Parallel world, Blue Star.
The news about top idol Wu Mu collapsing his house fermented for a week, not only did it not subside, but it intensified.
Weibo, half of the top ten trending topics on Douyin are related to this.
#WuMuSponsoredBySugarDaddy#
#WuMuTheHomewrecker#
#WuMuBareChestedBedPhotos#
#DisgustingBootLickerWuMu#
#XinghaiMobileDemandsWuMuForBreachOfEndorsementContract#
Fans that were un-stanning and stomping back, anti-fans who always looked at him with distaste, and rubbernecking bystanders excitedly dissing in the comment sections heatedly.
"Looks like I've been sickened by this guy's fans for a long time, everyday blowing smoke about how positive and uplifting their 'bro' is, let's see if they still have the nerve to say it now."
"I didn't believe it when they said his 'little brother' stood up, but now it seems true, otherwise how would he have caught the sugar daddy's eyes to get the break."
"Help, someone give me back my eyes that haven't seen the chatting screenshots, his convo with the sugar daddy is so disgusting, saying 'if you don't want me anymore I'll just die', it's making me physically ill from all the bootlicking."
"The instant I saw his half-naked bed photo, I was turned off, thinking that I once stanned such a person makes me want to puke."
"How many times have I said it, never get your phone fixed outside."
...
Wu Mu, sprawled on the couch, was scrolling through his phone, looking at each and every comment, feeling indignant for "himself."
"Bro, you're really starving, huh? You could get this obsessed with a woman who already has a husband?"
"Damn, how can you even spout such greasy lines? You might as well just die and leave me getting goosebumps on your behalf, right?"
"Fuck, how am I going to pay back all this money? I'm done for, gotta be a deadbeat now."
Wu Mu took a Ge You slump on the couch.
To this day, he was somewhat baffled; you'd think he was happily being a game company boss on Earth. He wasn't hit by a car, didn't die from overwork, but just with an opening and closing of his eyes, he crossed over to Blue Star in a parallel world.
And crossed into the body of an idol whose career had collapsed.
The man's previous life was quite unlucky.
It was just that his sugar daddy's phone broke, he took it to get repaired, and the pictures and chat logs in the phone were secretly backed up and leaked online by the repair technician.
Then his relationship with the sugar daddy was exposed.
On the surface a positive and hard-working idol, but behind the scenes, he was a bootlicker for the rich, sustained by this wealth, and broke into the industry through under-the-table deals—plus, he was the other woman...
The primarily female fans exploded in an instant; the man they only dared to dream about was being mounted by someone else every day.
This kind of humiliation and sense of being unable to compete that everyone else's cyber green hat brought on, if it wasn't let out, it could make a person die of anger.
The wife fans immediately un-stanned and stomped back, and frantically @mentioned official accounts to ban Wu Mu for such moral corruption. They also went to every brand and project Wu Mu worked with to spam that they would boycott them if they didn't cut ties with Wu Mu, keeping their products and people under watch for reporting.
They just wanted Wu Mu dead.
But in fact, apart from betraying the image constructed for him, Wu Mu hadn't done anything wrong, either legally or morally.
Because he was truly in love with the sugar daddy, and he didn't know that his sugar daddy had another husband; he was also a victim, turned into a bootlicker by PUA.
His predecessor's past was tragic as hell, his father was gambling scum, and would vent his frustrations with punches and kicks whenever something didn't go his way. His mother was an elementary school teacher, she truly loved him, but she was later accidentally killed in an argument with his father, who is still in prison to this day.
He simply became an orphan, didn't even finish high school, and was muddled within society, a complete mess with no future, just living day by day.
Then, he was coincidentally chosen by the sugar daddy, brought into the entertainment circle, and step by step became a star.
In his eyes, the investor was completely like a fairy who descended to redeem him.
If it wasn't for the sugar daddy being a bad woman, honestly, it would've been a touching story of a white lotus saved by a powerful CEO, and then they would stick with each other.
"If I expose all this myself, clear up the situation, could it maybe be salvaged?"
Wu Mu pondered.
The wife fans weren't coming back, but with such a tragic and strong backstory, snatching up a bunch of mommy fans was definitely no problem.
However...
Wu Mu's eyes glanced at a still unhealed and vicious scar on his wrist and he sighed.
"Forget it, after all, I've used the brother's body, let's leave some dignity for him."
The predecessor was not a fool, how could he not know about all these things.
He preferred to commit suicide rather than to expose it all, obviously, it was because the bad woman hurt him too deeply and he didn't want to reveal his own wounds.
"I guess being a celebrity star is out of the question. Let's see if I can get back into gaming—I can't really end up as a debtor, can I?"
Wu Mu was estimating in his mind how much money his predecessor had to pay back.
The predecessor had over twenty endorsements of various sizes, although it was only the Xinghai Mobile that was hanging in the hot search that explicitly demanded he return the endorsement fee and pay a penalty for breach of contract.
But as the storm continued, it was foreseeable that the other endorsements would follow suit.
Most of the endorsements didn't require much compensation, but this demand to return the previously paid endorsement fees was a bit deadly.
After he rose to the top stream, the endorsement fee was twenty-five million for two years; if all these endorsement fees had to be returned, it would be at least three to four hundred million.
Although he might not have to pay the full compensation, and could probably drag it out through lawsuits for a long time, he still needed to prepare in advance.
"I only have forty million in savings, and I'm missing two to three billion..."
"It's seriously f*cked up. I transmigrated over and didn't get to enjoy any benefits, but the debts came first, adding up to several billion."
Wu Mu sighed.
How many games would he have to copy to earn it all back?
The entertainment industry on Blue Star was not bad; bringing over the games from his former life might not necessarily lead to a slam dunk.
As Wu Mu was figuring out how to begin plagiarizing game content, a virtual screen popped up.
[The Superstar Achievement System is starting.]
[System startup successful.]
[Wu Mu]
[Age: 22]
[Looks: 87]
[Constitution: 69]
[Points: 0]
[Starter Gift Package awaiting collection.]
After confirming that it wasn't an illusion, and that there really was a virtual panel in front of him, Wu Mu laughed.
"A system came along with the transmigration?"
"Screw being a game smuggler, I'm going to lie back and cheat!"
"Open the Starter Gift Package for me!"
Wu Mu tapped on the Starter Gift Package.
A burst of golden light flashed across the screen, and the lucky bag-shaped Starter Gift Package slowly opened.
[You have obtained an item from the Starter Gift Package — Performance Boost Card (One Billion)]
[Performance Boost Card (One Billion)]
[Effect: After use, sales performance in your name will increase by one billion yuan. (Performance content includes but is not limited to music sales, endorsements, advertising product sales, drama licensing fees, movie box office, etc. The bonus will be applied to real purchases by real people, and the system will provide some guidance and marketing to achieve the target, with no repercussions.)]
[Rating: Collapsed idol? With this, you could be a dog and still sell like hotcakes.]
"Performance Boost Card?"
"One billion!"
Wu Mu's expression was one of amazement; the system really didn't let him down. Just when he said he was short on cash, the system delivered a mini goal right away.
With this in mind, the debt he owed didn't seem like much at all.
And this was more than just about money.
This thing was just like the operations used in his former life to brush up album sales and box office numbers for stars, creating the illusion of a star's popularity.
But unlike the inflated achievements from his former life, this system boosted sales through guidance and marketing, leading to actual purchases by real people.
And since it was real people buying, no matter under what circumstances, it would definitely bring both popularity and fame.
Just like the rating said—if it was just a dog, with enough Performance Cards, it could probably be promoted to superstardom.
"Let's give it a try."
Wu Mu clicked to use it right away.
A list of his achievements appeared, jam-packed with various movies, TV shows, variety shows, endorsements, and songs.
After some consideration, he chose to use the Performance Card on one of the items.
[Do you want to use the Performance Card on the album "Farewell"?]
[Yes!]