Not far from Su Mian, a young woman clutched the bar manager's hand and pleaded.
"Please, manager, I don't have enough money for rent. Could you please not dock my pay..."
The manager waved her off. "No. The contract spelled it out: you get paid for however many songs you sing. If you can't sing today, we really can't pay you."
Her voice grew tearful. "Manager, I can't sing today because I caught a cold and my throat's bad. Once I'm better in a few days, could I sing some extra songs?"
Su Mian remembered her.
She was an artist who had signed with the company alongside the original owner of this body. Her name was Zheng Linxue.
Their relationship had been neither good nor bad. They were ordinary coworkers.
They had once eaten boxed lunches together on set, and Zheng Linxue had even given her a big chicken drumstick.
Zheng Linxue had already started landing leading roles and had a chance of becoming popular.
But while filming a drama, she had started dating an actor in the production who was twenty years older than her.
That man had often interfered with Zheng Linxue's acting career, getting her to sell products with him on livestreams...
Gradually, Zheng Linxue had faded from popularity.
But the strange thing was... that old boyfriend of hers was quite rich, and even a famous entrepreneur. Just a few days ago, he had publicly shown off their love.
Why couldn't she even afford rent?
Could he be like Lu Zhou, pretending to be poor despite having money and living off his girlfriend?
Su Mian forcefully pulled Duan Xuanyu's hand away, stood up, and walked over to the manager.
"How many songs does she still owe you? I'll sing them for her."
The manager turned and recognized Su Mian, who had recently become very popular on that dating show.
Delight spread across his face.
He didn't know how well Su Mian sang, but she was riding a wave of popularity lately!
The manager agreed at once. "Five more! If you're helping, Teacher Su, I can pay Linxue's wages right away and throw in a three-thousand-yuan bonus!"
Su Mian nodded. "Deal."
Zheng Linxue's eyes blurred with grateful tears. "Thank you, Teacher Su. Thank you, Teacher Su..."
Su Mian patted her shoulder and said readily, "No need to thank me. Back when we were playing extras on set, you shared a chicken drumstick with me. I've always remembered."
Zheng Linxue couldn't even remember such a little thing. She hadn't expected Su Mian to remember it.
She was so glad she liked sharing food with her coworkers at mealtimes.
And glad she had shared with someone who remembered her kindness!
Su Mian stepped onto the stage, gently strummed the guitar, and sang a cheerful, sweet song.
"In the old town, on the long bridge, people like a sea, cars in rows, your smile was like a ray of light, suddenly lighting up my world..."
Even the dim bar seemed to brighten considerably in an instant.
At a booth on the other side, Fang Nuonuo had been chatting with Lin Xi.
Hearing a singing voice that sounded so much like Su Mian's, she began to feel uncomfortable.
She turned to look. It really was Su Mian!
A flicker of irritation crossed her eyes.
Why did Su Mian love stealing the spotlight wherever she went?
And this time, she wasn't even singing one of those absurd songs.
She was actually singing such a normal song!
Fang Nuonuo turned back, putting on a gentle smile in a second. "I really admire Teacher Su's personality. She can draw everyone's attention wherever she goes."
Cheng Qin sat with them, seemingly not picking up on Fang Nuonuo's insinuation that Su Mian loved showing off at all.
She even nodded along. "Exactly! That's why not just anyone can be a celebrity. Su Mian really is so poised and confident wherever she goes!"
Then she waved toward the stage. "Su Mian! You're amazing! It sounds so good! Keep going!"
Fang Nuonuo twitched the corners of her mouth. "Right, haha... she really was born to earn her bread in showbiz."
Although Lin Xi said nothing, he too leaned back on the sofa and listened attentively to Su Mian sing.
Gu Yichen had been drinking alone at the bar. Now, he too watched Su Mian intently.
Su Mian's looks and her personality were practically two extremes.
Big eyes, little dimples, and a smile that was sweet and sunny.
It was just that the things she usually did made people overlook her sweet looks.
He no longer disliked her as much as he had during the first episode.
And after what had happened at the hospital, he did feel some fondness for her.
The appreciation in his eyes grew stronger.
Suddenly, he noticed Duan Xuanyu nearby too, staring fixedly at Su Mian onstage.
There was also a distinct handprint on his face.
Holding back laughter, Gu Yichen asked, "Don't tell me Su Mian hit you?"
Duan Xuanyu gave him an indifferent glance.
He wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. In fact, he looked rather proud.
"She only hit me because she cares about me. Otherwise, why didn't she hit you?"
Gu Yichen: "...???"
Su Mian sang that evening.
She hit the trending searches in the middle of the night.
The production team hadn't even had time to edit and release the footage.
But plenty of people in the bar had posted videos of her singing.
[Help! Mianmian is so sweet, aaaah! I need an insulin shot!]
[So Teacher Su doesn't just do absurd stuff. She can actually sing! And her voice is so sweet!]
[Are you really going to fall in love, Mianmian?]
[This is way too immersive. I'm already riding a bike along the beach with my crush. Golden sunshine and salty sea breezes-that's the taste of summer!]
[Okay, but Teacher Su seems to be singing the bootleg version. I've heard the original. You're supposed to hunt for treasure three times, but Teacher Su only did it once.]
Su Mian's sweetness won widespread recognition among her fans.
It was also from that day onward that Su Mian's fans gained a name: Cotton Candy.
Then a secretly filmed video of Gu Yichen talking to Duan Xuanyu was also uploaded online.
So the entire internet heard that line: "She only hit me because she cares about me."
[Hahaha, Tyrant Bro has such strong puppy energy!]
[Kiss, kiss, kiss...]
[Oh myyy~ she only hit me because~ she~ cares~ about~ me~ why didn't she hit~ you~ then~]
[A love-addled brain is an emperor's best beauty treatment!]
Meanwhile, seeing these trending searches in the hospital, Lu Zhou went mad with jealousy!
He had gone right up to Su Mian last night. He clearly had a chance to show concern for her.
He hadn't expected someone he couldn't identify to suddenly pin him down in the bushes and beat him up!
Lu Zhou's heart filled with profound regret.
Had he known, he never would have sent her onto this dating show and let her heart run wild!
But Lu Zhou still didn't believe she could suddenly let go just like that!
She had once been willing to live or die for him, had shed tears for him countless times.
She loved money so much, yet she had still scrimped and saved to buy him gifts.
How could she suddenly stop loving him?
He absolutely refused to believe it.
Su Mian must be deliberately trying to anger him.
Unable to control himself again, Lu Zhou sent Su Mian messages.
Since she had blocked him on the messaging app, he went to her public social media account, transferred ten thousand yuan first, then sent messages.
Lu Zhou: "Su Mian, I know you don't like me spending time with Qingyun, but in my heart, Qingyun really is just my little sister."
Lu Zhou: "When you got into trouble last night, I went looking for you. Qingyun messaged me then and asked me to pick her up, but I chose you instead of her."
Lu Zhou: "I promise I'll put you first from now on. You've been making a fuss for so long. Surely that's enough."
"What a fucking idiot."
On the way back to the villa, Su Mian opened Lu Zhou's messages.
She accepted the money.
After all, he had squandered all the original owner's savings before. He owed her this.
She also sent back a string of insults.
As for whether to block him... not yet. He might transfer more money later.
The car continued toward the villa.
This time, everyone had taken taxis back.
The three female guests were in Su Mian's car.
The three male guests and the staff were also in separate cars.
As they approached the villa, Su Mian abruptly sat up straight and looked out the window at the pitch-black woods.
The premonition had returned!
Just like the incident with the pregnant woman last time, this involved a human life too!