HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 47: Returning to the Top

 Volume 1: The Road to Stardom

Chapter 47: Returning to the Top

In the era of fast consumption, most people find it difficult to sit down and watch a movie at home. They lack the patience and feel like it's a waste of time, hence the popularity of short clips lasting just a few minutes. There's even a trend of short videos summarizing literary novels, a time-saving method that's either an upgrade or a downgrade of entertainment activities.

With this solid foundation, short video apps have become incredibly popular, joining the ranks of the top three giants in the new era of the internet: TMD (Today's Headlines, Meituan, Pinduoduo), with Today's Headlines representing ByteDance, the parent company of Douyin.

Speaking of which, the abbreviation is quite apt—it truly is TMD nonsense, with nothing good about any of them.

The above reflects the influence of short videos, to the extent that many songs have been popularized through them. "Wind Blows Over the Wheat Fields," "Facing the Light," and even Chu's version of "Desolate Island at Night" skyrocketed in popularity. They all climbed into the top ten on Kugou's rising chart, and also entered the top ten on Douyin's hot song chart.

Currently, in the entertainment industry, it's unclear whether the second half of the year is dominated by Korean dramas or if H-country boy and girl groups are exploding. Two-thirds of Kugou, QQ Music, and NetEase Cloud's hot song charts are English and Korean songs, while the remaining third is dominated by mainland top stars like Li Xingwei and Wu Tang. As for capable singers releasing albums, it's quite difficult to stand out in this unhealthy record market. However, Chu's three songs that went viral are quite dominant. It's worth noting that Kugou purchased exclusive rights to "I Am a Singer," and all the songs performed on stage are included. Among the top twenty songs on Kugou's rising chart, only two are from Lin Xia, and one is from Li Xingwei. Neither Lin Xia nor Li Xingwei have made it onto Douyin's hot song chart. After all, whether Douyin is popular or not doesn't directly correlate with quality; it's more about whether the song is suitable for short video editing and if it's catchy.

The next day, the popularity showed no signs of decreasing; if anything, it burned even brighter as the sun rose.

That day, Chu Zhi ascended once again! That day, Chu Zhi reclaimed his title as a top-tier artist!

Within two days, his Weibo followers skyrocketed from over eight million to over thirteen million, which was extremely unbelievable. Even if you paid for followers, such a rapid increase couldn't be achieved. The former would be considered exaggerated if it gained four to five million followers in a month, and the latter might even get your Weibo account banned if you bought followers too aggressively.

Thinking back to when "Earthly Idol" was broadcasted, it took only a month for four trainees' fan accounts to surpass five million followers. Many seemingly exaggerated data points weren't so exaggerated upon closer examination. Chu Zhi's Weibo recovery was still somewhat restrained, without a brokerage company behind the scenes fueling the fire.

The record for the single-day increase in followers within forty-eight hours was unrepeatable in such a short time frame. This was because he already had a huge fan base, and even if the house collapsed, the foundation hadn't been destroyed. Moreover, the triple impact of his persona, talent, and the plot reversal led to such an exaggerated outcome.

Without delay, Chu Zhi posted his first Weibo post after returning.

Eat a big orange: "[After collecting detailed evidence on the @Bai Le Men Namer, a lawsuit has been filed against @Bai Le Men Namer, as well as the company behind the scenes, @Li Tingyu, for spreading rumors and defamation. The Second Intermediate People's Court of the Magic City has accepted the case.]" [Image]

For those who can't view the image, it's a notice of acceptance for a criminal case from the court, stamped with a red seal.

If the plot is mild, spreading rumors and defamation may only result in civil cases, but if it's severe, it becomes a criminal case. How did the court determine the severity of the case? For Chu Zhi, it was too simple. With over 40 million in breach of contract damages, severe depression, and screenshots of online attacks from all corners, any one of these pieces of evidence could prove the severity of the situation. With all three combined, it would be enough to give them a tough sentence, unless the two can reveal the person behind the scenes.

If Jian Haoyi was only partially questioned about his "friendship with Jiuge" before, now that his innocence has been proven, Jian's premature admission seems too obvious, leading to numerous criticisms from blood-sucking marketing accounts and self-media outlets.

Entertainment Tongue Lasher: "@Jian Haoyi_ You mentioned 'even if what you did wasn't illegal, it wasn't moral' to Chu Zhi. We all interpreted this as Jian Haoyi knowing something as a friend. But now that things have turned around, can you explain this statement?"

There were also private contacts for interviews, all of which Jian Haoyi declined, citing a lack of time due to filming.

What lack of time? He was furious at being scolded. In Jian Haoyi's view, why were these idiots accusing him? The ones who scolded Chu Zhi were the most pitiful; at least he addressed Jiuge respectfully, while these people only knew how to call him derogatory names like "steel wool" and "Chu trash."

"Could it be that I, too, was misled by rumors? Wait..."

"Congratulations to Jiuge for proving his innocence..."

Continuously tapping on his phone, Jian Haoyi felt that neither of the two replies was appropriate, so he decided to delete them all and play dead. 

As for the so-called hidden girlfriend Li Tingyu, both her social media accounts and voice platforms had disabled comments due to too much criticism. Of course, there were still some stubborn people who continued to turn a blind eye.

They commented: "The verdict isn't out yet, why are the brain-dead fans getting so excited?" or "Does it even need to be said that Chu Zhi has capital backing?" or "Sister Ting is just a weak woman, can she really stand up to capital? If the court rules in favor of Chu Zha, then there's no justice in this country," and so on.

Are they brain-dead? Not necessarily. The people who wrongly accuse you often know better than anyone else how unjust the accusations are. But why do they choose to turn a blind eye? Simply because they've eaten chocolate with a taste of shit in front of everyone.

Others ask: "Is the chocolate tasty?" How could they possibly answer that it's not tasty? No matter what, they have to say: "Look, this shit is different from other shit, it's dry and crispy."

It's nauseating to hear, but in the end, these stubborn people are only a small part of the population and can't influence the overall situation.

Chu Zhi sat at home eating hot pot, watching the online public opinion and dynamics. He saw that the Change Qing Culture Broadcasting had been shut down and that Li Tingyu and Jian Haoyi were being attacked.

After dinner, he took pictures of everything, printed them out with his home printer, and burned them. He muttered to himself as he watched the smoke rise, "Brother, it's time for you to rest. I've wiped away all the dirty water thrown on you. Even if your soul goes to hell, you'll still be a clean person."

There was one thing Chu Zhi didn't say: the mastermind behind the whole thing, damn it, Dahuai and others would have to pay. People often tell Chu Zhi, "If a dog bites you, are you going to bite the dog back?" To which Chu Zhi's answer is, "Of course I have to bite back. If a dog bites me, I'll eat its meat and barbecue its bones."

After burning everything, Chu Zhi cleaned up and ended up getting drunk again that night. [Drunk *3, 2 Personal Coins]. Currently, there are 8 Personal Coins left.

Should he draw again?

Drawing once costs 5 coins, leaving only three coins. It feels like there are no more cards left to play.

"I should draw. My next plan is to appear on the live variety show 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' to maintain popularity and solidify my fan base. After all, once the guilty feelings subside, it's easy to lose fans. And it's also an opportunity to play up the depression card and torture thousands of die-hard fans. Then I'll establish my own studio and release albums."

While becoming a top-tier star, it's smart to ensure there's excellent work output as well.

Currently, Chu Zhi has a total of 11 songs in one album, including "Wind Blows Over the Wheat Fields." Releasing one album is sufficient, but the problem lies in "Facing the Light," which is originally sung by female singer Sun Yanzi and has a main emotion suitable for girls. It would be best to draw again for a better selection of songs for the first album after returning, to firmly establish his identity as a talented individual.

"System, I want to draw a blind box," Chu Zhi decided in his mind and said immediately.

Instantly, six gift boxes appeared, and without a doubt, he looked at the prize pool:

【Ethereal Sound】

【Wonder: 3cm Height Increasing Pill】

【"Do Not Forget to Stay Calm" Gift Pack】

【"Forgive Myself Without a Place" Gift Pack】

【Album: "Hero of the Ages"】

【Album: "Poetry of Later Youth" Gift Pack】

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