"She's trending in five provinces. This is your moment."
Zeyan's voice rang clear over the phone.
Jiang Yue stood outside the city-center media studio, hands trembling in her coat pockets. Her heart pounded like a war drum.
A small stage. A short interview. No face reveal—just her silhouette behind a silk curtain. The audience? A few hundred thousand livestream viewers. Maybe more.
It was supposed to be safe.
Supposed to be simple.
But the moment she stepped inside the studio building, she felt the tension.
Too many eyes.
Too many whispers.
Too many cameras being adjusted at odd angles.
She'd lived in the background of this industry long enough to smell trouble.
Back in SkyInk's temporary HQ, Zeyan monitored the feed. The system's UI floated beside his screen.
[System Alert: Event Flag – Medium Sabotage Probability (57%)]
Possible Saboteurs: Industry insiders / rival media
Threat Type: Live footage leak or exposure trap
Suggested Action: Activate Protocol "Shroud" – Visual Feedback Scrambler
Cost: 1.8 BP
Deploy? [Y/N]
He didn't hesitate.
[Confirmed – Protocol Shroud Active]
Lens Layer Installed: Interview footage will appear artistically blurred in all third-party uploads unless approved.
Camera control rerouted via System Plugin Hub.
Zeyan leaned back. "Try and mess with her now."
Inside the greenroom, Jiang Yue rehearsed her lines.
"No, I don't have an agent."
"Yes, the voice was mine."
"I don't want fame. I just want to be heard."
Simple. Honest. Hers.
The producer walked in. "Five minutes. You'll sit behind the screen. Host knows what to ask. Keep it short, keep it mysterious. Got it?"
She nodded.
But something about his smile…
It wasn't warm. It was tight. Calculating.
The interview began.
A single soft light cast her silhouette onto the screen. The host—professional, practiced—smiled brightly for the cameras.
"Welcome, everyone, to a very special live reveal of the mystery voice behind 'When Spring Bends to Summer.' The Girl Without a Name is finally here."
The audience roared in the comments.
"AHHHHH IT'S HER"
"I KNOW THAT VOICE ANYWHERE"
"She's real!!!"
"Now then," the host said. "We've prepared a little game—viewers can submit name guesses in real-time. If someone gets it right, we'll reveal your initials."
Jiang Yue stiffened.
That hadn't been part of the plan.
She looked toward the producer behind the curtain. He gave her a quick thumbs-up.
Zeyan's voice buzzed in her ear—disguised as translator audio.
"Do NOT confirm your name. They're fishing. It's a trap."
Her hand tightened around the mic.
"I appreciate the guesses," she said gently, "but… the name's not important right now."
There was a pause.
Then the host leaned forward, tone lowering like a secret.
"Is it true you used to work as a stuntwoman?"
The words hit like a punch.
Jiang Yue froze.
That… wasn't public.
She swallowed hard. "I did."
The chat exploded again.
"Wait, she was a stuntwoman??"
"That's why she sounds so raw… she's lived it."
"That explains the emotional delivery!!!"
The host smiled like a shark sensing blood.
"Tell us—ever fall for a star you doubled for? Ever take a hit for someone who didn't remember your name?"
[System Flag: Host deviating from script. Risk of emotional destabilization.]
Jiang Yue Focus Level: 64%
Recommend: Invoke System Stability Layer (Passive Boost)
Duration: 4 minutes
Effect: Emotional Response Delay + Verbal Clarity Boost
Cost: 0.4 PP
Activate? [Y/N]
Zeyan hit [Y].
Jiang Yue exhaled.
Then smiled.
"I did once take a fall for someone who never thanked me," she said, voice steady, eyes burning. "But I don't regret it. Because that fall taught me how to stand."
The host blinked, caught off guard by her poise.
The comments roared in support.
"QUEEN."
"She ATE that."
"Protect her at all costs."
[System Update: Jiang Yue Interview Success – Public Favorability Spiked: +0.0020184]
BP +3.12 | PP +0.003910213
Fan Loyalty Tier: Level 1 Unlocked
Interview Clip Whitelisted for Viral Reposting
Viral Probability: 76% (Next 48h)
Backstage, a low-level assistant rushed to the producer. "Sir, the camera filter—someone's blocking the raw footage from being accessed!"
The producer swore under his breath.
His plan to catch her face and leak it early had failed.
SkyInk had countered it. Somehow.
That night, Jiang Yue sat on the rooftop of her building, phone in hand.
The video clip of her saying, "That fall taught me how to stand," had already crossed 1 million views in two hours.
She wasn't anonymous anymore.
But she wasn't exposed either.
She was visible.
On her own terms.
[System Notification: Workshop Completed – Level 1 Acting Course Finalized]
Emotional Delivery Boost: +5%
Jiang Yue Skill Tier: Tier 1 Public Performer
Unlock Available: "Advanced Workshop – Level 2"
Cost: 12.5 PP | Duration: 12 Days
She closed her eyes and whispered the line again.
"Because that fall taught me how to stand."
Far away, in a quiet room where no one watched, a woman stared at the same clip.
Her fingers curled around her wine glass.
Her lips curled into a sneer.
"So… this is the one he's protecting."