Initial Attempt

"Miss Jade Polishing, I'm your fan!"

That was the first thing Lu Yan said when he met Ji Xingyao.

Ji Xingyao had just had her performance contract terminated by the mall and was still dazed with despair when Lu Yan stuffed a photograph into her hands.

Ji Xingyao instinctively looked down at it. It was a photo from one of her event performances three years ago.

In the photo, she wore a short skirt and long boots. Her beautiful face bore an infectious smile, and every inch of her radiated the vitality of youthful confidence. Simply standing onstage made her the center of everyone's attention.

Back then, she had been an internet celebrity at the height of her fame. Entertainment companies had even approached her, hoping to sign her and launch her into the entertainment industry.

Unfortunately, with everything that happened afterward, coupled with the changing tides of the internet age, she had ultimately lost her former glory.

If she had been willing to bow her head, gaining more resources—or even making a comeback—would not have been impossible.

But she had refused to lower her head in the end. Now, she was merely a washed-up internet celebrity, unable to even sustain gigs like this.

Her right hand trembled slightly as it held the photograph. Ji Xingyao looked at the person before her.

He appeared to be only around twenty. His features were handsome, his skin as smooth as a baby's, and though he was plainly dressed, he could not conceal that calm, otherworldly air about him.

Ji Xingyao looked momentarily dazed. The young man before her seemed strangely familiar, as though she had seen him somewhere before. Yet no matter how she searched her memories, she could find no trace of him.

Still, the gentle smile at the corner of his lips felt incomparably warm, instinctively making Ji Xingyao lower her guard.

"How did you get in here?"

Lu Yan pointed outside the lounge, then held his index finger to his lips and whispered:

"Don't tell them. I snuck in."

Ji Xingyao could not help but laugh. Much of the gloom from having her contract canceled dissipated at that moment.

When she had been at the peak of her popularity, many obsessed fans had sneaked into her lounge during commercial appearances, hoping for autographs and photos with her. Back then, she had found such things rather irritating.

But after her popularity declined, those fans had vanished without a trace.

Now that Lu Yan had snuck in as well, it instead stirred some interest in her.

Tilting her head slightly, with a few strands of hair falling over the front of her shoulder, Ji Xingyao curiously shook the photograph in her hand.

"Where did this come from?"

"I took it."

"Which performance was this?"

"East Star City Stadium."

"Which song do you like?"

"That original song of yours, 'Asking Immortals.'"

But she did not know that Lu Yan had lifted this photograph from the hands of a Ji Xingyao fan beneath the stage. As compensation, Lu Yan had slipped the fan a thousand yuan.

After getting the photo, Lu Yan had even gone online to look up information about it, just in case he gave himself away.

After a brief exchange, Ji Xingyao confirmed that Lu Yan truly was her fan.

At the height of her popularity, she might not have cared.

But now, at the lowest point of her fame, she could tell from their conversation that Lu Yan was absolutely a devoted fan. Moreover, that inexplicable sense of familiarity made her wonder whether she had seen him at one of her performances.

All these factors greatly increased Ji Xingyao's favorable impression of Lu Yan.

"Hand it over!"

Ji Xingyao held out her right hand toward Lu Yan.

"What?"

Lu Yan was somewhat baffled.

"Didn't you want my autograph? The signing pen, of course!"

Lu Yan stiffened, felt around his completely empty pockets, and said helplessly to Ji Xingyao:

"I forgot to bring one."

Ji Xingyao was left speechless. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Lu Yan reach into the hair beside her ear.

"Isn't there one right here?"

The next moment, Lu Yan actually drew a black signing pen from beneath her hair.

Seeing Lu Yan's beaming face, Ji Xingyao finally realized that he had deliberately performed a little magic trick.

"Hmph! Give it here!"

Ji Xingyao shot Lu Yan an annoyed glare, took the signing pen, and signed her name on the photograph.

Ji Xingyao handed the pen and photograph toward Lu Yan, but Lu Yan only took the photograph.

"This pen..."

"This pen originally belonged to Miss Jade Polishing. I merely borrowed it, and now it has been returned to its rightful owner."

Giving Ji Xingyao a satisfied smile, Lu Yan softly said:

"I look forward to our next meeting."

With those words, Lu Yan turned and left, leaving Ji Xingyao alone in the lounge.

Ji Xingyao frowned as she watched Lu Yan's departing back and said with some displeasure:

"I thought he was an interesting fan. I didn't expect him to be so frivolous."

As she spoke, Ji Xingyao prepared to throw the signing pen in her hand into the trash can.

But the moment her right hand moved, Ji Xingyao noticed something was wrong. When she opened her palm, the signing pen resting atop it had somehow turned into several strands of hair.

"What is going on?"

Ji Xingyao's eyes instantly widened, utterly unable to suppress the shock in her heart.

She had just used the signing pen to write her name and could confirm that it had been a genuine pen. How could it suddenly turn into hair?

Recalling Lu Yan's movements, Ji Xingyao instinctively touched the side of her ear. Her fingers could clearly feel that part of her hair had been cut off, seemingly corresponding strand for strand with the hair in her hand.

"Was that really magic?"

Outside the mall, Lu Yan looked at the photograph in his hand. There was no name on it, so he placed it into his Storage Bag.

Thinking of Ji Xingyao's displeased expression when he left, Lu Yan smiled.

"She should have noticed, right?"

He opened his right hand. A first-rank low-grade Illusion Talisman in his palm had already turned to ash.

Clearly, the signing pen from earlier had merely been an illusion created by Lu Yan's talisman.

However, in this Urban Version, where the supernatural did not reveal itself, Ji Xingyao would likely find it difficult to connect what had happened with a spell. She would only take it for an unusual magic trick.

But that alone was enough to leave a deep impression of Lu Yan on her.

Once Lu Yan realized that he could seek an opportunity from Ji Xingyao, he had settled on a plan.

He should not be too hasty in approaching Ji Xingyao, nor could he establish a friendship with her too quickly.

After all, Jade Polishing Fairy was a true disciple prodigy of the Azure Parasol Sect in the Xianxia Version. It would be far too conspicuous for her to befriend a minor cultivator like Lu Yan, who was merely at the First Level of Qi Refining.

Thus, Lu Yan positioned himself as an interesting fan—an admirer remembered by Jade Polishing Fairy—and intended to build favorability through that identity.

As someone from Bamboo Forest Market, he was already under Jade Polishing Fairy's protection. Admiring Jade Polishing Fairy was entirely reasonable, and being remembered by Ji Xingyao due to a bit of luck was perfectly normal as well.

An impression from Jade Polishing Fairy might seem useless, but her status was simply too high. A single word from her could decide the future of the entire market. Anyone she remembered only needed to be mentioned casually, and in the Xianxia Version, that would become a protective talisman.

With that status, he would absolutely be able to swagger through Bamboo Forest Market without restraint.

Thinking of this, Lu Yan could not help sighing softly.

"In the end, my strength is still too low. I can only borrow power in this manner.

"If I had the strength of Peak Qi Refining, or even the Foundation Establishment Realm, no one would suspect anything even if I became close friends with Ji Xingyao."

"This can only count as an initial attempt. When the Xianxia Version comes next time, I can confirm what happens afterward.

"Next, it is time to prepare for the next Version Update!"