Chapter 48: Could Something Have Happened?

The next morning, Luo Chen woke up early, completely unaware that overnight, a storm had already erupted across the internet.

“What’s wrong, Tianyi?” At the breakfast table, Luo Chen looked gently at Luo Tianyi, who seemed a little out of sorts.

Luo Tianyi glanced at Yan He, who was eating her breakfast slowly and carefully, then set down her chopsticks and propped her cheek on her hand, turning her gaze to Luo Chen. Last night, the infuriating Yan He had not only taken away her spiritual sustenance, but also her snacks. It seemed that next time, she would have to hide her treats from Yan He as well.

With a look full of grievance, Luo Tianyi stared at Luo Chen. Her delicate face was still a little drowsy from just waking up, wisps of long hair falling across her cheeks, her brows and eyes as beautiful as a painting. She gazed at him intently, not looking away.

Luo Chen, seeing Luo Tianyi’s unwavering stare, glanced aside—though it had been over half a month, he was still not fully used to his new role as an elder brother.

“Luo Chen, yesterday the Stardust Platform sent a request for you to sign a contract. Should we accept?” Seeing Luo Chen avert his gaze, Luo Tianyi seemed to cheer up and asked.

“So soon?” Luo Chen was taken aback, but quickly realized why. Though his little sister had only posted one music video on Stardust Platform, judging by the data last time, she must already have quite a few fans.

“Don’t rush to agree. Leave it for now, I’ll handle it. But I’ll probably refuse.” If it were an ordinary creator receiving a contract offer from Stardust Platform, they would be overjoyed. Unfortunately, Luo Chen had no intention of depending on others, so these offers didn’t tempt him.

“Not going to sign?” Luo Tianyi tilted her head and gave Luo Chen a puzzled look, but then simply nodded and turned back. Since Luo Chen said he’d handle it, she didn’t worry further. After all, Luo Chen would never hurt her, would he?

“Luo Chen, are you planning to set up your own platform?” Yan He, hearing that Luo Chen seemed ready to leave Stardust Platform, couldn’t help but ask. Although Stardust Platform wasn’t the only streaming site in this world, the others lagged far behind. Luo Chen naturally wouldn’t choose to cooperate with them, so the only possibility was to create his own website.

“Yes, that’s the plan. But there are still many things to settle, and now isn’t the time to break with Stardust Platform.” Luo Chen wasn’t surprised that Yan He had guessed his intention—besides this, there was no other reason.

If he didn’t intend to go independent, given his current popularity, working with Stardust Platform would yield the greatest benefit. After all, his fans were all Stardust Platform users—if he left, his popularity would surely take a significant hit.

“You’ve already decided? Is there anything you need help with?” Though she doubted the feasibility, since Luo Chen had made up his mind, Yan He didn’t object.

“Help?” Luo Chen thought for a moment. Indeed, there was something that still hadn’t been resolved, so he asked:

“Yan He, can you build a website?”

“Well, I know a little about that,” Yan He replied after some thought. She shouldn’t have any problem with this.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. Oh, and please register the domain and set up the server as well.”

Hearing her affirmative answer, Luo Chen was not surprised, and, almost by instinct, passed all the troublesome tasks to Yan He. But then he realized—was it really okay to dump everything on Yan He? Judging by this level of familiarity, just how lazy had his predecessor been?

“If you don’t have the time—”

“It’s fine, I’ll take care of it.” Before Luo Chen could finish withdrawing his previous words, Yan He agreed readily.

Luo Chen opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. After quietly criticizing his predecessor’s dependence on Yan He, he accepted the arrangement with peace of mind.

He had to admit, having a capable and obedient girl around saved him a lot of worry.

With this problem solved, Luo Chen’s mood improved greatly. After a quick breakfast, he gathered his things and prepared to leave. High school studies were still demanding—even if the academic burden was lighter in this world, he still had to attend classes from Monday to Friday.

Hurrying to school, Luo Chen found he still had some time left, so he leisurely strolled through the campus with the two girls. He hadn’t really had the chance to explore the place until now.

“Good morning, Yan He.”

“Morning.”

“Good morning, Tianyi.”

“Morning.”

Nearly every student who passed by would greet Yan He and Tianyi, completely ignoring Luo Chen, who felt the undercurrent of hostility from these students and sighed helplessly.

He could understand why the boys were jealous, but why did even some of the girls look at him with such animosity? Were there really that many girls with crushes on girls at this school?

As he was thinking, a stranger—a girl—caught sight of Luo Chen, hesitated for a moment, then finally summoned her courage and approached. Luo Chen had assumed she was here for Yan He, but soon noticed her eyes were fixed on him. Was she really looking for him?

Before he could think further, the girl walked up to him, pulled out a small notebook, and—somewhat nervously—asked, “Senior, could I have your autograph?”

Luo Chen looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of him, a little stunned. Could it be that his secret—that he was not some scandalous creature but a pure-hearted angel—had been exposed, and that was why a fan had come for his autograph?

But that shouldn’t be possible. He’d always kept his identity hidden. The only one who might know was Zhang Shuihan, whom he’d met before. Could she have leaked his secret?

Though these thoughts flashed through his mind, Luo Chen didn’t just stand there doing nothing. He gently took the notebook from the girl and, following her directions, signed his name on the cover.

Having a fan ask him for his autograph made Luo Chen genuinely happy. This was an honor he’d always wished for in his previous life, but never attained.

But curiously, his wasn’t the only signature on the cover; there was another name—if he wasn’t mistaken, it read Dai Xinhua.

Wait, wasn’t that the girl with the beret?

She had fans too?

Special thanks to readers Luo Shen Tianyi 666 and Qingfeng Fengtou for the 500 Qidian coins, and to Long Zhi Youling and Taiyin Tian for the 100 Qidian coins. Flowers all around!