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

This tactic is more ruthless than using negative articles, and even more ruthless than suppressing audience ratings.

They came for his qualification to participate.

Lin Buyi opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling for about ten minutes before his phone vibrated again.

This time it wasn't WeChat, it was a phone call.

The number wasn't saved, and the area code was local. Lin Buyi glanced at it for a second, then answered.

"Is this Mr. Lin Buyi?"

"Yes."

"This is the Future Star program team. I'm Zhang Tao from the competition administration. There's something I need to inform you—"

The other person's voice was very formulaic, as if they were reading from a script.

"In light of the recent online controversy surrounding the originality of your entry, 'Sorrow,' the organizing committee has decided, after urgent deliberation, to conduct an internal investigation. During the investigation, your eligibility will be temporarily suspended. The resumption date will depend on the investigation results."

Lin Buyi held his phone without saying a word.

"Did you hear me clearly?"

"I heard you clearly."

"Okay. We will keep you informed of any further developments. Also, please cooperate with the program team during the investigation and refrain from making any public statements about this matter."

"Um."

The phone hangs up.

Lin Buyi put his phone on the sofa and leaned back into it.

His eligibility to participate in the competition has been suspended.

He mentally went over those words.

Not surprisingly.

Lin Buyi had been waiting for this call ever since that comparison video was released.

The production team can't just ignore it. With public opinion so outrageous, if they do nothing, people will just say the production team is protecting him.

But pausing and canceling are not the same.

The production team said it was paused.

This shows that they themselves haven't reached a conclusion yet.

They are checking the wind direction.

If public opinion continues to turn negative, the suspension will be canceled. If the tide turns, the suspension can be quietly lifted, as if nothing had happened.

Lin Buyi was very clear-headed.

Even though I understood it clearly, I still felt a lump in my throat.

Lin Buyi sat for a while, then stood up and went upstairs.

Su Nianwei is not in the living room; she should still be in the study.

He paused for a moment at the door of the study and knocked twice.

"Come in."

Lin Buyi pushed open the door and went in.

Su Nianwei sat in front of her computer with several browser windows open. Her phone was next to the keyboard, and the call timer was still lit on the screen.

Who did she just hang up on?

"The production team called," Lin Buyi said.

Su Nianwei's fingers stopped on the keyboard.

"What did you say?"

"Disqualification from the competition suspended; internal investigation underway."

Su Nianwei turned her chair around and looked at him.

She showed no surprise, but her lips were tightly pursed.

"When was it done?"

"Just now, two minutes ago."

Su Nianwei didn't rush to speak.

She turned back to look at the time on the computer screen, then at the messages on her phone, and then stood up.

"Less than three hours after that comparison video was uploaded, the production team called to suspend your participation." She lowered her voice. "Do you think that reaction speed is normal?"

Lin Buyi thought for a moment.

"This is abnormal. The normal procedure should be internal verification first, then a meeting to discuss it, and finally notifying the contestants. To complete all this in three hours? Either their efficiency is ridiculously high, or—"

"Either they knew in advance that this video would be released," Su Nianwei finished the sentence for him.

The two looked at each other for a second.

"Wang Shaohui," Lin Buyi said.

Su Nianwei neither nodded nor shook her head.

Her expression already gave the answer.

Su Nianwei walked to the door, closed it, and then turned around and leaned against the door panel.

"Lin Buyi, let me make this clear to you now."

Her voice changed.

His usual laziness and arrogance were gone, leaving only a suppressed coldness.

"This is no longer a simple competition. Smear campaigns, score suppression, plagiarism, and pre-arranged pauses—it's a coordinated attack, targeting you from all sides, from public opinion to the competition rules. Most people can't do this."

"You mean I should withdraw from the competition?"

"fart."

Su Nianwei blurted it out.

Lin Buyi was stunned when those two words came out of her mouth.

It's not surprising that Su Nianwei swears.

Strangely, after she finished yelling, she stopped herself.

The study fell silent.

The computer screen was still lit, displaying continuously updating public opinion data.

Trending topics on Weibo, number of reposts on video platforms, and dissemination paths of marketing accounts are all displayed on the screen.

Lin Buyi stood by the door, looking at Su Nianwei.

She came too fast just now.

But it was only for a moment.

The next second, Su Nianwei suppressed her emotions.

She walked up to Lin Buyi, pointed at his chest, and her tone turned cold.

"Listen to me carefully."

Lin Buyi looked down at her hand.

Su Nianwei's fingers pressed against his chest, not with much force, but it was impossible to ignore.

"The decision to withdraw from the competition is not up to me, nor to you, nor to anyone else."

Su Nianwei said, word by word, "They suspended your qualification, not canceled it, which means they themselves aren't confident they can kill you. They're waiting to see how things develop."

She paused for a moment.

"Then I'll give them a wind direction they don't want to see."

Lin Buyi neither backed away nor pushed her hand away.

He knew that Su Nianwei wasn't angry at him right now.

She was angry with Wang Shaohui.

The program crew was angry.

I'm also angry at those who knowingly add layers of disgusting methods.

What's even more infuriating is that Su Nianwei has already used so many connections and resources, yet the other party still dares to put a knife to Lin Buyi's neck.

Her control was breached.

This is what makes her most upset.

Lin Buyi paused for two seconds and said, "I didn't say I was going to withdraw from the competition."

Su Nianwei looked at him.

"It's best if not."

She withdrew her hand, turned back to her desk, picked up her phone, and made a call.

After the call was connected, Su Nianwei didn't give the other party a chance to exchange pleasantries.

"Cheng Yi, regarding the IP issue, I don't care what methods you use, you must have results by today."

I don't know what the person on the other end of the phone said.

Su Nianwei interrupted directly: "It's not 'as much as possible,' it's 'absolutely necessary.' Did you understand?"

She hung up the phone and threw it on the table.

Lin Buyi stood still.

What should he say now?

Should I say thank you?

Saying thank you in this situation is too inadequate.

You're saying I don't need to worry about you?

Even stupider.

Su Nianwei has already mobilized everyone she can; if he says now that we don't need to worry about it, he'll only seem ungrateful.

Lin Buyi thought for a moment and then said, "I'll go downstairs to practice singing first."

Su Nianwei looked up at him.

"What are you training for? Your eligibility to compete has been suspended."

"Pause isn't cancellation," Lin Buyi retorted. "Didn't you say that?"

Su Nianwei choked for a moment.

She wanted to say something more sarcastic to him, but she swallowed the words back.

Correct.

Pausing is not canceling.

As long as he isn't disqualified, he remains a player.

As long as he remains a player, he must continue to prepare for the next match.

Lin Buyi turned and walked out.

As he reached the door, Su Nianwei suddenly called out to him.

"Lin Buyi"

"Um?"