At 8 p.m. on October 8, 2017, top-tier star Lu Xinglan tagged Guan Tongzhao, the former child star known as “the nation’s daughter,” in a Weibo post that set the entire internet ablaze: “Hello, everyone. Let me introduce my girlfriend.” The post not only brought Weibo’s servers to a complete standstill, but also thrust nineteen-year-old Guan Tongzhao into the eye of a media storm.
Beginning with this moment, the novel vividly depicts the turmoil unleashed by the public revelation of this romance between two stars. Lu Xinglan faces fans abandoning him, brands terminating their contracts, and a career crisis. Guan Tongzhao, meanwhile, endures unprecedented online abuse, personal attacks, and even death threats. Through multiple perspectives, the story portrays the two leads protecting each other and struggling forward at the heart of the storm, while also sketching a complex portrait of fan culture: station manager Lin Wei’s resolute “burning of her fan works after turning against him,” the hacker known as “Data Sister” pulling the strings from the shadows, and wealthy businessman Su Wen’s obsessive public humiliation.
This is a brutal coming-of-age ordeal about love, fame, growth, and sacrifice. Under the spotlights and magnifying glass, Lu Xinglan and Guan Tongzhao’s love is put to the ultimate test. They must face not only one obstacle after another from the outside world, but also their own fears and choices. When it seems they must choose between their future and their love, can they keep their original promise and find a path of their own between dazzling light and endless darkness?
