I Don't Need the Publicity

The food finally arrived, and Yu Xiuyuan picked up his bowl and chopsticks and dug straight in.

Shopping really took it out of a guy. He was starving.

"Your new look is quite striking, Xiuyuan. You could have waited until tomorrow to change, though. Your second outfit today already looked lovely," Lin Qingnuan said gently.

Yu Xiuyuan was a little surprised. Best Actress Lin had actually initiated a conversation with him. But her words seemed to carry a hidden meaning. Wasn't she supposed to be gracious and gentle in the novel? Was he overthinking it?

Yu Xiuyuan swallowed his mouthful of food and straightened his back. "Thank you for the compliment, Best Actress Lin. But didn't that outfit match Best Actor Yun's? Who am I to wear the same thing as him? I hurried up and changed."

Then he assured the camera, "Clouds, please spare my miserable life! I really didn't do it on purpose! Watch what I do from now on!"

"Clouds" was the name of Yun Chuan's fandom.

Lin Qingnuan smiled and said nothing more.

Who acted like that in showbiz? Who spoke so bluntly?

With nobody calling on him, Yu Xiuyuan happily tucked into his meal.

Sure enough, after dinner, nobody competed to wash dishes with him anymore. Wonderful.

"Xiwashua, Xiwashua, Xiwashua

Please bring back what you took from me

Spit out what you ate of mine

Make up what you owe me

Hand over what you stole from me

Our love's like a guessing game

Every time, I have to guess

Xiwashua, Xiwashua

..."

Yu Xiuyuan sang as he wiggled and swayed. Just you wait. Everything you took from me, you'll have to give back!

He twisted this way and that, his good mood practically spilling out of the screen and smacking the viewers in the face.

"This song is so ridiculously catchy. I've already started singing Xiwashua along with him."

"Interesting lyrics. Feels like he's hinting at something."

"Another song? I've never heard this one either. Don't tell me we won't be able to find the original singer again?"

"The last song is still trending, and now there's another one."

"Ten thousand signatures in blood begging the production team to ask Yu Dog whether these are his original songs!"

"Same here."

"Same here."

The assistant director took his phone to the director again. In the end, the production team sent the cameraman who had followed Yu Xiuyuan that afternoon to ask him.

Yu Xiuyuan was genuinely astonished by the question. His brain froze for a moment before it finally clicked.

These songs didn't exist in the novel's world!!!!

He searched his memories. The music industry in this world really did seem less developed than in his own.

It had been trending all afternoon already?

People were searching everywhere for the original singer?

Got it. His hater friends were hard at work again, weren't they? They didn't believe he was the original singer, so they were searching everywhere for one?

Had they made such a fuss that they'd pushed him onto the trending list? True love, indeed.

Where was he supposed to find an original singer for them?

Could he make a living plagiarizing works from another world now? Wouldn't fame and fortune be just a song away?

Forget it. He had enough money. Keep a low profile. A low profile.

In the end, he still had a tiny shred of shame and said he had dreamed them up.

Then he couldn't resist raising his eyebrows at the camera with an obnoxious grin. "I can get on the trending list just by singing a few random lines? My hater friends must have worked pretty hard, huh? You made such a fuss that you got me trending?

"I thought nobody was watching me. Don't bother next time. I don't need the publicity."

With that, he winked at the camera and went back to washing dishes.

The haters posting everywhere, uploading videos, and rallying people to find the original singer: ...So infuriating! What an ass!

The viewers didn't care how he explained it. If he'd dreamed it up, it was his original work!

By the time he finished the dishes and returned to his room, his agent was calling. He went into the bathroom and shut the door before answering. "Hello? Man!"

"Are you really leaving the industry? Weren't you already looking for another agency?" a brisk female voice asked.

"I'm not looking anymore. I really am planning to retire. I was immature before and caused you and the agency a lot of trouble.

"I announced early today that I wouldn't be renewing because I didn't want the haters to keep attacking the agency."

Yu Xiuyuan's haters were absurdly ferocious. Insulting him wasn't enough anymore; they had broadened their attacks to his agency and its other artists.

"Whether you leave the industry is your decision. I'm calling to ask whether those two songs really are your original work."

Before he could answer, she continued, "Music platforms have already contacted us about exclusive streaming rights. Their offers are pretty good. The agency wants to sign a deal as soon as possible while they're still trending."

Yu Xiuyuan fell silent for a moment, then said they were indeed original songs, but he would give the agency an answer about releasing them on music platforms in three days.

His original body's agency was different from those in the usual formulaic plots.

His reputation as the protagonist bottom's "stupid and vicious" foil, with "dirt flying everywhere," really wasn't something his agency had manufactured to sabotage him.

He had "earned" it all by himself.

Unlike the usual formula, the original owner had signed with an ethical agency as rare as a priceless treasure, complete with a beautiful, kindhearted agent.

The original owner had been good-looking since childhood. His looks had never let him down.

Though he was an orphan, his outstanding appearance had spared him much hardship.

Only in high school had he suffered a period of bullying for being too good-looking.

After reaching adulthood, he had been discovered by a talent scout and signed with Stars Agency. It was small, but genuinely decent.

His agent, Li Man, was a sucker for pretty faces and took especially good care of him.

Unfortunately, the original owner had grown up lazy and fond of an easy life, with little understanding of the world.

Since he thought he was good-looking, he had decided to become a kept man and devoted himself to finding a wealthy patron.

He believed his beauty would surely make him some powerful man's most cherished darling. Why would he need to work hard himself?

Unfortunately for him, his agency was utterly respectable. It never arranged boozy dinners or introduced him to wealthy backers.

He himself had also acted as though possessed. Under Wen Lin's influence, he had developed truly peculiar taste, dressing like a ragged sack every day, letting his hair cover half his face, and wearing makeup thick enough to look ghostly.

Not a single wealthy boss had ever taken a fancy to him.

So he hadn't actually gotten into any trouble on that front.

Only Li Man, who had managed him all along, had noticed the warning signs. Worried that he might impulsively take the wrong path because of his youth, she had done a great deal to protect him.

But in the original owner's eyes, this meant his agency and agent had joined forces to clip the wings that would let him soar!

As a result, he had always harbored deep resentment toward both.

He never took his assigned work seriously, always making excuses and putting things off. Even his public appearances received as little effort as he could get away with.

Above all, he trusted Wen Lin implicitly, believing practically anything Wen Lin told him.

He had been coaxed into confronting quite a few artists on Wen Lin's behalf.

Over time, no matter how much his agent protected him, scandals were inevitable.

The agency had decided not to renew his contract when it expired in two months because it was simply too disappointed in him.

Their paths had diverged, so there was no point working together. They wished him success in fulfilling his desires at another agency.

The original owner, too, had simply been waiting to move to another agency in two months.

Unfortunately, in an effort to look more "delicate and slender" on camera, he had starved himself for three days and died suddenly, allowing Yu Xiuyuan to transmigrate into his body.

Since Yu Xiuyuan had transmigrated here and inherited the original owner's "estate," the original owner was his benefactor.

Wasn't it only right to clean up the mess his benefactor had left behind?

The agency and his agent had done everything they could for the original owner. They had more than fulfilled their obligations.

By rights, he should immediately agree to the agency's arrangements for signing a song deal and maximize their profits.

But things weren't that simple.