It was early in the morning, and no one else was up yet. The bedroom livestreams hadn't started either, so viewers could only camp out in the living room stream and wait.
The moment Wen Jiu came downstairs, the fans waiting there spotted him.
[Wifey! Wow, you're up so early! Wifey, look over here~]
[Why does my son look so fierce today?]
[Wifey's skin is so fair and soft first thing in the morning, and his eyes are a little red. His walking posture...? Okay, can't tell, ignore that. Anyway, verdict reached: they definitely did it last night.]
[My dreams are shattered. Why was this little dumbass the first one downstairs???]
[I refuse to believe it! President Feng was already like that last night! And wifey happened to be drunk. The perfect opportunity! You could beat me to death and I still wouldn't believe President Feng held back!]
[Could it be... President Feng bottomed for love?]
[...]
Don't be ridiculous.
Wen Jiu knew the living room camera was still on. He tilted his head up to greet it, then carried a little stool outside to scroll through his phone.
Wen Jiu wanted to check the trending searches to cool his anger and see whether he was on the list while he was at it.
The trending list updated in real time. Yesterday's frenzy had passed, and those trending terms had been pushed down.
What surprised him was-
#Wen Jiu, a pearl hidden in dust#
#Wen Jiu's performance#
#The post-2000 generation has its own "The Lonely Warrior" now#
The searches about him from last night were actually still ranked in the forties.
Netizens were sharing that performance clip like crazy, and his follower count had actually passed nine million???
Wen Jiu excitedly opened his profile, gently rubbing his index finger over the follower count beside his avatar, his eyes sparkling.
Just then, his manager called.
"Brother Qu."
"Saw the trending searches?" The voice on the other end held a rare note of relaxed amusement, as though he had let out a long breath. "Wen Xiaojiu, you did well this time."
"You've made something of yourself."
"Hehe." It had been a long time since Wen Jiu had heard his manager praise him like that, and he felt a little embarrassed. "It's all thanks to your teaching, Brother Qu."
Qu Feng: ...
"You're doing a good job hyping up your CP with President Feng. Very good. Keep it up."
Wen Jiu was lost. "What CP?"
"...Oh, nothing. Never mind." Realizing something, Qu Feng didn't dare say any more, afraid of getting in the way of President Feng's plans.
He kept it vague. "Didn't I tell you to cooperate with the publicity before? What you're doing now is pretty good. It's getting a lot of attention."
What the hell? Wen Jiu was utterly confused. He was about to ask more when the voice on the other end suddenly turned serious.
"You have three choices now."
That usually meant they were getting down to business. Wen Jiu sat up straight.
"Two variety shows: season two of Sound of Nature and season seven of Brothers and Sisters, Let's Debut.
"You know Sound of Nature, the music competition that blew up last year. The arrangement for you is to compete in just two rounds, then get eliminated and leave.
"The second one needs even less introduction. Your old company is offering you a teaching assistant role this time."
"One thing worth mentioning: barring any surprises, Lin Shuheng will be a mentor."
Wen Jiu scoffed.
Brothers and Sisters, Let's Debut was a variety show Minghua Entertainment had specifically created to cultivate boy groups and girl groups.
Back then, Wen Jiu's former manager, Fang Yun, had spotted him and invited him to take part, after which he had debuted in a group.
He counted as quite a senior.
Wen Jiu's batch could be called the most talented across those seasons. Afterward, the show had gone downhill year after year, nearly getting canceled.
Who would have thought that after all these years, they would come up with some teaching assistant role?
And that dumbass Lin Shuheng would actually outrank him???
Wen Jiu had no doubt that they had created this role to exploit his popularity for publicity while looking for a chance to get back at him.
Only an idiot would go.
Wen Jiu laughed. "If those are the only two, I'd pick Sound of Nature with my eyes closed."
Scripts and behind-the-scenes manipulation aside, at least Sound of Nature had genuinely skilled singers.
Qu Feng burst out laughing.
"The third choice is..."
Qu Feng deliberately drew out his words, leaving Wen Jiu itching with curiosity. "What is it?"
Only after thoroughly whetting his appetite did Qu Feng finally let out a laugh. "You'll have to ask President Feng yourself! I'll tell you just one thing: it's a show President Feng created especially for you. Exclusively custom-made~"
Wen Jiu: ...
Without even needing to guess what Wen Jiu's expression looked like, the man on the other end roared with laughter.
For the first time, Wen Jiu mercilessly hung up on his manager.
Heh. Even that rotten habit of teasing his own artist like a dog every so often was exactly the fucking same as in reality.
Wen Jiu pursed his lips in frustration. Undeniably, his curiosity had been piqued.
Created especially... for me?
Aaaaah, don't think about it, don't think about it! Wen Jiu kept surfing the internet. He didn't want to know at all, okay!
Wen Jiu distractedly scrolled through his phone until an inadvertent glance caught-
What the hell was the Lasting CP Super Topic?
Its fan activity actually ranked first on the popular Super Topics list?!
Wen Jiu was baffled. Why would a Super Topic have such an embarrassing name? What genius had come up with it?
He didn't remember anyone like that in the entertainment industry.
Wen Jiu: How strange. Not sure. Let me take another look...
"Holy shit!!!"
The comments: [What happened? What happened? I think I heard wifey's angry voice.]
Clutching his phone, Wen Jiu stared wide-eyed at the follower count displayed at the top of the Super Topic, then at the posts about him and Feng Chi inside it. His soul nearly left his body.
58.727 million posts.
2.0711 million perpetual motion machines.
Trending No. 1.
4.73 million interactions today.
Fans are fans. What the hell are perpetual motion machines?!
With trembling hands, Wen Jiu tapped it open. The description was a line that would blow anyone's mind, but the CP fans had clearly already engraved it into their hearts and lungs-
Feng Chi and Wen Jiu, lasting long in bed, lasting a lifetime together.
Let loose, sisters! Lasting CP is the fucking best!
"I'll last your..." Wen Jiu took a deep breath and told himself to stay calm, though his toes had already begun their construction project.
He tried to hold back but couldn't. He ran over beneath the camera and demanded, "Don't any of you sleep at night?"
It was only six in the fucking morning!!!
Where had 4.73 million interactions come from??!!
"And another thing, as long as they're human, can you just spout bull-ship them at random?!"
What the livestream comments actually heard: %¥@#&*?
[Morning, wifey. So sleepy... Sisters, I can't hold out anymore [sleepy]. Going to bed.]
[Same. Our son's so energetic. By the way, what's he asking us?]
[No idea. Speak up, wifey. I can't see clearly.]
[Ah, wifey, I'm gonna go night-night.]
[The handsome ones are already awake, while the ugly ones still haven't gone to bed.]
[You fucker, don't get so cocky up there.]
Wen Jiu stood below the camera, grumbling and ranting about the CP Super Topic, while the fans and viewers in the comments played dumb in front of their screens.
After spending ages talking on two different wavelengths, Wen Jiu finally realized that babbling at the camera like this was kind of idiotic. He rubbed his nose, returned to his seat by the door, and kept scrolling.
He gave it the grand name of patrolling the Super Topic.
As the saying went, know yourself and your enemy, and in a hundred battles...
"He was the sea he would never encounter in all eternity.
"He was the light that doomed him beyond redemption."
Wen Jiu: ???
What the hell?