Chapter 116: A Cracked Egg
Watching Chen Siqing walk toward him, Pu Tong felt a little dazed.
This feeling...
If it weren't for the smile on his face, Pu Tong would have thought he was some cannon-fodder villain coming to pick a fight.
Perhaps because Chen Siqing made such a conspicuous entrance, a large circle of classmates turned their attention to him, curious about what he was up to.
Pu Tong was thinking: What does he want?
Yu Wanwan was thinking: Is he here to cause trouble?
Lin Yuxi was thinking: As expected, he came.
Yi Zhi Xuenai was thinking: Who was he again?
Behind Chen Siqing, the other celebrity students also noticed the scene, each wearing a different expression.
Gan Hengxu and Xie Mu exchanged puzzled glances and frowned. Tang Luocheng clenched her fists, feeling a lot of pressure. She hadn't expected this guy to have the same idea as her—they both wanted to build a good relationship with Pu Tong.
Ignoring everyone's stares, Chen Siqing sauntered over to Pu Tong's desk.
Originally, he had planned to take things slowly and look for the right opportunity, but Pu Tong's song yesterday had completely thrown him off...
The moment his manager heard "The Ordinary Road," he panicked and told him to become friends with Pu Tong as quickly as possible.
Although Chen Siqing had debuted through a talent show, he had never really produced any standout works. The popularity of being a young idol wouldn't last forever, and he wanted to transition into being recognized for his talent.
At a time like this, a gifted songwriter was incredibly important... His manager had even hired people to analyze Pu Tong's work. The four songs Pu Tong had released so far were all in completely different styles.
"Deskmate of Yours" was a campus folk song, "Eternal" was an ancient-style song, "The Ring of Years" was a melancholy love song, and the newest one, "The Ordinary Road," was a modern folk-pop song.
There were certainly plenty of people who could sprint down one path, but someone who could race down several different paths at once—that was terrifying.
Chen Siqing smiled and gave Pu Tong an exceptionally friendly grin.
"Uh... what's up?" Seeing that he didn't seem inclined to speak, Pu Tong asked first.
"Nothing. I just saw the game screenshots you posted on Weibo—they looked really impressive. I wanted to add you as a friend so we could play together!" Chen Siqing smiled, feeling he'd found a pretty good opening.
He had always cultivated an "esports enthusiast" image in the entertainment industry. Everyone knew he loved gaming, and classmates chatting about games and playing together was perfectly normal.
"Oh, that..." Pu Tong scratched his head. To be honest, those screenshots had been posted by the original owner of this body and had nothing to do with him. He hadn't expected Chen Siqing to come over just to talk about that.
"I quit the game. I don't play anymore."
Pu Tong coughed twice and casually made up an excuse.
Truthfully, he wasn't bad at games. He used to play when he was bored and was fairly skilled. The problem was that gaming got in the way of studying, and he'd pretty much gotten tired of it anyway.
"It's fine. Maybe you'll feel like playing again someday. If that happens, I might even get a return-invite reward." Chen Siqing was remarkably thick-skinned, looking determined not to give up until he got added.
"Alright then..."
With so many people watching, it was just a normal invitation to play games together. If he flatly refused, it would seem a bit too arrogant.
Fine, he'd add him. He didn't play games anyway. If Chen Siqing messaged him, he could just ignore it.
Chen Siqing left happily with Pu Tong's contact information.
"Should we warn him?" Yu Wanwan whispered.
"That's really not necessary..."
Pu Tong hurriedly stopped her, inwardly marveling at how ridiculously protective Yu Wanwan was.
Someone merely asking for his contact information earned a warning. If someone actually caused him trouble, would they end up with broken limbs?
Why did it suddenly feel like, "Touch my man and die!"?
Pu Tong slapped his forehead and quickly forced himself to forget that absurd thought.
"Didn't Tang Luocheng come looking for you today too?" Lin Yuxi suddenly asked, sounding as though she'd guessed something.
Yu Wanwan's fists instantly clenched. Chen Siqing coming over had only annoyed her, but a woman approaching Pu Tong? That was far more dangerous.
She absolutely had to stay on guard!
"How did you know?"
Lin Yuxi smiled. "Episode five got the production team the most criticism, but those two got way too much screen time, which made a lot of viewers dislike them. I imagine their public image isn't very good."
Pu Tong frowned, roughly understanding what she meant.
So the reason they were approaching him now was to repair the damage—to ride his popularity?
If they simply wanted to make friends, like Yu Wanwan and the others, he wouldn't object.
But if they were getting close to him with ulterior motives, then he'd rather keep his distance.
Friendships tied together by benefits were far too fragile, and he didn't need that.
"Should I..." Yu Wanwan suggested.
"Should you just find someone on a dark, windy night and make the two of them disappear?"
"Huh?" Yu Wanwan hadn't expected Pu Tong to be even more extreme than she was. She stared at him in shock before mumbling, "If that's what you want... it's not impossible..."
It would just mean asking her dad to spend a little more money smoothing things over. If money could solve it, was it even a problem?
"Don't be ridiculous." Pu Tong's vision darkened. *What do you mean 'it's not impossible'?* Don't make it sound like she'd actually go commit crimes for him the moment he gave the order! Did she really have to spoil him this much?
"I'll just ignore them. As for people with hidden agendas, I won't be friends with them."
Lin Yuxi nodded, approving of that approach.
Relationships between public figures were troublesome. If Pu Tong openly rejected someone's friendly gesture, people would inevitably accuse him of acting superior and putting on airs.
Those rumors might not cause any real harm, but too many buzzing flies were still annoying. Better to avoid unnecessary trouble and just brush them off politely.
"It's not easy getting tangled up with those two," Yu Wanwan sighed.
"The predicament caused by Tang Luocheng and Chen Siqing..." Yi Zhi Xuenai paused. "...I shall call it the Chen-Tang Pass!"
*Chen Tang Pass? Like Li Jing of Chentang Pass?*
Pu Tong rolled his eyes. He wanted to complain but didn't even know where to begin. They didn't even know what Chentang Pass was.
He wondered whether people from Japan would enjoy traditional Chinese mythology...
Maybe he'd tell them those stories if he got the chance.
If, while telling mythology, he suddenly felt the pressure of the world's will descending upon him, then it would become another masterpiece.
"Honestly, forget those two—even I'm tempted by you..." Lin Yuxi paused and glanced at Yu Wanwan, seemingly wanting to see her reaction. "...your popularity."
"Can you stop pausing dramatically like that?" Pu Tong was genuinely startled. Those kinds of words couldn't be thrown around casually. If someone quoted them out of context, it'd be a disaster.
Speaking of taking things out of context, that sentence itself was taken out of context.
"The truth is, everyone in the entertainment industry, no matter how famous they are, wants to get to know you right now," Lin Yuxi sighed, unsure how else to put it.
In just a few short months, Pu Tong's achievements had become astonishing: several outstanding works, a regular on trending searches, and, most frightening of all, no company or capital backing him.
That only proved his popularity was completely genuine, with no artificial inflation.
"In the end, it's all your own fault!" Yu Wanwan yawned. "You're just too talented!"
Sorry for being so amazing...
Pu Tong truly hadn't expected to become the cracked egg everyone wanted to peck at.
Everyone had witnessed Chen Siqing's actions, and for a while, each of them developed their own strange thoughts.
"What do you think he was really after?" Xie Mu quietly discussed it with Gan Hengxu. Normally he didn't like gossiping behind people's backs, but he really didn't have a good impression of Chen Siqing. Besides, Pu Tong was his teacher in name.
"He wants Pu Tong's popularity," Gan Hengxu said, cutting straight to the point. "Actually, a lot of people in the industry are thinking the same thing. Everyone sees Pu Tong as a hot commodity. We just happen to have the advantage of being close to him."
Young, with four hit songs... Oh, wait. He'd also heard that Yi Zhi Xuenai's "Doraemon" had been written by Pu Tong.
Getting connected with someone like that was guaranteed profit with no downside. Forget Tang Luocheng and Chen Siqing—even he was a little tempted.
Still, what he really wanted was to improve himself. Rather than riding Pu Tong's popularity, he'd rather learn from him.
"I knew those two were up to no good." Xie Mu looked annoyed. "How dare those petty schemers get close to my master?"
"What are you planning?" Gan Hengxu noticed something odd in Xie Mu's expression.
"Nothing." Xie Mu grinned. "Just protecting my master."
(End of Chapter)
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