Yang Huanyi and Cao Shi have known each other for a long time, and rumors about them have circulated online for some time. Many of Yang Huanyi's works after he was sidelined were also invested in by Cao Shi. Just bringing these things up provides endless material for discussion.

Ji Juntao fiddled with his coffee cup: "Do you even need to tell me this? The company already has all those stories about Cao Shi and Yang Huanyi's loving relationship that he posted online. You underestimate me."

Shang Yechu lowered her eyes: "Besides, although it's a matter of personal freedom to ship couples, in the eyes of casual viewers and solo fans who don't ship couples, the actions of CP fans are undoubtedly spreading rumors that I'm a third party. In terms of public opinion, I'm the one being exploited and the one who suffers more."

“Male celebrities can only have one wildly popular on-screen couple in their lifetime, but it’s different for female celebrities; they can promote many couples. To maintain fandom activity, besides fan wars and fan battles, the only other option is to ship the couples.” Ji Juntao felt relieved and smiled, “Promote them well. But don’t go overboard. Promote them in a planned way, gradually, and with restraint, starting with the details, and don’t make them too greasy… Anyway, just be yourself when you’re with Yang Huanyi; that’s the most attractive thing you can do.”

Ji Juntao had initially worried that Shang Yechu wouldn't be able to bring herself to compete with Yang Huanyi. Now, however, he was finally relieved.

“Speaking of which,” Shang Yechu clenched her fist, “what was the name of what I had with her?”

"You've already got your eye on it?" Ji Juntao laughed. "The super topic has already been created, it's called 'Chuyi Fifteen'."

Shang Yechu silently repeated these four words in her heart: "Why is it Chuyi Fifteen?"

"Chu in Ye Chu, Yi in Yang Huanyi, and you two are exactly fifteen years apart in age," Ji Juntao clicked his tongue. "These CP fans are quite good at coming up with names. The super topic already has more than 10,000 people, it's growing quite fast."

Are any of our people on the host team?

"I'm working hard, and I estimate I'll be able to get approved in a few days."

“Okay.” Shang Yechu said briefly, “We can take our time with the fan community, but there’s something else that’s more important.”

"What?"

"I'm planning to join Hongshu." Finally able to skip over Yang Huanyi's topic, Shang Yechu breathed a sigh of relief. "Wasn't my shoe-shining imitation video really popular on Hongshu? I saw it even trended on Weibo. While it's still trending, I want to join Hongshu, the more high-profile the better."

Sweet Potato's users are predominantly female, and are characterized by youth and high spending power. Fan loyalty is high, and interaction is relatively active. In the context of internet user profiles, they represent a group with significant commercial value.

The more female fans an artist has, the higher their market value—this is true everywhere. While Hongshu (a Chinese short video platform) has gained some traction online, its popularity is far less than that of platforms like Weibo and Douyin. Its real breakthrough won't happen until next year. Shang Yechu plans to make a high-profile entry into this platform before that breakthrough.

With Ye Chu's fame, generating a significant buzz for Hongshu (a popular Chinese music streaming platform) shouldn't be a problem. With proper marketing, breaking into the mainstream is incredibly easy in today's climate. Correspondingly, the company can use this as leverage to negotiate with Hongshu. For example, they could offer to promote Ye Chu-related content more widely, limit negative information about her, and assist with the marketing of her work.

Sweet potatoes are eager to expand their reach and user base; while Shang Yechu has fame and traffic. It's a perfect match, like a pillow delivered just in time for someone who's sleepy.

If you don't join now, by around 2021, when the commercial value of Sweet Potato explodes and the number of monthly active users surges, some things will be much harder to negotiate.

These are all things that the company needs to handle.

"This is really strange," Ji Juntao said incredulously. "You're like a mind reader! Earlier this year, I had several artists from our company join Hongshu, as well as the main actors from 'Happiness Street Chronicles.' The results were pretty good, but only the fans were excited; there was no buzz outside the entertainment industry. I was thinking about how to persuade you to join. The users on this platform are incredibly valuable; acquiring them is a sure win."

Shang Yechu was both amused and exasperated: "Why didn't you tell me sooner? It's just registering an account, did I really need to persuade you? I'm not that difficult to talk to, am I?"

"No, let me finish." Ji Juntao rubbed his nose and chuckled dryly, "I was thinking of having you and Yang Huanyi join on the same day, preferably with you two following each other first, and then posting something at the same time..."