He Was Still That "Top Star"!

Tsk, really? If that was the case, I did know why Dong Lu had cheated.

What the heck, Pan, Lü, Deng, and Xiao Xian!

Handsome, tall, well-endowed, once a top idol, and making plenty of money too. The summary upstairs was completely accurate.

No, seriously, why had this guy shown up again? Was he going to compete on "New Rap" too?

He had been a mentor last year, and now he was competing? He had no shame at all!

Not just "New Rap." Reliable sources said he had also joined the "Talent Show" airing tomorrow. He was even in the promotional footage they released—a whole two seconds of screen time.

Bai Youlou was truly desperate!

Honestly, if I had his qualifications, I'd rather find a rich older woman to support me. Why insist on forcing my way into the entertainment industry? With such a huge scandal, who would even hire him?

Now I was just curious whether he'd made it through the "Talent Show" auditions. If he hadn't, the embarrassment would be absolutely massive.

.

Here it comes, here it comes~

The familiar "cyberbullying."

But unfortunately—

Cyberbullying only kills gentlemen; it can't cure scoundrels.

The comments above were already considered relatively civilized. There were plenty more filled with curses involving genitalia and eighteen generations of ancestors, but there was no way to present them all.

The facts proved that Bai Youlou was still that "top star"!

Before his scandal, Bai Youlou had only been half a step away from becoming a top star. But after the scandal, he had become a bona fide "top star."

Of course, this kind of top-star traffic was probably something no other celebrity wanted.

Fortunately, Bai Youlou himself didn't mind. He wanted it.

"Ding~"

A WeChat notification sounded.

When he opened it, Bai Youlou was genuinely surprised by who had sent the message.

Jiang Yuanchu.

He didn't know when she had taken him off her blacklist again, but then several beautiful photos came flooding in.

Such a short skirt, such fair legs, such long safety shorts.

After the "Peeping Through the Gaps" incident, the Crotch-Watching Cat had come online again.

And the moment it came online, it started cursing!

Damn it!

Who the hell had invented the damn things called safety shorts?

Especially the extended kind. They were even longer than the skirts. If they were going to be that long, what was the point of wearing a skirt?

After critically examining the photos, Bai Youlou sent her a voice message. "Don't look at all that ridiculous stuff online. Everything they're saying is... true!"

It was unabashed flirting.

He sent a voice message simply because he wanted to be quick.

Because by the time he sent a second message, she had blocked him again.

He had no idea what this girl was thinking. Bai Youlou felt as though she had started treating him like some kind of emotional dumping ground.

He couldn't be bothered to ponder it. You just couldn't figure out what went on in a girl's heart.

--

"Netizens keep cursing with the same old stuff. Why can't they come up with something more original?"

While tending the hot pot, Bai Youlou complained to Long Ziqiang.

The other man was seriously swishing a slice of tripe in the pot. After dipping it up and down several times, he soaked it for two seconds in a sauce bowl mixed with cilantro, chili oil, sesame oil, and minced garlic, then eagerly stuffed it into his mouth and gave a thumbs-up. "Cooked just right! Awesome! By the way, how else can people come up with creative insults?"

"They should pretend to be my rabid fans and say some really brain-dead things, like supporting me even if I killed someone. Then they could stir up public opinion, preferably get into a confrontation with the official media or something, and afterward send people swarming them."

Long Ziqiang was completely dumbfounded. What a vicious tactic!

Could a normal person even come up with that?

While he was still stunned, Bai Youlou quickly reached out with his chopsticks and scooped up all the fatty beef Long Ziqiang had just put into the hot pot.

His sauce was exactly the same as Long Ziqiang's, because they had only managed to buy those few ingredients. Still, simple seasoning tasted pretty satisfying too.

When it came to eating hot pot, the key was the time, the place, and the people.

The main thing was the atmosphere.

For example, right now, inside the "The Voice" practice room, the two men completely ignored the camera running beside them and ate with great enthusiasm.

But it still felt as though something was missing.

The two exchanged a glance.

Ah! Alcohol!

"Ahem." Bai Youlou cleared his throat. "A Qiang, get us some white tea to drink."

White tea?

Long Ziqiang understood instantly. After agreeing, he grabbed his bag and went out. Ten-odd minutes later, he returned with two half-full bottles of "mineral water."

They each opened a bottle and took a small sip. The expressions on their faces already revealed what this "white tea" really was.

Actually, Bai Youlou wasn't especially fond of drinking hard liquor. But alcohol wasn't easy to buy here, and this stuff was mainly about the atmosphere anyway. A little would do.

However, they hadn't even been eating for half an hour when Zhen Dongjun pushed open the door and entered.

Today's recording was the mentors' "guidance" segment. As a mentor, he had to choose songs for the contestants in his group and guide their singing.

He had deliberately left Bai Youlou and Long Ziqiang until last.

They didn't need any guidance at all. They had even prepared their own song, and he couldn't be bothered to care what the two of them wanted to sing.

But the moment he entered, the smell of hot pot and alcohol left Zhen Dongjun speechless too.

Damn it, they were already eating?

"Where did the hot pot come from?"

"We ordered delivery. Teacher Zhen, want a bite?" Bai Youlou asked casually when he saw him.

To his surprise, Zhen Dongjun really nodded and sat down.

Since there was nothing worth guiding, there was nothing wrong with eating a little, right? Bai Youlou might have been wrongfully accused, but he really had been rubbing salt into Zhen Dongjun's wounds.

The three of them quietly ate for more than half an hour, until the production team couldn't take it anymore.

A staff member came in and said that if they had no other footage to record, they would wrap up for the day. They were getting off work.

They weren't kicking them out, since some contestants really did practice for a long time in the program's practice rooms.

The place was open twenty-four hours a day. When nothing was being filmed, the contestants could come and stay there whenever they wanted. The production team also hoped they would perform better on the show.

After all, the program currently had two half-demon kings.

And the three-man hot-pot group didn't seem to care whether anyone was filming them.

They didn't even glance at whether the camera was on or off.

Then Zhen Dongjun was hit by the spice. Thinking the bottle contained water, he picked it up and took a large gulp—and the atmosphere changed.

"Fuck! This is alcohol?!"

Zhen Dongjun coughed and cursed as the spice burned him badly. He had wondered why he could smell alcohol but couldn't see any. He had assumed the other two had already finished drinking it.

Long Ziqiang felt a little regretful. Damn, he hadn't even had more than a few sips.

He said he wasn't that inconsiderate. Since Zhen Dongjun had drunk from it, he didn't want it anymore.

After Zhen Dongjun recovered, Bai Youlou actually raised his mineral-water bottle slightly toward him.

"I'll drink to you."

"Hm? Why?"

"Drink it, and I'll tell you."

Looking at Bai Youlou's relaxed, carefree smile, Zhen Dongjun seemed to realize something. Without hesitating, he picked up the mineral-water bottle and took another small sip.

After they "clinked glasses," the atmosphere changed again.

Bai Youlou casually pulled out his phone, searched for a photo online, and placed it on the table. "There. That's him."

Zhen Dongjun narrowed his eyes at the photo. The person in it was naturally the one called "Loves Sister-in-law."

What surprised them was that Zhen Dongjun didn't seem overly shocked. He only let out a bitter laugh.

He knew "Loves Sister-in-law." In fact, their relationship was surprisingly good. After the other man became famous, they had even collaborated onstage, exchanged contact information, and attended private gatherings together.

It wasn't that Zhen Dongjun particularly liked doing rap. His career had been heavily restricted back then, and he wanted to explore more possibilities.

The newly emerging hip-hop scene was one path. When you were hungry, you didn't get to be picky.

That was when he had met his wife, too.

After taking another look at the photo, Zhen Dongjun raised his mineral-water bottle toward Bai Youlou. "This time, I'll drink to you. Sorry for the trouble."

"Why aren't you surprised?" Long Ziqiang couldn't help asking.

Zhen Dongjun's expression was far too calm. Apart from the slight twitch of his cheek, he had shown almost no other reaction.

He simply took another sip.

This time, the "water level" in the mineral-water bottle had already dropped to half!