HDIEUMDBTSB **Chapter 60: It Will Be Worth a Lot**

 **Volume Two: The Road to Fandom**

**Chapter Ten: It Will Be Worth a Lot**

Recently, keywords like "Orange Garden," "Little Fruit," and "Orange Fans" have dominated the internet, appearing prominently on various platforms. To be honest, being too active might incite jealousy from other fan groups, but for now, the hype is manageable.

There is a type of fan known as a floating fan among the fangirls. They don't particularly support any one celebrity but will follow whoever catches their eye. Chu Zhi has attracted many of these floating fans. Who in the world of fandom wouldn't dream of such attention?

In the midst of a touching atmosphere, there's always one or two clowns, either naturally funny or just causing amusement. A Weibo user named Qing Shuang Yan Yu is one such "Little Fruit" who has been posting similar content for five consecutive days.

"My ID used to be 'Qin Feng Ru Jiu,' and I've been a loyal Little Fruit supporting Jiu Ge for two years. I just don't leave comments often. I even found my own star in the Starry Sky Group. But! But! I foolishly changed my name recently. After watching Jiu Ge's live stream, I wanted to change it back immediately, but someone else took the name. What kind of bad luck is this? @Qin Feng Ru Jiu_ Can you please change your name? I'm willing to pay for it! A humble plea from your little unlucky star."

It's really unfortunate. According to Weibo regulations, ordinary users can only change their ID once a year, but if you spend fifteen yuan to become a Weibo member, you can change it five times a year. Qing Shuang Yan Yu is a member, so changing names is usually no big deal. What’s unusual is that after changing her name, her old name was taken. To be honest, "Qin Feng Ru Jiu" isn't even a particularly nice name.

Many netizens offered suggestions. Despite being a sad situation for Qing Shuang Yan Yu, her posts seemed quite cheerful. Some suggested appealing to the site, while others said to message the current "Qin Feng Ru Jiu" privately.

Qing Shuang Yan Yu tried all these methods. She got no reply to her private message, and appealing to the site was out of the question. She was desperate but still rational. She understood that she had changed her name, and someone else registered it—it was perfectly legitimate, so there was no basis for an appeal.

Ru Duo Shi Zhi Xia: "How about trying a similar name, like 'Qin Feng Ru Jiu.' with a period, or ':Qin Feng Ru Jiu,' 'Qin Na Ru Jiu,' or add a symbol or space, or find a similar character."

Qing Shuang Yan Yu replied to Ru Duo Shi Zhi Xia: "Ahhhh, I thought of that too! But it's just not the same as the star group's name. A different name means it's not the same star!"

Ru Duo Shi Zhi Xia: "Uh, you have a point. I have nothing to say to that."

Qing Shuang Yan Yu, still missing her original name, sent another message: "@Qin Feng Ru Jiu_ Please respond! Let's talk privately. If you're willing to change your name, I'll pay you five thousand yuan."

This was a case of desperation. Many people use Weibo just to catch up on gossip. Some log in every day before bed to browse, while others only log in when they hear about a big story from friends.

The person who took the name "Qin Feng Ru Jiu" simply hadn't seen her messages yet.

Taking the monthly average income of the least prosperous direct-administered municipality, Mountain City, as an example, the average monthly income is about 4,200 yuan. Five thousand yuan is indeed more than many people's monthly income.

This incident sparked quite a bit of discussion and drew the attention of bystanders.

"Five thousand yuan just for a name? That's my monthly salary. Is this the world of the wealthy?"

"I get it now. I'm going to hoard names. (dog head emoji)"

"I've never seen a thousand gold per character, but today I saw a thousand yuan per character. Is this the new digital collectible? Fangirls are always ahead of the curve. (dog head emoji)"

"The 21st century's blue ocean industry has been discovered."

The comments had a tinge of sarcasm, but there were also some objective analyses, like one from a Weibo influencer named "Train Outside the Window."

"Train Outside the Window" is a special commentator for "Global Times" and a well-known virtual economy researcher on the internet. He has a knack for finding unique angles to analyze things.

"Let me make an interesting hypothesis. If Chu Zhi can maintain his position as a top domestic star for ten or twenty years in the entertainment industry, and if no more accounts are created, then these two million accounts could indeed become valuable virtual collectibles. It's also interesting that this number coincidentally matches the upper limit of Bitcoin."

Chu Zhi has only created a bit over two million accounts, so there is a clear upper limit. Why does Bitcoin also have an upper limit?

Bitcoin is generated through a set of algorithms, and there are only 21 million solutions to the Bitcoin equation.

The long post from "Train Outside the Window" was also riding the wave of popularity, but undeniably, it was well-written and engaging, attracting some people who don't usually follow fan circle news.

"Let's evaluate it from four aspects: durability, recognizability, portability, and scarcity. It's perfect.

As long as Sina doesn't go bankrupt and your Weibo account isn't banned for weird posts, its existence will be long-lasting. The portability and durability are great.

As for recognizability, while there may be special characters and spaces to create similar usernames, the real ID is accurately printed and cannot be changed.

So now the question remains—does it have scarcity?

Two million sounds like a lot, but compared to the vast domestic fan market, it's just a fraction.

CCTV Finance roughly estimated that there are 500 million fans in China. This number is too exaggerated and not very credible. I'll make a bold estimate that including casual fans and floating fans, there are about 150 million.

Moreover, among the existing accounts, there will inevitably be some that are no longer used, deactivated, or forgotten due to lost passwords or changed phones. Accounts will only become fewer over time."

"Train Outside the Window's" argument was logical. Weibo also mistakenly bans accounts every year, and users changing phones without transferring data might also lose their original accounts.

In another two or three years, of the two million plus accounts created by Chu Zhi, perhaps only half will still be in use.

"From the perspective of people who don't follow stars, spending thousands on an account name is irrational, but many people would be willing to spend a few thousand to attend a concert of their childhood idol if circumstances allow."

You're footing the bill for childhood memories, while fans of Chu Zhi are footing the bill for their star-chasing careers. Taking it a step further, let's exaggerate a bit: Chu Zhi becomes even more globally renowned, climbing to the status of a world megastar with over a hundred million fans. In this scenario, account names would hold even more value, and an all-English username might even fetch a sky-high price overseas.

Don't even mention the fact that the ID represents the fan's journey of devotion. Buying one without that history is self-deception. Who among the fans could resist spending time in the singing room with their idol, crafting classic songs?

In terms of collectible value assessment, a username with glow-in-the-dark letters on the ceiling should be worth more than one on the wall.

The only downside is the lack of liquidity and interchangeability.

In the conclusion of his lengthy post, "Train Outside the Window" wrote: "The above is just my speculation. No one in the entertainment industry can maintain a top position for twenty or thirty years. Even two or three years is difficult, let alone becoming a global megastar. As it stands, the collectible value is very low."

This last paragraph from the prominent figure "Train Outside the Window" sparked dissatisfaction among the Little Fruits, who believed that Jiu Ge would surely always have a smooth journey.

There were many unhappy people, including the CEO of Sunflower River, Huang Bo, and the head of the Artist Department, who never imagined they'd be involved in variety shows again, let alone witness another upheaval.

"Wu Tang's online popularity can't even rival Chu Zhi's. Even my wife has become a fan. It looks like an A+ contract won't cut it anymore. We need an S+ contract," said the head of the Artist Department, with mixed emotions.

Naturally, there was joy. It was expected that such a strong star would soon join their department. However, the regret lay in the fact that signing him would now come at a higher cost, resulting in fewer benefits.

As qualified capitalists, Huang Bo and the head of the department thought, why not sign him now and watch his popularity grow even further?

"An S+ contract might not suffice," Huang Bo said after some thought. "We might have to help him set up his own studio."

"Huh?" The head of the Artist Department felt this was an unnecessary exaggeration.

"He can write songs and he's good at it," said the CEO of Sunflower River, who didn't have the time to watch live streams all the time and could only focus on the highlights.

Everyone has their own preferences. Huang Bo saw Chu Zhi's strong creativity in variety shows, saying, "As they say, experience breeds creativity. After being framed, Chu Zhi's creativity in songwriting has flourished, almost like opening up a new energy channel. He can compose, write lyrics, and create melodies."

The head of the Artist Department suddenly understood what the CEO meant. The three main attractions of a big company to a top star are: connections to provide them with songs, professional ethics to help build their image, and a big company platform.

Considering Chu Zhi's display of creativity in "Red Dream" wasn't just about popularity, but more importantly about creativity, and even some of the songs were clear to him, the head of the Artist Department understood that even the company would find it difficult to include them.

Composers and lyricists are really sly, and can even be called song masters, holding onto good works. It's not a matter of money; they choose the singers.

Adding to that the professional ethics to build an image... Regardless of whether Chu Zhi's current gentle demeanor is real or fake, the head of the Artist Department believes that even their own company couldn't pull off these maneuvers.

Printing over twenty million IDs for the singing room—was it pretentious? Absolutely, was it embarrassing? Definitely. The head of the department felt like he was about to bury his head in his hands.

But to win fans' hearts... that's empathy! Star-chasing is akin to youth, where you do silly things that lead nowhere, are pretentious, and embarrassing.

To sum up, Sunflower River's only attraction for Chu Zhi is the big platform.

"His albums aren't charged for; that's our advantage," Huang Bo suddenly said. "Because making albums requires money from the company."

"I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Chu Zhi might pay for his own album..." the head of the Artist Department suggested, patting his six-months-pregnant belly, proposing a possibility.

"Paying out of pocket? How—" Huang Bo was about to say it's impossible, but upon careful consideration, it really was possible, because Chu Zhi's actions over the past few months had turned the public opinion upside down. Even the seasoned entertainment industry veteran Huang couldn't figure out if this guy was real or fake.

As for the protagonist Chu Zhi, he was currently starting the third day of recording for "Red Dream." His main schedule was still composing. Most of the time, other artists would be out doing variety shows, busy as spinning tops, while he stayed at home.

The accompanying photographer, Jelly, felt quite content...

Sometimes surprises come unexpectedly. After dinner, and without realizing it, Chu Zhi achieved a major breakthrough.

Achievement unlocked: Smoking Master - Smoke 250 times, rewarded with six individual coins.

Ruthless Butcher - Eat spicy food 50 times, rewarded with five individual coins.

Adding the original balance of five coins, the total was now sixteen.

Looking at his balance, Chu Zhi couldn't help but recall a line from a TV series: "I, Old Li, have never fought such a wealthy battle before."

He could now open three blind boxes at once.


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