Chapter 608: Zhang Yaqian: Cancel the engagement and take care of yourself!
"You're a fan of Hua Shen, no wonder! But that person isn't worthy of being called Hua Shen!" Zhang Yaqian had a good temper and didn't mind Zhao Tao startling her. She then pointed at her phone, seething, "Zhao Tao, scroll down to the bottom of the ten-thousand-word exposé, there's solid proof! This person is too wicked!"
Too wicked!
The accusation hung in the air, sharp and venomous. Zhao Tao's face, already tight with confusion, turned a ghastly shade of white. A cold dread, slick and oily, began to seep into his veins. With fingers that trembled like leaves in a storm, he took the phone from her. The screen felt unnaturally cold, a slab of ice against his clammy skin. He forced himself to swipe, his thumb skittering across the glass. The long article blurred past his eyes—a cascade of damning text and images—until he reached the very bottom. And there, he froze. His breath hitched in his throat, and the world seemed to narrow into a single, horrifying point.
Displayed with clinical brutality was a series of official-looking documents. Digital certificates from the national copyright authority, each bearing an official seal and a timestamp. The publisher, an anonymous user named 'Jessica', had laid out the copyright registrations for "Blue and White Porcelain," for "East Wind Break," for "Jiangnan"—for every single song he had planned to build his empire upon. The dates on the certificates were chillingly precise, registered a full two months before he had ever uploaded his first demo.
It wasn't just proof; it was an executioner's warrant. Ironclad. Absolute. obvious.
"This… how is this possible?" The words were a choked whisper, torn from a throat suddenly filled with sand. It felt as if a bolt of lightning had arced from the phone screen and struck him squarely in the chest, stopping his heart. The carefully constructed reality he had built for himself shattered into a million glittering fragments.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Zhao Tao's vision went dark. Plundered +9999 destiny value!]
[Ding! Child of Destiny Zhao Tao's mentality has exploded. Plundered +9999 destiny value!]
The robotic chimes of the System were like nails being hammered into his coffin. Zhao Tao's mind didn't just explode; it disintegrated. The very foundation of his confidence, the core of his transmigrator's advantage, had been ripped out from under him. 'How? How could this be?' The question screamed through the echoing void of his consciousness.
These songs were treasures from his previous life, melodies from a world no one here knew. They were his golden ticket, his unique cheat code. He was the sole keeper of this knowledge, the chosen one destined to bring these masterpieces to this new world and bask in the glory. The idea that someone else could possess them was not just impossible—it was a violation of the natural order of his transmigration.
Yet, the proof was right there. Verified by the copyright department. Authenticated. Real. The documents stared back at him, cold and merciless, mocking his arrogance.
A few tables away, hidden in the vibrant chaos of the bar, Shen Anyu watched the scene unfold with a detached, almost clinical amusement. A faint scoff, silent and internal, was his only reaction. 'Just a casually placed chess piece.'
This was never about luck or coincidence. From the moment he understood the nature of this composite world—a chaotic gathering of protagonists and Children of Destiny—he had prepared for every tired trope in the book. The song-plagiarizing transmigrator was one of the most common and predictable types. A low-hanging fruit waiting to be plucked.
Months ago, he had tasked a subordinate, through a dozen shell corporations and untraceable proxies, to register the copyrights for every iconic song, script, novel, and screenplay he could remember from his past life. The name on the registration had zero connection to Shen Anyu, a ghost in the system designed for this exact purpose. No one could ever trace it back to him.
It wasn't just music. Anyone who thought they could get famous by "writing" Battle Through the Heavens or "creating" A Mortal's Journey to Immortality would find themselves walking into the same meticulously crafted legal bear trap.
His encounter with Zhao Tao at Yang's Hotpot Restaurant had been a happy accident, accelerating a process that was already inevitable. Even if it hadn't been Zhang Yaqian who discovered the truth, the moment Zhao Tao released "Blue and White Porcelain" to the public, alarms would have tripped in Shen Anyu's network, and this exact scenario would have played out. It was a checkmate planned from the very first move.
A ghost of a smile touched Shen Anyu's lips as he looked at the utterly broken Zhao Tao. He leaned forward slightly, his voice a smooth, gentle balm that was more corrosive than any acid.
"Zhao Tao, it's just an idol collapsing. Don't be so sad."
"Yes, yes, Master Shen is right." Zhang Yaqian chimed in, nodding earnestly. She shot a worried glance at Zhao Tao, though a sliver of confusion remained in her eyes. The downfall of Hua Shen was shocking, but Zhao Tao's reaction… it seemed disproportionately extreme. 'Why is he taking this so hard? Was he really that much of a fan?'
"I…" Zhao Tao's face was a twisted mask of bitterness. He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. A perfect start. A god-tier opening hand had somehow transformed into an unsalvageable wreck. His mind was a maelstrom of panic and confusion. How could he possibly salvage this? The path to global superstardom, once a gleaming highway before him, had crumbled into a chasm. 'How do I break this? Is there a way out? Was I not the only one? Is there another transmigrator, one who moved faster than me?'
Suddenly, a massive wave of noise crashed through the bar, louder than the music.
"Oh my god, the official announcement is out! Hua Shen, this kind of black sheep, is completely banned!"
A chorus of shouts and gasps erupted from the surrounding tables as people stared at their phones.
The top trending topic had been forcefully replaced. A new, stark headline from the official state media agency sat at the very top. The verdict was swift and merciless: Hua Shen, a tainted artist of the worst kind, was to be permanently banned from all public platforms.
"Good riddance!" someone shouted, and the sentiment was echoed by a wave of cheers. A collective sense of relief and satisfaction swept through the crowd.
"Although outright bans aren't good, tainted artists like Hua Shen should be banned!" Zhang Yaqian pursed her pink lips, her voice firm with conviction.
Each cheer was a hammer blow to Zhao Tao's soul. His face turned ashen, a deathly gray that sucked all the life from his features. A profound, bone-deep coldness spread through his limbs, and his heart felt as if it had been plunged into an abyss of ice water.
It was over.
It was completely, utterly over.
There was no need to even think about a comeback. The state itself had slammed the door shut and thrown away the key. The brilliant future he had envisioned—the roaring stadiums, the adoring fans, the title of a generational superstar—all of it had vanished like a puff of smoke.
[Ding! Child of Destiny Zhao Tao's fate was greatly affected. Plundered +200,000 destiny value!]
The system's prompt was the final toll of the bell. Zhao Tao slumped back against the plush sofa, the strength draining out of him as if from an open wound. He felt hollowed out, a mere shell of the man he was just minutes ago.
It was all gone. Those exquisite beauties of the entertainment industry he had dreamed of conquering—the ethereal Zhong Lingyin, the fiery Wen Feifei—they were now impossibly distant stars in a galaxy he could never reach. His future had collapsed into a black hole of failure.
His life was a bleak, barren wasteland… except…
'Wait.'
A tiny ember of thought flickered in the darkness. He could only go home and… inherit the Chenguang Group's tens of billions in assets.
'Right! Becoming a big star is out of the question, but I still have hundreds of billions in family assets to inherit!'
The thought was like a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. The despair began to recede, replaced by the familiar, comforting arrogance of wealth. His posture straightened. The life returned to his eyes.
He couldn't be a star, but he was still a top-tier rich second-generation. His father, Zhao Chenguang, was one of Hangzhou's ten wealthiest moguls. He was the sole heir to the Chenguang Group and its vast fortune. So what if the path of talent was blocked? The path of money was a superhighway with no speed limits.
Being a playboy was a perfectly acceptable alternative. Zhong Lingyin and Wen Feifei might not be swayed by his plagiarized talent, but mountains of money had a certain persuasive charm of their own.
Furthermore, he still had his fiancée. The stunning Zhang Yaqian, Hangzhou's number one socialite, a woman with the beauty and grace of an elven princess.
He was still a winner. Yes. A winner in life.
Zhao Tao's spirits soared once more, his resilience disturbingly potent. He was back.
"Zhao Tao, what were you going to tell me earlier?"
At that moment, Zhang Yaqian's sweet voice, laced with innocent curiosity, cut through his thoughts. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she looked at him, her head tilted slightly. She hadn't forgotten his earlier promise of a big reveal.
"I…" Zhao Tao's newly regained confidence evaporated instantly. His expression froze, and his mind went blank with panic.
He had planned to grandly reveal his secret identity as Hua Shen. He had imagined the look of shock, awe, and adoration on her face. It was meant to be the masterstroke that won her heart completely. But now? Expose himself now?
The name Hua Shen was now synonymous with filth. A chaotic private life, a history of cheating, manipulating ex-girlfriends for their work… the public's perception was set in stone, and Zhang Yaqian was clearly disgusted by it all.
If he admitted the truth now, it wouldn't be a triumphant reveal. It would be a confession to being the most reviled man in the country. It would be social suicide.
"Cough, cough! It was nothing. I wasn't going to say anything important," Zhao Tao stammered, waving his hands dismissively. In his flustered state, his grip on his phone loosened.
Just then, a flicker of cold light danced in Shen Anyu's eyes. An imperceptible ripple of mental energy, a thought force as gentle as a breeze, brushed against Zhao Tao's phone. It was an impossibly subtle nudge, a whisper of power that no mortal could ever detect. Instantly, the phone slipped from Zhao Tao's flailing hand. It tumbled through the air in a slow, fateful arc before landing face-up on the marble floor with a soft clack. The screen glowed, displaying the open NetEase Cloud Music app, logged into the profile of 'Hua Shen'.
The phone landed perfectly in Zhang Yaqian's line of sight.
"The God of Chinese Music?" Zhang Yaqian's beautiful, star-like eyes widened. She stared at the screen, then shot her gaze up at Zhao Tao, a storm of disbelief and dawning horror brewing within them. "Zhao Tao, you… you are Hua Shen??"
"No! I'm not! It's not me! I'm not Hua Shen!"
The denial was a frantic, high-pitched mess. Zhao Tao's face contorted with sheer terror.
"How could I possibly be Hua Shen? That's not true, absolutely not!"
'Damn it! Damn it all! Of all the rotten coincidences, why did she have to see the account?!' A cold sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down his temples.
"You're not?" Zhang Yaqian's gaze sharpened, her eyes scrutinizing him with an unnerving intensity. She looked from his pale, panicked face down to the phone, then back again. Her mind raced, connecting the dots. The profile photo on the exposé… it was a slightly stylized, but clearly recognizable, picture of Zhao Tao. And the voice… the voice she'd heard him sing with earlier was almost identical to Hua Shen's. The pieces clicked into place with horrifying clarity. Her pretty face, once warm and curious, slowly became a mask of ice. She said softly, her voice devoid of all its previous warmth:
"Zhao Tao, I didn't expect you to be such a person. Hua Shen… Zhao Tao… your life is quite… colorful."
She was no fool. She understood everything in an instant. He was Hua Shen. He had brought her to the Jiangnan Bar tonight specifically to reveal his identity and impress her. But by a stroke of cruel fate—or perhaps, a blessing in disguise—the scandal had broken first, allowing her to see his true, repulsive character before it was too late.
Countless infidelities. A complete lack of responsibility. A manipulative monster who sweet-talked women into giving him their creative work…
"Zhang Yaqian, listen to my explanation! I'm really not Hua Shen!" Zhao Tao panicked, his words tumbling out in an incoherent jumble.
With slender, fair hands, Zhang Yaqian bent down and picked up his phone. She held it up, the glowing screen of the music account facing him like a judge's gavel.
"It's not you?" she asked, her voice dangerously quiet. "Zhao Tao, you're still hiding. Still deceiving!"
Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Zhang Yaqian looked at Zhao Tao, her eyes now filled with a profound and bottomless disappointment.
"I will tell Daddy that the engagement between our two families is hereby annulled. You take care of yourself!"
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