Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

"Struggling financially and still can't save some money? If you're out of cash, do you rob a bank?" Xu Qingyan held a phone in one hand, scrolling through posts, an idle expression on his face, with a smile to boot.

He didn't seem particularly angry, as if he were enjoying someone else's drama, singling out some of the more outrageous comments for rebuttal.

"I said I delivered food from the school canteen in high school, and they turned it into me being a high school dropout selling stuff around? Quite the fantasy, born out of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, aren't they? Such great writers."

"And this one, this one is even more ridiculous. I took some time off from school during the college entrance exams to work, and they say I went for a sex change."

Laughter instantly filled the living room, clear and melodious, and the atmosphere gradually became more harmonious.

"Teacher Xu, are you going to clarify these rumors today?" Qi Ting asked curiously.

"No, let the production team handle it," Xu Qingyan shook his head, "I'm just an ordinary person, and my mom has returned to the countryside to recuperate. I don't even have a soft spot for them to target."

"Let the bullets fly for a while. I'm caught in the vortex, where everything I do is wrong. The more I do, the more mistakes I make; the less I do, the better. We'll see what happens tomorrow."

"That's easy to say, but Teacher Xu, you can't just do nothing, can you? The self-media these days are going insane," Qi Ting advised, "You should at least put out a statement or something."

"Either don't respond at all, or if you do, it should be something decisive," he said with an easygoing expression, "I'm neither a celebrity nor an idol, just someone who writes songs behind the scenes."

"To put it bluntly, if it really had an impact, I could just change my stage name and keep making money. Even if I don't make a sound, do nothing, the internet has no memory."

Lin Wanzhou listened in a daze, thinking it sounded reasonable, yet instinctively feeling something was off.

Pei Muchan watched him with an unreadable face, lips pursed slightly. This guy's emotions were rock-steady, completely concealing what he was really thinking.

With a loud boom, a bolt of lightning struck outside the window, followed by sudden, unexpected thunder.

Xu Qingyan also froze. The oath-taking part hadn't even started yet, and already there was thunder. He got up and walked to the balcony to see a downpour suddenly falling.

The nighttime rain expelled the muggy air, and as summer neared its end, approaching autumn, the air grew cool.

Returning to the living room, he said,

"The rain is too heavy, and I don't have an umbrella here."

Pei Muchan played with her phone, her fair, slender fingers moving deftly, and didn't react much to his words. Her car was parked in the underground garage, so the heavy rain didn't affect her.

"What? Teacher Xu, are you trying to shoo us away so soon?" Qi Ting asked.

"Not really, it's just that there wasn't much going on here to begin with, and the late-night snack should have..." Xu Qingyan reached for his phone, then suddenly realized his usual phone wasn't on him.

"Here." Lin Wanzhou's face was flushed, clearly trying to maintain composure as he handed over the phone to Xu Qingyan.

Looking at his phone, he said, "It's bad, the takeout has been canceled."

"Forget it, no trouble needed, I'm actually not that hungry," Qi Ting said nonchalantly, "If the food had actually arrived, it probably would have just been the two of us eating it anyway."

"That's true," Xu Qingyan tossed the phone back on the sofa, "Let's wait for the rain to stop, probably won't take too long."

But the wait turned into an hour and a half, with the rain growing heavier.

The thunder roared and the living room lights were on; from the nineteenth floor balcony, everything was shrouded in white. Lightning streaked across the sky, and the windows vibrated with the peals of thunder, making loud bangs.

Hungry, Qi Ting took it upon herself to cook some late-night food in the kitchen.

Initially, Pei Muchan and Lin Wanzhou both said they wouldn't eat, but after the food was served, each had a small bowl. Qi Ting was dumbfounded, ending up only half full.

After washing the dishes in the kitchen, Xu Qingyan checked his phone -- 2:27 a.m.

This rain, relentless in its pour. Stay connected with empire

He went to the balcony and stood with his hands on his hips for a while, the rain showing no sign of letting up, which was rather frustrating. This damn weather was perfect for staging "Thunderstorm", a melodrama's dream climate.

"This rain... why won't it stop?"

"Because Qi Ting is here," she cracked a joke, pulling out her phone and pausing, "I checked, it's said to be a severe summer downpour."

"This? This isn't just a downpour, it's been two hours and it hasn't stopped," he sighed, turning to look at the two silent pop divas on their phones.

His head hurt more than ever. If they had to drive home at three or four in the morning, it would be torture.

Suddenly, Pei Muchan yawned and said,

"I'm tired."

Upon hearing this, Lin Wanzhou also suddenly looked up, whispering a line.

"Me too."

"Uh...," Xu Qingyan looked at Pei Muchan and then at Lin Wanzhou, "this house... only has two beds, and just one clean quilt that hasn't been unpacked."

"If you don't mind, there are spare toothbrushes in the bathroom. Um... you rest for a while, and I'll take you back when the rain lightens up a bit."

Qi Ting, like a candy dispenser, raised her hand sharply.

"Teacher Xu, there's also me!"

"There's a foldable single bed next door, but it might feel a bit hard," Xu Qingyan said.

"Ah!! Don't drivers have rights?" Qi Ting was good at livening up the mood, "Teacher Xu, you're playing favorites. If you keep this up, I'm going to start making a fuss, and soon the neighbors next door might start spreading rumors about you."

"How about you sleep on the couch?" he asked.

"Forget it, I'd better catch some sleep on the single bed, I still have to go to work tomorrow." Qi Ting slipped away, pulling out a new toothbrush from a range of unopened ones in the bathroom.

She didn't linger in the bathroom but instead went to the kitchen to brush her teeth and wash her face.

Although Xu Qingyan lived alone, living in this large three-bedroom flat did feel a bit empty. Moreover, with his mild obsession with cleanliness, every corner of his house was quite clean.

Pei Muchan quietly got up, saying a phrase.

"Um, I'll rest in your room then."

Lin Wanzhou let out a sound and upon seeing Pei Muchan and Xu Qingyan look her way, she immediately turned her head again.

"I... Then I'll go to another room."

"That's fine, I'll make the bed for you," Xu Qingyan said, "I feel kind of bad, I don't usually stay here, so I'm not prepared for many things."

"How about I go buy some... at the 24-hour supermarket?"

"It's fine, it's just a few hours, a little rest will do," Pei Muchan said, "There's no need to go out in such heavy rain; better to focus on resting."

"Yes, rest," Lin Wanzhou blinked and spoke.

Everyone took turns washing up; they were all adults, so there wasn't much fuss. A downpour wasn't a big deal; work would resume tomorrow, and there was no room for fussiness.

Approximately twenty minutes later, lights were turned off in the living room and the bedrooms in succession.

Pei Muchan rested in Xu Qingyan's room, Qi Ting made room for herself on the same bed with Lin Wanzhou in the next room, and Xu Qingyan lay on the sofa by himself, letting out a silent sigh.

The situation had strangely developed in an oddly unexpected direction, it was just too damn bizarre.

Who could have thought that one day he would be sleeping in the same house with two young starlets, and even with the lights off. Pei Muchan was in his room, Lin Wanzhou next door.

Even though he was sleeping on the sofa, as clean as Liu Xiaohui and more gentlemanly, it still felt absurd.

Was it because of the cyber-attack post?

Yet, in the span of this one night, he hadn't lost anything. Reputation... none! Money... he indeed made some, but had spent it all; any other money he had came from selling songs.

Fame, he really didn't care about such things.

If it were about actual losses, the production team surely cared more about this matter; when the sky fell, there was a tall person to hold it up. In other words, he hadn't experienced any loss.

Moreover, he had used this opportunity to finish the work for the next two days ahead of time.

Pei Muchan and Lin Wanzhou had reached a preliminary agreement on the cover rights exchange. Although both had to pay, the amount was the same, which was essentially like paying a tax.

What did he gain?

Well... it didn't seem like he gained anything, but if he were to be serious, the things he obtained tonight might be more precious than receiving three or five hundred thousand.

In the pitch-dark living room, Xu Qingyan stared at the dark ceiling for a while, then fished out his phone. The dim light of the screen illuminated his face, casting a cold light.

His fingers slid across the screen, opening the backup memo previously saved from Zhou Mian.

[Male guest number one: Bai Jinze, male, 22 years old, contact information: xxxxxxx]