"That's a shame."

Xu Lin said regretfully, "That young man will definitely be very sad."

Jiang Ye smiled and waved her hand, "I was just kidding."

If there really was a very talented newcomer who was her fan, and maybe even joined the company because of her.

She would actually feel a little bit like, "Wow, my fans are so awesome."

Before, half of the Chasing Light Girls trainees were her fans.

Later, half of the show crew were her fans.

Now, even the company has her fans.

Jiang Ye let out a sigh, like a sea king.

Idol charm is just too high, there's no way around it.

She thought for a moment and then said, "I never thought that nineteen-year-old Jiang Ye would already have the responsibility to mentor juniors, I'm under a lot of pressure."

Xu Lin: "..."

Xu Lin: "Okay, okay, stop messing around, I'll send you the time and location of the annual meeting later, remember to attend, don't be late."

Jiang Ye: "Got it!"

But after closing the video conference window, Jiang Ye looked at the message from her manager and couldn't help but ask, "Can I unsubscribe from this message?"

Tan Meng: "..."

•••

"Hey, He Zhou!"

"Did you hear? Jiang Ye will be at the company's annual meeting!"

"Aren't you her fan?! Get ready, you can see your idol then."

He Zhou's shoulder was patted by a colleague.

He raised his head when he heard the two words "Jiang Ye", and after briefly processing the information, his mood suddenly lifted.

He nodded to his colleague, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, you're welcome."

He Zhou had just finished his postgraduate entrance exam two weeks ago.

Although the results hadn't come out yet, he had made a lot of connections and resources during his preparation, and one of his teachers recommended him to Guang Ying Entertainment.

Guang Ying Entertainment, which was still in its early stages, was signing trainees while also preparing to expand recruitment for other departments.

After all, if they want to push their own groups in the future, it's more reassuring to have their own people in music production than to outsource it.

He Zhou temporarily joined Guang Ying Entertainment as an intern.

He Zhou was very polite to his seniors and colleagues when he first joined the company, as he was new to the environment.

But his politeness always had a sense of distance.

Colleagues initially thought he was difficult to get along with.

But later they discovered that he seemed to be very interested in Jiang Ye.

He never listened to other gossip, but whenever the department talked about Jiang Ye, he would immediately look up and start listening attentively to information about her.

Got it.

This is just a fan chasing their idol.

Inspirational fan fiction comes to life!

Some people couldn't help but ask He Zhou, and he never denied it.

So, gradually, everyone around him assumed that he was Jiang Ye's little fan.

And suddenly, everyone became familiar with each other.

Jiang Ye, everyone knows her.

Who in the whole company isn't a fan of Jiang Ye?

Only He Zhou knew in his heart that the definition of "fan" wasn't very accurate for him.

It's not that he came to Guang Ying Entertainment because he likes her, but rather because he believes in her.

Because the company she chose to sign with must be a good company.

When He Zhou made his decision, his roommate Ren Hang was shocked.

"No way, she's that important to you?"

"Are you crazy from chasing stars?"

He Zhou just said, "It's not because of that."

Of course, it wasn't because of fanatical enthusiasm that he made this all-or-nothing decision.

He had always had this dream, but he had kept it locked away, in a box that couldn't see the light.

Then Jiang Ye came and lit a lamp for him.

But the key was always in his hand.

Jiang Ye just made him face the question of whether he wanted to unlock it or not.

In the end, he chose to unlock it.

So, Jiang Ye, for him, is more than just someone he likes.

At first, he felt a sense of responsibility to predict fate and pull her out of the mud.

But it turned out that the one who was pulled out was actually himself.

Jiang Ye is his hope.

She's also part of his dream.

His colleagues started excitedly talking about the annual meeting.

But He Zhou was thinking.

If he really got to see Jiang Ye that day.

He wouldn't be a regular fan, nor would he be an old friend who she might not even remember.

He would be someone who followed in her footsteps, getting closer to his dream, and he would want to tell her, thank you, you pulled me back up again.

•••

Jiang Ye didn't receive the final theme content for the annual meeting until three days before it started.

After reading the message three times, Jiang Ye pointed at her head and said to Tan Meng, "Is there something wrong with the planner here? A themed annual meeting where we have to wear masks, am I living in a fairytale ball?"

"..."

Tan Meng made a shushing gesture and then said, "It seems like Qin Zong said he wanted all the employees to be able to communicate on an equal footing at the annual meeting, without worrying about their positions or status."

"But as soon as I open my mouth, won't everyone know?"

After thinking for a long time, Jiang Ye seriously asked Tan Meng, "Can you do a voice imitation?"

Tan Meng: "... What do you think?"

"..."

"Forget it."

Jiang Ye threw her phone down in despair, "Anyway, we're probably just going to make a brief appearance, it's no big deal."

Jiang Ye never planned to seriously attend the annual meeting.

She was already busy with other schedules, this annual meeting, for her, was like a company team-building event for a working stiff, she was just going to make a brief appearance and then find a chance to escape.

But since it was a company order.

She still had to follow it.

Jiang Ye chose a mask very casually from the pile of costume accessories sent in advance.

To cover her hair color, Jiang Ye also chose a rabbit headwear, the kind with ears that move when you pinch them, a childish style.

Jiang Ye chose it out of helplessness.

But Lin Zui really liked the rabbit headwear, and she told Jiang Ye to definitely give it to her after she was done.

Tan Meng arrived early on the day of the annual meeting.

Jiang Ye was a little late because she had a solo advertisement shoot, and no one could come to pick her up because many staff members had been reassigned to the annual meeting.

Fortunately, Jiang Ye had prepared the mask and headwear in advance, and she brought them with her in the car, so she didn't have to worry about being recognized.

But when Jiang Ye entered the company, she realized something.

Before participating in the survival show, she usually just went back and forth between the practice room, the cafeteria, and the dormitory, she rarely went to other places in the company.

After she debuted, she went to the company even less.

Now she realized that she didn't even know where the hall for the annual meeting was.

Jiang Ye took a detour and finally found the company map on the first floor, and she focused on studying how to get there.

"Excuse me."

As Jiang Ye was studying the map, someone suddenly asked her, "Do you know how to get to the annual meeting?"

Jiang Ye: "?"

Her situation was a bit of an exception.

But how could someone else in the company not know the way?

Jiang Ye cautiously scanned the person asking for directions.

He was also wearing a mask, and Jiang Ye didn't know who he was.

But from his voice, it wasn't someone she had interacted with in the company before.

Jiang Ye immediately thought of what Tan Meng had told her before she left.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

"If you meet someone who greets you, don't acknowledge them."

"I heard that some sasaeng fans bought credentials to pretend to be staff and sneak in, be careful, don't get scammed."

Jiang Ye thought for a moment and didn't speak.

She just shook her head and pinched her right rabbit ear, making it wiggle.

He Zhou: "?"

He hadn't been at the company long, and he usually just stayed in his department, so he really didn't know the way.

It turned out he asked the wrong person.

"You don't know either?"

He Zhou said, "Sorry, I'll leave you alone."

Jiang Ye studied the map for a while and then left.

She had a good sense of direction, and she found the way soon.

But she paused slightly before entering, and then decided to turn back.

Although she wasn't sure if this person was a sasaeng fan.

But she might as well help if she could.

Sure enough, the person was still studying the map.

Jiang Ye went over and waved to him, and then wiggled her left ear.

He Zhou: "?"

Although her two expressions were quite vague, he unexpectedly understood what she meant.

Wiggling the left ear means yes.

Wiggling the right ear means no.

He Zhou: "..."

He couldn't help but smile.

To confirm his judgment, He Zhou asked again, "Did you find the way?"

Jiang Ye wiggled her left ear and nodded.

He Zhou immediately nodded, "Thank you."

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow in surprise.

This guy is pretty perceptive.

The two of them didn't say much along the way.

When he arrived at the venue, Jiang Ye wiggled both her ears, waved to him again, and prepared to leave.

Twice now.

He Zhou saw her back twice and suddenly felt that her back was a little familiar.

"Wait."

"This might be a little presumptuous."

He Zhou cautiously asked, "Do you know Jiang Ye?"

Jiang Ye: "???"

She quickly pinched her right rabbit ear several times and shook her head.

He must be thinking too much.

He Zhou: "Sorry, I'll leave you-"

Before he finished his sentence, the little girl in front of him had vanished.

He Zhou: "?"

•••

"Damn, there really was a fan of mine who snuck in today."

"I actually met someone who was asking about me."

"Thank goodness, he didn't recognize me."

Jiang Ye patted her chest in relief.

Tan Meng handed her a glass of water, "Then let's not go out, let's just go on stage when it's our turn."

"I think so too."

Jiang Ye thought for a moment, the more she thought about it, the weirder it seemed, she hugged Tan Meng and whined, "I'm so scared, Teacher Tan Meng, protect me."

Tan Meng said with a look of disgust, "... Even if you're scared, don't hug me."

Although she said that, she didn't let go of Jiang Ye.

"So boring."

Jiang Ye said, "Why don't we go over our lines again?"

Jiang Ye's idea for their annual meeting performance was to do a stand-up comedy routine.

When Tan Meng first heard it, her jaw almost dropped, and she refused outright.

"What are you thinking? We're two girl group idols, we're going to do stand-up comedy?"

But Jiang Ye thought this combination was very interesting, "Why not?"

"The whole world knows we're girl group idols, what's the point of performing singing and dancing again, are we going to a music show?"

"Everyone in our company has three albums, what's the point of promoting songs again? Why don't we do something fun?"

Tan Meng said, "... No."

Jiang Ye said pitifully, "I've already written the script, if you don't want to, I'll just have to change it and do a solo stand-up comedy routine."

She sighed in feigned regret, "Too bad."

Tan Meng: "..."

Tan Meng is the type who is easily persuaded by weakness, and in the end, she gave in.

To kill time, the two of them found a place to sit and went over their lines again.

When it was time to go on stage, they both took off their masks.

The audience immediately erupted in applause and cheers.

"Jiang Ye is here, Jiang Ye is here!"

"Quick, quick, quick! I'm sitting here with my popcorn!"

He Zhou, who had been searching for Jiang Ye for half the event, quickly looked up at the stage.

He Zhou: "?"

Jiang Ye's outfit.

It's exactly the same as the girl who showed him the way.