My cousin asked me to go to Wuha, and Hanikezi stuck to me.

The red indicator light on the telephoto camera blinked silently.

The evening breeze on the old bridge in Dali Old Town, along with the barely perceptible breathing of the two people, was all captured and stored in the memory card.

Two weeks later, the fifth episode of "Wu Ha" on Penguin Video was released on Friday night at 8 pm.

The progress bar has been dragged to the Cangshan weighted training exercise stage.

The moment Chen Yi threw away his backpack full of potatoes and knelt down to check Hanikezi's ankle, the screen was completely covered by a barrage of comments.

[That's some serious practice in carrying people! I've already moved the Civil Affairs Bureau here!]

Old Wang's face turned green! Who would withdraw from a variety show recording like that?!

That line, "My partner's injured, what can I do alone?" just killed me! That's a real man!

I could tell from the potter's wheel earlier! There's definitely something going on between these two!

The Weibo trending topics list has been completely overrun.

The hashtags "Heartbreaking for Hanikezi" and "So heartwarming for Chen Yi" surged to first and second place, followed by the trending topic in deep red.

The entire internet is in a frenzy of shipping these couples.

Shanghai, Chen Yi's rented room.

Xiao Fang kicked open the door, holding a tablet computer in his hand, and his voice was so loud it could turn on all the motion-activated lights in the hallway.

"Yi-ge! You're famous! You're absolutely famous!"

Chen Yi stood in front of the kitchen counter, holding a cleaver, cutting a piece of pork belly.

"Knock before you come in, and change your shoes!" Chen Yi said without looking up, cutting even chunks of meat with his cleaver.

Xiao Fang didn't even bother to change her shoes before rushing into the kitchen and shoving the tablet right in front of Chen Yi's face.

"Look at the data! You've surpassed three million Weibo followers! You gained 1.8 million active followers in just one night!" Xiao Fang was so excited he was swallowing hard, speaking rapidly. "Old Wang just sent me a WeChat message saying that this episode's streaming viewership has skyrocketed by 40% compared to the same period last season! Backstage data shows that whenever you're on screen, viewers stay on screen the longest!"

Chen Yi threw the pork belly into the porcelain bowl next to him.

"Since Lao Wang is so happy, shouldn't the production budget be increased for the next episode?"

"Whether the budget increases or not is another matter! Do you know how many times your business quotes have increased?" Xiao Fang held up one hand, his five fingers spread straight out. "Five times! A full five times!"

Chen Yi washed his hands and dried them with a piece of kitchen paper.

"What is five times?"

"That's enough for you to buy a large apartment in Shanghai's inner ring road outright!" Xiao Fang slapped her thigh excitedly.

Chen Yi threw the tissue into the trash can.

"That's good! Do you have any suitable notebooks to pass over?"

Xiao Fang immediately pulled up a spreadsheet and swiped her finger across the screen.

"I spent the whole night screening them, and I have received cooperation intentions from three top brands. One is a high-end skincare brand, one is a fast food chain, and the other is an emerging Chinese sportswear brand."

Xiao Fang opened the information about Chinese trend brands.

"This sportswear brand offered you the title of 'full-line ambassador,' the most generous offer, and the highest price. The photoshoot is next week. Are you in?"

Chen Yi walked over to the sofa and sat down.

"The 'Guochao' movement? Have you checked the product quality?"

"I've checked! They started out making professional running shoes, their quality control is excellent, and they've never had any negative news," Xiao Fang assured him, patting his chest.

"Take it! Turn down the other two." Chen Yi answered decisively.

Xiao Fang was stunned for a moment.

"Why did you turn them down? They're fast food and skincare products! They're very popular!"

"Fast food is too high in calories. If Chen Chichi gets sick from eating it, who will be responsible? I don't usually use skincare products. If I accept this, it's just cheating my fans out of their money." Chen Yi leaned back on the sofa, his tone calm.

Xiao Fang opened her mouth, but finally nodded helplessly.

"Okay! You're a cash cow now, so I'll do as you say. I'll reply to the domestic fashion brand's email right away."

Xiao Fang sat next to him, typing on his phone.

Chen Yi's phone, which was on the coffee table, vibrated.

The screen lit up, showing the image of a cat peeking out.

Hanikezi: "Chen Yi! Did you see the trending topics?! Sister Hong just called me and yelled at me for a full ten minutes!"

Chen Yi picked up his phone and typed a reply.

"What did I yell at you for?"

Hanikezi: "She yelled at me for not following the script! She said it's disgraceful for a female artist who takes the fairy-like image to be carried around on the street!"

Chen Yi: "So what did you say to her?"

Hanikezi sent a smug emoji.

"I told you I sprained my ankle and can't walk. If you don't want me to carry you, do you expect Old Wang to carry you?"

Chen Yi looked at the screen, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

"Didn't Sister Hong confiscate your phone?"

Hanikezi: "She wouldn't dare! All the new business invitations today specifically requested that the two of us appear together. She's treating me like a cash cow now! But..."

The other party's input flashed for a few seconds.

Hanikezi: "Some people online are saying really nasty things, saying I deliberately faked the fall to get attention from you. It makes me so angry!"

Chen Yi's fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to type.

Xiao Fang, who was sitting next to me, suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and frowned deeply.

"What's wrong?" Chen Yi turned to look at her.

Xiao Fang's fingers flew across the tablet, his face turning extremely pale.

"Brother Yi, the wind direction is a bit off."

Chen Yi locked his phone screen and sat up straight.

"Just now, the top trending topics were all about shipping couples, but in the past ten minutes, a large number of similar paid articles suddenly appeared." Xiao Fang handed over the tablet.

On the screen, several entertainment marketing accounts with millions of followers published long articles almost at the same time.

Deep Dive into the Explosive Popularity of "Five Ha" (a popular Chinese cartoon character): Industrial Sweeteners or Genuine Emotion?

Behind the Ordinary Person's Comeback: Was Chen Yi Really Just There to Freeload?

The originally harmonious atmosphere in the comments section was completely disrupted.

"What amateur knows so many inside jokes? Even their camera movement is so precise, they must have memorized the script beforehand!"

"The part where they carried him down the mountain was so fake. Who in their right mind would just quit the competition? It's obviously a scene arranged by the production team to create a romantic pairing."

"I feel sorry for the other regular guests; they've all become tools to promote this person with connections."

"I heard that this Chen Yi wasn't a recent graduate from a big company at all, and his background is shady. I'm waiting for the scoop."

Xiao Fang bit her nails and paced back and forth in the living room, her high heels clicking rapidly on the floor.

"Someone is spending a lot of money to buy articles to smear you, and this time the method is very clever. Instead of directly cursing you, they question whether the program team has a script and portray your real persona as an industrial package."

Chen Yi looked at the negative comments, but his expression remained unchanged.

"Should I contact the PR team to suppress the trending topics?" Xiao Fang asked anxiously. "This scripted approach is too damaging to your current public image! Once the audience thinks you're acting, all the positive impressions you have will shatter!"

"No need!" Chen Yi tossed the tablet back onto the sofa.

"But they've already started digging into your background! What if they find something..."

"What secrets could they possibly have about me, an ordinary college graduate?" Chen Yi stood up and walked back to the kitchen. "Go and finalize the contract with that domestic fashion brand. Don't worry about anything else."

Xiao Fang watched Chen Yi's retreating figure, stamping her feet in frustration.

"Dude! This is the entertainment industry! They can create scandals for you even if you don't have any! Qin Yu's backers have definitely gotten involved!"

Chen Yi picked up the cleaver and continued cutting the piece of pork belly that hadn't been fully processed yet.

"Let them build it. The audience has eyes."

on Weibo.

A gossip influencer known for breaking news posted a new update, which instantly went viral.

"Regarding a certain dark horse who recently became a sensation on variety shows, the real test will be revealed tomorrow at 10 AM! I guarantee you'll see a completely different 'ordinary person'!"

The accompanying image is a black silhouette that has been pixelated.

A media storm targeting Chen Yi is brewing wildly on the dark web.

Chen Yi stood in the kitchen and poured the chopped pork belly into the pot. With a sizzle, hot oil splattered up.

ps:

Thank you so much for your continued support and love! Your support is my greatest motivation to keep writing.

[Bonus chapters for this book depend entirely on data! Likes, favorites, comments, and completed readings are all data points that drive updates! The higher the popularity, the faster I update and the more bonus chapters I'll add! I'm working my butt off to write, and I'll keep delivering exciting storylines!]