ATIS Chapter 27

Fans and casual viewers alike started to take notice and share the buzz. The first episode of "Infinite Youth" had just aired, and with the surge in discussion and interest, more and more people were joining in to eat melons (1). The number of viewers rapidly increased as people joined the conversation, even those who didn’t know who Qin Lu was.

The video had already surpassed 1.6 million views, which was impressive, especially considering this was just the first episode of the show, and many viewers had no idea who Qin Lu even was—they simply got caught up in the hype.

This response was already unbelievably high for trainees who have not yet gained much popularity.

Reactions from casual viewers varied, as their perspectives differed from that of dedicated fans in the fan circles. While Liao Junchen’s fans dominated the comments, accusing Qin Lu of losing his integrity even before debuting, they couldn’t control the shares.

For those who weren’t fans, the identity of the girl in the video—whether she was his sister or girlfriend—wasn’t important. If Liao Junchen’s fans saw how the general public was reacting, they’d vomit blood (2).

Shares and comments were like two different worlds.

[Today's lucky charm is takoyaki: After watching, I have to say this guy is really handsome!! I wasn't interested in this talent show at first, but now I think I'll give it a try [smart] //@Vanilla Ice Cream Sweet Sweet: Check out this clip]

[2021, Can I leave singlehood?: OMG, even this low-resolution video can’t stop his stunning beauty [lying flat]. Honestly, he’s way more attractive than the male lead in that currently popular romance drama. I'm sold! Even if he were dating someone, it wouldn’t matter if cook and fall in love, he’s not going to be my boyfriend anyway (:з」∠)]

[Jet-lagged and Rushing Deadlines Daily V: I can understand why idols who rely on fan support shouldn’t date for a few years after debuting since they depend on the fan economy. But SRDS, this isn’t really proof of anything, right? I watched the first episode, and I honestly think that girl could just be Qin Lu's sister?? Besides, looking at the comments, most of them seem to be from Liao Junchen's fans. Why are they so eager to collapse the house (3) for him? If this continues, I might start to dislike Liao Junchen himself, even though I initially liked him.]

However, there were also some viewers who, influenced by the comments, began to have doubts about Qin Lu.

[Chocolate-flavored Popcorn Please V: Hmmm, here’s my take. Qin Lu is only 17, right? If that’s his sister, then fine. But if he’s really dating someone, I’d feel bad for the fans who just started liking him... The speed of this “scandal” is like breaking new records every day. And if he’s both a minor and a trainee who hasn’t even debuted yet, dating someone seems way too premature. At his age, shouldn’t he be focusing on his career [fist bump]?]

[Xu Zheran’s Little Cutie: Just here to watch the drama, cough cough cough. The first iron rule of the idol industry is no dating, right? Most of the fans are girlfriend fans, so if this is real, then they should curse, cheating money and cheating relationships.]

As more people joined the discussion, the core of the debate gradually shifted back to the eternal question: Should idols be allowed to date, especially early in their careers or during their rise to fame?

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the online storm brewing, Qin Lu remained at the center of it all throughout the night.

The night before, Qin Yihan had ignored her phone after not knowing how to respond to her classmates. After watching the show, she went to bed, still thinking about what Qin Lu had said on "Infinite Youth."

When she finally checked her phone the next morning, she was greeted by an explosion of messages.

She was stunned when she saw the first WeChat message—

[Classmate of Brother Lu’s Real Sister: Ah ah ah, Qin Yihan, why aren’t you up yet?! Go check Weibo right now, it’s a total mess!!]

[Classmate of Brother Lu’s Real Sister: Someone uploaded a video of you meeting Qin Lu and titled it to make it look like you’re his girlfriend, trying to ruin his reputation and make fans leave! We tried to explain last night, but our accounts have too little influence, and our posts barely got any views. My Weibo followers are only in the single digits, and my Sunshine credit score isn’t even 500_(:з」∠)_]

Qin Yihan: "..."

What? Qin Yihan rubbed her eyes and reread the message.

After confirming that someone had spread rumors of her being Qin Lu’s girlfriend, she jumped out of bed in shock.

The creativity of netizens knew no bounds. Qin Yihan’s mouth twitched as she quickly opened Weibo to see what was going on.

She didn’t even need to search for it—it had already been shared to her homepage by people she knew.

By now, the Weibo battlefield was still showing remnants of last night’s chaos. Having been involved in fan circles for years, Qin Yihan was no stranger to situations like this and quickly realized that Liao Junchen’s fans were steering the narrative.

Qin Lu’s fans were almost entirely suppressed, and some even resorted to personal attacks on him in the comments.

Qin Yihan’s blood pressure spiked when she saw the cursing.

While she had always known that it was difficult for solo stans within a group to coexist peacefully, she didn’t expect the show circle to be even messier—this had escalated quickly.

She recalled a time when Lu Xi wore a T-shirt with a monkey holding a sign that said "no photo" on the back. When photos of it leaked, fans immediately started arguing over it.

Xu Zheran’s fans accused Lu Xi of subtly mocking her teammate, while Lu Xi’s fans laughed at them, saying they were overthinking it and treating their idol like a monkey.

Since then, Qin Yihan had witnessed firsthand just how every tiny detail in the entertainment industry could be endlessly scrutinized.

Qin Lu was really unlucky this time.

The rumors had already spread. Some classmates had tried to clarify the situation yesterday, but their posts either didn’t get enough views or were met with skepticism. Qin Yihan stared at her phone for a while, then calmly put it down and went to find her mom, mother Qin.

“Mom, where’s our household registration book?”

Her mom was humming a tune while making millet porridge, completely oblivious to the online chaos since she didn’t use Weibo. She turned around and gave Qin Yihan a wary look. “What do you need the household registration book for? I’m telling you, don’t get involved in any weird stuff, okay? There are a lot of scammers out there...”

Qin Yihan’s head throbbed at the nagging and she made a “pause” gesture. “Mom, stop, stop. I need it for something important. Don’t worry.”

Her mom waved her off. “It’s in the second drawer on the first shelf under the TV cabinet.”

Qin Yihan rummaged around for a while, sighed in relief when she found it, and ran back to her room with the household registration book.

Ten minutes later, Qin Yihan posted a Weibo to personally debunk the rumors. To prevent any naysayers, she included the most solid evidence—

[TuanziYaoYao is Lu Xi’s Official Girlfriend V: [Infinite Youth Super Topic] Thanks for the invite. This is my real brother, and there’s a wall between us, so please don't disturb. [Image] @VanillaIceCreamSweetSweet]

Worried that her post would get buried, Qin Yihan posted it in the official show’s super topic.

When you clicked on the image, it was a collage. The top half was a photo of a page from the household registration book, with her name partially blurred out and other personal information redacted. The bottom half was a screenshot from the video posted by Vanilla Ice Cream Sweet Sweet, where Qin Yihan circled herself and added a scribbled note, "Me."

The post didn’t get buried.

But just as Qin Yihan was feeling satisfied watching the views skyrocket, she realized something.

While chopping vegetables, mother Qin heard her daughter let out a loud scream.

Her mom rushed over with the kitchen knife in hand. “What happened?”

Qin Yihan looked devastated as she buried her face in the blanket, weakly telling her mom, “Nothing.”

In her haste, she forgot to switch accounts.

She had used her main fan account instead of her personal account.

Now, everyone who knew her in real life or online would quickly learn that the idol she had been fangirling over was Lu Xi.

It was too late to delete the post. Someone had likely already memorized her ID, and she had used this account for years, with over 10,000 posts. There was no way to erase all the embarrassing evidence.

Her phone started buzzing like crazy again.

With trembling hands, Qin Yihan opened it—

[If I Don’t Get Top Ten on the Monthly Exam, I’ll Gain Ten Pounds: ...TuanziYaoYao is Lu Xi’s Official Girlfriend? [laugh]]

[Classmate of Brother Lu’s Real Sister: So you didn’t just steal cardboard cutouts, this rainbow fart (4) top-notch too, hahaha]

Qin Yihan: "..."

She wanted to die on the spot.

On Weibo, Qin Yihan’s undeniable evidence left Liao Junchen’s fans with nothing to say.

Public opinion quickly shifted in favor of Qin Lu, and some onlookers even felt a sense of guilt for the trainee caught in this baseless scandal, prompting them to vote for him.

This blunder ended up helping Qin Lu gain popularity.

Qin Lu’s fans, who had been anxious and helpless all night, suddenly felt vindicated, the worry in their hearts completely dissipating.

However, Qin Yihan’s Weibo views soon began to skyrocket.

The reason was simple: Qin Lu didn’t have a personal Weibo account, so fans eager to dig into his history turned to his sister’s account, hoping to find some traces of his past.

But after scrolling through countless posts, they found nothing about Qin Lu—instead, it was all about 4SEVEN. Qin Lu’s fans spent ages searching, only to discover that Qin Yihan, true to her ID, was a diehard Lu Xi fan. They all collectively felt like shaking her—

You have a brother who’s practically a god, and instead of appreciating him, you spend your time chasing idols! If they were Qin Lu’s sister, able to see him anytime, eat and chat with him without any reservations, even live with him... Just the thought made them dizzy with envy.

——

At the training base.

Without internet access, the trainees lived in blissful ignorance of the small storm brewing online.

The staff had finished counting the votes overnight, and the results of the bonus votes from the previous day would soon be announced by the mentors.

Producer Cui Zhihao appeared in the training hall, holding a cue card. He hadn’t shown up in several days.

The 300 votes weren’t the main focus; most were just curious to see who would ultimately come out on top.

“For the trainee voted as the most handsome by the 99 participants,” Producer Cui Zhihao didn’t drag it out, smiling as he continued, “...Congratulations to trainee Han Suyan for being recognized as the top visual among the trainees.”

Han Suyan, upon hearing his name, raised an eyebrow, his eyes conveying a sense of "fair judgment." The camera zoomed in on the selected trainee.

Han Suyan crossed his arms, his long, fair fingers lightly tapping his arm. He suddenly turned to look at Qin Lu, who was standing next to him, and directly asked, “Did you vote for me?”

The black-haired trainee froze for a moment, then awkwardly touched his nose.

Just as Han Suyan started to smile, Qin Lu spoke up.

“Uh… No.”

Han Suyan’s handsome face stiffened for a moment.

At that moment, Producer Cui Zhihao had already started announcing the next most popular trainee.

Su Qinglan, who overheard the conversation, looked bright-eyed and confident as he tugged on Qin Lu’s training uniform sleeve: “It’s definitely me, haha!”

Qin Lu smiled slightly and shook his head. “It’s not you.”

Little Curly Hair was hit with a bolt from the blue.

So, who was it?

Translator’s note

Updates might be godawfully slow as the school year starts…HM is a lot easier to translate and I have a stockpile, so I’ll try to keep up.

Translation notes:

(1)   Eating melons: watching the gossip/drama, like eating popcorn

(2)   Vomit blood: what happens when ur pissed off

(3)   Collapse the house: similar in idea to cancelling someone

(4)   Rainbow fart: to flatter/excessively praise something

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