My Idol System: An Idol, But Also A Savior-Chapter 177: Absurd Speculation

At last, the time for announcing the selected cast of the film [Dream] had arrived. Fans of various actors, especially those whose names were on the shortlist of likely candidates, were almost all waiting beneath the official account of the production team.

[Really looking forward to this cast lineup]

[The director is Lance and the lead role is Luis. I don’t even need to doubt whether it’ll be good, I just need to start guessing how many awards it’ll win]

[Every actor who finishes a Lance film wins awards. Please let my favorite actor’s name be on the list]

The production team did not keep fans waiting for long. As soon as the time came, the post was published immediately.

DREAM movie official: [Greetings to film lovers around the world. This moment has finally arrived. The movie DREAM will officially begin filming on January 15. Please welcome our actors @Luis @Layla @Zaku @Joshua @...]

A long list of actors followed, along with well wishes, promises, and thanks for the audience’s anticipation of the project. Yet from beginning to end, there was not a single mention of the name Lucas.

Fans were almost frozen by the news, especially when Joshua’s name was prominently displayed in the post.

[It’s exploded, it’s exploded, everyone. I’m not seeing things, right?!]

[Yesterday I didn’t even dare mention this because I was afraid Joshua would feel sad. I really didn’t expect this, I really didn’t expect it...]

[Joshua, why didn’t you tell us you were this amazing?!]

[Your first role ever, Joshua, go for it!] 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

[Peak! Absolute peak!]

[Hahaha, now I’m going to laugh right in their faces!]

[Looking back now, that bunch really looks like a bunch of clowns hahaha. What were they even celebrating in the end?]

[I’m dying of laughter. They’re probably hiding in holes right now]

[Go cry to your moms hahaha]

[So humiliating there’s nowhere to put it]

[Who would’ve thought this moment would come? Truly peak, hahaha]

Joshua’s fans were practically setting off fireworks in celebration. Of course, they were also paying back everything they had been forced to swallow in silence over this period of time. Lucas’s fans, meanwhile, were mocked on almost every front, suffering a crushing and humiliating defeat.

Forget the fans—even Lucas himself had never expected things to turn out this way.

What made him even more uncomfortable was not that he hadn’t been chosen, but that the one who had been chosen was Joshua.

He would have much rather seen a name he didn’t recognize at all.

Lucas flew into a rage, nearly sweeping everything off the vanity table.

John had just come in from outside. Seeing the scene, he paused for a moment, then acted as if nothing had happened. He went to the wardrobe to grab some clothes and left again, leaving behind a single sentence as he went: "Calm down a bit."

Lucas stared coldly at his retreating figure, his eyes filled with icy resentment.

At that moment, his phone suddenly rang. When he saw his manager’s name flashing on the screen, Lucas could not help but flinch.

He swallowed, knowing that he could not escape this.

"What’s going on? Didn’t you say your performance was pretty good?"

The manager’s voice immediately came through the line. It didn’t sound overly angry, but it was irritated enough.

Lucas tried to stay calm. "Yes, my performance was quite good, but I was never certain I’d be chosen..."

There was some logic to what Lucas said. He had never been sure he would be selected. From the very beginning, it had been the path the company guided public opinion toward, not something he himself had claimed.

As for performing well—

People say that when you believe in something for too long, whether it truly exists or not, your subconscious will tell you that it does.

That was exactly how Lucas was now. He had even forgotten how angry or miserable he had been that day. Thinking back, he only felt that he wasn’t bad at all, and that others being chosen was simply because they were better than him, or because of some other reason.

And of course, it could have been anyone—but Lucas absolutely could not accept that Joshua was better than him!

There had to be some other reason.

At this moment, the manager spoke again. "You really did perform well, right?" he said, as if confirming it one more time.

Lucas’s heart pounded violently. In the end, he answered decisively, "Yes."

"Alright. You might get scolded a bit, but in the end this will help your popularity. Just stay silent and don’t browse the internet too much. Don’t let the online discourse affect you."

Clearly, the manager and the company already had a new direction planned for handling this matter. Lucas replied without hesitation, "I understand. Thank you."

Lucas looked at the dark screen reflecting his own face and could not help but pause for a moment. He quickly put on a smile, returning to his usual calm and bright expression.

Joshua...

Right after the cast confirmation was released, Lucas’s fans suffered defeat after defeat. At this point, they could only remain silent while being mocked, as their previously arrogant remarks were dug back up.

Of course, the feelings they held for Lucas were intense and sincere. Even so, that did not make their behavior of belittling others while indulging in fantasies about their idol any more justified.

Just then, another video was suddenly released online.

[I see everyone talking so much about the newly selected cast for the movie "Dream." To be honest, when I heard the rumors, I also thought it would be Lucas, since at the very least he received formal training at an academy. But it seems that this role had already been decided even before the auditions...]

Along with this was a video of Lance standing up excitedly and applauding ShineOn’s performance at the Atius Group’s year-end banquet. Then came another, even blurrier video. Netizens noticed that the outfits worn by Joshua and Lance in it corresponded to the time of last year’s year-end awards ceremony.

Although the footage was shot from quite far away and looked blurry, nothing could escape the eyes of the internet.

In the video, Lance ran after Joshua, seemingly talking nonstop, and in the end even grabbed Joshua’s hand. The video cut off at that exact moment. Almost as soon as it appeared, the direction of public opinion shifted dramatically.

[It’s not what I’m thinking, right? This is actually insane!]

[In this industry, what can’t happen, hahaha]

[But that’s Lance we’re talking about!]

[Don’t even mention Lance—just looking at Joshua’s face, I could too]

[I already felt something was off at that year-end banquet...]

[So that’s how it is, hahaha]

[This really feels like there’s some kind of dark curtain behind it, damn it!]

[Poor Lucas, mom’s baby!]

[Two videos and a few people conclude everything—these lunatics with shrimp-sized brains really have nothing but filthy thoughts]

[I’m dying of laughter. Certain fandoms don’t need to explain themselves—your idol should feel lucky to have a face that can tempt others]

[This is ridiculous. Stop slandering, be careful or you’ll get sued]

[Is CM’s legal department not doing anything anymore?]

[You bastards—Joshua is talented, so what if he’s favored? And can’t they just talk normally?]