Chapter 224 Fans
"I can't reply to them all, I can't reply to them all!" Qi Sisi collapsed on the sofa. Her mobile phone screen was showing the marketing account links compiled by big fans. It was so full that it was difficult to scroll to the end.
The excitement surrounding the finals was already high, and not only did the artists, but many behind-the-scenes staff also made an appearance. Fans rarely get to see behind the scenes of their own artists, but they were generously showcased at this event.
As for Ji Shao, he was like a fashion item after the show's taping, with nearly everyone posing for photos with him. Many staff members' blog posts offered positive comments about him, such as "Even more handsome in person than on TV," "Very low-key," and "Very nice."
Just as the fans were feeling both happy and sad, hoarding the praise for Ji Shao from the staff and artists on and off stage like hamsters, a related blog post appeared, giving everyone another shock.
A voice call rang in the small group chat, but when Zhou Xiao clicked on it, she found that the initiator had hung up. Puzzled, she clicked into the group chat and saw a picture Zhu Jian had posted. This chat screenshot was from Huayao's receptionist, and the content was simple: just one sentence—
The single that Ji Shao and Bai Yunqing collaborated on will be released at midnight on the 21st!
——【Entertainment Forum】——[April 20th evening]
【Topic】Bai Yunqing and Ji Shao's collaborative single is available!
[Main Building] The "Lucky Number" they collaborated on at the Double 11 Gala has become my favorite collaboration song of the year! I didn't expect they'd actually collaborate! How about staying up late tonight to listen to it~
[picture]
The picture is a screenshot of the blog post by the president of the Ji Shao Family Fan Club
1L
I'm very satisfied with this. It's been so long, I finally got to enjoy the advance preview (even though it was a freebie/only less than two hours in advance)
53L
I remember Ji Shao just released a song a while ago? Hey, I actually got that album from his fan page, Xindong. He's incredibly prolific! Speaking of which, a strong collaboration like this would be pretty good, right?
97L
They actually collaborated! It feels like a world of difference. I just searched for their collaboration stages, and their voices pair beautifully! As long as their new songs aren't terrible, I'll definitely buy a copy to show my support.
166L
Ji Shao has been very active recently, with songs and variety shows. If he gets another stage performance, it will be heaven for his fans~
231L
Reply to 166L: [facepalm] Did you forget he also has a CCTV May Day stage? By the way, I feel like the atmosphere at both of these places is really good!
…
While the two fan groups appeared harmonious to outsiders, their recent collaboration on Singles' Day (Singles' Day) nearly broke down. Zhou Xiao had learned about the incident, which began when a prominent fan of Bai Yunqing, who shared multiple posts with other Nine Star members, complained about Ji Shao in a fan forum, with many others chiming in. However, due to a bug on Weibo, Ji Shao's fans patrolling the square caught him.
It was initially a minor incident, but perhaps due to the previously overly close relationship between the two fan clubs, the subsequent developments deviated significantly from public expectations. It was only because the presidents of both fan clubs acted decisively and, before the incident became a major issue, they discussed blocking the other artist's name in their respective super chats and jointly posted on Weibo to express their stance, thus preventing a complete fallout.
So this time, after learning about the single collaboration, both sides tacitly agreed not to visit each other. After all, the best relationship in the fan circle is no relationship. In the eyes of passers-by, the fact that there are no fights between fans is already a good atmosphere.
Zhou Xiao wondered if Huayao chose this time to announce the show to avoid fan conflicts. But everyone seemed accustomed to this kind of unforeseen time. They even felt uncomfortable if Huayao had announced it during the day.
As midnight hit, the refresh was still a bit laggy. When Zhou Xiao clicked on their collaborative single, "It's Destined," she saw thousands of people listening online on the Blueberry Music app. She glanced at the time; not even a minute had passed. It was terrifying.
Although this data is largely due to the fact that this song is free, even so, the song "It's Destined" has already broken the Blueberry Music record for simultaneous online listening in the first minute this year.
What was even more surprising was that after Yang Cheng fired the first shot and spontaneously promoted Ji Shao on Weibo, many guests from "Running Man" continued to promote the show until the next day. Zhou Xiao even saw the MCs from "Please Have a Meal" among the fans.
Even after Zhou Xiao flew to Beijing, the spontaneous publicity campaign continued unabated. Artists who idolized Bai Yunqing on various variety shows were now adding to the promotional efforts, and the team was gradually expanding.
A simple song promotion, fueled by some ulterior motives, became a trending topic - #Half of the entertainment industry is promoting Baiyun Qingji Shao's song#
…
Zhou Xiao had come a day early this time and left his luggage at the hotel. He then responded to Cheese's strong invitation and went to the CCTV building to wait for Ji Shao to get off work.
She arrived earlier than Cheese, and when she learned that the car she was riding in had broken down, Zhou Xiao originally wanted to find a cafe to wait for her, but unexpectedly, Cheese sent her a photo of a security guard.
"Heartbeat, there's a black security booth in front of the main entrance of the CCTV building. Look for the security guard in the photo and tell him my name. He'll take you to the spot we've reserved." There was some noise around Cheese on the other end of the line, but after it quieted down, he continued, "You know Sijizhan, right? She's there too! I can't get a taxi here right now, so I'll leave it at that. Call me if you still can't find one!"
Zhou Xiao had no time to reply to the urgent and frequent words. When she heard the "beep" sound after the phone was hung up, she put down the phone and opened the photo to look at it carefully.
After crossing a traffic light and skirting a long green belt, Zhou Xiao finally found herself before the imposing CCTV building. Sure enough, there was a black security booth in front of the gate. As she approached, a head suddenly popped out from inside.
The security guard took a closer look at the camera bag Zhou Xiao brought with her. As if realizing something, he asked in a genuine Beijing accent, "Miss, did you bring this with Cheese?"
Zhou Xiao nodded in surprise, and at his beckoning, she quickly followed his lead. Less than two minutes into the journey, she spotted a number of people standing behind a railing in the distance. One of them, with striking pink hair, was none other than the familiar Four Seasons fan.
"Heartbeat!" Yu Du waved to Zhou Xiao from the crowd. She was holding a bouquet of violets and white lisianthus. She had obviously learned from Cheese that Zhou Xiao was coming and was always ready to meet her. The security guard, noticing that Zhou Xiao had found the organization, immediately turned around and returned to the security booth.
The two quickly became friendly. As they chatted, Yu Du heard Zhou Xiao's surprise at the security guard's ability to predict the future. Finally, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, "That old man kept asking everyone he met if they brought the cheese. I even told her not to waste her money, hahaha!"
The fan support area at the CCTV building was occupied by fans of each group, and those who took photos in the public area would be asked to leave by security. In order to ensure that his fans could find their location as soon as possible, Cheese spent a small amount of money to hire a security guard from the security booth to help guide them.
Arriving at the support area, Zhou Xiao quickly received a lot of curious and excited looks. Everyone was a Ji Shao fan, and they all heard their fangirls shouting "heartbeat." Suddenly, everyone was somewhat certain of Zhou Xiao's identity.
After Zhou Xiao smiled at the girl who was secretly looking at her for who knows how many times, Yu Du, who was standing beside her, looked down at the time on his watch anxiously and couldn't help but say to Zhou Xiao, "I don't know if she can catch up."
The program crew had purchased rehearsal time long beforehand. Fans who came specifically to watch the show would generally arrive half an hour early, waiting patiently for Ji Shao's arrival.
Although Zhou Xiao was a little surprised by the increasingly tense and exciting atmosphere at the scene, he then thought that fans would indeed be excited to see the artists, so maybe this wave of offline emotions were all expressed openly?
Just as Yu Du had finished speaking, someone else appeared. From Zhou Xiao's vantage point, he could clearly see that the person running towards them was none other than Cheese. She ran up to the two of them, breathlessly trying to calm her heartbeat, and then asked, "Ji, Ji Shao hasn't arrived yet, right?"
"No, you should rest first," Yu Du replied with a sigh of relief when she saw Cheese catch up. There were still 15 minutes until Ji Shao's rehearsal time listed on the schedule, plenty of time. Based on her experience from the previous two days of squatting, he'd usually arrive only ten minutes early at most.
Not long after, a gray commercial vehicle drove in. Zhou Xiao noticed that the fans around him were all ready to go. When the car stopped, Cheese, taking the lead, shouted out "Ji Shao." The fans who had arrived at the scene, as if suddenly awakened, also joined in chanting Ji Shao's name.
It was indeed Ji Shao who got out of the car, which was parked at the door. It was still quite far away, but for Zhou Xiao, who was holding a camera, it was no problem. Her lens captured Ji Shao clearly, and following his movements, Zhou Xiao realized that he was actually heading towards them?
“Ahhhhhhhh”, “Xiao Shao’s rehearsal went well”, “Eat more”, “Ji Shao!”, “…” Seeing Ji Shao jogging over, the fan area became boiling, and the shouts became involuntarily louder.
Ji Shao quickly stretched out his hands and pressed them down, signaling everyone to keep their voices down. A dimple appeared on the corner of his mouth as he smiled slightly. After the scene returned to calm, Ji Shao finally pulled out an envelope from his pocket.
Zhou Xiao's camera paused briefly before following Ji Shao's hand movements. The moment he opened the envelope, Zhou Xiao already knew what was inside. It was a stack of autographed photos, their golden lettering gleaming under the flashlight.
His slender fingers pinched the corner of the autographed photo, and when he looked up to distribute it, he suddenly saw Zhou Xiao in the crowd. Ji Shao, with a look of surprise on his face, said cheerfully, "You're here too!"
Then, Zhou Xiao saw Ji Shao raise the autographed photo in his hand and shake it at her. Then, his eyebrows curved, "These autographed photos are all taken. I'll give them to you next time~"
As soon as these words came out, Zhou Xiao could clearly sense the excitement among the fans nearby. In the excitement, Ji Shao called out the fans' nicknames while handing out autographed photos one by one.
Chen Shenju, who was standing behind Ji Shao, watched this scene with a gentle expression. Noticing Zhou Xiao's gaze, he gave a rare smile.
When Ji Shao called her name, Cheese felt like she was going to faint from happiness. When she took the autographed photo from Ji Shao, her hands couldn't help but tremble.
…
CCTV's May Day program this year featured many popular artists, but Ji Shao seemed to be the only one with significant fanbase. To avoid crowds of fans disrupting order, Ji Shao's first two rehearsals were scheduled very late. However, Ji Shao's fans, who had been queuing up at Star Path 101, had already become quite comfortable with these extreme commute times.
While fans of other artists couldn't wait any longer and headed home, a dozen or so fans, led by Cheese, were still waiting outside. Their willingness to wait was based on two factors: first, the venue was well-maintained, ensuring no crowding would disrupt the artists' movements. Second, they trusted Ji Shao wouldn't sneak out the back door like other artists did to avoid fans.
Everyone's judgment was correct. A gray car pulled up to the entrance of the CCTV building. Using the camera of a fan from the "Four Seasons" fan club, they could see that the license plate matched the car that had previously brought Ji Shao. After a few minutes of anxious waiting, a figure finally appeared at the entrance.
Cheese didn't call out to Ji Shao, knowing that rehearsals for a CCTV program like this must be exhausting. The dozen or so fans were silent, each one tacitly keeping silent. They just hoped that when their car passed by, Ji Shao would roll down the window and say hello.
Unexpectedly, the car didn't drive away after Ji Shao and his assistant got in. To everyone's bewilderment, the door opened and Ji Shao, who was inside, sped towards them. The imagined car window romance didn't materialize, as they encountered a far happier, two-way encounter.
"What happened next?" Zhou Xiao, who was listening attentively in the cafe, asked the two parties curiously.
"We were all stunned at the time," Cheese recalled with some happiness, then his tone turned serious. "But he took advantage of our confusion and told us not to wait for him after get off work anymore! Tell me, isn't that absurd?!"
"That's outrageous!" echoed Yu Du nearby. "I was so confused I didn't even turn on the video function. I'm so heartbroken!"
"Indeed, then just don't listen!" Zhou Xiao's face was serious, like a judge making a judgment, reaching a conclusion that all three of them had tacitly agreed on. She then asked another question, "Where's the autographed photo?"
"Ah, maybe this should be considered a bribe?" Cheese and Yu Du looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.
"It's so late, you're still waiting for me here, but I can't do that." Ji Shao sighed as he looked at the group of fans in front of him.
"We just want to wait for you!" a fan in the crowd shouted, and soon there were echoes. Everyone was waiting here because they didn't want Ji Shao to find that no fans were waiting for him after rehearsal.
In fact, every fan's head was a mess at this moment, feeling surprised and dreamy. After Ji Shao whispered softly and gently, "Don't wait for him anymore," everyone was mesmerized and nodded their heads.
"Then what good does it do us?" A voice rang out in a daze. Perhaps the person who said it was just blurting it out, but unexpectedly, Ji Shao responded.
Under the night sky, Ji Shao couldn't help but smile when he heard this. He chuckled and said, "What do you want?"
No one could utter the lewd words on the Internet at this moment. In the quiet contemplation, a trembling voice sounded, "Xiao Shao, can you remember me?"
Ji Shao, who was standing in front of the crowd, smiled more gently and said, "Okay."
After that, everyone rushed to give their IDs. Zhishi vaguely heard someone in the crowd ask for an autographed photo, and Ji Shao obliged. They had initially thought it was just a casual remark from Ji Shao, but even so, they still had some illusions.
The car broke down and Cheese couldn't get a taxi. In order to catch up with time, she stopped a small car on the roadside and was then taken there by a kind aunt.
Then, she heard from Ji Shao about her ID and got an autographed photo. It actually happened, and Cheese still felt it was a little unreal.
This is so happy!
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