Chapter 120: The Guangxi Dialect Craze

The rivers and mountains linger only in my dreams,
Woo woo woo woo—
Motherland, I have not been near her for many years,
Woo woo woo woo—
But no matter what, nothing can change
My Chinese heart.

Jiang Yun, dressed in a gray suit, sang as he walked. His expression was sincere, and set against the backdrop of the Great Wall, it was stirring, striking straight at the heart.

"Though foreign clothes hang on my frame,
My heart is still a Chinese heart."

...

The camera captured everything around him with perfect clarity. Jiang Yun walked along the Great Wall, singing with deep emotion.

"The blood that flows in my heart
Surges with the voice of China,
...
The Yangtze River, the Great Wall, Mount Huang, the Yellow River..."

...

"Cut!"
"OK! Print it!"

Jiang Yun relaxed and walked over to Wang Lei. "Director Wang, how was the take?"
"It works."
"When will it air?" Du Heng asked.
"We'll go back and edit it. It can be released in two days."
"Good." Du Heng nodded.

The four returned to the hotel to rest. Jiang Yun went back to his room and flopped onto the bed.

Ring!

Jiang Yun glanced at the phone. It was He Ling.

Jiang Yun picked up. "Hello, Teacher He, what's up?"
"Can't I call you if there's nothing?"
"No, no!" Jiang Yun hurried to say.
"Tomorrow we're recording *Longing Life* again. When are you coming?"
"I'll fly tomorrow morning and get there around noon," Jiang Yun said.
"Jiang Yun, you're famous again!"

He Ling's abrupt, out-of-nowhere remark left Jiang Yun frozen for a second. "What do you mean?"
"More precisely, other people became famous because of you! Hurry and log onto Weibo. I'm dying of laughter!" He Ling said over the phone.

He Ling's cryptic talk left Jiang Yun thoroughly puzzled.

Jiang Yun hung up and opened Weibo.

*Shock! The nation's genius has been trolled! Guangxi dialect forever!*

Jiang Yun was surprised. It was about him again.

Jiang Yun tapped open the post.

"I want to be as free as the wind,
Just like your tenderness,
Unable to be held back.
You push away my outstretched hands—"

"Pfft!"

Jiang Yun burst out laughing at the sight of this man singing.

The man was singing Jiang Yun's "Free Like the Wind" in a thick Guangxi accent, chanting, "Cousin, you're out!"

"Hahaha!" Jiang Yun laughed until his stomach ached. "Truly, masters hide among the people!"

He scrolled back and watched the "Cousin, you're out" part again. He clutched his stomach, laughing so hard tears rolled down his face.

That short-video blogger had touched off a full-blown Guangxi-dialect craze. Netizens rushed to imitate him, sparking a wave of dialect fever.

Jiang Yun watched a few more videos. They were all right—funny enough to make people smile—but none as hilarious as the first one.

He read the comments.

"Cousin, you're out again!"
"There's really no love in the factory!"
"Go work in a factory? Not in this lifetime!"

"Snort, snort!" Jiang Yun snickered, squealing like a pig.

He closed Weibo, thought for a moment, and registered an account on a short-video platform called Manshou.

Jiang Yun called the hotel front desk. "Hello, do you have a guitar?"
"Yes, we do, sir."
"Send one to room 3118. I'd like to borrow it."
"Very well, sir."

Jiang Yun hung up and waited.

Ding-dong!

He opened the door. A bellhop stood there with a guitar. "Sir, your guitar."

Jiang Yun took it. "Thanks!"
"You're welcome."

Jiang Yun closed the door and carried the guitar out to the balcony. He set up his phone's camera, sat down in a chair, and started recording.

"Ahem, Cousin, I'm out now!" Jiang Yun mimicked the Guangxi dialect and began to play.

"I am as free as the wind,
Just like your tenderness,
Unable to be held back..."

Jiang Yun sang "Free Like the Wind" in a mock Guangxi accent.

When the recording ended, he hit publish and set the phone aside.

Time passed, and afternoon arrived. Jiang Yun had long since put the matter out of his mind. But he had no idea—the internet was exploding right then.

In just two hours, the short video Jiang Yun had posted racked up over a hundred million views. Jiang Yun had truly gone viral, but this time not in the entertainment world. He'd gone viral in the influencer world. As time passed, the views shot past three hundred million!

It pushed Jiang Yun right back to the top of the trending list.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yun went down to the hotel restaurant for the buffet. He carried a white plate, picking out the dishes he liked.

"Hey! Jiang Yun!" a hotel guest greeted him. The guest didn't come over for an autograph.

Jiang Yun nodded politely.

"Hey! Jiang Yun!"

Jiang Yun nodded politely.

"Hello! Jiang Yun!"

Jiang Yun smiled and nodded politely.

"Hey! Jiang Yun!"

Jiang Yun's mouth twitched. He smiled and nodded.

"Hey—"

"Ahhh!" Jiang Yun finally lost it. "I'm going crazy! What is going on today? Why does every single person have to say hi to me? Is there a flower blooming on my stupid face or what?"

"Even if I'm a celebrity, even if I'm a public figure, this shouldn't be happening! Usually, guests at a high-end hotel like this look at me like I'm invisible—not a flicker of interest. What the hell is wrong with today?"

Jiang Yun was beside himself. "I can't even eat in peace!"

Just as he was about to head back to his room, he ran into Zheng Fei. "Hey, Jiang Yun, what a coincidence!"

"Brother Zheng? Even you're doing this?"

Zheng Fei walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "Jiang Yun, you're incredible. Teach me when you have some time."

Jiang Yun blinked. "Teach you? Teach you what?"

"Nothing." Zheng Fei smiled mysteriously and went off to pick his food.

When Jiang Yun reached the restaurant entrance, Li Mengya and Wang Fengwan were strolling in arm in arm. The moment they saw him, they exchanged smirks, whispered to each other, and deliberately kept their distance.

"Damn!" Jiang Yun was so mad his nose twisted sideways.

Their behavior left him completely baffled, so he just went straight back to his room.

Once there, he called the front desk. "Hello, you can take the guitar back now."
"Very well, sir."

A little while later...

Ding-dong!

Jiang Yun's doorbell rang. He walked to the door with the guitar and opened it. A bellhop stood outside.

"Here, your guitar."
"Oh, right!" The bellhop quickly took the guitar, then stared at Jiang Yun with a strange, curious expression.

"What are you looking at?" Jiang Yun asked.
"N-nothing."

Why does everyone keep staring at me like that? Jiang Yun said, "Do I have a flower on my face?"
"No, no."
"Then why are you looking at me like I'm some kind of curiosity?"
"Mr. Jiang Yun... you borrowed the guitar at noon to record a video, didn't you?" asked the bellhop.

Jiang Yun nodded. "Yes. Why?"
"That's it, then. Mr. Jiang Yun, you should log onto Weibo—and Manshou—and take a look."

Jiang Yun frowned. What could possibly be wrong?

The bellhop said goodbye and left with the guitar.

Jiang Yun went back into his room and opened Weibo.

*Shock! When it comes to Guangxi dialect, I only bow to Jiang Yun!*