Chapter 24: King Liu Has Arrived

Monday.

Lin Chuan had gotten up early, more excited than his son for Lin Yiyang’s very first day at kindergarten. After bustling around all morning preparing breakfast, he finally returned to the bedroom to wake his son.

“Yangyang, are you awake? Time to get up and go to kindergarten—the other children are waiting for you!” Lin Chuan said with a smile.

His son was wonderful in every way, except that he was always grumpy when waking up.

Lin Yiyang frowned and turned over, reluctantly opening his eyes and sitting up in bed.

Lin Chuan chuckled; it seemed kindergarten was indeed an enticing prospect for his son.

“Dad, why are you waking me up so early?” Lin Yiyang rubbed his eyes hard, murmuring sleepily.

“To go to kindergarten, of course. Don’t forget, today’s your first day of school—we can’t be late!” Lin Chuan said as he brought over his son’s clothes.

“What did you just say?” Lin Yiyang seemed not to have heard clearly.

“Today’s your first day at kindergarten. We need to make a good impression on your teacher, so we can’t be late!” Lin Chuan patiently repeated.

“No, Dad, that’s not what you said before—it was the sentence before that!” Lin Yiyang shook his head.

“The sentence before?” Lin Chuan was momentarily stumped, trying to recall, “The other children are waiting for you?”

“Not that one. The very first sentence you said!” Lin Yiyang shook his head again.

“Yangyang, are you awake?” Lin Chuan tried tentatively.

To his surprise, the moment Lin Yiyang heard those words, he flopped back, dove under the covers, and shouted, “Dad, I’m not awake yet!”

Lin Chuan was speechless.

He tried every possible method, nearly wearing out his lips with coaxing, just to drag the little fellow out from under the covers.

After breakfast, Lin Chuan packed the washed fruit into the brand-new little backpack.

On the way, he kept reminding his son not to fight with other kids at kindergarten, to listen to the teacher, and if there was any trouble, to find Teacher Yue...

To all these admonitions, Lin Yiyang nodded vigorously, agreeing like a little chick pecking at rice.

At 7:50 in the morning, they got off the bus and saw, from a distance, many parents dropping off their children at the kindergarten entrance by car.

At the gate stood two teachers greeting the children, one of whom was Wang Yue.

“Good morning, Sister Yue!” Lin Yiyang greeted politely as they approached.

“Yangyang, you’re here!” Wang Yue smiled and reached out to take his hand.

“Yangyang, you shouldn’t call her Sister Yue anymore. From now on, at kindergarten, you need to call her Teacher Yue, understand?” Lin Chuan frowned, hastily correcting him.

He couldn’t allow this kind of familiarity to continue. Even at kindergarten, addressing her as “Sister Yue” felt too much like pulling strings.

Lin Yiyang pouted, nodding reluctantly.

“By the way, you have a competition today, don’t you?” Wang Yue looked up and asked.

“Yes, the thirty are competing for fifteen spots!” Lin Chuan replied with a smile.

“Then you’d better get going. Yangyang is in good hands with me, don’t worry!” Since that night, Wang Yue’s attitude toward Lin Chuan had softened considerably.

Lin Chuan, unable to help himself, repeated his reminders to Lin Yiyang before finally leaving, glancing back again and again, reluctant to go.

Ever since his rebirth, Lin Yiyang had always been by his side, never leaving for a moment. Now, with his son starting kindergarten, Lin Chuan felt a surprising pang of sadness.

Watching his father’s figure fade in a departing taxi, Lin Yiyang’s eyes began to brim with tears too.

As a preschool teacher, Wang Yue was experienced with such situations. She quickly crouched down and said, “Let Sister Yue take you inside to meet the other children, all right?”

Lin Yiyang sniffled, then nodded softly.

It was the first time he’d been separated from his parents to attend this unfamiliar kindergarten. Any other child would have already burst into noisy tears.

Lin Yiyang wanted desperately to keep his father near, but mature beyond his years, he understood that his father had things to do—he couldn’t just stay because of him.

Just like when Lin Chuan left, Lin Yiyang also looked back with every few steps, gazing longingly in the direction his father had gone, hoping for a miracle to bring him back.

...

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped at the entrance to the TV station.

A crowd of fans and reporters had already gathered, and although the station’s security tried to keep order, there were simply too many people.

“Look, Lin Chuan’s here!”

No one knew who shouted first, but suddenly, whether reporter or fan, everyone swarmed toward Lin Chuan, quickly surrounding him on all sides.

“Mr. Lin, only fifteen contestants will advance today. How confident are you about making the cut?”

“Mr. Lin, many fans think you’re this season’s biggest dark horse on ‘One Song to Fame.’ What’s your take on that?”

“This is a crucial round—do you have any new songs prepared? Could you give us a hint?”

“Mr. Lin, since the last round, there have been rumors of discord between you and Mr. Yang Wei. Would you care to comment?”

A barrage of questions bombarded Lin Chuan. Fans brandished placards with his name, joining the ever-thickening crowd.

He had always envied the scenes on TV of celebrities besieged by reporters and fans, but now that he was experiencing it himself, he finally tasted the helplessness behind the glamour.

He wasn’t even a celebrity yet—not even a debutant, just one among many contestants. Even so, he found it overwhelming. What would he do if he ever became truly famous?

But that was a concern for another day. For now, he had to get through the competition.

If he didn’t even make the top fifteen, he could wander the streets and no one would care who he was.

“Look, Andy Lau is here!” Lin Chuan shouted in desperation.

Sure enough, the reporters and fans all instinctively turned their heads.

Seizing the moment, Lin Chuan squeezed out of the crowd and darted into the building.

By the time the reporters realized they’d been tricked and tried to give chase, it was too late—the security guards would never let them take another step inside.

“Hey, who was that person Lin Chuan just mentioned? Something Hua?” Unable to seize the chance, the reporters dispersed regretfully, resuming their posts to wait for the next contestant.

“How should I know? Probably a made-up name. Did you really take it seriously?” one reporter scoffed.

“Oh, I thought there really was such a person…”

Andy Lau—a legendary superstar, a household name in Lin Chuan’s previous life. But in this world, it was just an ordinary, unremarkable name. No wonder the reporters and fans didn’t recognize it.

As in previous rounds, Lin Chuan headed to the waiting room. Apart from Huang Quan, both Li Rong and the rocker were already there.

The three chatted for a while, and Lin Chuan learned that the judges had changed again—respected veteran Chen Dong had returned to the panel.

As for Yang Wei, who had always tried to make things difficult for Lin Chuan, he was nowhere to be seen for reasons unknown.

That was all for the best; Lin Chuan felt a lot less pressure.

Soon after Huang Quan arrived, the competition began. Thirty contestants displayed their best talents, vying for the fifteen slots and pulling out all the stops.

This time, however, Lin Chuan kept a low profile. He didn’t perform another original, but chose instead a song that everyone in this world knew by heart.

The effect was immediate—the song resonated deeply, and by the chorus, the audience couldn’t help but hum along.

In the end, with Chen Dong’s strong support, Lin Chuan smoothly advanced to the top fifteen, coming one step closer to the championship.

Where there is joy, there is sorrow. Lin Chuan’s success made others even more anxious.

Li Rong wasn’t so lucky. Perhaps from nerves, her voice cracked during the chorus—a fatal mistake. She was eliminated, as everyone expected.

When this cheerful, boisterous woman returned to the waiting room, Lin Chuan and Huang Quan rushed to comfort her.

Luckily, Li Rong took it in stride. Though disappointed, she didn’t dwell on it. Soon she was back to her old self, joking and laughing with the others as if nothing had happened.

By a little after four in the afternoon, all thirty-plus contestants had performed.

Of the fifteen who advanced, besides Lin Chuan, there were Huang Quan, the rocker, and the well-connected Fang Hao.

“I’m off,” Lin Chuan announced.

“Leaving so soon? I thought we could stay and discuss the next round!” Huang Quan said in surprise.

“I can’t—today’s my son’s first day at kindergarten. I need to pick him up early. You all go ahead and discuss, just call me with the outcome!” Lin Chuan tossed out as he turned to leave, barely able to contain his eagerness.

“See? Remember this—never have kids before your career is stable. He’s the perfect example!” Huang Quan sighed helplessly.

“Oh, come on. You think everyone’s like you? Forget it, you two discuss it. The next round has nothing to do with me—I’m leaving too!” Li Rong waved and walked off.

“You…” Huang Quan tried to say more, but Li Rong was gone. He shrugged at the rocker, “Well, there’s no point in just the two of us discussing. Want to grab a drink?”

The rocker nodded, grabbed his electric guitar, and followed him out.