Chapter 13: I Study Alone
A romance usually begins when one person makes the first move.
But the heroine of this love story, Yu Wanwan, never gave a direct response.
So the fans waited all night.
And then the male lead, Pu Tong, didn't say a word either.
He didn't even make any statement at all...
It was as if he were merely an uninvolved bystander.
The CP fans were furious. They practically wanted to lock the two of them in the same cage so they could cuddle together.
Naturally, Pu Tong knew nothing about any of this.
After signing the contract, he looked up the legal clauses regarding unauthorized filming and went to bed.
Because he had previously signed a "civilian participant" agreement, the unauthorized filming issue had become a legal gray area.
Not only would filing a lawsuit be difficult, but the legal process would also take a long time. Even if he won against such a famous director, the resulting publicity would undoubtedly shatter the peaceful life he wanted.
"Go ahead and make all the noise you want. I don't care whether I become famous or not. I'll just keep living my life as an ordinary person."
He wasn't interested in worldly affairs and was perfectly happy living a quiet life.
Other than being visited early Sunday morning by the middle-school girl next door asking for his autograph, he had very little to worry about.
Although he'd probably have to start wearing a mask whenever he went out, things weren't all that bad.
After all, he was still just an ordinary person.
At most, he had become slightly well-known.
"Isn't this actually pretty nice?"
After spending an entire day peacefully studying, Pu Tong was in an exceptionally good mood.
You could even say he was happy.
Sure enough...
Nothing beat studying.
Life might deceive you.
But studying never would.
Because if you don't know something, then you simply don't know it.
There were countless effective ways to study in high school, and every student had methods that suited them best.
Pu Tong possessed all of the original owner's academic knowledge, but merely having knowledge wasn't the same as being able to use it proficiently.
So he chose the simplest method:
Practice problems.
Doing a massive number of exercises reinforced his foundation while gradually giving him his own understanding of the material.
As for developing his future abilities, Pu Tong had decided to move toward game development.
He had considered becoming a copycat novelist by rewriting famous web novels to make money.
The problem was that he only remembered the plots, not the complete text.
Trying to fill in all the missing details himself would only ruin the stories, and the finished product probably wouldn't amount to much anyway.
"Dou Qi Level... Three... After that... I forgot."
Writing songs also carried the risk of dragging him into the entertainment industry, so it was better to stay away from that whenever possible.
Looking at it that way, recreating games from his memories seemed like the perfect choice.
He could start with small indie games.
Then gradually grow bigger and stronger.
Games depended on creativity and gameplay—precisely the advantages a transmigrator like him possessed.
As long as the games were good, people would buy them.
Unlike celebrities, success in the gaming industry wasn't nearly as dependent on outside factors.
"What? You're saying celebrities only need good works to succeed too?"
"What nonsense."
"What era do you think this is?"
"This is the age where traffic is king."
No matter how mediocre or derivative a celebrity's work was, fans would still support it.
No matter how cringeworthy an idol drama was, fans would praise the acting.
No matter how terrible someone's singing sounded, there would always be fans insisting,
"You just don't have the appreciation to understand it."
Times had changed.
Trying to survive in such a distorted industry was simply exhausting.
The more famous you became, the more trouble followed.
There would always be people jealous of you.
Always people trying to tear you down.
One small mistake, and once the wall collapsed, everyone would rush in to kick you while you were down.
If one day he fell from grace and became nothing more than a joke people laughed about over dinner...
That would be far too miserable.
Singing?
Sure.
Joining the entertainment industry?
Absolutely not.
If possible, Pu Tong wanted to become the kind of person whose songs were famous while the singer remained anonymous.
Ultimately, the explosive success of Deskmate of Yours this time had been a coincidence built upon countless coincidences.
The variety show...
Yu Wanwan's popularity...
Perfect timing, favorable conditions, and the right people.
Although the song itself was undoubtedly top-tier, without all that publicity, it never could have become famous so quickly.
A situation like this...
Couldn't be replicated easily.
It wasn't that Pu Tong was pessimistic.
It was just...
Look at today's entertainment industry.
Reality was often more dramatic than fiction.
"What a headache..."
Pu Tong finally understood why, in so many entertainment-industry transmigration novels from his previous life, the protagonists always ended up connected to the government in one way or another.
It wasn't just protection.
It was also a license to survive.
Because one person's strength alone could never fight an entire dysfunctional industry.
"...Forget it."
Pu Tong shook his head.
If he kept thinking about it, the novel might fail censorship.
He'd rather continue studying diligently and make money through his own abilities.
As for writing songs...
That would remain nothing more than an emergency backup plan.
Repeat it once every day.
Strengthen your resolve.
Putting all those thoughts aside, a new problem now stood before him.
Tomorrow was Monday.
He had to go back to school.
Now that he'd somehow become famous, attending school would probably cause quite a stir.
Even worse...
That damned variety show, When You Are Young, was still filming.
This was only the first episode, and he had already become this popular.
If filming continued, what would happen next?
Who knew how many shots the production crew would capture of him, only to edit them into videos that completely misrepresented reality?
It was despicable!
Transferring schools or simply refusing to attend wasn't an option.
He had signed the civilian participant agreement, so occasionally appearing on camera was understandable.
But treating him like an actual celebrity?
Absolutely not.
He could ignore the gossip from his classmates.
But the production crew constantly shoving cameras in his face was genuinely irritating.
He only wanted to study in peace.
How was filming him all the time any different from posting NSFW pictures in a serious group chat?
Such behavior absolutely could not be tolerated!
Although he'd only signed for the first episode, if the production team kept filming first and notifying him afterward—capturing tons of footage every episode before asking permission later—
That would become unbearably annoying.
He had to make his position crystal clear.
Otherwise, if Xu Lei kept trying to make him famous out of misplaced enthusiasm, he'd never have any peace.
His tone needed to be firm.
Otherwise, the director would probably just talk his way around the issue.
Rubbing his temples helplessly, Pu Tong hesitated for a long time before finally dialing Xu Lei's number.
"Hello? Pu Tong?" Xu Lei answered cheerfully. "So, you've finally thought it through? Ready to sign with—"
"Director Xu, I need to talk to you about something."
"...Go ahead."
Xu Lei suddenly had a bad feeling.
"It's like this. I'm just an ordinary person. The excessive screen time has already seriously affected my normal life. I hope the production team will stick to the agreement with the school and focus on filming the celebrity students. We do have a civilian participant contract, but I've been given far too many shots. Filming someone excessively without their consent is against the law. Surely you know that."
"...Wait, you're serious?"
"What else would I be? I genuinely have no interest in joining the entertainment industry. And stop trying to judge me through your 'I've been there before' perspective. I've already made myself perfectly clear. Don't violate my rights. If the production team continues giving me excessive screen time next week, I won't hesitate to pursue legal action."
After saying his piece, Pu Tong tossed his phone onto the bed, feeling slightly depressed.
Actually filing a lawsuit would be the absolute last resort.
The legal process would be painfully slow, and suing the director of such a famous variety show would create enormous controversy.
Even if he ultimately won, there was little chance he could ever return to living a peaceful life.
It would be a lose-lose situation.
His goal wasn't really to sue.
He simply wanted to make his position known.
As long as Xu Lei understood how dissatisfied he truly was, he should restrain himself in the future.
As long as he stopped appearing on camera...
The internet would quickly lose interest and forget about him.
Then he could finally study in peace again.
Let's start with an English listening exercise...
Meanwhile...
Xu Lei sat there holding his phone in stunned silence.
He had actually been hung up on.
Not only that—
He'd been lectured first.
Who was he?
He was Xu Lei.
A nationally renowned variety show director.
Countless hit shows had come from his hands.
He had launched the careers of innumerable stars.
Within the entertainment industry, practically everyone treated him with respect.
And yet today...
A high school student had just scolded him over the phone.
The worst part was—
The kid's reasoning actually made perfect sense.
Xu Lei couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
Sure, he had filmed Pu Tong without obtaining explicit permission.
But wasn't that a good thing?
Wasn't more exposure always better?
Outside, countless celebrities begged him for even a few seconds of screen time, and he wouldn't even spare them a glance.
Yet he'd given this brat free publicity...
And the kid was actually angry?
Was there something wrong with him?
Xu Lei genuinely believed Pu Tong had been born for show business.
He had tried to push him into stardom out of good intentions.
How had that somehow made him the villain abusing his power?
That wasn't right!
Kid...
You've officially caught my attention.
Xu Lei lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Then he picked up the phone and made another call.
"Hello, Old Yang? It's me."
"Starting next week, you won't be working with the regular camera crew anymore."
"W-What? No, I'm not firing you."
"I'm assigning you a special mission."
"From now on, you'll be Pu Tong's personal cameraman."
"The moment he does anything unusual..."
"I want you to find a way to capture it on camera."
You're still too young, kid.
Once you experience the benefits of fame and fortune...
You'll be the one begging me.
Who didn't want fame?
Who didn't want wealth?
Young people only pretended otherwise because they were stubborn.
You didn't want the cameras on you?
Then I'd film you even more.
When you became a huge star, you'd end up thanking me for it.
Kid...
We'll see who's right.
(End of Chapter)
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