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

"Okay, I'll ask around for you. I'll let you know this afternoon."

"Thank you, Uncle Hu. Also—don't mention this to my dad."

The other person sent an OK emoji.

Su Nianwei put away her phone and left the study.

She went downstairs and paused at the basement stairwell.

The faint sound of a guitar could be heard coming from inside. Lin Buyi was practicing singing.

Su Nianwei stood there and listened for a few seconds.

Then he turned and walked into the living room.

She sat on the sofa, picked up the remote, and turned on the TV. She needed some background noise to help her think.

My mind is preoccupied with only one thing.

This is just the first wave.

Wang Shaohui wouldn't only use this one tactic. The smear campaign was just a test to see if anyone on her and Lin Buyi's side would respond, and how.

If she doesn't react, Wang Shaohui will assume she doesn't care and then intensify his efforts.

If she reacts too strongly, Wang Shaohui will continue digging along this line until he finds her out.

The appropriate strategy is to quietly establish a defensive line, rendering Wang Shaohui's various methods ineffective.

As time goes on, he will naturally shift his attention to other things.

Su Nianwei leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes.

She remembered what Lin Buyi had said earlier.

"This was expected."

This man. When she brought him to her side, she thought he was just a good-looking but poor student with nothing but a pretty face.

But after a while, she realized that she might have misjudged him.

Whether faced with her demands or the slander from the outside world, this man remained calm.

This composure isn't feigned; it comes from within.

Su Nianwei opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling.

"That's interesting," she said softly.

The guitar music coming from the basement had changed to a different song. The melody was different, slower and quieter than the ones they had practiced before.

Su Nianwei did not go down to check.

She knew that all she could do now was let Lin Buyi practice singing in peace.

She will fight the battles outside.

……

three days later.

The first episode of the second season of "Future Star" officially aired on Blueberry TV.

8 PM, prime time.

For the first time ever, Su Nianwei didn't mention fulfilling the agreement. She called Lin Buyi up from the basement and took him directly to the home theater on the first floor of the villa.

"Watch the show."

Lin Buyi glanced at her: "When did you become so interested in variety shows?"

"Of course I'll watch your shows. What if they tamper with the editing?"

Lin Buyi did not refute this. He also had this concern in his heart.

The two sat down on the sofa. Su Nianwei asked the maid to prepare a fruit platter and two drinks—red wine for her and honey water for Lin Buyi.

The opening credits started playing.

The first five minutes were a promotional video for the entire show, with highlights of each contestant quickly edited together. Lin Buyi noticed that Chen Jiahao had the most screen time, accounting for nearly a third of the total.

Then the main feature began.

The first person to appear was Chen Jiahao.

But before he went on stage to perform, the production team gave him a 15-minute personal video.

From images of him sweating profusely in the practice room at five in the morning to close-ups of him practicing facial expressions alone in front of the mirror late at night. Interspersed throughout are his personal interviews—the lighting is soft, the angles are carefully chosen, and he looks very handsome, appearing both hardworking and sincere.

"I know many people think I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth," Chen Jiahao said to the camera during the interview, his eyes displaying a carefully crafted honesty. "But in the world of music, no one can walk the path for you. No matter how many resources you have, it's all for nothing if you don't work hard enough."

Su Nianwei snorted coldly.

"This persona is well-established."

Lin Buyi didn't say anything and continued watching.

After Chen Jiahao's video message came the stage performance. Objectively speaking, his skills were not bad—his singing was good, and his stage presence was sufficient. However, compared to his fifteen-minute video message, the performance itself was not as outstanding.

The highlight was the emotional build-up in the video. The production team used editing to portray him as an ideal idol who is wealthy but doesn't rely on money, and lets his abilities speak for themselves.

Lin Buyi stared at the screen, doing some mental calculations: the 15-minute VCR, plus the performance time and the mentors' comments, meant that Chen Jiahao alone took up nearly 25 minutes of the program's runtime.

The entire program is only ninety minutes long.

He alone accounted for nearly a third.

Then it was Lin Buyi's turn.

His VCR—none.

To be precise, yes, but only fifteen seconds remained.

The camera showed him sitting in a corner backstage, then cut to his self-introduction. But the entire self-introduction was cut into fragments, leaving only one sentence.

"I'm only participating in this competition for the money."

This sentence was singled out and accompanied by a close-up shot. His expression when he said it—because of the editing, the context before and after was cut out—did indeed look a bit arrogant.

Su Nianwei's fingers tightened around the wine glass.

"See?" Her voice was icy. "This is how they play the game."

Lin Buyi stared at the screen, his expression unchanged.

He wasn't surprised. From the day those smear articles came out, he guessed that the show's editors wouldn't treat him kindly. But seeing it with his own eyes was another matter entirely.

A 15-minute video is shown to Chen Jiahao. A 15-second close-up shot is given to him.

It's obvious who the biological son is and who the adopted son is.

But what happened next was completely unexpected.

The screen was flooded with comments.

Su Nianwei switched to the live streaming platform's chat page. The screen was filled with densely packed text scrolling rapidly.

"A 15-minute VCR? Who wants to watch this? Fast forward, fast forward, fast forward!"

"Chen Jiahao's interview was so fake; every sentence sounded like he was reciting a memorized script."

"Wait, wait, wait, where's Lin Buyi??? He only got fifteen seconds???"

"What does the production team mean? Are they afraid we'll forget what we're supposed to watch? They're showing us something to cheer us up!"

"So what if it's for money? He's telling the truth! A million times more genuine than those fake people who keep talking about 'dreams'!"

"Editor, come out here, I promise I won't kill you."

After Lin Buyi's performance was broadcast, the barrage of comments immediately went into overdrive.

"Damn, I cried again."

"This is the third time, and I cry every time."

"This is music! What were those first twenty-five minutes all about?"

Su Nianwei watched the trend of the comments and her lips twitched slightly.

They wanted to ruin Lin Buyi's public image through editing. But they forgot one thing—no matter how much they edited, the song itself couldn't be cut. As long as "Sorrow" was played in its entirety, any negative packaging would be overwhelmed by the power of the song itself.

"See that?" Su Nianwei pointed to the barrage of comments flooding the screen, her voice carrying a tone she herself didn't realize, "They want to turn you into a clown. Too bad, your song is too good. They can't cut it."