People never truly stay idle. On the evening of New Year's Day, Chu Zhi browsed Orange Home and saw countless messages.
"Wow, I'm blushing."
"This car moved so fast, I didn't even react."
"Ugh, what the hell is this?"
"Honestly, it's kind of pretty."
Chu Zhi muttered to himself as he read. The night of New Year's Day instantly dispelled all his negative emotions. In ancient times, people said, "A thousand miles share the same moon." Today, the modern version was a world connected online.
Orange Home updated very quickly. There was even a department dedicated to collecting fan complaints and feedback, such as when fans uploaded profile pictures that were approved but didn't receive a notification.
Small issues, but by the next afternoon, everything was resolved, with a very proactive attitude.
Did anyone really think Chu Zhi spent tens of millions every year on the app for nothing?
The message board had "evolved" into a Douban-style platform, with various interest groups.
The group that collected research papers about different countries was called [Academic Research on Jiu-yé], while Chu Zhi was currently browsing [Jiu Studies], a fan creation group about himself.
After about half an hour, Chu Zhi felt his worldview and values expand. No wonder people online advised idols to stay a little distance away from their fans.
He clicked into a more popular group, [Chinese Style, Ancient Style Creations (Self-Indulgence)]. Despite the name, many Little Fruits posted their music creations there, and many independent musicians casually uploaded their work as well.
With current trends, this group might become a gathering place for independent creators of traditional-style music.
After listening to a dozen or so songs, Chu Zhi thought, "Very talented." He could promote them on his account later.
He browsed the more popular groups, eating chips and drinking cola. The Emperor Beast switched the post sorting from "by popularity" to "latest reply."
At the top was [Little Fruits Huddle Together for Warmth], a group for those dealing with personal or family issues, spending the holidays alone.
The first post was from a Little Fruit sharing their story:
"My parents run a restaurant in Guangdong. Every New Year, the busiest time for booking banquets, so they usually return after the fifteenth day. This year, business is exceptionally good; they might not even return by the fifteenth.
I've gotten used to it. On New Year's Eve, I wake up around nine, watch Jiu-yé on Bilibili, eat casually at noon, binge dramas in the afternoon, and start cooking a big meal around four or five. Life is comfortable.
On New Year's Eve, I saw my family group chat, my eldest uncle and second aunt sharing dinner videos and lively red envelope competitions. I felt a little emo.
I'm not afraid of being alone, but afraid of seeing others lively while I'm alone, so I posted seeking comfort from other Little Fruits."
"Dad and mom didn't get train tickets home, so they plan to return by Labor Day."
"Overseas, tickets are too expensive for New Year. I really miss mother's braised pork knuckle, sob sob."
…
So many people could not reunite with their families. Chu Zhi suddenly had an idea: since he had free time, why not reunite these people?
He couldn't reunite with his own mother, but helping others reunite was a nice thought. The idea lingered in his mind but was ultimately abandoned.
Chu Zhi had a good sense of his influence. Acting recklessly might cause chaos.
Besides, he couldn't fulfill every Little Fruit's wish. Unequal attention would be worse than doing nothing.
"Charter a plane? Seems too high-profile and not appropriate." Chu Zhi thought through several proposals and rejected each one.
Finally, he sighed. A star under the spotlight, with great influence, couldn't act on whims. Lessons from past events, like the bleeding incident, kept him in check.
Chu Zhi returned to the music group. With nothing else to do, he listened to over a hundred songs posted there. More than five hours passed.
He picked five he liked and posted a message:
Eating A Big Orange: [Happy New Year, let's be happy together. Also, here are five pretty good ancient-style songs.
Fu Cao Wei Ying (腐草为萤)
Ming Yue Tian Ya (明月天涯)
Bai Tou Yin (白头吟)
Bu Gua (卜卦)
Shuang Xue Qian Nian (霜雪千年) ]
Popularity remained high. Even during New Year, within half an hour, comments exceeded ten thousand, mostly wishing the idol a Happy New Year.
Given the large base, many Little Fruits who liked traditional-style music listened, giving great promotion results.
On New Year's Day three, Chu Zhi flew to the capital to visit Zheng Huo and Zhang Ning for New Year greetings.
Upon arriving at the capital airport, he received a call:
"Brother Jiu, at the start of the year, I'm preparing to launch Plan B. I'll need your help." Su Shangbai spoke directly.
"Start of the year, January or February? Do you have a specific date? I need to arrange it with my manager," Chu Zhi asked.
"Mid-February, around the 15th to 20th. Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, four countries, four promotions," Su Shangbai replied.
"Okay, I'll reserve enough time," Chu Zhi said.
"Thank you, Brother Jiu. Happy New Year."
"What for? I'm already a shareholder and brand ambassador. Happy New Year," Chu Zhi replied.
Recently backstabbed, Su Shangbai sold about eighty percent of his sugar factory. The Da Bai soft candy brand value remained stable, so Plan B involved leveraging Chu Zhi's influence to expand the brand overseas, starting from the downstream industry chain.
They chatted briefly. Su Shangbai was in Malaysia and shared Chinese New Year dishes, including New Year cakes and eight-joy fish salad. As always, Emperor Beast was interested in good food.
"Sounds delicious. Da Bai, you must show me your skills when possible," Chu Zhi said.
"Definitely," Da Bai replied calmly.
After leaving the airport and getting into the car, Chu Zhi hung up.
First stop: Zheng Huo's place for a meal. Rock musicians often have idealistic traits. His villa, on the outskirts of the Fifth Ring in Beijing, even had pigs and chickens.
Walking into the estate, Chu Zhi saw a dog chasing chickens.
"Sorry to bother you, Brother Zheng," Chu Zhi said.
"You should have come earlier. Your sister-in-law is a fan," Zheng Huo said, leading Chu Zhi inside.
Zheng Huo's wife, Jia Xue, was ten years younger than him, in her thirties, formerly a model. Modeling was a hobby; the family was wealthy.
The interior was oddly decorated, reminiscent of a KTV and internet café combination.
Inside, a young man in his twenties, Zheng Huo's son Zheng Lao, born from a previous marriage, now a university graduate, was at a keyboard like a canyon pianist.
"Brother Jiu, Brother Jiu really came to my house, hahaha," Zheng Lao exclaimed, stepping away from the keyboard.
"Old Zheng, you're amazing, really invited Brother Jiu over," Zheng Lao said, thumbs up to his father.
Father and son were clearly close. Zheng Huo replied, "Did you think I was joking about our relationship?"
He even patted Chu Zhi's shoulder to show camaraderie.
Chu Zhi looked at the keyboard and said, "Why don't we finish the real business first? Let's complete this game."
"No, I'm just playing against the computer," Zheng Lao said. "Brother Jiu, you must sign an autograph. I'm your mom fan, a male mom fan!"
Chu Zhi blinked. His mind filled with question marks.
Zheng Huo was humble. Not only was his wife a Little Fruit, but his son was too.
Emperor Beast's "meal-hopping" tour ended on the seventh day. Time to return to the company and start the new year. New Year, new energy. The new year was the Year of the Rabbit. From the first to the seventh day, Emperor Beast had eaten plenty of rabbit meat. Luck should be good this year.
===
I suddenly felt so stupid for the past two days. You know that feeling when your brain just lags behind, but your body feels… somewhat fine?
Because of the last cosmic event, I started feeling suspicious. And yes, when I checked, a lunar eclipse was happening again—or more precisely, a total lunar eclipse on September 8. I was left completely speechless =_=. My Yin constitution really feels the effects of these things.
At least this time it's not as bad as a while ago, when multiple cosmic events happened simultaneously over a long period. That was rough…