My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 523 - 342 The password is my birthday

Chapter 523: Chapter 342 The password is my birthday

"You still have the nerve to complain about me, this is all because of that ad placement you did!

Now, I’m afraid to step out without being recognized by a bunch of haters. Do you think it’s easy for me?"

Duan Xian said with a look of grievance.

"Uh..."

Only then did Meng Lang realize that his buddy had become a minor internet celebrity, which was quite a change from the old days.

The way he gained followers was a bit off though...

"Hello, Uncle Duan," Xiao Yu peeked out from behind Meng Lang.

"Xiao Yu is here too, haha! Hello, hello."

They had met before during a recording session at Suzhou University, so Duan Xian wasn’t surprised to learn that the Lin sisters and Meng Lang were neighbors.

"Let’s not talk about that now, since you’re here, come help, the elevator alarm is about to go off."

"Uh... are you moving? Why so much luggage?"

"Ah! It’s a long story, let’s move it inside and then talk."

After the three of them moved a bunch of stuff into the two rooms across the door, Meng Lang wiped his sweat and turned to Xiao Yu.

"Xiao Yu, go back and do your homework. Since it’s just the two of us, I think we should skip cooking and eat out for dinner."

"Oh! Then I’ll go back first. Goodbye, mister, goodbye Uncle Duan."

"Okay, goodbye, goodbye."

Not until the door of room 1103 was closed did Duan Xian withdraw his gaze with a weird expression.

"So, your relationship with Mr. Lin... has it progressed to the point where he lets you help take care of his kids?"

Ha! Underestimate me, will you? Our progress is more than just babysitting...

"Hmm? Judging by that look, you gained quite a lot, didn’t you?"

"Was I that obvious?"

"Show-off!"

The two laughed and cursed as they entered 1102. This was Duan Xian’s first visit to Meng Lang’s new house, and he couldn’t help but look around.

"Hey hey! You, a single dog, are living a bit extravagantly, eh? A three-bedroom apartment... not bad, even a study is arranged.

Uh... what’s this? ’Blockchain Technology Application’? ’The Gate of Law’? ’Where Do Your Rights Come From’..."

Duan Xian, confused, looked at his old friend. "I remember... we studied the same major, right?"

"Cough! Didn’t I tell you before, there’s gold in books..."

"So, you also bought this ’Criminal Law of the Republic of Huaxia’?"

"Uh..."

Duan Xian pulled two more books from the shelf with a strange expression.

Pointing at the titles... ’Food Captive’, ’Human Anatomy’.

"Also, don’t you think it’s a bit too horrifying to put these two together among all this gold in your house..."

Meng Lang: "..."

I’ve even worked on ’Madman’s Diary’ and ’Silent Hill’, are a few horror movies in the books hard to grasp?

"Okay, enough with the tour, there’s personal privacy here! Move, move, let’s stay in the living room."

Duan Xian was pushed out of the study room, rolling his eyes.

"You think I can’t tell? Those books are clearly new, hardly been touched. When did you start buying books just to look sophisticated?"

"That’s what you don’t understand, not having flipped through them doesn’t mean I haven’t read them. Ever heard of ’cloud reading’?"

"What reading?"

"Anyway, it’s some high-tech stuff, that’s not the point.

Talk now, how come such a future star like you has time to visit me today? I heard you’ve been weakening at the knees from all the bookings these past few days?"

"Hey hey! What do you mean ’weakening at the knees’? Buddy is buddy, but be careful, I might sue you for defamation."

Duan Xian said irritably.

"Actually, I’ve been meaning to come see you, but look at you, having a great time traveling and enjoying life, probably already forgotten about your tool of a friend that you pushed into the limelight, huh?"

"How could I? I was just thinking about you the other day..."

Grinding my teeth that is...

"Alright, let’s pretend I believed that.

Speaking of which, you mentioned you needed my help last time, and now that I’ve changed jobs and gained some fame, I suppose I’ve met your first requirement, right? Now can you finally tell me what help you need? Keeping it from me, I can’t even sleep well at night."

Hearing this, Meng Lang said somewhat helplessly,

"I did initially want your help, but these past few days I realized I was too naive. You’re just not cut out for it, so let’s pretend I never mentioned it.

As for what’s next... just go with the flow..."

Duan Xian’s eyes bulged.

"Hey hey! What do you mean, pretend you never said it?

"You planned my entire career path, and it’s all over with just ’I’m not suitable’? Even jerks are more responsible than you!

"Do you not think it’s a bit too hasty to make such life-altering decisions on a whim?"

Hasty?

This conclusion, which "I" paid with my life for, how could it be hasty!

I was naive before, not everyone can become James Bond, most end up as Johnny English...

Which led to me, the puppet master, being killed off directly by your performance...

The root cause is that Duan Xian, who half-heartedly became a star, clearly can’t make it as a method actor.

And I’m too close to Duan Xian, we’re practically wearing the same pants. There’s no Firewall between us, it’s the kind where if one goes down, the other does too.

Even if you manage not to crash and burn once or twice, you can’t ensure it won’t happen every time.

So, it’s safer to use someone like Mr. Black Cat, who doesn’t even know his own identity and only makes contact through a virtual network.

At least if he’s sacrificed, it won’t ripple back to me—it’s as if he’s set up to die...

"Ah Xian, saying that is like questioning our brotherhood over all these years.

Trust me, the plans I made for you were deeply considered, evaluated, and pondered upon with a team of consultants.

Of course... you know how high our company’s disability rate is, if you insist..."

"Hey, hey! Stop right there! I have no objections, I’ll completely follow the plan, just improvising, right? I think I can handle it!"

"Mmm! Just as I thought, my dear friend, your level of awareness is reassuring."

Meng Lang nodded his head, pleased.

Duan Xian rolled his eyes and then suddenly handed over a bank card.

"What’s this?"

"2.3 million."

"Hmm?"

"Didn’t you say the song was for a one million buyout? Plus the 1.3 million you were still owed, that’s 2.3 million back to you."

"I was wondering why you would risk being exposed by coming out to meet me, turns out you’re here to pay off your debt. But where did you get all this money?"

"Recent advertising fees, signing fees, appearance fees, and song royalty earnings, etc... all added up to about that much."

"Wow! You haven’t been in the industry long... Is being a celebrity really that lucrative?" Meng Lang asked in astonishment.

"You’re the nouveau riche; you’re no position to say that! The implantation from that last ad brought in a pretty penny for Spider Web, right?"

"Er..."

Advertising fees? This misunderstanding was getting a bit serious.

If Spider Web knew I was currently planning on tactically phasing them out, they wouldn’t be just stopping at cutting off fees, they’d probably want me dead...

"I know you probably don’t care about such a small amount of money now, but this is a matter of principle, being debt-free feels lighter.

Here, take it, the pin is my birthday!"

Duan Xian thrust the bank card into Meng Lang’s hand without waiting for a response.

Immediately staring at Meng Lang, their eyes met...

"You... you do remember my birthday, right?"

"Ha!" Meng Lang looked natural, even smirking coldly, dismissively saying, "You think everyone is like you, huh..."

"I..."

"Alright, I’ll take the money, not taking it would be disrespectful to you.

But we’re brothers, talking about money hurts the feelings. Let’s talk about feelings instead."

"What feelings?"

Seeing Meng Lang looking somewhat awkward, he immediately became alert.

"I’ll tell you, even though I’m in the entertainment industry now, don’t even think about those workplace unspoken rules!"

"You wish!" Meng Lang uttered, expressionless.

"Ahem! This... Actually, I’ve been having some relationship issues recently and wanted to ask Mr. Duan for some advice."

Mr. Duan perked up immediately at this.

"Hmm! Don’t say anything yet, let me guess...

Is it that you and Lawyer Lin have made some progress, but haven’t reached the final stage?

The reason... should be what you mentioned last time, a child from a divorced family’s wariness towards marriage, making it hard for her to accept a relationship.

Moreover... let me make a bold guess, does it involve your landlord from last time?"

Shit!

Meng Lang suddenly widened his eyes, incredulous.

"You..."

Tell me, have you also received a parcel recently?

The kind without a sender?"