Chapter 5
The Mysterious Neighbor Next Door
Countless shocking scenes flashed in Zhao Fan’s mind.
“This resembles the hacking in The Matrix…”
Meng Fu spit out the beer bottle cap in her mouth. Ignoring Zhao Fan, she walked to the computer and switched it off unhurriedly.
Snap.
The computer screen went blank immediately, returning to its usual gray appearance. This put an abrupt stop to Zhao Fan’s talking.
Meng Fu took a sip of beer. The taste had changed slightly but she didn’t care. She peered at Zhao Fan. “Do you get it now? Just do this in the future.”
Zhao Fan’s mind was filled with images of “cyber warfare” and she was momentarily at a loss for words. She stared strangely at the silent computer, almost doubting her own eyesight. She nodded blankly to express that she knew what to do.
“Have you packed the books?” Meng Fu retracted her gaze.
Zhao Fan shook her head. “I’ll do that now.”
Meng Fu stepped out of the door again and returned with many bottles.
“What perfumes are these? They smell good,” Zhao Fan inquired with Meng Fu while she packed the books. Looking at the variety of colorful bottles, Zhao Fan could tell that the bottles contained perfume. However, they were not labeled and looked like merchandise from roadside stalls.
Meng Fu didn’t turn and look at her. “If you like them, choose a bottle.”
Zhao Fan loved perfumes. She even had a few brand and limited edition perfumes that she could not bear to use. Nevertheless, she didn’t shun Meng Fu’s perfume and took one bottle for herself.
Three minutes later, Zhao Fan, who had helped Meng Fu tidy up her suitcase conscientiously, suddenly came to her senses. When did she become Meng Fu’s helper?
**
After Meng Fu came back, she packed a few books and took out two notebooks. Pulling the black suitcase, Zhao Fan opened the door. A man wearing a baseball cap was standing at the door. He was holding takeout in one hand and raising his other hand, about to knock on the door.
Zhao Fan looked up and was greeted with a pair of deep and clear eyes. They looked bright and dazzling, albeit slightly distant. She had seen countless beauties but was nevertheless stunned by him. “Mister, who are you looking for?”
The man looked past Zhao Fan to Meng Fu, who was standing behind her.
Meng Fu leaned against the door frame. She raised her head and yawned lazily.
“Come in.”
The man seemed very familiar with the room. He entered casually.
After he went in, Zhao Fan tiptoed over to Meng Fu. “Who is he? Why is he looking for you?”
“He’s my neighbor who stays in the opposite unit,” Meng Fu said nonchalantly.
Zhao Fan cast a suspicious look at Meng Fu.
The man came out after entering the room for three minutes. There was a piece of paper in his hands.
Meng Fu glanced at the takeout in his hands. “You’re only eating takeout? Watch out for flies.”
Upon hearing her words, the man stared at her for a long time before gritting his teeth and saying, “You are still that sharp-tongued, huh? It seems you’re doing fine.”
After speaking, he walked quickly to the door of the opposite unit and opened it with his key. The door closed with a bang. The dust in front of Meng Fu’s door flew all over the place from the impact.
Zhao Fan clicked her tongue. She was very curious about Meng Fu’s neighbor. She followed Meng Fu downstairs with the suitcase. “I’ve not heard you mention this neighbor of yours before. I wonder if he’s interested in entering showbiz. Do you have his contact?”
Meng Fu’s hands were beautiful, long, and slender. They were the best-looking pair of hands that Zhao Fan had ever seen. When she had wanted to carry the suitcase, Zhao Fan stopped her. Instinctively, she felt that Meng Fu’s hands were those of an artist and therefore not suitable for such tasks.
Meng Fu threw the beer bottle into the trash can near the neighbor’s door and replied nonchalantly, “Oh, I advise you to get rid of this idea as soon as possible.”
“You’ll die.”
**
Half an hour later, Meng Fu arrived at the Best Idol training camp. When passing by the corridor of the training room, the two heard someone talking in the stairway, a security camera blind spot.
The voice was soft and Zhao Fan could not hear the conversation clearly. Meng Fu glanced at the stairway thoughtfully.
“Isn’t that Ding Liuyue?” After taking another two steps, Zhao Fan caught a clear glimpse of the person.
Ding Liuyue belonged to Meng Fu’s team. She was average in popularity but very talented. She was the song-writing type of contestant.
“Yes,” Meng Fu responded and averted her gaze. “Let’s go.”
Zhao Fan did not dwell on it either. She helped Meng Fu move the suitcase to the dormitory. Afterward, Meng Fu headed to the training room on her own to look for Chu Yue.
Chu Yue and team were all located in the last training room. When Meng Fu arrived, the other eight people were training.
Everyone trained with a camera filming them. The rule of survival here was to get more screen time and create hype for oneself. One had to be seen working diligently. Otherwise, no one would know how hardworking one was.
When Chu Yue saw Meng Fu, she wiped the sweat from her head. She walked to Meng Fu and passed her the dance moves that she took an entire night to choreograph. “Follow my steps. Ask me if you’re not sure.”
She had a tall nose bridge and her facial features were quite cool-looking. She was about 1.72 meters tall. She was the andrognynous type that was currently popular in the entertainment industry.
Meng Fu took the cell phone and said, “Thank you.”
Chu Yue nodded coolly and did not say another word. She returned to her original position and continued practicing.
Meng Fu didn’t turn on the cell phone. Instead, she leaned against the table and laughed languidly. “Hey.”
Chu Yue stopped dancing and cast a sideways glance at her.
“Did you notice that someone from the team is missing?” Meng Fu put the phone on the table and picked up a pen casually. She used it to slowly wind up her long hair, in preparation for practice.
When Chu Yue heard this, she looked around the room seriously and found Ding Liuyue missing. “Liuyue is composing music. It’s noisy here and she finds it very distracting.”
Meng Fu smiled. “I see.”
At one o’clock in the morning, two people were still practicing in the training room.
Chu Yue stopped for a rest and took a sip of water. She discussed the details of the dance with the girl beside her. “My phone is still at Meng Fu’s place. Go with me to the dormitory bedroom to get it back.”
The girl beside her was Jin Wei, a singer-type contestant. She could rap very well. However, she was not very talented at dancing and had average popularity. She had been diligently learning from Yue Chu.
Chu Yue and Meng Fu were in the same dormitory. Chu Yue and Jin Wei went to open the door to the dorm. The dormitory door was not locked. When the two opened the door, they saw Meng Fu doing splits on the ground and maintaining a difficult posture. Her upper body was pressing onto her legs, revealing a small part of her fair and slender waist.
Seeing that the two were back, she looked up calmly, turned a page in the book in front of her, and greeted them. “Hello.”
Wei Jin looked at her stiffly. “What are you doing?”
“Reading and training my body’s flexibility.” Meng Fu’s posture remained unchanged and she turned a page calmly as she spoke.
She was seemingly reading at a fast pace.
Wei Jin could bet that fewer than 10 people in the training camp could do what Meng Fu was doing now, unless they had learned dancing from a young age.
**
Early the next morning, Meng Fu yawned as she went to the canteen with Chu Yue.
Wei Jin had also just entered the canteen. After last night, she had a better impression of Meng Fu. In terms of diligence, she felt that she could not be compared to Meng Fu. After learning that Meng Fu was different from how the rumors portrayed her, she took a bowl and sat next to them.
Chu Yue paused for a moment and recalled the scene in front of her when she woke up in the morning. After pausing, she said expressionlessly, “She slept doing a split for the entire night.”
Wei Jin was speechless. She stared at Meng Fu, who was waiting for her omelet. “Pervert… Monster!”
“Fortunately, she is tone deaf.” Wei Jin stirred the porridge and regained some confidence. When she looked up and saw Ding Liuyue entering the canteen, she waved at her. “Liuyue, here!”
Ding Liuyue glanced at them and pursed her lips. In the end, she walked over with her toast and apple.
“Can’t we get Meng Fu to leave our team?” Ding Liuyue sat next to Wei Jin and looked at Chu Yue. “Don’t you know how important this performance is to us?”
Chu Yue always had a cold demeanor and she was a person of few words. At this moment, she did not explain further. She was a team player. Since Meng Fu was now a member of her team, they were in this together.
Meng Fu’s omelet was ready. She came over with the milk and sat next to Chu Yue. As soon as she came over, Ding Liuyue stopped talking. It was as if she were guarded around Meng Fu or for other reasons.
Meng Fu didn’t care. She put away her phone, took a bite of the omelet, and looked at Ding Liuyue. “How’s your song-composing going?”
Ding Liuyue ignored her.
Meng Fu swallowed the omelet. She was not cross and seemed amused instead. There was a misty look in her alluring eyes. “If you encounter any difficulties, let me know. I can help you with the song.”
Help? Who in the entire training camp didn’t know that Meng Fu could not read music? Ding Liuyue was so mad that she felt like flaring up at her.
What could she help with?
Ding Liuyue didn’t even look at Meng Fu. She put away her plate, as if she didn’t hear Meng Fu. “I’m leaving.”