My Wife is a Big Star

Chapter 45 - Static

When Chen Ran saw Zhang Fanzhi, she had the television on but wasn't watching it; she was just sitting there, staring blankly.

Upon seeing Chen Ran, a hint of unease flickered across her face.

She had made up her mind: no matter how upset she felt in the future, she must never drink.

Some people become very well-behaved after drinking, finding a place to sleep until dawn. But others do things that no one can understand and say things they would never normally dare to say.

Commonly known as "drunk antics."

The catch is that many people forget what they did the night before.

Zhang Fanzhi suspected she belonged to the second category. Fortunately, only Sister Lin and Xiao Qin had been there last night; otherwise, she felt she wouldn't be able to go on living.

After Director Zhang entered the house and saw Chen Ran sitting on the sofa, he let out a cough, took a newspaper, folded it, and then headed into the kitchen.

Chen Ran watched as Uncle Zhang left and then asked, "Why did you drink so much last night?"

Zhang Fanzhi’s expression remained unchanged, but her fair, delicate earlobes turned pink in an instant. She said indifferently, "I was in a bad mood."

"I was under the impression that drinking doesn't actually make a mood better!" Chen Ran muttered.

Zhang Fanzhi didn't speak, but her earlobes had now turned a deep red.

Chen Ran thought for a while and asked anyway, "By the way, Xiao Qin mentioned your situation with the company yesterday. How did the talk go?"

Speaking of the company, Zhang Fanzhi’s face clouded over. "It’s just like that. In any case, I won't be going back for the time being."

Over the past two days, she and Tao Lin had discussed looking for songs more than once, but most of the musicians they knew were familiar with Fanxing. Good songs were sold to Fanxing in advance, and as for mediocre songs, there was no point in Zhang Fanzhi singing them.

Just as Chen Ran had said, her fans currently had high expectations of her; releasing a perfunctory song would be worse than not releasing one at all.

Meanwhile, the company's attitude was extremely aggressive—even going so far as to snatch songs—all to leave Zhang Fanzhi with no way out. It was exactly for this reason that Zhang Fanzhi and Tao Lin had drunk out of spite, one ending up drunk and the other vomiting.

Chen Ran pondered, "Is it mainly a problem with the songs?"

Zhang Fanzhi shook her head. "That's not the primary cause."

Since she didn't want to talk about it, Chen Ran found it hard to press further. He said, "If it's a problem with the songs, I can help a bit. But for other issues, I’m powerless."

Zhang Fanzhi looked at Chen Ran, not understanding how he could help with songs. Chen Ran was a planner for the Entertainment Channel; surely he didn't know any powerful musicians?

Seeing her look, Chen Ran explained, "Although I haven't studied music, I feel like there are many great melodies in my head. But I don't know how to write them down. I plan to write some lyrics and play them for you on the guitar. If you think they're good, you can try to transcribe them into a score yourself..."

"Thanks. That gave me a laugh," Zhang Fanzhi said expressionlessly.

A person who couldn't even play the guitar properly and had never studied music claimed to have many beautiful melodies in his head—would anyone believe that?

Whether anyone else believed it or not, Zhang Fanzhi certainly didn't.

Chen Ran: "..."

He didn't know how to explain this. Matters like transmigration could not be spoken of, even on pain of death.

He didn't expect Zhang Fanzhi to believe him right now anyway; he would record them and send them to her later. Once the songs were right there, it would be up to her whether to believe it or not.

After a while, a thumping sound came from the kitchen door, which only opened after a short pause.

Chen Ran and Zhang Fanzhi exchanged a glance, both seeing the speechlessness in each other's eyes.

They naturally understood what this meant—Director Zhang and his wife were afraid the two might be doing something "unsightly" outside and were worried about barging in and catching them in the act. So, before coming out, they knocked as a warning.

This made both Chen Ran and Zhang Fanzhi feel a bit unnatural.

"I heard from your Uncle that the program you're making at the Entertainment Channel is about to air. The station is very optimistic about it, and everyone's in a good mood. I'll go get a bottle of wine; you and your Uncle can have a drink together to celebrate," Auntie Yun said warmly as she set out the dishes.

Chen Ran and Zhang Fanzhi were both sensitive to the word "wine" and waved their hands in unison.

"No need, Auntie Yun (Mom)."

Auntie Yun and Director Zhang looked at Chen Ran and then at Zhang Fanzhi. As a woman, Auntie Yun was the first to react, assuming that her daughter simply didn't like Chen Ran drinking.

She smiled and said, "Since you both say no, then we won't drink."

Director Zhang also nodded in agreement.

“It’s better not to drink. Many young people nowadays have no self-control. They lose all sense of decorum once they’re drunk—either wailing like ghosts or making random phone calls. It’s distressing to watch.”

Hearing this, Chen Ran stole a glance at Zhang Fanzhi.

Zhang Fanzhi remained stone-faced, her expression unchanging, as if the person who had been drunk the night before wasn't her at all.

Chen Ran spoke up after a moment of consideration.

“Actually, it’s not that everyone enjoys drinking. There’s so much pressure these days, and with nowhere else to vent, people drown their sorrows in wine to let out the things they truly want to say.”

Director Zhang shook his head.

“What’s the point of drowning your sorrows? It ruins your health and doesn't solve any problems. You get nothing out of it except making yourself miserable! I don't advocate drinking at all. Look at Zhizhi and Ruyi—I’ve educated those two sisters since they were little: they are absolutely not allowed to drink when they’re out. Up until now, they’ve followed that rule perfectly!”

At this point, Director Zhang looked quite satisfied with his parenting.

Now, Zhang Fanzhi truly couldn't sit still. Not only were her earlobes red, but even her fair neck began to turn a soft shade of pink. She reached out to serve him some food and said,

“Dad, talk less and eat more.”

Director Zhang was slightly surprised. Zhang Fanzhi was not someone who was good at expressing her emotions; she very rarely served him food.

It seemed that it was a good thing for his daughter to suffer a few setbacks; at least she was maturing!

Chen Ran felt like laughing but thought it would be impolite, so he was having a rather difficult time holding it in.

Zhang Fanzhi frowned and gave Chen Ran a kick under the table.

“Ow!” Chen Ran jolted in surprise.

“What’s wrong?” Auntie Yun asked hurriedly.

Chen Ran quickly said, “Static electricity. It was just static.”

He glanced at Zhang Fanzhi; she was eating her food slowly and methodically, as if she wasn't the one who had just kicked him.

“The weather is a bit dry. When you buy clothes, try to stick to pure cotton, and you won't get static electricity,” Auntie Yun advised.

Chen Ran gave an embarrassed smile.

……

Once again, Zhang Fanzhi drove Chen Ran home.

“The program you’re making is about to air?” Zhang Fanzhi asked casually.

“Yeah, the date is already set.”

“Which day?”

“Next Friday!”

“I heard from my dad that you planned the program independently?”

“I’m just the Chief Planner; I handle the general direction. We discuss the details together as a team.”

Zhang Fanzhi gave an “oh.” “Are you always this humble?”

Chen Ran said, “I’m just telling the truth. Without a team, I couldn't have written a complete program on my own.”

When they arrived at his place, Chen Ran asked out of habit, “Do you want to come up for a bit?”

He did this every time; since she had driven him back, he had to offer a polite invitation.

Zhang Fanzhi certainly wouldn't go up. After all, if she did, it would just be a lone man and woman together.

“Alright!”

Chen Ran was just about to turn around when he jerked back.

“Huh?”

He saw that Zhang Fanzhi had already put on her mask and was preparing to get out of the car.

Chen Ran was a bit dazed. I was just being polite. Why did you agree...

You’re not following the script at all; I’m a bit at a loss here!