Jin Chonglin was the final performer on "MusicFest Tonight".
Since he was the bigshot this time, most of the other performers and the staff paid their respects to him after the show ended. It took more than an hour for him to escape before he was finally able to go home.
Iris Long didn't join the others in greeting him after the show. She left immediately after paying respects to the important personnel in the show.
Inside the van, Jin Chonglin was at the backseat with his manager, Lin Dong. His two assistants were at the front. One was driving while the other sat on the front passenger seat.
Jin Chonglin wore big, gold-plated headphones, drumming his hands in the air and tapping his feet to the beat of the music only he could hear.
On his side, Lin Dong was busy on his phone. A few moments later, Lin Dong's eyes widened. He unceremoniously pulled Jin Chonglin's headphones from his head and shoved his phone to his artist's face.
"Bastard! What are you doing?!"
"Read this."
"What's so important that you have to shove it on my face…" Jin Chonglin's eyes also widened after a few seconds of reading. "For real? She has amnesia?"
"I don't know. She hasn't said anything official about this. But if it's true, then it explains why she changed so much."
"Iris Long," Lin Dong answered.
"Really?" The assistant was shocked.
"I believe it," the driver interjected. "I've been with Chonglin since he began his career. So I was there when the girl kept on following Chonglin wherever we went. She kept on popping up in front of our faces, trying to talk to him. She didn't know how to give up. And Chonglin was too nice to reject her outright. It was painful to watch. But seeing her perform tonight, I almost didn't recognize her. Her aura feels so different from before."
"Hmmm." Lin Dong rubbed his chin. "Chonglin and I actually met Iris Long and her manager in the hallway earlier tonight. She was very polite, greeting Chonglin properly as a junior to her senior. She didn't say anything unnecessary beyond the greetings. It was actually Chonglin, this idiot, who tried pulling her into a conversation. On the other hand, Iris almost couldn't wait to get away from us. So different from how she acted with Chonglin before."
"Who are you calling an idiot, you bastard?!"
Lin Dong gave him a side eye. "You know that there are rumours about you fathering a baby with her. You know that even just being seen together with her could cause a big scandal, yet you still wanted to talk to her more. If you're not an idiot, then what are you?"
"Shut up. I know already! I'm so tired of you saying the same thing again and again. And I was just asking her how she's been. It's not like I was asking her to sleep with me!"
"You better not sleep with her or else both of your showbiz careers will be finished."
"Tsk. I said I know already! So annoying."
"Yeah."
"Wait. Let me ask." Lin Dong snatched his phone back from Jin Chonglin's hands as he tossed the big headphones on his artist's lap.
He tapped on his phone and placed it on his ear.
"Hello? Director He? Sorry to bother you…yes, yes. We're on our way home. Thank you for taking care of us...Jin Chonglin says that he had fun performing tonight…Ahaha! Of course, next time…Director He, I have a question. I hope you don't mind. Is it true that Iris Long got into an argument with the Alarm Girls? It's okay if you don't answer, I understand…Oh? It's true?...They bullied her?...Oh no. She really fainted? I can't believe she still performed after…Unbelievable…Yes, yes. Thank you, Director He…Of course, I won't tell others that you told me…Yes, you too. Have a good night. Bye!"
Lin Dong hung up the phone, then turned to Jin Chonglin.
"F*ck, it's true?" Jin Chonglin's face looked outraged. "Those b*tches."
Lin Dong sighed. "It's not like you don't know that bullying is common in this industry. It happens all the time."
"Of course I know! But f*ck. She fainted."
"Why are you so affected? It has nothing to do with you."
Lin Dong sighed again.
Jin Chonglin carelessly threw his gold-plated headphones on the seat behind him. He looked out the window in a bad mood.
The van drove in the night, the people riding it silent, each with their own thoughts.