Chapter 11: I Approve of This Marriage
"Hello, Brother Tong? It's Liu Neng."
"What is it? Spit it out already!"
"It's about you and Sister-in-law..."
Pu Tong hung up without hesitation.
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
They were already calling her Sister-in-law?
Had everyone gone insane?
He didn't even dare look at the trending topics about himself anymore.
He was afraid he'd end up smashing his head into a wall.
He had never intended to become famous by plagiarizing works in the first place.
He was still young, didn't have some cheat system like the protagonists in web novels, and thought the best path was to keep a low profile and focus on studying.
Yet after the show aired, he had been thrust into the public eye far earlier than he ever wanted.
That was incredibly dangerous.
This entire situation had developed completely outside his expectations, and the chain reaction that followed had blindsided him.
Even in his wildest dreams, he couldn't understand...
How had he become the internet's image of a lovestruck boy?
"Son, hurry up and look! A famous music critic is praising your song!"
No.
He absolutely didn't want to.
This was basically roasting him over an open fire.
"As expected of my son! With talent like yours, chasing Yu Wanwan shouldn't be difficult at all."
Ni Hui patted his shoulder proudly.
"Like mother, like son!"
"Oh, give me a break."
Pu Tong didn't even bother arguing.
What was he supposed to do now?
What was he supposed to do?
He had somehow become exactly the kind of person he never wanted to be.
"Wait... what are you doing?"
Turning around, he saw his mother snapping pictures of him nonstop.
"I'm posting about my amazing son on Weibo!"
"Don't do that!"
His mother clearly thought the fire wasn't burning hot enough and decided to pour gasoline on it.
"Too late."
She tapped away on her phone before smiling in satisfaction.
"I bet this will gain me tons of followers!"
Ni Hui was a moderately well-known journalist with a decent following on Weibo.
Taking advantage of her son's popularity to attract more followers was practically effortless.
If your own son was trending, why wouldn't you ride the wave?
"Son, hurry up and register a Weibo account under your real name! You'll definitely go viral! Otherwise, all this popularity will go to waste."
"No thanks!"
"It's fine. I already tagged you. It doesn't matter if you don't use your real name. The internet detectives will find you soon enough."
"..."
Pu Tong collapsed into his chair.
His soul had left his body.
Life was impossible now.
The production team had maliciously edited the footage.
The netizens had completely misunderstood everything.
His own mother had publicly exposed his account...
He only wanted to study quietly.
Why was that so difficult?
Forget it.
I'm done resisting.
Let's just embrace the chaos.
He wanted to see exactly how these internet spectators were praising him.
Then he'd change.
He'd change everything they praised.
Wouldn't that solve the problem?
Opening Weibo, he was greeted by a sea of notification dots.
In just a few minutes, his follower count had jumped from single digits to 180,000...
And it was still climbing.
His fists clenched.
The account had originally belonged to the previous owner of this body.
Its username was "An Ordinary User."
It was a pun based on the Chinese pronunciation of "ordinary," which Pu Tong found amusing enough that he had never bothered changing it.
Damn it.
Two hundred thousand followers.
He had only blinked once.
The account's newest post was an old screenshot of the previous owner getting a pentakill in a game.
The comment section had completely fallen.
"You're still playing games? Hurry up and go propose to Wanwan!"
"At first I thought he was just a handsome pretty boy who wasn't worthy of our Wanwan. But I didn't expect him to write songs too. I officially approve of this marriage!"
"His songwriting is incredible. I actually cried listening to it. I've had it on repeat countless times already."
"Getting a pentakill with this hero is easy. Just keep poking the enemies with the E skill and clean up at the end!"
"The guy above is hopeless..."
Pu Tong instantly lost it.
Shipping him with Yu Wanwan was one thing.
But insulting his gaming skills?
Absolutely unacceptable.
...Wait.
No.
Both were unacceptable.
Where had all these random CP fans come from?
According to the usual
entertainment-industry plagiarism novel formula, shouldn't he be attracting music fans right now?
Why were almost all of them shipping him with Yu Wanwan?
He turned off notifications for likes, comments, and private messages before opening the Weibo trending list with trembling hands.
Why did this feel like he was walking toward an execution ground?
#1 Trending — Deskmate
#2 Trending — Yu Wanwan Responds!
#5 Trending — Who Is Pu Tong?
#10 Trending — I Approve of This Marriage!
The trending topics about the interactions between him and Yu Wanwan during the variety show were still on the list.
Counting them all...
He had somehow become the main subject of six separate trending topics.
Terrifying.
From now on, he'd probably have to wear a mask every time he went outside.
He immediately tapped the second trending topic.
Yu Wanwan Responds?
Responds to what?
She understood him better than anyone.
Surely she hadn't misunderstood things too...
Even if everyone else believed he liked her, she should at least be able to tell the truth, right?
Only then did Pu Tong realize...
He hadn't even followed Yu Wanwan's Weibo account.
And people called this a secret crush?
Honestly, he didn't even know she had released any works.
So why were the internet treating a few interactions and one song like undeniable proof that they were a couple?
Ridiculous.
As it turned out, the headline was pure clickbait.
Yu Wanwan had simply reposted the link to Deskmate and added a short comment.
"It's pretty good."
That was it.
Nothing else.
What kind of response was that?
Pu Tong finally let out a sigh of relief.
To be honest, he had been genuinely worried she'd issue some serious public statement.
That would only push him further into the spotlight.
If she thought the song sounded good, then fine.
At least she hadn't misunderstood.
He needed to find an opportunity to explain everything to her in person.
If she actually got the wrong idea, that would be bad.
Her comment section contained far fewer CP fans.
Most of the comments came from genuine supporters.
"This is something Wanwan should decide for herself. We don't need to interfere."
"Meeting a boy who writes a song like this just for her... our Wanwan really is irresistible."
"Our little Wanwan finally has such an outstanding boy secretly in love with her. That's wonderful."
He had to admit—
Yu Wanwan's fanbase was incredibly mature.
There wasn't any drama because of this incident.
Perhaps in their eyes, Yu Wanwan wasn't merely a celebrity.
She was more like a child they'd watched grow up, gradually becoming brighter and more dazzling.
Watching that child mature...
What could they feel besides happiness and pride?
Pu Tong kept scrolling.
@AnOrdinaryUser
"Come out and say something! The whole country already knows! Your secret crush has been exposed! When are you officially confessing to Wanwan? Surrender immediately—you've been surrounded!"
He really wanted to reply with a string of profanity.
I don't have a damn crush on her!
Speechless, he continued reading.
"Wanwan, just accept him! Where are you going to find another guy who's this handsome, this talented, and this devoted? Even I want to marry him!"
"Now I finally understand what people mean by 'a perfect match.'"
Good taste.
But they're still delusional CP fans.
Zero points. Next!
"Honestly, the moment Pu Tong went silent while watching Wanwan perform really moved me.
When you truly love someone, you start worrying about the differences between your social status.
You stay away because you're afraid of holding them back.
You write a song for them, yet only dare sing it alone.
It's obvious that Pu Tong genuinely loves Wanwan.
If Wanwan doesn't like him back, I hope she'll reject him clearly.
I really don't want such a devoted boy to get hurt."
Pu Tong couldn't help giving that comment a like.
At least...
It was written by someone with a kind heart.
Even though...
He wasn't some devoted romantic at all.
Where had this bizarre character setting come from?
Thanks to the production team's editing, combined with his deliberate attempts to keep his distance from Yu Wanwan and his solo performance of Deskmate, the viewers had unconsciously pieced together an entire story.
An ordinary boy falls in love with a wealthy girl at first sight.
Knowing their worlds are too different, he sadly keeps his distance.
To avoid falling even deeper, he deliberately stays away from her.
He writes a song just for her but hides his feelings forever, only daring to sing it alone in the dead of night.
The emotional atmosphere was complete.
And somehow...
He had become the tragic male lead in this imaginary love story.
"What the hell is this..."
Closing the comments, Pu Tong suddenly noticed something.
His account and Yu Wanwan's account were now mutual follows.
Looks like she was online watching the drama unfold too.
She...
Couldn't have misunderstood as well, could she?
After thinking it over, Pu Tong decided he had to explain.
After hesitating for a long time, he opened Yu Wanwan's QQ chat.
Pu Tong: "Are you there?"
The universal conversation starter.
Yu Wanwan: "Yes."
Just a single word.
Impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Pu Tong: "I want to explain what happened today."
Yu Wanwan: "Go ahead."
Pu Tong: "Actually... I didn't write that song. It wasn't written for you either. I don't have a crush on you, and I'm not some devoted romantic..."
Yu Wanwan: "I know."
Pu Tong: "Also... I'm really sorry for dragging you into this. I honestly had no idea the camera was recording. Damn it, I—"
Yu Wanwan: "I understand."
You understand?
Pu Tong had every reason to suspect this silly girl had misunderstood everything again.
Pu Tong: "Do you actually understand, or have you trapped yourself in some self-consistent fantasy? I'm serious—I really don't have a crush on you."
Yu Wanwan: "I understand."
Pu Tong: "Then what exactly do you understand?"
Yu Wanwan: "You don't secretly love me."
"The song wasn't written for me."
"Just like how you said you couldn't play the guitar."
"..."
Was this the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf?
Had he lied so many times that nobody believed him anymore?
"Forget it."
"Go do whatever you're busy with."
It seemed...
There was no way he could explain himself now.
(End of Chapter)
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