The Panicked Ex-Girlfriend

Song Dao did not stay for the gala. He slung his guitar over his back and left the grand auditorium.

It was still early, so he planned to stop by the dorm and pack up some of his things.

The original owner had rented a place off campus long ago.

He had intended to make it a love nest with his girlfriend.

As for Miao Xiu, she had gone there plenty of times, but only to improve her meals. She had never stayed overnight.

Young people could not possibly have no such thoughts, but Miao Xiu had always said she wanted to save her most precious thing for their wedding night.

Forget playing cards—even kissing made her deeply resistant.

The original owner had been incredibly naïve. Though he suffered, he had even felt a little pleased. My girlfriend really is so pure...

But to an old hand like Song Dao, was this not just stringing you along despite not loving you, while shamelessly enjoying everything you gave her?

After draining you dry, she would kick you away without mercy.

But she was truly so pure, like a white lotus...

And those memories of money flowing out like water—he did not want to think about them at all.

There was no other reason. He was angry!

Even as a third-party observer, he was furious!

Walking through the familiar yet unfamiliar campus and breathing in the slightly hot but fresh night air, Song Dao felt refreshed.

He had been all alone over there.

The original owner had also been an orphan, with no ties or attachments.

Now that he had completely cut ties with Miao Xiu, his ex-girlfriend, the sea was wide for fish to leap, and the sky vast for birds to fly.

Music was dead?

There was no future or hope?

Singers could only cover old songs?

New-generation lyricists and composers had no fame, were looked down upon, struggled to survive, and were better off delivering food than writing songs?

That was only because I had not arrived with a system!

The dorm was silent, without a single person inside.

They were probably all at the grand auditorium watching the performance.

Song Dao packed up a few things and left.

Eight that evening.

He returned to the off-campus house he had rented, turned on his computer, and prepared to upload the song, whose copyright had already been registered by the system, to a music platform.

Then his phone suddenly popped up with a video call.

He glanced at the name.

—Baby.

Fuck, I forgot to delete her!

He declined without hesitation.

He opened Carrier Pigeon, a communications app similar to WeChat on Earth.

He deleted her as a friend and blacklisted her number, moving through the entire process in one smooth motion.

Elsewhere.

Miao Xiu froze on the spot!

Her eyes widened, her face filled with disbelief.

Just moments ago, someone had sent her photos and videos of Song Dao sitting onstage and singing.

He was still as handsome as ever!

She had to admit, her taste was pretty good.

If Song Dao had not been good-looking, then no matter how much he fawned over her or how many years he did it for, she would never have agreed. He would not even have been qualified to be a backup lover.

When she opened the video, she had even felt a bit of indescribable smugness.

—I told you, didn't I? He's exactly that kind of person!

"He's so childish. Things have already come to this, and he still thinks he can win me back this way?"

"But the world isn't what you think it is!"

The next moment, she went blank.

The line on the giant screen behind him was far too conspicuous, far too glaring—

See Through Love, See Through You!

As Song Dao sang, lines of lyrics flashed across the screen at the Central Conservatory Grand Auditorium. Miao Xiu's mindset instantly shattered.

"He's going too far! He's trying to ruin me!"

Someone who knew exactly what she wanted at such a young age was naturally more mature than most people her age.

After quickly forcing herself to calm down, Miao Xiu became a little frightened.

If this song became popular and word spread outside their circle that she was Song Dao's girlfriend, she would be finished!

This song would become a label that followed her for the rest of her life!

She was not an ordinary person who could hide herself away.

She was going to become a star!

And this song would become her biggest scandal. The more famous she became, the more people would point fingers at her!

Even now, that bitch from her dorm was stabbing her in the back.

She had eaten Miao Xiu's snacks for four years, only to turn around and expose her on the Campus Forum.

What about later?

The image of a gold-digging woman who sold love for money would drag her into an abyss of eternal damnation.

She took a deep breath and spent a long time trying to soothe her shattered emotions before deciding to call Song Dao.

Not to angrily question him, but to talk things out properly.

She could tell a small lie to explain herself, then give Song Dao a little hope.

Worst case... worst case, she could secretly give herself to him once!

For the sake of all the years he had liked her, he could come out at the appropriate time and clarify things.

—Miao Xiu and I are just ordinary classmates. That song wasn't written about her. It was only an artistic creation!

As for whether anyone would believe it, that was not important.

After all, only people within the Music Conservatory knew they had dated.

If the people involved denied it, what else could others say?

Everything online... was just rumors.

—Start with one picture, and make up the rest.

There was nothing unusual about this sort of thing.

But when she called, his number had been blacklisted!

"You're fucking narrow-minded, you loser! Was that really necessary? What good does ruining me do for you?!"

The delicate and beautiful Miao Xiu completely broke down.

She could not help swearing.

She was truly panicking.

Just then, the hotel room door opened. A potbellied middle-aged man entered with a hint of alcohol on his breath, smiling warmly.

"Baby, did you wait long? I specifically told them not to drink too late. Someone's waiting for me!"

"Hubby!" Miao Xiu burst into tears.

The middle-aged man was instantly dumbfounded.

Ten minutes later.

After listening to Miao Xiu cry as she recounted everything, Lu Wen, senior vice president of Times Media, showed no anger on his face.

Instead, he sat there with a frown, deep in thought.

"Hubby, what are we going to do? Song Dao is so ruthless. He's trying to ruin me. What am I supposed to do once word gets out?" Miao Xiu sobbed.

She was a little exhausted from crying. Her hair was disheveled, and her almond-shaped eyes were red, swollen, and glistening as she looked pitifully at the middle-aged man.

How did that saying go again?

To look pretty, wear mourning clothes?

There was a special kind of charm to a young, delicate, beautiful girl crying like pear blossoms in the rain.

Lu Wen had just finished a business dinner and had drunk a little, though not much. Suddenly, he became interested.

He waved a large hand and said carelessly, "It's no big deal. Come here, baby. Let's handle the important business first. Leave this matter to me!"

Four minutes later.

Lu Wen came out after showering, wrapped in a bath towel. With the expression of an enlightened sage, he looked at Miao Xiu, who was curled beneath the covers and staring blankly ahead.

"If this doesn't cause much of an impact, then there's no need to bother with it. We'll proceed as planned. I'll arrange for you to join a production crew and start as a small actress. Making you famous will be easy!"

Miao Xiu pursed her lips, still somewhat dazed.

"If it causes a huge impact, then we'll use the opportunity to start streaming!"

Lu Wen seemed to be hoping for precisely that.

He even looked at Miao Xiu with some excitement.

"Huh? Start streaming? Become an internet celebrity?" Miao Xiu thought. Wouldn't people curse me to death?

"What's wrong with being an internet celebrity? Times have changed, baby. First-tier stars, the Heavenly Kings and Queens of music, retired world champions, big shots from every industry... plenty of them stream online!"

Lu Wen looked at Miao Xiu. "What did you do wrong? You merely broke up with an ex-boyfriend you didn't love. Isn't it normal for young people to get together and break up? When the time comes, play the victim a little in the livestream, and I'll arrange for some paid commenters to attack that kid. Say he's narrow-minded, that he's ruining someone this way, that he has rotten morals!"

"Don't worry. Those idiots online have no ability to tell right from wrong. They just blindly follow the crowd!"

"Remember, being notorious is still being famous! These days, as long as you're connected to traffic, there's endless money to be made! Then I'll give you another push, and you'll definitely become popular!"

"By then, you'll live in a luxury mansion, drive luxury cars, use the best cosmetics, get the finest beauty treatments, and buy the most expensive bags. Can whatever people say affect your exquisite life?"

"But..." Miao Xiu hesitated.

"No buts!" Lu Wen declared domineeringly. "Don't tell me you still have feelings for him? No, that can't be right. You never even slept together, so what lingering feelings could there be? It's settled, then. He's just some brat who's never been beaten down by society. If I want to deal with him, I've got ten thousand ways!"

After deleting his "ex-girlfriend's" contact information, Song Dao began considering his future career path.

When the original owner was in his final year of high school, his parents had gone to visit his maternal grandfather's family in Yuezhou. They encountered a landslide, the road was washed away, and their car fell off a cliff. Both of them died in the accident.

His paternal grandparents had been overcome with grief and passed away one after another a few years ago.

The only relatives left around him were his maternal grandparents and an uncle. Every meeting inevitably reminded them of his parents and added to their sorrow.

So they had not kept in close contact over the years.

Now that a different person occupied this body, with his current mindset, he wanted even more to avoid being disturbed and live the way he wanted.

Sing some songs, earn some money, and travel around to see the world.

Since he had been given another life, he ought to live it more easily and freely.

So he planned to upload this song to a music platform first as an independent musician.

The original owner had been bled too dry. He needed to recover some health quickly.

Although this was an era of entertainment above all else, it was also easier than ever for talented musicians to earn enough to support themselves.

Later, he could decide whether there was a need to find a company to back him.

After all, going it alone meant taking on many risks and challenges, and it required strong self-management and marketing abilities.

Just then, a system notification suddenly appeared before his eyes—

[Current popularity has reached 100,000. Converted into 100,000 prestige. Rewarding host with Bronze Treasure Chest x1]

[Congratulations to the host for successfully passing the beginner phase. From now on, popularity and prestige will be converted at a ratio of one hundred to one]

[Lottery function unlocked. One draw costs 5,000 prestige. Host may explore the prizes independently. Copyright for songs obtained from treasure chests will be automatically registered for the host and cannot be gifted]

[The system may trigger tasks at any time. The host must complete certain tasks according to the requirements. Failure will result in a deduction of a certain amount of prestige]

Song Dao was slightly stunned.

He was not surprised that the video might have been uploaded to apps similar to Earth's Douyin or Kuaishou.

Based on his memories, they should be Audio-Visual and My Show.

But the system notifying him that the popularity had already surpassed one hundred thousand so quickly did surprise him.

He checked the time. It was only 8:20.

Only a little over an hour had passed since he finished singing.

It would be difficult for anything to even gain momentum in such a short time, yet over a hundred thousand people had already watched it?

Had someone paid to boost it?

Were people these days really this bored?

What truly delighted him was that there was actually an unexpected reward!

Primary Variable Voice and Advanced Guitar Skills had already made him feel the system's power.

As for the system's reminder that songs could not be gifted?

Unnecessary. Was I the generous type?

Without bothering to look at anything else, he immediately muttered in his heart.

"Open the treasure chest!"

An exquisitely designed Bronze Treasure Chest immediately appeared before him and slowly opened.

"Pretty ceremonial," Song Dao grumbled inwardly.

Then the treasure chest transformed into words.

[From the Slobber Song Library...]

When Song Dao saw the song title, he froze at first. Then his eyes slowly widened, his face wearing an expression of, Are you fucking kidding me?

"This is called a slobber song?"