I Swear I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite - Chapter 43

With the experience from Xiao Yu, when Jiang Luoyue met Fu Yunqing’s fan Feng Yun, she followed the same approach striking first.

“Is there anything you want?” she asked, imitating Ning Fuguang’s tone with a serious expression.

Ning Fuguang was surprised by her mimicry skills but then remembered her profession and couldn’t help but chuckle softly as she watched from the sidelines.

Jiang Luoyue noticed her suppressed laughter but tried her best to remain stern. She had a strong impression of Feng Yun, or rather, Feng Yun’s social media presence. On the internet, Feng Yun was notorious in Fu Yunqing’s fandom as a toxic solo stan wealthy, idle, and dedicated to patrolling online spaces, ready to attack anyone who dared speak ill of Fu Yunqing.

It could be said that Fu Yunqing’s many enemies in the entertainment industry owed much to Feng Yun’s efforts.

For such a deeply “sin-laden” top-tier toxic solo stan to acknowledge Fu Yunqing’s pairing, Jiang Luoyue inwardly sighed. The production team must have been driven insane by the backlash. They must have had a few too many drinks to come up with something this crazy.

Sure enough, in response to her question, Feng Yun replied bluntly, “I want you to stay away from Fu Yunqing completely after the variety show ends. Can you do that?”

As her words trailed off, the live chat was instantly flooded with question marks.

【 Who do you think you are? You think you can just tell her to leave?】

【Is this the iconic “Here’s a billion, stay away from my daughter” scene?】

Jiang Luoyue was momentarily stunned but shook her head. “We might have future collaborations.”

Leaving aside the fact that Jiang Luoyue and Fu Yunqing were already on good terms, even if it were someone she’d only met once, she wouldn’t agree. It was just a task if it failed, so be it. Why should she be threatened?

Just as she was mentally writing off the task as a failure, she noticed Ning Fuguang deep in thought, looking as if she had something to say.

Remembering the earlier incident with Yu Jingtang, Jiang Luoyue cautiously asked, “What do you want to say?”

“Hmm?” Ning Fuguang smiled innocently at her. “I was just thinking about what she said. Actually, it might not be a bad idea.”

“After all, once the variety show ends, she’ll be filming short dramas, and you’ll be making movies. Your status levels are different, how would you even collaborate again?”

Jiang Luoyue: “…”

At this point, Fu Yunqing was clearly more popular than her. Where did Ning Fuguang get the confidence that Jiang Luoyue would outrank Fu Yunqing?

Besides, in a moment like this, when they should be united against an outsider, why was Ning Fuguang still taking jabs at Fu Yunqing?

As if reading her mind, Ning Fuguang sighed. “What can I say? I have low morals and hold grudges.”

Jiang Luoyue had no comeback and could only offer comfort. “Hang in there, things will get better.”

Feng Yun: “Am I invisible?”

When Xiao Yu had asked this, it sounded like a pouty complaint. But coming from Feng Yun, paired with her powerful, businesswoman style, it felt more like a boss interrogating a subordinate.

Jiang Luoyue: “Sorry, go ahead. I’m listening.”

【AAA Professional Assistant Jiang Luoyue at Your Service】

“Forget it.” Feng Yun stared at her for a moment, then, recalling Jiang Luoyue’s casual interactions with Ning Fuguang, suddenly relented. “Just get me Fu Yunqing’s autograph.”

“That’s it?” Jiang Luoyue was taken aback.

Feng Yun let out a light scoff. The reason she disliked this CP pairing ultimately boiled down to Fu Yunqing’s exceptionally special attitude toward Jiang Luoyue so special that it felt dangerous to her. However, it was clear that Jiang Luoyue didn’t harbor those kinds of feelings for Fu Yunqing, so she naturally couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it.

Besides, she wasn’t foolish enough to target any artist in front of the camera. Not only would it backfire, but it might also earn her Fu Yunqing’s disdain.

Feng Yun was quite level-headed about it, but Jiang Luoyue still seemed somewhat incredulous. She finally nodded and said, “In Fu Yunqing’s autograph for me, I want it to say ‘I like you.’”

“Consider it done.”

Hearing her swift reply, Feng Yun finally cracked her first smile of the day. “You’re actually quite cute when you’re not clinging to Fu Yunqing.”

Jiang Luoyue: “…?”

[Who’s clinging to whom?]

[Is this how toxic solo stans see their idol’s friends? Just blatantly lying?]

[Guess you’d like to watch the ‘Fu Yunqing saying, Jiang Luoyue, say something!’ compilation.]

Despite the obvious ambiguity in Feng Yun’s words, she still kept her promise, repeating “LuoYun YueQing is real” several times to help Jiang Luoyue complete her mission. So much so that on her way back, Jiang Luoyue couldn’t help but sigh, “Everyone is so nice.”

Ning Fuguang chuckled softly.

Who else but Jiang Luoyue would think that way? At least from her perspective, the two fans they encountered during the mission were far from harmless, it was only Jiang Luoyue’s amiable attitude that kept them from becoming too extreme.

But Ning Fuguang had no intention of pointing this out just to prove her own insight. Watching Jiang Luoyue happily chatting with the live stream comments, she unconsciously curved her lips into a smile as well.

By the time the two returned to the starting point, Yu Jingtang, who had finished her mission first, had been waiting for a while. Jiang Luoyue greeted her with a smile, “Xiao Tang?”

Yu Jingtang stood up, but Ning Fuguang’s smile froze on her lips the moment she spotted the uninvited guest beside her. Noticing Ning Fuguang’s subtle step back, Jiang Luoyue finally saw the goose by Yu Jingtang’s leg. “Wasn’t it sold?”

“It was,” Yu Jingtang said. “But she didn’t want it.”

“She” naturally referred to Jiang Luoyue’s fan, who had bought the feed only because her family ran a breeding farm. The goose was an unexpected addition, and even if taken back, its only fate would be ending up on the dinner table.

Jiang Luoyue looked at her. “So what do we do now?”

But Yu Jingtang silently turned her gaze to Ning Fuguang. For the first time, Ning Fuguang felt a chill run down her spine under that stare. “There’s no way I’m keeping a goose”

Yu Jingtang spoke almost in unison with her: “She wants Ning Fuguang to take care of this goose.”

As the words hung in the air, the scene fell into dead silence.

Clearly, it wasn’t just the guests who had grasped the rules. Even the “anti-fans” themselves had quickly realized they could leverage conditions to pressure the artists in return.

The only thing Jiang Luoyue couldn’t understand was why Yu Jingtang would be threatened over a freebie. Hadn’t she already negotiated a price with the fan before Jiang Luoyue closed her live stream?

Faced with her question, Yu Jingtang remained silent once more. Ning Fuguang sneered, “You stay silent because you don’t know how to argue back, letting them push their luck.”

Yu Jingtang: “So, you’re going to take care of it.”

Ning Fuguang smiled. “Impossible.”

Why should she help Yu Jingtang when she had no reason to ask her for favors?

But soon, as Xiang Fan and Fu Yunqing returned to the group, Ning Fuguang was proven wrong on the spot,

Xiang Fan’s task was to find Yu Jingtang’s fan and sell them Ning Fuguang’s autographed photo. In exchange for completing the task, she promised the fan that Yu Jingtang would release a new song demo on Weibo.

Almost instantly, Ning Fuguang thought of her own task: to make Xiang Fan sing a short segment of Yu Jingtang’s song in public. “…”

She fell silent on the spot, but then Jiang Luoyue’s hushed voice reached her ears: “It’s not too late now, Impossible Ning.”

Fu Yunqing seized the moment to interject: “Impossible? What’s impossible? Does Ning Fuguang have another new nickname now?”

“What’s it to you?” Ning Fuguang immediately retorted. “Why do you always eavesdrop on others? So uncivilized.”

Xiang Fan sneered coldly: “The thief crying ‘stop thief.'”

Meanwhile, Yu Jingtang looked up from her goose-petting mission and repeated: “Raise it.”

Perhaps because she had rescued the goose from the staff, the once-arrogant goose was exceptionally docile under her touch, making even Jiang Luoyue bend down and ask, “Can I pet it too?”

Yu Jingtang made room for her. As Jiang Luoyue stroked the feathers, she remarked, “Actually, keeping a goose as a pet isn’t so bad.”

Watching her actions, Ning Fuguang, who had been about to argue further, abruptly stopped.

She suddenly asked, “If I raise it, will you come to my house to see it?”

Jiang Luoyue replied uncertainly, “Maybe during holidays?”

Ning Fuguang immediately said, “Deal.”

Her sudden agreement went unnoticed by the live-stream audience, but everyone present frowned.

“Who wants to go to your house?” Fu Yunqing snapped. “Trying to ‘hold the emperor hostage to command the nobles’? Why not come to my place and pet my dog? It’s a hundred times better than some lousy goose.”

“I don’t have any pets at home,” Xiang Fan paused. “Do ornamental fish count? You can come over anytime you want to see them.”

Yu Jingtang blinked: “You’ve already been to my place.”

Fu Yunqing shrieked, “Who even asked you?!”

Amid their sudden enthusiasm and overlapping chatter, Jiang Luoyue felt that if this continued, she’d eventually go deaf from the noise. Sighing, she stood up and, for the first time, took the initiative to move things along: “Alright, all tasks are done. Shouldn’t we move to the next phase?”

The director, who had been enjoying the spectacle, finally snapped back to attention. She smacked her lips, still somewhat reluctant to end the fun, but Jiang Luoyue shot her a glare. “Um, right. Next, the program team has prepared a special surprise for our five guests.”

“Do you remember the answers you wrote a week ago?”

A week earlier, during an interview, the program team had asked the guests to name the person or object they believed was most important to a certain guest. At the time, Jiang Luoyue had guessed that this segment would tie into the fourth episode of the variety show.

When she saw the whiteboard behind the director, she sighed inwardly just as she’d expected then froze in place.

On the whiteboard were two columns: one with the guests’ names and the other with five words: guitar, Luo Qing, money, animals, and family.

“Everyone needs to match the names with the correct items on paper again,” the director explained. “Those who get it right will receive a mysterious surprise from the program team.”

“What kind of mysterious surprise?” Fu Yunqing grumbled. “More like a mysterious scare.”

“Who wrote ‘money’?” Ning Fuguang scanned the group. “Who would think money is the most important thing?”

[Isn’t that question backwards? Who would think money isn’t important?]

[Those who treat money like numbers.]

In fact, among these five answers, the first three were highly specific. As everyone knew, Yu Jingtang started as a singer and was skilled in numerous instruments, with the guitar being one of them. Luo Qing, on the other hand, was a well-known producer in the entertainment industry who had collaborated with Xiang Fan multiple times a relationship of mutual success. As for Qian…

As the only true businessperson among the five guests, Ning Fuguang was also a perfect match for this answer.

The only contentious point was the category of “animal” and “family.” Although Fu Yunqing had always adored dogs as if they were her life, Jiang Luoyue also had a particular fondness for pets. After all, she even dared to pet geese, who could genuinely claim she didn’t like animals!

There were only two possibilities, and soon, someone succeeded in their attempt.

Amidst the stirring background music, as the middle-aged woman made a dazzling entrance through the smoke, Xiang Fan fell silent on the spot.

“This is the first time in my life I’ve realized that the most important person to me is a producer.”

Luo Qing laughed heartily, “I was quite surprised when I received the invitation. I never knew Xiaofan liked me this much.”

The director winked, “Everyone can guess who wrote which answer. The first one to guess correctly.”

“Will receive a mysterious surprise,” Fu Yunqing finished with a pout. The director had said it so many times she could recite the rest by heart.

After Xiang Fan, Yu Jingtang saw the guitar, and Ning Fuguang, since actual currency couldn’t be shown on camera, he was presented with a stack of red practice banknotes.

Fu Yunqing glanced around, confirming she was the finale, and waved her paper with satisfaction. “Alright, did I get it right too?”

In her answer sheet, “family” was linked to Jiang Luoyue, and “pet” was linked to herself.

Seeing the director nod, Fu Yunqing stood up, filled with delight. But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jiang Luoyue’s paper was completely blank she hadn’t drawn any lines.

Why hadn’t she connected them? Fu Yunqing felt puzzled; wasn’t it an obvious answer?

Before she could ponder further, smoke began to billow, instantly diverting her attention. She thought she would see Diandian.

Even though it had only been a few days, pets were the kind of creatures you found annoying when they clung to you but missed when they were gone. Just as she grew excited and took a few steps forward to welcome it—

The smoke cleared, revealing Fu Yunshu’s face with its slightly distant smile: “…”

“Why are you here?!” Fu Yunqing immediately plopped back into her seat. “Go back!”

Fu Yunshu explained, “Diandian is at the groomer’s. I’m here on its behalf to clarify.”

As they spoke, Fu Yunshu exchanged a glance with the director, and the two immediately launched into an advertisement as if no one else was around. The live stream, with its millions of viewers, was flooded with question marks.

【I thought of you as family, but you treat family like an ATM, right? I hate you; you’ve disappointed me so much.】 【Even dogs wouldn’t eat that snack home set send me one and I’ll pretend I never said that.】

The director sighed, “We have to make a living.”

The atmosphere was exceptionally cheerful, but off-camera, Jiang Luoyue’s hand slowly clenched into a fist. The moment she saw the whiteboard, she had quickly matched the answers to herself and instantly realized that the “family” answer belonged to her.

And in this body, the only relatives she nominally had now were three people: her adoptive parents and her nominal younger brother.

Since the others had already met the subjects of their answers, it was clear that the three members of the Li family were here at this very moment.

Jiang Luoyue had never imagined that she would reunite with these people under such circumstances. What would they say? What would they do? And what did they want?

She glanced around, seeing faint smiles on everyone’s faces. Only her own pale complexion stood out like a sore thumb, making her feel like an outsider.

Just as Jiang Luoyue struggled to conceal her disappointment and hide her emotions, she unexpectedly caught a glimpse of someone stealing a glance at her. Then came a second, a third, a fourth. Even in the barrage of comments, some expressed surprise at her sudden silence and asked with confusion about the reason.

It finally dawned on her, when a person lowers their head, they don’t notice the gazes others cast upon them.

But as soon as she lifts her eyes, she realizes that everyone around is observing, watching, and caring about her.

Just like now.

Those caught in the act either hummed a tune, smiled, or simply wrote words of concern on paper, while others mouthed.

Yu Jingtang, why are you saying you like her again?!

They’re still live-streaming, what if the fans decipher the lip-reading?

Jiang Luoyue took a deep breath and abruptly lowered her head, avoiding those gazes. But startled by the few people, the fear and hesitation in her heart faded somewhat. She picked up a pen and drew a line connecting “Jiang Luoyue” and “family.”

Just as the commercial break ended, Fu Yunshu, in high spirits, thought Jiang Luoyue had remained silent to cooperate with him. He was about to take the initiative to tease her a bit and give his foolish younger sister a push when a sharp, piercing “Jiang Luoyue!” suddenly rang out.

Pausing mid-step, Fu Yunshu turned his head slightly, only to see Jiang Lanhui rushing past him in hurried steps.

“I contacted you, why didn’t you reply?”

“Have you grown wings and now want to abandon your father and me?”