Li Xu felt a little strange.
Her twin brother, Li Fan, had been adopted by another family since childhood, and the two of them rarely saw each other, but Li Fan had persisted in keeping in touch with her all these years, and often supported her financially.
Why did someone suddenly show up now claiming to be his agent…?
She tapped to accept the request.
Very soon, the agent named Zhou Wu sent over a photo.
In the photo, Li Xu and Li Fan sat side by side on the steps in front of a door, both with identical, childlike smiles on their faces.
If you looked closely, Li Xu on the left seemed a little shy, while Li Fan’s eyes carried a hint of curiosity.
Ignoring the subtle difference in their gazes, their appearances were almost as if carved from the same mold.
Zhou Wu: [Are the people in the photo you and your brother?]
Li Xu: [Yes.]
Zhou Wu: [I’m your brother’s agent, Zhou Wu. He signed an artist contract with us, but he suddenly disappeared two weeks ago.]
[We notified the police, but no matter what, we couldn’t find him. I wanted to ask if you know where he is?]
Li Xu was stunned for a moment.
About three months ago, Li Fan had just called her, saying he had found a pretty decent job outside, and transferred eight thousand yuan to her bank card.
Not long after that, Li Xu had bound to the system and entered the book world. Now that she was back, Li Fan had actually gone missing?
Zhou Wu: [I have a good relationship with him, so during his disappearance, I kept the situation from the company. But in two months, the Group Broadcast is about to start.]
[If he can’t show up, he’ll have to pay a Violation Penalty. I checked with a lawyer, and both his adoptive parents have passed away. You’re his only relative now.]
Li Xu: [How much is the Violation Penalty?]
Zhou Wu: [Five million.]
Li Xu had been raised by Apo since she was little. After Apo passed away, she left behind an old, shabby house and a savings of one hundred thousand yuan.
Before dying, Apo told Li Xu to study hard, get into a good university, and strive to change her fate.
***
Now Zhou Wu was holding her responsible— even if she wanted to help Li Fan pay the Violation Penalty, she simply didn’t have the means.
If possible… maybe she could do something with livestreaming, but the most important thing was… where had Li Fan gone?
Could it be…
Had he, like her, been transported to another world?
She and her brother were born in the same year, same month, and same day, just a few minutes apart. So, did their fates overlap in some way too?
Maybe because it heard Li Xu’s thoughts, the system hurried out and said, “It’s not what you think. I know where your brother went—he didn’t transmigrate!”
Li Xu: “Where did he go? Is he safe?”
System: “He’s fine. It’s just that he was being excluded and cold-shouldered at the Net Celebrity Company Training Camp.”
“He felt really uncomfortable, and since he had a tendency towards mania since he was little, this time it flared up.”
“He went Overseas alone to clear his mind. I checked his fate—he’ll probably stay Overseas for two years. During this time, no one will be able to contact him.”
“But after two years, his illness will be cured, and he can meet you again.”
Hearing this, Li Xu’s worries slowly settled.
As long as Li Fan was alright.
But… what did it mean to be excluded and cold-shouldered?
Li Xu didn’t have many attachments in this world. After Apo passed away, Li Fan was the only person she cared about.
Unlike Li Xu’s chubbiness, Li Fan had a weak stomach since childhood, so he was always thin and fair-skinned—a real pretty boy.
Thinking of Li Fan being bullied, Li Xu’s stomach suddenly cramped, and she frowned, her eyes as dark as ink.
Zhou Wu soon sent another message: [Photo]
Zhou Wu: [This is what your brother looks like now.]
Li Xu opened the image and found that Li Fan looked even better than she had imagined.
His brows and eyes were still similar to hers, but he was very thin and pale, with a bit of wildness in his smile, completely different from Li Xu’s temperament in real life.
Zhou Wu: [Do you have any recent photos of yourself? I mean, if you look a lot like your brother, you could come back and temporarily impersonate him.]
[That way, the Violation Penalty wouldn’t have to go through legal procedures. When your brother comes back, everything will be resolved easily.]
Hearing this, Li Xu frowned again.
Two months later?
She had already spent two months of summer vacation, and in a few days, she would have to go register as a freshman. College life was bound to be busy.
But compared to her brother, college courses could be put aside for now.
Li Xu weighed things in her heart and told Zhou Wu: [I’ll give it a try, but I’m currently losing weight. I’ll come find you after I slim down.]
Li Xu: [I don’t have any recent photos. Right now, I don’t look much like my brother.]
Li Xu: [By the way, my brother said your company pays really well?]
Zhou Wu: [Yes, during the trainee period, it’s eight thousand a month. If the Group Broadcast goes well, the salary will be even higher—not worse than those minor celebrities in the entertainment industry. Our boss isn’t simple—this is his new company.]
[The people chosen for the Group Broadcast aren’t picked at random. Besides singing and dancing, there are skills like e-sports and sports.]
[No matter what, it’s all aimed at making money offline in the future—it’s part of the New Track Idol Creation Plan. You know… nowadays, debuting online spreads much further than the traditional way.]
Seeing the number eight thousand, Li Xu felt a bit conflicted.
Three months ago, Li Fan had just gotten his eight thousand yuan salary, and gave her all the money he had.
She remembered when she was little, watching Li Fan stare blankly at the TV, mesmerized by the shining stars singing and dancing on stage.
Back then, Li Xu couldn’t understand Li Fan’s longing for the stage, but now, with Li Fan sick and missing, she suddenly felt a weight of responsibility fall on her shoulders.
Li Xu: [Where is your company? Does the Group Broadcast require me to be there?]
Zhou Wu: [Yes, it’s in Haishi. I have some connections with the boss. For these two months, you can try losing weight first—no need to join the group for now.]
[But when the Group Broadcast starts, you’ll probably have to stay in our Base’s Dormitory, and there will be 24/7 livestream filming tasks.]
Li Xu replied simply: [Alright, I’ll take care of it.]
After accepting this seemingly bizarre task, the system was even more excited than Li Xu: “Isn’t this perfect!
We still have the Super Idol Mission to complete! If you go be an idol in your brother’s place, it’ll help us out of our urgent situation.”
Li Xu asked curiously, “What urgent situation?”
The system coughed:
“I forgot to remind you—although you’ve been revived, there are survival conditions.”
As it spoke, a Main Panel appeared in front of Li Xu.
On the panel, a series of data were displayed: [Name: Li Xu, Age: 18, Idol Value: -1, Primary Achievement: To be unlocked, Intermediate Achievement: Permission not reached, Top Achievement: ???, Life Value: 30 days.]
These virtual numbers, just like parameters in a life simulation game, gave Li Xu a bit of an uncanny valley feeling.
System: “Working hard to increase your Idol Value will directly add to your Life Value. Otherwise, you’ll still have to… well…”
Li Xu: “Alright, got it.”
Li Xu’s reaction was too calm, and just as the system was about to say a few words of encouragement, the numbers on the Main Panel suddenly jumped.
***
In the center of the panel, a heart-shaped envelope prompt appeared: [Idol Value +0.1]
And it popped up several times in a row.
Li Xu counted—a total of five times.
So her Idol Value instantly became -0.5, and her Life Value increased by 15 days, instantly turning into 45 days.
The system let out a “Huh?” and quickly found the source of the Idol Value—it turned out her Chopped Video had gone viral.
Although there was a bit of black-and-red controversy, her way of speaking had attracted quite a few fans, earning her some praise and affection from netizens.
After listening, Li Xu nodded thoughtfully, looking calm and unruffled. She didn’t even bother to check her Moyin homepage to see the change in followers.
She was starving, so she ran to the kitchen and quickly cooked herself a bowl of seafood porridge.
Using her calorie app, she precisely calculated the intake from this bowl of porridge.
After eating, she cleaned up the kitchen waste, changed into workout clothes, grabbed the trash, went downstairs to throw it away, and then jogged along the path in the residential complex.
The summer night breeze carried a hint of coolness, but the high temperature and intense exercise still made her sweat all over.
The bowl of porridge she had just eaten was quickly digested, and soon after, she felt hungry again.
But now, she could endure the hunger in her body.
Even though she was hungry, tired, and drenched in sweat while running, feeling a bit disheveled, the ability to control herself made Li Xu feel incredibly happy.
An hour later, she went upstairs carrying a bag of cucumbers.
After taking a shower in the bathroom, she wiped the fog off the mirror and saw her current appearance clearly.
Her face was still round, but compared to before her run, it seemed visibly slimmer.
After all, while running, she could feel the fat on her body seemingly burning up after just a few steps, and soon enough, she would sweat like crazy.
Looks like the system wasn’t lying about helping her lose weight more effectively.
“By the way, even if I slim down, I’m only 168 cm. Will I grow taller in the future?”
System: “If we go by the optimal gene state, the host should still be able to grow taller.”
Hearing this, Li Xu was relieved.
After blow-drying her hair, Li Xu weighed herself on the digital scale—149 pounds. She remembered she used to be about 152.
She should lose a bit more by tomorrow morning.
After weighing herself, she went to the full-length mirror in her bedroom to examine her appearance, and found her brows and eyes really did resemble her later self in the book world.
Even with this chubby body, she wasn’t as ordinary as she had once imagined.
Still, it was just her own inferiority complex at work. Li Xu sighed.
When she checked her phone, she found that Zhou Yi’s message bar had already piled up with more than a dozen texts.
Li Xu frowned, too lazy to scroll through them.
She simply tossed her phone aside, sat at her desk, and wrote in her diary for a while.
It wasn’t until before bed that she finally picked up her phone and replied to Zhou Yi’s messages.
Zhou Yi: [Boss, where are you?]
Zhou Yi: [Are we still connecting tomorrow?]
Zhou Yi: [Is my dancing really that bad?]
Li Xu didn’t reply.
Zhou Yi waited for a long time, his mood plummeting to rock bottom.
He couldn’t help but send another message: [What did you eat for dinner? Was it good?]
Li Xu didn’t reply.
Half an hour later, Zhou Yi shared his own dinner, trying to find some common ground with Li Xu: [This is pretty good, the salmon is really fresh. Do you like this kind of thing? (picture)]
Li Xu didn’t reply.
It wasn’t until twenty minutes ago that Zhou Yi, unable to hold back any longer, finally broke down and sent a very, very humble message: [Boss, please, I’m begging you, I’m so anxious here.]
After sending this message, Zhou Yi actually felt relieved.
But Li Xu still didn’t reply.
It was almost midnight now—what kind of situation would make someone not reply for so long? Wasn’t it just that she didn’t want to talk to him?
Thinking of this, Zhou Yi felt really upset.
Realizing his own anxiety and panic, Zhou Yi felt like he was going crazy.
He shouldn’t be this emotionally invested, why did it feel like he was going through a breakup, torturing himself like this?
How could he have feelings of gain and loss toward someone like Li Xu, who was on the chubby side?
Too, too, too terrifying! Just to see Li Xu’s messages as soon as possible, he even unconsciously pinned her chat to the top, and even set a special notification sound.
Zhou Yi thought he was being too much. Just as he was about to unpin Li Xu, her special notification sound suddenly rang, and a little red dot finally appeared on her profile picture!
With a swipe, Zhou Yi didn’t unpin her, but instead went to check Li Xu’s message.
This feeling of joy was even stronger than the thrill of a successful confession.
But after seeing Li Xu’s reply, Zhou Yi wanted to die even more.
Li Xu: [Exercising.]
Li Xu: [You sent so many messages, I can’t read them all.]
Li Xu: [Don’t you have anything better to do?]
“Don’t you have anything better to do?”