Congratulations

After only a few days in Yue City, Mint Soda's commercial video was released.

Since Xiao Ming had only made an appearance in it and was not the spokesperson, the sponsor had not asked him to repost it.

The sponsor had bought a trending ad slot, and the buzz exploded in no time.

[Qu! The! Movie! Emperor! Finally took an endorsement ahhh, and it's an affordable one. He had so few endorsements before, and they were basically all huge luxury brands I couldn't afford. But this soda? I can buy it!]

[The Movie Emperor really is the Movie Emperor. Even shooting a commercial, his expressiveness is absolutely top-tier!]

[Buy! I'll buy ten or twenty cases!]

[He was seriously so handsome on that boat /drool.jpg]

[This brand's new flavor looks so summery. I can't wait to try it!]

More than half the discussion was about Qu An and the soda itself, but quite a few people had also noticed Xiao Ming, who had not appeared much in the video.

[Holy crap holy crap holy crap! Who's that Mermaid? I need all his information in three seconds. He's so beautiful, I'm going to cry from how pretty he is. That smile he gave me just killed me.]

[Why is the Mermaid a guy?]

[Doesn't matter whether he's a man or woman. He's genuinely gorgeous.]

[Ahhh, he's really so beautiful!]

[Is that Xiao Ming? Is this Xiao Ming? That face is seriously lethal. I'm a fan now.]

[I suddenly understand why Qu An saved him. If it were me, I'd give him my life.]

[How can there be such a beautiful male Mermaid /crying.jpg]

[I'm diving headfirst into the Xiao Ming fandom. He's really too pretty.]

Xiao Ming's account also appeared among the trending search recommendations, and his follower count shot up like crazy.

It was only then that Xiao Ming suddenly remembered he had an account.

His phone had accidentally fallen into the water yesterday. He had fished it out quickly, then tried turning it on after it dried, but it would not power on no matter what.

He had sent it in for repairs today. Since the repairman said the model was too old and might not be fixable, only that he would do his best, Xiao Ming bought a new phone to use. He was now logged into all his own accounts.

When "Xiao Ming" had gotten a new phone number, he had registered WeChat, Weibo, and the rest using that number. He had barely touched Xiao Ming's original accounts.

Both of Xiao Ming's SIM cards were fine. He had tested them, and they both still worked.

The repairman told him to come back in two hours, so Xiao Ming planned to wander around the mall for a while to kill time.

But before he had walked around much, he felt thirsty and casually found a milk tea shop to sit down and have some milk tea.

Xiao Ming had no intention of switching accounts. Other than possibly reposting something when Full Speed Ahead! began airing, he probably would not need that account much anymore.

Xiao Ming leisurely scrolled through Weibo. He could hear quite a few girls nearby discussing Qu An's commercial and the Mermaid in it.

"That Mermaid is so pretty. Is he a celebrity?"

"Don't you not follow celebrities?"

"That doesn't stop me from appreciating beauty. So many people in the entertainment industry have plastic surgery faces now, and none of them look natural. You can tell at a glance that the Mermaid's face is natural. The kind of face that looks like Nüwa's graduation project."

"I'm not too sure either, but someone said he seems to be a minor actor who only recently entered the entertainment industry. I think he trended with Movie Emperor Qu before."

"I see. I don't understand."

"You!" A burst of playful scuffling followed.

Xiao Ming did not care much. He simply drank his milk tea, but beautiful people always seemed to carry their own light source in a crowd.

"Hey? Look, that guy next to us is really handsome!"

"What, do you want his WeChat?"

"Go try!"

"But he's sitting there with such a cold face. He doesn't look easy to approach."

"Oh, just try. Maybe you'll pluck that flower from the high mountain."

Very soon, two girls who looked like high school students came over.

"Hello, handsome. Can I add your WeChat? My friend thinks you're really good-looking!"

Although Xiao Ming had always avoided socializing with people before, his pretty face had still drawn plenty of approaches. In the past, he would simply say, "No," without considering whether the other person might feel embarrassed.

But after waking up following a year in which his body had been occupied, the additional year of memories in his mind seemed to have taught him a little about social etiquette. He was no longer a bookworm with absolutely no social awareness.

He waved his hand. "Sorry, my phone is broken. I just sent it in for repairs."

The two girls could hear the rejection in his words and did not keep pestering him. They dejectedly said, "Okay, then we won't bother you," before leaving, though their whispering between themselves did not stop.

"Even though he didn't smile, he rejected us so politely. He doesn't seem that hard to approach."

"I think so too. And he looks even better up close."

"Exactly, exactly. But he feels kind of familiar somehow."

Although Qu An was very famous and the commercial had bought a trending slot, most people out shopping did not spend much time on their phones, much less immediately recognize Xiao Ming.

Xiao Ming kept track of the time and went back to pick up his phone. Once it had been repaired, it was almost no different from before.

The repair shop owner said Xiao Ming had been lucky. The shop happened to have spare parts for that model in stock.

His old phone contained plenty of important materials from his university days, and the data from WeChat and QQ was still on it as well.

He had used this phone for five years. It had been with Xiao Ming from his freshman year of university until now, so it had been a long time.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Ming put the SIM card for the number "Xiao Ming" used back into the old phone and logged into several software accounts.

Only after logging into WeChat did Xiao Ming realize that people had been looking for "him." He had not checked the messages on that account since finishing the show, and it now showed 99+.

They had all been sent on the day Xiao Ming trended and today. On the day he trended, some had questions, some were curious, and quite a few had kicked him while he was down or cursed at him. Xiao Ming did not care. He simply marked all the messages as read without deleting anyone.

Today was more or less the same, except they were all probing into his relationship with Qu An.

[Xiao Ming, are you close with Movie Emperor Qu?]

[Is Movie Emperor Qu easy to get along with?]

There were countless messages like that.

Xiao Ming ignored them all, but he did see a message from Tang Gudu, the senior who had recommended Xiao Ming for the variety show. That surprised him.

[If you need anything, you can ask me for help. As long as it's something you want, I can help you get it.]

The more Xiao Ming looked at those words, the stranger they felt. Instinctively, he did not like this person much. After thinking for a while, he still replied, since Tang Gudu had helped him earn money.

[No need. Thank you, Senior.]

There were even more private messages on Weibo. Some praised him, some cursed him for clinging to Qu An, and some wanted to work with him. Other than rejecting the collaboration offers, he ignored everything else.

Tang Gudu sent another message. [Mingming, where are you now? Let's have dinner together if you're free?]

The two words "Mingming" gave Xiao Ming goosebumps. His dislike for Tang Gudu rose into something closer to disgust.

In his memories, "Xiao Ming" had not had much contact with Tang Gudu. That year, "Xiao Ming" had been constantly auditioning and filming. Other than filming, he had spent nearly all his time learning how to act and had only attended promotional events for a production once.

Xiao Ming retained impressions of everything "Xiao Ming" had learned, but it was like watching a movie. He could only view those memories, not truly comprehend them.

He rejected Tang Gudu once more. He had thought the other party would stop, but another message immediately came through.

[Mingming, I have a third male lead role here. The director is quite famous. Let's have a meal together, and I'll introduce you.]

Xiao Ming remembered that when "Xiao Ming" had first started looking for roles, he seemed to have encountered people like this too. "Xiao Ming" had spent several years in the entertainment industry, so whenever he faced such situations, he would refuse tactfully and then run as far away as possible.

Xiao Ming vaguely understood something as well. He did not yet have any awareness of "unspoken rules," but based on his own judgment, he knew Tang Gudu had bad intentions.

So after using the excuse that school was about to start and he had no time to reject Tang Gudu, he turned off his phone and stopped looking.

Xiao Ming had added Qu An using his own number. As for the others from Full Speed Ahead!, after adding them, they had not contacted him at all, so he simply turned on Do Not Disturb. After all, he had known very clearly at the time that what they wanted was Qu An's WeChat, not his.

It had to be said that on this point, Xiao Ming and Qu An were exceptionally in sync without either of them knowing.

Qu An had also sent him a message, saying the commercial had received a great response and that it was all thanks to Xiao Ming.

[Xiao Ming: It's because you're good enough.]

Since he had just been speaking in his own tone and manner while messaging Tang Gudu, he sent it directly to Qu An like that, forgetting to add an emoji. Qu An jokingly sent back a question.

[Qu An: Why no emoji this time? (•ө•)]

Xiao Ming's ears reddened in front of the screen, though his expression did not show it.

[Xiao Ming: Forgot. ('◇'｀)]

[Xiao Ming: Congratulations. Everyone really likes the commercial you filmed. (´∀｀)♡]

[Qu An: Thank you ๑•́v•̀๑]

Qu An's emoticon was so cute that Xiao Ming's lips curved into a faint smile.

Xiao Ming planned to leave Yue City tomorrow and head to the next place, so that evening he went around a few crowded commercial districts.

Yue City was truly prosperous. At night, it was brightly lit, the city's lights carrying the flavor of modern technology and a kind of lively bustle that lacked human warmth.

Before long, Xiao Ming found it somewhat boring. He had passed through several cities these past few days, and it seemed he still preferred nature and a leisurely atmosphere.

Although he had grown up in a fast-paced, developed city and had been forced to stumble forward, he had never loved it. At most, he had gotten used to it.

But now, he did not particularly want that habit anymore. He wanted the sense of inner awe he felt when climbing to a mountain peak and looking into the distance, and the tranquil comfort of a sunset by the sea.

Perhaps he should have been born in a small city, lived an ordinary life, taken each day slowly, and ridden a little bicycle back and forth between home and work.