The Slacker's Thoughts Leaked, and They Debuted in the Center

I woke up and found myself transmigrated into an entertainment-industry novel that's a melodramatic mishmash of every cliché.

As the most hated nobody in a group of a hundred contestants, Tong Xi had planned to quietly coast along, gossip with the System, and then slack off until the talent show ended.

Instead, he got flamed online overnight.

It turned out that, at the director's behest, his original body, with its top-tier looks, had been forced into becoming one of the show's publicity stunts.

One day, he was made to wear matching couple outfits with a popular contestant; the next, he was given the same cup as a cold, aloof mentor. He even had to leech off the buzz surrounding a foul-mouthed, hugely popular star...

Tong Xi crouched in a corner, mortified beyond words. But when he looked at his bank balance, all he could do was rage helplessly inside.

So the fans of the show discovered that the sweet, smiling nobody with an innocent face had a mouth that spouted opinions capable of shattering their worldview.

[Show staff, you have committed every kind of evil! Why do you insist on putting me in the same dorm as that popular contestant?!]

Fans: ?

Hah, another jealous hater who's got a thing against our beloved star.

[Has he evolved past the need for sleep? How can someone stay up all night flirting, then wake up and call his other seven partners one by one? Has nobody noticed his eye bags are practically hanging down to his navel?]

Fans: ...

Bystanders watching the drama: Hahaha! Hanging down to his navel!

[And you, mentor, please stop sending me water!]

Fans: ?

Ungrateful much? What kind of manners are those?

[If you're going to use your power to sleep with someone, at least put some effort into it! The drug you slipped me settled at the bottom of the cup in a layer thicker than your skin!]

Fans: ...

Bystanders watching the drama: [Calling the police]

[Popular star, are you asleep?]

Fans: ?

Trying to seduce our beloved star?

[I'm still awake. Yesterday I heard the only song you didn't hire someone else to write for you. It was so cringe-worthy that my toes dug out an entire mansion on the spot, and then I had nightmares all night.]

Fans, furious: What the $?%^*?&%...

Bystanders watching the drama: I was only here for the laughs, but now it looks like Tong Xi has to debut. Sisters, vote for him!

After all that, Tong Xi calmly waited to get hated by the whole internet, collect his money, and leave the industry.

But then he discovered that his teammates were either getting exposed in scandals or ending up behind bars. By the time the hundred-person group had been rounded up, only five or six stragglers remained. Somehow, this nobody got lucky and debuted as the center.

Before he knew it, he had over a hundred million fans and had somehow won over powerful figures both inside and outside the entertainment industry.

His name kept appearing on the trending list, one headline after another, as if they cost nothing.

#AnyoneCanLeaveTheIndustryExceptTongXi

#TheEntertainmentIndustrysFuneralServiceFromStartToFinish

#HasTongXiSentOffAnotherTeammateToday

Tong Xi: ???

Maybe he really did have some kind of supernatural luck.

And that wasn't all. The first friend Tong Xi had made in this world, a gifted composer who had won countless awards at a young age, sidled up with a smile.

He cast Tong Xi in shadow.