Chapter 1

By evening, the streets of City A were bustling.

The trees downtown stood straighter than the people getting off work nearby, and their leaves were more plentiful than the hair on the workers' heads.

Amid the dejected crowd, however, one man was moving against the flow.

Dressed in a black trench coat, he gently parted the crowd, moving like a meteor chasing the moon.

Passersby turned to look, not because they envied his unusually thick hair, but purely because his face was so good-looking—

He had sharp, sword-shaped eyebrows and a high-bridged nose, but the lazy smile on his face gave him a distinctly devil-may-care air.

"Over there! Don't let him get away!"

Not far away, three people were running toward the man.

Passersby thought the three looked familiar, but only remembered who they were when they saw the camera following behind them.

Weren't those the lukewarm variety-show personalities Xiao Wang, Xiao Miao, and Xiao Jiu?

All three had the standard faces of minor entertainers and were above average in a crowd, but having them appear in the same field of view as the man they were chasing was a little cruel.

But why were they chasing him? Were they bravely pursuing a fugitive?

At that thought, a passerby looked back, only to find the man had disappeared.

"Damn, he got away again!" Xiao Wang said fiercely. "What the hell is this?"

Xiao Miao turned away from the camera. "We've chased him for hours and haven't caught so much as a fart. We've debuted, at least, and we're being run in circles by a junior like this. Isn't it way too embarrassing...?"

The three fledgling geniuses, Wang Miaojiu, were actually livestreaming a variety show called City Escape.

The production team had chosen dozens of entertainers and divided them into two groups, "hunters" and "prey," to "battle" in the city's concrete jungle. A hunt only counted as successful if a hunter got the badge from a prey.

In an era when talent shows had been banned from broadcast, the producers had come up with this show to demonstrate "the cruelty of the entertainment industry" and "the athletic masculinity of idols."

When they first received information about the prey they had been matched with, Wang Miaojiu had looked disdainful.

Their prey might be decent-looking, but he had only been a trainee for three days. He was obviously cannon fodder shoved in to make up the numbers. How much screen time could he get?

However, when they saw which company the trainee belonged to, they instantly lost their composure.

Starlight Entertainment!

Wang Miaojiu's eyes immediately gleamed green. This trainee called Qiao Huan was no ordinary cannon fodder—he was a pure, unadulterated sucker!

A sucker who could bring them a hundred shots!

Starlight Entertainment was currently being hated on across the internet, making it a traffic magnet beyond dispute.

As one of the three giants of Country C's entertainment industry, Star Radiance had once enjoyed great glory. Its first-generation group, Country C's first super boy band, had become a youthful memory for a generation, while its second-generation group had set countless records and remained legendary to this day.

The problem lay with its third-generation group, OSOK, which was about to debut. Star Radiance had been marketing it for over a year, claiming it would be a top-tier boy band unlike anything anyone had ever seen, only to go silent every time it was on the verge of releasing information about the members.

After being strung along time and again, fans felt like mules grinding flour for the pie Star Radiance had painted for them, and promptly grew unhappy.

However...

"I'm here to curse out Starlight Entertainment!"

"They play dead whenever anyone asks about OSOK, but they're sending an entertainer on a show?"

"Ptooey, this is definitely XY's same old routine. They're trying to stir up a topic to divert attention."

"This entertainer is absolutely going to pull XY's traditional triple combo of shamelessness: acting crazy, playing dumb, and chasing clout."

"May Starlight Entertainment go bankrupt today... Huh? Why is there nobody in Star Radiance's livestream?"

"???"

Fans who never missed a chance to curse Star Radiance poured into City Escape in a rage, only to discover that the camera in the Star Radiance contestant's individual livestream showed absolutely no one.

All they could see were three hunters some distance away, panting with exhaustion and complaining bitterly.

Star Radiance's contestant had actually vanished into thin air?

Just one street away from where he had been, Qiao Huan had already changed into a suit and put on gold-rimmed glasses, making him look like a refined office worker.

Only about thirty seconds had passed between his discovery and his change into this outfit.

Now, he followed the flow of the crowd and walked right past the three sweat-soaked hunters with a perfectly serious expression, completely at ease.

The darkest place was under the lamp. √

Qiao Huan curved his lips, knowing that Wang Miaojiu would surely follow their previous habit and search for him nearby like headless flies, so he headed to the second floor of an inconspicuous building.

There was an extremely well-hidden bar there. Unless one knew it existed beforehand, it was almost impossible to find.

The corridor was piled high with clutter, and a single dim yellow bulb flickered feebly, like a scene from a ghost movie.

Qiao Huan, however, let out a long breath.

A familiar sense of security.

He had lived for two years in the shadows of streets like these.

The cannon-fodder trainee Qiao Huan's real identity was actually that of an undercover agent.

A fourth-year student at Public Security University, he had once been seconded for his outstanding abilities and taken leave from school to complete two undercover assignments. This time, the criminal investigation unit where he was interning had sent him into Starlight Entertainment to investigate the inside story of a female trainee's suicide by hanging.

His superiors had said he could graduate once he completed this internship.

Qiao Huan had no wants or desires in life; what he wanted most was that diploma.

However, undercover life was one surprise after another.

Qiao Huan had never expected Star Radiance to be so despicable, either. Just three days after signing his contract, he had been shoved into this variety show by his manager as cannon fodder to divert attention.

The director of City Escape naturally understood Star Radiance's intentions as well. A minor entertainer who had just signed a contract would surely be unable to resist pulling all kinds of attention-grabbing stunts, and the more fiercely people cursed him, the less attention they would pay to OSOK.

Star Radiance had been pulling this kind of maneuver for nearly half a year. In any case, the endless stream of newcomers were like freshly sprouted leeks; it was no great matter for the company to pluck one or two to ward off disaster.

The director didn't mind helping Star Radiance divert attention at all. The only thing he cared about was buzz.

City Escape was a D-tier web variety show at best, and it was counting entirely on the haters Starlight Entertainment brought in to boost its popularity this time.

Yet this little cannon fodder named Qiao Huan not only failed to seek out the cameras, but had even shaken off the hunters and camera operators?

Seeing the barrage's activity steadily decline, the director gave an order. "Turn on Qiao Huan's tracker!"

A red light immediately began flashing on the map.

The director looked excited and switched channels. "Wang Miaojiu! Get to the building next door! Qiao Huan is inside!"

He was determined to get this traffic!

A street away.

Qiao Huan's wristwatch beeped twice.

A sneaky little cheat like putting a tracker behind the prey's badge might fool the other prey, but it couldn't fool an experienced undercover agent like Qiao Huan.

He had set up an alert program early on, and the moment the other side activated the tracker, he received a notification.

Qiao Huan opened the back of his watch, revealing a small electronic screen displaying three red dots: the positions of the three hunters.

As he had passed them earlier, Qiao Huan had casually slipped trackers into their pockets too.

Beating the kids on New Year's Day—he was idle anyway.

The three hunters moved pretty fast, reaching the building below the bar in the blink of an eye.

Qiao Huan drained his martini and narrowed his eyes.

Should he go out the window? Or make a break for it across the rooftops, the most classic move in undercover movies...?

"Huh? Bro Buffing?" A male voice interrupted Qiao Huan's thoughts.

Qiao Huan looked up and saw a young man with short arms and legs who looked like a potato.

"Brother Buffing" was the code name Qiao Huan had used while undercover in a smuggling organization, and no one had called him that in quite some time.

He hadn't expected to run into one of his former underlings at a time like this...

Qiao Huan forced out an awkward but polite smile.

"That's Bro Buffing for you! You're already doing this well right after getting out!" Little Potato smiled guilelessly.

Qiao Huan looked in the direction Little Potato was pointing and saw a dozen or so former underlings from the organization sitting there.

He counted the days in his head. They were probably having a get-together to celebrate their release from prison.

And to protect his undercover identity, the underlings only knew that he had gone to prison, so they must also think he had just gotten out.

Qiao Huan looked at his own outfit...

For someone who had just gotten out of prison, it really was a little flashy.

Little Potato's eyes sparkled with stars. "Where are you making your fortune, Bro Buffing? Take us along too!"

His boss really was something. He had the air of a gold-collar elite right after getting out of the slammer.

If anyone else dressed like this, Little Potato would only think they were showing off.

But if it was Bro Buffing, it made perfect sense!

After all, in his heart, Bro Buffing was like a god.

He had joined the organization at the same time as Little Potato, but in less than half a year, he had risen to become his boss without even needing their help.

Before joining the underworld, Little Potato had thought he would do some wicked things, but following Bro Buffing, he had never had a chance to get involved in those affairs. To keep them from being too idle, Bro Buffing had even signed them up for tutoring classes, telling him to study more and follow the right path.

If they hadn't ultimately disobeyed Bro Buffing's orders and insisted on saving him when he was fighting another gang, they wouldn't even have counted as having "been in the underworld."

What kind of boss was this? He was practically a second parent to him!

Looking at Little Potato's expression, Qiao Huan had more or less guessed what he was thinking.

"This is a society governed by law. I've already turned over a new leaf," Qiao Huan said righteously, patting Little Potato on the shoulder. "You all have to find legitimate jobs too, understand?"

Last time he was undercover, he had gone to great lengths to bring these younger brothers back onto the right track. If they went astray again this time, he would have to go undercover again...

When would he ever graduate, then?!

"Okay!" Little Potato nodded earnestly. "If you don't mind, Bro Buffing, how about having a drink with us?"

"Hmm..." Qiao Huan looked down at his watch. The red dots were already coming upstairs.

Little Potato had delayed him, and now he couldn't get away.

"We've been brothers, and drinking is boring. I'll sing you a song." Qiao Huan sighed. "Go tell the owner to dim the lights."

"Okay!"

Qiao Huan went onstage and picked up the guitar resting to one side.

Little Potato dimmed the lights at just the right moment, leaving only the backlight to illuminate Qiao Huan's silhouette.

His sharply contoured face was hidden in darkness. Though his posture was plainly languid, he gave off a faint, almost imperceptible air of danger.

At the same time, the three hunters entered the bar with the camera operator.

"When you catch him, press him hard against the floor," the director instructed remotely. "The more disheveled he looks, the better. People who hate Star Radiance love seeing that. Camera, make sure to get a few extreme close-ups so they can screenshot them and make reaction images!"

"Okay... But where's Qiao Huan?" Xiao Jiu asked in confusion, looking around. "Could that be him onstage?"

"Impossible," the director said with certainty. "This guy has only trained for three days. How would he dare get onstage and sing...?"

The next second, the clear sound of a guitar rang out.

"The vanished years scatter in the wind, as though I can no longer remember how to face them..."

Qiao Huan's voice was low and mellow. Blending with the guitar, it flowed slowly into the darkness like a stream joining the sea.

The barrage immediately sprang to life—

"Can we finally curse Star Radiance now... Huh? Are bar singers this good these days?"

"That's their contestant, right? His voice is so swoon-worthy QAQ"

"Impossible. Since when has Star Radiance had a trainee this normal?!"

"That silhouette in profile is amazing. Turn on the lights!!!"

"Wait, sisters, hold on. He's singing this song—could it be...?"

"I think he might be..."

A moment later.

"Come, forget right and wrong!"

"Come, remember the past!"

"The days we shared through hardship always had their joys!"

The whole room erupted into a deafening chorus.

The three hunters: ...

The three hunters: ...?

What was going on??

It was one thing for the guy onstage to sing, but why had the people around them all started singing too???

And every one of them had a close-cropped head and looked like trouble!

"Holy crap! Is that the theme song from that movie?"

"@Wang Miaojiu, run! This big brother is in the underworld!"

"There's something wrong with this bar, ahhhh, run!"

"But a big brother from the underworld who can sing is even more appealing (not really"

"#MyDaysGettingLostInDrinkAndDreamsListeningToTheBossSingAtTheMafia#"

Wang, Miao, and Jiu were so frightened that they instantly lost control of their expressions. Their first thought was a single word: run!

Qiao Huan plucked the strings as he watched the hunters flee in disarray. He smiled discreetly, his voice growing more and more languid.

Little Potato, however, had already sung himself hoarse and lost all awareness of heaven and earth.

In their hearts, the theme song of Young and Dangerous, Those Were the Days, held the same place as Jerusalem did for the Western world, or big steamed buns did for the Jiaodong Peninsula!

His boss had actually sung this song for them. He was so moved, sob sob sob sob!

Only when Little Potato had nearly sung himself out of breath did he open his eyes and freeze.

Huh...?

Where was the boss?

He had been so absorbed in singing that he hadn't even noticed when the boss left!

Little Potato wiped away his moved tears and immediately chased after him, only to run straight into the three furious hunters.

"Damn..." Xiao Miao spotted a flashing red dot on Little Potato's shoulder and slammed a fist against the wall. "We got played again..."

In the control room, the director looked at the "Wang Miaojiu running away" reaction images flying all over the livestream comments and felt that he had just met the greatest Waterloo of his ten-year career.

It had clearly been the kind of "all publicity is good publicity" variety-show script he knew like the back of his hand, yet this cannon fodder called Qiao Huan had thrown all his plans into disarray just by casually singing a song!

The crucial thing was, the singing... was actually damn addictive!

What on earth was this guy trying to do?

The director was just thinking this over.

Suddenly, he spotted Qiao Huan on another camera feed and was dumbstruck.

Qiao Huan had lain down...

On ** in the prey's safe house.

Here, the prey could rest for six hours without being hunted by the hunters.

Very few contestants had ever chosen to enter the safe house to rest. The director had almost forgotten it was even there.

Not being hunted also meant nothing interesting would happen, so naturally there would hardly be any camera time. Everyone came on the show to stand out, not to sleep.

But Qiao Huan...

At that moment, he had picked a bed in the farthest corner and was stretching comfortably, showing off his long legs without a care.

The director: "..."

What dirt or explosive material could he dig up on a salted fish? Criticize the way he slept for not being elegant?

But!

Hadn't Star Radiance sent four trainees to participate this time?

Surely there was at least one he could smear?

"Quick, find me the other three Star Radiance contestants!"

"Found them..."

"Where?"

"Uh..."

Star Radiance number two had curly hair and looked like a young master from a noble family, but he was carrying a child in his arms. The way he interacted with the child all along made him look every bit the super dad, and he hadn't aroused the hunters' suspicion at all... Yet the first second he entered the safe house, he shoved the child into a staff member's arms and said expressionlessly that this was a child who had almost been abducted by a trafficking ring, and told them to call the police.

Star Radiance number three was a dark-skinned handsome guy, a rarity among trainees. He was over 1.9 meters tall, with a sunny face, and even through his shirt, his firm muscles were visible beneath the fabric... When he entered the safe house, he was holding a prop water gun aloft, a "weapon" he had evidently snatched from a hunter.

Star Radiance number four was a baby-faced boy with milky-white skin. He looked younger than twenty, but his expression was cold in a way that didn't match his age... When he entered the safe house, he merely gave the camera a casual glance, and the studio screen immediately went black.

Within one minute, safe house members +4

And they were all cannon fodder sent by Star Radiance.

The polite director: Your mother.

Couldn't cannon fodder these days just follow the script???

The author had something to say:

Little Potato: My boss is the gentlest, most powerful man ever. He doesn't even want us interfering in the business, all to protect us.

Qiao Huan's inner thoughts: Nobody get in my way. Don't hold up my graduation, ahhh!