novelraw Chapter 260 - 253: Fans from All Sides
Chapter 260 - 253: Fans from All Sides
The next day
At exactly 12 noon, Su Xiaoya arrived at the Green Island Cafe.
She noticed an extremely overweight woman sitting in a chair by the window facing the street. The woman was dressed in an oversized T-shirt and shorts, with uneven, choppy short hair.
Though no phone call was made, Su Xiaoya was certain that this must be the Xiao Li she was meeting.
A cup of the cheapest coffee was placed in front of Xiao Li, and she sat nervously watching the comings and goings of people.
For this meeting, Xiao Li had spent 15 yuan to take a bath, put on some relatively clean clothes, and gave her hair a quick trim with scissors.
Looking the way she did, most people avoided her in the streets, as if she were one of those fearsome "bad girls" straight out of a movie about prison life.
At this moment, Xiao Li caught sight of Su Xiaoya.
She could tell this must be the person she was waiting for.
This girl was so beautiful! She looked just like those elegant daughters of wealthy families from TV dramas.
It was obvious at a glance that she came from a rich family.
Compared to her, they were worlds apart—one in heaven, the other in the dirt.
"Hello, you are?"
"I’m Xiao Li. Are you Radiant Starry Sky?"
Xiao Li stood up and asked timidly.
"I am. It’s nice to meet you."
Su Xiaoya smiled warmly and sat across from her.
"Hello, what would you like to order?" A server approached.
"I’ll have a latte." Su Xiaoya ordered the same coffee as Xiao Li.
She had already noticed that Xiao Li’s financial situation must be pretty grim.
Always a homebody and socially awkward, Xiao Li now found herself speechless.
But Xiao Li wasn’t stupid—she realized that the other person ordered the cheapest coffee only to save her face.
"Thank you so much for helping me last time," Su Xiaoya said with a smile.
"It was all for my brother," Xiao Li forced a smile, revealing blackened, uneven teeth.
"Are you studying or working right now?"
"I dropped out in the middle of junior high and have been working ever since."
"Oh!"
Su Xiaoya could tell Xiao Li wasn’t lying.
"What made you think of asking me for tickets?"
"You’re my brother’s biggest fan, so I thought you might have tickets." Xiao Li paused before adding, "Some people in our big group chat scam fans for money."
"Scam money?"
"Yeah!"
Xiao Li recounted what had happened that day but left out the part where she "scammed the scammer."
"I’ll remind everyone in the group." Su Xiaoya figured the situation was serious enough to potentially harm Lan Yening’s reputation.
"Here are the tickets."
"Thank you, sis! How much are they?"
"No need. You helped me out so much last time—consider this a token of my gratitude, plus you’ve given me this new piece of information."
Su Xiaoya guessed that Xiao Li was the type to eat instant noodles while obsessing over her idol, so she decided not to charge her for the tickets.
"Thank you, sis. But I should still pay for them. I’ll give you the original price."
"Alright, fine."
Su Xiaoya was surprised that Xiao Li didn’t pocket this small benefit. Her opinion of Xiao Li subtly shifted.
"I’ll be leaving now." Su Xiaoya didn’t want too much offline interaction with her. She had shown up mostly out of curiosity anyway.
"Alright, goodbye!"
Quickly, Xiao Li got up, walked over to the counter, and paid for her coffee.
Su Xiaoya realized that this girl’s thoughts completely contradicted her scruffy appearance.
On impulse, she suddenly offered, "Let me give you a ride home."
Xiao Li thought for a moment and then smiled. "Thank you, sis."
The two got into Su Xiaoya’s luxury Audi sports car.
It was the first time Xiao Li had ever ridden in such an opulent vehicle, and her feelings were difficult to describe.
The girl driving beside her was like a princess blessed by the heavens.
She must have been born with everything and showered in endless affection.
In contrast, Xiao Li felt her life was like that of a pig or dog living in a garbage heap.
From birth to death, she’d only see the shabby walls around her, and the best thing she’d eat in her lifetime likely wouldn’t exceed 200 yuan.
Why is the world so unfair? Why is my life so lowly?
"Sis, what’s your name?"
"My name’s Su Xiaoya."
"I’m Bian Li."
Xiao Li reintroduced herself.
"Where do you work?"
"I do domestic work and part-time gigs. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have time to be out."
"That’s not bad; more freedom."
"If your friends need cleaning or anything, you can contact me. I charge regular rates."
Su Xiaoya chuckled, understanding Xiao Li’s intent.
These days, domestic workers often lacked professionalism and overcharged frequently.
"Got it!"
Su Xiaoya responded casually, feeling there wasn’t much else to discuss with Xiao Li.
So Xiao Li sat quietly, behaving herself.
"Thanks, goodbye."
Xiao Li had Su Xiaoya drop her off in front of a relatively decent-looking residential complex.
"Goodbye!"
Su Xiaoya smiled, turned her car around, and left.
Xiao Li watched the car disappear down the road, then turned and headed toward the bus stop across the street.
Shenghai
In a certain single apartment, Li Ke arose from his messy bed.
Though last night’s concert thrilled him, it had completely drained his energy.
After leaving the broadcast hall, he had taken throat medicine and energy supplements, yet still slept till midday before getting up.
He casually ran his fingers through his messy hair and approached his cluttered desk.
The desk was covered with photos of "Lv Fangxin," all of which he’d gathered online.
He should have been working on preparing things for the next day at work.
But knowing rumors would inevitably surface after the concert, he also had to monitor and defend Lv Fangxin in online comment sections.
Lately, Li Ke had become well-versed in "fandom warfare."
He registered numerous accounts and roamed forums, fan groups, and social media tied to the talent show, defending and promoting his idol.
Every day, he diligently voted for Lv Fangxin and even recruited two "little brothers."
Because he had to work and couldn’t afford to buy accounts for voting, he enlisted two student fans of Lv Fangxin to help him with the task.
The upside of recruiting students was their reliability and ample free time, though they lacked money.
These young idol-chasers were almost laughable, spending their time on this and believing it was meaningful.
What they didn’t understand was that time is the most precious resource in the world. You can’t trade it for anything.
"Brother Li, can I borrow 100 yuan?" one of the "little brothers" messaged him.
"Lately, we’ve been voting for Sister so much that Xiao Long and I only eat one meal a day. Today, Xiao Long fainted from hunger. I want to get something nutritious for us to eat."
"You two have lost it. You still need to eat, even with all the money I’ve already spent on voting. What’s the big deal with the little you contribute?"
Li Ke hadn’t expected the two to be this extreme.
He didn’t disapprove of their fandom, but this was too much.
"Brother Li, we feel bad considering how much you’ve already spent. We know it isn’t easy for you to make money while working, so..."
Reading the reply, Li Ke felt a wave of emotion. Only naive students could be this foolish.
"I’ll send you both 300 yuan. Eat properly over the next few days, or I’ll get someone else to help with voting."
"Brother Li, you’re so considerate. We made the right choice sticking with you."
The younger fan even sent over a string of grateful emojis.
Li Ke couldn’t help but laugh. In reality, these two were essentially working for him.
"Listen up, you two! We need to chase stars rationally. While we pour our heartfelt love into supporting our idol, we can’t let her be disappointed in us."
"Got it, Brother Li. Starting tomorrow, we’ll eat properly."
"That’s better. Take care of yourselves."
Li Ke pondered a moment before dropping them some inside information:
"I’ll tell you something. The second public performance is over, and you’ll see—there’ll be widespread online hate against Village Flower. We need to save our energy to fight."
"Brother Li, did you attend the second performance?"
"Of course," Li Ke said, snapping a photo of his ticket and sending it over.
"Brother Li, you’re amazing—a true big fan!" The younger fan was excited.
"Brother Li, can you tell us the results?"
"I can’t. I signed a confidentiality agreement. But I’ll tell you this: Village Flower will win."
"That’s fantastic! Xiao Long and I won’t sleep tonight—we’ll dump all our votes."