Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

Chapter 307 - 196: Chen Jincheng’s Downfall

"You booked a room in advance?" Little Maru asked, looking at him thoughtfully after they stepped into the elevator.

’He’s certainly experienced.’

Back when she was a girl group trainee in the entertainment industry, she had naturally heard about these things. She knew it was a way to avoid having both their names appear on the hotel’s registration records.

Sometimes, a female star accompanying a director on a business trip to "discuss the script" would even have to check into a separate room before they met up.

The elevator doors opened. Chen Jincheng found the room he had booked. As he opened the door and they went inside, he observed Little Maru’s reaction.

Once he closed the door, he could clearly see a hint of nervousness and anxiety on Little Maru’s face.

This pleased him.

’Looks like this really is her first time being "arranged" to study music.’

’Then again,’ he thought, ’if she’d been through this before, she probably would have debuted with her girl group instead of trying to make it as an online influencer.’

Seeing her slight nervousness, he sat down on the sofa and watched her with a grin. "Xiaowan, since you’re here tonight to learn a song, let’s get straight to the point and talk about it."

"Got it!" Little Maru answered, reaching up and tugging her off-the-shoulder top down a little. She still knew how to "talk about songs."

’If we’re going to "talk about the song," I need to be proactive.’

Blushing shyly, she sat down next to him.

"Little Maru, what are you doing?" Chen Jincheng suddenly scooted away from her, staring at her as if he’d just seen a ghost.

"?????" Little Maru was completely baffled by his sudden movement.

Chen Jincheng immediately adopted a self-righteous tone. "Little Maru, I invited you here to learn a song. What is this? I don’t fall for these tricks. I told you, I don’t mess around close to home. I’m a man of honor."

"???" Little Maru was even more baffled.

’Are we really just here to learn a song?’

’Looking at how serious he is... could I have misunderstood him this whole time?’

’If so, isn’t this mortifying?’

At that thought, her breathing quickened. "Well... I thought..."

As she spoke, she reached to pull her off-the-shoulder top back up.

Seeing this, Chen Jincheng immediately broke into a grin again. "Although, I think this method of ’studying’ is pretty good too."

Little Maru’s hand froze in place. She couldn’t help but shoot him a glare.

’Now I get it,’ she thought. ’He’s just messing with me.’

’And for a second, I was stupid enough to believe he was actually a man of honor.’

Chen Jincheng clearly enjoyed her glare. He took out his phone, opened up the song he’d written, "Little Dimples," and said to her, "First, take a look at this song."

The moment she heard the word "song," Little Maru forgot about everything else. She leaned against him, her eyes on the phone screen, where she saw the title: "Little Dimples."

It was clearly a duet for a man and a woman.

Looking at the lyrics and the melody, she couldn’t help but start singing:

"I’m still searching for a shoulder to lean on and an embrace... who will pray for me, worry for me... get angry for me and make a scene for me..."

The moment she began to sing, Chen Jincheng turned to look at her.

’Seriously,’ he thought. ’To be able to sing it just from seeing it for the first time... she’s definitely got real talent. Even though she’s singing the male part right now, her voice is incredibly sweet and beautiful, a perfect fit for this song.’

So, when it came to the next part, he joined in:

"Happiness starts with a sign / Fate slowly draws us near..."

Little Maru instinctively looked over at him. As they continued the duet, a new light started to dawn in her eyes.

’It’s true,’ she thought. ’Talented men are always more attractive.’

And as she sang, she realized the song suited her perfectly. She loved it.

More importantly, she could tell that the quality of this song was in no way inferior to "Can’t Help Falling in Love."

’When it comes to songwriting, he’s truly incredible.’

Little Maru was lost in the duet when she suddenly felt his hand on her waist.

’He really knows how to ruin the mood.’

They continued the duet, and soon reached the final lines.

"A whole lifetime of cozy warmth!"

"I’ll love you forever, ’til we’re old!"

As the last line of the song faded, her eyes had grown misty. As they’d sung the latter half, his hands had begun to wander freely.

"So, do you like the song?" Chen Jincheng asked with a grin.

"I love it!" Little Maru nodded immediately.

"The song is yours," Chen Jincheng said.

"Thank you!"

"How are you going to thank me?"

Little Maru, of course, knew how to thank him.

A moment later, singing was heard once more.

...

While Chen Jincheng was teaching Little Maru the song "Little Dimples," the online buzz surrounding him had already reached a fever pitch. Moreover, Yijin had prepared a "big gift" for him.

Chen Jincheng’s afternoon livestream had not only surpassed 200,000 concurrent viewers, but he had also unbelievably completed twelve consecutive rounds of a grueling fitness challenge without a break. When clips of the stream spread, everyone who saw them was in disbelief.

While Chen Jincheng’s title as the "Internet’s Number One Scumbag" was widely recognized, almost no one took his self-proclaimed title of "Internet’s Number One Fitness Expert" seriously. They all thought he was joking.

Zhang Xiao was one of them.

He was a loyal fan of Cheng Dang. He had started following him back when a video came out of Cheng Dang’s first girlfriend leaving him for an old man in an Audi, right before he got pushed into a puddle.

You could say he followed Cheng Dang’s every move. He’d watch all his livestreams, and if he missed one, he’d be sure to watch the clips later.

Although he didn’t have much money to send as tips, over the years he had come to see Cheng Dang as a brother. He would often comment online: "Cheng Dang is my only connection in Coastal City."

He had been busy this afternoon and missed Cheng Dang’s livestream.

But when he saw the clips from that afternoon’s stream, he realized he had missed something huge.