Chapter 17. You get scolded first, but the plot twists later...

When the system told Lin Suxing that in the original story he was just a cannon fodder control group, someone who would be outshone by the green tea vase Lin Ke no matter how hard he tried, and who would neither gain the audience's favor nor the slightest recognition or care from his parents, Lin Suxing did not break down.

But now the system is saying that in the original story, he fell for a nightclub girl who seemed to be overindulging in excessive partying?!

How could that be!

How bad must his taste be to fall for the same trash as Lin Ke! This kind of man must have been picked out of a garbage can!

"He looks like the kind of person who goes to in-party every day. I wouldn't even give him a second glance, okay?" Lin Suxing's fiery temper finally snapped. "You guys made up the original text, didn't you? Tell me, why would I like him instead of that rich, smart, mixed-race, handsome guy on the cover of the 'China Economic and Trade' magazine in my dorm? Do I have some kind of pica?"

To keep the contestants entertained, the dormitory has a dedicated library for them to read, and the latest fashion and business magazines are also available in the dormitory.

Lin Suxing's dormitory has a copy of "China Economic and Trade," which is the most well-known business magazine in China. Those who can be interviewed and featured on the cover are business tycoons and legendary figures.

Lin Suxing initially thought that "China Economic and Trade" was a fashion magazine similar to "VOGUE".

Because the man on the cover is just too handsome.

Meng Huaiwen: ?

He remembered that among the mixed-race people who recently appeared on the cover of the magazine "China Economic and Trade", only Brother Xi Nian was the only one.

If you compare Li Xinian with Zhao Gan, it's like a game of cat and mouse. Whether it's assets, intelligence, or appearance, Li Xinian is in the top 0.01% of the pyramid.

Meng Huaiwen thought Lin Suxing was right; he preferred Meng Huaiwen to Zhao Gan.

Meanwhile, Lin Suxing from Hongwen continued her rant: "I don't think Zhao Gan truly likes Lin Ke. He only likes her because of her good family background. Zhao Gan is a stingy, selfish, and scheming man from a poor background. This kind of person loves to climb the social ladder."

The system asked, "Then why doesn't he curry favor with Meng Huaiwen? Even He Jiayang and the others understand that in this industry, it's much better to be associated with Meng Huaiwen than with Lin Ke, because Lin Ke is just a young master and may not necessarily inherit the Lin family business."

Lin Suxing was exasperated, wishing he could shake the water out of the system's cyber brain: "They obviously had the same account, buddy! Do you want Zhao Gan's muscular body to be a bottom for love? Meng Huaiwen wouldn't be interested in that either. Didn't you see that Sun Xin is petite and delicate?"

Zhang Xiyi couldn't take it anymore and spat out all the mineral water he had just drunk onto the ground with a "pfft".

He Jiayang seemed to have found something to laugh at, and immediately burst into laughter at Zhang Xiyi, pretending that her loud laughter was caused by Zhang Xiyi spraying water.

In an instant, everyone except for Lin Suxing, Lin Ke, and Zhao Gan, who were completely bewildered, burst into laughter.

**

No sooner had Zhao Gan left than Lin Suxing was called out of the practice room.

With a face that seemed to say, "It's not hard work, it's just bad luck," Yu Yicheng closed the door and gestured for him to sit down: "Su Xing, there's something I need to tell you beforehand."

Lin Suxing frowned, sensing that Lin Ke had stirred up trouble again: "Producer Yu, what's wrong?"

Yu Yicheng looked haggard, with dark circles and bags under his eyes, and his eyes held a sense of vicissitude: "You've been cyberbullied by Lin Ke's fans. I guess you probably didn't sneak your phone in like some people do, so you don't know."

Lin Suxing genuinely didn't know: "Huh?"

The boy suddenly froze, his already round almond-shaped eyes widening as if he were a startled cat. His long, thick eyelashes trembled, casting subtle shadows beneath his eyelids.

Last time, the system clearly told him that the production team acted quickly, deleting all the negative posts Lin Ke had hired online trolls to make! How come he's being criticized again now?

The system didn't mention it again, and since he didn't have a phone and was engrossed in the companionship module every day, he didn't pay any attention to this kind of thing.

Seeing that the boy's surprised expression seemed genuine, Yu Yicheng comforted him, "Don't worry, I asked you to come here to discuss how to contact him in the future. Don't rush, okay?"

People in the industry tend to have a better impression of innocent children, and Lin Suxing's image in Yu Yicheng's mind improved even more.

Born into a privileged family, he was neither arrogant nor impatient, never using his status to intimidate others, nor asking his family for resources.

Unlike Lin Ke and others who tried to be clever, violated the program's rules, brought in their phones without permission, and caused a lot of trouble.

Lin Suxing wasn't panicked; he was just racking his brains: he had decided to withdraw from the competition after the first round because he didn't want to let his teammates down. If he were to be cyberbullied now, wouldn't he be at a huge disadvantage?

He quickly typed into the system: "The part about Lin Ke instigating fans to cyberbully me shouldn't be in the original text, right?"

The system also found it baffling: "Of course it's not in the original text. In the original text, you were always ostracized and isolated by Lin Ke's small group in Group D, and this didn't change until the first performance. But now, because of Meng Huaiwen, everyone is getting closer to you and staying away from him."

This also confirms Lin Suxing's guess: "That is the butterfly effect. Because Lin Ke was isolated, and after he was robbed of his center position, he hired online trolls to attack me, which led to the cyberbullying by his fans."

After listening to Yu Yicheng's words, the system immediately retrieved a large amount of data: "The production team did indeed succeed in suppressing public opinion before, and the online trolls that Lin Ke hired were all suppressed. But later, during the recording of Goose and Duck Kill, Lin Ke cried on her way home from get off work, which was seen by her fans, so the matter escalated. Someone took a screenshot of the post that was deleted by the production team, and now it is widely circulating in the Produce Producers' super topic."

Lin Suxing pouted: "Did his fans think he was wronged and cried? Actually, he probably cried because his online trolls failed to seize the high ground in public opinion."

The system was sweating profusely, realizing that its failure to detect the growing public opinion surrounding Lin Ke's fans was a major dereliction of duty: "I'm sorry, host. I failed to notice this beforehand, otherwise it wouldn't have escalated to this point. Now, many people are criticizing you on your Weibo. Even some fans of other contestants besides Lin Ke are discussing this matter, feeling that what you're doing is wrong."

Lin Suxing shook her head slightly, indicating that it was fine: "Forget it, just tell me more gossip later. I don't care if I get scolded, anyway, I don't want to do this job anymore."

After listening quietly to Lin Suxing's conversation with the system, Yu Yicheng spoke slowly: "Tomorrow at noon is the time for us to release the new episode of Produce Producers. We have already edited the final cut, and it will show that your center position is rightfully yours. We will also include Lin Ke's attacks on you and Meng Huaiwen in the whole thing, so that everyone can see the truth of the matter clearly."

"The reason we told you in advance is because we wanted to make it clear to you that we are not responding now in the hope that public opinion will ferment and become a hot topic, so that the program can become more popular. You can say that we are being too utilitarian, and we do not deny that."

Yu Yicheng's smile was meaningful: "But by doing this, when the show airs, there will be a reversal. Compared to us clarifying immediately, you can gain more popularity and more casual fans who sympathize with you."

Although Yu Yicheng is not old, he has already become a seasoned veteran in the industry and knows very well how to use the power of public opinion.

Lin Suxing was truly stunned: "...Really? Is that possible?"

The boy's delicate face was filled with unsuspecting astonishment, as if a pause button had been pressed.

Her pert nose unconsciously wrinkled into a slight curve, and her pale pink lips parted slightly in surprise, revealing a glimpse of her white teeth.

The child looked flattered, as if he had never been treated well before. Yu Yicheng now felt pity for him, not goodwill: "Of course, you think we won't offend Lin Ke, right? Let me tell you clearly, your brother Lin Siyi has already spoken to me and asked me to take good care of you on the show."

"Thank you all." Lin Suxing's gratitude came from the bottom of her heart and was very sincere.

I originally thought the production team would maliciously edit the footage to portray bullying in order to gain popularity, since this would maximize the production team's profits, even if it meant sacrificing a few insignificant amateur contestants.

Lin Suxing understood that even if the production team didn't deliberately edit out Lin Ke's behavior, as long as they released the original footage in a straightforward manner according to the timeline, they could still clear his name.

But he really didn't expect the production team to be willing to help him like this.

And then there's the older brother, who actually called the producer specifically to ask him to take care of him.

Clearly... they had only met once, and his brother didn't seem particularly close to him.

Compared to his biological parents, his brother's concern for him made him feel both unfamiliar and somewhat happy.

Lin Suxing lowered his eyes, thinking that after leaving the show and getting his phone back, he would definitely thank Lin Siyi in person.

*

In the evening, after a long day of hard work, Mr. Lin dragged his weary body back to his dormitory.

In the stillness of the night after the lights were turned off, Lin Suxing fought off sleep and opened the companionship module.

He decided to rely on this game to relieve his boredom until he withdrew from the competition.

The system, which had been watching him play, spoke up: "Host, your intimacy level has increased from 21 to 22!"

"I guess the longer you watch, the higher your intimacy level will be." Lin Suxing thought about it carefully; she didn't seem to have done anything else today. "It would be even better if we could interact later; that would increase intimacy even faster."

Lin Suxing was pondering the interactive system when the little figure suddenly moved. It picked up the coffee cup with its tiny hand, took a big, satisfying sip, and then nimbly jumped off the chair and headed to the conference room.

On one side of the long conference table sat several pixelated executive figures, dressed in formal suits, their expressions tense yet respectful, with a small sweat droplet occasionally appearing on their foreheads.

Lin Suxing couldn't help but chuckle, because the sweat drop icon looked a bit like the emoticon of a sweating soybean.

Every year, he sat at the head of the table, arms crossed, listening to his subordinates' reports.

A miniature executive is giving a presentation in front of a projector screen, which displays complex pixelated charts.

Suddenly, Nian Nian raised her small hand, which was covered by her shirt sleeve, interrupting the report.

The entire conference room fell silent instantly. All the executives' heads popped up with exclamation marks, and their eyes were all focused on Nian Nian with tension.

Lin Suxing was shocked: "Holy crap! Niannian is actually the one who listens to reports?? I thought he was just an ordinary office worker."

At first, he didn't worry about Nian Nian's age. Just like the companion system in some dating games, the male protagonist has fixed information, including age, identity, personality and hobbies.

But he never expected Nian Nian to be so awesome! Not only did she have a private office, but she also sat at the head of the long conference table during meetings! The way she spoke commanded the attention of everyone else!

"Is this a game developed by your system? These scenes are so exquisitely made," Lin Suxing asked the system.

The system scratched Cyber's head: "I'm not really sure either, but I've heard that items redeemed with points can be given to companion characters to increase intimacy."

Lin Suxing: !

Why did I suddenly become motivated to earn points?

But he was still a little confused: "Also, shouldn't there be several characters to choose from in the companion module? The first time I opened it, this was the only character I could choose from, and there was no indication that the character was matched or randomly selected. Is each system assigned a separate character?"

The system received a reply after a long time after uploading Lin Suxing's question: "Yes, each system's bound host only provides one role in the companion module. The roles will not be repeated between different systems, and are absolutely unique."

After the system said that, Lin Suxing liked his Niannian even more.

A unique, one-of-a-kind, adorable creature that is always there for him and will always be by his side.

Just then, a new notification popped up:

[Your intimacy level with Niannian has reached level 3! Interaction mode is now unlocked!]

[Please start trying to interact with him!]

Lin Suxing: ? ?

Wow, we can interact with Niannian so quickly!!

A note from the author:

----------------------