use Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng as a manufactured couple to attract attention.

Now that an incident had occurred between Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng, Chef Huang had to step forward to clarify. Yet by doing so, he would inevitably tie the two together in the public eye, prompting fans to speculate and create their own couple narratives. Fans are always eager to "ship" their favorites, and they’ll seize on even a tiny sweet moment.

Especially since Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng’s pairing was genuinely sweet.

Within hours of the broadcast of "Street Interviews," some talented fans had already begun writing couple fanfiction about Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng. These writers surfed the internet at lightning speed, always leading the hottest topics on Weibo, even more adept at chasing trends than professional writers.

Just a couple of hours after Zhang Xiaofeng’s phone conversation with Li Wen, an official announcement appeared on Weibo.

The statement instantly drew much of the fans’ attention.

It was a joint statement from Zhou Ran’s studio, Zhang Xiaofeng’s studio, and Chef Huang’s studio. The message was simple: Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng would be starring as the male and female leads in Chef Huang’s new film, though the title was still under wraps.

If the announcement had ended there, many netizens would likely have dismissed it as a cover story.

But Chef Huang had anticipated this. He revealed the official filing record of his directorial debut with the National Film Bureau, clearly dated a month prior, with Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng named as the leads.

Chef Huang’s move immediately dispelled most of the rumors about Zhou Ran and Zhang Xiaofeng, and at the same time, cleverly used the buzz to promote his own film—a classic case of killing two birds with one stone.

Though Chef Huang’s strategy was shrewd, it didn’t entirely stamp out the rumors. Zhou Ran, however, had already prepared for this.

He had originally planned to release his new album in a few days, but given the situation, he decided to move up the release.

He announced that his debut album would drop at midnight the following day—just twenty-three hours later.

The moment Zhou Ran posted the news on Weibo, the comment section exploded, and the frenzy of speculation was immediately redirected.

The best way to bury a rumor is to release even more explosive news to draw everyone’s attention away.

As soon as the countdown to Zhou Ran’s new album went live, it sent shockwaves through Weibo, completely overshadowing the previous rumors.

After all, Zhou Ran was at the peak of his popularity, and all the trending topics had already been building anticipation for him.

Fans went wild when they finally learned the exact release time. They had been waiting over a month for Zhou Ran’s new music. During the wait, many had been replaying his old songs or listening to other classics just to get by.

Some tried listening to new releases, but while there were good songs out there, none seemed to compare to Zhou Ran’s. After hearing his music, their standards had risen to new heights.

Many up-and-coming singers privately complained that Zhou Ran had spoiled listeners’ tastes. Whenever they released something new, people inevitably compared it to Zhou Ran’s work.