Film and television success ultimately hinges on quality, and one by one, viewers and influencers began posting their reviews of the movie.
"Time changes many things, but I've realized that secret crushes are somehow more beautiful than first loves. After watching When I Close My Eyes, I felt deeply moved. Maybe I saw my own youth in it, though sadly, my youth had no Fuji Tengeki."
"Why are people saying they didn't understand the story? It's simple. Fuji Tengeki secretly loved Fuji Tengeki, and Fuji Tengeki had no idea he was being loved by Fuji Tengeki. Only after Tōi Kimoku died did Fuji Tengeki realize Fuji Tengeki had always loved him. Makes sense now, right?"
"Bro, stop with the nesting dolls. You're banned from nesting dolls."
Even though Shochiku didn't have a promotional budget, and China Film Group brought the movie over without investing, Chu Zhi's personal popularity pushed the film onto trending lists on TikTok and Weibo. It earned hashtags like #EveryoneHasTheirOwnTengeki and #ImDoingJustFineOverHere.
For Shochiku executives, Chu Zhi offered incredible value—but they felt like they'd been thoroughly swindled.
As the film reached more people, comments became increasingly diverse. Some found it boring, some didn't enjoy it at all, but overall, the film's reputation remained strong.
Renowned film critic Jiu Hong rated it 4 stars on Douban:
"Chu Zhi is a talented singer. That's the impression I had of him. So when I heard he was starring in a movie as a high schooler, two words popped into my head: cash grab. To be blunt, I thought he was just milking his fans.
My sister dragged me to see it. To my surprise, it was actually an enjoyable experience. Whether or not his acting was good is beside the point—his appearance as Kimoku didn't break immersion. The film's overall quality and cinematography were also solid. Now I understand why the director insisted on casting him."
Opening ratings:
Douban: 8.3
Maoyan: 9.7
Tao Piaopiao: 9.4
Mtime: 8.1
While Maoyan and Tao Piaopiao scores are often inflated, Douban and Mtime hold more weight, and for now, the scores showed promise.
Chu Zhi's debut film wasn't just successful in China and Japan—it began to make waves across all of Asia.
Thailand: In its first two days, the film brought in 38 million baht, roughly 7 million RMB. That might seem modest, but in Thailand's historical box office rankings, over 30 million RMB is enough to crack the top ten.
"Tengeki and Doya Bokuko's hairstyles becoming the trend among students" — Bangkok Entertainment News
This was amusing, since Tangeki's look was just a plain fringe haircut, which would appear silly without Chu Zhi's face. Doya Bokuko's short hair needed a good facial structure to pull off.
India: India, the Eastern superpower, performed even better. Two-day box office: 607 million rupees—over 50 million RMB—nearly ten times Thailand's performance.
"When I Close My Eyes makes you want to become someone better" — Entertainment & Faith Weekly
South Korea: Korea, with its strong romance movie market shaped by K-dramas, seemed like an ideal fit. But upon entry, the film was met with harsh reviews from critics.
"This is peak awkward Japanese storytelling. Why not just confess directly? From the perspective of student Fuji Tengeki, the male lead was a failing student with reckless behavior—no girl would look twice at someone like that. Don't be fooled by this fairytale fantasy. The only reason it works is Chu Zhi's visuals. I've never seen a more handsome high schooler." — critic Ha Jaehyun
"Doya Bokuko is a terrible girlfriend. She dates Akiba Mori, yet never stops thinking about her ex. When her letter to the afterlife gets a reply, she assumes it's from her dead lover and fights with her current boyfriend. This movie glorifies emotional cheating." — critic Kim Jeongah
South Korea was caught in ongoing gender politics, and the film stirred two opposing sides.
But while the critics argued, the general public made up their own minds. Opening day viewers: 1.67 million.
In South Korea, ticket sales are calculated by headcount, not revenue. With an average ticket price of about 45 RMB, that equates to over 70 million RMB on day one.
Meanwhile, at JYP Entertainment…
Company president Park was reviewing paperwork when his assistant, a ponytailed young man, rushed back into the room.
Park raised an eyebrow. He had just sent him off to compile fan vote forms for their website, and not even three minutes had passed.
"President Park, the company website just crashed," the assistant reported.
"Crashed?" Park frowned. They had already prepared extra servers with their IT firm. Was someone siphoning funds?
The assistant tried to explain, but Park cut him off. "What does this have to do with our website?"
"Because the film's explosion in popularity led to massive demand for Chu Zhi's Korean EP. His fan group, the Apostles, flooded the site requesting the EP release. Over 200,000 members left more than 300,000 comments, and it coincided with our ongoing fan voting campaign."
Park waved his hand. He needed a moment to process this.
Traditionally, Korean boy groups announce album drops via company websites. Girl groups rely more on digital singles, while boy groups lean on physical sales.
Chu Zhi wasn't in a boy group, but since he collaborated with JYP, they announced his project the same way.
"You're telling me the Apostles crashed the site?" Park asked, stunned.
"Yes, President Park."
"But Chu Zhi only has about 200,000 paying members on his fan cafe. Can that many people really flood the site?"
A year ago, Chu Zhi's fan cafe had over 400,000 paid members. He ranked first, but after months of inactivity, dropped to seventh.
"Since the movie's release two days ago, he's regained over 350,000 paid members," the assistant replied.
"?!" Park was speechless.
"Contact DH Systems. We need the site fixed immediately," he ordered.
Once alone, he logged onto the website, only to find waves of similar messages:
"When will the Demon King's album drop? Can't you give us a proper timeline?" — Apostle Hyunji
"It's been two months. The album is still 'in production.' Did JYP forget about the Demon King?" — Apostle Hyejeong
"Is JYP sidelining the Demon King? Even Sony Music never ignored him. We demand an answer!" — Apostle Yoona
"Christ gave cinema a Fuji Tengeki and music a Chu Zhi. Please release the album. I want to collect every special card!" — Seongyeon
With over 300,000 messages, the Apostles had buried all regular posts.
Park realized the gravity of the situation. These were all potential sales. He immediately called Chu Zhi's manager, Niu Jiangxue. It was time. The album needed to drop.
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This is Jin Ling. This is Jin Ling's uncle who died to bring back Jin Ling's uncle who was killed by Jin Ling's uncle but not really. So Jin Ling's uncle team up with Jin Ling's future uncle to solve the mystery of a mutilated body that turns out to be Jin Ling's uncle who was killed by Jin Ling's uncle.
And then this turns into a big thing where Jin Ling's uncle and Jin Ling's future uncle, Jin Ling's uncle and Jin Ling's uncle confronted Jin Ling's uncle who was stabbed by Jin Ling's uncle and was killed by the ghost of Jin Ling's uncle.
And all of this happen to be planned out secretly by....
Can I get a drum roll?
Jin Ling's uncle