Chapter 26 : When Did You Become His Fan? Why Don’t I Know About It?

Song Zhiyi stared at Ling Xingyu’s manager’s chat window on WeChat. Although they’d added each other, the other party hadn’t responded at all. She had never met this manager before, and now she had to find them in a crowded central square.

Wasn’t this like searching for a needle in a haystack?

In the center of the square, Ling Xingyu was surrounded by fans, creating a chaotic scene. Bodyguards and police officers were busy maintaining order.

Frustrated, Song Zhiyi finally decided to call the manager directly.

“Ring… Ring…”

The call went unanswered and disconnected automatically.

Undeterred, she called again.

It wasn’t until the 18th call that the manager finally picked up. The voice on the other end was impatient: “Hello? What is it?”

“Hello, Ms. Jiang, I’m Song Zhiyi, a journalist from Border Town Daily. We arranged for an exclusive interview with Ling Xingyu today…”

“Oh, I know!” Jiang Xu interrupted her abruptly. “Don’t you see how busy we are right now? We’ll contact you after the event ends.”

“Could you please give me the address—”

Before Song Zhiyi could finish her sentence, the call was cut off.

She looked at the disconnected call screen and then at the layers of people encircling the square.

Alright, maybe they really were busy.

The autograph event continued from 2 PM to nearly 4 PM. Ling Xingyu posed for photos and signed autographs for fans until Jiang Xu escorted him away, shielded by bodyguards.

Once inside the nanny van, Ling Xingyu let out a long sigh of relief.

“Don’t I have an interview coming up?” He lazily leaned against the car seat. “Jiang Jie, I’m exhausted. Can we cancel it?”

“No way. We already agreed to it.”

“Ugh, journalists are the worst. Always digging for dirt!” Ling Xingyu tugged at his collar in frustration.

“There’s no helping it. Celebrities and journalists go hand in hand. Without journalists, you wouldn’t be famous.”

Ling Xingyu pouted and brushed his bangs aside. “Fine, but later. I’m starving. Let’s go back to the hotel for dinner first.”

As for the journalist? Let her wait a bit longer!

Song Zhiyi watched as Ling Xingyu, surrounded by bodyguards, was ushered into the nearby mall. She hurried to follow, but the bodyguards blocked her way. Left with no choice, she continued waiting outside.

She glanced at her phone. Still no message from Jiang Xu.

If this drags on any longer, won’t the interview end up going past 8 PM?

Determined, she dialed Jiang Xu again.

“Hello?” This time, Jiang Xu answered fairly quickly.

“Ms. Jiang, I noticed Ling Xingyu’s event has ended. When can we start the interview?”

“Of course. I’ll send you the location now.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Jiang Xu sent Song Zhiyi the address.

It was at the Crowne Plaza Hotel—quite far from her current location.

Song Zhiyi forwarded the location to Chen Mo and then hailed a cab to head over.

The rush hour traffic was horrendous, and by the time she arrived, it was already 6:30 PM.

Meanwhile, Ling Xingyu had finished his meal, had a drink, and even took a nap.

“Ms. Jiang, Mr. Ling…” Song Zhiyi found them in a corner of the hotel lobby. Ling Xingyu was reclining in a massage chair, wearing sunglasses. “I’m Song Zhiyi, the journalist from Border Town Daily.”

“Oh?” Ling Xingyu, who had been idly chewing gum, perked up when he saw a radiant beauty walking toward him.

The young lady stood before him and politely addressed him as “Mr. Ling” in a sweet, gentle voice—so different from those annoying paparazzi who stalked and secretly photographed him.

“You’re the journalist interviewing me today?” Ling Xingyu straightened up and removed his sunglasses.

“Yes.” Song Zhiyi nodded. “You’ve had dinner, right? Can we start the interview now?”

“…” Ling Xingyu paused, then suggested, “You haven’t eaten yet, have you? How about I treat you to a meal first?”

Ling Xingyu regretted not bringing her along earlier. Such a stunning journalist—it would’ve been nice to dine with her.

“No need, I ate on the way here.”

In truth, she hadn’t eaten but wanted to finish the interview quickly so Chen Mo wouldn’t have to wait for her.

“Oh…”

Turning down the chance to have dinner with such a handsome celebrity? This little beauty must be a bit clueless!

“Ahem,” Jiang Xu coughed lightly, giving Ling Xingyu a warning glance. “Let’s get started. We’ll use the conference room.”

“Alright.”

The second floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel had a small conference room reserved for one-on-one interviews.

Song Zhiyi had already prepared a series of questions in advance.

“Could you share your thoughts about this event?” Song Zhiyi placed a voice recorder on the table.

“I deeply respect anti-drug police officers. Thanks to their efforts, we can live peacefully. There’s no such thing as effortless peace; it’s because they shoulder the heavy burdens for us.”

Ling Xingyu’s responses were all carefully crafted by Jiang Xu—saying only what would sound good or emotional.

This approach was key to establishing his public image as someone with upright values!

“So, Mr. Ling, if there are similar events in the future, would you participate again?”

“Of course! The police are the real stars we should admire.”

After asking all her questions, Song Zhiyi wrapped up the interview, tidied her things, and prepared to leave.

“Huh…” Ling Xingyu watched her calmly pack up. Wait, was the exclusive interview already over?

He hadn’t even had enough of hearing the beautiful journalist’s voice!

“Mr. Ling, would it be possible to get your autograph?” Song Zhiyi couldn’t forget her promise to her friend.

“Of course, of course!” Ling Xingyu quickly agreed, taking a photo of himself from his pocket and signing it.

So, the young journalist was also his fan!

Feeling inexplicably thrilled to have such a beautiful fan, Ling Xingyu enthusiastically pulled out several other photos, signed them all, and handed them over.

“I’m always generous to my fans. If you want me to sign something else, just let me know.”

Modern girls can be pretty bold about their fan obsessions. Just last year, at a concert, a female fan even tried to take off her clothes to have him sign her body!

Security had to drag her away in the end.

If this pretty journalist wanted something similar, he wouldn’t refuse either.

“That’s enough, that’s enough.” Song Zhiyi held the stack of photos, already satisfied since they were for Lin Qiqi. “Thank you, Mr. Ling.”

“You’re welcome. My pleasure.”

As Song Zhiyi moved to leave, Ling Xingyu gallantly opened the door for her.

“Let me escort you to your car. It’s pretty remote here, and not easy to get a cab.”

“No need to trouble yourself.”

“You’re different from other reporters I’ve met. They’re always clinging to me, photographing me wherever I go. It’s so annoying!” If all reporters were as gentle and polite as Song Zhiyi, every celebrity would probably cooperate.

Song Zhiyi: “…”

She pursed her lips. “Have you considered that those are paparazzi? We political journalists are different.”

Ling Xingyu: “…”

To him, there was no difference at all!

—

A car horn honked outside the hotel. Ling Xingyu turned to see a plain SUV.

“Goodbye, Mr. Ling,” Song Zhiyi said as she walked toward the car.

“Oh… Goodbye.”

So, someone had come to pick her up?

Maybe a colleague…

When Song Zhiyi got into the car, she noticed Sister Yue Mo resting his chin on his hand, his deep eyes fixed on Ling Xingyu, who was still standing at the door.

A celebrity personally escorting a reporter out?

Not worried about being seen?

“Brother Sister Yue Mo?” Song Zhiyi fastened her seatbelt and saw that Sister Yue Mo had no intention of driving. “Let’s go.”

“…” Sister Yue Mo withdrew his gaze and noticed the small stack of photos in her hands. Under the car’s light, he could see the man in the photos was Ling Xingyu.

“What’s that?”

“Autographed photos.”

“Oh?” Sister Yue Mo took them, his slender fingers flipping through each one. “You even got his autographs? Since when did you become his fan? How did I not know?”

The little girl went to conduct an interview and even asked for autographed photos?

As far as he knew, Song Zhiyi wasn’t the type to idolize celebrities.

So, what’s the deal with this young star suddenly stealing her attention?

“?”

Wait, why does his tone sound off?

“Our little girl is all grown up now, learning to fangirl? Are you going to call him ‘hubby’ like other girls?”

“…”

“Maybe even say you want to have his babies?”

“…”

Brother Chen Mo, when did you become an Yin-Yang master?

Song Zhiyi watched as one of the autographed photos in his hands began to crumple between his fingers. The atmosphere in the car suddenly became heavy and awkward. She softly explained, “The photos are for Qiqi, not me…”