HDIEUMDBTSB #### Chapter 55: Double Standards of Chu Zhi
### Volume 2: The Road to Gaining Fans
#### Chapter 5: Double Standards of Chu Zhi
The first day of "Red Mansion" sparked significant controversy. One major point of contention was the celebrity smoking and drinking during the live broadcast, and more importantly, the double standard—advising others not to smoke and drink while doing it himself.
On Mango TV’s comment section, many comments were negative:
**Xiao Canmeng:** "It’s one thing to tell minors not to smoke or drink, but why tell adults too? If you’re that capable, why don't you quit yourself?"
**Shangguan Xing:** "I was somewhat of a fan, but now I just can’t like him... How can a singer who smokes like this still care about his voice? Maybe the talent behind writing 'Against the Light' is there, but he doesn’t seem to value his career."
**Huang Ran Cjue Wu:** "If you can’t quit smoking and drinking yourself, don’t tell others to. It’s a bit of a letdown. Though, to be fair, he did look cool smoking, reminding me of my younger self."
**Mao Chi Xiaoguai Shou:** "If he hadn’t added those two sentences at the end, I could accept Chu Zhi smoking. But everyone knows smoking is harmful, it’s written on the cigarette packs. I think he should quit first and set an example, then we can follow his lead."
Controversy brings attention, resulting in the same level of buzz as when a Korean star appeared on the show. Peak viewership exceeded one million, though the exact online count wasn’t disclosed, nor was it clear if the calculation method matched other live streaming platforms.
Whether intentional or not, Wei Tongzi tried twice to delve deeper into why Chu Zhi drank and smoked, but the show's director, Meng Teng, succinctly interrupted via earpiece.
While exact viewer numbers are uncertain, one thing is clear: Chu Zhi’s on-screen behavior sparked heated discussions. By midnight, three hashtags were trending: #ChuZhiSmokingLive, #ChuZhiAlcoholic?, #GodlyLooksChuZhi.
Facing negative trending topics, his fans (referred to as "Little Oranges") immediately defended him, mobilizing an anti-black group—a must for top-tier celebrities. Their main task is to scour the internet for malicious comments about their idol. If you have many QQ friends and post a critical comment about a top star, someone from their anti-black group might even add you.
"Stars are normal people too. The smoking rate among domestic males is 50.5%, over half. Smoking and drinking aren't such a big deal."
"Many celebrities smoke in private. Chu Zhi is just too honest and doesn’t hide it, fully exposing himself on camera."
"This makes Nine more genuine, and I like him even more. Besides, Nine looks so cool smoking."
"Ordering takeout every day—Nine should hire a housekeeper."
The basic anti-black tactic is to control comments, ensuring no negative ones appear on Mango TV’s official blog. How? By using a simple fan circle technique: comments with the most likes and replies appear at the top.
The top thirty or forty comments are all positive praises, each with over 50,000 likes, from coordinated fan efforts, pushing neutral comments far back.
This is Chu Zhi’s first taste of top-tier treatment after crossing over. With no agency or staff, it's entirely fan-driven.
One of the more balanced comments, from a user named **Shier**, debated with Chu Zhi’s fans, and was ranked 57th:
**Shier:** "Celebrities can smoke, but doing it live is different because they set an example. Many fans will imitate them. It’s fine in private, but public occasions should be more mindful."
**Zhi Angel** replied to **Shier:** "He did remind viewers—minors shouldn’t drink, and he suggested adults drink less."
**Shier:** "But doing it on camera, while telling others not to, lacks credibility. Fans thinking Chu Zhi looks cool smoking are deluded—it’s Chu Zhi who’s cool, not the smoking. After his first day on 'Red Mansion,' I can’t like him."
**Zhi Angel:** "Chu Zhi is very gentle and truly worth liking."
**Shier:** "He seemed gentle in 'Tea Time’ interviews, but double standards and gentleness don’t clash. I dislike alcoholism because of family reasons, so I can't be a fan of Chu Zhi."
Fans earnestly promoting their idol didn’t change the public's perception much. No one considered depression, as Chu Zhi smiled often during the live broadcast, appearing cheerful and happy. People forgot about his previous cyberbullying ordeal.
Since the show was being filmed, Chu Zhi gave the crew keys to his house, confident in the constant surveillance cameras in his living room.
Around 6:30 a.m., the crew quietly set up the filming equipment. Everyone was sleepy from the early start.
“Tong Tong, you look sleepy. Want some Chunsheng organic milk?” Pang Pu tried to stay awake with a joke.
“My heart only has room for Li Ning’s Chitu running shoes now,” Wei Tongzi replied, dazed. She was still in the process of waking up, her brain not fully engaged, but instinctively responded, “Even if I eat something, it’s Lay’s new durian-flavored chips to wake me up.”
Chitu was the sponsor, and Lay’s chips were a partner.
### Volume 2: The Road to Gaining Fans
#### Chapter 5: Double Standards of Chu Zhi
Last night, Wei Tongzi didn’t sleep until 2 AM. As a devoted fan, she directed the anti-black group to use similar rhetoric to mitigate the negative impact of “double standards” and “smoking and drinking” on their idol. While effective, it did generate some backlash among the general public.
One reason top celebrities often have poor public favor is due to these factors. For a top star to gain good public favor, they must do many things, the most effective being twofold: firstly, creating standout works, and secondly, letting the public know they are a good person. Zhang Miangyang going on variety shows and Kui Kui appearing on programs were both aimed at achieving the second.
These two points are very difficult to achieve, but not for Chu Zhi. He has an external support system for standout works, and for the image of a good person, just look at how the actor cleverly plans...
Around 7:30, the actor woke up naturally. He didn’t need an alarm clock, as his biological clock was accurate, but he had a nightmare last night.
“Wait—” Chu Zhi suddenly realized this wasn’t a coincidence; he’d had nightmares four nights in a week. He asked, “System, this body has severe depression, but I remember that depression usually doesn’t cause brain abnormalities. My crossing over into this body shouldn’t carry that over, right?”
“Depressive disorder is caused by various factors leading to microscopic neurotransmitter disorders in the brain, such as dopamine and serotonin,” the system responded.
This means there aren’t exaggerated brain abnormalities, but frequent nightmares and sluggish thinking are certain.
Chu Zhi hadn’t noticed any sluggish thinking—maybe he was just too smart. The nightmares, though, were truly unpleasant.
“You’ve suffered a lot,” Chu Zhi murmured to himself, speaking to the original owner of the body.
According to his memories, it had been one or two months since he’d had a good night’s sleep, with consecutive nightmares haunting him. No wonder he had a mental breakdown. People don’t truly understand unless they’ve experienced it themselves; even with the memories, it’s not the same as feeling it firsthand. Only now did Chu Zhi fully understand the suffering of the original owner.
Chu Zhi knew there was “Wonderful Dream Chocolate” available in small shops, which would improve sleep quality and ensure pleasant dreams. But each piece cost three personality coins, and he currently only had one.
“System, I’m not a stingy person...” Chu Zhi began.
Before he could finish, the system interrupted—“Due to the unexpected crossover, the system has already compensated with an entertainment blind box. Please do not repeatedly exploit this bug. The system will not process it.”
“That’s not what I meant about the crossover,” Chu Zhi said. “System brother, you caused the crossover. I accept the hell mode start, but having a defective body isn’t right. Even Pinduoduo offers after-sales service. Are you worse than Pinduoduo?”
The system’s silence was palpable. About half a minute later, it replied, “Congratulations to the host for obtaining a BUG fix compensation—Wonderful Dream Chocolate.”
“You’re very sensible. Let me say, you’re definitely the most sensible system I’ve ever seen,” Chu Zhi praised sincerely, as this was the only system he had encountered.
“Would the host like to extract the Wonderful Dream Chocolate now?” the system inquired.
“Claim... wait. These top-notch nightmare conditions are undeniable proof. How could I end it now?” Chu Zhi suddenly realized, “The original owner’s suffering should be known.”
He decided to claim the chocolate after the Red Mansion program ended. Suffering a few more days wouldn’t matter. He told the system he wouldn’t extract it for now.
After freshening up, Chu Zhi walked into the living room, and a clear ding sounded in his mind.
“Face King (nickname Hao Shuai, English name: Shuaide Buyaobuyade, natural looks are the way):
Appearing in public without makeup once *1, 1 personality coin★.
Appearing in public without makeup once *3, 2 personality coins.
…”
Suddenly, a new achievement was triggered. He looked at it and found it quite reasonable; most celebrities wouldn’t appear on camera without makeup.
On Earth, Chu Zhi knew that Nicholas Tse was a male star who often appeared on camera without makeup.
“This should be the easiest achievement for me,” Chu Zhi thought. He rarely wore makeup anyway, genuinely benefiting from great natural looks. Of course, not wearing makeup doesn’t mean not washing up; the latter would fall under the category of poor hygiene.
NEXT