Blue Star.

  July, the height of summer.

  Outside, heat waves shimmered in the air. Xu Nuo, shirtless, slowly opened his eyes and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

  Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through his skull, as if it might split open. A flood of unfamiliar information surged into his mind, wild and uing.

  Rubbing his temples, he pieced together the memories of two lives. Xu Nuo finally uood his situation.

  He’d crossed over.

  In his past life, Xu Nuo was an obscure music producer—moderately talented, detly handsome. He’d written songs that never quite took off, sung tuhat were frankly mediocre, and acted in films as a professional corpse. One night, while drinking with a big shot, it hit him: in the face of capital, talent was nothing.

  But before he could turables and bee the capital himself, he ended up here—a parallel world where the eai industry was slightly different, though everything else felt mostly the same.

  This body’s inal owner was also named Xu Nuo, a fourth-year student at Modu Media Uy, maj in broadcasting. Last night, he’d stayed up te rehearsing, p over his hosting script back at the dorm. Predictably, somethi wrong—fatally wrong.

  Xu Nuo sighed. “You’re just a student, man. Why push yourself so hard?”

  This time, he vowed, he’d bee the one calling the shots.

  A refined face suddenly appeared in front of him, waving a hand. “You’re finally awake? You okay?”

  Xu Nuo g the speaker—his college roommate, Yang Haonan, niamed “Sao Nan” (Sauan).

  “Say something!” Yang Haonan frowned, pushing up his gold-rimmed gsses.

  “I’m fine. Just groggy from sleep.” Xu Nuo climbed out of bed and immediately checked himself in the mirror.

  A handsome face stared back—fair, , about 80% like his old self, but with sharper, more defined features. Between his brows lingered a spark he’d lost in his past life: the bold edge of youth.

  He couldn’t help but touch his face. Damn, I’m hot. With looks like these, he could debut as a traffic idht now.

  Stepping to the door, he measured himself against the height sticker pstered there—185 cm barefoot. He dug out a scale from the er, stepped on it shoeless—140 jin, about 70 kg.

  Perfect.

  “You sure you’re okay?” Yang Haonan watched him quietly, a little ed.

  “I’m fine,” Xu Nuo said offhandedly.

  Yang Haonan studied him, then rexed. “Good. I called you a dozen times this m and got nothing. Thought you’d kicked the bucket.”

  Xu Nuo’s expression twitched. Teically, someone had kicked it.

  “Rehearsal’s soon. There’s breakfast oable—I grabbed it for you. Eat up a’s go.”

  Xu Nuo nodded, mung on a steamed bun while flipping through the handbook oable to familiarize himself with the schedule.

  They left the dorm and headed toward the auditorium, only to be blocked by two figures.

  Xu Nuo paused, sidestepped them, a walking.

  “Xu Nuo!” a girl’s voice called out.

  “Hm?” He stopped and turned, digging through his new memories. “Zhang Jin? What’s up?”

  Zhang Jin had big, wavy hair, a crop top showing her midriff, and a miniskirt so short it cshed with the campus vibe. Her face ure and pretty, but her whole look screamed sultry charm—an odd fit for a school setting.

  “You free at noo’s grab lunch.”

  Xu Nuo frowurned, and walked off. “Not free.”

  “Hey, don’t go!” Zhang Jin hurried after him, but he stepped aside.

  “Xu Nuo, I like you! Let’s date!”

  “Huh?” That was sudden. Xu Nuo blinked, instinctively gng at the guy o her. “And he is…?”

  Zhang Jin barely looked over. “He’s my friend.”

  The guy gave a bitter smile. “Yeah. As long as Zhang Jin’s happy, I’m good. Xu Nuo, just say yes.”

  Xu Nuo and Yang Haonan locked eyes, sharing a look of pure shock. firmed: this dude was a simp.

  “Sorry, I’ve got stuff to do.” Xu Nuo bolted, faster than a thief.

  In this cold, shallow world, simps brought joy to everyoh their selfless devotion.

  Yang Haonan caught up. “Hey, Xu Nuo, she’s pretty cute, you know.”

  “She doesn’t seem like a good girl.”

  “How you say that?” Yang Haonan scowled, feigning e. “Even bad girls shouldn’t go to waste!”

  “Holy—aren’t you worried about catg something?” Xu Nuo shot him a baffled look. “Have fun on your own. That type’s not my thing.”

  “Then what’s your type?” Yang Haonan pressed, relentless.

  Xu Nuo raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care so much?”

  “In four years, I’ve never seen you fall for ahe guys are starting to worry…”

  “Piss off!” Xu Nuo snapped. “I’m a pruy!”

  “Fine, fine. What’s your type? I’ll hook you up.”

  Xu Nuo, annoyed, poi a poster by the auditorium entrahat kind.”

  “Uh, Xu Nuo, that’s Lin Wanqing’s poster. The Diva.” Yang Haonan scratched his head. “She’s three years older than you.”

  “So what? Youth doesn’t appreciate a good older sister—every inch of her is a treasure.” Xu Nuo g the pain. If it wasn’t photoshopped, Lin Wanqing was exactly his type.

  Behind him, a slim figure in a cap and sungsses paused, shot him a look, and silently walked away.

  [Ding!! Target detected. Eai System loading…]

  “Holy crap! It’s real!” A transmigration with a system—standard protagonist kit. This was a low-tier game, and he’d sughter it.

  He was set.

  [Ding! Loading plete!]

  [This system offers lottery draws and a shop service.][Lottery rewards are random, influenced by the host’s thoughts.][The system shop uses popurity points to exge for items.][Newbie gift pack dispatched.]

  This system didn’t mess around. Xu Nuo rubbed his hands, grinning, and opehe gift pack. A guitar sheet appeared in his mind.

  …

  That’s it?

  “Seriously?”

  [That’s it.]

  Xu Nuo pouted. Some “big” gift pack—stihatle-colleg granny downstairs. A single sheet of music? Useless. What kind of trash system was this?

  “Xu Nuo, let’s go. Rehearsal time,” Yang Haonan called, snapping him out of it.

  “Alright.” Xu Nuo skimmed the sheet and headed to rehearsal.

  On stage, he frowned, uain. “Wait, isn’t that the simp from earlier?”

  Yang Haonan, chatting up girls backstage, gnced over. “As long as he’s not simping for me, who cares?”

  Xu Nued, ran through the process, and dragged Yang Haonan off to eat.

  Only now did he have time to check out this “Eai System.”

  Summoning it in his mind, a virtual s popped up:

  [Host: Xu Nuo][Age: 22][Popurity Points: 10,000][Songwriting: Intermediate][Arra: Intermediate][Guitar: Advanced][Singing: Beginner]

  Tsk. Kinda weak. Xu Nuo shook his head.

  “System, I boost my singing?”

  [The host improve through practice, lottery draws, or shop exges.]

  “How do I draw? How do I unlock the shop?”

  [1,000 popurity points per draw. 100,000 points to unlock the shop.]

  This felt familiar—starting with a ten-pull?

  Better save up and draw ter.

  At 7 p.m., Modu Media Uy’s graduation ga kicked off.

  The school’s annual event always drew online buzz, and this year, it was fully livestreamed.

  Xu Nuo adjusted his outfit and stepped onto the stage. His striking looks sparked screams from the crowd and a flood of ents in the livestream chat.

  Good looks swayed opinions everywhere—beauty was universal.

  He kept it short, recited a few lines, and got to the point.

  “Good evening, everyoonight, we’ve invited an outstanding alum from the Css of ’20, the famous singer…”

  “Lin Wanqing!! Lin Wanqing!!”

  “Wanqing, I love you!!”

  Her arrival was . As a top star, the school had hyped her return for weeks.

  The crowd roared, the livestream chat exploded, and the heat skyrocketed.

  Xu Nuo fshed a bright smile. “Please wele Senior Lin Wanqing!”

  Lin Wanqing strode out in a short skirt, long legs on full dispy, waving fidently to the audience.

  Stepping back behind the curtain, Xu Nuo finally got a good look at her.

  Damn. Her legs were long, straight, fwless—lohan his lifespan, he’d wager. He gave them a critical once-over. Moving up, her face was refined yet elegant—what he’d call a “pead-prosperity” face. Just looking at her felt calming.

  She started singing, her ethereal voice pulling everyone in.

  Xu Nuo frowhis song… it was familiar. It was the one from the gift pack.

  *Buzz…*

  Mid-performance, a harsh buzz screeched from the speakers. The apa cut out.

  “What’s happening?!”

  “No bag track?!”

  The audience murmured, fused, as the se grew chaotic.

  The students stayed civil, but the livestream chat? A cesspool of curses.

  Xu Nuo’s stomach sank. He darted backstage. “What’s going on?”

  “Tech glitch. I’m fixing it.”

  “How long?”

  The tech fiddled around. “Five minutes, give or take.”

  Xu Nuo’s brows knitted. Five mihe song would be over by then.

  On stage, Lin Wanqing faltered almost imperceptibly, her pretty brows creasing. She pressed on, singing a cappel.

  But without the track, her voice felt thin, g punch.

  The crowd stirred restlessly.