Chapter 607: Disgraced!
After a performance of "Blue and White Porcelain," the entire audience was immersed in its beautiful imagery. It must be said that Zhao Tao, this Child of Destiny who copied songs, indeed had an extraordinary singing voice, possessing a transcendent charm. Perhaps it was a Golden Finger that came with his Transmigration, and in person, his singing was even more like a celestial melody.
Inside the Jiangnan Bar, the final note hung in the air for a perfect, breathless moment before the space erupted. Applause crashed down like a tidal wave, a thunderous roar of appreciation that shook the very glasses on the tables. Several patrons, caught in the throes of the music's lingering magic, surged to their feet, their faces alight with excitement as they offered Zhao Tao a standing ovation, the warmest and most sincere reception he could have hoped for.
The atmosphere was electric, thick with admiration. More than a few young women in the bar, who had initially been chatting amongst themselves, now had their gazes locked onto the figure on the stage. Their eyes turned fervent, shimmering with a mix of awe and desire. A man that handsome, with a voice that could melt stone, who was also the heir to a fortune? He wasn't just a good catch; he was the stuff of daydreams, the perfect prince charming stepping out of a novel.
Zhao Tao, however, remained utterly indifferent to the sea of adoring faces. He completely ignored the fawning looks from those common women, his attention reserved for a single person. His gaze, soft and full of loving intent, settled on his fiancée, Zhang Yaqian, who sat near the stage. He leaned slightly closer to the microphone, his voice a gentle murmur that was still audible over the subsiding applause.
"Zhang Yaqian, did I sing well?"
"Very well," Zhang Yaqian admitted, her own eyes holding a flicker of newfound respect. The man she was engaged to was often just a playboy in her mind, but this was something else entirely. "I didn't expect you, Zhao Tao, to sing so beautifully. Your voice… it's even better than Hua Shen's."
If Zhao Tao had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously behind him. A surge of immense pride swelled in his chest, making him feel ten feet tall. It was true. Though he hadn't been blessed with a System or some other overpowered cheat when he transmigrated, his two core abilities had been phenomenally enhanced. His memory was now photographic, allowing him to recall any song, any lyric, any melody from his past life with perfect clarity. And his voice… his voice was his true Golden Finger, a divine instrument that could convey emotion with breathtaking purity. His live performance, raw and unfiltered, was a thousand times more potent than any track polished in a million-dollar recording studio. He was born for the stage.
"However, Hua Shen has creative talent," Zhang Yaqian immediately added, her tone thoughtful, tempering her praise with a dose of reality. "Not only can he sing, but he can also compose so many classic songs. That's true genius."
A smug, knowing smile crept across Zhao Tao's lips. This was the moment. This was the opening he had been waiting for all night. The setup was perfect.
"She thinks Hua Shen is the genius? Oh, you have no idea."
"Zhang Yaqian, I'll tell you a secret," he began, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, brimming with self-satisfaction. He was about to detonate the bomb, to reveal the truth that would shatter her perception of him and elevate him to godhood in her eyes. "Actually, I am—"
He was the god of the Chinese music scene. He was Hua Shen.
All those songs that had taken the nation by storm—"Blue and White Porcelain," "Jiangnan," "My Homeland," "East Wind Breaks," "Under the Sea"—they were all his. His creations, plucked from another world and brought to life by his celestial voice. He could already picture the look on Zhang Yaqian's face: the initial disbelief, the widening of her beautiful eyes, the gasp of shock, followed by overwhelming awe and adoration. She would surely throw herself into his arms, utterly conquered.
Zhao Tao's heart pounded with gleeful anticipation. The world was his oyster.
"HOLY HELL! LOOK AT THE TRENDING SEARCHES! What is this massive news?!"
Suddenly, a man several tables away shot to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. The shout, sharp and laced with disbelief, sliced through the bar's celebratory atmosphere like a knife. He held his phone out as if it were a venomous snake, his face a mask of pure shock.
Zhao Tao's perfect moment shattered. A deep frown creased his brow as he glared in the direction of the disturbance. He hadn't even finished his grand reveal. Who was this tactless fool who dared to interrupt him?
"Hua Shen has fallen! Oh my god, I didn't expect him to be that kind of person!!!" the man yelled, his voice cracking with a mix of outrage and excitement.
What?
'I've fallen? Since when? How come I don't know about it?'
Zhao Tao was utterly bewildered, his mind a complete blank. The words made no sense. It was like hearing someone announce that the sun had just vanished from the sky.
The single shout was a spark in a tinderbox. The bar, which had been buzzing about Zhao Tao's performance, instantly shifted its focus. A wave of murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"It's true! Damn! I originally thought Hua Shen was the future King of Singers, the savior of the Flame Summer music scene! A destined star! I never expected him to be a shameless, cheating scumbag who stole other people's work!"
"Is it really that big? Let me see… hiss… Good heavens!"
"Hua Shen's career is over! No, wait, don't tell me! Give me more of the juicy gossip!"
"..."
In an instant, Zhao Tao, the hero of the hour, was completely forgotten. The warm glow of the stage lights felt cold and isolating as every single person in the Jiangnan Bar pulled out their phones. The room became illuminated by the pale, bluish light of dozens of screens, and the air filled with the sound of frantic tapping and hushed, shocked whispers. No one paid him any attention at all.
"Hua Shen has fallen? Stealing achievements? A cheating scumbag?" Zhang Yaqian's delicate pink lips parted slightly, her pure, beautiful face a canvas of surprise. She was a genuine admirer of Hua Shen's talent, and the sudden, vicious nature of these accusations was jarring. She, too, immediately pulled out her phone to check the news. A few seconds later, her expression soured, her brow furrowing in anger.
"Hua Shen is actually such a person! He's... he's too detestable!" Zhang Yaqian mumbled, her lips trembling with indignation. If not for her refined upbringing, she would have already started cursing. The disappointment was sharp and bitter.
'What's going on?'
Zhao Tao stood frozen on stage, his face completely blank. The triumphant smile had long since vanished, replaced by a mask of stunned confusion.
'What the hell happened?'
He hadn't even gotten to reveal his identity. He hadn't even received the shocked and adoring gaze from his fiancée that he had so craved. And now, he had "fallen"?
How? How was this possible?
'Did the original owner of this body screw me over?'
A cold knot of dread tightened in Zhao Tao's stomach. All thoughts of his grand reveal evaporated, replaced by a frantic, primal urge for self-preservation. He quickly pulled out his own phone, his fingers fumbling slightly as he muttered under his breath, "Did the original owner set me up?"
He had transmigrated from a parallel world, a classic case of borrowing a corpse to return to life. The body's original owner, also named Zhao Tao, had died from a sudden heart attack brought on by excessive partying. The current Zhao Tao hadn't inherited many memories, but he knew the original was a promiscuous playboy, especially during his time studying abroad. With his good looks, family money, and the open social circles of a foreign country, he'd had girlfriends by the dozen.
'Could one of them have come forward to expose something? But that shouldn't be possible… no one knows that Zhao Tao is Hua Shen, right?'
And the plagiarism accusation was even more absurd. The songs he had "written" were from another dimension. They were absolutely, unequivocally non-existent in this world. There was no one to steal them from.
The moment he saw the trending searches, Zhao Tao felt the blood drain from his face. He went dumbfounded.
The top headline on the list was a digital guillotine, written in bold, eye-catching font.
"Ten Thousand Word Essay Exposes Hua Shen as a World-Shaking Scumbag, With Pictures and Truth!"
It wasn't just the top spot. It was a complete takeover. Nine of the top ten trending topics were a brutal, systematic dissection of the Hua Shen scandal. Only a lonely piece of news about some famous musician's upcoming concert was pitifully squeezed into the tenth spot, a forgotten footnote in the digital storm.
"Hua Shen: Cheating on Multiple People"
"Hua Shen's Songs Were All Stolen, So Scummy!"
"Modern Chen Shimei, Flame Summer Music Scene's Exploding Newcomer Collapses Before Debut!"
"Shocking! Hua Shen Actually Did Such a Vile Thing..."
[Akarin's Note: Chen Shimei is a classic villain from Chinese opera, a scholar who abandoned his loyal wife and children to marry a princess, even trying to have them assassinated. His name is now synonymous with being a heartless, ungrateful scumbag.]
...
Zhao Tao's face turned ashen. A powerful, terrifying premonition washed over him. With a trembling finger, he clicked on the first link: "Ten Thousand Word Essay Exposes Hua Shen as a World-Shaking Scumbag, With Pictures and Truth."
The article loaded, and Zhao Tao almost stumbled and fell right there on the stage. The photos… they were blurry, often showing only his profile or a shot from behind, but how could he not recognize himself? There he was, in various photos with a parade of different women, a slideshow of debauchery and extravagant chaos.
But what truly terrified him, what made his heart stop dead in his chest, was the content of the ten-thousand-word essay. The publisher, a woman named Jessica, claimed that songs like "Blue and White Porcelain" were written by her. She alleged that Hua Shen—that he—had used sweet talk and a web of empty promises to steal her creative fruits, her life's work.
"Nonsense!"
A raw, uncontrolled roar ripped from Zhao Tao's throat. "Bullshit! How could they be stolen from this Jessica?"
Even if this Jessica was one of his many ex-girlfriends from abroad, he would admit to the cheating. So what? What's a little promiscuity in the entertainment industry? It was a small problem, something he could still bounce back from. With his family's wealth and influence, a bit of public relations maneuvering and some hush money would smooth it all over.
But plagiarism… being accused of tricking an ex-girlfriend out of her creative work… if that stuck, it was a death sentence. There would be absolutely no hope of a comeback. Fans might tolerate a scumbag who had no integrity but possessed genuine talent. They would never, ever forgive a scumbag who had neither. Even if a few such oddities existed, they were a rounding error. His career would be over before it even began.
...
"Why are you shouting so loudly?"
Zhang Yaqian's face was pale, startled by Zhao Tao's sudden, guttural roar so close to her. Her expression was a mixture of shock and revulsion.
"No, nothing," Zhao Tao stammered, scrambling to recover. The bitterness in his mouth was so thick he could barely speak. "I'm... I'm also a fan of Hua Shen. I just can't stand this person slandering him like this."
He had to lie. He couldn't possibly admit to being Hua Shen now. Not like this. He had to figure out what was happening first. His original, perfect plan—to reveal his identity, to bask in the shock and admiration of his fiancée, to become a legend—had been utterly, catastrophically ruined.
Shen Anyu almost laughed out loud. This was naturally his doing. Now that he had made his move, could Zhao Tao, having been thoroughly exposed, still make a comeback? And not only that...
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