HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 62: Exploration by Bao Yu!
Volume Two: The Road to Fans
Chapter Twelve: Exploration by Bao Yu!
"Teacher Chu," Wei Tong Zi called out softly, holding a bag of durian-flavored Lays potato chips. She asked in a hushed tone, "Is Teacher Chu okay?"
"I'm fine, nothing's wrong," Chu Zhi replied, a smile unconsciously tugging at the corners of his mouth. Of course he was happy; both blind boxes he opened were good finds. But the smile seemed off to Wei Tong Zi. What could make him so happy right after zoning out?
"I have an idea about the album cover, so I might go out to try it today," Chu Zhi said.
"Do you want something to eat?" Wei Tong Zi offered the chips, a large bag that seemed full but was mostly air.
"Since Tong Tong offered them sincerely, I'll definitely have some," Chu Zhi said, taking a few pieces. They tasted strange, not exactly bad but definitely not good.
Pang Pu, in charge of the cue process, asked, "Teacher Chu, are we still arranging music at home today?"
"I have something new. Last night before bed, I rented a studio," Chu Zhi said. "I hope to finish shooting the album cover today."
"That should be possible, but we'll need a photographer's help," Chu Zhi answered himself.
"The album cover..." Wei Tong Zi felt that the album cover wasn't something you could just casually shoot or synthesize on the computer. "What kind of cover is Teacher Chu planning?"
Wei Tong Zi had rich experience as a fan. Generally, pop music albums featured half-body or headshot photos of the singer, while rock album covers also favored half-body shots or medium to long-distance full-body shots. Classic folk albums often depicted the singer with a melancholic gaze or in beautiful landscapes.
Wei's experience was quite accurate. The original cover of "Against the Light" was a headshot of Sun Yanzi, while "The Poetry of Post-Youth" featured a full-body shot of all band members. Chu Zhi wasn't trying to be avant-garde; he just wanted to show that for his first album since his comeback, he could handle everything from start to finish as an all-around musician.
"An album cover can represent many things, and I want to showcase some ideas on the cover," Chu Zhi said.
After lunch, Chu Zhi received a call from the post-production live broadcast maintenance staff, and something was confirmed today.
"Teacher Chu, in the episode where you collected ideas for the new album name, there were 17,344 Mango Friends who provided suggestions, totaling 25,117 barrage comments."
"Thank you, that's a big help," Chu Zhi said. The name of the new album was confirmed — "25,117 Possibilities," a name that allowed all the naming fans to participate.
In the afternoon, Chu Zhi arrived at the studio. The album cover design he had in mind wasn't the traditional half-body or full-body shot. The specifics of the album title and cover were a surprise for the fans, to be revealed when the album was released on music platforms.
On the third day of "Dream of the Red Chamber," the popularity of the Vine and Star patterns was still lingering, but a new song release from a Korean group also quickly rose in the hot search rankings.
Recently, there have been more and more news about Korean stars on Weibo.
At the hotel where the Mango TV "Dream of the Red Chamber" production team stayed—
"Oh right, Jiuge said he wasn't feeling well, so he withdrew from 'I Am a Singer,'" Wei Tong Zi thought of her idol, whose face looked very bad every morning.
"I should have thought of that earlier," Wei Tong Zi consulted a doctor friend, saying it was about a friend of hers.
After pondering for a moment, the doctor friend replied on the phone, "From your description, it seems like you should consult a psychologist. Although I'm an obstetrician and gynecologist and don't know much about depression, clinical manifestations of depression mainly include low mood, impaired cognitive function, cognitive aging, reduced activity will, and physical impairment."
"Frequent zoning out is a manifestation of cognitive impairment, which we call cognitive dysfunction. Low mood—according to your description, your friend's mood isn't low, which is strange. As for the poor complexion every morning, it could be insomnia or poor sleep quality due to nightmares. Sleep disorders are a manifestation of physical impairment."
"From clinical manifestations, it's basically the same as depression," the obstetrician and gynecologist friend said. "You can also pay attention to whether there is cognitive aging and reduced activity will."
"Thank you, Wenwen. Let's have dinner together next Monday," Wei Tong Zi thanked her and hung up, feeling at a loss.
The more she thought about it, the more it seemed possible. Going live for three or four days and only going out this afternoon to shoot the album cover did indicate a decline in willpower.
But... Jiuge seemed quite normal, caring about others, very gentle, and showed no signs of being a depression patient.
Wei Tong Zi was very clear that for severe depression patients, maintaining their own condition was a victory, let alone showing concern for others emotionally.
"If Jiuge really has depression—"
Just thinking about it was unbelievable. How could a severe depression patient reach this level?
Wei Tong Zi felt emotional, emo at two in the morning, needing to see something good to cheer herself up. She opened—don't misunderstand, not the websites you might think of like Spring Warmth Blooms and 91.
As for what these websites were, Wei Tong Zi wasn't sure. She was browsing Zhihu, "What do you think of Li Xingwei and Lin Xia, the double kings of 'I Am a Singer' this season?"
Anthony's Wisdom: "In my heart, the only song king in this season is Chu Zhi. 'Against the Light' is
"It's time to sleep, it's time to sleep. Tomorrow's program, 'Exploration by Bao Yu,' is more important. I shouldn't play with my phone anymore." Wei Tong Zi forced herself to put her phone beside her pillow, lying stiffly in bed for half a minute.
After five more minutes, it was now 2:25, just enough time to sleep before 2:30.
Thinking this in her mind, Wei Tong Zi finally fell asleep at 3:40, and this story tells us: when sleeping, keep your phone away unless necessary.
She had barely entered into sleep when she was awakened.
Getting up at six-thirty, she hadn't even slept for three hours.
During the recording period of "Dream of the Red Chamber," the on-site staff worked intensively, but the pay was good, and fortunately, the work cycle was seven days, followed by three days off. If it were someone like Wei Tong Zi, maybe she wouldn't appear on the second episode after the first.
In December, in the bustling city, it was still not fully bright at half-past six, with the moon just bidding farewell to the sky, yet to summon the sun.
Many workers in the bustling city bid farewell to their beds in a daze.
But Wei Tong Zi was unusually awake. She had something on her mind, so she went to have breakfast with her colleagues. She particularly noticed Chu Zhi, who had bloodshot eyes, clearly indicating poor rest.
"Teacher Chu, did you not rest well yesterday?" Wei Tong Zi asked. "Did you have nightmares?"
The sudden question caught Chu Zhi off guard. He had planned to keep it to himself for a couple more days before selectively revealing it. Why was he suddenly seen through?
"I had a not-so-good dream, but I should have had enough sleep time," Chu Zhi responded casually.
"Tong Tong, your complexion isn't much better than mine, you even have dark circles. Remember to brew some chrysanthemum and goji berry tea," Chu Zhi advised.
"What?!" Wei Tong Zi's tone suddenly rose. It's not like any girl would have no reaction upon hearing she had dark circles, let alone someone who appeared on a show.
Quickly picking up her Gucci GG Marmont super mini bag from the sofa chair, she took out a compact and checked her reflection in the mirror.
"It seems like I really do have dark circles," Wei Tong Zi panicked, muttering to herself, "This won't do, I need to sleep early."
Chu Zhi was speechless. Dark circles or not, they were hardly noticeable with Wei's makeup on. He was just teasing, but girls always managed to pick up on something.
In the morning, the guests arranged their own study sessions, followed by the program team's schedule in the afternoon.
"Teacher Chu, today we have the 'Exploration by Bao Yu' segment in our 'Dream of the Red Chamber' program," Wei Tong Zi introduced.
Pang Pu took over, "In the 'Exploration by Bao Yu' segment, we will explore the study."
As mentioned earlier, the variety show forcibly leaned towards classic literature. Referring to male artists as 'jade,' the 'Exploration by Bao Yu' segment was a compliment to male guests, as well as a reference to the male protagonist Jia Bao Yu.
"We will take specific shots of the books and materials in the study, with Teacher Chu's permission," Pang Pu said.
All this had been discussed before filming. There wasn't anything important in the study, but Pang Pu still had to ask in front of the audience.
"As for the study, it's just some of my books and unpublished songs, nothing else," Chu Zhi said.
"So, Teacher Chu, do you give your permission?" Pang Pu continued. The dialogue between the two created the impression that the guest wasn't too keen, but the host was making an effort to facilitate.
But Pang Pu knew very well that the 'Exploration by Bao Yu' segment was designed to win over fans. In the previous episode, a bunch of fan letters were found for the Korean star, and then they talked about the fans who had supported them before their debut, and so on.
How could it be so coincidental? It could be arranged, and everyone knew it.
After a moment of thought, Chu Zhi nodded, "I'll cooperate with the program."
The study would have cameras set up and would be explored, allowing the audience to experience the thrill of rummaging through a celebrity's belongings.
"Now we have a participation button in the live studio. After this episode, we will select 100 lucky viewers to receive a complete set of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' published by People's Literature Publishing House," Wei Tong Zi said. "If you participate in the activity draw, be sure to fill in your address correctly, otherwise, even if you win, we won't be able to deliver it."
The program staff also brought a small blackboard with a poem written on it—
"In front of the white jade hall, spring dances free,
The east wind rolls evenly.
Bees swarm and butterflies flutter chaotically.
How many times have we followed the passing water?
How could we be willing to be left in the dust?
Ten thousand threads and thousand strands remain unchanged,
Let them gather and disperse as they wish.
Do not laugh at the lack of roots in this prime.
With the wind's favor, I ascend to the azure clouds!"
In every episode of the variety show, a poem from "Dream of the Red Chamber" would be shared, to wrap the program in a veneer of promoting classical culture. Mango TV had quite a few tricks up their sleeves.
Pang Pu, Wei Tong Zi, and the accompanying photographer, Guo Dong, each took their positions and entered the study. Chu Zhi had watched the highlights of the previous few episodes, where other celebrities indulged their fans in this segment, but for him, this step was to begin tormenting them.
Some might wonder, wouldn't it be tiring to maintain a persona for fans for a lifetime, especially in front of the camera?
Chu Zhi just wanted to answer, "It's actually quite fun. I could act for a lifetime."
Some people just love to perform, like the Emperor Beast Chu Zhi, who didn't get many opportunities and stages in his previous life, but this life seemed to be the right one.
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