I'm in Wuha, and the whole internet is shipping me and Song Yuqi as a couple.

[A popular spot for handsome men and beautiful women to take photos!]

[Brain Destruction Site!]

[This is a parallel, fictional world. Many things will change to suit the plot; those who understand, understand.]

[Variety Show Alliance: All the variety shows you want to watch are here!]

[Without further ado, let's get to the main content!]

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Lujiazui, Shanghai.

In a large, single-level apartment.

Jiang Che was sprawled on the sofa, scrolling through Douyin (TikTok).

I scrolled through the songs for ten minutes straight, and they were all songs he wrote.

Whether it's the original or a cover, they're all incredibly popular.

"Do you know what it feels like to watch others make a fortune off your writing while you can only sit at home counting your royalties?"

Ggigi, the corgi at my feet, rolled over on its back with a "you do it" look on its face.

"If I could get up there, would I be stuck here talking to you?"

Jiang Che rolled his eyes.

He's a 25-year-old who's financially independent and a winner in life, and he's complaining to a dog.

Ding……

Doorbell rang.

He pressed the open button, and Lu Han rushed in excitedly, carrying a bag of milk tea.

"Come on, this is a big deal, an absolutely big deal."

Lu Han put the milk tea on the coffee table, found a seat, and sat down, her eyes shining as if she had won the lottery.

Jiang Che got annoyed by his expression: "Every time you talk about something important, you end up asking me to write a song or a copy for you."

"Tell me, what do you want this time?"

"This is really big, a really big deal for you!" Lu Han patted him on the shoulder. "Wu Ha, you know that, right?"

"Nonsense, I wrote the theme song for you guys."

"Yes, that song 'Gunfire'! The director was particularly impressed by that song."

Lu Han rubbed his hands together. "We were short one person for the fifth season, so I recommended you."

Jiang Che sat up straight: "What did you say?"

"The director agreed immediately because of the song."

"I brought the contract with me, take a look?" Lu Han took a contract out of her backpack and slammed it on the coffee table.

Jiang Che didn't touch the contract, but stared at Lu Han: "Brother Lu, we've known each other for so long, you know my situation."

"I'm tone-deaf and my acting is terrible. Last time I helped you shoot that short film, even the staff on set couldn't keep up."

"Variety shows aren't talent shows; you don't need to sing or act."

Lu Han waved her hand dismissively, "You can go up and have fun. The show needs interesting people."

"But I'm not famous either; the audience doesn't recognize me."

"You're not famous?" Lu Han almost choked on her milk tea.

"Bro, what's your reputation in the industry? You're a lyricist! You're a hit lyricist for half the music scene! It's just that the general public doesn't know you."

Jiang Che didn't reply.

He truly dreamed of standing in the spotlight.

So what if you're financially free?

Every time he sees someone singing his songs in a stadium with tens of thousands of people, and the fans below screaming and waving glow sticks, he feels like his heart is being scratched by a cat.

But if you don't have talent, you don't have talent; that's something you can't make up for with hard work.

"Sign it," Lu Han said, pushing the contract forward again. "At least it'll let the audience get to know you. Haven't you always wanted to be seen? This is your chance."

Jiang Che hesitated for a few seconds.

Whatever, we have to take this step.

He picked up the pen and signed his name.

The moment he finished signing, a semi-transparent interface popped up in his mind out of thin air.

[Ding. Star-Making System successfully bound]

[Host: Jiang Che]

Current Reputation Value: 0

[Unlockable Talent: Singing Skills (SS Rank) Required Reputation Points: 1,000]

[Tip: Public attention can be converted into reputation points. Conversion rate is multiplied by 100 when on a public stage or in front of the camera.]

Jiang Che paused slightly, then casually put the pen down.

"What's wrong? Are you regretting it?" Lu Han thought he was struggling with his decision.

"No." He pushed the contract back, his tone flat, but his heart was beating faster.

system?

Talent unlocked?

The panel was indeed hanging in the corner of his field of vision; it was transparent and only he could see it.

"That's settled then. You'll start filming next week."

Lu Han leaned back on the sofa, satisfied, and took out her phone to start scrolling.

Jiang Che nodded, his mind still processing the information.

It takes a million reputation points to unlock singing skills. Right now, he's just an ordinary person, and the passive exposure he gets isn't enough. He needs to be on camera.

"ha."

Lu Han suddenly burst out laughing.

"What are you looking at?"

"Song Yuqi! Look at this clip; it's a memorable moment from her concert the day before yesterday."

Lu Han shoved the phone at him.

In the video, Song Yuqi stands in the center of the stage, with the lights shining on her bare shoulders.

There's a corgi tattooed there, next to a lotus flower with minimalist lines.

The host asked her about the meaning behind her tattoo.

Song Yuqi smiled, her expression a mixture of shyness and composure.

"This little dog is named Ggigi, and it belongs to the person I have a crush on."

"The lotus flower next to it was drawn by him in high school. I secretly took a picture of it and got it tattooed on my shoulder."

The entire audience screamed.

The comments section went crazy.

[Who is it?! Who does this puppy have a crush on?! Step forward and take your beating!]

【The sky has fallen, sisters!】

[Strip him!]

Lu Han shook his head with a smile: "The nation's goddess publicly admitting to having a crush will trend on social media for three days straight. Tell me, what a lucky guy..."

He stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.

Lu Han's gaze shifted from her phone screen to the corgi rolling around at Jiang Che's feet.

It seems to be called Ggigi...

He glanced at the little dog tattoo on Song Yuqi's shoulder on his phone, then looked down at the one on the ground.

The same.

Looking up again, her gaze fell on the wall behind Jiang Che.

The studio logo, a lotus flower with minimalist lines, is exactly the same as the one on Song Yuqi's shoulder.

The living room was silent for three seconds.

Lu Han opened her mouth, then closed it again.

He rewound the video and watched it again, his eyes darting back and forth between the phone and the wall.

Jiang Che.

"Um?"

"The person Song Yuqi has a crush on..." Lu Han swallowed hard, "...it's not you, is it?"

Jiang Che choked on his milk tea: "What are you talking about?"

Lu Han pointed to the corgi tattoo on the screen, then to Ggigi on the ground, and finally to the lotus logo on the wall.

"Look for yourself, isn't this exactly the same thing!"

Jiang Che took the phone and played the video on a loop.

Song Yuqi's voice was soft, filled with careful reverence: "He drew it himself in high school."

He did draw that lotus flower during high school and used it as the cover of his notebook.

And what was the name of that ponytail girl who sat in the back seat of him back then and always leaned over to look at the drawings he made?

He couldn't quite remember.

Lu Han, observing the change in his expression, asked, "Bro, what exactly is your relationship with the nation's goddess?"

Jiang Che did not answer.

He watched the comments scrolling rapidly on his phone; people had already started digging into it.

[That lotus flower looks familiar, isn't it the logo of some music studio?]

[Holy crap... Jiang Che Music Studio? The lyricist and composer behind "Gunfire" and "Moonfall"?]

[Could it really be him?!]

Jiang Che handed the phone back to Lu Han, his throat a little dry: "Brother Lu, is this Song Yuqi a guest on your show, 'Five Ha'?"