Perfect Superstar.

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Lu Xi frowned, her expression revealing her displeasure, as if something had upset her. But when she heard Lu Chen's question, she quickly tucked her phone away. "It's nothing, don't worry about it!"

Lu Chen shook his head. "Sis, your reaction makes me even more worried. It's affecting me more than you think."

He sensed that Lu Xi must have encountered something related to him; otherwise, she wouldn't be acting this way. He knew how to handle his sister.

Lu Xi shot him a helpless glare but eventually handed him her phone. "It's just some annoying guy..."

Lu Chen took the phone and quickly understood the situation after scrolling through it.

On Lu Xi's phone was a post on Wave Blog by Zhuang Hao.

This editor and music critic from the fashion magazine "Xiumei" had posted a blog at 3 PM, commenting on a song that had recently gone viral online, titled "Follow the Dream of the Red Heart."

In his post, Zhuang Hao praised the song for its uplifting and inspiring lyrics and acknowledged the singer's decent performance, which explained its popularity. However, he had a significant caveat!

He couldn't agree with the original singer's mindset because, before performing this song, the singer had publicly stated on a live TV program that his dream was to make money— lots and lots of money!

Isn't that ridiculous?

While money is important, young people's dreams shouldn't be solely focused on it. They should aspire to nobler values.

Isn't pursuing a musical dream better?

This nearly thousand-word blog post harshly criticized Lu Chen without naming him directly. The core argument connected Lu Chen's statement during the Capital City regional finals with his performance of "Follow the Dream of the Red Heart" during the Bihai PK match, mocking Lu Chen's dream as tainted by the pursuit of money and representing incorrect values. Therefore, he shouldn't be idolized by young people!

At the end of the post, Zhuang Hao even included video clips of Lu Chen from those two competitions as evidence.

As the saying goes, a scholar's words can kill without a blade. As a magazine editor and music critic, Zhuang Hao's writing was sharp, relentlessly attacking Lu Chen's vulnerabilities and almost painting him as a morally corrupt individual!

This blog post was reposted and tagged @LuChenFMX, which is how Lu Xi stumbled upon it.

Lu Chen's Wave Blog currently boasts over 4.2 million followers, just shy of the 5 million mark needed to be considered a big V. However, the fact that he gained this many followers in just a month is impressive.

Wave Blog is an essential platform for promotion. Even third or fourth-tier celebrities use it to hype themselves or boost their image. As Lu Chen's manager, Lu Xi takes it very seriously and manages it personally.

Especially after Lu Chen faced two smear campaigns, she has become particularly sensitive to such matters.

Naturally, Zhuang Hao's malicious blog post infuriated her.

However, Lu Chen wasn't angry. Instead, he laughed.

Back during the "The Strongest Singer" auditions, Zhuang Hao had deliberately made things difficult for Lu Chen, teaming up with two other judges to eliminate him. After the incident was exposed, Zhuang Hao was dropped by Xiangnan Satellite TV, losing all credibility.

It would be strange if this guy didn't hold a grudge against Lu Chen!

But times have changed. With his own reputation in tatters, trying to smear Lu Chen now is just laughable.

The blog post was published at 3 PM, and so far, it had only been reposted over 200 times, with a mere 75 likes. However, there were over a thousand comments— all criticizing Zhuang Hao.

Su Xiaobai: "You dare talk about morality?"

Beef Noodle Ball: "Are you picking a fight with Lu Chen again? How much did you get paid this time?"

Scientific Railgun: "'Follow the Dream of the Red Heart' is a timeless masterpiece. If you're going to hate, at least do it with some class!"

Ash HK: "What's wrong with dreaming of making money? What do you eat without money?"

BOBO: "Well said! Here's 5 cents for you. Keep it up!"

Big Shark 777: "This is the funniest blog post I've seen this year. How shameless can you be?"

Kitty: "Hehe, trying to harm someone once wasn't enough? You want to do it again? With such a wicked heart, aren't you afraid of getting hit by a car?"

I Want Rice: "What's wrong with making money? My dream is to make lots and lots of money. Who are you to judge?"

Forever 18: "@Xiumei Magazine, come and control your dog. It's biting people again."

Fang Zizai: "Please get lost."

Apart from a few uninformed bystanders, 90% of the commenters were criticizing Zhuang Hao. Most of them probably enjoyed "Follow the Dream of the Red Heart" and were disgusted by Zhuang Hao's forced smear campaign, actively defending Lu Chen and mocking him in return.

Some who knew the history between the two were even more disdainful of Zhuang Hao— someone with no moral standing himself, yet daring to hypocritically criticize others. He's worse than a hypocrite!

To express their disdain, many people even tipped Zhuang Hao 5 cents, sarcastically implying that his blog post was only worth that much. Zhuang Hao actually earned a few bucks from this!

Lu Chen found it hilarious. He showed some of the most classic comments to Lu Xi. "Sis, don't be mad. Look, everyone is criticizing him. It doesn't affect me at all." He saw Zhuang Hao as just a clown, not worth getting angry over.

If Lu Chen were to engage in a war of words with Zhuang Hao, it would probably be exactly what Zhuang Hao wanted.

Perhaps that was Zhuang Hao's goal!

But after Capital City TV stepped in last time, negative discussions about Lu Chen on Wave Blog had mostly disappeared. Without the push from big Vs or marketing accounts, this blog post couldn't even make a tiny ripple.

Zhuang Hao undoubtedly wanted to stir up some drama, using Lu Chen to hype himself while getting some revenge.

He even carefully chose the timing of his attack.

Unfortunately, no one responded.

Lu Xi, of course, wouldn't fall into such an obvious trap.

She just didn't expect the entertainment industry to be so complicated.

With traps everywhere and thorns lining the path, she couldn't help but worry about Lu Chen's future.

Chen Jianhao came over with Sister Na to show their concern.

After understanding the situation, he smiled at Lu Xi's frustration. "The entertainment industry has always been like this— never clean. As long as Lu Chen keeps his integrity, others will think twice before trying to smear him."

"You don't need to worry too much. No star has risen to fame without facing such challenges. As long as Lu Chen's own strength is solid, he won't need to fear any rules, whether overt or covert."

Lu Chen nodded. He understood the principle that one must be strong to succeed.

Chen Jianhao added, "Zhuang Hao's attack isn't a big deal, but you can still counter it before your performance!"

Lu Chen smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Jianhao, for the advice."

Chen Jianhao patted his shoulder encouragingly. "Keep it up. You must win the championship!"

…

In the T1 Broadcasting Hall, the finals continued.

One by one, the top 10 singers of "Singing China" took the stage, giving their all to showcase their talents and striving for the ultimate goal.

Countless viewers sat in front of their TVs or computers, watching and enjoying this intensely competitive final.

In the Lu Fei Live Streaming Room on Whale TV, the atmosphere was electric. Ever since Lu Chen participated in the "Singing China" reality show, the number of followers and online viewers in the Lu Fei Live Streaming Room has been steadily increasing, maintaining high popularity.

Although Li Feiyu often hosted the stream due to Lu Chen's competition schedule, the room's popularity remained sky-high.

Especially during tonight's final, Whale TV prominently featured it on their homepage!

Normally, the platform discourages contracted streamers from having others host their streams. Occasional exceptions are tolerated, as unexpected situations can arise. But frequent replacements are problematic and could lead to penalties or even contract termination.

However, Lu Chen's situation is entirely different. As a rising star who emerged from Whale TV, his success in "Singing China" has brought pride to the platform, which has also capitalized on it for promotion.

Thus, it's only natural that Whale TV prominently advertised tonight's final on their homepage.

This eye-catching ad brought a massive influx of viewers to the Lu Fei Live Streaming Room!

The number of followers surpassed one million, with over 1.7 million viewers online and still rising!

This data undoubtedly set a new record for live streaming rooms.

The comments flooded in like a tidal wave, and virtual gifts rained down like a storm!

Li Feiyu's voice was hoarse from excitement as he did his best to keep the momentum going.

The Lu Family Army fans eagerly awaited Lu Chen's performance, hoping he would claim the ultimate crown.

At Daylily Bar, even though Chen Jianhao and the others weren't there, the live stream of the competition played on the big screen.

At Lu Chen's home in Binhai, Fang Yun and Lu Xue had been sitting in the living room since early evening.

At 9:05 PM, the 9th singer finished their performance and left the stage. Lu Chen was the last contestant to perform.

He stepped onto the stage, bowed, and greeted the audience: "Hello everyone, hello to the four judges. I am the vagabond singer, Lu Chen!"

The eyes of all 3,000 audience members were fixed on him, and the grand broadcasting hall quickly fell silent.

"Hello, Lu Chen. We meet again," Chen Fei'er smiled and asked, "Standing on this stage tonight, what are your thoughts?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment and replied, "I have many thoughts. During the Capital City regional finals, I once said that my dream is to make money— lots and lots of money!" 

Chen Fei'er's eyes sparkled. "Has your dream changed now?"

"No!" Lu Chen shook his head firmly. "My original dream hasn't changed. I want to earn money to help my family pay off our debts, to give my family a happy life, and to ensure my mother no longer has to work day and night."

"So, I want to make lots and lots of money!"

"But I also have a new dream: I want the whole world to hear my songs."

"I want them to remember my name."

"I stand here today for my dreams!"

(End of chapter)