Chapter 21
The night sky wasn't completely black; it shimmered faintly with a dim blue light. Zhou Xiao used a small fan to swat away the small insects that flew toward their storefront. Huashang's area had a large area of greenery, so small flying insects were quite active, especially during the hottest weather.
The wind blew through their hair, waving a small fan, which was quite refreshing on a summer night. Lately, they hadn't been going out much during the day, and only made plans to go out together at night when it wasn't too hot.
Huashang is a newly built development zone, and Qi Sisi's family settled there thanks to resettlement housing. But she often came here to hang out with friends during her school days. Although Huashang has undergone extensive renovations, she was able to point out many things about its original appearance to Zhou Xiao.
"There used to be a very, very big tree here," Qi Sisi vividly gestured to Zhou Xiao about the thickness of the tree trunk. As she spoke, she stroked a wooden chessboard in her hand, which was made of the trunk of this big tree.
Her voice was a little low, her fingers tracing the faint growth rings on the chessboard. "The tree was too big, and the roots were damaged. Later it was sold."
Zhou Xiao looked at the rather large chessboard, which was very finely crafted. It had been transformed into a rest and entertainment area for residents, with a lot of simple fitness equipment.
They found a clean piece of grass to sit down and chat. As they talked, they both felt as if a lot of people were walking towards them.
The sounds of conversation reached their ears, presumably about reserving seats, dividing areas, etc. Perhaps noticing the other two people, the conversation stopped, and they found a table for themselves, placing their takeout on it.
Zhou Xiao noticed that one of the girls had a palm-sized "Quan" character hanging on her bag. It was a small light sign that glowed in the dark. Combined with the previous conversation, she vaguely felt that she knew what had happened.
Sure enough, she and Qi Sisi saw several figures on their way to Huashang Times Square. When they approached the square, there were already quite a few people there.
Zhou Xiao keenly noticed that there were several familiar bodyguards (the same ones who had escorted the trainees to and from work) maintaining order. Unlike the previous chaotic situation, this time the area was clearly divided into several sections.
Many people in the square had simply spread a piece of cloth on the ground, sitting on it to eat and chat. Nearby were standees of their idols, some wooden supports, and several cardboard boxes filled with unidentified items. Zhou Xiao guessed they might be support items to be distributed at tomorrow's press conference.
The two of them took a quick walk around and found that the square was basically filled with fans of the initiators and mentors of Star 101. These fans seemed quite skilled, assembling and cleaning up in one go, and simply threw the packed garbage into the trash can next to them.
The most eye-catching fan club in the entire area is undoubtedly the initiator Zhou Quanli's fan club. It has a large number of members and occupies a large area. Zhou Xiao even saw several fans wearing the same style of tops busy in the area they occupied.
Huashang Times Square opened the night before the Star 101 press conference, and fans were divided into areas, each of which was required to deal with the garbage in their own area. Otherwise, they would be blacklisted by the program team for subsequent offline activities.
This is what Zhou Xiao and Qi Sisi saw on the forum. Some people took screenshots of the information posted in the fan group and posted them online, and they were then circulated by marketing accounts and the onlookers in the forum.
——Forum——[June 1st evening]
【Topic】Huashang Times Square is now open
[Main Post] Some of the instructor’s fans have already gone to the offline arrangements!
1L
Uh, I hope everyone can be more hygienic this time, and not embarrass themselves like last time, which also caused Xingtu to be closed for ten days...
4L
It seems that there are restrictions this time. Fan groups that want to be arranged offline must apply through the fan club, and then guarantee to the program team that they will restrain the behavior of their fans and deal with the garbage in the area.
7L
I tell the production team, don't be so ridiculous. Who do they think they are? The school? Even a school spring outing wouldn't require this, right? And you still want a guarantee? Aren't you giving the production team too much credit?
13L
This is not so bad, the fans of the mentors at the press conference will definitely come to support their idols, and besides, Xingtu should also make a statement, right? After all, the last time it was messed up so badly~
19L
By the way, what happened to their report to the police?
23L
Reply to 19L: This definitely won’t result so quickly.
31L
To the lucky forum members I picked earlier, could you please do a live stream for us? I'd love to see your perspective!
49L
Reply to 31L: Hehe, I won. Let’s see how it goes. If it’s not lagging, I’ll start a live broadcast for everyone. If it’s lagging, I’ll start a live broadcast for everyone~
53L
I envy everyone who won the tickets to the press conference. I heard that these tickets are selling for over a thousand yuan each on Xianyu!
59L
It’s actually worth it for one thousand yuan per ticket. Look at the lineup of initiators and mentors. It’s very rare to see them sing normally, especially Zhou Quanli!
67L
The price of a scalper I added [Note 1] has already gone up to over 3,000. The price of 1,000 was last week. I'd like to kindly remind everyone not to buy from scalpers! There are so many scammers out there. Don't trust those who don't use Xianyu (a type of online gambling website)! Even if they do use Xianyu, you should check if the link they provide is genuine!
69L
Kids who are just starting to chase stars should definitely read the advice from the 67L sisters. There are so many scammers out there, it’s hard to be on guard.
…
The next morning, Zhou Xiao had already washed up and was eating breakfast, half-heartedly looking at her phone. The press conference was to begin at 1:00 PM, and Zhou Xiao and her fan-chasing partner, Qi Sisi, had agreed to meet at Huashang Times Square around 10:00 AM.
Zhou Xiao's ticket was given by the program team, while Qi Sisi relied on her good luck to be among the lucky winners of the first official draw of Star 101.
Zhou Xiao was struggling to push a large, double-decker camper van, which she had borrowed from the hotel a few days earlier. It was neatly packed with accessories. Fortunately, Huashang Times Square was close to the hotel, so pushing it didn't take long.
Zhou Xiao had requested these merchandise be made over the past few days. After estimating the number of people and to facilitate delivery, she made two hundred sets of merchandise. These included all the merchandise she'd already made, but she also added two new banners: a picture of Ji Shao making a V and a Q-version of him picking up trash.
When this double-decker, large-capacity camper van was pushed into the Huashang Times Square, there were already quite a few people gathered in groups inside.
Zhou Xiao stopped and let someone pass first, then pinched the metal strip of the mask on her face again, and then pushed the cart to the place she and Qi Sisi had occupied last night.
Zhou Xiao was lucky, as the area wasn't very large, and both sides were already occupied by the instructor's fan club. That's why the area they occupied last night wasn't taken over by anyone else. If the area were larger, they might not have been able to keep it.
Zhou Xiao saw on the forum that morning that someone broke the news that some fans on the front line were arguing over territory and had a quarrel. If there hadn't been patrolling security guards, a fight might have broken out.
After calling Qi Sisi to tell her that he had arrived, Zhou Xiao finally had time to wipe the sweat from his forehead and observe the new changes in Huashang Times Square.
Unlike the last time, this time it is much neater and more beautiful. Moreover, Zhou Xiao found that there is an extra-large green trash can every ten meters or so. It seems that the program crew is also afraid that the previous incident will happen again.
It was only a little after 10:00, and according to the program crew, they would check in tickets an hour and a half in advance. Zhou Xiao seemed to be coming so early, just to distribute/collect the support items.
He took a photo of the place he was at, then made a simple Q-version map. After marking his location on it, Zhou Xiao added it to the blog post he had edited last night and clicked send.
@FlippedPan Ran Xin Dong·Ji Shao: #Ji Shao Super Talk# [Xingtu 101 press conference support gift package]
My heart is beating, I come for you @星路101-纪韶V
There are 200 offline gift packs in total, limited to one per person, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Gift package contents: 8 banners, keychain, handheld electric fan, coin purse, canvas bag, wristband, data cable, mask, hairband, aromatherapy brand.
Requirements: Follow @星路101-纪韶V
PS: Attached is a small map showing the way, come find me soon [wink]~
【I can’t stop craving for more, I can’t stop craving for more】
[I'm so jealous, sister Xindong, why don't you draw a lottery? TAT I still have a wish.]
[Wow, what a huge gift pack! I really want one!]
[Sister, here I come! I'll run to you right now!]
[The map is so cute! If you're going offline, go ask Xindongjie for a support gift pack!]
[I can’t go, woo woo woo]
【……】
After Zhou Xiao sent the blog post, he opened the double-decker camper van. The upper and lower floors were neatly stacked with 100 pieces of support items packed in canvas bags.
Not long after, a girl wearing glasses appeared in her sight, holding a mobile phone in her hand. She was standing at the intersection of the area on the right and her area. When she saw Zhou Xiao turn around, she felt a little awkward.
Before Zhou Xiao could speak, the girl handed the phone screen in her hand to Zhou Xiao and said, "Hello, Sister Xindong, I really like your peripherals. It's not that I just like them a lot, I like the pictures you took." She seemed a little anxious and her words were a little stuttering.
Zhou Xiao looked at her outstretched hand which was still trembling slightly, nodded, and directly took out one of the canvas bags and handed it to the girl in front of him.
She was clearly surprised, thanking Zhou Xiao as she headed to the right. Zhou Xiao then noticed that to her right was the fan support area for Ni Li, the rap mentor from Star 101. Near her side, a can of Ni Li's face was placed.
Someone else came looking for Zhou Xiao with a cell phone. It happened to be a girl from the area to her left. She had obviously seen someone succeed and came looking for Zhou Xiao.
More and more people started to gather. Looking at the Huashang Times Square from a God's perspective, you would find that a group of people were moving in the same direction.
The fans of the mentors on both sides of Zhou Xiao saw that there was only Zhou Xiao, and now more and more people were coming here, so they spontaneously helped her maintain order.
"No pushing! Everyone line up!"
The crowd was a bit chaotic at first, but soon it was orderly and a long line formed. A girl approached Zhou Xiao, and Zhou Xiao realized that she was the first girl to come around. When she caught his gaze, she smiled and said she was willing to take on the responsibility of watching him.
After a while, Qi Sisi, who had been scheduled to meet at the queue, also arrived. Zhou Xiao estimated the number of people in the queue and asked Qi Sisi to persuade those who came later not to queue.
After delivering to the last fan in line, which took almost an hour, Zhou Xiao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Many people, when it was their turn, asked Zhou Xiao if they could get an extra portion or two for their friends. However, Zhou Xiao refused, gesturing toward the line behind them and apologizing.
But there were so many people asking that Zhou Xiao had to have Qi Sisi walk around the crowd and shout, "Because the quantity is limited, it's first come, first served. No substitutions are allowed!"
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Zhou Xiao saw a few packages left in the camper van. She counted them and found just enough for everyone besides Qi Sisi and herself. She squeezed Qi Sisi's shoulder, then thanked the girls who had helped her and handed the remaining gift packages to them one by one as a token of appreciation.
After Zhou Xiao saw them off, he and Qi Sisi pushed the camper van to the iron gate of Huashang Times Square. The gate was already fully open, with a bodyguard standing on either side. Seeing Zhou Xiao's arrival, one of the staff members came out and greeted the two of them inside.
Zhou Xiao and Qi Sisi were quite familiar with this staff member, having specifically greeted him last night. The staff member led the two and the car to a small path inside. "Just leave it there. There's surveillance on it, so it won't get lost."
After thanking him, the two of them walked in the direction of the press conference he pointed to. The broadcast just now announced that the ticket checking had begun.
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