chapter 1 (part 2)

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.

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