Chapter 3

My stream climbed all the way into the top ten. Watching the popularity surge, I raised an eyebrow. I’d thought it would take the angst kicking in to get me this high.

Every writer ahead of me had amassed a huge following over years of work. Once my stream reached tenth place, it stopped climbing. A few of those below me even looked close to overtaking it.

But instead of striking while the iron was hot and writing more, I shut down the stream without hesitation and opened my terminal’s messages.

The Institute for Mental Power Assessment and Treatment and the Central Court had both contacted me while I was live.

The court’s message read:

[Mr. You Fu, B-rank creator: Your application for a case review has been accepted. All individuals from the Ruan and Wei families on the fringe planet who were involved in falsely accusing you of plagiarism have been arrested. The case will now proceed to trial. The verdict will be sent to your inbox within three days of the conclusion of proceedings.]

The Institute’s messages read:

[Congratulations. The work submitted by creator You Fu has passed the Institute for Mental Power Assessment and Treatment’s S-rank assessment. Your digital certificate is attached to this message.]

[Our records show one S-rank work under creator You Fu’s name. Would you like to apply for assessment as an S-rank creator? Assessment at this level requires your presence at the Institute. Please provide your current address so we can arrange transportation. We look forward to your reply.]

I was about to respond when someone knocked twice. The butler spoke from outside.

“Young Master You Fu, Young Master Lin Xi has arranged a small welcoming party for you. You’re invited to attend.”

A welcoming party?

I went over the plot again. Was this the party where Lin Xi kindly tried to introduce me to his friends and the younger members of the Lin family, only for me to make a scene?

In the story, I would falsely accuse Lin Xi of pushing me into the pool. The security footage would prove me a liar, branding me as vicious and overbearing. Then I would fall in love with Lin Xi’s fiancé after he rescued me from the water. Not only would I demand that Lin Xi give the arranged engagement back to me, I would repeatedly scheme against him to win that fiancé’s affection.

I entered the banquet hall. The low conversations immediately grew louder.

“So that’s the real son the Lins just found. He doesn’t even look that… Uh, why did he come downstairs dressed like that? You can tell he’s from some backwater. Those clothes practically scream poverty.”

“I heard he barely went to school. Can he even read? If I were him, I’d be too embarrassed to show my face here. Hey, do you think he can write his own name?”

“Didn’t I hear he entered the Interstellar Livestream Writing Competition? Lin Xi’s the best of the Lins, isn’t he? Is he trying to compete with Lin Xi?”

“Ha! Lin Xi’s an A-rank creator. He thinks he can compete with him? A useless nobody who isn’t even an entry-level creator. Talk about delusions of grandeur.”

“The Lin family is famous for publishing and entertainment, and they produced someone like this. Tsk, tsk.”

Just how old was the Lin family’s file on me? Had it never occurred to them to update it? Even if they hadn’t, shouldn’t they at least have opened the competition rankings before sending people to mock me?

These ridiculous remarks didn’t bother me. But Lin Xi suddenly stepped forward, looking nervous.

“You Fu, they didn’t mean it like that. Please don’t take it to heart…”

“Are they your friends?” I cut off his fake reassurance and looked him straight in the eye. “Your friends are making fun of me.”

I stepped closer, pressing him. “What should you do about that?”

“Uh, I… I’ll make them apologize. I’ll speak to them in a minute.” His voice grew quieter and quieter. He clearly didn’t want his friends to hear.

I smiled, my eyes curving, and said softly, “If I haven’t had an apology by the end of the party, I’ll smash the other half of your room.”

Lin Xi gave a little shudder. He had intended to stall until the whole thing blew over. But I was nothing like the easy target his file described. He lifted his head and looked helplessly in one direction.

A tall young man caught his plea for help and approached us, wineglass in hand.

“So you’re that Fu-something who’s trying to drive Xiaoxi out?”

Ah. The fiancé, supposedly.

I folded my arms and watched his performance.

“Let me make this clear. Xiaoxi is the only one I love, and he’s the only one I’ll marry. Stop dreaming.” He looked at me with contempt and sneered. “And don’t imagine you can force him out. The Lin family values creative talent. Xiaoxi’s a top-five-hundred creator. What about you? Where could you possibly rank?”

At some point a crowd had gathered around us. Someone chimed in.

“Dead last, maybe?”

“Tsk. If I were him, I’d be too ashamed to stay in the Lin family.”

“All the young Lins who entered the competition are here today. Why don’t we open our streams right now and compare everyone’s rankings?”

The suggestion met with instant enthusiasm.

I glanced at Lin Xi. So this was what he wanted: to humiliate me in public while showing off his own rank and proving his worth.

I wondered what his face would look like when he saw mine.