HDIEUMDBTSB Chapter 67: Expected and Unexpected

 Volume II: The Road to Fans' Hearts

Chapter 17: Expected and Unexpected

Everything fell into place. For Xiaoguoshi, seeing the vine and galaxy patterns printed by his idol, only to turn around and find his idol facing homelessness and his house up for auction, was unbearable. Even passersby couldn't bear to watch, let alone Xiaoguoshi and his peers.

Xiaoguoshi and his peers felt like the legendary warriors awakened from a deep slumber. "The dormant beast within is awakened," "Your blood alone is not enough to repay the debt," "Completely insane" – these three lines perfectly illustrated the situation. Needless to say, the official Weibo account of Kangfei Company was overwhelmed, and the Kangfei Entertainment website was flooded with traffic.

What does it mean to be overwhelmed? The suggestion board on the official website was densely packed with comments like: "Apologize, owe Orange an apology," "You're the culprit," "If it weren't for you, Jiu Ge wouldn't have depression," and similar remarks.

To be fair, if it weren't for the internal betrayal of Kangfei Entertainment, resulting in missed opportunities for clarification and no action taken early on, the original owner wouldn't have suffered so miserably.

The comments that once pushed the original owner into depression were as vicious as the current attacks on Kangfei Entertainment, especially from marketing accounts and self-media.

"Four Major Pitfall Agencies for Artists: Kangfei Entertainment Tops the List"

"Classic Public Relations Mistakes: Kangfei Company's Success in Crisis Management"

"Don't Just Beat Around the Bush: Sign with Kangfei Entertainment"

"Too Much Trust in Talent Agencies: Chu Zhi Made Three Mistakes, Scan QR Code to Listen to Crisis Management Course for Nine Yuan"

Many self-media and marketing accounts' posts were essentially no different from the attacks on the original owner, just seeking to ride the wave of popularity without any investigation.

Tomorrow was supposed to be the highly anticipated debut of the Korean drama "Diamond" on streaming platforms. Little did they know, "Diamond" had long dominated the top spots on pirated apps like LoveMeTV, Foreign Online, and Everyone Video, relying on piracy.

So, what used to be headlines like "God Blocks Killing Gods, Buddha Blocks Killing Buddhas" on the Today's Headlines platform was now replaced by news about Chu Zhi. The hottest news on the Today's Headlines platform was the aforementioned news about Chu Zhi.

After finishing his evening routine, Chu Zhi glanced at the KuGou Music chart. Despite the surge in popularity for "Into the Light" and "Winds Blowing Over Wheat Waves," relying on the large fan base, he noticed fewer Chinese songs in the top 50.

"Parallel World H seems to be sensible. Is that why there hasn't been a ban on Korean entertainment? Will Korean idols, relying on industrialized star-making systems, dominate Asia once again?" Chu Zhi pondered. He didn't like the songs on his country's playlist. Most of the top songs in recent weeks were from H.

Mango TV: "[...] We've had pleasant collaborations with Teacher Chu on shows like 'I'm a Singer,' 'Little Mango Tea Party,' and 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Upon learning about Teacher Chu's situation, @Eating a Big Orange was falsely accused. We haven't done anything to harm the brand image of 'Wishing for Life 3.' We've decided to withdraw the lawsuit overnight and welcome Teacher Chu to the Mushroom House. #MangoTVWithdrawsLawsuit#, #MushroomHouseWelcomesChuZhi#, #LittleOrangesDonate#"

Look at how adept they are at feigning ignorance. Mango TV never misses a chance for publicity. Just a side note, Big Yellow is Mango TV's mascot, and its appearance is really rude.

From the trending hashtag #LittleOrangesDonate#, it was evident that netizens were continuing to expose more information, prompting internal donations from the Orange Garden.

The fans' heartfelt concern for Giegie was genuine. Under the organization of several major fan clubs, over twenty penguin groups and over forty WeChat groups raised over seven million in less than two hours. The VIP group was filled with five hundred members, and the penguin group had a limit of two thousand people. Just the official groups (established by major fan clubs, not officially recognized) had seventy thousand members, each contributing around one hundred yuan.

The average of one hundred yuan per person might seem exaggerated, but their fundraising capabilities were indeed formidable, not disappointing the top-tier influence. In fact, they were even stronger than before. For example, in a certain boy and girl group survival show that specifically harvested fans, with contestants organized by companies, the ceiling for votes was around one or two hundred million.

After Liu Yu, the mainstay of the new group, raised three million and eighty thousand in a day, it became headline news. Compared to that, the Orange Garden was like a guerrilla force without official command, yet they could muster such formidable combat power, proving one thing—

Torturing fans is effective, torturing fans is clever, torturing fans makes them chirp! Ahem, more tactfully put, fans have strong stickiness.

"Phew! I hope this can lighten Jiu Ge's burden." Wei Tongzi skillfully responded to messages in various fan groups. She didn't sleep well last night and didn't feel sleepy even as night fell. She personally donated twenty thousand yuan.

"There are still many little oranges who haven't come online yet," Wei Tongzi pondered.

With determination in her eyes, she silently prayed for her idol to have a flourishing path ahead: may the road you tread be filled with blossoms and bustling crowds.

If the fundraising could surpass ten million by tomorrow, especially considering that many mommy fans didn't like joining groups, resulting in a significant loss of firepower, Wei Tongzi thought about opening a Weibo group, even though managing a Weibo group would be inconvenient.

Amid the efforts of the little oranges, two more brands announced unilateral settlements.

Bottega Veneta: "[...] We unilaterally announce a settlement with Teacher Chu. @Eating a Big Orange, stay strong and keep going. #BottegaVenetaWithdrawsLawsuit#"

"Alright, I'll remember this brand. A timely help in times of need."

"Ah ah ah, I've never heard of this brand before. Bottega Veneta is also an Italian luxury brand, and their clothes seem to suit my taste."

"Thumbs up, as long as you help Jiu Ge, I'll approve of you. Jiu Ge is too pitiful, unjustly accused."

"Heartbrokenly taking away the orange, supporting Bottega."

"[Wu Tou Chu Wei, Yi Xing Yun Fei]" The six people didn't distinguish between high and low popularity, each representing their respective top-tier influence. However, with Chu Zhi's return, there was a trend of expansion into other people's territories.

First was Li Xingwei's strong domain. He was more accepted by the general public in terms of songs among the top-tier influencers, and Chu Zhi positioned himself as a singer-songwriter.

Wu Tang's Weibo had the highest popularity, consistently topping the charts in super topic sign-ins. After the singing room incident a few days ago, there was a fierce competition between Little Oranges and Tai Fei Tang (Wu Tang's fans). Now, Su Yiwu was the most successful case in the nurturing system, and recent events had strengthened his fanbase, becoming quite dominant.

"Wuwuwu—" Chu Zhi was awakened from his sleep by the vibrating phone. He liked to place his phone under his pillow, with the caller ID reminder set to "Little White," checking the time.

Why would someone call at two thirty in the morning? Was there a time difference abroad?

He pressed the volume key to mute it, but after a short while, Chu Zhi decided to answer.

"Sorry to disturb your rest, Jiu Ge. Let me get straight to the point. Your fan groups online are conducting large-scale fundraising to donate to you. Personally, I think it will have a negative impact on Jiu Ge's career, so can Jiu Ge come online and ask the fan groups to return the funds?"

Su Shangbai explained logically, "If Jiu Ge needs money, I can lend it to you."

"Interest-free," Su Shangbai added.

Fan fundraising? Since the effect of sending knives was so good, Chu Zhi immediately became wide awake, saying he would check right away, then hung up the phone.

As soon as he went online, the #LittleOrangesDonate# super topic reported the results. Just five minutes ago, the fundraising had exceeded eight million.

"Huh? The fans' combat power is too strong." Chu Zhi immediately checked whether fan fundraising was considered illegal fundraising, but after some research, he breathed a sigh of relief. Since fan behavior was considered a gift and not seeking monetary returns, it wasn't illegal fundraising, putting his mind at ease.

Mango TV, Bottega Veneta, and other brands and programs giving up on breach of contract. As Chu Zhi anticipated, even if they were added up, the majority of them would withdraw their lawsuits. With his return to the industry, Chu Zhi was once again wronged, his popularity even higher than before. Wasn't this money burning a hot potato? Not only that, he also had to claim 67 million from Gaiching Company and Li Yuting.

67 million was a bit low, but the price was determined by professionals. Even if they couldn't afford to compensate, they would have to liquidate all their assets. Chu Zhi always believed in an eye for an eye. If you hit me once, I'll hit you back ten times.

"Following this trend, if we give the fans a few more days, we'll easily reach one or two hundred million."

Chu Zhi couldn't help but think of a certain Chengcheng, who posted two selfies on Weibo, and to view them in high definition, one had to become his exclusive member, priced at 60 yuan for six months. Eighty thousand people paid overnight, earning over four million from just two photos. Even bank robbery couldn't be this fast.

The last time someone charged for viewing photos, it was Complete Doll Maiden, Formerly Princess Qian, Oral Skills Elementary School Student Sai Gao, Three-Inch Lolita, Clockwork Maiden Yoki, and other female bodhisattvas. To be honest, this behavior completely lowered the standards of top-tier influencers.

Sorting through his scattered thoughts, Chu Zhi immediately went online to handle it, posting a message and enabling comments.

Eating a Big Orange: "[#LittleOrangesDonate# Thank you very much for the little oranges' desire to ease my burden, but please, please don't do this. All you need to do is to support my work and accompany me. I don't even want to make the little oranges spend money on my albums. How can I let the little oranges donate so much money for me? As for the debt, I can handle it myself. The singing room is our memory and will always exist. If the little oranges still want to support me, then leave a comment under this post, let me see you, and let's cheer on together.]"

After posting, he left a comment under the post: "[Please return the eight million. Thank you all for your trouble.]"

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