Dark Fire chapter 42
Confession
On the morning of Halloween, the digital album of the boy band SparkleBomb was newly released.
It was the last group album for the five-member group, but it wasn’t the highly anticipated event everyone expected. Fan clubs had already issued statements a week earlier saying they wouldn’t support it. Although group fans and various CP fans tried to boost sales, their efforts were insufficient. Within two hours of the album’s release, the sales were only one-third of the previous year’s album.
The group chat with the remaining four members was silent. Half an hour earlier, Qi Liangyu had jumped in with a “Can you all say something?” but received no response. Zhong Yiran and Deng Lanluo were silent, and Ling Zhuo didn’t want to speak either.
He only sent a message to Zhang Jing: “Jing Jie, do we really have to do this?”
The statement was led by his solo fan club. Since the last major feud, his fan circle had completely severed ties with other fan clubs, including group fans. When the new album teaser came out, the fan club quickly issued a statement, clearly marking their separation. Other solo fan clubs, feeling insulted by Ling Zhuo’s fans, also followed suit and issued their statements, refusing to support the album. No one wanted to be blamed for the album’s poor sales.
Ling Zhuo wasn’t foolish; he knew Zhang Jing was behind these moves. He understood Zhang Jing’s intentions but really didn’t want to make things so ugly.
Zhang Jing replied: “What else can we do? Are we supposed to let your fans bleed for the group? Forget it, you have a new endorsement and magazine announcement next month. It’s better if they save some money for them.”
Ling Zhuo: “With the group album’s sales looking so poor, if people say our group is fading, can I be left out of it?”
Zhang Jing: “So what? Real endorsements and magazine sales will shut people up. When you release your solo album next year, your fans will definitely break some new records. Why rush?”
Ling Zhuo didn’t want to argue further; he couldn’t win.
When Lu Chixie returned, Ling Zhuo was still sitting on the sofa in the living room, staring blankly at the TV screen without watching it.
Hearing footsteps, he turned around and reached out to Lu Chixie: “You’re back.”
Lu Chixie: “Why is the TV on but you’re not watching it?”
Lu Chixie sat down, and Ling Zhuo lay down with his head on Lu Chixie’s lap, murmuring, “It’s boring alone at home. There’s nothing good to watch.”
Lu Chixie had been out for work in the morning and had just returned close to noon. It was indeed quite dull for him alone.
Lu Chixie reached out and tapped his face, his gaze falling on Ling Zhuo’s phone screen, which was displaying the group album’s purchase page.
After taking a look, he raised his eyebrows: “The sales don’t seem great.”
Lu Chixie wasn’t familiar with the music industry but had heard that the sales of popular stars’ songs had been skyrocketing in recent years, often reaching tens of millions. As a top star, Ling Zhuo’s group, also a major traffic group, had only sold slightly over ten million in two hours, and it looked like sales were already slowing down. The result was indeed far from impressive.
Ling Zhuo: “With all the solo fans not supporting it, it’s already good to sell this much.”
Lu Chixie scrolled down, and below were fan contribution rankings. Ling Zhuo’s fan club was still at the top, even though they had claimed not to support it. Casual fans buying a few albums still outnumbered others by a significant margin.
But these fans had changed their fan club name to “Ling Zhuo Solos, Group Disbanded,” with a bloody black-and-red “Disbanded” as the avatar. It was quite a sarcastic move to keep it at the top spot.
Lu Chixie commented honestly: “Your fans are quite fierce.”
Ling Zhuo: “……say less, will you?”
Lu Chixie laughed and continued scrolling. Since the solo fans were not supporting it, the top ten was mostly filled with CP fans. Ling Zhuo and Zhong Yiran’s CP fan club ranked third, the only CP fan club in the top three.
Lu Chixie read out the name: “Zhuo-Ran Pair? The name isn’t that nice, but there are quite a few fans.”
Ling Zhuo tried to grab his phone back, slightly annoyed: “Even if it’s not nice, is it worse than Ling-Chi?”
Lu Chixie didn’t let him succeed and asked: “Do you often browse other CPs’ threads?”
Ling Zhuo: “You’re talking nonsense.”
Lu Chixie: “Ling-Chi is doing well too, making it into the top ten, though it’s only seventh. It’s the only non-group CP fan club in the top ten.”
Ling Zhuo: “……That’s because you spent money yourself.”
Just DarkFire alone bought 5,200 copies, each priced at twenty-five, totaling 130,000. This money wasn’t a small sum; it must have been covered by Lu Chixie himself.
Lu Chixie clearly had money to burn.
Lu Chixie ignored him, threw the phone back, took his own, and also downloaded the music app, registering a new account.
Ten minutes later, Ling Zhuo watched as Ling-Chi’s CP fan club rose to third place, pushing Zhuo-Ran Pair down. Checking it, he saw that the top contributor was now a new account with the ID “Lu Chixie,” which had bought 9,140 copies.
Ling Zhuo: “……”
Ling Zhuo: “You don’t have to burn money like this, do you? Is it fun for you?”
Lu Chixie: “I’m happy to do it. Ling, you don’t need to worry about the money. Or are you unhappy because I pushed down your other CP?”
Ling Zhuo: “You’re crazy. Using your own name as the ID and spending over 200,000—aren’t you afraid people will know it’s you?”
Lu Chixie shrugged: “Let them know. To hype a CP, you have to put in some effort and take practical action.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t want to continue talking.
Lu Chixie pulled him up: “Let’s go eat.”
At the dining table, Ling Zhuo was still looking at his phone. As expected, once Lu Chixie’s ID hit the rankings, screenshots appeared online asking if it was really him.
But no matter how much speculation there was, without concrete evidence, it eventually died down.
Ling Zhuo felt that the more than 200,000 yuan spent by Lu Chixie was somewhat of a waste, but it’s hard to put a price on making this young master happy… so be it.
Lu Chixie suddenly said, “If the sales aren’t good this time, just forget about it. Don’t worry too much; things will get better in the future.”
Ling Zhuo was taken aback and looked up at him. Lu Chixie was eating and seemed to have said it casually.
Ling Zhuo said, “I thought you’d be like Jing Jie, hoping that the group’s album would sell poorly.”
Lu Chixie asked, “Ling, do you think of me as a bad guy?”
Ling Zhuo awkwardly explained, “That’s not what I meant.”
Lu Chixie replied, “It’s only natural that you’d feel discouraged if the song you put so much effort into doesn’t sell well.”
Ling Zhuo said, “Thanks for the comfort, but actually, Jing Jie is right. For songs like ours, apart from milking the fanbase, how many casual listeners would buy them? Sales don’t really mean much.”
Lu Chixie was unconvinced. “Then just make the music you like. If you want something, go for it. Why hesitate?”
Ling Zhuo’s heart was moved slightly, and he nodded. “You’re right.”
Lu Chixie gestured to him: “Let’s eat.”
In the afternoon, Ling Zhuo had more work to do. The new album was released and needed promotion, so he had to attend a live broadcast program on a certain live website.
The location wasn’t far from Lu Chixie’s house. Yang Ming came to pick him up an hour early, did a quick styling in the van, and then they headed to the venue to join the others.
Before the live broadcast started, they waited in the lounge.
Ling Zhuo arrived the last. After greeting everyone, he sat down. Qi Liangyu noticed the watch on his wrist and leaned in to look. “Wow, the W brand’s Twin Stars series with diamonds. This must be over 4 million, right? Zhuo Ge, you really went all out.”
This kid hadn’t noticed the watch when Ling Zhuo moved house last time. Today, it was like discovering a new world, and he couldn’t help but be amazed and envious.
Ling Zhuo responded, “Hmm…”
Even Deng Lanluo became curious and leaned over.
Ling Zhuo didn’t explain much. There was no need to let everyone know about his relationship with Lu Chixie. As for the watch, if it did help land an endorsement deal in the end, others wouldn’t think too much of it. They’d just assume he was promoting it early.
Zhong Yiran glanced at Ling Zhuo with a complex expression.
Later, the staff came to inform them to go to the studio. Before they left, Zhong Yiran pulled Ling Zhuo aside and quietly reminded him, “Are you really going to wear that watch on the show? It’s not good to be too high-profile.”
Ling Zhuo frowned. “Captain, don’t worry about it.”
Zhong Yiran slowly let go. “Sorry.”
The live broadcast lasted for an hour and focused entirely on their new album.
Ling Zhuo sat at the end and spoke rarely. When it was his turn, he said, “If anyone is interested, buy a copy and give it a listen. It’s not too expensive. Thanks for your support.”
This segment helped boost album sales a little, and the effect was pretty good.
In the next segment, the host mentioned that they had received many letters from fans and asked each of them to pick one to read aloud.
Ling Zhuo picked up three or four letters, all from his fans. He casually flipped through them and suddenly paused.
One blue envelope had “To Ling Zhuo” written in elaborate calligraphy. The handwriting looked familiar. Almost as if guided by fate, he pulled it out and opened it.
As he unfolded the letter, he glanced over and confirmed his suspicion. The handwriting was indeed Lu Chixie’s.
Though there was no signature, Ling Zhuo had seen Lu Chixie’s annotations on scripts, and the handwriting was sharp and stylish like this.
The host had already spoken, suggesting that Ling Zhuo, who was sitting at the edge, start reading first.
Ling Zhuo did not refuse. He calmed himself, looked back at the letter, and began to read slowly.
“To Ling Zhuo,
I don’t know if you’ll pick my letter, but I want to tell you that I saw you a few years ago. Your singing captivated me, and I couldn’t forget it. I regret wasting several years before truly getting to know you. You’re handsome, sing beautifully, have great stage presence, and your personality is adorable and likable. I’m serious about liking you; once I like someone, I like them for real.
If you think this love letter is good, could you say a word of love to me in front of the camera?”
The letter was only a little over a hundred words long, but Ling Zhuo read it hesitantly and blushed deeply.
After reading, the host exaggeratedly said, “Wow, this fan is really bold and enthusiastic. Ling Zhuo, will you fulfill the fan’s wish?”
Everyone laughed, and Ling Zhuo helplessly said, “Since it was picked, I’ll fulfill it.”
The camera focused on him. Ling Zhuo fluttered his eyelashes and smiled. “I like you too, really.”
Everyone cheered and clapped. The live broadcast screen was flooded with messages from people claiming to be the letter writer. Ling Zhuo felt strangely happy. This kind of public yet secret confession on camera was something only Lu Chixie would dare to plan, and it was quite thrilling.
The live broadcast lasted just over forty minutes. Afterward, Ling Zhuo sent a message to Lu Chixie, said goodbye to the others, and left first.
When he reached the parking lot downstairs, he unexpectedly saw Lu Chixie’s car waiting. As he approached, Lu Chixie honked the horn and then opened the car door.
Ling Zhuo told Yang Ming to leave first and got into the car. “Why are you here?”
Lu Chixie asked, “Can’t I come?”
Ling Zhuo buckled his seatbelt. “It’s not that; I just didn’t expect you to come pick me up.”
Lu Chixie said, “Let’s go out to eat.”
As the car drove out of the parking lot, Ling Zhuo occasionally glanced at Lu Chixie.
Lu Chixie looked straight ahead. “What are you looking at?”
Ling Zhuo asked, “How did you manage to get the letter into the show?”
Lu Chixie replied, “Yang Ming told me about this segment, so I asked him to deliver it.”
Ling Zhuo said, “You’re really bored, aren’t you?”
Lu Chixie glanced at him and smiled. “Well, it also required your cooperation to pick out my letter from among those.”
Ling Zhuo didn’t say anything more. He hadn’t expected that Lu Chixie would actually write him a love letter and make such a bold move to have it read out on the show. This person really…
Ling Zhuo: “Lu Chixie, what exactly did your letter mean? What did you mean by saying you were captivated by my singing years ago and not being able to forget? What about the first love you mentioned before? Is it me?”
Lu Chixie: “Yes.”
Ling Zhuo: “…Really?”
Lu Chixie: “Really.”
Ling Zhuo was at a loss for words. He wasn’t sure if he was shocked by the fact or annoyed that this so-called first love, which had bothered him for so long, turned out to be himself.
“Is it fun to mess with me?” Ling Zhuo asked, holding his breath. “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
Lu Chixie: “It is quite fun. It’s rare to see you get jealous over something related to me.”
Ling Zhuo turned his face away and looked out the window, ignoring him as if he was genuinely upset.
The car stopped at an intersection with a red light.
Lu Chixie pinched Ling Zhuo’s hand resting by his side. “Are you upset again?”
Ling Zhuo: “When did this happen?”
Lu Chixie: “When did what happen?”
Ling Zhuo: “When did you get to know me?”
Lu Chixie mentioned a bar’s name: “Four years ago, I went there with friends for drinks. I wasn’t in a good mood, and I heard you sing, so I remembered it. Unfortunately, you left that night.”
Ling Zhuo recalled that it was a bar near the music academy where he was studying. A classmate of his had a gig there, and he had covered for that classmate once when he was sick. It indeed happened.
…It turns out Lu Chixie is quite sentimental.
Lu Chixie: “Do you remember now?”
Ling Zhuo suddenly leaned over and quickly kissed his lips, avoiding eye contact as if he was very embarrassed.
Lu Chixie: “What does this mean?”
Ling Zhuo whispered: “Congratulations on meeting your first love again.”
Lu Chixie pointed to a camera outside: “It will be filmed.”
Ling Zhuo cleared his throat and obediently sat back down.
Lu Chixie smiled as the light turned green, and he pressed the gas pedal