Pretending not to notice the strange look Ayase was giving her, Chu Lian clicked confirm—she was going to redeem that Japanese song.
As soon as the exchange was confirmed, a stream of data flowed from the system interface and circled around her body. Instantly, the lyrics, vocal techniques, and performance notes for the song "Glad You're A Lolicon" were firmly engraved into her memory. In an instant, her understanding of the song jumped to the highest level.
Though she had decided to choose this as her debut cover, the lyrics were still unbelievably embarrassing!
But fortunately, she knew how M Station's taste worked—she understood exactly what kind of content its users liked. If she debuted by covering a famous song as an unknown newcomer, it would likely get buried.
Since the platform was known as a haven for otaku and anime fans, strategically sacrificing some integrity with a catchy, meme-worthy song might help her quickly gain traction.
"As expected of a loli—the song you chose is so... profound. I'm dying to see how people will react when they hear a real loli sing 'Glad You're A Lolicon.'" Ayase tucked away her mischievous grin once she saw Chu Lian had made her decision. She had just been teasing her anyway—there were no bad intentions behind it.
"Well, covering songs is different from video editing. Without a certain level of skill and popularity, it's hard to get even 300,000 views on a video. So I'm only planning to use the first few songs to build up some visibility. A few thousand, maybe ten thousand views will be enough for now—the later songs are what matter."
Chu Lian had no choice. Three million total views didn't sound like a lot, but achieving it was no small feat. After all, no one's content appeals to everyone. So her plan was to win over a niche audience first, then let that spread to a wider group. At the right time, she would drop a stunning cover and hit a viral peak.
That was her strategy. Of course, it only worked if you had real talent. But with the system's help, it wasn't entirely out of reach. As for Cosplay—that could wait. Once her popularity surged thanks to her singing, she could naturally launch that part of the plan.
It wasn't that she didn't want to do both at once—it was just that she didn't yet know which elements from her old world were missing in this one, or which characters were still popular here, or which ones would resonate with people now. All of that required research.
She had only been in this world for less than a year. Most of her time had been spent adjusting to her new life and completing the system's missions. She hadn't had much chance to explore the rest of this world.
Still, seeing her Culture Points drop by 3,500 in one go made her heart ache. But there was no helping it. Compared to high-profile classic songs, this Hatsune Miku song was practically a bargain. Some of the others had absolutely outrageous exchange costs.
Mandarin songs:
"Blue and White Porcelain" – 38,500
"Borrow Another 500 Years from Heaven" – 41,500
Japanese songs:
"Snow Flower/Yuki No Hana/雪の華" – 42,000
"Here with You Now/今君とここに" – 31,000
Cantonese songs:
"Exaggerated/浮夸" – 40,000
"There Is Only You In My Heart/千千阙歌" – 52,000
English songs:
"My Heart Will Go On" – 56,000
"Because of You" – 47,500
Seeing those prices, she fell into silence. "Sorry... I really can't afford that many Culture Points right now. You'll just have to stay on the shelf for a while. But one day, when I've saved up more points, I promise—I'll bring you back into the spotlight." Just skimming through the top-ranked songs in each language category had been enough to scare her stiff.
"Culture Points are the easiest to earn. If you just focus a little more and spend some time, it's not hard to rack up seventy to eighty thousand in a year. If you add in occasional side quests, unexpected events, or even moments of inspiration, it's totally possible to gain hundreds of thousands in one go. So don't feel bad about spending a little now," Ayase said casually, lying on the sofa with her legs crossed and swirling a glass of red wine.
"Ahem, I just think some of those items are a bit overpriced, that's all." Chu Lian laughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. She switched the exchange tab to "Items" to see if her current points could buy anything useful.
After quickly glancing at a few of the cheapest options, she immediately closed the screen. Her current points couldn't afford anything remotely useful…
Mio Akiyama's bass: 150 Hinagiku Katsura's Microphone: 120 Takeshi Gouda's Microphone: 45 Lacus Clyne's Microphone: 230
Yeah, if she could throw a couple hundred thousand yuan into charity, she could probably redeem one of these. But that kind of money could buy her several of the world's most advanced microphones. As tempting as it was... better to pass for now.
"Did you forget you still have your Integrity Points? They might be a little shady, but in some cases, certain items can be redeemed using both. Go check whether any of the mics are available under that category," Ayase said lazily after sipping her wine.
That instantly revived Chu Lian: "Right! I can use Integrity Points! Ayase, you're the best!" Ayase gave her a side glance, thinking, You won't be saying that in a second.
"Let's see... microphone, microphone... found it! Hinagiku Katsura's Microphone: 1,200—not bad, not too expensive. Takeshi Gouda's Microphone: 1 (Please, take it. We seriously don't know who would want this)." Even the system had built-in sarcasm. But seriously, this was ridiculous—the same item cost 45 in item points and just 1 in integrity points?! That's robbery!
As she grumbled about the system, she completely forgot the system was right there next to her. She didn't notice the slowly darkening grin on Ayase's face.
"Lacus Clyne's Microphone: 2,300. So it's roughly ten times the item point price... Alright, you win, you greedy system."
When she selected Lacus' mic, a system prompt popped up:
"System Notice: Since Integrity Points are not naturally recoverable, any use of them requires you to earn back the same amount within three days. Failure to do so will result in a penalty of ten times the spent Integrity Points."
Pfft. Chu Lian was speechless. Wasn't this just the system's way of forcing her to do shameless things? But hey, to complete the task... what's a little lost dignity?
She ignored the warning and confirmed the exchange anyway. The moment she did, she was ejected from the system space. Sitting up, she saw a brilliant rainbow of light sparkle before her eyes. Slowly, a microphone materialized in midair. She reached out and grabbed it.
"With this mic and the song data engraved in my mind, I should be able to do it. I can do it!" Sitting in front of her computer, she felt a little nervous and tried to hype herself up.
There was a recording studio on the third floor, but she didn't know how to use it—and it was tough for one person to manage anyway. So instead, she decided to record at her desk.
She wasn't too worried about audio quality. Her computer had cost nearly 100,000 yuan and had top-tier specs. The sound card might not be absolutely perfect, but it definitely wouldn't distort her voice.
She checked around—windows tightly shut, door locked. It was dusk. Her house was in a quiet suburban villa area. No neighbors nearby. Her parents were working late, her older siblings were living on campus, and her little sister had gone traveling.
That being the case, no one should really be able to hear her singing—so, relax, relax.
She adjusted the recording setup and tested the mic. No problems. Spoke a few lines—crystal clear, no static. Checked the software—everything was ready. Time to sing!
Flat-chested like a runway, with a waist narrow enough to slip through cracks.
Dark eyes, pouty lips—features you'd never see on an adult.
Walking down the street, she looked just like a grown woman of the same age…
After a dozen takes and giving it her all, she finally managed to record the full song from start to finish. She listened to it once, and her face immediately flushed with embarrassment. There was no helping it—listening to someone else sing it was one thing, but singing it herself? Utterly shameful!
Still, she was surprised she hadn't felt it so strongly while recording. She just kept going, focused and determined, and ended up with a solid final product. Maybe she really did have some talent in this area.
Shoving aside her embarrassment, she ran the audio through editing software, added a few images, overlaid both Japanese and Chinese subtitles, and saved the file.
Next, she applied to become an M Station member. With the help of Baidu, she barely passed the 100-question quiz with a score of 63. She couldn't blame herself—this was still a different world, after all. Without help, she wouldn't have known half the answers.
Username: BlackNeko Age: 13 DOB: 2002.2.8 Gender: Unknown! (It was just too fitting.)
After finishing all that, she nervously entered her profile and selected the upload option.
Fortunately, the home internet was excellent. A video file of a few dozen megabytes uploaded in under a minute. Once the upload was complete and the status changed to "pending review," she thought of another way to quickly boost her exposure.
She opened the "MySong" original music platform and created a second account based on the same info from M Station. There, she uploaded the audio-only version of "Glad You're A Lolicon" and added to her bio: "This song debuts on M Station. If you like it, head over there to listen first! (Wink)"
When forced to choose between completing a mission and preserving her dignity, she decisively picked the former. So yeah... malicious cuteness? She was way past saving.
Soon, the video passed review and landed quietly in the Covers section of M Station's music zone.
Chu Lian didn't bother checking views. Once she saw it had been approved, she shut down her computer and collapsed onto her bed, too tired to move.
That night, M Station's music zone was anything but calm. A song sung by a loli slowly began to catch fire under the enthusiasm of those who adored such content…
And its creator? Was currently pinned beneath Ayase, being thoroughly teased and toyed with.