Zhang Yichen sprinted back to the car like a hundred-meter dash champion.
Chen Xiaoxi and Li Yue only managed to get there ten minutes later — not because they were slow, but because the school gate had turned into a human traffic jam. It took everything they had just to squeeze through the crowd.
Since both Xiaoxi and Yue were taking herbal medicinal meals, Zhang Yichen still had to cook lunch when they got home.
Thankfully, he'd already prepped the ingredients that morning. All that was left was to fire up the stove.
After lunch, Li Yue had to head back to campus for work. Even though she'd technically resigned, she still needed to hand things over to the new counselor — especially since getting approval for Zhang Yichen's "military training leave" hadn't been easy.
Luckily, the school was already backing his startup, so his absence didn't cause much trouble.
That afternoon, with nothing urgent to do, Zhang Yichen held Xiaoxi's hand with one arm and pushed the baby stroller with the other as they headed to the bedroom.
He claimed they were going to take a nap.
Well… what actually happened didn't need to be said.
Neither of them slept. They fooled around until late afternoon — right up until the baby started crying from hunger.
Reluctantly, Zhang Yichen got out of bed, hair a mess and a grin on his face.
As soon as his feet hit the floor, a sudden thought struck him — he felt like he'd forgotten something important.
He tried to recall it for a while but came up blank.
Eh, whatever. If he couldn't remember, it probably wasn't that important.
Meanwhile, at school, Li Yue was practically buzzing with excitement.
Just moments ago, she'd gotten a call from a tabloid reporter.
Zhang Yichen had gone viral. Completely viral.
Though… not in the most flattering way.
He wasn't quite public enemy number one, but it wasn't far off.
And it had nothing to do with her — this was all Zhang Yichen's doing.
Who told him to stir up drama like that?
He had no one to blame but himself.
Wouldn't it have been easier to debut properly? Why'd he have to play with fire?
Serves him right!
Assuming Zhang Yichen already knew, she didn't bother telling him or Xiaoxi.
But the truth was — Zhang Yichen had forgotten.
Or rather, he didn't care.
Because this was exactly the effect he wanted.
After all, this was the entertainment industry — who didn't have scandals?
Like they say, "A celebrity without rumors isn't a real celebrity."
No gossip, no fame. No controversy, no heat.
So, a little "scandal"? To him, it was just drizzle.
As for the hate comments?That was just another form of love.
While Zhang Yichen was still busy flirting with Xiaoxi, the news of his explosive popularity had already swept across the entire campus.
The students were having a field day.
"As expected of our nation's good young man.""This guy's a legend!""You think he's still on campus right now?""Why, you planning to take notes?"
By now, not only the university — the entire internet was buzzing about him.
But Zhang Yichen didn't care in the slightest. He wanted fame, and he got it.
All he needed to focus on now was becoming the next King of Songs.
Money was the real deal. Everything else was just background noise.
Besides, he was planning to shake up the entertainment industry anyway — what did it matter if he got a bit of infamy along the way?
And yes, to answer the question — he really had gone viral.
Massively.
Not just trending — he was top of the charts.
When Li Yue finally finished her work and rushed home, she was practically fuming.
She needed to discuss how to contain the situation before it spiraled further.
Getting this kind of attention wasn't always a good thing.
In the entertainment world, at least your public image had to look clean. Otherwise, even your fans would turn on you.
She might not have wanted to interfere, but as the company's president, she had no choice.
When she entered the house, she found Zhang Yichen casually teasing Xiaoxi, completely carefree.
He had no idea the internet was already on fire with his name.
That made Yue's blood pressure spike.
"Something huge just happened, and you two are still flirting?" she exploded.
"What happened?" Zhang Yichen asked lazily, glancing her way. "Did the sky fall?"
"Pretty much!" she snapped, thrusting her phone at him. "See for yourself!"
Zhang Yichen took the phone, scanned the screen — and burst out laughing.
"Oh, wow. These tabloid writers are talented!"
Right there, at the very top of the trending chart — he was number one.
The headlines were outrageous:
#Shocking Scandal! Sichuan Vocational Student Exposed for Shady Behavior!##Moral Collapse or Human Depravity? Top Scholar Sells Himself?!##Breaking: Former Exam Champion Allegedly Kept by a Famous Female Star#
Every title was more absurd than the last.
Zhang Yichen actually laughed harder the more he read.
In fact, the last headline was his own idea.
And honestly? He kind of liked it.
But that wasn't even the craziest part — now not only were online media outlets begging for interviews, even TV stations were reaching out.
"Perfect," Zhang Yichen said cheerfully, handing her phone back. "Schedule the next post in five days."
"You still want to add fuel to it?!" Li Yue was furious. "Do you want to ruin your career before it even starts?"
She thought he'd lost hope — that maybe he wanted to sacrifice himself for Xiaoxi's comeback.
But she didn't understand — this was his plan.
Xiaoxi didn't understand either.
She was genuinely worried. If she could, she'd have canceled her own return to the stage.
Zhang Yichen was so talented — if he didn't debut, it would be a loss to the entire music industry.
"Ah Chen," she said softly, clinging to his arm. "Can we please stop with the publicity stunts? We'll just say I'm your sister, okay?"
"No." Zhang Yichen's tone was firm, absolute. "You're listening to me on this."
He was already on top of the trending list — there was no turning back now.
Besides, he hadn't even started having real fun yet.
This little incident wasn't enough to derail him.
"But…" Xiaoxi started.
"No buts," Zhang Yichen interrupted. "You just focus on your comeback."
Yue frowned. "Then what about the interviews? If the media approaches, how will you respond?"
"Are you dumb?" Zhang Yichen raised an eyebrow. "Why would I respond? Do they have any proof? Didn't I tell you before?"
He fired off five questions in a row, leaving her speechless.
Xiaoxi chuckled quietly, leaning closer to whisper, "He said before — the best response is no response."
Yue blinked, then nodded slowly. "Ah… right. That does make sense."
After all, without real evidence, a few blurry photos meant nothing.
And without proof, nothing could stop Zhang Yichen's rise to stardom.