"I gotcha… got you an arrainged… arranged marriage for you!"

The drunk voice on the phone slurred and stumbled over the words.

"Arranged a what?" Gu Wei rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the fog of sleep. His phone screen glowed bright in the dark—it was only 4:30 in the morning.

The caller chuckled drunkenly. "My son! I just arranged a marriage for you! With the perfect partner. You’re so blessed—you just used up eight lifetimes of luck!"

Gu Wei pulled the curtains open and stared into the pitch-black night. Judging by this news, he figured his past eight lifetimes must have been full of bad karma. Maybe he’d been a thief. Maybe even a murderer.

Nothing good ever came at this hour.

"Dad… seriously, how much have you had to drink?"

At this time of night—when even the birds were still asleep—Gu Wei had no patience for his drunk father going on about some random arranged marriage that came out of nowhere.

His father, Gu Cai, was a screenwriter. Whenever he worked, he disappeared into his scripts so deeply that it was like the real world didn’t exist. He’d probably just finished his latest project and remembered he had a son.

"Not much, not much," Gu Cai mumbled. "Just two bottles of the good stuff and a little beer. Son! Your papa’s happy—finally found someone to take care of you! My colleague has a son like you. He doesn’t like girls either."

"Dad, sober up," Gu Wei muttered, fiddling with the flowers on his nightstand. "I’m a celebrity. An influencer. Do you get what that means? If I date someone, my career’s over."

He was the lead dancer in the popular boy band T.ATW, with plenty of fans—and even more anti-fans. His career depended on his image. Dating would be career suicide.

"If I get married," he told his dad, "it’s basically killing me."

"All your fans are anti-fans," his dad said flatly. "Your career’s already over."

"Anti-fans are still fans!" Gu Wei shot back. He knew exactly how people saw him. "Anyway, who is this person you supposedly set me up with?"

He doubted the fiancé even existed.

"Something… Xun," Gu Cai slurred. "Doesn’t seem to have a real job. His mom says he plays video games all day, but he’s a good person."

Gu Wei rolled his eyes. His dad might as well have said, “He drinks, smokes, and perms his hair, but he’s not a bad guy.”

"Dad, call it off," Gu Wei said firmly. "Celebrities like me don’t get married. It’s bad for my image."

"Just add him on WeChat! A beautiful romance is coming your way!"

The signal started cutting out, and Gu Wei missed the rest of his father’s rambling. He hung up. It was now 4:40 a.m. Any hope of going back to sleep was gone.

By 5:00, he was still wide awake. He opened WeChat and posted in his band’s group chat.

[If You Love Me Please Send Me Money]: Good morning, good morning!

[If You Love Me Please Send Me Money]: I’m full of energy today too!

No one replied—of course, it wasn’t even 5 a.m. yet.

Gu Wei got up, poured himself a glass of water, and decided not to waste the morning. He posted a “good morning” on his Moments too, adding a cheers.jpg from his favorite reaction images.

The other guys in his band were all obsessed with a certain pro esports team and idolized some so-called gaming god named Jiang Xun. They even organized group trips to watch his tournaments. Some of them spammed Jiang Xun reaction memes nonstop—and Gu Wei had saved a good number of them for his own use.

Maybe he’d been single too long, but even just looking at those memes, he had to admit: Jiang Xun was pretty good-looking.

Gu Wei wasn’t into esports himself, but he had tagged along to a few tournaments with his bandmates. He couldn’t say much about Jiang Xun—just that he knew who he was—but he did genuinely enjoy the reaction images and used them often when texting friends.

This morning, he sent a message:

The early worm has been eaten by the bird.

He attached one of his favorites—AggroJiangXun.jpg.

A few moments later, he got a DM.

Hey, didi. You’re up early.

It was from Chi Yunkai, a friend from his band.

[If You Love Me Please Send Me Money]: My dad’s trying to get me married. Can’t go back to sleep.

[Yunkai Sees Mooncakes]: Then don’t sleep. Lemme show you something exciting.

[If You Love Me Please Send Me Money]: What do you mean by exciting?

Yunkai sent a screenshot of the current trending topics on Weibo. Curious, Gu Wei left WeChat, opened Weibo—and saw it was true. He and Yunkai were both trending.

#GuWeiPersonalityDefect

#SpotlightThiefChiYunkai

Gu Wei rolled his eyes. This was “exciting”? It just meant their reputations were going down the drain again.

Being called a spotlight thief was nothing new to him, so he skipped Yunkai’s tag and tapped on his own. The first post was a video clip from the latest episode of Wandering With You.

Gu Wei had been a guest on the travel show for a while now. In this episode, he and six others visited an old Jiangnan town. The show’s gimmick: arrive “penniless” and complete tasks to earn food and lodging.

His task had been to learn embroidery from one of the old ladies in town. But in the now-viral clip, Gu Wei could be seen slamming an embroidery hoop onto the table before storming out, leaving the old lady staring after him in shock.

At the end of the clip, someone had added a caption and an image:

It's too hard! sobsob.jpg

As soon as that episode aired, Gu Wei’s anti-fans pounced on the clip and spread it all over the internet. They used it as proof of his bad attitude, his disrespect for his elders, and whatever else they could think of. They trashed him like it was their job and seemed determined to work overtime making sure everyone saw their harsh opinions.

Netizen 1: Look at him. Clearly, he’s never done any real work. Is embroidery really that hard? He didn’t even pretend to like it.

Netizen 2: Ugh, he just got famous by chance. Sooner or later, he’s gonna crash and burn.

Netizen 3: When T.ATW disbands, Fu Zhi-gege should go solo. I can’t stand seeing a disappointment like Gu Wei dragging him down.

Amid the sea of insults, a few loyal fans tried to speak up for him.

Netizen 4: There might’ve been special circumstances when the recording happened. He’s usually super polite. This clip is totally out of context. Little Gu Wei is kind. Don’t misunderstand him.

Netizen 5: He just turned 18! He’s still learning. Please forgive him and be a little more understanding.

But their defenses were drowned out by the louder voices of angry antis.

Netizen 6: I’m not invested, but Gu Wei seems pretty unlikable. His fans are getting roasted for defending him...

Netizen 7: I’ve been saying this! I don’t get why Wandering cast him. They just wanted his popularity, didn’t they? He has no personality.

The clip had been shared by a popular, verified blogger, and naturally, Gu Wei’s lack of charm became a trending topic.

Gu Wei closed Weibo, his mind racing. He was wide awake now, so he got out of bed to wash his face and brush his teeth. When he looked in the mirror, his eyes were red—he hadn’t gotten enough sleep.

He finished up in the bathroom, dressed quickly, and checked his phone just in time to answer a call from his manager, Zhao-jie.

"Up yet?" Zhao-jie asked, her voice cold. "Seen the trending tags?"

"I’m up. Good morning, Zhao-jie," Gu Wei said, his voice a little nasally. "Sorry about this..."

His sweet, apologetic tone made Zhao Ya bite back her irritation.

"A car’s waiting for you downstairs," she said, skipping the lecture. "Your photoshoot’s moved up by an hour. Mu Yue’s waiting in the car."

"Got it. Thanks, Zhao-jie!"

Gu Wei checked his reflection again, ran his fingers through his hair, threw on a jacket, and dashed downstairs.

The studio for his photoshoot was near a river. A van pulled up to the building, and two people stepped out, both wearing sunglasses, with a bodyguard following behind.

"Ge, no practice today?" Jiang Ying asked as he took off his shades.

Jiang Xun shook his head. "Nope, not today. We just finished a tournament last week, and tomorrow we’re off to Europe for a vacation. I have an interview nearby."

Jiang Xun was the captain of Team TMW, a pro FPS team. Known for his brilliant tactics and leadership, he was a legend in the esports world—God Xun.

His interview was at a location near the studio, and Jiang Xun planned to ignore the photoshoot and head straight there. But then he stopped when his brother, Jiang Ying, let out a disgusted sound.

"Hm?" Jiang Xun asked, looking over.

"Three o’clock," Jiang Ying said, nodding toward something. "See that guy? That’s my nemesis. He’s got more anti-fans than me."

Jiang Xun knew his brother had a so-called “nemesis,” but he’d never paid attention to the details. Running Team TMW took up all of his time, so the entertainment industry wasn’t really on his radar.

Still, since they were here, he glanced in the direction Jiang Ying pointed.

The moment his eyes landed on the target, Jiang Xun froze.

The “nemesis” was in the middle of a gaming magazine cover shoot. He wore camouflage fatigues with two streaks of oil paint smeared across his cheeks like war paint. Leaning against an armored car, he held a sniper rifle while camera flashes went off in rapid bursts.

Jiang Xun’s first thought was that the boy had ridiculously long eyelashes that gave his peach blossom-shaped eyes a touch of sultry charm. His lips were delicate, the corners turned up just enough to make him look adorably sweet.

He was handsome—but in a way that didn’t scream for attention.

The model glanced directly into one of the cameras, hoisting the heavy prop gun and trying his best to look fierce, as the director instructed. To Jiang Xun, he didn’t look intimidating at all. Just cute.

"You’ve really expanded your range," Jiang Xun said with a small smile. "Calling a minor your nemesis now?"

"He’s eighteen years and one month, okay?" Jiang Ying said flatly. "He just looks baby-faced and well-behaved. But his reputation’s even worse than mine."

Jiang Xun only made a low hum in response. "What’s his name?"

"Gu Wei," Jiang Ying replied. "I can’t believe they scheduled me after him."

The name and those eyes stirred something in Jiang Xun’s memory. He thought back to a tournament not long ago—his seventh consecutive victory as captain. One of his teammates had nudged him and pointed toward the crowd.

"That kid’s been to our last few games. He’s always staring at you. Think he’s your fan?"

Back then, the boy had worn a hat and a mask, hiding everything but his eyes. But those eyes… they’d been impossible to forget. Jiang Xun had caught himself searching for them at every match.

Jiang Ying started walking toward his own shoot but noticed Jiang Xun still standing there. He came back and jerked his head toward Gu Wei.

"Ge, remember that face. That’s my sworn nemesis. You know what that means? If I don’t crush his career, mine’s going down instead."

Jiang Xun nodded lightly. "Then perish."

"You’d let me die?!" Jiang Ying gaped, pointing at himself. It was like his brother had forgotten who his precious little brother was.

"Sorry," Jiang Xun said calmly. "Bad luck for you." He nodded toward Gu Wei. "That kid seems to be my fan. And I always protect my fans."