Chapter 42: Unique

The out-of-control truck hurtled toward her, and a tragedy was imminent!

Xiao Chi kicked off the base of a streetlamp, using the rebound force to leap toward the girl. In the blink of an eye, he caught her in his arms, rolling on the ground, narrowly avoiding death. He managed to stop just before the opposite side of the road, but he was splashed with muddy water from a puddle.

However, the Gemini necklace terminal slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground, crushed like the girl’s broken music box.

The screeching sound of tires echoed as the truck driver panicked and swerved the steering wheel. The truck collided with the guardrail on the other side, crushing the front half of the vehicle. The guardrail bent and collapsed, forcing the truck to come to a halt.

Pedestrians on the street screamed in alarm. Seeing that no one was injured, a passerby called the traffic police.

The girl was cradled in Xiao Chi’s arms, still in shock, her eyes wide with fear. It wasn’t until Xiao Chi called her a few times that she snapped back to reality, trembling all over, and then she collapsed into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

The girl’s sobs were silent, but Xiao Chi was at a loss for what to do. The truck driver, holding his injured forehead, got out of the vehicle and repeatedly apologized to them.

The girl was around eleven or twelve, her tears staining her face, soaking Xiao Chi’s clothes.

“Are you alright, little one? Are you hurt?”

The girl looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, not speaking but silently shaking her head. She gripped his clothes tightly, unwilling to let him go.

“Where are your parents? Shall I take you to find them?”

She still didn’t answer, wiping away her tears and looking around. Eventually, she pointed across the road, where a middle-aged couple was hurrying toward them, panic written on their faces.

The woman had a delicate makeup look, her hair falling at the temples, covering the fine lines at the corner of her eyes. She rushed over, hugged her daughter tightly, her eyes red. “You scared me to death! Why are you running off alone? Are you hurt anywhere?”

The girl clutched her skirt, still feeling weak in her limbs, shaking her head vigorously and looking back at Xiao Chi.

The mother, perhaps used to her daughter’s silence, gave Xiao Chi a grateful smile. “Thank you for saving my daughter. She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t even call for help. If it weren’t for you… sigh…”

Xiao Chi froze. “She…?”

The girl’s father, wearing black-framed glasses and a grey Zhongshan suit, with every hair neatly combed, looked refined and gentle. He gently reassured the mother and daughter. Seeing that the girl was covered in dust and mud but uninjured, he let out a sigh of relief.

He turned to Xiao Chi, giving him a once-over. His expression softened, and he sighed lightly. “I’m Shao Jingfeng, and this is my wife, Lin Lanlan. That was quite dangerous. Both my wife and I were sweating in panic, and now we’re still frightened. Thank you so much, young man.”

Xiao Chi scratched his head awkwardly. “It’s nothing. I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry and need to leave. Otherwise, I’ll be late.”

The middle-aged man froze for a moment. “Where are you headed? Let me give you a ride, my car is just by the roadside.”

Xiao Chi touched his neck, realizing the Gemini necklace was gone. He couldn’t contact Liu Bing, so he reluctantly agreed. “It’s just up ahead, at the Changfeng Club.”

The car stopped at the entrance of the Changfeng Club, and the couple accompanied Xiao Chi to the door. Xiao Chi thanked them, then turned to leave.

“Mr. Xiao, wait,” Shao Jingfeng said as he retrieved a small black box from the car and handed it to him. “Lanlan and I are both university professors, and we don’t have much, but we happened to be on our way to a concert with our family today. I have a few small items in the car, and this is a commemorative mini communicator. I hope it helps you in your urgent situation. Inside, you’ll find my contact details. We’ll come visit to express our gratitude later.”

“Then thank you very much.” Xiao Chi couldn’t refuse the kindness, so he accepted it. “There’s no need for a formal thank you visit though, it’s just…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a loud shout came from behind him—
“Xiao Chen!”

Xiao Chi suddenly turned around, and a middle-aged man in a dark blue scholar’s robe emerged from the club. He was tall with a shiny bald head, his expression sour and rigid. Liu Bing was trailing behind him, seemingly still trying to make a final attempt at persuasion.

Master Rong Shan noticed the group at the door and walked over with measured steps. His eyes were sharp and cold, and when Xiao Chi met his gaze, it felt like he was staring at a bare stone.

“Xiao Chen, this is Master Rong Shan. Don’t you owe him an apology?” Liu Bing said, gesturing toward Master Rong Shan and giving Xiao Chi a meaningful look.

“Sorry,” Xiao Chi said awkwardly, extending his hand to Master Rong Shan. “I’m late, I ran into some urgent situations on the way, and I kept you waiting.”

Master Rong Shan glanced at him indifferently, noticing that Xiao Chi’s clothes were dirty, with stains on his pant cuffs. He grew even more displeased.

Master Rong Shan ignored Xiao Chi’s extended hand, his gaze passing over him and landing on Shao Jingfeng and his wife. Suddenly, his face turned ashen with anger.

Shao Jingfeng and his wife, upon seeing him, also wore shocked expressions.

“It’s you!” Master Rong Shan’s face turned pale with fury. He pointed at Shao Jingfeng, then at Lin Lanlan, his fingers trembling. “Liu Bing, are you playing games with me? You clearly asked Mr. Shao to help this kid, yet you still come to me, pretending here! What’s the meaning of this? Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Don’t serve two masters’?”

Liu Bing was dazed by this sudden turn of events. “There must be some misunderstanding. I don’t know this gentleman, and I haven’t…”

“Enough!” Master Rong Shan interrupted him sharply, his voice growing more intense. “Big stars with big egos! You made me wait for an entire morning, wasting my precious time! Since you’ve found Mr. Shao, it’s either him or me! I’m not going to serve you anymore! Goodbye!”

“Master Rong Shan, Master!”

The vintage black car stopped by the roadside. The driver opened the door, and Master Rong Shan, furious, got in without paying attention to Liu Bing’s explanations, and drove off in a huff.

Liu Bing, his face dark with anger, turned back and looked Xiao Chi up and down. His forehead was tense with veins, and he exploded with a barrage of questions.

“Why are you only here now? Where have you been? Why couldn’t I reach you on the phone? And look at you, all dirty—did you roll in the mud or something?”

Shao Jingfeng awkwardly chuckled. “This can’t be blamed on him. This was purely an accident.”

Xiao Chi was verbally bombarded and wiped his face helplessly, briefly explaining the events that had occurred.

Liu Bing’s expression shifted several times before he sighed heavily. “Forget it, I’ll think of another way to handle this. By the way, Mr. Shao, right? From what I saw, it looks like you two are acquainted?”

Shao Jingfeng and his wife Lin Lanlan exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of helplessness. They weren’t willing to explain further. “It’s a long story. We do have some history, but we never expected to run into him here. Our personal issues have caused you all to be caught in the misunderstanding.”

He took out a thin black metal card from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Chi. “I’m really sorry that you helped save my daughter but ended up causing you trouble. I’m not sure what business you have with Master Rong Shan, but if you need anything, feel free to reach out to me.”

After the couple left, Liu Bing leaned over and glanced at the card. It read “Department of Music, Wutong University, Beidu.”

“A music professor from Wutong University?” Liu Bing shook his head in disappointment. “What can a music teacher do to help? Never mind, there are other renowned musicians in the music and lyric industry, not just Master Rong Shan. I’ll think of another way to contact someone else. As for that Master Rong Shan, I don’t think he was sincere. Maybe he was just making an excuse to cancel our collaboration.”

—

Entertainment Company Huanyi, Artist Management Department

“Hello everyone, this is Entertainment New Trends, and I’m your host, Taotao.” The projection screen, which occupied half of the wall, displayed recent important entertainment news.

Xiao Chi and Liu Bing were lounging on a brown velvet sofa, each occupying one end. Xiao Chi was focused on writing a song, while Liu Bing was absorbed in watching TV.

“A large multinational company, Tianyu Group, has invested heavily over the years to create the world’s first fantasy-themed, holographic simulation MMORPG, The Celestial Fairy. The game is about to enter public beta. Tianyu Group claims it’s a ‘Fantasy Parallel Universe’ where countless players can live out their immortality dreams, showing their ambition and absolute confidence in the game.”

“The number of pre-registrations has already surpassed 280 million…”

“Tianyu recently announced a global promotional tour for The Celestial Fairy, where it will hold meet-and-greet events in over twenty cities worldwide. They’ve even rented out the Twin Towers’ electronic virtual advertisement screens for a whole week! There will also be a global live broadcast from an aerial yacht! Their promotional efforts are massive and boundless, truly showing off their financial strength…”

The host exaggeratedly read the script, and Liu Bing clicked his tongue in admiration. “The advertisement screens on the Twin Towers and the aerial yacht—this level of exposure and traffic, how many top celebrities in the country must envy this? No wonder everyone’s fighting over the endorsements, pushing and shoving to get in, such a huge opportunity.”

Seeing Xiao Chi still engrossed in his work, Liu Bing played with a metal lighter in his hand. “Aren’t you paying attention? Your competitors this time aren’t the usual newbies or small-time TV appearances. Besides top-tier celebrities like Lu Sheng, there’s even the popular AI virtual idol, Tang Wanwan! She’s the hot favorite for this endorsement!”

“Virtual idol? Tang Wanwan?” As if a trigger had been pulled, Xiao Chi finally reacted, lifting his head from his music draft and looking blankly at Liu Bing.

“You’ve heard of her? She’s the virtual idol AI promoted after Xiao Chi’s accident. The new character is a female, cute and likable, with a pretty high popularity. It looks like the AI company is determined to land this endorsement for Tianyu’s virtual game.”

“Is she that popular?” The thought of his past fans turning to embrace a new idol made Xiao Chi feel sour inside, a bit uncomfortable.

“Of course she’s popular! In order to recover Xiao Chi’s loss, the AI company has really been pushing her hard. Now, her ads are everywhere on the streets. They’re even more invested than when they were promoting Xiao Chi. If you pay a little attention, you’ll see her everywhere.”

Seeing Xiao Chi with his head down, looking dispirited, Liu Bing raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you?”

Xiao Chi, unusually furrowing his brow, twisted his pen in his fingers and drew random lines on the tablet for a while before quietly saying, “I don’t like her.”

Liu Bing didn’t think much of it. “So what? I don’t like him either. He’s just a virtual idol. No matter how realistic he looks, he’s still fake. He’ll only ever live on a screen…”

Xiao Chi touched his knee as though it had been shot by an arrow and glanced at him. “You don’t like him either?”

Liu Bing said irritably, “Of course I don’t like him! I really hate him! It’s all because of that thing, he stole the global popularity championship from Xie Ting…”

“…So, now that he’s gone, you’re feeling schadenfreude?” Xiao Chi asked in a low voice.

Liu Bing, not realizing anything was off, grinned broadly. “Of course! After all, it’s just data. He’s not going to jump out of the screen and hit me…”

Xiao Chi couldn’t help but retort, “What if a virtual idol also has its own thoughts, consciousness, and personality?”

Liu Bing laughed exaggeratedly. “Then AI has really made it! From now on, they’ll be drafted by the government, what’s left for the entertainment industry? That virtual idol would be in big trouble—brainwashing, slicing, it’s all waiting for it! Oh, there are quite a few movies with this theme. If you’re interested, you can find one to watch.”

“…” Xiao Chi felt a strange unease in his heart, and goosebumps started to form on his arms.

Fortunately, when he met Ji Chenxuan, if he had met someone sinister, he might have already been sliced!

“What’s wrong with you? Suddenly thinking about all this?”

“It’s nothing.” Xiao Chi stared at the lively virtual idol, Lu Wanwan, on the TV screen. Squinting his eyes, he said slowly, “I won’t lose to her.”

He is Xiao Chi, unique in the entire universe!

And except for Ji Chenxuan, no one will ever know this secret.

On the TV, the host’s voice continued:

“Today, we are fortunate to have the popular domestic idol Lu Sheng and the famous music industry figure Master Rong Shan as our guests. First, let’s congratulate Lu Sheng for being nominated for Best Actor at the Baiming Film Festival.”

Lu Sheng was dressed in a simple black tuxedo, with a crescent-shaped black gemstone earring on his left ear. He looked incredibly handsome as he gave a slight smile at the camera. “It’s just a nomination. I’m still far from winning.”

Host: “Among the popular male idols, there aren’t many who get such a nomination. I’ve heard that you also received an invitation from Tianyu Group for the The Celestial Fairy endorsement audition. Is that true?”

Lu Sheng smiled humbly. “That’s right. There are many outstanding artists among the audition candidates. I don’t have much confidence.”

“With this collaboration between you and Master Rong Shan, it’s truly a strong partnership. Do you feel the pressure? Who knows, maybe other auditioning artists could be your competitors!” The host flatteringly complimented, then turned to look at the silent Master Rong Shan.

“Master, there are rumors that Huanyi’s top manager, Liu Bing, has been in contact with you about a possible collaboration. According to insiders, it’s because the newcomer idol Xiao Chen was being difficult and canceled, leading to a breach of contract. Is this true?”

Liu Bing suddenly lifted his head and stared at the TV screen.

Master Rong Shan, still with his usual uninterested demeanor, didn’t directly respond but didn’t deny it either. “Young people, they get a bit of success and think they’re untouchable. I’ve seen it a lot. But if they really want to create good work, just finding an experienced musician isn’t enough. They also need the right attitude…”

“This old man!” Liu Bing was enraged, “He pulled this stunt and still doesn’t know how the media will twist things!”

He quickly pulled out his phone, and sure enough, negative reports about Xiao Chi were already popping up on major social platforms. Most of them were baseless rumors.

One of the reports even referenced Xiao Chi’s intimate interactions with Ji Chenxuan in Star CEO, questioning the fairness of Huanyi’s selection for the star show championship!

“Is the legal department just sitting around doing nothing?” Liu Bing gritted his teeth, angrily scrolling through the screen.

Xiao Chi watched him pace around the room, stepping out to take a few calls, then coming back in with a serious face.

“I’ve got two pieces of bad news. I managed to pull up the surveillance footage from the day you saved that little girl, but your movements were too quick, and most of the shots were blocked by a truck. You can’t see you in most of them. Also, the industry insiders I contacted haven’t made any progress yet…”

Seeing how dejected Liu Bing looked, Xiao Chi patted his shoulder and reassured him, “It’s okay, I can write my own songs.”

Liu Bing narrowed his eyes. “It’s not just about the songs. If these rumors aren’t cleared up properly, people with bad intentions will exploit them. We’re already at a disadvantage in this endorsement race, and now it’s getting worse. Besides, I can’t just swallow this!”

Xiao Chi pulled out the commemorative communicator and the card with the Wutong University Music Department imprint, which the Shao couple had given him before they left. “That gentleman said we could ask for their help…”

Liu Bing glanced at the communicator in Xiao Chi’s hand, his gaze sharpening. “Hey, what’s that?”

“I don’t know. Mr. Shao gave it to me.”

Liu Bing turned the communicator over, and on the back was a small engraved line of text: “National Musicians Association Limited Edition Commemorative…”

He froze, his face stiffened, and slowly lifted his head. “That Mr. Shao… could it be Shao Jingfeng?”

Xiao Chi nodded. “I think so.”

Liu Bing took a deep breath, staring at him in disbelief: “Why didn’t you say this earlier!”

Xiao Chi looked innocent: “You didn’t ask me.”

Liu Bing twitched his lips: “He’s the Vice President of the National Musicians Association! What the hell is a music teacher! No wonder Rong Shan got so angry when he saw him. I heard he shaved his head because of his grudge with Shao Jingfeng! I really don’t know whether to say you’re lucky or unlucky!”

—

That night, at the Ji residence.

When Ji Chenxuan came home, Xiao Chi was sprawled on the living room sofa, watching a movie. The private home theater that occupied the entire wall, with its surround sound system, made the walls seem like they were vibrating.

Ji Chenxuan took off his coat and handed it to the home robot, Anna. He glanced at the screen, where a large virtual host, developed by humans, was being relentlessly attacked by the human protagonist team.

Xiao Chi was huddled on the sofa, his hands covering his face. Through the gaps between his fingers, he secretly peeked at the screen, as if the laser swords and guns were slashing at him.

Ji Chenxuan held out a cake box in front of him: “It’s just a movie. It’s not you.”

Xiao Chi slowly shifted his gaze from the screen to the cake box, and said quietly: “What if one day I get dragged away and turned into data slices? What would you do?”

“Sliced? Who told you that?” Ji Chenxuan looked at him, speechless.

Xiao Chi blinked, using his usual honest tone, and quietly complained: “Liu Bing, he said he doesn’t like virtual idols, and he doesn’t like me either, because I stole the popularity championship from Xie Ting.”

Ji Chenxuan smiled helplessly: “It’s okay, we’ll steal another one next year. He’ll get used to it.”