Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

Jiang Zhiyu sat cross-legged on the spot, his lyric book casually draped over his thigh, looking up at Yao Wei, who was pacing back and forth, seemingly busy with something.

"What's wrong?" Several minutes passed, and Jiang Zhiyu still couldn't help but interrupt him. He suspected that if he didn't stop him, Yao Wei would repeat this action until dark.

"Should we...should we go outside and talk?" Yao Wei's face turned bright red, and he stammered for a long time before finally managing to say it.

[Yao Wei, why are you blushing?]

Is there anything that can't be said to our face? Are we getting estranged?

[I disagree; I want to audit the proceedings.]

I miss the days when we could talk about anything when we first met. Ah, men change their minds so quickly, sob sob.

[Seriously, I strongly suspect it's related to that gossip trending on social media right now.]

[What's that melon up there?]

[It's hard to explain in a few words. Just check the trending topics yourself. It's really not a big deal; it's just trending because it's related to Jiang Jiang.]

Jiang Zhiyu followed the still mysterious Yao Wei to a corner outdoors where there were no cameras.

"Brother Jiang, I accidentally saw on someone else's phone that you're trending on social media." Yao Wei hesitated, unsure how to begin.

For Jiang Zhiyu, trending on social media is commonplace, but Yao Wei's expression clearly suggests that this isn't just a typical trending topic.

But whether it's a negative or a positive trending topic, for Jiang Zhiyu right now, nothing is as interesting as Yao Wei's flustered expression.

He couldn't help but smile and say, "Well, and then?"

Yao Wei sighed: "The convenience store employee revealed what happened between you and Chen Yue."

Jiang Zhiyu's past interactions with Chen Yue were nothing to worry about and never held any place in his heart.

When this matter was brought up again, he didn't feel anything and didn't consider himself a party involved at all.

"Okay, he has indeed seen my face before and recognized me, right?" Jiang Zhiyu nodded, already having a premonition.

Yao Wei sighed heavily again: "That's not the point..."

He looked at Jiang Zhiyu's puzzled eyes, paused for a moment, and then continued, "The shop assistant took a picture."

Jiang Zhiyu frowned, about to speak, when Yao Wei interrupted him with, "Brother Jiang, have you forgotten something?"

Forgot...what?

Jiang Zhiyu racked his brains, then a thought struck him: "Ah!"

He turned to look at Yao Wei, his lips slightly stiff. Yao Wei nodded bitterly: "It seems like we're doomed now, Brother Jiang."

Seeing Jiang Zhiyu being led out of the practice room by Yao Wei, Lu Shanshan pouted with some regret, and then looked down to reread the post she had just opened.

She initially thought it was some kind of scandalous gossip making headlines again, but when she saw the link to the main post, she frowned.

Her first reaction was: How could this matter be related to Jiang Zhiyu?

My second reaction was: Why should I be secretly filmed and posted online by these people who love to watch the drama and criticize me when I do good deeds as an ordinary person?

So for a long time afterward, she held back her anger, frowning as she scrolled down the thread that was already quite high on the thread.

By the time she quickly finished reading all the replies, a long time had passed, long enough that Jiang Zhiyu in the live stream had already returned to the practice room with a normal expression.

Lu Shanshan lowered her eyes slightly, looking at Jiang Zhiyu's noticeably thinner face on the screen with pity, and felt a surge of emotion welling up in her eyes.

She felt a mix of emotions, filled with heartache and frustration.

It wasn't just because Jiang Zhiyu, whom the poster claimed was "in a bad state" for some reason, but also because he hadn't done anything wrong. He kindly offered help, but instead of receiving gratitude, someone secretly took a picture of his back and circulated it online, allowing netizens to speculate and judge at will.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, so Lu Shanshan immediately decided to vent to her friend Tan Yi.

She opened their chat window, quickly typed out a message, and sent it: "I'm so angry I could explode! Do you remember that scandal we talked about a while back, about Chen Yue damaging property and refusing to pay for it?"

Tan Yi quickly replied to the message: [I remember, what's up? Is there any new development regarding that matter?]

[Suddenly today, someone jumped out and said that the person who paid for Chen Yue was Jiang Zhiyu!!]

【Huh? What kind of bizarre turn is this? I never expected it to be related to your Jiang Jiang...】

[Yeah, what's most infuriating is that some people are actually judging him, saying he's rich and stuff. He was clearly doing a good deed, but someone secretly filmed him and then posted it online to criticize him...]

Filled with resentment, Lu Shanshan took a screenshot of the original post and sent the entire popular forum post to Tan Yi.

[Look, I'm so angry! My Jiangjiang didn't do anything to anyone.]

Tan Yi empathized with her friend's feelings at that moment. She sent voice messages to comfort her while receiving screenshots and links from Lu Shanshan, carefully examining each one.

As she looked at the photo, her gaze lingered on the back of the person in the convenience store photo. Her eyes swept over the style of the hoodie on the person's body, and her expression froze instantly as a strong sense of familiarity washed over her.

She gasped instinctively, a sudden panic rising within her. She frantically opened her phone's photo album and found a folder specifically named "River".

Tan Yi kept swiping her finger up the screen, searching through photos she had saved in the past. After searching for a long time, she finally found a photo of the same outfit.

She took out another device and compared the two pictures side by side, repeatedly examining the details. She was shocked to find that the colors, patterns, embroidery designs, and even the slightly unusual pattern all matched perfectly without any discrepancies.

She couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath, her emotions completely overwhelmed, and immediately dialed Lu Shanshan's number.

The moment the call connected, Tan Yi's voice was filled with barely suppressed trembling.

"Shanshan, are you sure the person in the picture is Jiang Zhiyu?"

Lu Shanshan was bewildered by her sudden question and replied doubtfully, "That's right, the photo was posted by a convenience store employee. He said that's Jiang Zhiyu, and that it's impossible to mistake such a handsome face!"

"Wait, let me calm down first. This is really too outrageous."

Tan Yi's voice sounded distinctly dazed.

Lu Shanshan's doubts deepened, and she quickly asked, "What exactly happened? Don't keep me in suspense like this, you scared me."

There was a silence on the other end of the phone for several seconds before Tan Yi calmed her chaotic emotions and spoke slowly and deliberately: "If I'm not mistaken, the sweatshirt in the photo is a custom-made embroidered design by an artisan from a high-end international brand. It's one of a kind in the world, exclusively made for River. Do you understand what I mean? Only one person in the entire world owns it."

"Huh?" Lu Shanshan's eyes widened, her mind went blank.