Volume One, Chapter 44: Riding on One's Own Popularity

“Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter!”

“That’s Jiang Yu for you, gutsy as ever! I have to admit, that was a powerful blow!”

“No offense to you, really, it’s not about you—hahaha, you fangirls, Jiang Yu really wasn’t talking about you!”

“I know you’re all anxious, but just calm down for a second!”

Within just three hours of the broadcast of “Idol Trainee,” Jiang Yu was once again trending at the top of the hot search rankings.

#JiangYu ‘Don’t Bite Me’#
#JiangYu, it’s not about you, really it isn’t#
#Don’t take it personally, I’m just singing for fun#
#The gutsiest newcomer—Jiang Yu#

“This guy is disgusting! After insulting us, he says stuff like this to make us feel even worse!”

“So you think having talent gives you the right to write songs that insult people?”

“That’s it, I’ve had enough—girls, assemble, let’s go after him!”

A mob quickly gathered in the comments under Jiang Yu’s Weibo.

“Jiang Yu, what kind of trash are you? Such a disgrace—does this even count as a song?”

“Hmph, so now anyone can get into showbiz? Get out of the entertainment industry!”

“Garbage singer with garbage songs, and even this kind of vulgar song can make the charts?”

The fangirls began relentlessly attacking Jiang Yu online.

……

Huayue Entertainment Company Headquarters.

Led by Su Ling, a group of people couldn’t help but scream with excitement as they witnessed the scene.

“Sister Ling, Jiang Yu is incredible! Who else nowadays would dare offend these pretty boys?”

“Exactly, ‘Don’t Bite Me’ is amazing—how did he even come up with a song like that?”

“Wow, Jiang Yu is really gutsy!”

They had roamed this highly competitive world of fame for years, but they had never seen anything quite like this.

Everyone was singing Jiang Yu’s praises, except for one person who clenched his fists.

What’s so special about Jiang Yu anyway? The company gave him all these songs, even let him release something like this.

Li Hao’s eyes were full of bitterness. In his mind, all these songs were supposed to be his; the one basking in everyone’s praise should have been him!

But in the end, he released his grip and quietly left the office.

Unfortunately, no one noticed him.

Everyone was still lost in the excitement over “Don’t Bite Me.”

“Xiaoyu, Jiang Yu is just too amazing!” Su Ling grabbed Su Muyu’s hand, shaking it up and down in excitement.

Su Muyu smiled gently. She knew Jiang Yu would handle this matter: “Aunt, surely the board won’t refuse Jiang Yu’s terms now, right?”

Hearing Su Muyu’s words, Su Ling calmed herself: “You’re right. They have no reason to refuse his conditions anymore. I’ll go prepare for a meeting to discuss this.”

At that moment, Jiang Yu was in his room, staring at the flood of bizarre, profanity-laden comments beneath his Weibo post, his lips twitching.

After a moment’s thought, he grinned slyly—what a waste it would be not to ride this wave of popularity!

He clicked to switch accounts.

These days, who doesn’t have a Weibo alt?

His alt was called “Turkey-Flavored Rice Crackers.”

Back when he was writing novels, he had registered this pseudonym as a verified account to keep readers from being misled.

Recently, with the explosive success of “Zhuxian,” this pseudonym’s follower count had been steadily rising. While it still couldn’t compare to the top influencers, it had grown to six or seven hundred thousand followers.

Opening his alt account, Jiang Yu sneered. The bizarre comments here were almost as wild as on his main account.

Sure enough, whenever something goes viral, all sorts of people come crawling out of the woodwork.

As “Zhuxian” gained traction, so did a horde of self-styled critics who relentlessly picked the book apart.

Unable to find fault with the plot, they attacked the writing style. In their eyes, a martial arts novel should be full of flowery, archaic language; plain, modern prose was simply vulgar to them.

Well then, might as well respond to everything at once.

Turkey-Flavored Rice Crackers:

Lately I’ve really enjoyed a certain singer, heard two great songs—let me recommend them to everyone.

“Elegance and Vulgarity,” “Don’t Bite Me.”

So what if it’s refined or crude? If I want to sing, I’ll sing; if I want to write, I’ll write. Don’t bite me!

I love your songs, and I love even more the sharpness of your words, like a sword.

May you—

With your blade yet unsharpened, step into the world.

After seeing a thousand sails pass by, may you return with the heart of a youth.

Just as Jiang Yu expected, by casually speaking up for himself with his alt, the alt’s popularity soared as well!

“Wow, the great Rice Cracker speaks! Is this a response to all the attacks from the past few days?”

“Finally, Rice Cracker is speaking out. Those trolls—if you don’t like it, get lost. Don’t bite me!”

Turkey-Flavored Rice Crackers, with over 600,000 fans, was followed almost exclusively by “Zhuxian” readers.

Once this Weibo post went up, it was like a stone thrown into a pond, sending waves everywhere—the comments exploded.

“Exactly! What’s so vulgar, what’s so refined? If you don’t like it, leave—you’re not more cultured than the rest of us!”

“Who’s the singer the author recommended? I listened—pretty good, actually.”

“Wait, Rice Cracker, you like ‘Elegance and Vulgarity’ too? I love Zhuxian and that song as well!”

“Hey, who’s the singer of this song?”

“It’s a singer from the latest variety show, ‘Idol for Two and a Half Years,’ named Jiang Yu. Super talented!”

“I’ll go check it out too.”

“Is no one noticing the little poem Rice Cracker wrote? It’s got such a vibe—‘after seeing a thousand sails pass by, may you return with the heart of a youth.’”

At first, the comments were fairly normal, but soon, one post threw things off track.

“Guys, don’t let this dog of an author fool you—he has time to post on Weibo but not to update his novel!”

“Yeah, exactly! Even the farm’s donkey works harder than you!”

“Update soon!”

……

While the book fans were busy clamoring for more chapters, suddenly, a huge influx of people poured into the comments, launching straight into insults!

Who else could it be but the fangirls?

Having suffered a setback at Jiang Yu’s, they were looking for somewhere to vent.

Suddenly, “Turkey-Flavored Rice Crackers” pops up—seems to be an author, too.

Time to change battlegrounds: if they couldn’t mess with Jiang Yu, surely they could handle a small-time writer.

“Who do you think you are, standing up for Jiang Yu?”

“Trying to ride every trend you can, huh? Pathetic!”

……

In a luxury riverside penthouse in the heart of Shanghai, a young man lounged on his sofa, absentmindedly scrolling through Weibo with his dog by his side.

From his lavish home and the designer watch on his dog’s collar, it was clear this young man was extremely wealthy!

A closer look revealed he had over ten million followers—and his Weibo name was “Principal Wang.”

There was only one “Principal Wang” with that many fans: the only son of China’s richest man.

“That damn author!”

Suddenly, Principal Wang let out a furious roar.

“Not updating, but has time to watch variety shows and listen to music? Posting on Weibo? Doesn’t he realize how weak and pathetic he is?”

Principal Wang sat up, first gifting a streamer a hundred thousand yuan as a tip, taking a screenshot, and then immediately reposted Jiang Yu’s Weibo.

If he wouldn’t update, money would do the talking!

He added a caption:

“Stop messing around on Weibo—get back to writing, now!”