Chapter 43: Thank You—You’re Exactly the Trap I Was Waiting For! (Please Keep Reading)-I Became a Top Star Before Gaining Mastery(Even the silly husky is captivated by cats.)

August 15th, the Mid-Autumn Festival.

[Official Wild Surge account: Tonight at 8 PM, the main cast will join a live stream together! We’ll have a host on to ask questions to the actors! Don’t miss out, everyone! @Zhang JianlinV @Su MuV @Ning Yuyan @Sun Danfei @Zhou Yi…]

[Comments section:

“Wow! A live stream! I’ll get to see Goddess Sun Danfei! I can’t wait to watch the show—still have to wait until next month, it’s torture!”

“I want to hear Su Mu sing ‘Listen.’ His original songs are amazing! Everyone’s so talented!”

“Are you just praising blindly? Original? You actually believe that? Must have had someone write it for him, and the vocals are definitely tuned by the mixer. Who knows how much of a disaster it’ll be live.”

“Exactly! Haha, so does that mean we can start roasting in the comments?”

“Big talk! Su Mu is the best! Even Ma Baoguo and Zhang Jianlin say so! Su Mu is talented!”

“Hahaha, talented? Did you all forget about last year’s ‘I’m the Most Handsome’?”

“You’re not on our side! Are you from the boy group next door?”

“Yes, I’m your dad.”]

With the official account announcing the live stream, fans from all corners flooded the comment section to fire shots. Most of the discussion, however, centered on Su Mu. Of course, besides those who genuinely couldn’t stand Su Mu being both handsome and praised, who could tell how many were actually rivals sent in to stir things up? That remained a mystery.

…

8 PM.

Everyone tuned into their favorite actor’s account, waiting for the stream to begin.

Qian Jida cleared a clean spot in the hotel room for Su Mu’s live broadcast. Fan Xiaojv even brought a ring light.

Su Mu said, “Is this really necessary? I’m not competing for fair skin like Ning Yuyan and the others.”

Qian Jida shook his head. “No way! Even if you’re the serious-actor type, image matters. Live streams always distort how you look, and losing your looks-based fans would be a shame.”

Su Mu smirked. “I think you’re not worried about me losing fans, you’re just afraid they’ll run off to that sissy group next door.”

Qian Jida, unbothered by being called out, gave a serious reminder.

“Hmph, don’t take this lightly. The minute this stream starts, someone on the other side will be on their phone, ready to cause trouble in the comments. They’re dying for you to embarrass yourself. Zhang Huaan and his effeminate crew, plus Li Hui and Li Xinjie—they’re all watching you.”

Su Mu: “Maybe they like me?”

Qian Jida: “Brother Su Mu, get real. They’re just waiting for you to slip up so they can steal your resources! If you mess up, those two will be the first to call Liu Qiangxi and steal your endorsements.”

Su Mu: “…”

Qian Jida: “And another thing, be extra careful during this stream. I heard the host is the same as the one from the awards ceremony.”

Su Mu: “What, that guy again?”

Sure enough, fate has a way of making rivals cross paths. Here they were, meeting again during the promotional live stream for Wild Surge. The ‘history’ just kept weaving together. Su Mu still remembered that host digging traps for him at the awards ceremony. Of course, now that the show was filmed, all that was left was for him to wow everyone when it aired and fulfill his promise. Honestly, he almost felt grateful to that host. If not for him, Su Mu might have ended up acting in a different show—and then he would have missed out on the script for Wild Surge.

He hoped that guy would behave himself this time. If his gratitude faded, it would be war between them. After all, it was Gao Qiqiang who set fire and shed blood.

…

After some simple preparations, Su Mu opened his Doyin account and started the stream.

The number of viewers skyrocketed instantly. The online viewer count in the upper right soared until it hit 1 million+, at which point the counter stopped updating. Su Mu had occasionally streamed before, but the most he’d ever had was a little over 100,000 viewers. The turnout today, crossing a million, was clearly thanks to Doyin’s official promotion. The other actors had similar numbers at this moment. Soon, once all the stars connected together, the total traffic might break ten million.

That was exactly what Su Mu was aiming for. With such a concentration of viewers, not gaining some fans to complete his mission would be a waste of the production team’s money spent on official promotion. Why pass up a free opportunity?

Right now, the comments in the live room were flying fast.

[Comments: Is this the fish-slaying demon?]

[Comment: I already didn’t like you, and now you’re playing the villain—so I have every right to roast you, right?]

[Comment: Su Mu, I beg you, please don’t sing! Please! Trash!]

[Comment: Can the haters get lost?]

[Comment: Su Mu is the real sissy! Su Mu is a sissy!]

[Comment: Definitely NNQT!]

[Comment: Haha, you’re exposed! Did you log into the wrong account?]

[Comment: No, I’m Li Xinjie!]

The comments scrolled by in a frenzy.

Su Mu, used to ignoring the haters, simply began with a warm-up and thanked fans for the small gifts.

Five minutes later, the system notified him of a connection request.

“All right, fans, it’s time for the live interaction,” Su Mu announced, clicking to connect.

Immediately, the video feed changed to a nine-grid layout. Zhang Huaimo, Zhang Jianlin, Ning Yuyan, Sun Danfei, Zhou Yi, Ma Baoguo, and other key figures all appeared.

In the top left, in the Wild Surge official account’s camera, was a familiar face.

“Hello, everyone! I’m your host for today’s Wild Surge live connection, Zhang Dada~. Yes, we meet again~.”

Su Mu: “…”

Comments: “…”

…

The format was simple. Besides introducing Wild Surge, the host took questions for the director and cast. Some were interactions with the comment section, or little games. Everything went smoothly. With nearly ten million viewers watching live, everyone was cooperative. Mostly, it was a repeat of what they’d said in previous media interviews.

Soon it was Su Mu’s turn.

“All right, next up is Su Mu!”

Zhang Dada beamed. “Su Mu, we meet again. I remember you were looking for work live at the awards, and Director Zhang actually picked you up! Oh, and netizens are really interested in you, as you can see from the comments—everyone’s so enthusiastic. I heard you wrote and composed a song yourself for this show—very talented. But we’ve already heard ‘Listen’ quite a bit lately. I wonder if you have any other original songs you could share live? After all, if you’re that good at songwriting, you must have more than that one, right? Look, everyone’s having such a great time, so you don’t mind showing off your talent again, do you? And your fans absolutely adore you.”

[Comment: Get on with it!]

[Comment: Zhang Dada’s guts! Without a sound card, does he dare sing?]

[Comment: As if he has another song. He only bought one, that’s all.]

[Comment: Someone who only wins fans with looks is called talented?]

[Comment: Haters get lost! Go, Su Mu! You’re the eternal legend of Chinese pop!]

At that moment, the comment section was a battlefield—fans and haters at each other’s throats, sides blurred.

Meanwhile, in an apartment in Galaxy City, Li Hui and Li Xinjie were watching on their phones.

Li Hui sneered, “See, Xinjie? This is why I told you not to release a single. If you don’t have the skills, don’t try it. If you get exposed, you’ll be a laughingstock.”

Li Xinjie said, “You think Su Mu will dare sing?”

Li Hui: “Of course not. You think he can write songs? I know Su Mu’s level—Qian Jida definitely hired someone to do it for him. Just wait, his ‘talented’ persona is about to crumble. If that happens, Cartier might drop him as their brand ambassador. Then our chance will come.”

With that, Li Hui was about to gleefully send a few comments when, in the next second, Su Mu’s voice came through the live stream.

Su Mu smiled faintly, clearly pleased with the trap Zhang Dada had set—because this was exactly the opportunity he’d been waiting for.

Su Mu said, “Then I’ll perform an original song, ‘Pour Away Sorrow,’ for everyone watching the stream.”