Superstar Ch.175

Chapter 175: A Friend from the System (Extra 9)

Xie Xizhao first noticed something was off during the recording of an ordinary radio show.

He was the special MC, and that episode’s guest was a new group that had emerged from the “Super Rookie 4” program.

This group could be considered one of the ones brought up by Xie Xizhao himself—a direct junior under the same label, and now one of the active boy bands. The recording went well, and afterward, he signed autographs for the young members. Liang Yi was the last to stay behind.

Xie Xizhao asked him what he wanted signed. Liang Yi stared blankly for a while. When Xie Xizhao looked up, he saw confusion in the young man’s eyes.

It took Liang Yi quite a while to snap out of it. After hurriedly getting the autograph, he left in a rush. Watching his retreating back, Xie Xizhao fell into thought and sent a message to Ai Qingyuan:

[What’s going on with your junior?]

Ai Qingyuan replied quickly:

[You heard too?]

A moment later, he added:

[There’s been some trouble at home. Something about family faction conflicts. He usually doesn’t understand that stuff, but he’s been really upset.]

Usually, Ai Qingyuan would bicker with Liang Yi for attention, but in serious moments like this, he completely forgot about all that. Xie Xizhao became even more thoughtful.

He remembered the first time he met Liang Yi.

There was something strange about this young man.

This strange quality—

Xie Xizhao thought, most likely, in this world, he was the only one who could perceive it. At the time, he didn’t dwell on it—mainly because even if it was something unusual, it had nothing to do with him. And indeed, that remained true.

As a currently popular idol, the situation with Liang Yi’s family soon exploded in the public eye. But at the same time, several pieces of “dirt” on him also surfaced. His assistant exposed him with videos showing him abusing his power and behaving badly within the company, and even published a heartfelt resignation letter filled with emotional, tear-stained words. Public opinion erupted.

However, on the third day after the exposé, Liang Yi’s side struck back swiftly. It turned out that the assistant who had “exposed” him was actually planted by his own family to smear his name. And the mastermind behind it all… was his older brother.

The iceberg of this wealthy family feud had only just begun to show above the surface, and Ai Qingyuan was gleefully gossiping about it in the group chat. Xie Xizhao hesitated before typing:

[His brother’s name is…]

“Hello, Liang Song.”

A man wearing gold-rimmed glasses extended his hand politely. “Teacher Xie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Xie Xizhao said, “Brother, is this really the first time we’re meeting?”

Liang Song blinked in realization. “Oh, so you didn’t lose your memory.”

Xie Xizhao’s mouth twitched. “I’m not dead yet.”

You don’t drink the memory-erasing soup until you’re actually crossing the Bridge of Forgetfulness, okay?

Liang Song rubbed his nose. “Then…”

Xie Xizhao stared at him.

In that moment, countless possibilities flashed through his mind. His heart pounded—an uncontrollable, long-forgotten kind of nervousness.

Then he heard Liang Song say: “I’m exhausted. Finally made it to your world—thought I’d rest here for a bit, get a drink of water.”

He paused, then added, “Relax. You’ve already separated from the system. It can’t touch you anymore.”

Xie Xizhao slowly let out a breath. For the first time in a long while, he had the rare and intense urge to punch someone.

As they say—where there are people, there will be cliques.

Even though the system was essentially a cluster of electronic data and cybernetic souls, those souls were once people. And when they weren’t on missions, they’d still make small talk with each other.

Liang Song was someone Xie Xizhao had met during that time—a friend.

He had died in his thirties, originally a high-level corporate executive.

In his own words: “Worked myself to death, literally. Only after dying did I realize that without health, everything resets to zero.”

Luckily, the system gave him another shot.

He was also one of the rare few in the system who was deeply obsessed with going home.

Truth be told, when Xie Xizhao first saw Liang Song, he was genuinely nervous.

He had been afraid the system had malfunctioned somehow and he would be forced to leave this world again. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Only after confirming he was safe did the nostalgia and joy of reuniting with an old friend finally sink in.

Clearly, Liang Song felt the same.

Since Xie Xizhao didn’t drink alcohol, the two of them each grabbed a can of chilled cola from the fridge and ordered some late-night snacks.

While waiting for the food, Liang Song wandered around the house nonstop, even playing with the cat for a bit. It wasn’t until the barbecue arrived that the two of them went up to the rooftop terrace on the second floor.

They settled into lounge chairs, and Liang Song was the first to speak, smiling as he said, “Not bad, you’re doing pretty well.”

Xie Xizhao replied, “It’s alright.”

“Tch.” Liang Song clicked his tongue. “Now you know how to be humble? Back when you left the system, you had that whole ‘I’m the king of the world’ vibe. I felt like I wasn’t sending off a coworker—I was sending off a world-saving superhero.”

Xie Xizhao actually felt a little embarrassed at that.

“Hey,” he said, “back then… I was still young.”

Biologically eighteen, and not much more mature mentally, if he was honest.

At the time, he’d been one of the youngest in the system, and he had definitely been a bit spoiled into that typical youthful arrogance.

Not wanting to dive any deeper into his “cringe phase,” he stiffly changed the subject.

“You’re here… on a mission?”

“Mhm.” Liang Song nodded.

Xie Xizhao realized he had guessed right.

“You’re Liang Yi’s brother. Liang Yi’s the ‘chosen one,’ isn’t he?”

“Mhm.” Liang Song gave a short laugh. “Little punk hits hard—my ribs are still sore.”

Liang Yi had just punched him in a fit of anger. Xie Xizhao instinctively went to grab a cold drink for him, but Liang Song gave him a strange look.

Xie Xizhao paused.

Then slowly pulled his hand back.

“…I forgot.”

“That just means you’ve fully integrated into this world,” Liang Song said. “That’s a good thing, Xizhao.”

He paused for a moment, then said, “Honestly, when you left back then, I was really afraid that if you ever came back, you wouldn’t be able to adapt. But seeing you like this now… I can finally relax.”

When had he first taken notice of Xie Xizhao?

Liang Song thought back.

Probably when the other had first arrived.

When newcomers entered the system for the first time, they always appeared in the clothes they wore in life. Back then, Xie Xizhao had been wearing a sweater and a pair of washed-out jeans. He looked young and beautiful, with a kind of fresh innocence.

Eighteen years old—just at the very beginning of life. Liang Song had thought it was such a shame. But he hadn’t expected that later on, Xie Xizhao would find his own way back home.

Xie Xizhao had always worked incredibly hard.

That was something well known by everyone in the system.

Truthfully, life in the system wasn’t that bad. Many people initially talked about wanting to go home, but after staying for a while, they got used to it—and even began to think it wasn’t such a bad way to live.

Life is life, after all. But what is life? Their past lives had also been defined by the world around them.

Now, they were in a different world. So being redefined—why not?

That was why, for a time, Xie Xizhao had often been looked at with strange eyes. But Liang Song understood him.

Some people were content to live in the void—but others yearned for reality. He was that kind of person too. It was simply a difference in perspective, and there was no “solution” to that.

It was from that time onward that Liang Song began to truly draw closer to Xie Xizhao.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have nearly the same talent as Xie Xizhao. To ensure his missions were completed successfully, he had to take his time and tackle each task carefully, one by one.

In the process, he ended up seeing off many of the juniors who came after him.

Of course there had been jealousy, and envy—but not much.

He had witnessed every bit of Xie Xizhao’s effort with his own eyes.

This was someone with an extraordinarily firm and unwavering heart.

He truly deserved everything he had now.

“So…” Xie Xizhao looked at him and paused.

That hesitant look, like he wanted to ask something but didn’t dare to, reminded Liang Song of the little shadow who used to follow him around calling him “brother.”

His heart softened a little, and he smiled.

“This is my last mission,” he said.

A rare flicker of emotion appeared in Xie Xizhao’s eyes.

The last mission meant that once this was completed, Liang Song could finally go home.

“Congratulations, brother,” he said sincerely, letting out a breath.

“So you see—” Liang Song smiled, “how funny is it that my final mission happens to be in your world? Don’t you think I should come take a look at you?”

In that moment, Xie Xizhao felt a brief pang of guilt.

Guilt for how he had reacted when he first saw Liang Song.

But clearly, Liang Song didn’t care about those details.

He said, “Come on, tell me what you’ve been doing these past few years.”

Xie Xizhao gave him a sidelong glance.

“Don’t you already know?”

Usually, when they received missions, they were given basic intel about the world.

Given the connection between him and Liang Yi, there was no way Liang Song didn’t know about his current situation.

“Just a few lines.” Liang Song waved him off. “Hurry up, I want to hear it from you.”

Xie Xizhao had no choice but to start talking.

He told him how he had entered a talent competition right after arriving.

Back then, all he had was fearlessness—and the abilities he’d honed in the system. He didn’t exactly thrive on the show, but fortunately, the people around him became good friends.

Liang Song glanced at him.

“All you had was ability?”

Xie Xizhao blinked innocently.

Liang Song said, “Alright then, Classmate Xie Xiaozhao, continue your humble-bragging.”

“Back then,” Xie Xizhao said softly, “I didn’t really have anyone helping me.”

Yao Xin had been mentored entirely by him—basically, he had relied on himself for everything.

Even though he had confidence deep down, he still felt nervous.

Liang Song thought for a moment.

“But you were probably excited too, right?”

“It was your life,” he said.

Xie Xizhao’s eyes curved into a smile. “Yeah.”

He continued talking about his debut. His teammates were all great people. He led the whole team, step by step, creating miracles that belonged to them.

“Those songs,” Xie Xizhao said with a laugh, “I ended up using all of them. Later on, even that wasn’t enough.”

Liang Song used to tease him, saying he’d written so many songs in the system that anyone who didn’t know better would think he was planning for eight lifetimes.

“That just means your company was squeezing you dry,” Liang Song said.

One sentence—straight to the truth.

Xie Xizhao looked up at the sky.

“Did you ditch them?” Liang Song asked with a sideways glance. “If not, I don’t mind giving you a hand.”

“I ditched them,” Xie Xizhao answered honestly. “I run my own studio now.”

Only then did Liang Song look satisfied.

Xie Xizhao also told him about acting.

About the mockery, the scripts he honed one line at a time.

About his inner struggles and pain.

Xie Xizhao had always believed he didn’t need to vent.

But it wasn’t until this moment that he realized just how important Liang Song’s arrival was to him.

It was the first time he had completely relaxed—able to speak freely, with no fear or restraint.

Xuan Yang might say he understood, but he and Liang Song… they shared the same past. That kind of empathy, born of shared experience, couldn’t be replaced by anyone else.

That night, he talked for a long time.

He said, “Brother, I always thought I was really strong. Turns out, that was just my impression.”

He said, “I was really afraid I’d never break through it. But I did, thank God.”

He said, “Brother, I think being alive is such a beautiful thing.”

Being alive is beautiful.

He’d known that for a long time—but it wasn’t until he truly experienced it himself that he felt just how beautiful it was.

He looked at the world, and the world looked back at him. After all the storms had passed, what came next was the boundless sky that followed the end of suffering.

He looked at Liang Song, eyes shining.

And from those eyes, Liang Song saw the same stubborn young man who once stood in front of him and calmly said, “I will go back.”

Time had passed. Everything had changed—except for those clear, unwavering eyes.

At the end of that night, Liang Song said, “Alright, that’s enough for now. I don’t need to sleep, but you—if you don’t sleep, I’ll still be here anyway.”

Xie Xizhao looked a little embarrassed.

His throat was hoarse from talking so much. After clearing it, he asked, “Brother… when are you leaving?”

“Pretty much done here,” Liang Song said. “I’ll be gone in half a month. I die in an ‘accident.’ I’ll trouble Teacher Xie to see me off.”

He paused, then added with a smile, “I mean, just treat me to a drink the night before.”

He didn’t want Xie Xizhao to see his death. The kid had already started a new life—no need to cast another shadow over it.

Xie Xizhao nodded.

For the next half-month, Liang Song did exactly as he’d promised—stopping by whenever he had time. And Xie Xizhao also kept a closer eye on his task.

Fortunately, Liang Song’s mission wasn’t too difficult—just to trip Liang Yi up a little. And once Liang Yi overcame those hardships, Liang Song’s task would be complete.

“You were even a mentor to that kid,” Liang Song teased. “Now your elbow’s turning outwards. You sure about this betrayal?”

Xie Xizhao, for once, played the heartless senior.

“For these two weeks, I’m the villain,” he said.

Liang Song was charmed by how adorable he was and gave his head a fond pat—

Just like he’d done countless times before.

On the final day, they returned to the rooftop once more.

The moon hung bright and clear in the sky.

Xie Xizhao knew—once the sun rose, he would never see Liang Song again. But that wasn’t death.

For Liang Song, this was another rebirth.

Just like it had once been for him.

He said, “Brother, we probably won’t get the chance to meet again. So, let me wish you all the best in advance.”

Liang Song was silent for a moment.

“You too,” he said. “It’s good that you’ve come to terms with everything. Xiao Zhao, you have to know—there are a lot of people who love you. Your life will be filled with happiness and light.”

Xie Xizhao smiled.

He said, “Wanna watch the sunrise? Even though this place is a little shabby.”

“Sure,” Liang Song laughed. “One last all-nighter, alright? But no more after this. Live well for me, and live a long, long life.”

They stood on the rooftop.

Time passed, minute by minute.

And in a certain moment, the sun leapt from the distant horizon, flooding the earth in golden light.

At that moment, Xie Xizhao felt like he could see himself from the day he first arrived in this world.

“This world is really beautiful,” Liang Song said with a sigh in his voice.

Xie Xizhao smiled again.

He said, “Yeah, it is.”

“So, for a world this beautiful,” he said, “we have to live well too.”

Liang Song patted him on the shoulder.

Then he turned and walked away, disappearing from Xie Xizhao’s sight.

Two hours later, Xie Xizhao saw the headline news.

He closed the page.

Sunlight poured in through the window, landing gently on the pristine white desk.

A soft breeze stirred the quiet room.

He knew—

Tomorrow morning, he would still see the golden sunrise.

And so would Liang Song.

—The End

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**TN

This is the end! I’m gonna miss them. Wuwuwu I hope you all enjoyed it. Leave a rating – LINK 😀