Having sorted things out with the system, Xu Nuo spent the 100,000 popurity points he’d saved up over the past few days to unlock the shop system.

  He opened the shop interface with high expectations, only to find three items listed. However, only the first one was illuminated—the other two were grayed out.

  [Memory Capsule]: Cost - 100,000 Popurity Points

  After use, it helps the host retrieve content or enhance tent memories. Duration: 10 minutes.

  As for the two grayed-out items, Xu Nuo couldn’t see any details, just their faint prices: 500,000 popurity points for the second, and a whopping 1,000,000 for the third.

  Xu Nuo nearly cursed out loud. Damn it, the system was such a scammer! The lottery had a measly 10% success rate, and the shop items were outrageously expensive.

  Unlocking the shop had already drained all his popurity points, leaving him without even enough to test the Memory Capsule’s effects.

  “System, what’s the Memory Capsule for?”

  [After the host uses the Memory Capsule, they can choose to recall specific content, including songs, literary works, scripts, etc.]

  “Is there a success rate?”

  [100% success]

  Xu Nuo felt reassured. It seemed the system offered two paths: the lottery, where it didn’t care what you got, had a low success rate, and might produce random results—like buying a lottery ticket, relying on luck, with the occasional jackpot; and the shop, where you could customize what you wanted for a price. Expensive, but no other fws.

  “What are the other two items?”

  [The host can view them once the required popurity points are reached.]

  Xu Nuo was fuming. This system felt so pathetic. Other people’s systems started off with a bang—money, works, instant takeoff. His? Just an assistant. In the end, he still had to rely on himself.

  Time to grind popurity points. He’d keep some in reserve as a trump card. If a crisis hit, he could shout “Deep Blue, add points!” and flex hard.

  He got up to pack his things. In a few days, the school would clear out the dorms.

  His other two roommates had grabbed their diplomas and returned to their hometowns, saying they’d joined TV stations. Only he and Yang Haonan were sticking around.

  He needed to rent a pce near the company.

  ---

  The next morning, Xu Nuo was woken up by his phone again.

  It was probably his little sister Xu Ke, always making a fuss.

  Half-asleep, he picked up. “Hello, what’s up? Ran out of money again?”

  “It’s Lin Wanqing,” came an ethereal voice from the other end.

  “Oh, what’s wrong?” Xu Nuo snapped awake.

  “Have you checked Weibo’s trending topics?”

  “Not yet. I just woke up.”

  “Take a look.” Lin Wanqing hung up abruptly, her face darkening.

  This guy was definitely a jerk—first thing he asked was if she’d run out of money. Was he keeping some girl on the side?

  Pfft, scumbag!

  Xu Nuo grabbed his phone and scrolled through.

  #Lin Wanqing Caught Meeting Multiple Men Late at Night!

  #Lin Wanqing’s First Scandal Since Debut—With Them?!

  #Popur Singer Lin Wanqing’s Boyfriend Identity Revealed!

  #Lin Wanqing’s Late-Night Rendezvous with Boyfriend, Rushing to a Hotel!

  The trending headlines were wilder than the st. Self-media had no shame, always chasing clicks with the most outrageous spins possible.

  The content was mostly the same: after attending a graduation party, Lin Wanqing allegedly met her boyfriend privately and headed straight to a hotel—with multiple people, no less.

  “Entertainment’s a mess!”

  “I don’t believe it!”

  “Damn it, my goddess! That guy deserves to die!”

  “I’m at Modu Media right now. If I find him, he’s done!”

  “I’m unfollowing. Not a single clean soul in this industry.”

  Netizens were buzzing, opinions flying everywhere.

  The trending rank kept climbing, poised to dominate the charts.

  There were even photos.

  Xu Nuo opened one. Judging by the clothes, it was taken the night the event ended—him and Lin Wanqing walking on campus.

  Another shot was at the school gate: Lin Wanqing’s back, with him and Yang Haonan walking together.

  Based on the timing, Xu Nuo had a hunch. He called Lin Wanqing via voice chat.

  “I just checked. How are you guys handling it?”

  “Paying to lower the trending rank,” Lin Wanqing said. “But it’s not working well. Someone’s probably buying it back up.”

  “Any recent beef with anyone?” Xu Nuo asked after a pause.

  “No. Oh, wait—it might be tied to the new song. We announced it yesterday, and this blew up today.”

  “Anyone else releasing a song on the 12th?” Xu Nuo, having dabbled in the industry, knew the tricks. If your song wasn’t good enough, no problem—just sabotage the competition.

  Lin Wanqing paused, speaking to someone nearby. “Yes. Chen Xiaoman’s releasing a song that day too.”

  “Then it’s probably her. You two don’t get along, right?”

  “Rivals,” Lin Wanqing replied curtly.

  “Do you know anything about the photos?” she asked.

  Xu Nuo hesitated. “In the past few days, has anyone contacted your company trying to sell photos?”

  “No. I asked the boss—no such messages.”

  “I’ve got an idea. Check if Chen Xiaoman’s company recently signed someone named Li Yingjun,” Xu Nuo said, rubbing his chin. “Don’t use your name—find another channel.”

  “Wait for my update.”

  Fifteen minutes ter, Lin Wanqing called back. “He’s there.”

  Xu Nuo exhaled. He hadn’t expected it to really be that simp. He’d misjudged him—didn’t think the guy would bite back like this.

  “Then it’s him. After you shut him down, he held a grudge, secretly took those photos, and used them as a bargaining chip to join your rival. He pyed this card at the perfect time to drag you down.”

  Lin Wanqing went quiet for a moment. “Any solutions?”

  “Don’t respond directly. Keep promoting the new song, then sic the water army on it—shift the focus to securing the copyright.”

  “How?”

  Xu Nuo rubbed his temples. This girl seemed a bit clueless—asking a fresh grad for advice on something like this.

  “First, tell your company the photos were from when you asked me for a song. Then go all-in on hyping the new song. These two pics won’t stir up much.”

  “Got it.”

  The call ended.

  Xu Nuo opened his ptop to monitor the trending topics.

  Within ten minutes, the narrative started shifting.

  #The Wind Rises Was Written by a Student

  #Composer Promise Joins Haiyin Entertainment, Teams Up with Lin Wanqing for New Song

  #Lin Wanqing’s New Song in the Works, Promise’s Latest Creation Coming Soon

  The two competing narratives battled it out on the charts.

  The onlookers, as always, split both ways, and soon the tide turned.

  “Damn paparazzi are trash. It’s just a song colb, and they made it sound epic.”

  “I took my pants off for this?!”

  “The headline had me hyped—clickbaiters can die.”

  “Promise wrote another song? I’ve been his fan for 20 years—can’t wait!”

  As the narrative flipped, the baseless scandal posts lost steam, and attention shifted to the song.

  (End of chapter)