Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Goose Group Gossip | Late-night rant: Star Dome’s godly stroke has stirred up the entire idol industry"

————

"Main Post"

Been pulling all-nighters nonstop, waaah

"1st Floor"

You work in the industry?

"2nd Floor"

No wonder everyone's freaking out. Just think about Yue Zhaolin's face. No matter what you're into, you can’t in good conscience say he isn’t gorgeous.

That's god-tier visuals for you.

"3rd Floor"

[OP]: Replying to 1st floor, not exactly an insider, just a small company employee. Been grinding overtime these days—exhausted.

But the boss gave the order: We gotta cash in on God's Three Seconds.

No choice but to grind it out.

"5th Floor"

Isn’t there a 15-second challenge on TikTok? That one’s easy, right?

"6th Floor"

For TikTok bandwagoners, practicing those few seconds is enough. But for idol trainees, shouldn’t they aim higher?

"10th Floor"

The routine for *Electron Shadow* is actually pretty tough. Learning the moves, formations, and polishing details takes time.

"11th Floor"

Saw a dance crew’s full cover performance—high skill level, and the styling was on point: workwear, boots, mask, and muzzle.

Spot-on recreation, but not to nitpick… it just didn’t have Yue Zhaolin’s vibe.

His aura is next-level.

Yue Zhaolin probably wore little to no makeup, but his eyes are just mesmerizing. One look at the lens and it’s instant impact.

"12th Floor"

This is a full-blown "Yue Zhaolin trend" now!

"15th Floor"

This song got lucky with its revival (no shade, just facts).

"16th Floor"

Savage but facts. Checked IA’s data thread from two months ago—*Actual*’s comeback period had mid numbers.

Peak concurrents hit 50K, lasted just one day.

Now?

200K.

"17th Floor"

Music biz redemption arc?!

"18th Floor"

These numbers mean it’s gone full normie.

"20th Floor"

The most viral "God's Three Seconds" clip on TikTok has 5M likes—all organic. What does that tell you?

"21st Floor"

All hail the Moon Emperor.

"25th Floor"

Xing-jjangs back at it with the hype?

Lao Xing hasn’t even debuted, yet his shill accounts are already brigading forums left and right, swarming like locusts to prop him up. Star Dome’s teacher's pet much.

"28th Floor"

Huh?

IA stans incoming—peace out—

"30th Floor"

Giving hated celebs hate nicknames? Fine, I get it. They get paid to get dragged—heavy is the head that wears the crown.

But why add "chicken" to their fans’ names? It’s just trashy af. Am I the only one who finds it revolting?

"31st Floor"

Spare us the fake woke. This isn’t new. The second your fave gets dragged, you pull the purity act?

Xing-jjangs really take after Lao Xing—professional martyrs, acting all aggrieved while clout-chasing.

"40th Floor"

Replying to 31st: Classic Xing-jjang playbook—sockpuppets LARPing as neutrals, flooding forums with hype bait threads.

You really think that many people care about him?

Is there even a single actual casual left in Goose Group? Doubt it. Might as well rename this the Yue Zhaolin Fan Club.

"41st Floor"

Uh, forgot to log out there? Self-replying much?

Floor 42

Pffft, the boomerang came back so fast. Who's the one obsessed with burner accounts again?

Floor 45

But there are fewer iA stans than I expected—only two or three, it seems.

Floor 48

Well...

Since Actual is also a second-gen group and used hand-me-down resources from the first-gen, attacking Yue Zhaolin is kinda like dragging their own idols.

The anti-fandoms mocked them for it too, saying iA is the pot calling the kettle black.

Plus, Yue Zhaolin's Super Topic got flooded by them for days. iA vented their anger by picking on normies, so they’ve slowly calmed down.

So iA collectively decided to ignore Yue Zhaolin, and now they’re back to fighting their usual rivals.

As for those two above, they’re probably just young, hardcore akgaes?

Floor 50

They’ve already backed off?

Floor 51

The disparity in clout between the two sides is too huge—no real fight could happen.

—Yue Zhaolin blew up overnight. The seasoned fandom-savvy stans got drowned out by the massive but clueless casual fans.

Floor 52

A disorganized mob like this can’t compare to a well-organized army.

Floor 55

But I took a peek at Yue Zhaolin’s Super Topic, and the order is much better now. Then I checked the follower count—omg, over 140K!

And it’s only been a few days.

Floor 56

Stellaris really is a marketing pro. Even before *Starlight* started filming, they’ve already bagged one of the nine debut spots.

Deliberately manufacturing drama to quickly boost fandom visibility;

The music festival breakout was for the GP (general public) attention.

Even that glass bottle that nearly hit Yue Zhaolin’s head now seems like a 5D chess move—it made social news.

A full 360 clout breakout.

Floor 57

Gimme some of that Stellaris career luck.

Floor 60

There’s still a month before *Starlight* starts filming. I don’t think Stellaris will sit still—they’ve definitely got more moves left to make.

...

Floor 102

Floor 60 nailed it.

Floor 103

Stellaris is a master at fanning flames.

They made Actual’s Shao Meng and Shen Zhu be reduced to backup for a trainee in a challenge video, with Yue Zhaolin and another trainee hogging center...

Floor 104

(Gasps)

Floor 105

Just imagining it—if I were an Actual fan, I’d be seething. The person I already hate, now doing a challenge with my ult?

Floor 107

The real issue isn’t the challenge itself, but Yue Zhaolin taking center—like he’s flexing on fans, *This song blew up because of me.*

Floor 108

Good news: The song’s blowing up.

Bad news: Not the original version.

Floor 110

This kind of thing happens a lot in the music industry, but it’s a first for idol fandoms.

And Yue Zhaolin is already someone A-fans despise—stealing Shao Meng’s center spot and blowing up because of it is already living rent-free in their heads.

Now the center-stealer and the one who got center-stolen are forced to collab? Unbelievable.

If I were a fan, I’d be so humiliated I’d puke—this is outright disgraceful!

Stellaris really knows how to farm drama.

Floor 111

Why’s it so quiet again?

Hardly any replies.

Floor 112

Everyone’s on Douyin. That outfit Moon Emperor wore in the challenge was serving looks...

——

Flashback:

The Cafeteria.

Fu Xunying listlessly chewed on the bland chicken breast and stuffed some leafy greens into his mouth, while Yue Zhaolin, sitting across from him, was on a call.

This way of eating was also part of their shipping bait training.

Fu Xunying glanced at Yue Zhaolin. This guy... was born for shipping bait.

After getting to know him, Fu Xunying found himself constantly on edge around Yue Zhaolin.

Because the other’s actions were too natural—it didn’t even seem intentional.

Fu Xunying zoned out for a moment, feeling like he could actually taste the chicken’s natural flavor, when Yue Zhaolin suddenly said, “Sister Man told us to go to the third floor after we finish eating.”

Fu Xunying kept his tone neutral. “What for?”

“A dance challenge.”

With the members of Actual.

Third floor.

Li Man was already waiting at the door. “Zhao Lin, Xunying, over here. Actual hasn’t arrived yet, so you two will get your hair and makeup done first.”

Hair and makeup?

Li Man looked at them and smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll keep it low-key. You’re still trainees, after all.”

“*Electron Shadow*’s numbers have blown up,” thanks to Yue Zhaolin’s fan-cam footage, “so we’re calling you in to give it another push.”

Once they entered, the stylist brought two outfits and handed them to Yue Zhaolin and Fu Xunying. “Change first, then hair and makeup.”

The clothes had been picked out the day before.

Starry Sky’s level of attention toward Yue Zhaolin and Fu Xunying was such that even their challenge outfits had to go through multiple rounds of approval beforehand.

“Yue Zhaolin’s look: curly hair, gray-black sweater, and chunky glasses. This styling has a bit of a nerdy aesthetic to tone down his intensity.”

“Fu Xunying’s look: black hoodie and sweatpants. His collarbones are nice—they’ll give definition to the hoodie’s shoulders.”

The makeup emphasis was different too.

In short, they tried to make the two appear on equal footing at first glance.

As for upon closer look… well, there was nothing they could do. They’d have to make it work.

While Fu Xunying went to change in a separate room, Li Man brought up another matter. “By the way, Zhao Lin, we found the person who threw the bottle at you.”

“Found them?”

“His name is Xu Wei, just turned eighteen. He went to the music festival with some friends. According to him, he had a bit to drink before entering.”

“He heard your name and thought you were an acquaintance. Plus, his girlfriend wouldn't stop gushing about you, so he wanted to get your attention.”

Getting someone's attention by hurling a bottle instead of using his mouth?

After the police investigated, they found out he actually had some connection to Yue Zhaolin. Xu Wei was Yue Zhaolin’s younger cousin.

Li Man: “He said he was blackout drunk at the time and didn’t know what he was doing. He also said he wants to see you—that you’re family and asked you not to take it to court.”

Hm. This person… hasn’t changed at all.

Yue Zhaolin thought.

Ten years ago, Yue Zhaolin’s father, unable to have a son, adopted the boy his sister didn’t want—Xu Wei.

Xu Wei inherited the family’s golden child status and threw his weight around, while Yue Zhaolin—*she* was defiant, incorrigible, and always fought with Xu Wei.

Later, Yue Zhaolin was taken away by his grandmother, changed his surname, and nearly forgot about these two people.

But now that he was reminded, it all came back. *She* and him—they had bad blood.

Settle privately?

That would be letting him off too easy.

Li Man acknowledged the situation.

Starry Sky’s lawyers would handle communication with Xu Wei. Even if Xu Wei wanted to settle privately, he couldn’t bypass the company—because Yue Zhaolin had indeed signed an ironclad contract with them. Not to mention, Starry Sky had taken precautions, buying Yue Zhaolin a whole stack of insurance policies.

With the advantage on their side, Starry Sky was ready to push for the full legal consequences.

Xu Wei was really screwed.

Once the two finished their hair and makeup, Yue Zhaolin and Fu Xunying headed to the dance studio next door to film a dance challenge with Shao Meng and Shen Zhu from Actual.

Promoting the song was the official reason.

Based on the company’s usual way of doing things, Yue Zhaolin predicted the reactions this challenge would provoke once released—

First, it would satisfy the massive audience on Douyin who were interested in Yue Zhaolin.

Second, after filming this challenge, Actual’s fans—who would once again feel the company favorite treatment shoved in their faces—would see it as the company “provoking” the fandom.

In reality, the company’s goal was to generate buzz while also giving Actual’s fans something to rally against.

Yue Zhaolin was the “enemy” the company had chosen to reignite the passion of A’s four-year-old, burnt-out fandom.

It would also cement Yue Zhaolin’s status as the company’s favorite.

Finally, once the backlash was directed at him, they could push Fu Xunying’s profile.

All in all, it was a win-win situation.

And Yue Zhaolin, standing at the eye of this storm, was fully aware. Like flowers tossed into roaring flames—spectacular but dangerous.

But he was still happy.

This was the path he had chosen.

The day came when Yue Zhaolin woke up to find his gender had changed. Deep down, at his core, he remained that same girl, and the past *she* had always envied:

The kind of talent cultivated from childhood, allowing performances at school events;

English speech competitions;

Perfect penmanship.

After signing with the company, all Yue Zhaolin had to do was ask, and they would arrange tutors for him. The dreams he had chased in his youth were now his for the taking.

This was the result of his bargain with the company—how could he not be happy?

After wrapping up the surface-level cordial but charged shoot, Yue Zhaolin went to find Li Man. “Man-jie, I want to step out for a while.”

“What’s up?”

Yue Zhaolin: “Well, I suddenly have this urge to buy flowers. A bouquet… of red ones.”

Like flowers tossed into roaring flames—vibrant, blood-red would be perfect.