Chapter Forty-One: Time to Wash Away the Nickname

Outside the Sade Restaurant, Luo Tianyi was puffing her cheeks in indignation as she glared through the glass at Luo Chen in the distance. After a moment’s thought, she took out her phone, snapped a photo of Luo Chen and Zhang Shuichen chatting inside, then opened her contacts and sent the image to a certain someone...

Inside the restaurant, Luo Chen was unaware he’d been caught in the act. After chatting with Zhang Shuichen for a while, he got up and left. Although he now had the evidence in hand, he needed to send it out as soon as possible; any delay, and he might find himself in court.

Luo Chen imagined thousands of crazed fans blocking the entrance, shouting for the “King of Smut,” and shuddered to think how he’d face the world after that. Clearly, he had to clear his name as soon as possible. Well, he’d just toss this to Yuan Ning. As for whether anyone else would believe it? That didn’t matter—Luo Chen just needed a plausible explanation.

Having dealt with everything, Luo Chen returned home feeling relaxed, only to find Luo Tianyi already sitting on the sofa, waiting for him.

“Um, Tianyi... I just went out for a bit; I had something to take care of.” For some reason, Luo Chen felt like he’d been caught returning from an affair. But then he thought, he hadn’t gone out on a date, so why worry? And even if he had, there was no reason to hide it from his sister.

“Back from the restaurant, hmm?” Luo Tianyi tilted her head, watching Luo Chen shift from uneasy to self-righteous, her tone full of dissatisfaction.

“Wait—how do you know?” Luo Chen was puzzled. He’d only been gone a short while; was his sister following him? Surely not?

“Heh... Sneaking out all secretive—weren’t you off on a date?” Luo Tianyi’s face reddened as she stared him down, not letting go. In the past, she would have been flustered when caught, but not anymore.

“I just went out to talk about something. Don’t overthink it.” Luo Chen reached out to ruffle her soft hair, expecting her to brush him off. To his surprise, she didn’t resist—was she getting used to it?

But just as he was thinking this, Tianyi smacked his hand away, cheeks flushed, and dashed into her room with a pattering of hurried footsteps.

With a bang, the door slammed shut.

“So she’s still angry, huh?” Luo Chen let out a bitter laugh and sighed. Was she really mad at him? He wasn’t even sure what he’d done to upset his sister. Being a big brother was hard work. Maybe she was just going through her rebellious phase?

Shaking his head in exasperation, Luo Chen opened the door to his room. He’d check on Tianyi later, after finishing his business.

Settling comfortably against the headboard, Luo Chen opened his computer and played the video file he had stored. He watched the short, two-minute clip carefully. Lacking the original video he remembered as a reference, the process was easily twice as complicated. He listened through his archive for suitable material, piecing together his ideas to painstakingly assemble the music video and media files he’d need.

After two solid hours of work, Luo Chen barely managed to finish a parody video. Glancing at his handiwork, he realized he was still far from being on par with the masters. Though disappointed, he calmed himself—after all, his former self couldn’t have managed even this.

Since taking on the perspective of the “lab mice” from the site, his skills at making parodies seemed to have improved. In the past, with only a few lines to work with, all he could do was loop the rhythm endlessly. Now, he could do more. Was this an unexpected bonus?

After testing his new abilities, Luo Chen stopped worrying about the quality of the video. If you have a cheat, you’d be a fool not to use it. If he were one of those “Elizabeth mice”...

He tried to see things from their perspective, looked critically at his video, and began tweaking it. In just over ten minutes, he found nothing else needing correction. After several viewings, he uploaded it.

Hopefully, Stardust Platform wouldn’t ban it. That was all he could hope for, though it was unlikely.

After making a backup of the original file, Luo Chen went to the “Truth” section of a website, found the tip-off email, and sent the video. Only then did he finally relax.

That should take care of everything. Luo Chen pictured Yuan Ning’s expression in a few days—would she cry? He chuckled, then stopped thinking about the perpetually unfortunate Yuan Ning, and opened Stardust Platform to browse.

The trending list’s top spot was still “How to Make Children Love Learning,” his own work, while the second was now “The Love Story of Langlang and Liangliang.” Surprising him, third place was “Ode to the Millennia-old Recipe”—it had climbed the ranks so quickly! With its rapid growth, it might soon surpass “The Love Story of Langlang and Liangliang.” In that case, weren’t the top three videos all by him and his sister?

Luo Chen’s expression grew strange. If he kept going and posted a dozen more videos, would he fill the entire trending list with his own works? Of course, that was hardly possible—the list reflected short-term popularity, not overall numbers. Once the current trend faded, new works would take their place. Unless he managed to create over ten masterpieces in a short time and released them all at once, it was unlikely.

Looking further down, he saw that fifth, seventh, and eighth place were all works about Wang Lang and Kongming—many talented creators had jumped on the bandwagon, and the trend was catching fire. At this rate, the parody section of Stardust Platform would soon be completely dominated.

It looked like his “contamination”—no, his spreading of culture—was off to a strong start.

Now, when discussing Zhuge Liang, people wouldn’t just think of the almost supernaturally clever strategist, but also of “Zhuge the Demon of the Zither” and Langlang. He wondered what that young fan of the Three Kingdoms he’d met last time would think after seeing these videos; it would surely be entertaining.

After a few seconds of silent mourning for the innocent minds about to be “corrupted,” Luo Chen began working on his next video.

This time, he was determined to clear his name as the “King of Smut” once and for all!