Chapter 18: A World Where We Are Both Hurt Has Been Achieved

What Jin Li did not know was that the people currently watching her livestream were no longer just fans; many were merely passersby.

Because Jin Li used her livestreaming time solely to study and rarely interacted with her fans, the "Maozhua" livestream room had been tagged with labels such as "Study Room," "Learning," and "Striving."

This, quite coincidentally, attracted a crowd of "study dogs"—those grinding for university entrance exams, postgraduate entrance exams, and civil service exams.

When they entered Jin Li's study room, they didn't even know she was a celebrity.

This was mainly because the comment section was very quiet. After the initial novelty wore off a few days in, Jin Li's fans stopped talking much; they either accompanied her in silence or simply stopped watching altogether.

A blank comment section, a quiet streamer brushing through practice exam books without saying a single word for an hour—what do you call this?

This is called shared misery!!!

Consequently, before they started studying, the "study dogs" would post a comment to check in. The atmosphere of Jin Li's livestream room transformed into this

[honest adj. 诚实的; brave adj. 勇敢的; loyal adj. 忠诚的; 忠心的...]

["Air Power Bank" is a device that achieves energy storage through compressed air, storing energy during low-demand periods and releasing it during peak periods. During a certain working process of an "Air Power Bank," the p-T graph of an ideal gas of a certain mass is shown in the figure. The corresponding p-V graph might be...]

[Which of the following idioms contains an animal that is NOT a cold-blooded animal? A. 杯弓蛇影 (suspicion born of fear), B. 趋之若鹜 (to flock to something), C. 井底之蛙 (a frog in a well), D. 如鱼得水 (like a fish in water)]

...

Netizens who entered Jin Li's livestream room to watch the spectacle suddenly fell silent.

When Jin Li's fans re-entered the room, they blinked several times.

Their first reaction was: *Am I freaking in a celebrity's livestream room? / Did I enter the wrong room?*

It must be said that no matter where you are—in the real world or on the internet—"study dogs" are a constant source of heartbreak and tears for anyone who witnesses them.

Moreover, the blow they dealt was a dual strike to both the body and the soul.

As the onlookers and fans stared at the dense, wall-to-wall comments of study check-ins, they had only one thought in their minds

*How... are they... still grinding so hard???*

A world where the "grinders" and the "non-grinders" shared the same trauma had been achieved.

Jin Li had been busy studying these past few days, and things were peaceful, but online attention regarding *PICK~ Next Station Diva* never diminished.

The first episode had finished filming and had entered the editing stage.

First, passersby leaked a bombshell: a heavy-hitter would make a comeback on this stage—their former senior.

This led many netizens to speculate that the top boy group "March Sky" would be called back to provide massive support for the new show.

The fans of [March Sky] were eagerly anticipating their stage, all of them "hungry" for content, spontaneously going to blogs to generate hype for the variety show.

Then, the mentors refused to be outdone, scrambling to leak intense teasers about their performances.

Teasers such as "First time using an electronic style, vocals comparable to EDM," "What a treasure girl, excellent at both singing and dancing," and "Stunning choreography that stands out from the crowd, perfectly recreating the synchronization of the two" occupied the trending topics one after another.

By comparison, Jin Li, who had been used by the show at the beginning to attract topic engagement, seemed somewhat obscure amidst this barrage of trending searches.

Jin Li wasn't worried about this at all; instead, it was Sui Lingfang who was getting anxious.

On the third day after filming ended, she approached Jin Li and asked with a serious expression, "Should we buy a trending topic to keep up?"

Jin Li countered, "Is this your idea?"

Sui Lingfang nodded. "It's not just my idea; it's the company's idea."

Jin Li remembered the profit-sharing agreement she had signed with the company. Because the split had reached an unprecedented 2:8 ratio, she had to cover 80% of the public relations expenses.

If they were to buy a trending topic, she would be paying the lion's share.

Money wasn't the issue—if she didn't have it, the company would advance it to her—but the problem was

Was a trending topic actually worth buying?

For a celebrity, this was a question that accompanied them throughout their entire career.

Some celebrities could never become famous and felt it was because they lacked hype or were unrecognized talents.

Some celebrities bought trending topics every day and were the protagonists of every single one, yet they simply could not become famous.

Then there were those who bought a little and promoted a little, and suddenly became an overnight sensation.

All three scenarios existed, but in reality, most fell into the first or second category.

Jin Li thought for a moment and shook her head. "No."

She said candidly, "Sister Fang, I don't think my stage is so stunning that it warrants buying a trending topic. Those mentors dare to buy them because they have the confidence; I don't have that confidence."

Sui Lingfang was speechless.

She generally disliked celebrities being too naive, but with Jin Li, she sometimes wished she could be a bit more naive.

Sui Lingfang said temptingly, "Are you sure? The company will cover the PR fees; you won't have to pay."

Jin Li gave a sweet smile and replied decisively, "No."

Sui Lingfang: "..."

Two days later, *PICK~ Next Station Diva*, which was originally scheduled to premiere on Sunday, suddenly dropped its premiere to Saturday, catching many platforms off guard.

In addition to Penguin TV broadcasting this talent show, Kiwi TV, Blue Sky TV, and Kuku TV had all launched their own talent variety shows specifically targeting this program.

The goal was to grab a piece of the pie, intercept its rising momentum, and aggressively carve up the traffic!

Industry insiders discussing Penguin TV's sudden premiere all felt it was a wise move—a "deceiving the heavens" tactic to lock in the traffic ahead of time.

They discussed their theories, but for one particular industry insider, things were going very poorly.

Inside Chenxi Entertainment.

Sui Lingfang called Lian Baozhi's manager again, asking, "The first episode has already aired today. Do you still not have the rehearsal notice for the second episode?"

The manager gave a vague answer, "I don't know. We have to wait for the staff to notify us. They haven't said anything over there."

Sui Lingfang laughed out of pure anger. "Luo Meimei, you'd better be clear with me. This entire call is being recorded. Unless the production team wants to drop Jin Li, I will leak all the records of our calls to see who ends up looking more foolish!"

"Don't push your luck. Tell me the rehearsal date right now. Don't try to play those games your artist is used to playing with me; I have no interest in such petty schemes!

How much power do you think your artist has? If you lie about the rehearsal date and it ultimately affects the stage performance and delays Penguin TV's profits, do you think Penguin TV will continue to cooperate with you?

She's just a superficial 'small first-tier' celebrity; your artist's status isn't even stable yet, and she's already trying to play mind games with me. We'll see who ends up begging whom!"

Sui Lingfang dropped the bomb, hung up the phone, and waited calmly.

One, two, three, four...

In less than five seconds, the phone rang again. It was a callback from Lian Baozhi's manager.

In this call, she politely informed them of the rehearsal time.

When Sui Lingfang heard it was *today*, her vision went dark.

Here it comes, here it comes... Goodnight~

(End of Chapter)