Chapter One: The Ruthless Hunt of the Forest Goddess

"How shameless!"
"Mei, what's going on?" In the backstage dressing room of the concert, Luo Xiaoyi, the rising star of the music scene, looked up at her manager, Mei.
Mei explained, frustrated, "Lin Xinrou suddenly announced she'll be attending Aiting's concert."
Luo Xiaoyi frowned at the news. "How is that possible? Didn't Sister Xinrou promise me she'd be a guest at my concert? Chen Nian, hand me my phone, I want to ask her what's going on."
Chen Nian, whose name was called, stood dazed, confusion written all over his face.
"Weird?"
"Wasn't I preparing for my own solo tour?"
"Why am I here?"
Suddenly, Chen Nian's expression changed; a torrent of memories not his own surged into his mind.
After recovering from the shock, though it was hard to believe, Chen Nian had no choice but to accept the fact that he had crossed over.
In his previous life, Chen Nian was a new king of music, winning Best New Artist at twenty-one, and by twenty-three, he was a household name, his solo tour ablaze with success thanks to his exceptional talent.
Fans had dubbed him a living legend of the Chinese music scene.
Yet for reasons unknown, he had somehow crossed into a world bearing the same name as Blue Star, but whose musical standards paled in comparison.
According to the memories of his new body, Chen Nian learned that his predecessor was also named Chen Nian, and since college had dated Lin Xinrou, the rising queen of the music world, for six years.
During those six years, Chen Nian poured everything into supporting Lin Xinrou's dream of becoming a singer, dropping out of college and working six jobs a day, handing all his earnings to her.
Even so, Lin Xinrou was never satisfied. She even used the threat of breaking up to make Chen Nian give her his mother's surgery money, which directly led to his mother's death.
Though Chen Nian had done everything he could, all he got in the end was,
"Let's break up. Xinjiyi Entertainment wants to sign me. Being with you would only tarnish my life."
All those promises and vows seemed worthless; Chen Nian was discarded like filth.
"Chen Nian?" Luo Xiaoyi called again, frowning at his unresponsiveness.
"Ah? Right, okay." Coming back to himself, Chen Nian quickly handed Luo Xiaoyi the phone from his bag.
After a few rings, the call connected. "Hello, Sister Xinrou, what's with the rumors online that you're going to Aiting's concert as a guest?"

"Xiaoyi, I'm really sorry. Aiting is a very close friend, and when she asked, I couldn't refuse."
"But..."
"What now?" Luo Xiaoyi looked at Mei, a mix of anger and helplessness in her eyes.
Mei thought for a moment, then shook her head. "This outcome is clearly a setup by the other side."
Luo Xiaoyi lowered her head in frustration. "If nothing else works, let's open the refund channel and let the fans choose for themselves. Whoever wants to stay can stay, anyone unwilling gets a full refund."
"No!" Mei immediately rejected Luo Xiaoyi's suggestion.
"We signed a bet agreement with the company. If the concert's attendance rate doesn't reach ninety-five percent, all this year's plans will be suspended and all resources handed over to Aiting. That would mean all our hard work these past years goes to waste."
Listening to their conversation, and combining it with the memories of his predecessor, Chen Nian roughly pieced together the situation.
Luo Xiaoyi and Mei had signed a bet agreement with the company for their future prospects.
If the concert's attendance rate failed to reach ninety-five percent, all resources would go to another newcomer in the same company, and they wouldn't be allowed on any shows or to release new songs for a year.
Originally, Luo Xiaoyi and Mei had full confidence in this bet.
Because Lin Xinrou, their senior at Xinjiyi Entertainment, had agreed to attend their concert.
But unexpectedly, just as the concert was about to start, she suddenly announced she would be a guest at Aiting's concert.
After figuring out how things had unfolded, Chen Nian smiled slightly. Was everyone in this world so naive?
They had signed a bet agreement with the company, yet dared to invite their own company's people to attend the concert without any precautions?
Such behavior, to the shrewd Chen Nian, was like sleeping on the floor in a restroom—never far from disaster...
"In that case, I'll just withdraw. Give myself a break and rest for a while."
Realizing she was bound to lose this bet, Luo Xiaoyi smiled, relieved.
"But if we lose this, it'll be nearly impossible to achieve what we've accomplished now."
Mei wanted to say more, but seeing Luo Xiaoyi shake her head, she could only remain silent.
"Chen Nian, I'm really sorry. You only joined me a year ago, and now you're about to lose your job." Luo Xiaoyi turned to Chen Nian, her face flushed.
Luo Xiaoyi was Chen Nian's childhood friend. In the darkest period of his life, she invited him to be her assistant, giving him hope to live again.

"It's fine," Chen Nian replied with a smile and a shake of his head.
Lin Xinrou again—she had already ruined his family, and now she seemed bent on complete destruction, even hurting his friends.
Chen Nian curled his lips. The saying goes, cornered rabbits bite. Since Lin Xinrou wanted to go all out, he'd play along!
"Why not let me try?" Chen Nian asked softly.
"What?" Luo Xiaoyi and Mei spoke in unison.
"Special guest at the concert—why not let me go up?"
"You?" Mei laughed sarcastically.
In Mei's eyes, Chen Nian was just an ordinary person with nothing but looks.
If not for his connection to Luo Xiaoyi, she would never have allowed him to be her assistant as her manager.
What she didn't know was that, at this moment, Chen Nian was no longer the pushover he used to be.
Now, he was the youngest recipient of the New Artist Award, the youngest new king of music, a man hailed as a living legend!
"Do you know how to hold a microphone?"
"Can you sing?"
"Do you know what performing is?"
Mei stepped up to Chen Nian and mocked mercilessly, "You want to go up there and play the clown for everyone?"
Chen Nian remained silent, his gaze shifting back to Luo Xiaoyi.
Luo Xiaoyi sighed helplessly. "Chen Nian, I'm sorry. I know your abilities. If you want to sing, after the concert I'll go to KTV with you, but right now it's impossible."
"Xiaoyi, trust me. If I don't sing well, you can blame everything on me," Chen Nian said seriously.
"Fine! We'll do as you say. You go up and sing. If you don't do well, I'll put all the blame on you."
At that moment, Mei had already come up with a perfect solution in her mind—at least one that would keep the concert from losing money.