Ye Qinghe sang and danced onstage. The director cut to the front row, where several celebrities smiled and waved at the camera, sending the fans into another round of screams.
At the chorus, Ye Qinghe pointed her microphone toward the audience, and the entire crowd sang along so loudly that even the floor shook.
Song Shi'an got carried away too. He knew this song far too well; he had played it through his earphones plenty of times while delivering takeout.
He pulled his mask down a little and sang a few lines along with the people around him.
With his voice mixed into a chorus of thousands, he did not think there was anything special about him at all.
The director's camera was sweeping back and forth across the audience. As it reached the second row, the sound equipment picked up one particular voice with precision.
That voice stood out distinctly amid the noisy chorus, deep yet clear, with the ends of the words lilting slightly upward.
The director's hand jerked, and the camera zoomed straight in.
A half-concealed face instantly appeared on the big screen, his mask pulled down to his chin and the stage lights falling across his profile.
The venue suddenly went quiet for a moment. Everyone stared at the big screen, while the person on it was singing along passionately, completely unaware that he had become the center of attention.
The accompaniment continued, but his was the only singing voice echoing through the speakers.
Then he noticed something was wrong too. Why had it suddenly gone so quiet? He stopped and looked up, saw his own enlarged face on the big screen, then saw Lin Fan turn around in the front row with a dumbfounded expression.
He immediately yanked his mask back up, moving so fast he practically left an afterimage.
The director's camera remained trained squarely on his face.
Ye Qinghe froze for a moment onstage too, then immediately smiled and picked the rhythm back up. "Looks like I'm about to be out of a job. Are fans all such good singers these days?"
She glanced toward Song Shi'an, her eyes carrying an unmistakable smile, then turned back to keep the crowd fired up, drawing everyone's attention back to her.
Song Shi'an pulled his cap brim as low as it would go, wishing he could shrink into his seat.
The girl beside him, who had been stealing glances at him earlier, now had her phone raised and was furiously snapping pictures of him.
Lin Fan leaned back from the front row with a complicated expression.
Song Shi'an met his gaze and silently tugged his cap brim down a little farther.
The two-hour concert came to an end.
Ye Qinghe bowed deeply onstage, and the crowd's cheers rose wave after wave, each louder than the last.
This was also Song Shi'an's first time experiencing the appeal of a concert in person. It was nothing like watching a livestream through a screen.
The sheer impact of tens of thousands of people resonating on the same frequency gave even him, someone who usually only listened to music through earphones, goosebumps all over.
While everyone's attention was on Ye Qinghe and the big names in the front row, Lin Fan and Song Shi'an ducked low and slipped out early.
Outside the venue, people were already handing out post-concert check-in materials. The two got straight into the car without looking back.
Once inside, Lin Fan was still caught up in the shock of what had happened. "Bro, I had no idea you were such an amazing singer!"
Remembering his own face on the big screen as he sang along passionately, Song Shi'an tugged down his cap brim. "I nearly died of social embarrassment."
"That's a good thing! It can give you more exposure."
"Let's just let things take their course." Song Shi'an leaned against the seat back. "I went there to listen to music. That was Ye Qinghe's home turf. If people turn around and accuse me of riding her popularity, I'll get another good round of abuse."
Lin Fan thought about it and felt that did seem to make some sense.
They stayed at the hotel for another night. After being swept up in the excitement all evening, Song Shi'an washed up in his room, collapsed into bed, and fell asleep.
Lin Fan, however, was far from idle in the room next door. He curled up in bed and scrolled through Weibo all night.
Tonight's concert generated a great deal of discussion, and several celebrities made the trending searches.
A small number of netizens had also clipped Song Shi'an's five seconds of screen time separately. Since the audience area was dimly lit, the footage was not particularly clear, and most of the discussion focused on his singing.
"That vocal tone is incredible. Even with so many people singing together, you can still hear his voice clearly."
Soon, someone identified him.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! That's our Shi'an!"
"Who's Shi'an? A singer? His voice is seriously amazing!"
People immediately began recommending Song Shi'an.
A group of netizens followed the trail online and discovered that he only had two works: Aspiration to Reach the Clouds, in which he appeared for less than twenty minutes, and The Emperor's Ambition, which had yet to be released.
He did not even have a proper promotional photo. His pinned Weibo post was still the meme he had posted during the last livestream promotion for the drama.
Someone commented resentfully, "Lured us in just to slaughter us. With a face like that, how can there be so little content?"
"But I'll be taking Shi'an home!"
"You above me, let go of him! I was here first!"
Song Shi'an inexplicably gained another batch of fans, who had come for his singing and fallen into the fandom for his looks.
But there were too many big names that night, and this little splash was soon drowned out by the trending searches about Ye Qinghe and the other celebrities.
Lin Fan switched to his alternate account and frantically promoted Song Shi'an in the super topic.
He posted a nine-photo grid, throwing in all the candid on-set pictures of Song Shi'an he had saved on his phone.
He gained a few followers over the course of the night too, and took a satisfied screenshot.
Early the next morning, the two flew out of Rongcheng.
After landing, Song Shi'an stretched. "Lin Fan, thanks for all your hard work these past few days. There's nothing going on for now, so take a few days off."
Lin Fan nodded, and they parted at the airport.
Song Shi'an dragged his suitcase back to the villa, tossed his luggage into the entryway, changed his clothes, and headed straight to the wholesale market without a moment's pause.
Besides clams with glass noodles, he planned to add braised duck parts to his evening menu.
He had been unable to forget the braised food he had eaten at the Rongcheng night market, so he studied the recipe after returning.
Information on preparing braising stock automatically popped up from the Top-Tier Culinary Arts knowledge base, with spice proportions precise down to the gram. He spent ages selecting ingredients from one market stall after another-star anise, cassia bark, bay leaves, black cardamom, Sichuan peppercorns, and dried chilies-then carried a large bag home.
As soon as he got home, he plunged into the kitchen.
He cleaned the ingredients one by one and blanched them to remove their gamy odor.
The braising stock bubbled away in the pot, the steam carrying the layered fragrance of the spices up and spreading it throughout the kitchen.
Worried the smell would be too strong to disperse, he opened all the windows.
That afternoon, several residents were out strolling and walking their dogs. As they approached Villa Seven, a rich braising aroma burrowed into their noses without warning.
"Do you smell something delicious?"
"I was just about to say that! That's braised food, right? The smell's making me hungry."
"Where's it coming from? Didn't the people in Villa Seven only just move in? I haven't heard anything about a chef living there."
In the kitchen, Song Shi'an had no idea people outside were searching for the source of the aroma.
He lifted all the braised duck parts out of the stock. The duck necks were coated in a glossy, sauce-brown sheen, and braising juices trickled down through the gaps between the duck wing bones.
He picked up a duck gizzard, sliced it, and popped a piece into his mouth. The stock was savory and mildly spicy, with a faint sweet finish, while the gizzard was springy, crisp, and tender. He ate several slices in succession before stopping.
He wiped his hands, picked up his phone, and sent a message to the snack group: "I'll be setting up soon! There's a new item today."
The group instantly exploded.
"Boss! You finally showed up! I guarantee I'll be the first one there!"
The next second, someone dropped a photo showing the spot at the night market where he had set up last time, captioned: "Sorry, I just happen to be here."
"I'm on my way!!!"
Song Shi'an chuckled, portioned out the braised duck parts, packed the clams and glass noodles neatly as well, and pushed his cart out the door.
He had barely gone any distance from Villa Seven when several people approached him-the same ones who had smelled the aroma while out walking.
One of them, a young man named Luo Yang, froze for a moment when he saw him pushing the cart.
Wait, they even allowed people to set up snack stalls in this residential complex now?