Lin Wanwan stared at those comments for a long time.
“Investigate thoroughly! But how? That’s the question worth pondering!”
Suddenly, her phone vibrated—another unknown number. This time it wasn’t a blank number but a string of digits that looked like a normal phone number. The text message contained only one sentence: “I’m at the gate. Come alone.”
Lin Wanwan lifted her head and looked out the window.
Parked by the roadside outside the courtyard was an ordinary white sedan. The car was somewhat old, with mud stains still unwashed on its body. The windows were tinted dark, making it impossible to see inside.
Lin Wanwan prepared to go out.
Xu Jia stopped her: “I’ll go with you.”
Lin Wanwan shook her head: “She said alone.”
“What if it’s a trap?”
“It won’t be.”
Xu Jia looked at her.
Lin Wanwan pointed to the back of her neck: “If there’s danger, I can sense it.”
“I’m not sensing anything right now.”
She pushed the door open and walked out.
The early spring wind was still a bit chilly, lifting the stray hairs on her forehead.
Fans who saw her greeted her one after another: “Sister Wanwan!”
“It’s cold outside, wear more!”
“With us here, don’t be afraid!”
Lin Wanwan smiled and nodded, then walked toward the white sedan.
Old Zhou called out from behind: “If anything happens, just shout—we’re all here!”
She gave an OK sign and continued forward.
She stopped beside the car. The rear window rolled down halfway, revealing a young girl.
The girl was in her early twenties, wearing a mask and a hat, only her eyes visible.
Those eyes were very red, as if she had just cried, and her eyelids were slightly swollen.
She looked at Lin Wanwan, her voice trembling: “Get in the car, okay?”
Lin Wanwan opened the car door and sat inside.
Only the girl was in the car.
She gripped the steering wheel, head lowered, not speaking.
Lin Wanwan didn’t rush her either, just sat beside her and waited.
The car was very quiet, so quiet that the sound of their breathing could be heard.
After a long time, the girl spoke. Her voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something: “My name is Xu Xiaoya.”
Lin Wanwan nodded.
“I am…”
The girl paused, took a deep breath: “I am Zhou Haoran’s assistant.”
Lin Wanwan’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but she still didn’t speak.
Xu Xiaoya continued: “I’ve been his assistant for three years.”
“In those three years, I’ve done everything: serving tea and water, booking plane tickets, handling scandals, deleting comments, confronting fans, calling marketing accounts…”
She lifted her head and looked at Lin Wanwan, her eyes growing even redder: “But I wasn’t like this at first.”
She began to speak, her voice still soft, as if telling someone else’s story. “I’ve liked Zhou Haoran since I was little.”
“I can sing every one of his songs.”
“I went to every one of his concerts.”
“His posters covered my entire room.”
“My mom said I was crazy.”
“I said, this is my faith.”
She paused, smiled—a smile uglier than crying: “After graduating from college, I desperately tried to get into his company.”
“I started as an intern, serving tea and water, sweeping floors, wiping tables, photocopying documents—I did everything.”
“I arrived earliest and left latest every day, working overtime without overtime pay and not daring to mention it.”
“Two years later, I finally became his assistant.”
“I thought I was getting closer to my faith.”
She lowered her head, her voice choked: “And then I discovered…”
“My faith completely collapsed.”
“When he sings live, it’s all lip-syncing.”
“I’ve been to seventeen of his concerts, and not a single one featured live singing.”
“His acting? All green screen and body doubles. The most outrageous time, he spent three days on set for a two-month shoot—every scene was filmed by a double.”
“His smiles for the fans were designed by his management team—the angle, how many seconds, how many teeth to show, all predetermined.”
“Every Weibo post he shares was written by someone else. He doesn’t even glance at them before forwarding.”
She paused, taking a deep breath.
“That song of his, ‘The Person in the Dream’—I know he didn’t write it.”
“But I didn’t dare say it.”
“Because if I did, I’d lose this job.”
She looked at Lin Wanwan, tears finally falling. “Three years.”
“Every night, I couldn’t sleep.”
“As soon as I closed my eyes, I’d remember those lyrics: ‘The person in the dream, where are you…'”
“That was written by your grandmother.”
“And it was sung by a top star who lip-syncs, double-books projects, and throws his weight around.”
Xu Xiaoya took a USB drive from her bag and handed it to Lin Wanwan. “This contains everything I’ve gathered over the past three years.”
“Recordings of lip-synced performances—thirteen shows.”
“Schedules of double-booked projects—complete records for the past six years.”
“Surveillance footage of him throwing tantrums—recorded by seven staff members.”
“Screenshots of him berating employees—over a hundred images.”
“And…”
She hesitated before continuing, “Recordings of his conversations with the company’s boss.”
“About how to handle the copyright controversy.”
“About how to silence those veteran creators.”
“About how to make you disappear.”
Lin Wanwan took the USB drive and looked at her.
Xu Xiaoya said, “I’m not here to sell anything.”
“This is all for you, free of charge.”
“Do whatever you want with it.”
Lin Wanwan asked, “What do you want in return?”
Xu Xiaoya looked up at her, her eyes complex—filled with hatred, regret, expectation, and fear. But when she spoke again, it was just one sentence: “I want him to fall from grace.”
Lin Wanwan remained silent.
Xu Xiaoya continued, “Because he destroyed my faith.”
“Fifteen years ago, I was his die-hard fan. I believed in him for fifteen years.”
“Only now do I realize that what I believed in was a packaged fake.”
She looked at Lin Wanwan, her eyes red and swollen. “Do you know how that feels?”
“Discovering that the person you idolize isn’t worthy of your admiration.”
“Realizing that the money you spent on him, the tears you shed, the sleepless nights—they were all a joke.”
“Finding out that the thing you believed in for fifteen years… was a lie.”
Lin Wanwan was silent for a long time before she reached out and took Xu Xiaoya’s hand.
Xu Xiaoya froze. Her hand was cold and trembling.
Lin Wanwan said, “I know.”
Xu Xiaoya stared at her.
Lin Wanwan said, “I was foolish once too.”
“I believed the company would treat me well.”
“I believed hard work would be rewarded.”
“I believed that if I just obeyed, I could survive.”
Xu Xiaoya stared blankly at her, tears streaming down even more fiercely.
Lin Wanwan said, “You believed in a lie for fifteen years.”
“It’s okay. Starting today, believe in the truth.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a voice suddenly echoed in Lin Wanwan’s mind: Ding!
[Potential ally detected]
[Target: Xu Xiaoya]
[Compatibility: 97%]
[Background: Former assistant to a top star, possesses crucial damaging information, awakened after her faith was shattered]
[Current Emotions: Guilt 87%, Anger 92%, Determination 96%]
[Invite to join the “Slacker’s Alliance”?]
[Form the “Slacker’s Alliance”. Members’ Reverse Operations will also grant dividends to the host.]
Lin Wanwan was stunned, thinking, “There are dividends? Definitely can’t refuse that.”
Lin Wanwan looked at Xu Xiaoya and asked a question: “What do you plan to do from now on?”
Xu Xiaoya shook her head and said, “I don’t know.”
“I definitely can’t go back to the company.”
“They’ll find out it was me sooner or later.”
Lin Wanwan said, “Then don’t go back.”
Xu Xiaoya looked at her.
Lin Wanwan said, “Work with me.”
Xu Xiaoya was stunned.
Lin Wanwan said, “Not as an assistant, but as…”
She thought for a moment and smiled: “A comrade-in-arms.”
Xu Xiaoya looked at her, silent for a long time.
The car was quiet. In the distance, there were car horns, vendors’ cries, and children laughing.
But these sounds were separated by the car window, distant, very distant. Then Xu Xiaoya asked, “Aren’t you afraid I’m playing a double agent?”
Lin Wanwan laughed: “Afraid of what?”
“You have the USB drive, you have the dirt, but you chose to come to me. That’s enough.”
Xu Xiaoya lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly. After a long time, she looked up, her eyes rimmed red, but there was a light in them. She asked, “Then what should I call you?”
Lin Wanwan thought for a moment and said, “Just call me Sister Wanwan.”
As soon as the words fell, a voice sounded again in Lin Wanwan’s mind: [Ding!]
[Xu Xiaoya has successfully joined the “Slacker’s Alliance”]
[Ability Unlocked: Intelligence Analysis. Mastery of the entertainment industry blackmail database. Can provide precise intelligence.]
Lin Wanwan was momentarily stunned. Intelligence analysis? That ability seemed quite useful.
Lin Wanwan brought Xu Xiaoya back to the old house.
Xu Jia saw her and was taken aback: “This is…”
Lin Wanwan said, “New comrade-in-arms, Xu Xiaoya.”
Xu Jia looked at Xu Xiaoya, then at Lin Wanwan, didn’t ask further, just nodded and said, “Welcome.”
Lin Weiguo was nearby, silently pouring a cup of hot water and handing it over.
Xu Xiaoya took the cup and said softly, “Thank you, Uncle.”
Then, Xu Xiaoya sat down and looked at Lin Wanwan: “When do you plan to use those things?”
Lin Wanwan thought for a moment: “Wait for the right moment.”
“What moment?”
Lin Wanwan looked out the window. In the courtyard, those fans were still there. In the distance, the sunset was beginning to sink, dyeing half the sky orange-red.
She said, “When he thinks he’s already safe.”
At the same time, Zhou Haoran’s company was holding an emergency meeting.
The conference room was hazy with smoke, the ashtray filled with cigarette butts.
The PR director held a phone, face ashen: “The trending topics can’t be taken down.”
“Comments can’t be controlled.”
“The reposts of those old guys’ videos are still increasing.”
“The people from Starlight Publishing were arrested, all the contracts exposed.”
Zhou Haoran sat at the head of the table, silent.
The coffee in front of him hadn’t been touched at all, already gone cold.
Agent Zhang Jie said, “How about we suspend all activities first, wait for the heat to die down?”
The PR director shook his head: “Can’t wait. The Copyright Association has already started investigating.”
“If they find out about the lip-syncing…”
She didn’t finish, but everyone knew the consequences.
Lip-syncing was more fatal than copyright issues.
Zhou Haoran suddenly spoke: “What about Xu Xiaoya?”
Zhang Jie was taken aback: “Xiaoya? She asked for leave today, said there was something at home.”
Zhou Haoran looked at her, his eyes dark and menacing. “Call her. Tell her to come immediately.”
Xu Xiaoya’s phone rang. She glanced down and saw it was the company landline, then looked up at Lin Wanwan.
Lin Wanwan nodded.
Xu Xiaoya took a deep breath and answered.
“Hello?”
It was Sister Zhang on the other end, sounding urgent. “Xiaoya, where are you? There’s an emergency at the company. Come back right now.”
Xu Xiaoya replied, “Sister Zhang, I really have something urgent at home today. I can’t come back.”
Sister Zhang fell silent for a moment, then said, “Fine. But you must be here first thing tomorrow morning.”
After hanging up, Xu Xiaoya looked at Lin Wanwan. “They’re looking for me.”
Lin Wanwan nodded. “I know.”
“What should I do?”
Lin Wanwan thought for a moment and said, “From now on, don’t go back.”
“Change your phone number and your address.”
“We’ll talk about it after this is over.”
Xu Xiaoya looked at her, her eyes reddening again. “You… you’ll take care of my food and shelter?”
Lin Wanwan smiled. “Yes.”
“Even though I’m poor right now, one more person just means one more pair of chopsticks.”
Xu Xiaoya lowered her head, her voice choked with emotion. “Thank you.”
Suddenly, “#Zhou Haoran Lip-Syncing#” quietly climbed onto the trending list.
It wasn’t posted by Lin Wanwan, but by an ordinary netizen’s account, which shared a video from last year’s concert.
In the video, Zhou Haoran was singing a high note on stage, but his lip movements didn’t match the sound, lagging by a full beat.
The caption read: “Isn’t this lip-syncing way too obvious? I paid to watch him mouth the words?”
The comments section exploded instantly:
“This isn’t the first time!”
“I was at that concert, and the sound really was off!”
“He’s always lip-synced! Everyone in the industry knows it!”
“The copyright issue isn’t even resolved yet, and now this?”
“How many more things about Zhou Haoran are fake?”
“I’m done. I’m really done.”
The topic’s popularity skyrocketed. Lin Wanwan looked at her phone and suddenly laughed.
Xu Xiaoya asked, “What happened?”
Lin Wanwan showed her the screen. “I didn’t post it.”
“But someone has started to make a move.”
Xu Xiaoya paused for a moment, then also smiled.
Lin Wanwan looked at her and said, “See?”
“You’re not alone.”
“Who else is targeting Zhou Haoran?”