My Idol Turns Out To Be My Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 24

“Ah, haha…” Lin Sanyuan let out a dry laugh. “The manga I draw are usually adapted from my own original web novels. They aren’t very famous. I usually submit them to Puka-nyang.”

He Wenyu didn’t read manga, though she occasionally read some GL (Girls’ Love) stories in her spare time. She didn’t recognize the name Puka-nyang, so she just smiled and searched for a topic. “I don’t know much about drawing, but you’re sitting next to a real master. You can look her up online. Tang! Heng! Zhi! She’s quite famous and incredible at her craft. If you want to improve your brushwork or technique, you should ask her for advice.”

He Wenyu was purely being well-meaning, trying to build a bridge for her potential future sister-in-law.

But she immediately realized that Tang Hengzhi currently had “other” intentions toward this girl. By opening her mouth, wasn’t she just leading a lamb into a wolf’s den?

He Wenyu wanted to slap herself and quickly added, “Though she’s more into fine arts, oil paintings and ink wash works. It’s not quite the same field as manga.”

Lin Sanyuan blinked and couldn’t help but say, “Actually, hasn’t Sister Tang been involved in some original manga works in recent years? They’re incredibly popular online.”

It was proof that someone as talented as Tang Hengzhi could excel on any path. Even her casual, amateur sketches could easily gain massive fame and public attention.

He Wenyu was shocked. “She’s drawing manga now? How come I didn’t know?” She directed the question at Tang Hengzhi.

Tang Hengzhi looked down at her phone, not raising her eyes. “You never pay attention to these things. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t be interested.”

He Wenyu tapped the steering wheel, a bit annoyed. “Fine, don’t tell me, but why does Sanyuan know so much about you? You guys only spent one night together, and she’s already shared her secrets with you?”

“Huh?” Lin Sanyuan was genuinely startled and waved her hands frantically. “No, no! It’s the live streams, the Weibo streams! Sister Tang does lectures on Weibo. Her username is Qiu Feng. She’s a famous manga blogger. I follow her, I’m a fan! She showed her face in a stream a few days ago, and that’s how I recognized her.”

He Wenyu let out a “wow,” her eyes lighting up. “What kind of fate is this? A fan! Tang Hengzhi, you never expected to run into your own fan at my house, did you? Let’s interview this little fan: how does it feel to have dinner with your idol?”

Lin Sanyuan gave a modest smile. “It feels quite incredible, like a dream.”

Despite the socially mortifying things that had happened, she was actually a little bit happy.

Tang Hengzhi had many fans. Even back in university, she had a following of admirers. He Wenyu had seen her fair share of obsessive fans whose intensity rivaled professional celebrity stalkers. Some were so fervent that He Wenyu would break into a sweat just watching them.

She never expected Lin Sanyuan to be a member of that countless fan club. The girl was as steady as an old dog, she hadn’t let a single thing slip during dinner last night. She really knew how to hold it in.

He Wenyu didn’t doubt the truth of Lin Sanyuan’s words; she could tell it wasn’t just polite flattery. During dinner yesterday, Lin Sanyuan had felt a bit “flat” to her, as if her personality was too level. She seemed like the type who couldn’t get too passionate about anything or invest too much love into specific people or things. She was also very cautious and reserved in expressing her emotions, as if afraid of bothering others.

But just now, when mentioning Tang Hengzhi’s work, there was a light in her eyes. She was vivid and lively. She truly liked this idol and the colorful, shaped world depicted under her pen. She even used the words “especially like.”

He Wenyu couldn’t help but check Tang Hengzhi’s reaction through the rearview mirror.

The result? No reaction at all. She still had that cold, stoic face, head down as she played with her phone.

This made He Wenyu wonder: was this the same person who had so solemnly declared her intention to “steal” her brother’s girlfriend this morning? The person she wanted to pursue was her own fan—what a massive buff! Why wasn’t she striking while the iron was hot?

Tang Hengzhi’s silence made the scene a bit awkward. It felt like Lin Sanyuan’s fan-girl passion had received no response, which was truly embarrassing.

Lin Sanyuan’s eyebrows slumped, and she seemed to lose interest in talking, her expression turning weary.

Watching her, He Wenyu suddenly felt a twinge of pity and tried to smooth things over. “Tang Hengzhi, since fate has brought you this far, why don’t you give her an autograph?”

A girl with a personality this awkward would definitely be too shy to ask.

Tang Hengzhi looked up, finally putting her phone away. She turned her head toward Lin Sanyuan. “Can you stop calling me ‘Sister’?”

“Huh?” The jump in topic was a bit fast, leaving Lin Sanyuan confused.

Tang Hengzhi pursed her lips. “I don’t particularly like that title.”

This truly put Lin Sanyuan in a bind. she wasn’t good at these things and couldn’t be sunny and outgoing like He Wenyu, who could warmly call her “Sanyuan” at their first meeting.

Miss Tang? That sounded like something out of a novel. In real society, during a private meeting outside of work, calling someone “Miss Tang” or “Miss Lin” felt a bit pretentious.

But she couldn’t just call her “Hengzhi,” could she? That sounded like they were dating. Even though Tang Hengzhi sometimes called He Wenyu “Wenyu,” she had a natural ability to remain cool and detached. Even when using someone’s first name, it came out without a trace of warmth—clear, cold, and thin.

So, Lin Sanyuan’s habit was to call younger girls by their names and older girls by their surname followed by “Sister.” It sounded obedient and close, but in reality, only she knew it carried a lot of distance. When she said “Sister,” her tone was unnatural and stiff, never sweet. Once that stiffness was noticed, it wouldn’t make the other person feel liked.

Lin Sanyuan started to panic, not knowing how to handle the situation.

He Wenyu couldn’t take it anymore. “Hey, what do you mean you don’t like it? All those fan girls chasing after you call you ‘Sister’ in droves, and I’ve never seen you make a fuss. Don’t be a bully.”

Tang Hengzhi ignored her, leaning back against the seat. Her gaze was lingering, her tone slow. “Didn’t you say you were my fan?”

Lin Sanyuan felt like she’d received a signal and said tentatively, “Then… Teacher Tang?”

Tang Hengzhi finally laughed again. She took out her phone and said, “I don’t have paper or a pen right now, so I can’t give an autograph. How about we add each other on WeChat first?”

Lin Sanyuan nodded repeatedly, dazed, and pulled out her phone to show her QR code. Only then did she realize she hadn’t actually asked for an autograph.

Wait, how did they end up adding each other on WeChat?

Lin Sanyuan saw a red “1” pop up in her contacts and was about to tap it when she noticed her chat history. She saw that she had actually chatted with He Ye last night?

She had been drunk out of her mind, and many of her memories were fuzzy, but she did seem to recall sending He Ye something…

Out of curiosity, she tapped it. The result was a few glaring messages linked together.

“Are you gay?”

“No.”

“Do you like Tang Hengzhi?”

“Maybe?”

Then, a few minutes later, the final message sent by He Ye:

“You’re a legend!”

The overwhelming amount of shocking information slammed into her eyes without warning. Lin Sanyuan stared at it blankly for a long time, her brain as rusty as old iron. She even did something incredibly stupid: she tried to withdraw the messages she had sent.

She felt like she had died on the spot.

Oh, ancestors! Was this how she acted when she drank? Was she insane? Why on earth did she send such misleading things in the middle of the night!

Stay calm, stay calm. It can still be fixed. If she just explained to He Ye that it was just a fan’s admiration, it should be normal, right?

Lin Sanyuan stared for quite a while, distracted by He Ye’s chat logs, so she hadn’t accepted the friend request yet.

Tang Hengzhi didn’t rush her. Her eyes were lowered calmly toward her phone, her finger sliding up and down the screen. The cold light of the display hit her index finger, making it look exceptionally elegant.

But if one looked closely, they would see there was no content on her screen. She was simply sliding up and down on the “Add Friend” interface. Those who knew her would know she rarely engaged in meaningless actions. A meaningless, repetitive action usually meant she was starting to feel restless.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Lin Sanyuan still zoning out, her dull gaze fixed on the chat interface. Tang Hengzhi had no desire to pry into other people’s chats, but a casual glance caught He Ye’s profile picture. She didn’t know the specifics of the conversation, but was it really necessary to message him so urgently and… gloomily right after leaving the house?

If she kept spacing out like this, would she just forget about the friend request?

Lin Sanyuan wasn’t a rude person, but she was indeed quite careless sometimes. She often forgot things.

Tang Hengzhi quietly tapped on Lin Sanyuan’s WeChat profile picture, the corners of her lips pulling into a slight, surprised upward curve. “Great Master Yuanxiao?”

“Huh?” The familiar name made Lin Sanyuan’s DNA jump. She looked up and saw Tang Hengzhi tapping her fingers twice against her own phone screen. The sound was crisp and pleasant.

Tang Hengzhi leaned toward her, her soft, dark hair sliding down her cheek. Even such an effortless movement exuded an unusual sense of refinement.

Tang Hengzhi’s lips held a smile, but her eyes were deep and unreadable. “It seems… I am also your fan.”

“What?” Lin Sanyuan could only utter another “ah,” her face a mask of total bewilderment.

Tang Hengzhi rested her phone against her chin, her tone leisurely. “I have a novel I like very much called The National Preceptor. I followed the author three years ago, joined the group chat, and was lucky enough to add the author’s WeChat. I just realized after adding you that my favorite author is actually right here beside me.”

Whether intentionally teasing or not, when she said the words “especially like,” her pronunciation was perfectly clear and emphasized.