Chapter 54: The Deranged Fan
Li Xuan was currently the reigning queen of the music scene, while Zhang Qiyang was a scandal-ridden figure, notorious and shrouded in controversy. If the two of them were ever photographed dining together in private, the impact on Li Xuan would be immense.
With Li Xuan’s reputation in mind, Chen Ke arranged this dinner meeting with the utmost secrecy.
She first went ahead to a private club to make the preparations.
Then a friend of Guan Xingdu borrowed a private car, waited in the hotel’s underground parking lot where Zhang Qiyang and Li Xuan were staying, and had the driver deliver the keys to Qin Xueyang in advance.
According to the plan, Qin Xueyang would go to the underground parking lot first to scout the area, and only after confirming it was safe would he message Zhang Qiyang and Li Xuan, so they could come down one after the other. Only after making sure there were no paparazzi and no one following them would all three head to the club together.
The entire operation was orchestrated with the precision of a covert spy rendezvous, with a hint of theatrical mystery.
But in reality, when celebrities attend such private dinners, this level of discretion is the norm. Some even go as far as disguising themselves, not much different from spies.
That night, Zhang Qiyang didn’t go so far as to wear makeup, but to avoid suspicion, he snatched Qin Xueyang’s favorite plain black baseball cap and paired it with oversized black sunglasses. With the cap pulled low, he was practically unrecognizable.
As planned, Qin Xueyang was the first to head downstairs for reconnaissance.
The car was a mid-sized black Mercedes with an ordinary license plate. He waited inside for several minutes, scanning the surroundings repeatedly to confirm no one was tailing or taking clandestine photos. Only then did he send Zhang Qiyang the car’s plate number and the parking location, urging him to come down quickly.
Zhang Qiyang soon found the black Mercedes in the parking lot and got into the driver’s seat, ready to take the wheel.
“The navigation’s set up. Just follow the GPS,” Qin Xueyang said, preferring to ride shotgun due to his own clumsy driving.
Zhang Qiyang checked the time and said, “Alright, call Li Xuan down.”
“Okay,” Qin Xueyang replied, dialing Li Xuan to tell her where the car was parked so she could come down.
It hadn’t been ten minutes before Li Xuan’s tall silhouette appeared in the parking lot.
Like Zhang Qiyang, Li Xuan was dressed casually that evening—a gray-black batwing tunic that hugged her figure, accentuating her curves in an alluring way. Instead of exposing her long, ivory legs, she wore loose-fitting, slim black pants reminiscent of yoga wear, which flattered her silhouette.
Li Xuan was tall, standing over 1.7 meters even without heels. On stage, she rarely wore especially high heels, but tonight—perhaps not wanting to be dwarfed by Zhang Qiyang—she donned black suede platform stilettos with a ten-centimeter heel, nearly matching him in height. Walking with her, she stood out from the crowd, exuding a bold and dashing presence.
Her long hair was tied up in an elegant bun atop her head, and half her delicate face was concealed behind massive black sunglasses. Yet anyone familiar with her could still recognize the pop diva Li Xuan by her luminous fair skin, well-defined nose, graceful lips, and noble features.
Watching Li Xuan stride toward the car with her hands in her pockets, Qin Xueyang munched on a dried persimmon, exclaiming, “How did Xuan-jie’s legs get so long all of a sudden? Was she always this tall?”
Zhang Qiyang, too, found Li Xuan’s legs unusually long that evening. Glancing down, he noticed that her flowing pants completely covered her shoes, making her already long legs seem even longer—like a high-fashion model straight out of a magazine.
Noticing the towering heels peeking out, Zhang Qiyang couldn’t help but smile to himself. With this aura, Queen Li was clearly not here to play tonight.
Qin Xueyang suggested, “Why not drive over to pick her up? Don’t make her walk all the way here—let’s just go once she’s in.”
Seeing Li Xuan struggle a bit in her towering heels, Zhang Qiyang agreed and reached to start the engine.
But just then, something completely unexpected happened.
When Li Xuan was about twenty meters away, a middle-aged man in a black-and-blue plaid shirt suddenly sprang from a nearby car, carrying a shoebox-sized package.
He stepped out and blocked Li Xuan’s path.
Qin Xueyang, startled, clapped a hand over his mouth and whispered, “Is that a paparazzo?”
Zhang Qiyang frowned, his hand leaving the ignition. Instinctively, he lowered the brim of his cap and looked around warily, searching for any other lurking paparazzi.
For people like him and Li Xuan, being tailed by paparazzi was commonplace—sometimes, by sheer misfortune, they’d get caught by surprise. It was an infuriating but unavoidable part of being a public figure.
Zhang Qiyang knew full well that this was not the time to rush over and stand by Li Xuan’s side—a photo of the two together would be disastrous.
“Wait! What’s that guy doing? What’s in his hands? He doesn’t look like paparazzi—he’s a crazed fan!” Qin Xueyang gasped.
The man blocking Li Xuan had pulled a golden, gleaming trophy from the box and was trying to shove it into her hands, making Qin Xueyang’s eyes nearly pop out in horror.
Zhang Qiyang took off his sunglasses for a better look. Damn it! That crazy fan was holding a “My Song” single-episode champion trophy!
Could it be a replica? Or the real thing? Judging by its quality, it seemed genuine.
Suddenly, Zhang Qiyang remembered: The Zebra team had faxed him a shipping notice for the trophy on Thursday. During the live broadcast that night, two trophies had been given away—one to Zhu Laosan, the other to a newly registered user named “XuanLoveForever_OnlyForYou.”
This guy had posted almost ten thousand comments that night, all spamming the number “1” to win the trophy—utterly fanatical. In the end, his persistence was rewarded and he won.
The Zebra team contacted him that night and shipped the trophy to him the next morning.
Qin Xueyang later received the shipping fax from Zebra and showed it to Zhang Qiyang. He remembered clearly—Zhu Laosan’s trophy was sent to a villa district in the northwest suburbs of the capital, addressed to Ms. Zhu.
The other trophy was sent to Xingdu, to a man named Zhou Shilin.
Could it be that this crazed fan pestering Li Xuan was Zhou Shilin?
Zhang Qiyang’s guess was spot on.
This man was indeed Zhou Shilin, an utterly obsessed fan of Li Xuan. He had only received the “My Song” trophy that afternoon.
Afterwards, he quickly found out from the core group of the Xuan Love Family that Li Xuan was staying at the Orange Isle Four Seasons Hotel.
He immediately drove to the hotel.
At first, he intended to leave the trophy at reception and have a staff member pass it on to Li Xuan, but then worried she might refuse to accept a package from an unknown sender.
So he decided to go to the front desk to inquire about her room.
As he sat in his car, pondering how to approach the desk for information, he suddenly saw Li Xuan heading alone to the parking lot.
Zhou Shilin was instantly overwhelmed with excitement—as if fate itself had delivered him a golden opportunity. Heaven must truly favor him, granting him a chance to meet Li Xuan in person!
Would she be delighted to receive the trophy? Would she be moved enough to become friends with him?
Frenzied with excitement, Zhou Shilin leapt from his car, intercepted Li Xuan, and straightforwardly tried to present her with the trophy.
Li Xuan was startled when a man with a wandering gaze and clearly unstable demeanor blocked her path. When she realized he was trying to give her a trophy, invite her to dinner, and befriend her, her fear only grew.
As she tried to deflect Zhou Shilin, she kept glancing anxiously toward Zhang Qiyang and Qin Xueyang. Seeing them simply sitting there, dumbfounded and unmoving, she was on the verge of despair—those two blockheads, how long were they going to just sit there? Hurry up and come help her!