Chapter 37 - 33: Socializing Gone Sour

"Fame and fortune?"

’I’m worried this will make people hate me instead!’

Hearing this, Chen Jue lost the peace of mind he’d felt on his way back. His imagination started running wild.

He was just an ordinary office worker. While he did intend to use Skills like [Darts] and [Stone Skimming] to earn a bit of money online,

his plan was to do it without showing his face. It was just about showing off his skills, attracting some traffic, and earning some pocket money.

According to Zhu Hongbin, if he accepted the interview, he would definitely be exposed on camera.

Once he was subjected to the scrutiny of countless netizens with their Eyes of Golden Flame, they’d dig into the story and discover that Chen Jue only played a minor role in the rescue. The real credit belonged to Wu Fang and that sanitation worker.

Chen Jue had just finished things off by taking down the fleeing pit bull.

If the full story got out, people would definitely accuse him of chasing clout and trying to take all the credit.

He wouldn’t become famous; he’d become infamous.

Besides, Chen Jue had no intention of becoming an overnight internet sensation.

’Doesn’t every influencer’s career end with them shilling products?’

He’d be shouting "Buy this, fam, you can’t go wrong!" at a camera, raking in scummy money. Once that happened, Chen Jue would never be able to clear his name.

He did want to earn money and live a good life, but not by stooping to that level.

He explained his concerns over the phone, but Zhu Hongbin just laughed. "It’s fine if you don’t want to get famous, my friend! After all, fame attracts trouble."

"But this is a great opportunity to promote our club. I’ll have the TV station pixelate your face to ensure your privacy is protected."

With the offer laid out like that, Chen Jue had no choice but to agree.

Zhu Hongbin had done him a big favor before. If it weren’t for his connections, Chen Jue never would have gotten into a top company like Hengtong.

He’d consider this interview repayment for that favor.

...

After hanging up, he went online and ordered several different types of Darts.

From Short Sword Darts to willow-leaf darts, Meteor Darts, and steel needles, Chen Jue planned to practice with all of them this time.

The difficulty of leveling up his [Darts] Skill had increased after it reached Lv. 4. He needed to experiment with different throwing techniques and take on greater challenges to accelerate his progress.

What Chen Jue didn’t expect, however, was that in just half a day, the story of the vicious dog attacking a little boy in the park had already gone viral.

It even shot to the top of the trending charts!

An enthusiastic netizen had found the park’s surveillance footage, edited it into a short clip, and uploaded it online.

Afterward, different versions began to appear.

Some had special effects, others had background music. In short, the rescue had completely blown up.

A look at the comment section revealed a flood of popular replies:

"My heart goes out to that little boy. I was also bitten by a mad dog when I was young. (Praying) I hope he’s alright."

"Walking a dog without a leash is the same as the dog walking you. (Dog emoji)"

"That lady who helped with the rescue is so awesome! I’m in love! (Heart)"

"Damn, that dude is incredible! He took down a pit bull with a single dart! And that’s a big, ferocious dog! (666)"

"They’re both Darts experts. I wonder if they’re from the same school in real life? (Curious)"

"Looks like the Hang City Jianghu has a new heroic dart-wielding couple! (Sticking tongue out)"

As he scrolled through more videos, Chen Jue couldn’t help but be amused.

’A heroic dart-wielding couple?’

’I’ve already got a Jianghu nickname?’

Chen Jue’s face flushed. With a twitch of his hand, he forwarded the video to Wu Fang, whom he had just friended, and added a message: "So, does this mean we’re famous?"

Wu Fang had probably caught wind of the news by now. She replied with a facepalm and cold sweat emoji.

Her phone and WeChat had already been blown up by calls from relatives and friends because netizens had doxxed her.

As a high school PE teacher who was also beautiful, kind-hearted, and multi-talented, Wu Fang was already pretty well-known at her school and in the park’s neighborhood. It didn’t take much digging for netizens to figure out who she was.

Chen Jue, on the other hand, was fine. The surveillance camera hadn’t caught a clear shot of his face. Plus, he was a complete unknown at work, having just switched companies without even working a single day there. It was perfectly normal that no one recognized him.

"Have any reporters contacted you?"

"My phone is about to crash from all the calls and WeChat voice messages. (Awkward face)"

"If it keeps buzzing, I’m just going to turn it off tonight and go to sleep. (Facepalm)" Wu Fang messaged back.

Seeing how overwhelmed Wu Fang was, Chen Jue gave her a heads-up about his own interview.

Unexpectedly, Wu Fang’s school administration had strong-armed her into one as well.

She said it was to get some exposure for the school, so she had also accepted an interview request from 1818 Golden Eye.

’Now isn’t that a coincidence?’

A grin spread across Chen Jue’s face. The lecherous part of his heart began to stir.

’Whether you’re hitting on a guy or a girl, the worst thing is being ignored.’

’As long as you have a shared experience and a topic to talk about, opening that conversational floodgate is a great start.’

’Plus, they both practiced Darts and shared a common interest.’

’With such a perfect opening hand, whether they were fated to be together would depend entirely on his own skill and effort.’

...

That night, Chen Jue felt an overwhelming sweetness, as if he had eaten pure honey.

As a repressed lecher, he’d always had the desire but never the courage when it came to girls he liked. He’d dare to look, but never to make a move.

If the panel hadn’t changed his mindset, he probably would have spent half a day mulling over a single reply.

When he woke up early the next morning, he had a few new messages on his phone.

The first was from a reporter from 1818 Golden Eye, who had added him as a friend. They wanted to get some preliminary details about the incident to prepare talking points and a script for the official interview.

The second was from Zhu Hongbin, who said he’d already made the arrangements and the interview could be scheduled as soon as that morning.