Being a gigolo was too much for him, so he had to become a music superstar.

Negative news begins to appear in Chapter 21.

Su Nianwei's fingers stopped.

The topic of "Lin Buyi" was still trending on the hot search list. But next to it was another topic she had never seen before.

"The Dark Side of the Future Star Supplementary Recording" - Ninth Place.

She clicked on it.

The first post was a long article, published at 3:30 AM. The title was in bold red font—

The biggest scandal in the "Future Star" competition! How did Lin Buyi, an ordinary person, get a second chance at the competition? The registration channel had already closed, so who opened the back door for him?

Su Nianwei's pupils contracted slightly.

She scrolled down quickly. The article was very detailed, mentioning the registration timeline, the approval process for the supplementary recording channel, and even the program's allocation of slots and Zhang Yang's name.

Every piece of information is very accurate, unlike what ordinary netizens could write.

The article concludes by posing the question: "How did a poor student with no known background manage to qualify for the competition through insider channels after the registration deadline? Who is his mysterious backer? Is the so-called 'impoverished school heartthrob' persona genuine or a carefully crafted scam?"

Su Nianwei exited the article and continued scrolling down.

She saw several more similar articles.

They were all posted at the same time. Between 3 and 4 a.m., more than a dozen different accounts simultaneously published articles with similar content.

Su Nianwei gripped her phone tightly.

This is not a spontaneous discussion among ordinary netizens.

This is organized.

Her mind worked quickly. The concentrated release at 3 AM, simultaneous posting on multiple accounts, and the content involving inside information about the re-recording process—to achieve this, either someone within the production team leaked the information, or someone spent a fortune hiring a professional PR team to manage it.

Regardless of the method, the goal is the same: to kill Lin Buyi.

Su Nianwei turned over and nudged the person next to her.

"Lin Buyi. Wake up."

Lin Buyi did not react.

She increased the pressure, patting him directly on the shoulder: "Get up!"

Lin Buyi hummed in response, without opening his eyes.

"Speaking of which," Su Nianwei's voice turned cold, "something has happened."

Lin Buyi immediately snapped to attention upon hearing the words "something happened." He opened his eyes and saw Su Nianwei sitting on the bed, her face pale and unwell.

"What's wrong?"

Su Nianwei handed him her phone: "Look for yourself."

Lin Buyi took the phone. The screen was still showing the page with that long article. He read it from beginning to end, then exited and saw the ranking of that topic on the trending searches.

Ninth place. Still rising.

He flipped through a few more articles, then returned the phone to Su Nianwei.

"Finished reading?" Su Nianwei stared at his face.

"I've finished watching it."

"You didn't react at all?"

Lin Buyi leaned against the headboard and remained silent for two seconds.

"This was expected."

Su Nianwei was stunned for a moment.

"As expected?"

"When the trending topics surged into the top ten yesterday, I knew someone would make a move sooner or later." Lin Buyi's voice was calm. "A nobody who was added to the list suddenly became a sensation, blocking other people's path. It would be strange if they didn't take action against me."

Looking at his calm face, Su Nianwei couldn't quite describe her feelings.

She thought he would panic, or at least show some anxiety. After all, his current situation—his fame had just begun to rise when he was attacked with slander, his eligibility for the competition was being questioned, and rumors of a "mysterious benefactor" were already being circulated about her—anyone would find this unbearable.

But Lin Buyi did not.

His reaction was very calm, unlike that of a 21-year-old college student.

Su Nianwei kept this thought in mind and did not ask any further questions.

She threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked barefoot to the dressing table to pick up the landline.

"What are you doing?" Lin Buyi asked.

"Call up."

Su Nianwei dialed a number. After three rings, the other end answered.

"Zhang Yang".

Her voice became cold and hard.

"I'll give you one hour. Find out the source of all the negative articles about Lin Buyi that were published between 3 and 4 a.m. this morning. Which online troll company took the job, who placed the order, and which network they used. I need results in one hour."

Zhang Yang on the other end of the phone was clearly startled by the timing and tone of the call, and quickly said, "Ms. Su, I'll be right there—"

"Stop talking nonsense and go check it out."

Su Nianwei hung up the phone.

Lin Buyi sat on the bed and looked at her.

She stood in front of the dressing table, her back to him, her shoulder blades taut.

"You don't need to worry about these things," Lin Buyi said.

Su Nianwei turned around and looked at him.

"Ignore it?" She sneered. "Half of these articles imply you have a 'mysterious sugar daddy' backing you. Who do you think they'll eventually dig up the dirt on?"

Lin Buyi remained silent.

"This isn't just targeting you." Su Nianwei walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and started looking for clothes. "This is a test. Whoever paved the way for you on this show is their target. They haven't found me yet, but if these articles continue to circulate, sooner or later someone will link me to you."

She pulled a white shirt from the closet and put it on. Her movements were quick and efficient, completely different from her usual leisurely demeanor in the villa.

"So I'm determined to take charge of this matter."

She buttoned the last button and glanced at him.

"You don't need to do anything. Go to the basement and practice your singing."

Lin Buyi watched her figure disappear through the bedroom door, then sat on the bed and thought for a while.

He was genuinely annoyed by this woman's bossy and willful behavior. But he had to admit that in dealing with this kind of situation, her reaction speed and judgment were indeed far superior to his.

He got dressed and went downstairs.

The maid prepared breakfast as usual: millet porridge, steamed eggs, and bird's nest.

Su Nianwei was already sitting at the dining table with a laptop in front of her, eating while staring at the constantly updating public opinion data on the screen.

She made more than one phone call. In the twenty minutes that Lin Buyi ate at the other end of the table, she made at least four.

She spoke in a low voice on every call, but Lin Buyi still managed to catch some fragments of what she said.

"...First, find out the connections behind those influential figures..."

"...Don't delete the post; deleting it would only make you look guilty. Let's trace the source first..."

"...Yes, I know. Don't tell my dad about this yet..."

After hanging up the last call, Su Nianwei put her phone on the table, picked up her coffee, and took a sip.

Her expression was cold, and her eyes were full of calculation.

Lin Buyi finished the last bite of porridge and put down his chopsticks.

"I'm going to the basement."

"Um."

He stood up and walked towards the stairwell. After taking two steps, he stopped.

"Senior."