Chapter 1: Amnesia

Under the scorching sun, the sports meet at Su City First Senior High School was in full swing. The most popular event was the long-distance race, not because of anything else, but because there were so many tall, handsome guys participating.

Mu Chi wasn’t the tallest, but he was the fastest. Charging through the hot wind under the blazing sun, he sprinted to the finish line, the red finish line tape around his waist, sparking cheers from the thousands in the stands—

“Mu Chi, Mu Chi, first place guaranteed! Faster than a tortoise, you’re invincible!!”

Hearing the familiar chant, Mu Chi raised his arms in response, “Class 7 never gives up!”

All the girls in the school screamed. Mu Chi was famous at First High School for his looks and academic performance, and with his athletic talent, he was indeed unbeatable in the eyes of teenage girls.

Mu Chi, panting heavily, stepped up to receive his award: a certificate, a box of chocolate, a bottle of mineral water, and a red envelope containing a hundred yuan in prize money.

The red envelope was from the homeroom teacher, with the condition that he win the long-distance race.

Mu Chi came from an ordinary, somewhat impoverished family, and this hundred-yuan note was equivalent to half a month’s pocket money for him. A bright smile couldn’t help but spread across his face.

As the saying goes, excessive joy leads to sorrow. Mu Chi hadn’t even had a chance to give his acceptance speech when a rough voice interrupted him: “Mu Chi! Doctor, doctor, come and see! Why is he still laughing? Did he hit his head and become an idiot?”

The doctor in the white coat leaned in, flipped Mu Chi’s eyelids, and said, “Let’s do a CT scan.”

“It’s over, it’s over. He’s really going to become an idiot.”

The doctor pulled out a photo from the medical records and handed it over, “If he hasn’t become an idiot, sign this. My daughter likes him.”

“…”

Zhu Yinhang reluctantly took Mu Chi’s photo. In the photo, the young man was dressed in white, sitting in a lotus position, dignified and noble, like an immortal being, with a string of prayer beads in his hand.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

Zhu Yinhang immediately turned his head and met a pair of dark, peach blossom eyes, a pale, handsome face.What a beautiful, flawless gaolin flower. “Mu Chi, how are you?!”

Mu Chi looked at the middle-aged man in front of him with suspicion. “Who are you?”

It was like a bolt from the blue; Zhu Yinhang was completely stunned for a moment.

Mu Chi looked around and confirmed he was in the hospital, which only made him more confused. “How did I end up here? What about my 100 yuan for winning the long-distance race?”

“………”

Zhu Yinhang nearly broke down as he asked the doctor, “What’s wrong with him?”

The doctor remained calm, calling a nurse to take him for another thorough examination.

Mu Chi panicked and struggled, but was restrained to the bed with straps. “What are you doing? Organ trafficking is illegal! I’m calling the police! Help!”

An hour later, Mu Chi calmed down. He was still lying in the hospital bed, having survived the ordeal. He wasn’t missing any limbs, and his organs were not dug out. It turned out this was a regular hospital.

He heard from the nurse that he had fallen down a hillside while participating in a variety show and hit his head.

Mu Chi didn’t understand a single word. He suspected he had truly become a fool but he still remembered the questions from yesterday’s small test paper…

“Did I travel through time?” Mu Chi asked his agent.

Zhu Yinhang had gone from being shocked to accepting it. While peeling an apple, he said, “Your name is Mu Chi. You’re 25 years old and an idol. You participated in a dating variety show, rolled down a hillside, hit your head, and lost your memory.”

“Impossible. I’m 17 years old,” Mu Chi declared confidently. “And my goal isn’t to become a star. It’s…”

“To join the national track and field team.”

“How do you know?”

“Unfortunately, your dream has been shattered because your leg was hit by an electric scooter while saving a cat during your senior year of high school.You missed the best age for training and could only apply to an art university.”

Mu Chi was stunned for a moment, touching his leg. “You’re lying.”

Zhu Yinhang: “If you don’t believe me ,look at your knee. There’s still a crescent-shaped scar.”

Mu Chi rolled up his trouser leg, revealing a pale pink, slightly raised crescent-shaped scar on his snow-white knee. His heart sank instantly. “You… you’re telling the truth?”

“If I’m lying, may lightning strike me down.”

Mu Chi believed him, tears welling up in his eyes. “I’m really 25 years old! I’m so old…”

Zhu Yinhang, who had just turned 40, said, “If you’re old, then I should be six feet under.”

Mu Chi: “Grandpa, don’t say that.”

Zhu Yinhang roared: “I just have a few gray hairs, I’m not old! And I’m your manager, call me brother!”

Mu Chi’s tears were scared away, and he refused to give in. “Why are you so mean? I don’t want to call you ‘brother,’ you’re older than my homeroom teacher!”

The two of them faced off in silence for a moment. Zhu Yinhang gave in, just like when he first met Mu Chi, who was also so stubborn. If it weren’t for his beautiful face, he wouldn’t have wanted to take on such an unruly person.

Though uncooperative, he was someone who had dominated the trending topics every day since debuting three years ago and consistently ranked in the top three on the celebrity popularity chart.

Mu Chi was the company’s cash cow; they couldn’t just give up on him.

Zhu Yinhang took a deep breath: “Fine, call me whatever you want. I just want to tell you something.”

Mu Chi opened his innocent peach-blossom eyes: “What is it?”

Zhu Yinhang remained expressionless: “You’re participating in a dating variety show. If you breach the contract, you have to pay one million yuan.”

Mu Chi didn’t react, “…Huh?!”

Zhu Yinhang thus began explaining the show’s process and  traffic of the variety show. In short,it was more than Mu Chi could afford to pay.

Mu Chi’s mind was fixated on the one million yuan.For a high school student like him an astronomical sum ,a debt he absolutely could not bear.

“Have you calmed down?” Zhu Yinhang asked.

Mu Chi was far from being calm, but his face was deceptive. When expressionless, he appeared cool and steady.

Zhu Yinhang added, “You’ve been slacking off for three days. You must go back tomorrow.”

“Slacking off? I was unconscious.” Mu Chi was completely unaware of the cruelty of the capital. “I need a few more days to rest.”

“So you’re going to pay one million?”

“…” 

Forget a million, Mu Chi couldn’t even come up with a hundred yuan right now.

Zhu Yinhang laid out the details for him: “Your parents, your sister, and yourself—you have three mortgage payments to make, a car loan, the family’s annual medical insurance and pension insurance, and your sister’s study abroad expenses. All of that depends on you working hard.”

Mu Chi was surprised and happy to hear his sister was going abroad for studies, but thinking about having to repay so much money every month, he was terrified: “Can I really handle that much debt right now?”

Zhu Yinhang didn’t deceive him, “After you finish this variety show, you’ll be able to pay off one mortgage.”

Mu Chi sighed, “So I’m so awesome that I can support three houses.”

Zhu Yinhang, eating a peeled apple, still a little unconvinced: “You really don’t remember anything at all?”

Mu Chi: “If I’m lying, may lightning strike me down. Um, isn’t the apple for me to eat?”

“Once you become a top star, I’ll serve you like a master. Now , comrade, you still need to work hard.“ 

Zhu Yinhang was worried. ”You can search for “You Have a Day” on the internet and  find your solo cut and look carefully. You absolutely cannot ruin your character.”

“What’s a solo cut? What does ‘ruining your character’ mean?” Mu Chi, with the mind of a high school student, didn’t follow celebrities or pay attention to the entertainment industry, and almost didn’t understand what was being said.

Zhu Yinhang explained it to him: a solo cut is a single shot of a person on stage, and “character collapse” means that the character you’ve established is ruined for some reason or in a certain situation.

“A character collapse is a major blow to fans. You must remember this.”

Zhu Yinhang warned him earnestly, “If you lose over 100,000 followers, the company will drop you.”

“Lose 100,000 followers? How many followers do I have now?” Mu Chi asked curiously.

“80 million.”

“…How many did you say?!”

Zhu Yinhang tossed aside a fruit pit. “Don’t be complacent. That’s what you’ve built up over three years. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. If you mess up, losing 100,000 followers overnight is no exaggeration.”

Mu Chi ,still beaming , “80 million? If each of them donated a dollar, I’d never have to work a day in my life.”

Zhu Yinhang cruelly retored, “Each spit from one person could drown you.”

“…”

Even a top-tier male star with 80 million fans couldn’t just ask fans to donate a dollar. There was only one way left for Mu Chi, which was to run the business well and continue to make a living in the entertainment industry.

In the evening, Zhu Yinhang scanned the QR code for ordering food on the bedside table and had food delivered.

Mu Chi was shocked. He realized that it was really eight years later and he could order food even if he was in the hospital.

The meal was delivered soon. While eating, Mu Chi fiddled with his smartphone and found the address book. “I’ll call my parents. They must be worried about me.”

Zhu Yinhang stopped him: “Your parents don’t know that you have entered the entertainment industry. Wait until you’ve thought it through before calling them.”

Mu Chi froze: “Am I an unemployed vagrant in their eyes?”

“Of course not. You went to work and joined a luxury goods company as a salesperson, that is, a salesperson.”

“Oh.” Mu Chi thought that sounded pretty impressive. At least he was a “brother.”

Mu Chi opened Weibo, and it was flooded with news about his accident. The 99+ notifications refreshed every second, and it was another 99+. Mu Chi felt dizzy and overwhelmed.

【It’s been two days, hasn’t Mu Chi woken up yet? / Crying】

【My male god, please wake up. I can’t bear this alone~】

【A female fan is willing to be Qi Liao’s girlfriend in exchange for Mu Chi waking up】

【A male fan is willing to be a Wenrou husband in exchange for Mu Chi waking up】

【Wenrou belongs to Mu Chi!!! CP fans roar.jpg】

【Nonsense, the Wenrou belongs to Qi Liao!!! CP fans roar.jpg】

【All CP fans, get out! Mu Chi’s solo fans, support me/angry】

…

Mu Chi, with the mind of a high school student, quietly looked up what CP fans and solo fans meant, who Qi Liao was, and who Wenrou was… Ah, this is so annoying. Even major exams, minor exams, and mock exams weren’t this annoying.

Zhu Yinhang suddenly took Mu Chi’s phone away, “Eat first, your brain can’t be overworked now. Don’t think too much so you can recover your memory faster.”

Mu Chi: “I’m a top student.”

Zhu Yinhang: “Just pretend you’re brain-dead—oh, your brain really is broken.”

Mu Chi, still with a bandage on his head: “…”

After thinking for a moment, Mu Chi fought back, “I have amnesia, I’m not brain-dead. Let me ask you, do you still remember the content of your high school textbooks? I remember them clearly!”

Zhu Yinhang had no rebuttal, holding his bowl of corn porridge and drinking, “The knowledge in your brain is useless now, but your learning ability is worthy of recognition.”

After finishing dinner, Zhu Yinhang made a video call to the boss of their company.

In the video, the boss of Ritian Entertainment, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, beamed with joy that his cash cow had woken up. He also made grand promises to Mu Chi: “After this variety show, there’s a big IP with a massive production budget of ten billion yuan for a TV series. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely get you in. If not the lead role, then the second lead. I won’t let you lose out.”

Mu Chi asked naively: “How many billions can I get out of the billion?”

The boss of Ritian Entertainment: “…”

Zhu Yinhang quickly interjected, “Boss Tian, there is something wrong with Mu Chi’s brain, but don’t worry, there will be no big problems with the schedule later.”

The boss nodded, “I trust Mu Chi. Go ahead and do your thing; the road ahead is long.”

Mu Chi: “What is the road ahead?”

Zhu Yinhang: “It’s your career. If you don’t understand something in the future, ask me privately.”

After hanging up the video in a hurry, Zhu Yinhang breathed a sigh of relief. He really hadn’t brought in a newcomer for a long time, and Mu Chi actually let him experience the feeling of bringing in a newcomer twice.

A few moments later, a slender, short-haired woman and a burly man walked in. Zhu Yinhang greeted them. The man pulled out a tablet and handed it to Zhu Yinhang, then looked at Mu Chi in disbelief: “Did you really lose your memory?”

“This is Xiao Wang, and this is Xiao Tian. They’re both your assistants,” Zhu Yinhang introduced them.

The sturdy man named Xiao Wang gave a sheepish smile, while the short-haired girl Xiao Tian approached hesitantly, forcing an awkward smile, as if she wasn’t familiar with Mu Chi.

Mu Chi said, “Do I really need two assistants?”

Zhu Yinhang replied, “Two is too many? You’ve never seen someone surrounded by four or five assistants. “ After a pause, he added, ”You should get to know each other better. The previous assistant went on maternity leave, and Xiao Tian has only been here for less than a month.”

Mu Chi thought to himself, “It’s been a month and they’re still not familiar with each other. How shy is this girl?”

It wasn’t until Mu Chi saw his own character in *You Also Have This Day* that he suddenly understood why Xiao Tian wasn’t familiar with him—who was that aloof and pretentious person?

Mu Chi stared at his solo cut, looking like a celestial being who had never touched a drop of water. Whenever he was on camera, he didn’t move much, striking a cold and elegant pose, expressionless and motionless, either reading a book or gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

Mu Chi’s hands trembled, and the tablet clattered to his abdomen with a loud thud.  Thank goodness he had abs, or he’d have vomited his dinner.

At this point, Zhu Yinhang had gone home to sleep, and Xiao Tian had left as well. Only Xiao Wang, the burly man, remained to take care of him. Though he called it “taking care,” it was really just fetching hot water and packing his belongings for discharge the next day.

“Cough, Xiao Wang.” Mu Chi wasn’t used to this kind of situation. He waved his hand, “Take a look, is this me?”

Xiao Wang peered over, “It’s you, right? Did you get nearsighted?”

“…No. Go to sleep.”

Xiao Wang left upon hearing this, “Mu Ge, I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”

Mu Chi shuddered. Being addressed as “brother” by a man over thirty was a bit unnerving for a seventeen-year-old boy like him.

Zhu Yinhang told him to watch all the variety shows at double speed to reinforce his memory and recognize the guests, but he said, “Amnesia is amnesia. I can’t pretend to remember. Why waste the effort?”

Zhu Yinhang pondered for a moment and decided not to push him further, only saying not to break character and to perform as usual.

Amnesia is amnesia, but one’s personality in front of the audience can’t change all of a sudden.

Mu Chi couldn’t understand why he had chosen the “cool and aloof heartthrob” route before; he couldn’t even stand it himself. So he washed up and went to sleep. It was just pretending to be cool; what was so hard about that?

The next day, the assistant and agent picked Mu Chi up from the hospital, got into the RV, and headed straight to the program crew.

Mu Chi was full of curiosity about the RV. He took out two sips of iced black tea from the small refrigerator, ate the vegetable buns bought by Xiaotian, and listened to Zhu Yinhang’s nagging absentmindedly.

Zhu Yinhang finally summarized, “Remember, you’re the cool and aloof male god .”

High school student Mu Chi replied, “Got it.”

Even if it was just to avoid paying back the one million yuan, Mu Chi had to keep a straight face.

“Have you recognized all the guests?” Zhu Yinhang asked again.

Mu Chi only remembered two names frequently mentioned by netizens: “Qi Liao, and Wenrou. Wenrou must be a girl, right? Even though this is a dating show, I won’t fall in love too early!”

“…………”

The two assistants nearly spilled their soy milk.

Zhu Yinhang pinched his brow, trying to calm himself. “Mu Chi, you’re 25 years old. You can fall in love. But remember, even though this is a dating show, it’s a capital game. You can’t really fall in love. Just go through the motions. Got it?”

Mu Chi was completely confused, “This is a dating show, but we can’t really fall in love, and we have to create the illusion of love?”

“You summarized it well.”

“It’s too hard.”

“It’s hard, but you have to do it, otherwise you’ll have to pay a million dollars.”

Mu Chi had never encountered such a difficult situation before, and he spent the rest of the journey racking his brain until he arrived at the variety show’s base.

The base was on a mountain. To express their “apology” to Mu Chi and create hype, the production team had all five guests come down to the mountain to meet him.

The five guests, all handsome and dashing, each with their own unique charm, waited under a makeshift shelter built by a melon farmer at the base of the mountain for Mu Chi’s car. The production crew followed them from a kilometer away, filming until the car stopped.

The RV parked under the shade of a tree. Two assistants got out first, followed by Mu Chi. As soon as they stepped out, they were blasted by the midsummer heat and began to miss the car’s air conditioning.

Zhu Yinhang gave him a push from behind, and Mu Chi stepped out of the car, making room for Zhu Yinhang, who appeared with an impeccable smile: “Thank you all for your concern. Mu Chi has been discharged from the hospital.”

Remembering his persona, Mu Chi maintained his aloof demeanor, the camera automatically zoomed in, getting closer and closer, as if trying to capture every single hair on his face.

Mu Chi took a step forward, and the camera lens zoomed in directly on his face. “Did you see that?”

The person filming him froze, momentarily forgetting to move the camera.

So on the day Mu Chi was discharged from the hospital and returned to the show, hundreds of millions of netizens across the country got a clear view of the details of Mu Chi’s eyebrows and eyes. He was completely makeup-free, with no trace of retouching. His eyebrows were delicate and slender, his peach-bloosom eyes were as black and white as ink, and as his eyes flickered, his long eyelashes resembled water plants at the bottom of a lake. His snow-white face seemed to glow.

It was a true beauty overload.

Zhu Yinhang, standing nearby, quickly pulled Mu Chi aside, “Go say hello to your friends; they’re all worried about you.”

The friends were the guests. Mu Chi looked up and saw … one , two ,three , four , five — all men.

Mu Chi: “???”

It was a gay dating variety show!

One of the young men,  similar to his own age caught his attention. While each of these men had their own unique charm, none could compare to this one in terms of sheer handsomeness.

He was seven or eight centimeters taller than Mu Chi, with a more muscular build. His dark brown-gray hair was slightly curled at the ends, tousled by the wind, with a few strands falling across his deep, sharp eyebrows. His high, straight nose glistened with a hint of sweat, and his thin, red lips were tightly pursed, giving off a hint of impatience. On his mixed-race, handsome face, he looked like a wolf king in trouble.  

Perhaps Mu Chi’s gaze was too obvious, as the man shot him an impatient glance.  

Mu Chi’s heart was pounding. This guy was so cool and awesome—he was totally his type!

Sorry, I’m going to fall in love early. Mu Chi said this secretly in his heart.

But he didn’t know that the comments in the live broadcast room were like this:

【This is what happens when rivals meet—they can’t stand each other!】

【Raise the banner for Qi  Wen! While Mu Chi was away for two days, their relationship has already heated up!】

【Pfft, WenRou is clearly waiting for Mu Chi to come back!】

【Mu Rou is the perfect match!】

【Is it just my illusion? Why do I feel like there’s something wrong with my idol?】

…

At that moment, Zhu Yinhang explained: “You are all Mu Chi’s good friends, but unfortunately, Mu Chi fell and lost his memory, and forgot about all of you. Just treat it as a reacquaintance.”

【???????】

【!!!!!!!!!!】

【Mu Chi has amnesia???!!!!!!】

The guests across from him also looked surprised upon hearing this, unable to believe it for a moment: “Amnesia?”

Mu Chi had already agreed with the production team that the amnesia wouldn’t affect his performance. With a stern face, he stepped forward and said in a clear voice, “I’m sorry, I forgot about you all, but the moment I saw you, I knew you were all my good friends.”

Saying this, he opened his arms wide, “Come on, dear friends, give me a hug.”

Everyone: “…”

Production team: This is overdoing it.

One of the petite, delicate young men had a gleaming look in his eyes, wanting to hug him but not daring to.

Mu Chi felt a little embarrassed, but lowering his arms would be even more awkward, so he kept his arms outstretched, walking sideways like a crab. Yet no one embraced him—this wasn’t right. Since that was the case, he had no choice but to take the initiative!

Zhu Yinhang’s temples throbbed as he tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

Mu Chi locked onto his target, wrapped his arms around the neck of the cool, confident older brother, and gave him a firm hug.  

Ah, so happy, he’d hugged the cool guy.  

But the cool guy he was hugging suddenly stiffened, his chiseled face twisted, and his eyes practically blazed with fire.

At that moment, hundreds of millions of netizens across the country were devastated: Why are Mu Chi and Qi Liao hugging each other?! ! ! ! They’re love rivals!

#Mu Chi loses his memory and mistakenly hugs his love rival Qi Liao# topped the trending search list.