Chapter 330
The following time passed quickly. Zhou Xiao stayed in the hotel to edit photos and videos. It was not until Valentine's Day that she took some time out from the pile of videos and took a car from the Huashang Times Hotel to DL's offline platform event.
Yu Du had been waiting offline for a long time. She was talking to a colleague she knew. When she saw Zhou Xiao's figure at the gate, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Well~ Sister Xindong, you're here!" After saying this to his colleagues, Yu Du ran towards Zhou Xiao excitedly. He looked like a bee surrounding flowers, with an expression of happiness and joy that was visibly visible to the naked eye.
"Here," Zhou Xiao couldn't help but laugh as she pulled out a piece of merchandise from her bag and handed it to Yu Du. This was a gift she'd made in anticipation of Ji Shao joining the crew next month.
When the fan club was compiling the offline roster, Zhou Xiao specifically asked them to leave a spot for her so she could distribute merchandise to fans in attendance. Naturally, the new merchandise had already caught the eye of many.
"Hehe, I'm really looking forward to seeing you, teacher~" Although she said so, Yu Du's hands deftly opened the gadget Zhou Xiao handed to her.
This was a complete set of acrylic AR reflective cards, containing ten cards totaling both live-action and painted versions of Shao in concert and period costume. Yu Du's fingers carefully stroked the first card that came into her sight: a half-body depiction of Xie Zhengyun, outlined in ink and color.
As Ji Shao's first role, Young General Xie Zhengyun has long been a favorite among the ladies in the entertainment industry, and countless secondary creations have been created based on him. Yu Du spent a moment identifying it, certain it was a new image!
The young man on horseback wore silver-white armor, the blood stains on his face and armor like red roses blooming in the cold of winter. In the sunlight, the tiny glint in the pupils of the painting shimmered like shimmering quicksand. As Yu Du watched, he felt his heart completely struck.
"Help... this is too good to be true!" Yu Du suppressed her excitement, her hands trembling as she held the merchandise! By the way, was she the first Ji Shao fan online to get the "Pan Ran Xin Dong Xin" merchandise? Knowing this was incredibly important to her!
"Hey, you haven't scanned it yet." Seeing the other party tremblingly about to put the AR card away, Zhou Xiao on the side couldn't help but remind him.
She also wanted to see everyone's feedback. After all, from Qi Sisi's mouth, Zhou Xiao could only hear a series of "Ahhhhhh". As for anything more... She couldn't help but cover her face and sigh. That was really all.
"Hmm," Yu Du replied obediently. He quickly took out his phone, opened an app at random, and began scanning the card.
"Well, it will take about 30 seconds to buffer for the first scan?" Zhou Xiao said as he walked to Yu Du's left side and lowered his head to look at the page with her.
After a pause, the screen began to play "You," the theme song from the movie "Command." Then, the young man on the card suddenly glared angrily and tightened his grip on the reins.
As the warhorse beneath him raised its front hooves high, the next second, he bent his bow and shot an arrow with flowing speed. His sharp eyes suddenly widened, occupying the entire rectangular card surface, further magnifying the young general's resolute and beautiful eyes.
Although AR cards are almost a decade old, their use in fan circle peripherals, especially with such detail and sophistication, is still relatively rare. For Du, she felt that this was the door to a new world.
"Oh my god! This is absolutely beautiful!" Yu Du covered his pounding heart and couldn't help but recall the scene when the person in the painting was holding a bow and about to shoot an arrow at him.
Her mind was immediately immersed in this battle. Yu Du thought about it and felt that if Ji Shao really wanted to do this, he must have his reasons!
Zhou Xiao was sweating profusely. Looking at Yu Du's expression, she realized that she probably wouldn't be able to get any advice from him, but this was also within her expectations.
Glancing at the curious glances directed at him by Yu Du's exclamation, Zhou Xiao placed his hand on her shoulder, intending to push her toward the platform.
Yu Du protected the AR card with one hand and anxiously zipped up his backpack with the other. He hurriedly said, "Sister, wait a moment."
Only after carefully placing the stack of AR cards in his hand into the compartment of his backpack did Yu Du feel relieved and followed Zhou Xiao as they strode towards the center of the mall.
Although it was noon, the mall had already attracted a large number of local fans due to the advertisements it had run over the past two days and the spread of online news. Of course, some of them had even come from the neighboring province just to see Ji Shao.
After Zhou Xiao and Yu Du handed their tickets to the staff one after another, because they looked like they were together, the staff inside arranged for them to sit together.
After settling down on the bench, Yu Du looked around and said with some regret, "If this event hadn't been announced so quickly, I could have brought you some ready-made merchandise. I could have also brought some banners as gifts to give to other fans."
Fans felt that DL's platform activities were incredibly rushed. Even today's schedule was edited by the NINE STAR official Weibo account in the early hours of the previous day. Even so, before offline promotions had even begun, the crowds who came to see Ji Shao were already overwhelming.
"It doesn't matter, there will be another chance next time!" Zhou Xiao smiled and said to everyone.
"By the way, Sister Xindong, do you think DL is going to give Shaozi a 'status'?" Yu Du leaned slightly towards Zhou Xiao and whispered in a low voice.
During this period, the online gossip about Ji Shao had grown to the point where it could form a wall. The biggest one was that DL headquarters was contacting Ji Shao to discuss endorsements.
As for supporting evidence, this time DL only invited Ji Shao as a guest at the offline event, which is the biggest "evidence" in the eyes of the melon owners.
Zhou Xiao thought about the DL advertising blog that Chen Shenju had posted on his WeChat Moments during this period, as well as Ji Shao's support activities that he had taken time out of his busy schedule to attend. It turned out that this rumor was actually quite reliable.
The two of them started to chat offline, and looking around, most of the fans sitting in the venue were doing the same. For fans, even if they are socially anxious, being able to attend the offline event will inevitably make them lively and enthusiastic because of the familiar and friendly co-fans.
As time went by, the flow of people into the mall skyrocketed exponentially. The small gap that had been deliberately opened for people to enter and exit was now completely blocked.
A large part of the crowd came from passersby who knew that Ji Shao was going to have a platform event at Lianzhong Shopping Mall. As a rare and popular artist in the circle with excellent popularity, this offline event further demonstrated his high popularity.
"Oh my god, there are so many people, is it going to be canceled at the last minute?" A worried voice reached the two of them. Zhou Xiao straightened up and looked around. She had a feeling that if the brand's staff didn't intervene to maintain order, the event might really be canceled given the current situation.
——【Entertainment Forum】——[February 14th afternoon]
[Topic] Li Tao, can Ji Shao's popularity be considered real?
[Main Post] To be honest, there were an unbelievable number of people at the DL offline location today... What I didn't take pictures of was that there were quite a few people inside as well.
[Image] ×4
Lianzhong Shopping Mall was packed with people from the first floor to the fifth floor. The escalator had been stopped and guarded by staff.
1L
It's Valentine's Day today, so shouldn't there be more people? And I see most of them are just passersby. I don't understand what's so great about that?
36L
Reply to 1L: But it's Friday afternoon, and if these onlookers were just passersby, I'd think it would be more impressive. Who would want to waste time standing there with a bunch of fans if they didn't have a good impression of them?
67L
Oh well... it looks like there are a lot of people, right? It's not like my previous concert, where it was canceled for safety reasons due to too many people. But if it really gets canceled, it would really break the fans' hearts...
120L
I mean, this is too dangerous, isn't it? After watching the videos sent back by fans at the scene, there's a growing number of people. Are you sure Ji Shao can get into the platform? He'd have to be airborne, right?
199L
Holy crap! Ji Shao used the mall's loudspeaker to "talk" to the fans inside!
…
At the scene, Zhou Xiao stood next to a staff member in a DL uniform, watching him communicate with Ji Shao in the studio via intercom. With her simple reminder, the staff member relayed the fans' responses to Ji Shao in detail.
At this moment, Ji Shao's gentle and warm voice came from the mall's speakers. He spoke with a smile, speaking slowly and leisurely, as if chatting with a friend, "There are quite a lot of people in the mall today. I guess many of them are here to see me, right?"
“Yes!!!” “We are all here to see you!” “Happy Valentine’s Day, Xiao Shao” “…”
Every greeting Ji Shao said through the loudspeaker elicited an enthusiastic response from the fans present. The crowd, originally anxious due to the crowding, began to calm down considerably due to this interaction.
"Speaking of which, I have a small problem right now." Ji Shao paused for a moment, then said with a distressed tone, "The mall approved two large live broadcast screens for me, but it seems no one has noticed..."
Lianzhong Mall has two large entrances and exits, located at the front and rear, numbers 1 and 2. Although one large screen is larger than the other, its function is the same: it is usually used for advertising within the mall. After a discussion among the studio staff, the two large screens were immediately requisitioned.
The passersby gathered inside were already tempted. The space near the gate was wide and spacious, with a fountain on one side where you could sit. Isn't that beautiful? Most of those who thought so hadn't secured a good seat. Even if they stayed there, no matter how hard they tried, they could only see the top of Ji Shao's head.
"Can we watch the live broadcast? Then let's go quickly!" Someone in the crowd said loudly, and then the crowded crowd began to spread outwards subconsciously.
Zhou Xiao was very satisfied when he heard these arranged cheers. You know, for the offline crowd, this sound was a naked subconscious follow-up artifact.
Some people who were originally standing on the periphery, upon seeing someone leave before them, followed them out in a daze. Security personnel, already in place, saw the crowd spreading and immediately joined hands to form a human wall, allowing everyone on the scene to leave safely.
Ji Shao continued speaking through the loudspeaker, "Although I really hope to meet every friend here today, I also hope that everyone can put safety first. There's still a long time to go, and we'll meet again eventually..."
These few simple words conveyed the highest meaning to the fans. Once Ji Shao calmed their restless hearts, everything began to develop in a positive direction.
"Sister, please move aside. I want to watch the live broadcast on the big screen." "Ah? Me too. Let's go together!" "Xiao Shao is right. There are too many people here." "Anyone want to join us?" "Me!" "..."
The first floor, where the crowd was the most crowded, was also the first group to evacuate the scene. Every fan here came for Ji Shao, so when Ji Shao's voice sounded, everyone responded unconditionally.
Seeing the rapid improvement in order at the scene, Zhou Xiao finally returned to her seat. However, as soon as she sat down, the nearby Ji Shao fans all looked over at her. For Zhou Xiao, this was an additional layer of respect and worship, adding to the divine station's radiance.
Huh? Why did everyone recognize him? That's nonsense! Even though Zhou Xiao was wearing a mask, the only people who got tickets were his core offline fans. They were all talking to each other, so naturally, information was shared. As for recognizing Xindong, that was child's play!
Yu Du, the "heart-beating teacher," immediately grasped Zhou Xiao's hand after she sat down. His eyes were filled with tears. "You really make me feel safe!"
When Zhou Xiao handed her the camera bag and asked her to keep it for safekeeping, Yu Du was like a fangirl and watched Zhou Xiao go to discuss it with the DL staff.
Zhou Xiao waved her hand, dismissing the matter as trivial. She considered it a minor matter. Furthermore, the key to resolving the issue lay in Ji Shao and his team's willingness to proactively resolve it.
This kind of situation has happened before, but for safety reasons, both brands and artists would choose to end their activities. However, no one has taken the initiative to stand up and appease fans like Ji Shao did.
…
Inside the studio, Ji Shao removed the earphones from his ears. He stood up, walked over to the manager of the Lianzhong shopping mall, and looked at the laptop on the desk with him.
The computer screen shows the surveillance footage of the platform. It can be seen with the naked eye that the flow of people is much sparser than before, proving that their actions this time are meaningful and effective.
"Are you relieved now?" Chen Shen came over, his scent still wafting from him. It wasn't just him; many people in the room had the same thing applied to their temples.
Ji Shao leaned his hands on the back of the chair, his previous tension gradually turned into relaxation, and he nodded slightly.
"We are really sorry to trouble Mr. Ji Shao this time. I didn't expect that Mr. Ji has so many fans. We really miscalculated." Wu Wenle, the head of DL China, who was sitting on the bench, quickly stood up and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Ji Shao.
"These people are here to see me, how can they be considered a trouble?" Ji Shaohui shook his hand, a smile spreading across his face, and he was truly relieved now.
Fortunately, we made it in time and handled it. Otherwise, if it was really cancelled... they would definitely be very sad...
Chen Shenju understood Ji Shao's smile and felt proud. He thought that his decision to follow Ji Shao was the right one.
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