Taylor Swift (Two-in-One)

The cold wind howled outside the window, while soft instrumental music played inside the cafe.

Chen Zhi chewed on the straw of his iced Americano, turning Lin Wanwan's recent proposal over and over in his mind.

There was only one conclusion: it was absolute suicide.

With how advanced the internet was nowadays, if he dared to sing a romantic duet with Lin Wanwan on stage, "Lin Wanwan's mysterious boyfriend" would top the Weibo trending chart within half an hour.

Once it trended, never mind how those bored-out-of-their-minds netizens would dig up his past, just the other two leading ladies in his fish pond would be enough to make him suffer.

No, he absolutely could not get on that stage.

But if he didn't, how was he going to explain it to Lin Wanwan?

The girl was looking forward to winning the championship in the finals with all her heart; he couldn't just brush her off with a blunt "I'm busy."

Chen Zhi rubbed his temples, his gaze inadvertently catching an overseas entertainment news notification on his phone screen.

A news headline instantly grabbed his attention: "Pop Queen Taylor's Global Tour."

Chen Zhi's eyes lit up.

That's right! He was now a capitalist shark holding 4.5 billion dollars in cash!

Since he couldn't go on stage himself, he would just throw money at the biggest star in the world to sing with her!

And this money definitely wouldn't be wasted. Deep Space Technology was currently preparing to enter the overseas market, and Moss needed global promotion. They were in dire need of a phenomenal spokesperson with global influence.

Taylor, also known as Taylor Swift, had hundreds of millions of fans worldwide. Whether in North America or the Asia-Pacific region, her popularity was overwhelmingly in the lead.

If he could hire her as Moss's global spokesperson and casually add a clause in the contract to "attend a Chinese variety show in coordination with endorsement activities," wouldn't that be perfect?

It could help Lin Wanwan win the championship, advertise the company, and perfectly cover for him so he wouldn't have to appear on camera!

It was just money, right? The one thing Chen Zhi lacked the least right now was money.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhi didn't hesitate at all and directly found Lin Wanwan's number and dialed it.

The phone was picked up the second it rang.

"Chen Zhi!" Lin Wanwan's excited voice came through the receiver, and in the background, staff could be faintly heard shouting to prepare for rehearsal. "Have you made up your mind? Are you going to go on stage with me? I was just about to give your name to Sister Su Man!"

Listening to this expectant tone, Chen Zhi felt a strong sense of guilt inexplicably well up in his heart.

Being such a scumbag, he really was less than human.

"Hey, Wanwan." Chen Zhi coughed dryly and braced himself to speak. "Um... I'm sorry, about going on stage, I probably can't make it."

The excitement on the other end of the line came to a halt.

"Why?" Lin Wanwan's voice instantly dropped, carrying obvious grievance. "Didn't you say you'd give me an answer in a couple of days? It hasn't even been a day, and you're already backing out."

"I'm not backing out, I really just can't show my face." Chen Zhi's mind spun rapidly, and he immediately brought out the excuse he had prepared in advance. "You know I'm running an AI startup, and the company is about to launch a new product overseas. If I, as the founder, run off to sing on a variety show, the investors will have a problem with it."

Afraid she wouldn't believe him, Chen Zhi hurriedly added a key point: "But don't worry, I'll solve the guest issue for you. Our company just happens to be expanding overseas and is preparing to spend heavily to hire a global spokesperson. I plan to directly invest in your show and have this top singer, who has both talent and popularity, be your mystery guest. I guarantee you'll win the championship!"

According to Chen Zhi's expectations, hearing that an international superstar was coming to help, Lin Wanwan would at least be a little excited.

However, there was no reaction from the other side.

"It's not like I want to be with other celebrities," Lin Wanwan muttered aggrievedly, her voice revealing obvious disappointment.

"I just wanted to sing with you, and then... then take advantage of the live broadcast to directly announce our relationship. Then we wouldn't have to hide when we go out anymore."

Announce their relationship?!

Hearing these words, cold sweat instantly broke out on Chen Zhi's back.

He finally understood why Lin Wanwan was so insistent on dragging him on stage. This girl wanted to use this nationally watched opportunity to directly set their relationship in stone!

My dear girl, if we announce this, will I even live to see tomorrow morning?

Chen Zhi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, hurriedly trying to nip this dangerous idea in the bud. "No, isn't announcing it a bit too rushed? Doesn't Sister Su Man always emphasize to you that announcing a romance now would seriously affect your career development? You've only just gotten popular."

"Sister Su said it too," Lin Wanwan retorted. "As long as I can win the championship on a stage like 'Singer', I can completely prove my talent and slap the faces of those who say I'm just a pretty vase."

She grew more excited as she spoke. "Once I win the championship, I'll have a lot of career-focused fans. If I announce then that I have a childhood sweetheart boyfriend who has always silently supported me, the fans won't be disgusted. Even more people will ship our from-school-uniforms-to-wedding-dresses romance!"

Chen Zhi cursed that Su Man ten thousand times in his heart. What was in this manager's head? Instigating a female star to reveal her romance?

If Su Man heard this, she would definitely feel extremely wronged. It was only because she treated Wanwan like her own daughter that she tried every means to make their relationship see the light of day, and yet he was cursing her.

"Then... then what if people unfan you?" Chen Zhi could only continue to brace himself and persuade her. "If those male fans find out you have a boyfriend, they'll definitely unfan and turn against you. This would have too great an impact on your future commercial value."

"If they leave, they leave. I don't care about them anyway." Lin Wanwan's tone suddenly became incredibly firm. "I only care about you. As long as you don't stop being my fan, I don't care how others look at me or hate me."

Chen Zhi sat blankly on the cafe sofa, feeling a slight twinge in his conscience.

Lin Wanwan was too pure.

She had struggled and fought in this industry, finally making a name for herself, and was only one step away from becoming a highly anticipated pop diva.

But just to be openly together with him, she would throw it all away without hesitation.

And what about himself?

What was he doing? He was scheming how to keep his grand "I want them all" harem from crashing and burning.

Chen Zhi had always boasted that his skin was thicker than a city wall in this life, but at this moment, the guilt in his heart almost drowned him.

If one day Lin Wanwan found out about the existence of Li Zhiyi and Pei Ningxue, and realized that the "childhood sweetheart" she was so happily preparing to marry was actually a time-management master juggling several women, how devastated would she be?

"Chen Zhi? Are you listening?" Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a while, Lin Wanwan called out softly.

"I'm listening." Chen Zhi took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the overwhelming emotions, and forcefully pulled the topic back on track.

No matter how bad he felt inside, he had to resolve the immediate crisis first.

"Wanwan, listen to me. We have a long future ahead of us, missing one official announcement won't matter." Chen Zhi tried his best to make his tone sound relaxed.

"Aren't you going to ask who I'm planning to get as the spokesperson for you?"

"Who is it," Lin Wanwan replied unenthusiastically, sounding depressed.

Chen Zhi played his trump card, "Taylor Swift. Wasn't she the one on the poster you had plastered on your bedroom wall when you were a kid? You were a die-hard fan back then."

The moment those words came out, the air on the other end of the line seemed to freeze for a second.

Immediately after, Lin Wanwan's excited scream erupted through the phone.

"Ahhhhhh?!?"

All of Lin Wanwan's previous grievance and disappointment were thrown out the window. "Are you serious?! Tay-Tay?! Chen Zhi, you're not lying to me, are you? That's Tay-Tay!"

Chen Zhi rubbed his ear, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from curling up. That should do the trick.

Lin Wanwan was just like this; her emotions came and went quickly. She was actually very easy to coax.

"Would I lie to you about this?" Chen Zhi leaned back on the sofa.

"Deep Space Technology is now a multinational company valued at tens of billions of dollars. Hiring an international spokesperson is nothing.

Not only will she perform on stage with you during the competition, but I'm also planning to have her write a new song custom-made for you. Do you think this level of prestige is enough for you to win the championship?"

"It's enough! More than enough!" Lin Wanwan was so excited she was rambling.

"Oh my god, I'm still her fan now! I can sing every single one of her new songs! Can I really stand on stage and sing with my idol? This feels like a dream!"

"Of course you can. With your husband here to back you up, you can sing with whoever you want."

"But..." After the excitement faded, Lin Wanwan's voice suddenly dropped again. "But, even though being on stage with my idol is super thrilling, I... I still want to be with you the most."

Why was this girl so stubborn!

For a moment, Chen Zhi didn't know how to respond to that.

All excuses seemed so pale and powerless in the face of the girl's unreserved affection.

He stayed silent for a long while before rubbing his temples and saying, "I really have work arrangements this time and can't get away. Next year, when you hold your solo concert, I promise I'll go up there and sing a song with you, okay?"

"You said it!" Lin Wanwan was finally appeased. "Pinky swear, no going back on your word! If you dare to lie to me, I'll go down to your company and hold up protest banners every single day!"

"I won't go back on it." Chen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's leave it at that for now. The business contract involved in this is a bit complicated. I'll go talk to Sister Su Man about it later. You just focus on practicing your singing."

"Okay! I'm hanging up then! Love you!"

"Love you too."

Hanging up the phone, Chen Zhi let out a long breath of stale air. He had finally passed the first hurdle without any real danger.

He didn't dare to rest. He immediately found Su Man's number in his contacts and dialed it.

Handling Lin Wanwan was only the first step. To actually make it happen, he had to give her manager, Su Man, a heads-up so she could coordinate this explosive resource with Hunan TV.

"Hello, Chen Zhi?" Su Man answered the phone very quickly as well. "Why are you calling me at this hour? Didn't Wanwan go ask you about going on stage?"

"Sister Su, I'll take care of Wanwan's guest singer for the finals." Chen Zhi didn't waste time and cut straight to the chase. "I plan to bring someone over."

Su Man chuckled on the other end of the line. "You're bringing someone? Chen Zhi, don't blame me for being blunt. This is a top-tier national music variety show, and the finals are broadcast live. If the person you bring has no reputation in the industry or can't hold the stage, it will drag down Wanwan's live votes."

In Su Man's eyes, Chen Zhi was just an ordinary Peking University student. What big shots in the entertainment circle could he possibly know?

"You don't need to worry about the reputation part, Sister Su." Chen Zhi picked up his iced Americano and took a sip. "I guarantee they can hold the stage."

"Oh? Which big shot in the industry do you know?" Su Man's interest was piqued. "Tell me about it. If they're A-list, I'll go report it to the network's chief director."

"Taylor Swift," Chen Zhi stated the name.

The other end of the line fell silent.

After a while, Su Man's voice lost its usual composure, "Who the hell... did you say?!"

"Tay-Tay." Chen Zhi repeated calmly. "Our company will pay for it. Sister Su, you just need to handle the coordination with the production team. I only have two demands. First, the stage presentation must be top-notch. Second, this matter must be kept absolutely secret until the competition."

On the other end of the line, Su Man had completely lost her ability to think.

Throwing money to invite Tay-Tay to be a guest singer on a Chinese variety show?

Was this still the college freshman from next door that she knew?! Even if you tied all the capital in the domestic entertainment industry together, they couldn't pull off something like this!

Ignoring Su Man's shock, Chen Zhi hung up the phone.

He then pulled up an unsaved overseas number and sent a brief text message in English:

"David, use the power of Goodnight Capital to secure Taylor Swift's team. We want her to come to China to sing one song and simultaneously sign a contract as Moss's global spokesperson. There is no budget cap. Throw money at her until she nods."

After sending the text, Chen Zhi put down his phone and sighed.

If Lin Wanwan were his only girlfriend, he would have agreed without a second thought. What was singing on stage? Even if he sang so out of tune that it reached the Pacific Ocean, he would gladly stand by her side.

But she wasn't.

He had three.

Chen Zhi stared at the water ring left by the coffee cup on the table, suddenly feeling that he deserved to be cursed by that terrible fortune stick he drew at Changchun Temple.

His phone buzzed again.

Pei Ningxue sent a WeChat message: [Where did you go?]

Chen Zhi: [The coffee shop downstairs, handling some private matters.]

Pei Ningxue: [Oh, "private matters".]

Just a few words and quotation marks, yet Chen Zhi could feel the sneer in the eyes on the other side of the screen.

He quickly added: [Company business. We need to negotiate a spokesperson contract overseas, and I've sent someone to handle it.]

Pei Ningxue: [Spokesperson? Who? Did it go through my approval?]

Chen Zhi hesitated for a second before typing: [Taylor Swift.]

There was another long silence from the other side.

Then, a single word popped up: [How much?]

Chen Zhi reported the number.

Pei Ningxue: [Are you crazy?]

Chen Zhi: [The money is worth it. Moss's overseas market needs a global-level brand spokesperson, and her commercial value highly matches our user persona.]

Pei Ningxue: [Save the commercial value talk.]

Pei Ningxue: [It's your little singer girlfriend going on a variety show, isn't it.]

Chen Zhi stared at the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard, unable to press down for a long time.

How was this woman's intuition so accurate?

He deliberated for thirty seconds before replying: [Deep Space Technology's global brand strategy and the singer variety show collaboration plan do not conflict.]

Pei Ningxue: [Heh.]

Pei Ningxue: [Chen Zhi, remember this. I will sign off on this endorsement fee because it actually makes sense from a business logic standpoint.]

Pei Ningxue: [But what you owe me is a separate matter.]

Chen Zhi swallowed hard and obediently typed back: [Understood, sis.]

Locking his phone screen, Chen Zhi stood up and headed outside.

As he stepped through the cafe's revolving doors, the chill March wind bit at his collar. He shrank his neck against the cold and hailed a cab by the sidewalk, intending to head back to Peking University.

Right after he gave the driver his destination, his phone rang again.

It was David.

It hadn't even been an hour.

"Boss! Good news! Taylor's agent replied!" David's voice buzzed with barely contained excitement. "They're incredibly interested in the global endorsement deal for Deep Space Technology, but—"

"But what?"

"They're demanding a face-to-face meeting with you before they sign anything."