This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 14

Translator: Diviner

“Ding, payment successful!”

Xu Feng looked at the notification on his phone and couldn’t help but feel a sense of professional pride.

“A premium account costs 200 yuan, and a decent outfit costs 300 to 400,” he muttered, glancing at the balance in his bank account with a sigh. “Setting up a self-directed, self-acted showdown where I face off against myself, earning 100,000 yuan as a fee is not overcharging at all.”

To create a flawless PK (player-kill) in the livestream, he would have to prepare dynamic videos in advance, use completely different dressing styles, decorate the room in varying styles, ensure soundproofing, and even carefully split up movements and beauty filters.

A single mistake could expose everything.

After setting up the necessary equipment, Xu Feng didn’t immediately contact the “client.” Instead, he cautiously opened the system interface to ask various related questions in detail.

For example, the most crucial one. How should the contract be signed?

100,000 yuan wasn’t a trivial amount. A legally binding contract to ensure neither party would back out was the basic requirement.

The system quickly responded.

[Since the host has unlocked the system’s agent function, the system will help the host sign an agency contract, without the host having to appear.]

[At the same time, the system will also ensure the commission is paid on time.]

“This system takes quite a big cut, but it sure keeps its promises when it comes to non-monetary rewards and guarantees,” Xu Feng thought, feeling completely at ease.

Soon, he disguised the purchased account, set it to a non-Luohe City IP address, and contacted the account that had offered 100,000 yuan to anyone willing to slap Xu Feng in the face. He clicked “Follow.”

Opening the private chat window, Xu Feng got straight to the point. “Hello, I saw your comment saying you’re willing to spend 100,000 yuan to find someone to compete with Xu Feng in a bass showdown. Is this offer genuine?”

About ten seconds later, the other party replied. “Yes, are you familiar with someone who might be interested? I have to say, I can’t stand Xu Feng’s arrogance. He shows no humility to his seniors in the entertainment industry! I bet you can’t stand him either, right?”

Flattery, all dressed up in phrases like “veteran artist” and “disrespect.” The intention was clear. “As a senior, you must also dislike Xu Feng’s behavior, right?”

First, they tried to flatter the person, then used provocation to stir things up, and finally added a financial temptation. This approach could often hit a nerve with many so-called “artists” and “creators.”

Xu Feng did his best to act like an arrogant “senior,” replying, “Young people, when they find sudden success, often don’t know how high the sky is or how deep the ground is. It’s normal. After a few failures, they’ll become more modest.”

Seeing that things were progressing smoothly and the other party was taking the bait, the contact seemed pleased and replied, “So, are you willing to give it a try?”

Xu Feng, noticing the lack of suspicion and that the other party had indeed taken the bait, was also quite pleased and decided to feed his future client a reassurance, “Barring any unforeseen circumstances, I’m fairly confident I can beat him.”

“Fairly confident?” The phrase made the program team feel somewhat excited—after being rejected by several bass pros who refused the 100,000-yuan competition invitation, they had realized there was an issue. After quickly gathering some knowledge on the subject, they found out that Xu Feng’s level during the live performance was indeed quite high—so high that most experts weren’t confident they could beat him.

This realization had caused a lot of headaches for the production team.

Now that someone with a good chance of winning had shown up, it was like a gift from the heavens!

The other side became much more enthusiastic, “How should I address you, sir? You can just call me Xiao Liu.”

Address… Since the alias couldn’t have any connection with his main account, it had to be a different name altogether.

It was funny to think about, he hadn’t even become famous yet but was already preparing a pseudonym.

The question reminded Xu Feng of a character from a previous work who was jokingly called the “More Money Master.” When asked to kill his own brothers, he righteously demanded extra pay, making it an internet meme.

Xu Feng, feeling that he was even more ruthless—willing to defeat himself for a fee—said, “Ding Henrun.”

“Oh, it’s Teacher Ding! If you’re willing to teach him a lesson, we’ll fully support you.”

Xu Feng could see their eagerness and didn’t agree immediately, “Okay, but I have two small conditions.”

When his bass-playing skills were rated at 80 points, it was nearly impossible to find someone who could consistently outperform him in such a short time.

The production team was bound to have hit several walls already. Seeing hope, they wouldn’t let go easily.

So, he had to take this chance to make some additional demands.

Xiao Liu didn’t agree immediately: “Teacher, what are your conditions? We’ll do our best to meet them.”

Xu Feng typed, “First, I will only compete with Xu Feng online in a livestream format. Second, I won’t reveal my face before winning… Of course, I’ll disclose my identity after I win.”

No face reveal, and only after winning?

Xiao Liu was stunned for a moment but then quickly understood—this Teacher Ding Henrun was also confident but not absolutely sure of winning.

If he lost to a junior, not showing his face would at least preserve some dignity.

And if he won, there would naturally be no need to hide his identity.

Not facing off in a live, offline match was probably for the same reason.

These seemed like perfectly normal requests, completely acceptable.

After consulting with his superiors, Xiao Liu raised the last question: “Teacher Ding, how can you ensure Xu Feng will agree to this PK?”

As for the possibility that Ding Henrun and Xu Feng might collude to fix the match and scam them, Xiao Liu wasn’t worried—they just wanted Xu Feng to lose, to be humiliated, nothing more.

They didn’t care if it was a rigged match; as long as Xu Feng’s reputation for exceptional talent was tarnished, they could unleash a wave of smear campaigns.

If they caught Xu Feng rigging a match, they could attack his character, too—why not?

Once Xu Feng’s genuine fans dispersed, and only low-quality traffic remained, they could quickly suppress the topic, causing the hype to vanish, and soon enough, Xu Feng would be forgotten.

In the entertainment industry, there’s nothing worse than being forgotten, not even a ruined reputation.

First, destroy the persona to let quality traffic drain away, then block discussions; this was the standard procedure to take someone down.

Xu Feng, ever diligent in his pre-sales service, patiently answered every question the client had, “He’s a hot-headed young man who quit the show in a fit. Just post a provocative comment or two, and he’ll take the bait. Don’t worry.”

With that assurance, Xiao Liu was completely at ease, “Then how do we sign the contract?”

Thinking about what would happen next, Xu Feng couldn’t help but smile slightly, “My agency will handle the paperwork.”

“Great! Then, I wish you the best of luck, Teacher Ding!”

After a few minutes, the system notification sounded.

[“Tomorrow’s God of Song” program team hires the host using the “Ding Henrun” account to beat the host himself in a bass performance live PK match for a cash fee of 100,000 yuan.]

[Based on the value of the commission, the host has received a buff of “Bass Playing Ability +85.”]

“Pretty wicked, but I like it!”

Xu Feng chuckled, turned on his computer, logged into his Bilibili account, and began to prepare for his PK plan.