Chu Tian played a couple of rounds of games but found them rather uninteresting, so he decided to check out a few novels instead. The more he read, the more disgusted he became.
He scoured the most renowned novel websites on the internet and picked up the explosively popular titles, only to find himself growing increasingly nauseated and incensed.
Something was wrong with this world. There were literary gems, sure, but most of them hailed from over a decade ago and carried an old-fashioned air.
The more recent works, while more aligned with the times in terms of style, were all either danmei or Boys' Love.
The problem is, I'm not into BL. I'm, if anything, quite straight—so how could I possibly get into this stuff?
This wasn't just a matter of genre preference. There was a trend where all works seemed to be evolving in this direction. It was similar to how television dramas from his previous life would insist on romance, regardless of whether it was in the midst of dire straits or world annihilation.
Novels in this world were the same, always shoehorning in romance wherever possible. Okay, fine, have your romance, but can it at least make some logical sense? Like, what's this about the female lead falling ill and being unable to take the college entrance exam, so the male lead immediately has the exam paused, waiting for her to recover before it continues? Author, are you okay? If you have that kind of power, why even bother with the college entrance exam? For life experience?
And there were worse cases: in a private high school for the nobility, one girl claimed she's so poor that her family eats cornbread every day, and then another girl pulled out three million yuan from her backpack and gave it to her, saying that as long as they're together, her family could eat shark fin and bear paw every day. Let's not even talk about whether eating shark fins and bear paws will get them arrested. I just want to ask, how on earth do you attend a private aristocratic high school if your family eats cornbread every day? Does the principal owe your family a high-interest loan?
What infuriated him even more was a book whose synopsis alone nearly blew up the CPU in Chu Tian's brain. It claimed that the male lead attended a regular high school, while his adversaries went to the local elite school, which clearly catered to the wealthy and powerful—an ilk he loathed with a passion, resolving to teach everyone there a lesson.
Seriously, what is this nonsense? Others attend an 'elite high school,' so that means the high school you attend is a 'low-grade high school'? Then why is 'high school' called 'high school' in the first place? Isn't it supposed to be short for 'elite high school'? The key issue was that the comment section of that book was full of people lambasting the elite high-schoolers as being lofty and powerful, leaving the ordinary folks to only look up at them with envy.
Come on, have none of these people ever attended high school? Or is it my brain that's got a problem? Just reading a few books had nearly caused him to faint from frustration.
Unable to tolerate the bizarre thought processes of these people any longer, Chu Tian quickly closed all the tabs and decided to go out for an ice pop to cool down. If I don't calm down soon, my brain might actually explode.
Though he had left, he had no idea that a chance slip of his hand had set the internet ablaze.
"Sisters, sisters, huge news! Earth-shattering gossip!"
"What gossip? Isn't it just Qin Xiao's affair with a young celebrity? I saw that news this morning and even commented on it."
"Not that, it's related, but this is even more explosive!"
"Ah? What in the world is it? Spit it out, don't leave us hanging!"
"I'm not leaving you hanging, just check the Weibo trending topics and you'll see. Do you still remember Xu Qingqiu, the Queen who rose to fame a few years ago? She liked the news about Qin Xiao's affair with the young celebrity, and she liked a bunch of comments underneath too!"
"Holy shit! For real? Aren't they from the same company? Didn't Qin Xiao say that they were close friends privately? Are they falling out now?"
"Who knows? In any case, it's all over the trending topics now."
Those who love juicy gossip weren't limited to just these two. Some were gleefully consuming the sensational news behind their screens; others were calling friends over for a lively discussion.
The internet exploded like a pot of boiling water had been poured over it.
Is Xu Qingqiu's popularity high? Not particularly. Is Qin Xiao's popularity high? It wasn't before, but there's talk of a new drama coming up, so there's been a push to boost her popularity. Otherwise, what do you think her affair with the young celeb was all about? Why then, when combined, do the two of them generate such a high level of buzz?
The cause was an article quickly published by the famous paparazzi "Gossip First Degree" after seeing Xu Qingqiu like Qin Xiao's news.
"Detailing the Grudges and Affections between Qin Xiao, Lin Junsu, and Xu Qingqiu"
In the article, the author explained in detail the grudges and affections among these three people. The gist of the content was the whole process of power struggles within Baise Entertainment.
First, the small workshop Baise Entertainment produced a golden phoenix like Xu Qingqiu. Then, some veiled issues caused shareholder Ye Zhonghuai to disagree with Xu Qingqiu, so he began to strongly push Qin Xiao instead. It subtly hinted at some kind of bedroom trade between Qin Xiao and Ye Zhonghuai, but did not elaborate.
Therefore, Qin Xiao and Xu Qingqiu naturally became like water and fire: one a golden phoenix rising from insignificance, and the other an upstart substitute. They clashed and sparred, neither giving way. Later, the previous chairman of Baise Entertainment, Jiang Wangtao, either sensed Ye Zhonghuai's ill intentions or realized the crisis of Xu Qingqiu carrying the burden alone, and opportunely brought in his carefully selected Lin Junsu.
Thus, three women formed the cast of a grand drama. It finally ended with Xu Qingqiu's voluntary contract termination, Jiang Wangtao getting hospitalized and being forced to step down, Lin Junsu fading into the background, and Qin Xiao seizing the opportunity to rise.
Once this article was released, it immediately caused a huge uproar.
Everyone was shocked. Baise Entertainment, which seemed harmonious on the surface, was actually filled with turbulent undercurrents. Nobody expected that Qin Xiao, who easily called Xu Qingqiu "Senior Sister" in front of the cameras, was actually this kind of person.
The gossip-loving crowd had almost had their fill.
As for the person involved, Xu Qingqiu, she was diligently practicing with the band in the rehearsal studio, tirelessly working on a new song.
Meanwhile, the instigator of all this, Chu Tian, was happily skipping along to the company, humming a tune and holding an ice pop in one hand.
Li Chunhua, who was in her office making calls for resources, had just hung up one call when she saw her assistant run in with a panic-stricken face. "What's the matter with you? Why all the rush? Remember to knock next time, okay? It's very impolite to barge in like this."
Before she could finish, the assistant, holding up the phone in desperate haste, said, "Sister Hua, you must look quickly, something's happened."
At the mention of trouble, Li Chunhua, being in a sensitive period, felt her heart drop and cold sweat broke out instantly. It was a critical time for Xu Qingqiu. The studio rent was due soon, and only with great effort had she managed to stabilize the situation with the program team.
The money owed to the bank had been deferred, and the dispute with the company resolved. Everything seemed to have calmed down. But it could not withstand any waves of disruption, as any problem in a single link could lead to total collapse.
So upon hearing that something happened, Li Chunhua was more anxious than anyone. "What happened? Give it to me quick!"
As she spoke, she snatched the phone and immediately saw Xu Qingqiu's name on the trending searches. By the time she had read the content, her vision went dark before instantly snapping back to clarity, and a sigh of relief quietly escaped her.
Thank goodness, it's nothing major.
But soon, a surge of anger shot to her head.
"Call a meeting! Gather everyone from the public relations and operations teams for an immediate meeting. Also, go fetch Qingqiu."