Transmigrated Into the Stand-In of the Tragic Novel’s Heroine - Chapter 33

Chang Yishao had thought that Zhou Yunmeng harbored certain feelings for Qi Yu, but in the end, news broke of her getting together with He Yanjin. Yunmeng Entertainment was pushing He Yanjin in the direction she wanted, but no matter how one looked at it, there was something slightly strange.

Was Zhou Yunmeng acting out of genuine feeling?

This thought didn’t linger long in Chang Yishao’s mind before it was extinguished. Regardless of the outcome, Zhou Yunmeng’s current move saved her the trouble. As for Zhou Yunmeng—if Qi Yu didn’t care, why should she bother?

If she had any interest right now, it was probably in Xie Qingtang.

After spending some time together, she gradually became able to perceive Xie Qingtang’s emotions. Most of the time, they were calm, but occasionally, they were tinged with a hint of distaste and pity. What was it about her that made Xie Qingtang feel sorry for her?

Was it because she was trapped by her past, tormented by He Yanjin?

But who knew if this wasn’t her true nature?

The tip of her pen glided across the white paper, and before she knew it, the characters “boring” were left on the surface. Chang Yishao lowered her eyes to look, her eyebrows suddenly furrowing, and she crumpled the paper into a ball and tossed it into the trash can. Finally, she reached out, adjusted her glasses, and resumed her usual calm demeanor.

After finishing the day’s filming, He Yanjin also saw the news soaring to the top of the charts—followed by a new wave of adoration for her past albums. Watching her follower count climb, He Yanjin’s raised corners of her mouth betrayed her good mood.

However, this good mood subsided a bit when she returned to her apartment and saw Zhou Yunmeng.

She didn’t know what Zhou Yunmeng was looking through. In the light, the person’s profile was soft, and her expression was focused. This demeanor was somewhat similar to Chang Yishao’s. He Yanjin ‘s heart fluctuated, but a moment later, she reined in her thoughts.

“What are you looking at?” she asked casually, her voice softer than usual because of that momentary illusion.

“Old things,” Zhou Yunmeng raised her eyes, glanced at He Yanjin, and spoke in a gentle tone.

He Yanjin didn’t pay too much attention. She said, “Oh,” walked over, and sat down beside Zhou Yunmeng. She reached out, intending to put her arm around Zhou Yunmeng’s shoulder, but was subtly avoided. He Yanjin’s hand met empty air, and she frowned slightly, finally remembering that this young lady disliked physical contact.

“We’ll have time once this season of the variety show is finished,” He Yanjin continued.

Zhou Yunmeng looked up, meeting He Yanjin’s gaze, and offered a strange smile. She nodded, saying, “The team has been contacted.” After a pause, she continued to ask, “Will it be a full album or just a single?”

He Yanjin sighed and replied, “Not enough time.” If she could choose, she would certainly choose an album. But in fact, during her time abroad, she had hit a creative block and hadn’t produced anything. Including the song she sang on the variety show, the inspiration didn’t come from herself. After a moment of thought, she asked, “Which teacher wrote that melody?”

“You want to know them?” Zhou Yunmeng looked at He Yanjin with a half-smile, and then said, “Found it on the ground.”

He Yanjin’s smile suddenly froze because of her words.

Zhou Yunmeng, however, smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling as she replied, “Just kidding.”

“You scared me,” He Yanjin pouted, casting a displeased glance at Zhou Yunmeng. Before, she had Chang Yishao’s help, and now Zhou Yunmeng had replaced Chang Yishao’s former position, perhaps even giving her more. He Yanjin knew that many people in the industry also hired others to compose music and signed their own names to it. Having gotten used to this, she no longer felt there was anything wrong with her actions.

The overwhelming news online consisted of positive publicity and momentum, which naturally delighted He Yanjin. However, Xie Qingtang was not in such a cheerful mood. She knew that after agreeing to Chang Yishao’s absurd contract, there was an inherent adversarial relationship between her and He Yanjin She could ignore many things, but she absolutely could not tolerate He Yanjin claiming her things as her own.

Xie Qingtang’s smile was cold. In her eyes, the voices currently praising He Yanjin were undoubtedly funeral horns.

She was fortunate that she had sung a segment of it during a live stream; at least there was a trace of the initial draft online.

—Tingxi Darling, do you have the score for “Sky Eye”? I heard a new song that sounds like “Sky Eye.” I wonder if it borrowed from it.

On the Moye platform, after deleting those messy private messages, Xie Qingtang only kept this one, sent by a stranger. This person—Xie Qingtang didn’t care what their stance was—generously sent the new score of “Sky Eye” to them.

It had been some time, and finding the video wouldn’t be easy. Xie Qingtang had been prepared to search for a needle in a haystack—she hadn’t expected that the Moye platform was so cooperative, actually leveraging the popularity of the Beauty Like Porcelain program to compile the related videos into an album push, with Xie Qingtang’s incomplete tune prominently featured.

The platform’s person in charge was from the Chang family and had a close relationship with Chang Yishao. Xie Qingtang was not a fool; she did not believe this was a coincidence. She was not stingy with her “thanks” to Chang Yishao, who had offered a pillow when she was sleepy. However, as she gazed at Chang Yishao’s calm face, the speculation about a sadomasochistic relationship between Chang Yishao and He Yanjin vanished without a trace.

Let that messed-up relationship go to hell; her things could only be her own.

The topic of He Yanjin’s new album did not stay on the charts for too long. After a night of silence, the topic “He Yanjin’s Plagiarism” unexpectedly surged upward, showing a trend of continuous advancement. Clicking into it revealed a comparison of the sheet music, and the video link was attached to the topic.

A well-known anonymous busybody: I originally didn’t want to do this thankless job. No matter what, fans will definitely rush up and curse me. But, I just can’t stand the arrogant way He Someone’s fans behave. Here is the comparison chart of the melody, timbre, and segments after the score was analyzed. PS: I know some people will say they haven’t heard either song. Indeed, neither song has been officially released. One was sung by a streamer in a live broadcast and was not made into a single, and He Someone’s was not yet made into a single, but there are audio recordings for both. Everyone can see for themselves.

—Tsk tsk, it’s this streamer again. She tried to piggyback on our sister before, and now she’s trying to get clicks again? Have some shame.

—Passerby, not a fan of anyone. He Yanjin is a well-established singer, and that Tingxi is just an obscure little streamer. It’s not possible, really not possible.

—Why isn’t it the streamer who is shameless and stole Teacher He’s achievement?

He Yanjin ‘s fans took the field first. They didn’t even click to see the content in detail but already stated their position. On the one hand, they threatened the “busybody” to delete the post, and on the other hand, they flocked to Xie Qingtang’s Weibo to mock her. In a short time, the number of followers continuously soared, and the corresponding insults were incessant.

This was on a weekend morning. Xie Qingtang didn’t wake up early, and by the time she reached for her phone and organized her thoughts, the argument had reached a white-hot stage. He Yanjin’s fans primarily held the view that “He Yanjin is already successful and talented enough not to need to plagiarize,” insisting that it was defamation by the busybody.

After refuting and attacking the arguments against plagiarism, they even dug up Xie Qingtang’s private affairs, from being a younger version of He Yanjin following the path of singing, to appearing in the Beauty Like Porcelain live broadcast… they reached a conclusion: Xie Qingtang followed in He Yanjin’s footsteps, intentionally imitated her, and now even framed her with the accusation of plagiarism—her intentions were despicable!

—Does she think she can succeed if Teacher He retires from the industry? That’s ridiculous.

Such a reply received an incalculable number of likes.

The coincidences between her and He Yanjin were not limited to these; the biggest coincidence, “Chang Yishao,” did not appear in public.

However, all of this truly counted as coincidence, and the role of the plot’s deity could not be ignored.

Xie Qingtang was also dumbfounded by this outcome. She turned her phone face down to the side and paid no attention to the curses. She would let this matter slowly ferment; the bitter fruit had to be tasted by the person who sowed it, didn’t it?

When she finished washing up and stepped out of the room, she saw Chang Yishao nestled in the sofa at a glance. She was somewhat annoyed; their communication last night was pitifully sparse, leaving only a “thank you” that seemed somewhat dry today. What was Chang Yishao’s fault? Was it having a past with He Yanjin? No, her fault lay in the future that she had already set for herself.

Xie Qingtang’s gaze slowly slid down Chang Yishao’s face, finally sweeping over her light, vibrant white hoodie like a spring breeze. Xie Qingtang was silent for a moment and then asked, “Are you going out?” Normally, Chang Yishao wore loose home clothes.

Chang Yishao raised her head to meet Xie Qingtang’s eyes. She took off her glasses and gave a slight nod as a reply. “Shall we go out together?” she then offered the invitation.

Xie Qingtang was slightly surprised and raised an eyebrow. In her impression, Chang Yishao was quite the “homebody.” Her gaze drifted toward the window; the sky was a clear blue, and a single look made one feel expansive and carefree—it was indeed a good day. “Okay,” Xie Qingtang agreed after a brief thought. Moping at home during this season was not a good thing; it was suitable for going out to see flowers.

When Xie Qingtang agreed to the invitation, Chang Yishao lowered her head. She looked at the message on her phone; only a few hours ago, she had accepted Lu Li’s invitation, but now she had changed her mind.

“You and Tang Rong go together. I have something to do.”

Lu Li: “??? Is today a weekend? Do you not have classes today?”

Chang Yishao: “No.”

Lu Li: “Then why?”

Chang Yishao: “I don’t want to go anymore.”

The four willful characters cut off Lu Li’s pursuit. After relaying the message to Tang Rong, the two looked at each other.

After a long while, Tang Rong said, “Did you see the news online? He Yanjin is caught in a ‘plagiarism scandal.’ Could she be cleaning up He Yanjin’s mess?”

Lu Li’s expression hardened, and she pressed her fingers to her temple. She let out a sigh and said, “It’s not that serious.”

Chang Yishao genuinely had no mind to think about He Yanjin’s affairs.

When Xie Qingtang agreed to the invitation, she stood up and walked into the study, returning with a single-lens reflex camera in her hand.

The memory card was empty; the so-called past had been completely erased from it in moments unworthy of recording.

Chang Yishao didn’t know the destination, but a thought rose in her heart, like a prairie fire, difficult to extinguish.

This thought came inexplicably; even she couldn’t explain it clearly.

She wanted to capture a photo.

With flowers or without, as long as Xie Qingtang’s smiling face could be in the lens.

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