Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zhao Yu felt like she had just entered the darkest moment of her eighteen years of life.

How the hell was she supposed to date him now? Was she supposed to compete with tens of millions of fans? Was she supposed to outshine countless beautiful girls in the entertainment industry?

Even her secret crush no longer belonged to her alone!!!

Who knew how many girls out there were secretly crushing on her little brother right now, just like her?

Her feelings of secret admiration no longer felt precious or unique at all!!!

This was too devastating—how could anything be this devastating? Wasn’t he majoring in computer science?! Why did he become a celebrity instead?!

Zhao Yu sobbed loudly while hugging her laptop, searching for every piece of news and information about Shen Junyi.

After researching all night, she found out that Shen Junyi had actually signed with Huachang Entertainment, an established agency in the industry, over a year and a half ago.

He’d been scouted by a talent agent from Huachang while accompanying a classmate to an audition for a print ad model.

She had no idea how the scout managed to convince this carefree, cheerful boy, but in the end, Shen Junyi signed with Huachang, trained in singing and dancing for a year, and then debuted as a solo artist with a mountain of resources behind him.

His appearance was simply too outstanding.

At a time when the Korean wave was sweeping the world and China’s domestic traffic market was just beginning to open up, he was like a dazzling star that had burst onto the scene out of nowhere.

Maybe he was just born for this—in one year, he’d grown from an inexperienced youth into a perfect idol with complete mastery of the stage.

Even though his singing was only average and his dancing was decent, and Zhao Yu had come across plenty of negative comments about him while browsing through information, none of that stopped him from becoming the hottest traffic star of the moment.

After all, looks like his were a once-in-a-lifetime find.

And on top of that, he had a fun personality, an interesting soul, and was genuinely sincere with people.

How could anyone not like someone like that, boohoo…!

Through her tears, Zhao Yu thought viciously: Tonight, I’m going to assassinate that classmate of his!

This summer after the college entrance exams—supposed to be the most carefree and happiest summer of a person’s life—had instead become the most painful and heart-wrenching period for Zhao Yu.

She canceled her planned travel itinerary, backed out of visiting her uncle’s new variety show set to get autographs from minor celebrities, and even turned down every invitation from friends to go shopping or sing karaoke.

She locked herself in her room, glued to her computer, binge-watching every show and video from Shen Junyi’s six months since debut.

He seemed like a born star—standing out as the brightest one wherever he went.

Zhao Yu, who had never followed any celebrity before, taught herself how to navigate Baidu Bar and Weibo super-topics. She created a small fan account and followed everything related to Shen Junyi.

When she checked the super-topic, she happened to see a fan-taken video from the airport pickup the day before.

She hadn’t seen her little brother in over two years.

He looked more and more handsome, his smile confident and radiant. Even as he struggled through the crowded airport, surrounded by swarms of people, his face was still full of easy laughter.

In the video, a girl shouted, “Gege, see you at the concert!”

He looked toward the camera, raised an eyebrow, and said, “Alright, see you there.”

The surrounding area erupted in screams.

Gege…

A name that had once belonged only to her…

Zhao Yu clutched her chest, feeling like she was suffocating.

She pulled the covers over her head, pounded her mattress, and yelled, “Shen Junyi, I curse your ancestors!”

After cursing, she cried some more, then picked up her laptop again and continued watching those heart-fluttering yet heart-wrenching videos.

In the evening, her deskmate Xu Qianqian showed up at her door with two cups of iced milk tea.

The moment she walked into the bedroom and saw Zhao Yu looking disheveled and haggard, Xu Qianqian nearly jumped out of her skin. “What’s wrong with you? Did you get your heart broken?”

Zhao Yu collapsed weakly onto the bed. “Something like that.”

Xu Qianqian knew she’d had a crush on some little brother since childhood, and had heard her mention that he’d gone to college in Beijing. Assuming he’d gotten a girlfriend, she tried to comfort her. “It’s just dating, not marriage! College relationships never work out anyway—they usually break up after graduation. You still have a chance!”

Zhao Yu wanted to cry again. She pulled the covers over her head and choked out, “You don’t understand!”

Xu Qianqian sipped her milk tea, chewing on tapioca pearls, and finally said, “Then you can ask on Zhihu. I don’t get it, but the big brains on Zhihu definitely will!”

Zhao Yu didn’t use the internet much. “What’s Zhihu?”

Xu Qianqian said sagely, “Zhihu—a gathering place for elites who all make over ten thousand a month. From major national affairs and the origins of the universe, down to mother-in-law-daughter-in-law disputes and postpartum recovery—they know everything and hold nothing back.”

Zhao Yu: “…………”

Xu Qianqian had dinner with her before leaving. The moment she was gone, Zhao Yu quickly grabbed her laptop, lay back in bed, sneaked onto Zhihu, browsed around for a bit, and eagerly posted a plea for help:

— URGENT! Help! How do I date a top-tier celebrity?

After posting, she went to take a shower. When she came back, there were already over a hundred replies:

— If I knew the answer, would I leave it for you?

— Move aside, let me splash some reality on this sister with my piss.

— Another Shen Junyi fan losing her mind?

— You’re out of luck, sister—Junyi-ge is already in my arms, hehe.

— OP said “top-tier celebrity,” and everyone immediately assumes it’s SJY—that’s some nerve.

— Shen Junyi, the industry’s top traffic star, no one else can even compete right now. Got a problem with that? Don’t hide behind an anonymous account—come fight me, you Yiren!

…

Zhao Yu: “…………”

The thread derailed from there, devolving into fandom warfare.

She scrolled for ages, her fingers getting sore from swiping, until she finally found a reply that actually answered the question seriously:

— Thanks for the invite. Then make yourself a top-tier celebrity too. Good luck, hope you succeed~

Zhao Yu: !!!

She stared at that reply for a full half hour.

Finally, she came to a conclusion: That didn’t sound impossible?!

Her little brother was standing so high up, in such a brilliant place, that now even getting close to him required looking up.

Every day, countless girls shouted “I love you” at him—he must have become numb to it by now, right?

If she stood in front of him now and said, “I like you,” would he just lump her in with all the others?

And then smile and say, “I know, I like you all too.”

Probably, only by standing at the same height as him, in the same place, where she could look him straight in the eye, would her feelings become special and unique again.

Zhao Yu couldn’t sleep.

She turned off her computer, burrowed under the covers, and stared wide-eyed at the dark ceiling, contemplating the possibility.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt: if Shen Junyi could do it, why couldn’t she?! At least she’d been dancing ballet since childhood, and now she’d been accepted to a dance academy!

And him? He was just a computer science major!!!

Plus, she had connections in the industry! Her uncle was a well-known variety show director! With all those contacts in the circle, if he gave her even a little push, she’d become famous in no time!

The more she thought about it, the more possible it seemed, and the more awake she became. She quickly scrambled up and called her uncle.

Jiang Yu, receiving a call from his niece at three in the morning: “?”

Zhao Yu: “Uncle! I want to become a celebrity!”

Jiang Yu: “You want to be a hammer. Go the hell to sleep!”

Zhao Yu: QAQ

After hanging up, Zhao Yu logged back into Zhihu and replied to the serious comment:

— Thank you! I’ll work hard!

Little did Zhao Yu know, after she logged out and uninstalled the app, the other person replied the next day:

— Holy crap, sister, I was joking! You actually took me seriously??? Come back! Being a celebrity isn’t something you just decide to do—don’t change your life’s path on a whim because of something I said, oh my god!!!

…

The next morning at breakfast, Zhao Yu solemnly announced to her parents: “I want to become a celebrity.”

Jiang Lei: “Okay, want another soup dumpling? More soy milk?”

Zhao Kangning: “I’m off this afternoon. Tonight I’ll make Italian turkey leg claypot rice for you and your mom.”

Zhao Yu: “…”

She’d always been impulsive and hot-headed as a kid, never sticking with anything for more than five minutes. Her parents were used to it and didn’t take her seriously at all.

Zhao Yu took a savage bite of her soup dumpling and made a silent vow: This time! I’ll show you all!

But before becoming a celebrity, the most pressing matter was to go see Junyi-ge’s first concert.

Shen Junyi’s concert tickets had long sold out. Zhao Yu fumbled around on the super-topic trying to buy one and got scammed out of a thousand yuan.

Furious, she called Jiang Yu: “Uncle! I need a Shen Junyi concert ticket!”

Jiang Yu could manage that much.

The ticket arrived by mail soon after.

Coincidentally, Zhao Yu was also heading to Beijing for college. She packed her bags and, accompanied by Jiang Lei, boarded a plane to Beijing.

Jiang Yu split his time between Beijing and Hangzhou and had rented an apartment in Beijing too. Zhao Yu and Jiang Lei stayed there before the semester started.

She’d never been to a concert in her life. She had no idea what “fan support” meant, or what “merchandise” was. On the day of the concert, she looked up the route, slung a small bag over her shoulder, tucked the ticket inside, and headed out.

She arrived late. By the time she got to the venue, it was almost dark. The concert started at 7:30 PM, and most fans had already entered, leaving only scattered stragglers waiting outside for people or tickets, along with a few scalpers.

Zhao Yu noticed that everyone was holding red glow sticks and wearing hair clips with Shen Junyi’s name on them. Looking at her own empty hands, she thought for a moment, then ran over to a street vendor and bought a pair of red light-up cat ears.

She’d known her little brother was famous now, but walking into the venue and seeing the packed stadium, the dazzling sea of red, and the relentless waves of screaming—she was still stunned.

She found her seat with her ticket.

As she sat down, the girls around her were chattering excitedly in a language she didn’t understand.

Noticing her sitting there looking a bit awkward, the girl next to her patted her shoulder and asked warmly, “Hi there! Are you a Yiren?”

Zhao Yu had browsed the super-topic long enough to know that Shen Junyi’s fans were called Yiren. She wasn’t really sure if she counted as one, but seeing the girl’s enthusiastic smile, she nodded.

The girl said, “Ah! I’m so excited! This is gege’s first concert—we’re so lucky!”

Zhao Yu responded with vague “mm-hmms” and “yeahs.”

The girl looked at Zhao Yu’s empty hands and asked curiously, “Didn’t you bring a support stick?”

Zhao Yu felt a little guilty. “I left in a hurry and forgot…”

The girl gave her a knowing look and pulled a glow stick out of her backpack. “Here! We have to give gege the best support later!”

Zhao Yu asked, “What about you?”

The girl pulled out another glow stick from behind her. “I brought two! I was going to wave them crosswise—it’s more dramatic that way!”

Zhao Yu: “………………”

Like drumming?

The girl rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Ah! Ten more minutes until gege comes out! Aaah, I can’t take it—my heart’s about to jump out of my throat!” She asked eagerly, “When did you get into him?”

Zhao Yu: “Huh?”

The girl could tell at a glance that she was a new fan with no experience, so she rephrased the question. “How long have you liked him?”

Zhao Yu looked at the dazzlingly lit stage.

It was empty for now, with crew members adjusting equipment, preparing to welcome the king of this stage.

The girl said proudly, “I’ve liked him for eight months—I’m an old fan! I got into him right after he debuted. I have such good taste, hehe!”

Zhao Yu lowered her gaze.

Ten years…

She said silently in her heart.

I’ve liked him for ten years.