Chapter 3: System, Initiate Draw!

No, is this really how you respond?

You are a top-tier celebrity! Do you have any idea how many people are watching you right now? And this is the garbage you post?!!!

Madness! Absolute madness! Cheng Cheng has truly lost his mind!

From the 3rd to the 23rd! Do you know how many days and nights we have waited?

Twenty! Twenty is not just twenty days; it is 480 hours! It is 28,800 minutes! It is 1,728,000 seconds!

We waited so long just hoping for you to speak up! Hoping you would tell us this was all fake, that it wasn't true. Even if you were lying to us, even if you were just deceiving us, we would have been content because it would mean you cared about us, that you held us in your heart! It would mean our love hadn't been poured out in vain!

Yet, what did you do?

You hid for twenty days. You dodged us for twenty days. During this time, every hater had a field day, clickbait farms spread rumors, rivals joined the fray, and they even dug up clips from your old variety shows, interpreting them in every possible way just to attack you.

Do you know how we fans have spent these past twenty days?

We defended you in the face of overwhelming evidence; we stood firmly by your side amidst a chorus of condemnation because we believed the dawn would come, that you would eventually respond. We refused to leave your side because we wanted to be worthy of our own love!

Anyone who left before you responded was a fake fan! Because true fans would never believe some woman who popped up out of nowhere! True fans believe in you!

We were like wives who had just discovered their husbands were cheating but were still waiting for an explanation!

And what did you post?

"One like, one day of abstaining from self-pleasure"?

What do you take our waiting for? What do you take us fans for? Do you think this is some kind of funny joke?!

We are in despair! Countless fans of Cheng Cheng are in despair!

A middle school girl silently deleted the Weibo post she had made earlier: "I urge you not to ban my Cheng Cheng; if you do, I will emigrate and let the country lose a top student from a key university!"

A girl changed her QQ, WeChat, and Weibo profile pictures to those of another celebrity.

A girl lay in bed, tears streaming down her face in silence; the heart that had been hanging in suspense finally died.

A girl commented: "Do you think you’re funny? You only disappoint those who love you!"

A fan club leader quietly disbanded Cheng Cheng’s fan group.

***

But amidst the decay, some fans stood up, crying out:

"Everyone, don't leave! 'One like, one day of abstaining' is likely some kind of distress signal! It means our brother needs us right now! He is giving us a hint to like the post; perhaps his company is checking if he still has any influence, so we must give him those likes! Don't let our brother disappear!"

***

In the Weibo comments section:

"Was your account hacked?"

"Hahahaha, damn it, you’re killing me!"

"Explosive! Absolutely explosive! This is the most entertaining episode I've seen all year."

"I really couldn't hold back my laughter when I saw this!"

"This is getting interesting. Are you considering joining the 'abstract' crowd?"

"I never expected that after being a 'rotten' star his whole career, Cheng Cheng would achieve his most artistic moment just as he’s about to go under! This will go down in the history of the entire domestic entertainment industry!"

"Fine, fine, you want likes, right? Buddy, I’ll like this until the end of time!"

"He played dead and didn't respond before, and now he pulls this stunt. The domestic entertainment industry is truly rotten to the core! It’s rotten at the roots. A star like this should be banned immediately! Posting such vulgar content—he has no class at all!"

"Ugly people sure love to make a scene!"

***

In Di Jing, Jinghua Entertainment, in a certain office.

A woman looked at Weibo and suddenly clapped her hands, laughing:

"Hahahaha, you reap what you sow!"

Her assistant stood nearby, looking confused: "Sister Qin, do you think Cheng Cheng has really gone mad? Why would he do this?"

"Who cares why he did it!" the woman called Sister Qin laughed. "He could have a million reasons—he’s crazy, his brain is flooded, his account was hacked, he was targeted by hackers, or he wanted to be unpredictable—it doesn't matter. What matters is that he is finished! We never have to worry about him again!"

The assistant giggled: "Should we add some fuel to the fire?"

Sister Qin: "Of course! Get all our accounts moving; I want to push this to the top of the trending list!"

***

At a variety show filming location.

Xia Ming, one of the four top-tier celebrities, remembered the resources Cheng Cheng had snatched from him in the past. He grinned maliciously:

"I don't know why you're doing something so stupid, but you did well. Very well, hahahaha!"

***

In a residential complex, at the home of Cheng Cheng's ex-girlfriend.

The ex-girlfriend stared at her computer screen, stunned. A moment later, her expression shifted to one of satisfaction:

"Serves you right! I told you, I'd make you regret this, I'd make you suffer! Cheng Cheng, just live the rest of your life in the shadows! That’s what you get for not agreeing to get back with me! That’s what you get for failing me!!!"

***

In a shopping mall, a Weibo notification popped up. Cheng Cheng's current girlfriend opened the app, saw the content he had posted, and instinctively rubbed her eyes, unable to believe it.

"Xiao Xiao, what's wrong?" A handsome boy walked over, carefully inserting straws into two cups of milk tea before handing one to her.

The current girlfriend casually closed the app, resumed her normal expression, took the milk tea, and linked her arm with the boy's, saying:

"It's nothing, just saw a funny joke."

"Oh~" The boy didn't notice anything unusual. "Then let's go wait at the cinema; the movie is about to start."

"Mhm, let's go."

***

Cheng Cheng scrolled through the comments, feeling a bit annoyed.

These netizens aren't doing their part! Why are they all calling him "an ugly person making a scene," "a final act of madness," "having lost his mind," or "giving up on life"?

How can they slander him like that?

He was clearly having a mental breakdown, wasn't he?

But, to be fair, the original owner was indeed a top-tier celebrity. Combined with the fact that he was currently at the center of a storm, within half an hour of the Weibo post, it had already reached 10 million views, 100,000 comments, and 890,000 likes.

He called out to the system, and the interface popped up.

Cheng Cheng asked: "System, how many points do I have now?"

[Current balance: 11,379 points. Would you like to draw?]

11,379?

Cheng Cheng pondered: Based on the view count, the ratio is 1000:1. Based on the comment count, it's 10:1.

However, after checking the comments, he realized that those calling him "crazy" definitely didn't add up to a 10:1 ratio.

This meant "praise" wasn't limited to just comments?

As long as someone saw his post and exclaimed about it, it counted?

Still, a 1000:1 ratio was a bit too small. If he weren't a top-tier star with such massive exposure, this system would be impossible to use.

Cheng Cheng asked: "System, can I do a ten-draw?"

[Your balance is 11,379, which meets the requirement for a ten-draw. Would you like to spend 10,000 points for a ten-draw?]

Cheng Cheng: "Wait a second!"

Cheng Cheng hurriedly ran to the bathroom, pumped some hand soap, scrubbed his hands vigorously, downloaded a digital wooden fish app, tapped it rhythmically several times, and then said:

"Alright, system, let's draw!"