Was the System broken? Why had it suddenly started wholesaling Favorability points?
Even so, Chu Yu's first reaction to the announcement was delight.
Now he only had to give Jiang Chenglu thirty-five more adhesive bandages!
After the burst of happiness, he asked the System internally: Is there a BUG?
The System had been halfway through coding repairs to its electronic eardrums. It looked completely baffled. "What did you say?"
Is there a BUG? The protagonist group suddenly dumped a huge amount of Favorability on me.
After finishing its eardrum repairs, the System heard that and remained baffled. "I don't know."
It checked the current Favorability system and discovered Chu Yu was right. The numbers really had risen sharply, bringing them another step closer to the total target of 200.
Normally, a Favorability increase of this scale required finishing a small plot climax, such as helping the protagonist slap a villain in the face or rescuing the protagonist from a villain.
How could this happen? What had the Host even done just now?
It seemed like he had done absolutely nothing except lose his mind internally.
The System sank into thought.
Its mental capacity was limited to begin with, and when faced with this sort of interpersonal complexity, things only became worse.
After running a series of analytical algorithms unique to artificial intelligence, the System eventually arrived at a conclusion that seemed perfectly natural and fitting to itself.
"Host, I think the protagonist bottom fell in love with you at first sight!"
It announced this enthusiastically and clapped its hands. A loud smack echoed inside Chu Yu's mind.
"I don't know exactly why, but this is a good thing!"
Chu Yu found its conclusion incomprehensible.
The System was already enthusiastically painting bright futures, first for Chu Yu and then for itself, growing more excited with every stroke.
"First meeting +5, second meeting +10. If this keeps rising and Jiang Chenglu likes you enough, we could take the route of stealing him away and replacing the protagonist top! Then Wei Ziyu's position would become ours. How does that not count as one way of becoming the protagonist?"
Chu Yu politely reminded it in his mind.
Teacher System, I'm a 0.
"…"
A palace eunuch pairing is absolutely forbidden.
"…"
The System had been about to offer the old-generation advice, "Maybe overcome it a little." The words reached its lips, but after looking at its Host's half-closed eyes and utterly desireless, lifeless appearance, it wisely shut its mouth.
Teach according to the student's abilities. Better not force a pillow prince who could barely sit up once placed on a bed to become a 1. Once he lay down, it might be for the rest of his life.
Sob sob sob. It had finally thought of a route to clear the game without doing career work, only for the plan to be buried because its Host was so determined never to change his role.
Still unwilling to give up, it pressed, "You really can't be even a little bit 1?"
Chu Yu kept his eyes closed and calmly replied.
Not even a little.
He found merely lying there exhausting, and now they wanted him to move? Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
Although Chu Yu was speechless inside, nothing could be seen on his face. He was busy bickering back and forth with the System in his mind while repositioning his legs into his earlier meditation pose. He even had enough leisure to form a Goddess of Mercy hand seal. Closing his eyes, he sought peace amid the noise. Today, he would survive this miserable evening by silently reciting the Great Compassion Mantra.
Because he had closed his eyes again immediately after his outburst, he naturally missed the huge number of intense gazes focused on him. He also failed to notice that after this latest bout of insanity, the entire direction of conversation in the practice room changed.
All the sarcasm and scheming were howled into oblivion by the broadcast of "one punch and I'll blow up the Earth." In their place came the voices that had previously been ignored in the corners. Once the aggravating arguments vanished, those people began working to restore the atmosphere to the normal, friendly state it had had at the start.
Wei Ziyu watched Chu Yu's direction from a distance with an unreadable expression, thinking this man was damnably mysterious. The deafening scream had nearly destroyed his ears, but how could someone going crazy somehow accomplish the very thing Wei Ziyu wanted to do but did not dare do?
Could madness actually possess this kind of charm?
And Chu Yu's thoughts had rescued Little Jiang from being verbally besieged on his behalf. The young domineering CEO, who believed rewards and punishments should be clearly distinguished, felt that anyone who helped his wife in front of everyone ought to receive a reward.
But right now, he had no cash, no card, and no phone. There was nothing he could reward him with. The young domineering CEO thought briefly. Got it.
I'll talk to him!
You knew the Crown Prince's status the instant he opened his mouth. A trainee personally approached by the Crown Prince would instantly have his standing in camp shoot upward, wouldn't he?
Right now Chu Yu was also supposedly isolated in camp, feared and avoided by everyone. If I help him like this, won't he be moved to tears with gratitude?
I'm a genius.
Once he had the idea, he acted. Sitting upright in the central core position, Wei Ziyu called loudly across the room toward the back of the person sitting in the corner. "Chu Yu!"
The instant the sound reached him, one of Chu Yu's crossed legs spasmed violently.
Every gaze that had gradually moved away immediately concentrated on him again in unison.
Even worse, this time he opened his eyes and saw all of them.
"…" Chu Yu stiffly turned toward the source of the voice. His neck made a crack, and he saw that familiar young domineering-CEO face, one look at which screamed 1.
Wei Ziyu continued calling to him with perfect composure.
"I've heard your cover of Ji Fengzhu's song before. You sang it very well."
Ji Fengzhu was a fairly famous new-generation singer in the novel, a rising star in the domestic music scene, and one of the mentors on Top Trainee.
Before entering camp, Wei Ziyu's company had paid a fortune to hire Ji Fengzhu for private vocal training. The training ultimately did not produce much, but at least the connection had been established.
By saying this, Wei Ziyu was actually giving Chu Yu extra attention. Since Wei Ziyu was the one saying it, Ji Fengzhu would not object.
Thoughtful and considerate Crown Prince: help him once, warm him for a lifetime.
How could there be such a good person as himself? He was almost moved to tears by his own kindness.
Let him see whether Chu Yu was crying.
…Why does this guy look like he wants to die?
Fu Hansong, sitting beside Wei Ziyu, froze when he heard the remark, then seemed to think of something. He pursed his lips and reluctantly turned his head, silently agreeing with it.
Chu Yu's head and ears were buzzing. He could only vaguely identify a few words in what the other man said, making the polite smile on his face look even more ethereal.
"Mm."
He nodded. Only then did his brain belatedly finish processing the information it had received, so he slowly added:
"Thank you."
After one exchange ended, he joyfully discovered the other person had no intention of continuing the conversation. He immediately turned around at top speed. The expression on his face collapsed in a single second as he began panting like a survivor of a disaster.
Before he could take a second breath, enthusiastic greetings from other trainees suddenly came at him from every direction.
The Crown Prince calling his name seemed to ignite the fuse of a giant group praise session. Seeing that even Wei Ziyu had spoken first, everyone else rushed toward Chu Yu, competing to get there.
Some were following the Crown Prince's lead almost unconsciously. Others had already been attracted to Chu Yu but had felt too embarrassed to approach. Once Wei Ziyu set the precedent, they quickly found courage.
"Exactly, exactly, I've heard it too! Chu Yu, you really sing well!"
"How many years have you trained vocals?"
"Chu Yu, your skin is so good. I've wanted to ask forever. How do you usually take care of it?"
"Bro, you're insanely handsome, do you know that? When you came through the door that day and your gaze swept over me, my heart immediately went bang and then bang again. You're the eighth man I've fallen in love with this year."
"Haha, my friend has no filter. Don't mind him. But we really do think you're good-looking… Don't stare at us in such terror. We're really not gay."
The speaker had barely finished before violently elbowing the bold friend who had just confessed and hissed through clenched teeth, "Are you insane? The cameras are still filming."
The elbowed friend yelped in pain. Thinking back to the earlier inner broadcast that had filled the room, its advanced and beautiful mental state had left an extremely deep impression on him, as though opening all his energy channels.
He whispered into his friend's ear, "I think we should release our true nature. Whatever we think, we should shout out loud. What's the point of suppressing ourselves all the time?"
While they whispered, a heavily made-up flamboyant 0 bulldozed through the edge of the crowd, voice high and melodically twisting through three notes. "I'm gay!"
He even winked at Chu Yu while speaking. "Handsome, give me your dorm number. I'll come find you to play sometime."
An even more liberated spirit had arrived.
Trapped in the center, half of Chu Yu's soul had already left his body. Standby mode immediately became full system crash from insufficient battery. He stiffly stretched the corners of his mouth and mechanically nodded while voices went in one ear and out the other.
By the end, he could no longer distinguish what others were saying from what he was saying and began replying to messages he had not actually processed.
"Thank you. Eighteen years. Started practicing in the womb… no skincare. You look good too. You look good too. Everyone looks good. Hahaha… Sorry, I'm not gay."
Such a floaty feeling. Am I dying?
Outside the crowd, Wei Ziyu quietly departed once the deed was done, hiding his merit and fame. A confident, all-knowing smile still hung on his face.
He became tonight's social focus just like that. He must be delighted, nervous, and excited inside. It's okay. This is the Crown Prince's influence. Thank me with all your heart.
But… why are there so many gay men in this camp?
Meanwhile, the System watched Chu Yu's brain load approach the life-or-death line and his voice become so weak he could barely open his mouth. It began to panic. This time was no joke. Its Host really looked like he might die on the spot.
The chaos continued for another five minutes before Xie Man finally could not bear it and dragged Chu Yu out of the crowd, ending what, for Chu Yu, was one-sided torture. Jing Yan immediately stepped in to block the large group in front of him. Chu Yu collapsed weakly against the wall in the corner, looking as though he had already fallen asleep.
Not until a staff member entered carrying a box of song-selection cards, Jing Yan drew a song on behalf of their team, and they held a preliminary discussion about positions did tonight's farce finally end.
Chu Yu was carried back by his roommates, one person supporting each arm. His legs were so weak he could barely walk.
"A-Yu, are you okay?" Jing Yan asked with concern. "If you're not feeling well, sleep early tonight. We still have rehearsal first thing tomorrow morning."
Chu Yu's face remained dazed, but with only a few familiar people around, his spoken voice had returned to its cool, indifferent tone. "I'm fine."
The inner-voice broadcast sounded at the same time. For once, it was even weaker than his real voice, barely more than breath.
[The child feels hard when touched. Turns out he's dead.]
Xie Man and Jing Yan's mouths twitched simultaneously.
Apparently something was still wrong.
After they returned to the dorm, the roommates seemed to share an unspoken understanding and did not speak again. Each washed up, then went to bed unusually early.
Chu Yu lay motionless on his bunk with his eyes closed. Half an hour passed. The dorm remained utterly silent. Only the System inside his mind cautiously tried to communicate with him.
"What are you doing?"
Being emo.
"Thinking about what?"
Dying.
Chu Yu's current appearance finally convinced the System that his earlier tone when talking about writing a will had not been fake.
He genuinely could not recover.
"…" Chu Yu moved one finger faintly, then showed a trace of regret.
Too bad I don't have my phone. When I got emo before, I always listened to NetEase Cloud Music.
"What kind of songs do you like?"
Can't Afford the Hurt and Love Business.
"…"
His taste in music was as ahead of its time as his mental state.
But looking at the Host's half-dead suffering, the System could not quite bear it. After thinking, it finally decided to speak.
"I can use my permissions to play music for you."
Chu Yu's lifeless eyes abruptly lit up.
"The System can do many things, but they require consuming a certain amount of mission progress in exchange. For us, that means Favorability."
After explaining, the System asked, "Have you decided? Do you want to spend Favorability so I can play music for you?"
Chu Yu nodded.
"Whose Favorability do you want to exchange?"
Chu Yu thought about it.
Fu Hansong. His love feels comparatively cheap.
"All right. Fu Hansong Favorability -3. Exchange completed for one hour of music playback access. Song-request system activated… Now playing Love Business."
Chu Yu nodded politely and emotionally, then peacefully closed his eyes to enjoy the song.
In Dorm 607 on the same floor, Fu Hansong sneezed violently.
The Crown Prince was halfway through squeezing toothpaste beside him. Hearing the noise, he turned. "Caught a cold?"
Fu Hansong shook his head, then stood still and silently felt something for a moment.
Wei Ziyu asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Fu Hansong said. "I just suddenly felt a wave of hatred rise in my heart."
