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

The dishwater was splashing loudly.

With his back to everyone, Jiang Che stacked the bowls one by one into the drain rack.

Four people sat around a table behind me, and none of them left.

Chen He was the first to speak: "Morning Light Q7, 0.5mm black gel pen, I just searched it up, it's three yuan and fifty cents a pen."

Deng Chao rested his chin on his hands: "Three yuan and fifty cents, used for ten years."

Lu Han scrolled through the shopping app: "A box of twelve, twenty-eight yuan and eighty cents. Dude, want me to stock up for you for ten years?"

Wang Mian quietly chimed in, "At this rate, one tube can last a lifetime."

Jiang Che didn't turn around: "Can you two change the subject?"

"cannot."

The four people answered in unison.

The live stream chat has shifted direction.

[I just ordered ten boxes of Chenguang Q7, just for this story]

[A pen costing only 3.5 yuan can make a top female celebrity remember you for ten years; that's incredible value for money]

Jiang Che: I didn't imply anything. Jiang Che: I've been using this model all this time.

Please, just get married already! I'll give you a wedding gift.

Song Yuqi sat at the table, her fingers resting next to the pen, but she didn't touch it.

Deng Chao leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Aren't you taking it?"

Song Yuqi looked up: "Why do you need to take it?"

"He threw it on the table clearly for you."

"He didn't say he would give me a pen."

Chen He picked up his teacup: "He didn't say he wouldn't give it to me."

Song Yuqi didn't reply, but stood up and walked out.

She paused for a moment as she passed the pool.

Jiang Che was putting the last bowl into the shelf, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and foam still clinging to the back of his hands.

"The dishes are washed."

He shook the water off his hands.

"Um."

Song Yuqi responded and continued walking out.

She took two steps, then stopped.

"That pen."

Jiang Che turned his head.

Song Yuqi looked at him: "Did you forget you lent it to me, or did you simply not care?"

Jiang Che turned off the tap and took out a tissue to wipe his hands.

"Thirty-seven students in my class borrowed my pen during my three years of high school."

Song Yuqi nodded: "So you forgot."

"But I only remember one person who didn't pay."

Song Yuqi remained where she was.

Jiang Che crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can before walking past her.

"Good night."

Song Yuqi stood still.

Behind them came the suppressed laughter of Deng Chao, Chen He, Lu Han, and Wang Mian.

The number of viewers in the live stream exceeded 60 million.

The top trending topic: #JiangCheRemembersSheDidn'tReturnThePen#

The second trending topic: #M&GQ7LovePen#

The third trending topic: #The Lyricist's Words Are Even More Flirtatious Than His Songs#

Back in the hotel corridor.

Lu Han caught up from behind and put her arm around Jiang Che's shoulder.

"Was that sentence you just said prepared beforehand, or did you make it up on the spot?"

Jiang Che swiped his room card: "Which sentence?"

"I only remember one person who hasn't paid back."

Lu Han held her phone up to him. "Look at how the whole internet is interpreting this. I owe you a pen, and I'll repay you with ten years of unrequited love."

Jiang Che pushed open the door and looked back at him.

"I'm telling the truth. Of the pens I lent out, only one hasn't come back."

Lu Han paused for two seconds, then asked, "So you really remember?"

"Um."

"Then you don't remember who borrowed it?"

"I don't remember."

"Then why did you say that just now?"

Jiang Che gripped the doorknob: "Because I know now."

The door closed.

Lu Han stood in the corridor and gave a thumbs-up to the closed door.

"Awesome."

The other end of the hotel.

Song Yuqi stood against the door for more than ten seconds.

The bamboo chopstick was still stuck on his head.

She raised her hand to touch the back of her head, her fingers touched the bamboo chopsticks, paused, and didn't remove them.

She walked to the sink and saw her face reflected in the mirror.

The redness at the base of her ears hadn't faded yet, and she couldn't suppress the redness at the corners of

She picked up her phone and opened Weibo.

It contained seven characters.

"I'm really happy today."

No picture attached, no tag, no hashtag added.

After sending the message, she threw her phone onto the bed and buried herself in the pillow.

Three seconds later, he turned over and stared at the ceiling.

"He's still using it now."

She clutched the corner of the pillow, but finally burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the third-floor corridor.

Lu Han didn't go back to her own room, but went straight into Deng Chao and Chen He's double room.

Deng Chao sat on the edge of the bed scrolling through his phone, while Chen He lay half-reclined on another bed, a straw from his takeout milk tea dangling from his mouth.

Lu Han slammed the door shut as soon as she entered: "Did you guys see Yuqi's Weibo post?"

Chen He held up his phone and waved it: "I saw it. Seven words, zero pictures, zero topics."

"Just these seven words have already been forwarded 80,000 times." Lu Han slumped onto the sofa.

Deng Chao turned his phone screen towards them: "Look at the first top comment."

He tapped the screen; the comment had 120,000 likes.

"If Qiqi is happy, we're happy! But Jiang Che, if you dare to hurt our Qiqi, your eight million fans aren't to be trifled with."

Lu Han laughed out loud: "That tone is just like sending a lawyer's letter."

Deng Chao swiped the screen and read out the second top comment.

"An ordinary person behind the scenes has been trending on social media by riding on Qi Qi's popularity. They're really reaping the benefits of this traffic."

Ninety-three thousand likes.

Lu Han sat up straight: "What do you mean by 'behind-the-scenes amateur'? The songs he wrote have a combined play count of over 10 billion."

Chen He spat out his straw: "Passersby don't look at the credits, they only look at the celebrities. Your song 'Gunfire,' your fans know you sang it, but who remembers who wrote the lyrics and music?"

Lu Han opened her mouth, but was speechless for a moment.

Deng Chao continued scrolling down: "There are even more outrageous ones."

The third top comment popped up.

"A person who sings off-key suddenly becomes a legend on stage? The show's audio editing must be crazy, it's all scripted."

It received 78,000 likes.

Chen He put the milk tea on the bedside table, picked up his phone and browsed the super topic.

"There are two factions."

He sat up.

"Those who ship the couple are called 'Bixin' (a nickname for fans of the pairing), while those who criticize Jiang Che are called 'Jiang Gou' (a nickname for Jiang Che's fans). Bixin's voices are louder, but Jiang Gou's voices rise even faster."

Lu Han frowned: "Should we ask Jiang Che to issue a statement?"

Chen He glanced at him: "What are you posting? Saying you didn't try to ride the wave? The more you explain, the more trouble you'll cause."

Deng Chao nodded: "We can't respond to this kind of thing proactively."

"So we just watch him get yelled at?"

Lu Han's tone became a bit somber.

Chen He put down his phone: "Do you think Jiang Che would care about these few insults?"

Lu Han remained silent for two seconds, then shook her head.

Deng Chao suddenly exclaimed, "Look at this! It's just trending on social media!"

He held up his phone.

The seventh trending topic: #Jiang Che riding on Song Yuqi's popularity#

It was followed by a "new" label.

Lu Han stood up: "Who bought this? Naturally, the keyword couldn't have risen so quickly."

Chen He squinted for two seconds and said, "Someone pushed."

"Who?"

"It's hard to say."

Chen He scrolled down the page, "It's fine if the opposing team's fans are organized, or if people outside the show get involved. The timing is perfect."

Deng Chao rubbed his hands together: "Should we tell Wu Zheng?"

Chen He shook his head: "Wu Zheng must have already seen it. The more the hype goes on, the more he'll be laughing in his sleep tonight."

Lu Han bit her nails: "What about Jiang Che..."

"Let's ask him again tomorrow."

Chen He pulled the blanket up to his chest.

"We've been recording all day, let them take a break."

Deng Chao checked the time: 11:40 PM.

"Alright."

He turned off the headlights.

The room darkened.

Lu Han didn't move; she remained seated on the sofa, scrolling through her phone.

The screen light reflected on his face, and the more he scrolled, the more his brows furrowed.

Jiang's remarks began to spread widely.

Someone dug up the business registration information of the company under Jiang Che's name, saying that the registered capital was only 500,000 yuan, and he was not a big boss at all.

Someone posted a screenshot of Jiang Che's Douyin account, which only has 3,000 followers, saying that he can't even be considered a minor internet celebrity.

Some people even compiled a table showing Song Yuqi's commercial endorsement income over the past three years, directly revealing the difference in their status.

The last line is the most jarring.

"Jiang Che is using Song Yuqi to raise his own value."

Lu Han stared at that line of text, typed a comment, and then deleted it word by word.

Artists cannot simply step into the spotlight.

His agent had reminded him many times.

But he had known Jiang Che for four years, and that person had never used anyone's popularity to pave the way for himself.

He wrote over a hundred songs, but never put his name at the forefront in any promotional campaign.

Lu Han could tell from today's statement, "I only remember one person who hasn't paid back," that it was the truth.

Ironically, the truth is the easiest thing to be broken down into a script.

Lu Han locked her phone, got up, and went back to her room.

He paused for two seconds as he passed Jiang Che's door.

Light shone through the crack in the door.

I'm not asleep yet.

Lu Han raised her hand as if to knock on the door, but then pulled it back.

Let's talk about it tomorrow.