Chapter 12: Shopping Carnival

Today’s milk tea was Feng Jingyu’s favorite flavor. She took a sip through the straw, a look of satisfaction appearing on her face, and said to Cen Lan beside her, “Sister Cen Lan, there’s still half a year until the next approval rating update, right?”

Cen Lan was taken aback for a moment, then quickly replied, “That’s right, it updates on April 1st next year.”

“Right on April Fool’s Day.” Feng Jingyu smiled. “With half a year left, we need to expand our influence. Otherwise, if the numbers look too bad, it’ll be tough for everyone.”

Cen Lan could tell she already had something in mind, so she asked, “What are you planning to do?”

“First, let’s organize a concert tour for Huaiyin.” Feng Jingyu set down her now-empty milk tea. “The Interstellar Girls’ Group has already finished their tour, but I still haven’t fulfilled my promise to Huaiyin about his concert. It’s time to make it happen.”

Cen Lan pulled up the Interstellar Girls’ Group’s tour route and shared it with Feng Jingyu, asking, “How should we arrange the route?”

Feng Jingyu glanced at it and said, “The Interstellar Girls’ Group took a people-friendly route, so they mostly went to small and medium star systems. But Huaiyin is positioned as a universe-level top star—he can’t go to those places.”

Cen Lan closed her terminal. “So what’s your idea?”

Feng Jingyu put on a pair of glasses she’d produced from who-knows-where, angling them so the light fell just right on one lens. “The first stop of Huaiyin’s concert tour—Central Star System!”

Cen Lan thought for a moment before saying, “Will the Central Star System accept our request for a commercial performance?”

Feng Jingyu pushed her glasses up her nose, the light flashing across the lens. “Huaiyin alone might not be enough. But what if we add 77?”

Even Cen Lan couldn’t help but show a look of surprise at Feng Jingyu’s bold idea. “You mean, have Huaiyin and 77 hold a concert together?”

·

“Huaiyin and I, on tour together?” When Yu Huaiyin heard the news, he didn’t hesitate at all and nodded. “Sure, I have no objections. What about 77?”

“I don’t either.” S-77 looked entirely willing to follow Yu Huaiyin’s lead, showing none of the pride one might expect from an S-class human.

“OKK, then I’ll have Sister Cen Lan put in the application.” As soon as Feng Jingyu finished speaking, she hung up the call, then turned to Cen Lan with a cheerful grin. “Sister Cen Lan, I’ll have to trouble you to write up the report.”

Cen Lan nodded, and as she watched Feng Jingyu’s retreating figure, she called out to her almost involuntarily.

“Jingyu, don’t you think…”

“Hmm? Think what?” Feng Jingyu turned back.

Cen Lan’s mind went blank for a brief instant. Then she smiled and said lightly, “It’s nothing, I just had a brain freeze for a second.”

Feng Jingyu was amused by this rare bit of humor from Cen Lan, giving her a playful look before she began contacting the company to start preparations for the “Yu7” concert tour as quickly as possible.

Cen Lan gazed silently at Feng Jingyu’s back, her eyes filled with complicated emotion.

Jingyu, don’t you think Huaiyin’s trust in you is a little too abrupt?

·

The Central Star System responded quickly to the report submitted by the Earth side, warmly welcoming music masters like Yu Huaiyin and S-77 to perform there.

Things went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable, to the point that Cen Lan couldn’t help but seek out Yuhui to ask about what had happened.

Yuhui was fully in charge of the concert tour application process, simply because her connections were invaluable and, given her status, she was practically unstoppable when it came to bureaucratic procedures.

So when she heard Cen Lan’s question, she replied offhandedly, “It’s nothing. That guy in charge of approvals? I beat him up once.”

Even Cen Lan, who had weathered countless storms, was stunned for a moment by this answer.

“Beat… beat him up?”

“Yeah, I beat him up. Deputy Minister Cen, you have to understand, my teacher is the youngest literary master in the history of the Interstellar Federation. She’s fluent in tens of thousands of languages and has her own insights into the literature of thousands of star systems. In a way, she’s a guide for civilization itself. So, a single word from her can decide the fate of a small or medium star system.” Yuhui didn’t answer Cen Lan’s question directly, but instead spoke proudly of her teacher. “So, after my teacher took me in, many powerful people from various star systems sent their children to keep me company, hoping to get closer to her.”

Cen Lan was inwardly shocked, though her face betrayed nothing.

“When you said in your interview that you’d dealt with the elite from those star systems, you meant you’d literally ‘dealt’ with them, didn’t you?”

Yuhui laughed smugly. “Exactly. They looked down on me for being an orphan, but they couldn’t beat me. My mental strength isn’t on par with S-77, but it’s still A+. Those idiots couldn’t win, and after I beat them up, they couldn’t even complain—just had to take it.”

After hearing this, Cen Lan smiled and said, “Weaver Star Anchor must love you very much.”

Yuhui looked a bit embarrassed. “I was too mischievous as a child, and my teacher always had to clean up my messes. Now that I’m grown, I’m always running around. This concert tour is a good chance for me to go back and see her.”

“That works out, then. We’re planning to pick out some books for your teacher—you can help us choose.”

“Sure, no problem.”

·

After receiving the book list from Yuhui, Cen Lan went to discuss it with Feng Jingyu.

Feng Jingyu looked at the dazzling array of titles. Aside from the Four Great Classical Novels, it was filled with works like the “Spring and Autumn Annals,” “Records of the Grand Historian,” and “Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government”—all classical masterpieces. She turned her eyes thoughtfully and said solemnly to Cen Lan, “Sister Cen Lan, I think we’re still missing the two most important books.”

Cen Lan quickly unfolded the list and looked through it again. Most of the titles had been provided by Yuhui, with Cen Lan herself adding a few based on Weaver Star Anchor’s tastes. Now, hearing that two were missing, she checked several times before asking, “What do you think is missing?”

Feng Jingyu glanced around mysteriously—though there were only the two of them at home—then leaned in close and whispered, “The ‘Selected Works of Mao’ and the ‘Quotations.’”

At first, Cen Lan was amused by Feng Jingyu’s secretive manner, but then her words startled her.

It wasn’t that these two books were bad, but giving them as gifts would carry a political undertone, so Cen Lan hadn’t even considered them.

Now that Feng Jingyu had brought it up, she hesitated. “I think Weaver Star Anchor would probably prefer more literary works.”

“That’s fine too. We can add some Jinjiang novels as well.” Feng Jingyu grinned. “Who knows, maybe the director of the Interstellar Institute of Literature also likes reading novels like ‘Reborn: I Became an Entertainment Tycoon in the Interstellar Era.’ Or maybe I’ll compile my ‘Yu7’ fanfiction into a collection and give it to her.”

“Naughty.” Cen Lan laughed, giving Feng Jingyu’s hand a gentle tap.

Feng Jingyu stuck out her tongue.

And so, the book list for Weaver Star Anchor was settled.

·

News that “Yu7” would be holding a concert tour quickly spread across the StarNet.

The tour was simply called “Yu7,” with the tagline: Every meeting is a new encounter.

CP fans were overjoyed, plunging into a frenzy.

But once the tour route was released, the atmosphere on StarNet became a bit more nuanced.

First stop: Central Star System; second stop: Third Star System; third stop: Painting Realm Star System; then the Aurora Star System, Resonance Star System, Dawn Star System, and finally Earth.

Except for Earth, all of these were the most renowned star systems in the Federation. Especially the Central Star System—normally, people from other star systems would never have the chance to perform there.

Thinking back to the Interstellar Girls’ Group, they represented the will of the people, but even among the star systems they visited, none ranked as highly as these.

So, had Earth, this small planet, quietly risen to such a position already?

·

Watching the discussion about Earth’s popularity soar on StarNet, Feng Jingyu was thoroughly satisfied with the numbers.

“As expected of the Central Star System—what a waste it would be not to make use of this kind of built-in traffic.”

Cen Lan watched as the AI simulated the influence model on the star map. The blue representing Earth was slowly spreading across the vast chart.

Cen Lan was filled with a sense of accomplishment. Smiling, she said to Feng Jingyu, “As expected of you—nothing you do is ever ordinary.”

“Sister Cen Lan, your rainbow flattery is getting better and better.” Feng Jingyu accepted the compliment without hesitation. “By the way, Sister Cen Lan, have you gotten in touch with Revi Gatz yet?”

“I have. He’ll contact us around 7:30 this evening.” Cen Lan glanced at the time. “It’s about that time—businessmen are always punctual.”

Sure enough, at 7:30 Earth time, Revi Gatz’s call came through right on schedule.

Cen Lan opened the call for shared access, so Feng Jingyu could speak directly with Revi Gatz.

“Hello, Mr. Revi Gatz. I’m Feng Jingyu, Cen Lan’s partner.”

On the other end, Revi Gatz quickly sized up Feng Jingyu. After years in business, he had developed a gaze that could see straight through people.

Feng Jingyu wasn’t bothered, quietly letting Revi Gatz scrutinize her. Only when he spoke did she respond.

“Forgive my rudeness, Ms. Feng, but you look so young. It’s hard to imagine the words ‘time is money’ coming from someone like you.”

Feng Jingyu smiled slightly. “That wasn’t my own saying. It’s a piece of Earth wisdom.”

Revi Gatz was quite pleased with Feng Jingyu’s candor. “So, what kind of cooperation does Earth hope to achieve with our Interstellar Express this time?”

“Have you ever heard of… a Shopping Carnival?”