Quick note before you dive in: Fatty Niu has watched survival shows and knows a bit about the whole trainee/idol thing, but not that much, so a lot of the settings here are personal headcanon and may not be super rigorous. If you spot anything weird or unreasonable, feel free to point it out. If it doesn’t mess with the main outline, I’ll fix what I can. Mostly, hope you have fun reading.

PS1: The protagonist is absurdly good-looking. Both of them are.

PS2: No romance before adulthood. Absolutely no puppy love.

"Hey, kiddo, wanna come check out our company? Uncle here seriously thinks you could be a huge star someday!"

The second Blake Mitchell opened his eyes, that was the first thing he saw—a middle-aged man grinning in a way that screamed sketchy, holding out a business card, eyes practically glowing as he stared at him.

Blake Mitchell: "..."

Where the hell did this trafficker-looking guy come from?

Seeing Blake Mitchell stay silent, the man quickly dug a small notebook out of his pocket and said with a beaming smile, "It’s okay if you can’t decide on your own, little friend. How about you leave Uncle a phone number? I can talk to your parents instead."

A phone number?

Blake Mitchell looked openly disgusted. He’d have to be out of his mind to leave his number with someone this shady.

He parted his lips, about to refuse on the spot. "I’m not—"

[Ding~ Idol Heartthrob Development System successfully bound!

Beginner mission: Leave the correct contact information for the talent scout.

Reward: Affection Points x10]

The mechanical voice that suddenly popped into his head scared Blake Mitchell so badly his whole body jolted.

Idol heartthrob? What kind of nonsense was that?!

"Kid... the number..." The creepy-looking uncle nudged the notebook and pen a little closer, staring at him with an almost pitiful expression.

Blake Mitchell forced his attention back onto the man in front of him. That thing calling itself a system had just said this guy was a... talent scout?

Suspicion flashed across his face. No matter how he looked at him, the guy really didn’t seem like one...

Still, he took the notebook and pen, then wrote down Serena Grant’s real phone number.

He’d read novels before, so he had a rough idea what a system was supposed to be. And honestly, it was just leaving a number. Not exactly a huge deal.

In his memory, something like this really had happened when he was little.

It was just that back then he’d been too young, too scared, and before the uncle could even finish talking, he’d already bolted.

The street had been packed, people coming and going nonstop. He was just a tiny kid, and once he slipped into the crowd, good luck finding him again.

He even remembered going home and rambling to his mom about it for ages...

The memory snapped off. Blake Mitchell handed the little notebook and pen back to the talent scout in front of him and said politely, "Uncle, this is my mom’s phone number."

The scout uncle smiled so hard the lines on his face deepened, nodding again and again. "Okay, okay, okay. Thank you, kiddo. Here, this candy’s for you."

Blake took the small pack of hard candy with a weirdly complicated mood.

What was this supposed to be? He looked even more like a sketchy child trafficker now. This system wasn’t scamming him, right?

But on the outside, Blake lifted a huge, sweet smile and said in a soft childish voice, "Thank you, Uncle. Then I’m gonna go find my mom now. Bye-bye, Uncle!"

The moment he finished speaking, he turned around on the spot, crisp and decisive, not dragging it out for even a second.

He needed to get back fast and figure out what this so-called system was actually about.

The scout uncle watched the little figure run off, and couldn’t help sighing from the bottom of his heart. Kids these days were seriously good-looking and polite too!!

...

It was summer vacation now. When Blake got home, there wasn’t a single person there.

He went straight back to his room and locked the door.

"System?"

He opened his mouth carefully, testing the waters.

[Ding! The Idol Heartthrob Training System is at your service.]

Blake pressed his lips together, then asked, "Was it you who suddenly sent me back to my childhood?"

He clearly remembered that after finishing the college entrance exam, he’d been in a crazy good mood and gone out with friends to celebrate. After getting home, he’d gone straight to sleep.

And then who would’ve thought that after one nap, he’d wake up right on the street, back in the year when he was eleven!

"Ding! At the time, there was a gas explosion next door to the host. The host was in extreme danger. Detecting the host’s intense will to survive, the system bound with the host inside a space-time rift."

A gas explosion?

The second Blake Mitchell heard that, he jolted so hard his scalp went numb. Back when he took the college entrance exam, he wasn’t even an adult yet!

He pressed a hand to his poor, startled little heart, steadied himself, and kept asking the system a few more questions. Little by little, he got the basic picture.

This system had originally wanted to bind to him anyway, but before that, it was supposed to get his consent first.

Only because the situation had been so critical did it use its own energy to force the binding.

And because jumping through time had burned through most of its power, the system now only had a few basic functions left.

After figuring out the whole cause-and-effect chain, Blake finally had the headspace to seriously study this so-called idol system.

He used to read web novels too, so of course he knew what a system was.

As for why the system had chosen him, Blake had exactly zero doubts.

I mean, did that even need asking? Obviously because he was handsome.

An idol system and all that—anyone could tell it would definitely pick a super handsome guy to bind to.

The system, already linked to Blake’s brainwaves: "..."

Blake "super handsome guy" Mitchell lifted his chin, confidence basically overflowing. "System, give me the intro. Do we have a main quest?"

"Ding! The Idol Heartthrob Development System is dedicated to training the host into a qualified idol heartthrob!

Main quest: Become a household-name idol heartthrob on Blue Planet.

Quest description: 70% of people on Blue Planet know the host by name and can match the name to the face.

Time limit: 15 years, starting today.

Quest reward: None.

Quest penalty: None."

Blake Mitchell stared at those two big fat “none” options and went speechless. So what, whether he finished the task or not basically made zero difference?

Still, he remembered that after clearing the newbie mission earlier, he seemed to have gotten something called favor points. What were those even for?

As if it had read his mind, the system instantly pushed out a new task.

“Ding! Please choose the development route for your idol heartthrob training:

A. Bright, lively, sunshine-type heartthrob

B. Gentle, polished, tender-type heartthrob

C. Untouchable, cold, abstinent-type heartthrob

D. Dominant, boss-level president-type heartthrob”

Blake read from top to bottom, super seriously, and immediately felt his indecisiveness kick in again. Every option looked pretty solid. Honestly, any of them could work.

“Mm…”

Since that was the case, then…

“I choose C!”

Blake blurted out loud.

The number one rule of exams: if you don’t know, pick C.

“Ding! Development route confirmed! The system has officially been renamed the Cold and Abstinent Idol Training System!

Main Quest 1 now released: Gain 100 true-love fans

Quest description: Fan ranks are passerby fan, hardcore fan, true-love fan, diehard fan, and hall-of-fame fan

Quest reward: Time-Space Practice Room unlocked

Side Quest 1: Practice Dance for three hours

Side Quest 2: Practice Vocal for one hour

Side Quest 3: Practice Rap for one hour”

[Side Mission Details: No time limit, no penalty.

Side Mission Reward: Affection Points x50

Note: Affection Points can be gained through system rewards or from fans’ emotional feedback, and can be used in the Spacetime Practice Room.

1 True Fan = 1 Affection Point, 1 Diehard Fan = 10 Affection Points, 1 Hall-of-Fame Fan = 100 Affection Points.

]

Blake Mitchell stared at the long string of missions and felt his whole head buzzing.

Forget the True Fan thing for a second—how was he even supposed to handle those side missions?

He used to be nothing more than a regular student. Wasn’t this basically making things hard for him on purpose?

Right while Blake was stuck and stressing over it, his mom and stepdad came back.

"Blake, I bought fried chicken for you. Come out and eat!"

His mother Serena Grant’s voice came through the door. She had probably seen the jacket tossed on the living-room sofa and knew he was already home.

Blake paused. The excitement from getting the system just now dimmed a little.

But in the very next second, he pulled up a smile and answered, "Okay! I’m coming, Mom!"

Outside, Serena Grant and his stepfather Hudson Adams were waiting in the living room.

The second they saw the smile on Blake’s face, both of them froze for a beat.

The two of them had only gotten married this year. Serena Grant had brought along eleven-year-old Blake Mitchell, while Hudson Adams had a son too—Justin Adams, nine this year.

Since it was a blended family, neither kid had been happy about it. Ever since they started living under the same roof, neither of them had shown much of a good attitude.

And Blake had been the most resistant of all.

His biological father had died in an accident. When Blake was little, his dad had treated him really well. So in young Blake’s heart, his mother had basically abandoned his father and found him a new dad.

As for Justin, his own mother had run off with his father’s money and her lover, so his attitude toward women was already pretty bad. On top of that, Blake’s obvious resistance only made him dislike this new mom and new older brother even more.

That was exactly why the married couple were so shocked to see Blake smiling today.

Blake Mitchell naturally caught the looks on his mom and stepdad’s faces, but he still kept smiling as he took the jianbing from Serena Grant’s hand and said in a soft, sweet little voice, "Thanks, Mom!"

Back then, he’d been too young. He didn’t understand how hard it was for his mom to raise him all by herself.

But now, inside this small body was a version of him who was almost grown. There was no way he was going to make things harder for his mom and Hudson Adams again.

They were already exhausted from work every single day. Then they had to come home and deal with two little troublemakers. Honestly, they were worn out in every way possible.

Seeing how unusually well-behaved Blake Mitchell was today, the surprise in Serena Grant and Hudson Adams’s eyes slowly turned into delight.

This kid... had he really forgiven them?

Serena Grant lit up at once. "Oh, come on, what kind of son says thank you to his mom? What do you want for dinner tonight, Xiaobai? Mommy’ll make it for you in a bit! Sweet and sour ribs, okay? I remember that’s your favorite!"

As she spoke, she grabbed her bag again and was about to head out, clearly planning to buy ribs for Blake Mitchell right away.

Hudson Adams quickly stopped her. "I’ll go. The kid’s in a good mood for once, so you should stay and talk with him."

"Hey, no need! You don’t even know how to pick the good ones!"

...

Watching the two of them practically fight over who got to go out, Blake Mitchell let out a helpless sigh. His tiny face looked weirdly world-weary, all serious and old-soul-like. It was ridiculously cute.

"Mom! I want egg fried rice! I don’t want sweet and sour ribs!"

The moment they heard that soft little baby voice of his, Serena Grant and Hudson Adams finally stopped pushing each other back and forth.

Serena Grant turned around, reached out, and gently pinched Blake Mitchell’s chubby little cheek. Smiling, she said, "Okay, Mommy’s going to make egg fried rice for my precious boy right now!"

Then she turned to head for the kitchen.

Blake Mitchell tugged lightly at her sleeve. Meeting Serena Grant’s puzzled gaze, he spoke up,

"Mom, did anyone call you today? A man said I could become a big star!"

Serena Grant and Hudson Adams exchanged a look, both a little stunned.

When Hudson Adams had picked her up from work earlier that day, they really had gotten a call. The caller claimed to be from some entertainment company. They’d assumed it was just sales spam and hung up right away.

From what Blake meant, some stranger had gone up to him and said something.

Serena Grant’s expression turned serious at once. She crouched down so she was eye level with him and said, "Blake, has Mom told you before that you need to be careful when you go out to play? Especially with people you don’t know. Try not to even talk to them, okay?"

Seeing her like that, Blake gave a very earnest little nod.

After Blake’s little episode, the two adults in the house started worrying a bit about Justin Adams too, since he still wasn’t back.

Serena turned to Hudson Adams and said, "Go to the school and look for Justin. He went out at noon and still hasn’t come home."

Hudson nodded, grabbed his phone, and headed straight out.

Even though Justin often wasn’t home by this hour, he still felt a little uneasy.

Only after Hudson left did Serena start really thinking about what Blake had just said.

She rubbed his soft little head and asked gently, "So Blake’s dream is to become a big star?"

Blake nodded again.

Truth be told, he didn’t really have some grand dream. But now that he’d been forcibly bound to this system, becoming a star was basically the road in front of him.

He had no clue whether he could actually pull it off. Still, the system had latched onto him to save his life, so no matter what, he had to give it a shot.

When Serena saw how firmly he nodded, her heart softened. She said, "Okay, Mom gets it. I’ll call that number back."

She knew there was a huge chance it was a scam, no joke. But she still wanted to leave the kid a little hope. In a few days, she could go check out some arts programs herself and let Blake learn something. If he took the arts-track exam route later, maybe he’d still have a shot at becoming a big star.

One look at Serena’s face and Blake knew exactly what she was thinking.

But he really couldn’t wait around for the arts-exam route.

That path took way too long, and his main mission had a hard fifteen-year deadline hanging over his head.

Blake stretched out his little hand and passed Serena the business card he had already prepared.

A flicker of surprise crossed Serena’s face as she took it.

The first thing she saw was four bold words:

Winsome Entertainment.