Accidentally Going Viral in the Entertainment Industry After My Thoughts Were Read

Jiang Shuwan is a brilliant but socially detached researcher at H University who has never entertained thoughts of romance. Her life changes when a messaging error leads her to see a photo of Liang Hao, a D-list actor standing before a ginkgo tree, which triggers an intense, immediate infatuation. Viewing love as a problem to be solved with the same rigor as her scientific experiments, Jiang Shuwan takes a one-year leave from her studies to pursue him. She infiltrates the entertainment industry as a background extra, meticulously tracking Liang Hao’s schedule and serving him beverages and meals with the clinical dedication she once reserved for lab mice. Her roommate and peers are baffled by this sudden transformation from a cold academic to a hopeless romantic, but Jiang Shuwan remains undeterred in her goal to make Liang Hao fall in love with her.

While working on the set of the high-profile production The Regent Prince, Jiang Shuwan encounters Xia Xiangyang, a rising actor who is secretly wearing sunglasses to hide a black eye sustained while stopping a sexual assault at a bar. Unbeknownst to Xia Xiangyang, Jiang Shuwan has bonded with a mysterious Gossip-Eating System that provides her with accurate, predictive information about the entertainment industry. The system reveals that a malicious video will be released to ruin Xia Xiangyang’s career, framing his heroic act as a drunken brawl. Acting on this intelligence, Jiang Shuwan anonymously tips off the police, leading to an official clarification that restores Xia Xiangyang’s reputation and saves his role in the production. She is credited in the police report as the concerned citizen Ms. Jiang, though she maintains her anonymity from the public eye.

Meanwhile, Jiang Shuwan’s pursuit of Liang Hao reaches a critical juncture. Liang Hao, aware of her infatuation but lacking genuine affection, exploits her devotion to secure better opportunities. He manipulates her into running errands, including a five-kilometer trip to buy specific coffee, while simultaneously trying to ingratiate himself with Xia Xiangyang and the production’s assistant director to advance his own career. Jiang Shuwan interprets his occasional kindness as reciprocal romantic interest, believing her plan is succeeding. However, the Gossip System intervenes with a devastating revelation: Liang Hao is using her solely as a free assistant and a tool for networking. The system predicts that once Liang Hao achieves fame, he will discard her, and his career will ultimately collapse due to poor role choices and gambling debts.

Confronted with this irrefutable data, Jiang Shuwan’s romantic illusion shatters instantly. She recognizes that her months of devotion were based on a fabricated narrative constructed by her own infatuation. She calmly returns Liang Hao’s belongings, rejects his attempts at emotional manipulation, and disengages from the relationship without drama. This decisive break marks a significant turning point in her character arc, shifting her focus from chasing an unattainable celebrity back to her own autonomy and intellectual pursuits. Her interaction with Xia Xiangyang evolves from a distant savior figure to a mutual acquaintance, as he expresses genuine gratitude for her intervention, contrasting sharply with Liang Hao’s transactional behavior.

The narrative establishes a new dynamic where Jiang Shuwan navigates the entertainment industry not as a desperate admirer, but as an informed observer equipped with the Gossip System. She continues her work as an extra, but her motivations are now rooted in personal interest and professional curiosity rather than romantic obsession. The story sets the stage for her potential collaboration with Xia Xiangyang, whose career is stabilized by her actions, and hints at a deeper connection with Ji Hanzhang, the film’s lead actor, who also begins to perceive the strange occurrences surrounding Jiang Shuwan. As Jiang Shuwan sheds her love-brained mindset, she prepares to rewrite her own script, leveraging her unique position and the system’s insights to carve out a path that prioritizes her own growth and well-being over the validation of a man who never valued her.