Chapter Two: Li Mengya Requests a Song, Zhou Lun Invites a Melody

Jiang Yun knew that his goal this time had been achieved. Now, all that was left was to wait for the online buzz to grow, and for more and more people to reach out to him. When that happened, whether it was commercial performances or variety shows—anything that could bring him fame—he would accept every offer.

After the concert ended, Jiang Yun and Li Mengya exchanged phone numbers. Following the route he remembered, Jiang Yun made his way back to his rented apartment.

His stomach rumbled loudly. Rummaging through his belongings, Jiang Yun managed to find two packets of instant noodles that were about to expire—enough to get by for now.

He began tidying up the apartment, changing all the bed linens and covers, and giving the floor a good mopping. Looking at the now neat and orderly room, Jiang Yun nodded in satisfaction.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Jiang Yun called out.

The knocking continued, but there was no reply. With no other choice, Jiang Yun walked to the door and opened it slightly to take a look—only to be so startled that he quickly shut it again.

But the woman outside was surprisingly strong, forcing her way through the door. She was a plump, middle-aged woman, and Jiang Yun knew he was no match for her strength, so he let go of the handle.

"Jiang Yun, you won’t escape this time, will you?" she said.

Jiang Yun swallowed hard as he looked at the burly woman. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? You have the nerve to ask—I should be asking you! What about your rent? You haven’t paid for half a year!"

Jiang Yun, now alone and with nothing to lose, replied frankly, "I don’t have any money right now. Give me a couple of days, and I’ll have it. I promise I’ll pay then!"

"A couple of days? You’ve said that how many times now? No, you have to pay today," the landlady insisted relentlessly.

"Hey!" Jiang Yun’s temper flared. "I said a couple of days, so a couple of days it is. I don’t have any money right now. Or, how about this—you can look around my room. If you see anything valuable, take it as collateral!"

"What would I want with your junk?" the landlady snapped back, her temper rising as well.

"Then what do you suggest?" Jiang Yun shrugged, utterly unfazed.

The landlady quieted, her eyes flickering as she eyed Jiang Yun’s tall, slender frame, a look of longing in her gaze. "A couple of days might be possible, if you just..."

Jiang Yun had no patience for her games. "If I just what?"

"If you pay with your body!"

"To hell with you!" Jiang Yun shouted, shoving the landlady out the door. Normally, he wouldn’t have had the strength, but her words infuriated him so much that he managed to push her outside.

With a bang, Jiang Yun locked the door.

"Jiang Yun! How dare you insult me! You’ll get what’s coming to you!" the landlady’s furious yell echoed from the hallway.

Jiang Yun ignored her, flopping onto the bed and falling soundly asleep.

At dawn, a flurry of phone calls woke him. When Jiang Yun glanced at his phone, he saw over fifty missed calls and more than a hundred text messages. How deeply had he slept to miss so many calls?

Scanning through the missed calls, he found numbers he didn’t recognize, as well as some from old classmates. Most of the texts were from former entertainment companies, all hoping to sign him up again.

He sneered—there was no way he’d ever sign with those companies again. Some things were just too dark to even talk about.

Scrolling further, he found a few messages from his ex-girlfriend, all asking to get back together. Without a second thought, Jiang Yun deleted and blocked her number.

What a joke. She’d framed him so casually before—well, technically, she’d framed the original owner of this body.

Being a bit obsessive, Jiang Yun replied to every missed call. Most were from old classmates just wanting to reconnect, or distant relatives with whom he’d barely had contact.

When he returned the last missed call, the person didn’t answer. He dialed again.

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this Mr. Jiang Yun?"

"Speaking."

"Mr. Jiang Yun, I’m Zhou Lun’s assistant. We’d like to commission a song from you."

A small smile tugged at Jiang Yun’s lips. He felt a flicker of excitement, but quickly calmed himself—he’d expected this outcome all along.

"Alright, that’s fine. Let’s meet at Red Romance Café at three o’clock," Jiang Yun responded.

After hanging up, he hugged his pillow and tossed it in the air, then lay back down, burying his face in the pillow and rolling around.

He couldn’t deny he was excited—there was no pretending otherwise.

"No wonder so many people out of the blue contacted me. Turns out I made it onto the trending searches. Even the national broadcasters gave me a thumbs up," Jiang Yun thought as he scrolled through his phone in bed.

Just then, there was another knock at the door.

"Who—" Jiang Yun almost called out, but quickly caught himself and clamped his mouth shut. Surely it wasn’t that troublesome landlady again?

Looking through the peephole, he froze in surprise.

"What is she doing here?" Jiang Yun muttered as he opened the door.

"So you live here after all," she said.

"Li Mengya, the famous star, what brings you here?" Jiang Yun asked with a smile.

Li Mengya, elegant in a blue dress and flat shoes, stood before him. Even without heels, she was nearly one meter seventy-eight tall. Her long, shapely legs left Jiang Yun momentarily awestruck.

"Aren’t you going to invite me in?" she asked.

"Of course, please come in," Jiang Yun said, snapping back to his senses.

Li Mengya entered, looking around. Noticing the place was tidy and free of dirty clothes or socks, she nodded approvingly. This man living alone seemed to keep things in good order.

Behind her, Jiang Yun quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Thank goodness I cleaned up yesterday. If she’d seen the mess from before, her impression of me would have plummeted."

Jiang Yun offered her the only chair in the room and sat on the bed himself.

Both being straightforward, they got right to the point.

"I’d like you to write a song for me," Li Mengya said.

"Don’t you have an agency?" Jiang Yun asked.

Li Mengya sighed softly. "When I debuted, I had plenty of resources. But now, with no good works and less exposure, the music producers prioritize the hottest singers. There’s no chance for me anymore."

She sighed again, a touch of sorrow in her tone.

Hearing her explanation, Jiang Yun adopted a contemplative expression. In reality, he was communicating with his system.

"System, open personal panel."

"Beep!"

Host: Jiang Yun

Vocal skills: Grade A (decent)

Acting: Grade D (even children have more talent)

Directing: Grade D (can direct low-budget indie films)

Owned song: "Lip Service"

Popularity points: 120,086

"Wow, my popularity has risen so much."

"Ding! Congratulations, host, on surpassing 100,000 popularity points. Reward..."