Haizhou Academy, Class 2.
The political science teacher stood at the podium, passionately delivering his lecture with flying spittle, while the students below struggled to stay awake.
Outside, the early summer greenery was in full bloom. The breeze was warm and gentle—perfect weather for a nap.
Lu Chen put away the novel draft he'd been brooding over and stealthily pulled out his phone.
He had been closely following the situation.
Because it involved the famous pop star Gu Cheng, the "V.T. bullying" scandal continued to spiral, turning the entire entertainment industry into a chaotic mess.
Gu Cheng's fans were massive in number and unrelenting in their attacks, determined to stomp both V.T. and Ode to the Sea into the ground.
As rumors spread like wildfire, Venti's new album unexpectedly surged in popularity...
Negative attention is still attention, after all. Ode to the Sea began climbing the charts in a way Lu Chen could never have anticipated.
Just a while ago, Tony had been racking his brain trying to figure out how to market this retro album that didn't fit mainstream tastes.
Now, more and more curious listeners were checking it out. Unable to resist, many clicked in to give it a listen—and that curiosity drove the album's rankings higher and higher. The lead single had already broken into the top ten...
Tony knew how to ride the wave. He even called in favors from contacts in the classical music world, bringing in heavyweight musicians to provide professional critiques. Ode to the Sea began catching on in the classical music circle in a way no one had expected.
In the musical hierarchy, classical music always sat at the top. Those veteran professionals didn't care about the petty drama of the entertainment world—they only cared about quality.
And Ode to the Sea was, without a doubt, one of the finest albums in recent years.
The result? A bizarre contrast: V.T. was receiving rave reviews from the classical music elite, while public sentiment remained largely negative.
Most people were simply following the crowd, and Lu Chen didn't mind that. As long as V.T.'s name was cleared, the album's reputation would eventually turn around.
All he needed to do was wait—wait for the right moment when public opinion would flip.
...
During the break, the girls sitting behind him were also gossiping about Gu Cheng and V.T.
"Poor Gu Cheng... I can't believe his former agency treated him like that. Was his life always this hard?"
Kenshin Zhou glanced at his deskmate, who was clearly upset for her idol, and shook his head.
"Come on—the entertainment industry is full of lies and hype. There's no solid proof right now, and Gu Cheng's team already put out a statement clarifying things..."
"He probably just didn't want to embarrass his old company! Didn't he work with that top music producer Tony for years?" The girl sighed again and again. "Ah, Cheng-ge is just too kindhearted..."
"Who knows..." Kenshin Zhou held back from mentioning those past rumors about Gu Cheng bullying junior female artists. His fans probably wouldn't want to hear that.
To lighten the mood, he changed the subject.
"By the way, Lun is about to drop a new song!" Kenshin Zhou offered her one of his earbuds. "There's a 30-second preview out. Want to hear it?"
"Oh?" She looked at Kenshin Zhou's sincere eyes, then down at the earbud in front of her.
"Sure, I'll give it a listen!"
The two of them leaned over the desk, sharing the music they loved.
Lu Chen turned around for a glance and saw Kenshin Zhou's cheeks turning red. When their eyes met, the kid quickly looked down, a bit flustered...
Clearly premeditated—Lu Chen couldn't remember him ever bringing headphones to school before.
So this fool had finally wised up?
Lu Chen shook his head with a smile, sighing once again at how youthful days pass in the blink of an eye...
Still, he had been paying attention to their conversation. From it, he could tell just how fiercely loyal Gu Cheng's fans were. It wouldn't be easy to take him down.
Which meant they needed hard evidence—explosive enough to shatter his entire public image.
To make that happen, nearly everyone in Lu Chen's family had been mobilized these past couple of days.
They had people monitoring, secretly filming, planting bugs—even sneaking into Jia Shi Company to investigate Gu Cheng's sponsors.
Tony had also contacted a whole network of entertainment reporters he knew.
They were all waiting for the scandal to keep building, until the day Gu Cheng's dirty laundry exploded into the open.
Lu Chen was looking forward to that day.
Just imagining how many fangirls would be bawling their eyes out made him grin mischievously.
He was slowly becoming more and more like Yae Miko, delighting in chaos...
The classroom remained noisy during the break. Lu Chen pulled himself back from his thoughts when he saw Raiden Ei walk over.
She rarely attended class. She must have rushed back from the training ground just for her favorite subject—physics.
Right on cue, Zen Zhang appeared too, with that same fawning smile. He had hoped to snag the seat beside Lu Chen while Ei was away, but now that she was back, he could only awkwardly hover nearby.
"Boss... Boss, I've got something to talk to you about..."
"Hm?"
Lu Chen and Raiden Ei both looked up, and Lu Chen noticed his level had risen to Lv3.
"Why do you always come bothering Lu Chen?" Kenshin Zhou looked up, clearly annoyed that his time with his deskmate had been interrupted.
"None of your business!" Zen Zhang shot him a glare.
Normally, that would've been enough to make Kenshin Zhou back down. But this time, Kenshin Zhou rolled his eyes and looked away, completely unfazed.
"You're so annoying. Don't bother Lu Chen!"
Love really does make people brave. Even with Zen Zhang's notorious reputation, Kenshin Zhou wouldn't let himself lose face in front of the girl.
"We've got important things to discuss! You—go lie down or something!" Zen Zhang snapped.
Their bickering caused the girl to sit up from her desk, confused by the argument unfolding in front of her.
"Huh? Zen Zhang?" She tilted her head, as if something clicked. "Naomi Zhao hasn't been to class these past couple of days. You're close with her, right? Do you know what's going on?"
Naomi Zhao was well-liked among the girls, so her absence had been noticed.
"Her?" Zen Zhang said, "I heard she transferred."
"She transferred?"
Everyone turned to look at her empty seat, surprised.
"That's so sudden!" the girl said, puzzled. "Why'd she transfer? Did something happen?"
"How should I know? It's not like we were that close..." Zen Zhang shrugged, looking a bit innocent. "Sure, I liked her, but I never even confessed..."
"Huh?" Everyone was stunned.
Kenshin Zhou raised an eyebrow. "You've been telling everyone she was your girl, and you never even confessed?"
"What, is that not allowed?" Zen Zhang actually looked kind of genuine for once.
Kenshin Zhou and the girl's gossip senses ignited. They forgot all about Naomi Zhao's transfer and started grilling Zen Zhang with questions...
Up front, Lu Chen exchanged glances with Ei. He leaned in and whispered, "Did Naomi Zhao transfer because of you?"
Raiden Ei's expression didn't change. She shook her head calmly.
"No. I didn't have anything to do with her."
"Oh..." Lu Chen nodded and let it go.
The bell rang. Zen Zhang, still immersed in gossip with the back row, reluctantly returned to his seat.
Wasn't he here to talk to Lu Chen?
In the end, he didn't even mention it.
Raiden Ei opened her physics book, but her expression had subtly shifted.
She stared at Lu Chen silently, lost in thought.
"What is it?" Lu Chen asked, confused.
After a while, Raiden Ei finally spoke.
"Speaking of confessions... have you ever confessed to me?"
Lu Chen froze.
"Huh—?"