Chen Duo had just attended top-tier idol Gu Yanqiu’s concert, and her heart was still pounding.
During the concert, he sang and danced for three consecutive hours, and Chen Duo captured many godly photos from the front row.
At the end, Gu Yanqiu even took a group photo from her angle, capturing the entire venue. The screams in the audience never stopped.
Being photographed by her own idol was truly a fan’s highlight moment.
After the concert ended, some of the senior fans from his fanbase had set up a beverage truck by the roadside. They were giving away various merchandise for free, and since the concert ended so late that the subway had stopped running, it was said that Gu Yanqiu had rented several buses to take them back to the city for free.
No wonder he had stayed popular for so long.
He always made an effort to meet his fans halfway.
As the concert crowd dispersed, many were reluctant to throw away their glow sticks. They chatted with fellow fans about how explosive the concert had been. They believed that one day, their idol’s concerts would be held all over the world.
…
After it was over, Chen Duo was looking for a restroom. The one on the first floor was packed, and she heard that there were restrooms in the same location on every floor from one to five.
So she went floor by floor, but each one was extremely crowded.
Finally, on the fifth floor, she found an empty restroom and was able to relieve herself comfortably—she had been holding it in for far too long.
But when Chen Duo came out, she suddenly felt something was off. Where was the lively noise of the crowd?
Why could she only hear the soft sobbing of a few girls?
Chen Duo’s hair stood on end. Don’t mess around, it’s the middle of the night.
Summoning her courage, she stepped out to find the stairs to go down. But even though she had clearly gone up to the fifth floor, the sign she saw now indicated she was on the first floor. She spotted two or three people not far away.
She felt slightly reassured.
Before she could even ask them anything, she heard one of the girls say, “Gu Yanqiu is leaving the industry. My youth is over.”
Her words triggered another wave of crying.
“Who said Gu Yanqiu is leaving the industry?” Chen Duo asked, shocked.
Was he giving up his 40 million fans? Was he canceling his future world tour? Was he abandoning his dream of always standing on stage? Was this top-tier idol quitting?
Everyone turned to look at her.
Chen Duo was startled too.
All these girls had red-rimmed eyes. Several of them had eyes swollen like peaches.
One who seemed a bit more composed showed Chen Duo a message on her phone: “See, he’s been called out by a big influencer. His fanbase wasn’t that big to begin with, and now it’s just adding insult to injury.”
Chen Duo glanced at the screen—it was still that devastatingly handsome face. But unlike his former confident and spirited self, he now looked gloomy and dejected. He even seemed somewhat hunched, which diminished his good looks.
This isn’t right!
Chen Duo used the girl’s phone to search for Gu Yanqiu again.
The trending keywords were: #GuYanqiuGetOutOfEntertainmentIndustry
#GuYanqiuThrowsHisWeightAround
#GuYanqiuIsKept
Chen Duo wanted to keep reading, but the girl reached for her phone back. Chen Duo had almost forgotten and quickly apologized, then pulled out her own phone.
The moment she saw her phone, that uneasy feeling washed over her again.
She clearly remembered carrying the latest flip phone model, with Gu Yanqiu’s official accessory hanging from it.
But now she was holding a Fruit 18 PRO—a backup phone she hadn’t used in over six months.
She opened her phone and searched for Gu Yanqiu, desperate to figure out what was going on.
Some people actually dared to tear down a top-tier idol—his fans’ attack power was no joke.
As for the sugar daddy rumors, they were completely baseless.
Who could possibly be richer than him? He was a super idol who charged tens of millions for a single variety show appearance.
But soon, she looked up Gu Yanqiu and found he only had a pitiful 380,000 followers, with each blog post getting just three to four hundred views. Only his latest post had over twenty thousand comments, but they were all telling him to get out of the entertainment industry.
She was dumbfounded.
She immediately rushed back to the restroom to check the mirror—she was still herself, and the ID card she pulled out also read Chen Duo.
Goosebumps rose all over her skin.
The girls continued crying.
It took Chen Duo a while to figure out what was going on. She had crossed over into her parallel universe self.
In this world, Gu Yanqiu wasn’t the top-tier idol with tens of millions of fans but a nobody who debuted through a talent show, only to fade into obscurity after his limited group disbanded a year later.
These fans were his original fans who had stuck with him since his debut, claiming he had been framed. But no one believed them. Gu Yanqiu was about to flop before he even got famous.
Chen Duo suddenly felt overwhelmed by the flood of information, her head spinning as if the ceiling were rotating. Just as she was about to say something, her legs gave way and she fainted, still able to hear the girls’ sharp screams.
In the last second before her consciousness faded, she thought: She was wrong, she was truly wrong. She never should have looked for a secluded, empty restroom—she should have just waited in line like everyone else.
Chen Duo opened her eyes and sat up, the smell of hospital disinfectant hitting her. She immediately grabbed her phone—still a Fruit 18 Pro—as one of the girls beside her said with lingering fear, “You scared me to death. The doctor said you have low blood sugar and gave you a glucose shot.”
Another girl chimed in, “I just used your phone to contact your boyfriend. He’s on his way.”
“Huh?” She didn’t have a boyfriend! In her own world, Chen Duo was a professional fan photographer—how did she end up with a boyfriend here? This was so embarrassing.
Just then, the door burst open with a bang, and a man rushed in panting, holding something in his hand.
Chen Duo looked over. It was actually someone she knew—her neighbor since childhood: “Xu Kaiming.”
Xu Kaiming had standard dyed blonde hair, but his fashion sense was good. The moment he rushed in, even the fangirls who had brought her in whispered, “So handsome.”
Xu Kaiming looked at her, immediately grabbing her hand. “I won’t break up. I was wrong, Duoduo. From now on, you can photograph whoever you want—I won’t get jealous anymore.”
“Ah.” Chen Duo never expected she’d end up dating her neighbor. To be honest, Xu Kaiming was her childhood friend, always surrounded by admirers, while Chen Duo’s idol-chasing schedule never aligned with his. “How long have we been dating?”
Xu Kaiming gripped her hand. “Duoduo, what’s wrong? Did you hit your head? Do you have amnesia? Doctor, where’s the doctor?” He started shouting.
Chen Duo found him embarrassing. “No loud noises in the hospital. Keep it down.”
Seeing she was still as disdainful of him as ever, Xu Kaiming relaxed and cautiously tested the waters, “We’ve been together for six months.”
Xu Kaiming’s eyes always drifted to the left when he lied. She might not know how her parallel self behaved, but she could read her childhood friend like a book.
“Tell me the truth,” Chen Duo said.
Xu Kaiming swallowed hard, his gaze still drifting slightly to the left. “One month.”
“You bastard…”
“Twenty hours. That’s it,” Xu Kaiming said, his eyes shifting just a little.
“Be honest with me.”
Slumping onto Chen Duo’s hospital bed in resignation, Xu Kaiming pouted angrily. “Twenty minutes. So what if it was truth or dare? You agreed to the dare. Now you want to break up with me as soon as we’re out. I don’t accept that. Besides, I never stopped you from looking at other guys.” After saying this, he took out his gift.
It was all too familiar to Chen Duo—an extended telephoto lens, commonly known as a camera. Its price was equivalent to an apartment in a third-tier city. It was the luxurious top-tier equipment for a fan photographer.
Chen Duo’s expression instantly changed as she picked it up to adjust it.
The moment the camera was revealed, all the young girls in the room collectively gasped.
Oh my god. I thought he was just a fellow fan, but he’s actually loaded.
Seeing that she liked it, Xu Kaiming secretly reached for her hand. “Duoduo, let’s not break up, okay? I’ve liked you for so many years.” He knew there were others in the room, but Chen Duo usually chased celebrities like crazy—if he didn’t solidify their relationship now, he was afraid he might not be able to find her later.
Chen Duo’s ears instantly burned bright red.
The fellow fan sisters looked like they were witnessing something straight out of a fantasy. Several of them wanted to leave, but their feet seemed rooted to the spot.
Chen Duo said, “But—”
Xu Kaiming cut in, “My family has factories in Yiwu—3D printing factories, cotton doll factories, printing factories, clothing factories, and toy factories. Let’s chase stars together from now on, okay? You can print as many photocards and merchandise as you want.”
Chen Duo’s identity in this world hadn’t changed either. People who grew up in their kind of villa neighborhoods all had a bit of money. But she truly hadn’t known what her childhood friend Xu Kaiming did for a living. Now that he’d revealed himself as a second-generation factory owner, he’d precisely hit Chen Duo’s weak spot.
Did that mean… unlimited access to celebrity merchandise?
“Fine.”
Xu Kaiming immediately broke into a wide grin. “How about a kiss?”
As soon as he started, the others immediately joined in, chanting, “Kiss! Kiss!”
Chen Duo slapped him across the face with a sharp crack. Xu Kaiming just grinned even more foolishly.
Chen Duo got up and told Xu Kaiming to drive them to Gu Yanqiu’s concert.
Xu Kaiming enthusiastically escorted them to the venue.
When they arrived at the scene, the previously cheerful atmosphere suddenly turned somewhat heavy.
After all, everyone knew this might be his final concert.