At seven o'clock in the morning, Cheng Che was woken up by his alarm clock.
He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and glanced out the window at Paris.
As dawn broke, the Eiffel Tower appeared and disappeared in the morning mist in the distance.
He got out of bed, washed up, and changed into some simple clothes.
When I went downstairs, there was already a group of people standing in the hotel lobby.
Su Jianqiu leaned back on the sofa and yawned. Yan Ruanning sat next to her, arms crossed, looking rather unhappy.
Han Zheng stood in the corner drinking coffee, Ning Qing leaned against the wall with her eyes closed, and Zhou Yuan, Huang Ming, and Shen Chi were chatting in hushed tones.
Qin Lie stood next to the PD, holding a glass of water in his hand.
"Everyone's here." The PD looked around to confirm the number of people. "The car's waiting outside, let's go."
The group left the hotel and got into two minivans.
The streets of Paris are quiet in the morning; the streetlights have just been turned off, and the aroma of freshly baked bread wafts from the bakeries along the roadside.
The car drove very steadily, passing through one traffic light after another, and turned into a narrow street.
"This is my first time in a police station," Su Jianqiu said, leaning back in her chair, a hint of helplessness in her voice. "And it's a police station in Paris."
Yan Ruanning didn't speak, but just propped her chin up and looked out the window.
Her expression wasn't good; her lips were slightly pursed.
As Cheng Che passed by, she glanced up at him, then turned back.
" The Louvre Museum was robbed," Yan Ruanning muttered softly. "How could something like this happen? I've been to Paris three times and never encountered anything like this before."
Su Jianqiu leaned over and patted her shoulder. "Don't be angry, just think of it as a wonderful travel adventure."
Yan Ruanning sighed and didn't reply.
We arrived at the police station.
It wasn't one of those skyscrapers from a movie, but an ordinary five-story building with a blue, white, and red sign hanging at the entrance.
Several police cars were parked at the entrance, and several uniformed police officers were standing there.
The crew and guests got out of the car and waited at the entrance.
The PD went in, spoke with the officer who was receiving them, and then came out waving.
"Go inside. They know we're here."
The group walked inside.
The police station lobby was small, with a few benches, a reception desk, and several notice boards hanging on the wall.
Several people were already seated in the lobby; judging by their attire, they were tourists.
There were two people speaking English, one speaking French, and a middle-aged woman with an Asia appearance.
Upon learning that they weren't being treated differently, the group felt somewhat better.
Then Cheng Che went inside.
[ Stars Surrounding the Moon ] Triggered.
The lights in the hall weren't very bright, but everyone's eyes still unconsciously turned towards it.
The Asia woman on the bench looked up at Cheng Che and paused for a moment.
Two English-speaking tourists also looked over, their expressions changing from boredom to curiosity.
Cheng Che found a chair, sat down, and leaned back to wait for instructions.
A young policeman walked out from behind the reception desk, intending to verify their identity information.
He looked down at the documents in his hand, walked up to Cheng Che, and then looked up.
He paused for a moment, stunned.
"You are... Cheng Che?"
Cheng Che nodded.
The policeman's eyes lit up immediately.
He lowered his voice, but the excitement in his tone was unmistakable. "You're Cheng Che, the tennis player? The Australian Open Champion?"
Cheng Che nodded again.
The police officer took a deep breath and glanced at the reception desk.
A policewoman was sitting behind the reception desk, and she was looking this way at that moment.
The two women's eyes met, and the policewoman's lips clearly formed the words, "It really is him."
Then the Asia woman stood up from the bench. She was probably in her forties, wearing a dark gray coat. She hesitated for a few seconds, then walked over cautiously.
"Excuse me... are you Cheng Che?" she asked in Chinese.
Cheng Che nodded.
"I'm your fan." Her voice trembled slightly. "I've been watching you play tennis since the Tokyo Open. I stayed up all night to watch your Australian Open final, coming back from 0-2 down to win 3-2, that was amazing."
Cheng Che smiled at her, "Thank you."
The woman's eyes reddened. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out a notepad and a pen, handing them over. "Could you sign this for me?"
Cheng Che took the pen, signed his name, and handed the note back to her.
Other tourists in the hall also witnessed this scene; some began to whisper among themselves, while others took out their phones.
The policewoman behind the reception desk stood up, walked over, and asked something. The young policeman spoke a few words in French to her, and the policewoman's expression changed.
What happened next left the other celebrities in the group speechless.
Several police officers walked out of the police station corridor one after another. Some were carrying documents, and some were holding coffee, but their eyes were all glancing towards the lobby.
A middle-aged policeman with a small mustache walked over and asked a question in French. The young policeman replied with a few words, and the middle-aged policeman's expression visibly brightened.
Then he started queuing.
Yes, in line.
He stood behind the young policeman, holding a piece of paper and a pen.
Further on, two more police officers, a man and a woman, walked over, each carrying a notebook or a cell phone.
The policewoman behind the reception desk also came out and joined the last line.
Cheng Che glanced at it and smiled.
Let's do it one at a time.
For the next ten minutes or so, the lobby of the Paris police station transformed into an autograph session.
The police officers came up one by one, some saying "Congratulations" in English, some saying "Fantastic" in French, and some just smiling and extending their hands.
Cheng Che signed off on each person one by one, occasionally asking, "What's your name?", sometimes smiling, and sometimes replying in English, "Thank you for your support."
At the back of the line, an elderly man with gray hair, probably in his sixties, stepped forward. He was wearing a uniform and had more badges on his shoulders than the others. He walked up to Cheng Che and smiled.
"I'm the director here," he said in broken English. "My grandson is a fan of yours. He plays tennis, and he said he wants to be like you."
Cheng Che stood up and nodded to him. "Thank you. Please tell him to practice hard."
The bureau chief's smile deepened as he pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, "Could you sign one for him for me? His name is Louis."
Cheng Che took the paper, signed it, and then wrote a sentence in French: "To Louis, good luck."
The bureau chief took the paper, read the line of text, and couldn't stop smiling.
"Thank you," he said, then turned and left.
The other celebrities watching all this had complicated expressions.
Han Zheng held his coffee cup, his hand hovering in mid-air, his mouth slightly open.
Su Jianqiu leaned against the wall, her eyes wide, muttering, "My God."
Zhou Yuan was frantically filming the video, saying, "This has to be posted."
Ning Qing leaned against the corner, her expression still indifferent, but the corners of her mouth curved slightly.
Yan Ruanning sat on a bench, watching Cheng Che being surrounded by a group of police officers asking for autographs.
She was sulking just now, but her expression has completely changed.
She rested her chin on her hand, a slight upturn at the corners of her mouth, and an indescribable light in her eyes.
She recalled the scene in " Life Slowed Down " where Cheng Che sang in the Mushroom House.
She was sitting nearby at the time, watching everyone being drawn to him.
The same applies now.
At the other end of the hall, the Asia woman and several other tourists were filming the scene with their phones.
She filmed a video, took a few photos, and then opened a Xia Country social media platform and posted a message.
The caption is very simple:
"I originally came to the Paris police station to cooperate with an investigation, but I happened to run into the crew of ' Walking the Flower Road Together ' who were also there to give statements. I was worried that I might be harassed in a foreign country, but who knew that all the police officers at the Paris police station were Cheng Che's fans! They all signed autographs! Even the chief said with a smile that his grandson was a fan of Cheng Che! That's what an international superstar is!"
After sending the message, she didn't think much of it and put her phone away.
Unbeknownst to her, the post was seen by a Cheng Che fan who was slacking off just minutes later.
After checking in on the supertopic, the fan browsed the news for a while and then saw this post.
She read it twice to make sure she wasn't mistaken, then excitedly took a screenshot and posted it in the super topic.
The hashtag instantly went viral.
Then this post was moved to Weibo.
Paris minutes later, # Cheng Che # became a trending topic.
The comment section was filled with jubilation.
What does it mean to be an international superstar?!
[ The Paris police department has turned into a fan meeting, I'm speechless.]
Even the bureau chief came to ask for his autograph, Cheng Che, you've got some serious connections!
[The way those police officers lined up was so cute, just like when I lined up for his autograph back then]
[It feels amazing to be recognized as a fan by Xia Country!]
Cheng Che is truly an international icon now.
[Let's see who dares to say our Che Baby is just a celebrity; he's an international superstar.]
[ Paris Police Department: We were just taking a statement, but it turned into a book signing event.]
The Louvre Museum theft is a big deal, but Cheng Che's book signing is an even bigger deal.
If I were that visitor who posted the thread, I'd be laughing in my sleep!
[So when is Cheng Che coming to my city? I want to queue up for his autograph too!]