novelraw Chapter 120 - 117: Trending for Eating Kidneys! Riding High
Chapter 120 - 117: Trending for Eating Kidneys! Riding High
Chen Jincheng felt a bit awkward looking at this trending topic about himself.
"Exhausted Chen Jincheng Spotted Eating Kidneys Late at Night!"
’What the hell,’ he thought. ’I can become a trending topic just for eating some kidneys?’
He clicked on it and saw, sure enough, a ton of videos. A few of them were clearly filmed by people next to him after they recognized him while he was eating.
The rest were all edited clips. He even saw one from an account called ’Coastal City’s Most Devoted’ run by one of the Yijin guys.
The title read: "Coastal City’s Most Devoted Proves His Devotion With Kidneys!"
The titles from other clip accounts were even more varied:
"Aren’t Scumbags and Kidneys a Perfect Match?"
"Why is the Ancestral Master Eating Kidneys Late at Night?"
"You Can Tell Cheng is Exhausted. Tonight’s Girl Must Have Been a Real Wildcat!"
Looking at these clip videos, Chen Jincheng understood why he had become a trending topic just for eating kidneys. It was all thanks to these clip-making influencers.
His popularity had been soaring recently. Plus, he had just signed Sister Feiye, a major influencer with 17 million fans, to his company and engaged in an intense back-and-forth with her on a livestreamed dating show. As a result, more and more influencers were making clips about him.
Of course, the five members of Yijin deserved most of the credit.
After their last meeting, they had heard his inside information and sped up the process of creating new accounts. They converted all their original studio accounts to focus on making clips of him. Now, the five-person studio was running over two hundred accounts combined.
Moreover, they knew many other clip-making influencers and helped promote the idea, which encouraged many others to join in.
At a time when most influencers hadn’t yet realized the importance of clip accounts, his team of clip-makers had already grown to a considerable size. That’s why something as simple as him eating kidneys could become a trending topic.
Naturally, the main reason was the combination of his "Ancestral Master of Scumbags" persona and the act of eating kidneys, which easily made people’s imaginations run wild. It was entertaining and attention-grabbing.
"You’re the first influencer to start trending for eating kidneys," Sister Hong couldn’t help but remark. She understood the tricks of the trade, which made her admire her boss’s strategy of setting up these clip-makers in advance all the more.
Beside them, Jiang Xiaobai was already secretly looking at the "eating kidneys" trending topic on her phone. When she saw the comment, ’Tonight’s girl must have been a real wildcat!’ she felt that she hadn’t been "wild" enough. He still had the energy to go find someone else.
’But that scumbag Cheng is so cunning,’ she thought. ’He said after midnight counts as a new day. I really can’t argue with that.’
Chen Jincheng, however, had already turned his attention to another trending topic, this one about Li Yueling.
#3: "Famous Star Li Yueling Publicly Reports Second-Life Star’s Videos for Being Provocative".
Ranking third on the trending list showed just how much attention she had siphoned off, and it was all at Second-Life Star’s expense.
He clicked on the topic and saw that the videos inside were a lively scene—or rather, a lot of people were slinging insults at each other.
Many people were cursing out Li Yueling, most of them men, along with his own fans.
"Fuck, who the hell is Li Yueling? Never even heard of her. Why is she sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong?"
"Seriously? There are already so few videos like this. Who asked you to report them?"
"You’re just jealous her boobs are bigger than yours because you’ve got a bad figure! And you have the nerve to report her!"
"..."
Clearly, because of the report, many people were insulting Li Yueling. She had attracted a lot of haters, and they would probably continue to trash her online in the future.
But for everyone who insulted her, there were others who flocked to her side, and in great numbers.
"First time seeing a star with such upright values! Those provocative videos should be taken down!"
"Good job! My boyfriend secretly watches those suggestive videos. Those women have no talent besides being vulgar."
"I support Moon Spirit! We women should be known for our talent, not let them corrupt our morals!"
"..."
Even many female influencers who focused on talent-based content seized the opportunity to post videos supporting Li Yueling, hoping to ride the wave of traffic.
And so, a flame war erupted between the two sides.
One side accused the other of being jealous because they had nothing to show off, while the other side called them vulgar.
Chen Jincheng knew that this flame war might well have been secretly orchestrated by Li Yueling herself.
With this flame war, the topic’s popularity would only get higher and wouldn’t die down anytime soon. That meant Li Yueling would attract more and more attention.
’What a shrewd calculation,’ he thought.
He was very familiar with this playbook. In the other world, hadn’t Ju Jingyi become a top-tier starlet amidst endless online vitriol?
In any popular incident, as long as it wasn’t a career-ending scandal that violated laws or morals, the number of haters you got was directly proportional to the number of supporters you’d attract. Her looks were undeniably stunning—especially her makeup and styling for *Mountain Traveling Love* and *Ning Hongye*—and had captivated countless people. Even he thought she looked good.
Li Yueling’s current maneuver was based on the exact same principle.
Under normal circumstances, what would happen next is that Li Yueling would release a new song, instantly gain massive popularity, and the song would become a huge hit. If the song’s quality was good enough, it could go viral. With a little push from her company, she might even snag a "Most Popular Song of the Year" title.
It was genuinely possible for her to break into the A-list this way. There had been examples of it in his past life.
But as Chen Jincheng looked at the trending topic’s popularity, he glanced thoughtfully at the girl, Jiang Xiaobai.
’This girl’s luck is pretty good,’ he thought.
A big star like Li Yueling had blown this issue up to such a degree, even targeting this girl with disdainful words.
But if this girl, as an internet influencer, could pull off a stunning comeback against Li Yueling, the benefits she would reap would be unimaginable.
And the song *Can’t Help Falling in Love* had the quality and status to help her do just that. Not to mention, he had his game-like system’s attributes. He had bound this song to Jiang Xiaobai, and as long as she sang it as a duet with him, it would have a "+100% Sweetness" effect.
This attribute would make anyone listening to the song smile uncontrollably, feeling a sweetness that made them want to fall in love.
’It’s time to let this arrogant, haughty star get a taste of my cheat’s power.’
As Chen Jincheng was thinking this, he noticed that Li Yueling had actually started a livestream. He clicked on it and saw that her viewer count had already surpassed 50,000 in just a short time.
And it was still climbing.
’How interesting.’
In his other world, it wasn’t uncommon for celebrities to livestream on Tiao Yin. By 2024, many stars with no acting roles or public appearances had transitioned into livestreaming, competing with a host of influencers to "get the price down for the family" before shouting "3, 2, 1, link is up!"
But at this stage, it was still rare for celebrities to livestream. The pecking order where the big screen was considered superior to the small screen of a phone hadn’t been completely shattered yet.
For Li Yueling to suddenly start a broadcast at this moment, Tiao Yin was probably behind it, giving her a push.
And just as he suspected, at the Tiao Yin Headquarters, President Han Shangyou was watching Li Yueling’s livestream.
Tiao Yin needed to expand its influence in all directions, and its vision wasn’t limited to just internet influencers. They had long set their sights on the celebrity demographic, even spending a great deal of money to invite numerous stars like Chen Chichi and Di Li Pangba to join the platform, who all had substantial fan bases.
But these were just stars they had paid to be there. At this stage, their focus wasn’t on Tiao Yin, but on Weibo, and they had no intention of livestreaming on the platform.
So, using this incident as an opportunity, they had contacted Li Yueling and encouraged her to start a livestream and build momentum. If she managed to break into the A-list because of this, it would show other celebrities the power Tiao Yin wielded.
As for her reporting Second-Life Star, while it was a bit annoying to them, it was insignificant when compared to the overall trend and potential profits.
His assistant reported from the side, "President Han, the traffic push is working well. The viewer growth in the livestream is excellent."
"Mm. Keep an eye on it and report any developments," Han Shangyou instructed.
Meanwhile, Li Yueling was also trying her hand at livestreaming on Tiao Yin for the first time. Watching the rapidly growing number of viewers in her stream, the smile on her face grew wider.
She was surprised to find that promoting her new song on Tiao Yin really was more effective than on Weibo, just as her company’s marketing team had said.
And given her current popularity, the facts proved it.
The key was the gifts. In just a short period, she had received 540,000 worth of gifts. Tiao Yin had told her they would only take a 20% cut, and the rest would be hers.
’This seems like a great way to fleece the fans,’ she thought.
Out loud, however, she said disingenuously, "Alright, everyone, please stop sending gifts. If you want to support me, please give my new song, *Must Love*, lots of support when it’s released. I hope this song can take first place for the month and the quarter."
Of course, while she said she "hoped," in her heart, she was extremely confident.
This song was a rare masterpiece from her company, and she had paid a certain price to secure it. Moreover, the arrangement and lyrics were both high-quality. Combined with the company’s promotion and the hype she was generating on Tiao Yin, its popularity had reached a fever pitch.
She knew she wasn’t in the running for Song of the Year, but as for first place for the month and quarter? Unless some heavenly king or top-tier superstar released a high-quality song, it was basically in the bag for her.
If that was the case, her chances of breaking into the A-list with this song were truly immense.