My agency went bankrupt before I even got on stage.

This song is very short.

Less than 2 minutes.

After finishing the song, Lin Fan felt a little embarrassed.

After all, compared to the original singer, my singing skills are terrible, but fortunately I have a special skill - I never sing off-key. Singing so hard should earn me a lot of popularity points, right?

Lin Fan glanced at the system interface.

[Current popularity value: 1839; Task progress: 1839/1000000]

It's still less than 2000.

I just put in so much effort, and I only attracted less than 2000 active fans? This result means either my singing was really bad, or this lousy show is faking its viewership and popularity!

Lin Fan suddenly felt a strong sense of malice.

Lin Fan absolutely refused to believe that it was because he sang badly; he must think that the show was not well-known and no one watched it!

Well, 1800+ views is still a number of views.

Even though only a little over a thousand people became active fans, Lin Fan still laid the foundation for his fan base, taking the first step without any background or promotional support.

The key point is that popularity points can be exchanged for RMB!

The little chibi character in Lin Fan's mind rubbed its hands together and issued the command: "Withdraw!"

[Ding! Withdrawal unavailable!]

What?

Unable to withdraw funds?

Why can't I withdraw my money?

[Popularity Points Exchange Rules: The host must reach 100 million popularity points to exchange for RMB. Before reaching 100 million popularity points, popularity points can only be used for lucky draws.]

[Note: When the host's popularity reaches 100 million, the system will cleverly distribute 100 million RMB through live stream rewards and other means. The source of funds is clean and will not be questioned, so the host can rest assured! However, before the host reaches 100 million popularity, the rewards obtained in the personal live stream cannot be withdrawn by the host.]

[Note: Donations do not equal popularity points. Even if an active fan donates a lot, it only amounts to 1 popularity point. If the host fails to complete the main quest, all RMB donated by fans will be used by the system for charity!]

Young man, work twice as hard for that million!

Lin Fan was furious!

This is messing with my mentality!

What does that mean?

You need to reach 100 million views to redeem RMB, and if you don't reach that, you can only use it for a lottery? You can't even get the tips from the live stream, what's the point of this?

Lin Fan was initially excited to see that the system allowed him to exchange popularity points for RMB, feeling that he had found a way to make money effortlessly.

As a result, the system pulled this stunt!

Lin Fan once again felt the overwhelming malice emanating from this strange world and this broken system!

One active fan can only provide 1 popularity point. To reach 100 million popularity points, you need 100 million active fans!

Where did they find so many fans?

Can we rely solely on the "Morning Star" talent show stage?

Stop joking! In a talent show on the same level as "Morning Star" in my past life, the idol who ranked fifth only had a maximum of 80 active fans when he debuted. And even then, who knows how many of them were fake fans who bought their way in? The real number of active fans would only be lower!

In her past life, she was a super popular actress, a beautiful actress whom Lin Fan adored. She had 8000 million followers on Weibo and 120 million fans in her fan club.

You may have many followers, but only about one percent are truly active fans.

If you don't have an extraordinary life, you should just wash up and go to bed!

System, do whatever you want, I'm not playing along.

Working yourself to the bone doesn't guarantee a tip, so you might as well just be a salted fish.

Moreover, if you become a celebrity, you won't be able to hang out with single girls anymore!

This is the most crucial point!

Say the important thing three times!

When idols can't play with girls!

When idols can't play with girls!

When idols can't play with girls!

……

Lin Fan was internally devastated, but the atmosphere at the scene was completely different.

When the song ended, thunderous applause erupted, and many students stood up and whistled loudly.

Student A: "This song is amazing!"

Student C: "The rhythm is clear and upbeat. Although there are no lyrics, this 'Darling, darling, darling...' is amazing! I can sing it!"

Student F: "Super mind-bending!"

Student Y: "I'm the main dancer, and even though I'm terrible at singing, I can sing now!"

……

The comments section also became lively.

[I'm not sleepy when I try to sleep: My ears are pregnant! This sound is so beautiful! I'm in love! I'm in love!]

[1. Just Laugh at Me: It sounds so good! Even if it's just a cappella, it sounds so good! I could listen to it on repeat a thousand times!]

[Xiao Ming: What song is this? Why is only one person humming it on stage? Strangely enough, I actually think it's not bad?]

【？？_？？：This is original? Such a beautiful melody was created by an amateur? Are you kidding me?】

[Happy citizen Xiao Zhang: I discovered I can sing it after hearing it only once!]

[Adorable Rabbit: My mind is filled with Darling, darling, darling...blushing! You are my Darling, handsome!]

[User 87493794787: Without accompaniment, it sounds weird and not very pleasant. It's just so-so.]

[User hhfhfjhuwy: It's alright, but I'd rather admire the actors' looks than listen to the music.]

[Chrysanthemums Bloom Everywhere: Is this all? This deserves to be called original? Aren't songs like this everywhere?]

【Seven-Colored Black: This is completely sensationalist. It only has one word, and they call it original? What a terrible song…】

……

The barrage of comments appeared densely in the official live stream room of "Morning Star" and Lin Fan's personal live stream room, which was dazzling, but that was not the most impressive thing.

Soon, a dazzling starry sky icon popped up in the comments.

This is a tip.

One galaxy is equal to 2000 RMB.

[Cute Rabbit: Awesome! Give it a treat!]

Those two simple words ignited the entire live stream once again!

【？？_？？：Is this the legendary rich woman appearing?】

[Part 1: I'll laugh at you, you adorable girl! I need a sugar daddy/sugar baby!]

[User hhfhfjhuwy: Wow, Fan-ge has someone keeping him!]

……

After the applause subsided, Luo Yu picked up the microphone: "Lin Fan, is this song your original composition?"

Lin Fan, whose mentality had already been ruined by the system, shamelessly nodded. The system was trash, but his singing was absolutely fantastic!

I'm not the original creator, but I'm a copycat of original content.

"This is truly a wonderful surprise!" Luo Yu exclaimed. "The melody of this song is simple and clear, and the style is beautiful and moving. Although the lyrics consist of only one word, everything is conveyed without words."

“Yes.” Zhang Xinlan, the only female mentor among the four, picked up where Luo Yu left off, “Music is a form of expression. There’s always a song, some music, that will resonate with you, as if it’s telling your own story. And this song is just like that.”

The third mentor, Ding Erxun, said, "It's a good song, but unfortunately you can't even sing a tenth of it. Your rendition is a complete waste of its talent. If this song were given to a female singer, it would sound a hundred times better than what you're doing now!"

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat. Ding Erxun, a man whose very words make you want to kneel down, is renowned throughout the entertainment industry for his sharp tongue.

Lin Fan thought to himself, "Of course! The original singer was female!"

As soon as Ding Erxun spoke, the comments section erupted in laughter.

[hei_tui: He's here! He's here! He's coming with his sharp tongue!]

[The people downstairs are all trash: This Teacher Ding is really something, he never gives any face!]

[The 82 Fat Otaku's Happy Water: Criticizing him is for his own good, what kind of rubbish is that?!]

[Another day of working overtime: Is this a scolding? I feel like Teacher Ding has a very high opinion of this song?]

[My Chinese teacher was a PE teacher: What a waste of talent! First of all, you have to be a talent...]

[Pickled cabbage without fish: The person upstairs got a perfect score in reading comprehension!]

……

"I'm curious, how did you come up with this song?" Luo Yu smoothed things over. "With your songwriting ability, why did you decide to participate in this show? You need to know that on this stage, singing and dancing are the basics, and songwriting is just a bonus."

Ding Erxun chimed in, "Yes, we all noticed your singing ability was practically nonexistent."

Lin Fan, who was furious with the system, heard the mentors' questions and, despite having decided to go home and continue being a homebody, still answered politely: "I'm just an ordinary orphan. I used to work at a bubble tea shop. I came to this show because my manager told me I could make a lot of money. I really don't have any background. I just had a month of intensive training before coming here. Now that my agency has gone bankrupt, I guess I can only go back to working at the bubble tea shop."

"This song was actually inspired by my experience working at a bubble tea shop. I saw many couples coming and going, as well as many sad people coming and going. At first, I just hummed it, but my lyric-writing skills are limited, so I only used the word 'Darling' to represent our expression towards our loved ones and ourselves!"

As a plagiarist, Lin Fan was not ashamed at all. Even if he had to leave, he wanted to leave behind his shining moments.

This is the reserved nature of a typical otaku.