Chapter 359 Chapter 359
At one in the morning, Zhejiang Province's Fengrao Airport experienced a peak in traffic. The terminal, usually deserted at this time of day, was now packed with people due to someone's departure.
The crowd who stayed up late were browsing the online discussions about the album sales with great interest one moment, and the next moment they burst into loud cheers because they saw Chen Shenju first.
After all, Lao Chen has arrived, how can the protagonist escape?
Meanwhile, Chen Shenju, pushing a luggage cart, emerged from the aisle and was stunned by the sheer number of fans before him. While their trip to Beijing for the filming was public, they'd anticipated some fans would come to see them off, but they hadn't anticipated such a large crowd.
Chen Shenju looked back helplessly, looking at Ji Shao who was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes. He could only pray in his heart that the fans at the scene could control their temper.
They drove straight to the airport after finishing their nighttime scenes. Since it was early in the morning, they figured there wouldn't be too many people, so they didn't hire security to escort Ji Shao. Of course, the main reason was that they had left so hastily, and the company wouldn't have had time to hire security at that point.
Chen Shenju here was still worried that he could not take care of his own artists. Behind him, Ji Shao immediately forced himself to wake up after hearing the cheers coming from the terminal.
When the cheese in the crowd looked at Ji Shao who was appearing in the passage and blinking to wake himself up, he was completely overwhelmed by his cuteness and could only hold his little heart and cry out.
By this time, the fans closest to the entrance and exit had already stopped caring to take photos with their phones. Feeling the pressure from behind approaching, as someone shouted, "Build a human wall!" The hands of the fans standing in the front row were already being pulled up by their supporters.
"Brother Shao! Be careful on the road!" "Little Shao is so cute today" "I can see you on TV on May Day~" "..."
The constant stream of greetings from the crowd made Ji Shao, who was surrounded by them, curl his brows. The sleepiness he had initially felt from the late-night show had vanished without a trace.
"Have you listened to the new song?" A somewhat lazy voice sounded slowly in the noisy airport.
Fans, who hadn't expected Ji Shao to ask them questions, fell into a moment of silence before subconsciously engaging in self-proving. The silence was replaced by the frantic waving of phones, each one displaying Ji Shao's solo single "Gears" from his new album.
Amidst the throbbing crowd, Cheese, who had already trotted up to the second floor, followed a group of fans around her to film the scene below. Needless to say, it was quite stressful for a scoundrel like her to be in the crowd.
Today, Cheese plays the role of the fan club's offline photographer. Although her photography skills are not very ordinary, they have already invited epic foreign aid in advance - Heart-beating!
In order to put a perfect end to today's album sales, Cheese had already approached Zhou Xiao with trepidation a few days ago. Then, after learning the reason, the other party immediately agreed!
So Cheese is now confident enough to compete with a photographer next to her (based on her long-lost offline experience, she is very sure that it is that person who is taking the photos) for the best spot!
When he saw Ji Shao surrounded by his companions and about to pass by, Cheese suddenly had an idea and shouted loudly towards the bottom, "Ji Shao, look up!"
The powerful shouts from above made Ji Shao instinctively look up. When he realized that the girl shouting was a fan who often followed him offline, he raised his head and waved upwards with a smile.
The unexpected action had the fans and photographers on the second floor snapping away like smoke. As for Cheese, who was directly struck by the beauty of the actress, she snapped away like a professional. But she was already so popular that she was "smoking."
…
When Zhou Xiao received the picture package from Cheese, Ji Shao had already been sent to the VIP lounge offline. Coincidentally, when it was sent to her, she had just listened to Ji Shao's new song in its entirety.
Unlike previous singles, the new song's sugar content is clearly doubled. If Huayao collaborates with Douyin in the future, Zhou Xiao believes that excerpts from this song will definitely go viral on the platform.
The cheerful melody and healing atmosphere made Zhou Xiao open the picture package sent by Cheese and start the high-speed photo editing mode as soon as the song was turned on.
In a picture package with a repetition rate of up to 90%, Zhou Xiao finally found the first good picture worth editing when the song was halfway through.
——A certain blog——
@Cheese Thick Fried Egg Roll V: Xiao Shao who works non-stop but responds to every call @NINE STAR-季韶 V
PS: Thanks to Xindong for helping me edit the photo [reaching out to fix the bow tie.jpg]
[Image] ×2
Picture 1 shows Ji Shao looking up. His loose black short T-shirt looks a bit loose due to the angle of view above. Coupled with his eyes that are more profound due to fatigue, the camera he is looking at is quietly stained with a bit of sexiness at this moment.
The second picture shows Ji Shao with his peach blossom eyes squinting, surrounded by a series of fans forming a human wall. One can strongly feel the lightness and healing emanating from him at the moment. His hand waving to the camera looks like he is breaking through time and space to interact with the "you and me" in front of the screen.
[Oh my god! These two amazing pictures are so beautiful that they're almost suffocating! Oh my god, Mr. Cheese, if you don't post this, it's fine, but if you do, it's like a nuclear bomb!]
[Wait? Teacher, when did you hook up with Sister Xindong?! This set of photos is so well edited!]
[Xindong teacher's aesthetic is simply divine! And I found that these two pictures are a perfect match for Shao Zi's new song. Sure enough, my sister must have done it herself.]
[I just finished filming a big night scene and I'm rushing to catch up on my schedule. Sometimes I really hope the company can let Xiao Shao have some time to rest [sad] I don't know how they squeezed his time to record the new album]
[After seeing these two pictures, who knows? I really want to tie Xindong teacher to the computer and keep drawing pictures TAT]
[What a truly magnificent face! I hope Cheese-sensei and Heart-beating Sister can collaborate more often! ! ! ]
【……】
Zhou Xiao didn’t know what her fans were thinking right now, but if she knew, she would definitely refuse.
The photo package Cheese sent her contained a lot of images. However, the camera she had was a temporary rental, and she wasn't very experienced with it, so most of the photos she took were unusable. Thankfully, she was able to find two photos with suitable angles.
The two photos she edited indirectly boosted the album's already impressive sales, as the spread of these stunning photos is itself a form of publicity.
After a 24-hour period, Ji Shaojia's album was undoubtedly the best-selling. By midnight, the album had raked in tens of millions in sales, and by the end of the day, it had reached a staggering 20 million.
At a time when there is no need to prove purchasing power, the sales of more than 20 million have once again made the onlookers understand the overwhelming strength of Xingtu 101C position.
The discussion on the forums was almost reaching the point of topping the charts. However, this time, no one was complaining about "cutting leeks" anymore, instead expressing unanimous admiration. After all, this wasn't a result driven by spending money.
In the contact group, Huayao also announced the number of group performers at the first moment of the deadline - 300 people
For a moment, the nine united fan clubs were unsure of what to look at when they saw this unexpected turnout. But the outcome was already decided, and they couldn't change it.
——[Entertainment Forum]——[April 14th, early morning]
[Topic] Li Tao, is it true that everyone who eats taro silk is a rich woman?
[Main Post] I remember a talent show that sent someone to debut as center, and the total amount spent by fans was less than 10 million, right? [Shocked.jpg] You don't even need to round it up, this amount alone could have sent two trainees from talent shows to debut as center...
1L Flower and Moon Viewing
I don’t know about other things, but my boss was really happy to see this data... If the fans have strong purchasing power, it will attract many brands to come.
34L
Reply to 1L: This is also the reason why I have a good impression of Ji Shao. To be honest, with his current status and traffic, he can accept any advertisement. But looking at the number of endorsements he has, he really has never treated his fans as leeks.
100L
Let me tell you something you may not know, the peak of his album sales was at midnight and 2 am on the 13th. The former was because the fan club quit, and the latter was because of the two pictures of the heartbeat... There were big organizations and rich fans who wanted to smash it during the day, but after seeing it, they smashed it directly.
188L
I didn’t think it was a big deal before, but this time I really feel that appearance is king! I went to a certain blog and looked at the two pictures mentioned above. To be honest, I was really moved [blushing]
246L
I feel like this year's May Day Gala will probably make the forum lively in a few days!
…
Two days later, NINE STAR, who had been training in the practice room in Beijing, finally arrived at the shooting location for rehearsal.
Fans who had received tickets to perform with the album sales proceeds had gathered at the entrance of the Changjue Lake camping base, lining up as staff reviewed their submitted information and began distributing temporary work permits.
The spots for extras this time can be regarded as tickets, and are charged by all the companies because they are "exchanged" for the real money invested by all the fans.
Although most of the fan clubs initially shared the same idea as Ji Shao's family, aiming for subsequent publicity, no matter what, all the spots were now auctioned off!
Zhou Xiao didn't care about how the quota was allocated. As for the one she got from the system, since all her friends in the group were regretfully unable to come, she gave it to Cheese and let them make their own arrangements.
When Zhou Xiao was relaxed and looked at the fans who came to the base, he clearly felt the little thoughts hidden by everyone.
There weren't many restrictions on the costumes for extras; aside from ensuring their hair was black, the only requirement was that they be stylish and neat. The inspecting staff might not have noticed, but Zhou Xiao, standing by, saw it clearly.
The Tiaosi, who made up more than one-third of the extras, spontaneously stood together after entering the venue. Almost everyone had some element related to Ji Shao, the most obvious of which was the support color.
Offline fans are very sensitive to the color scheme, so many people have a touch of purple on their jackets and T-shirts. The next most popular color is the neem flower logo and the details on various brooches and accessories.
The staff couldn't see it, which meant their little trick had initially succeeded. But when they were all "herded" to the stairs for rehearsal, the regular pattern of colors quickly caught the attention of the crew in charge of filming.
Du Huiyue stood by, watching with a hint of doubt. But soon, caught by Zhou Xiao's attention, she exclaimed to her colleagues, "This batch of extras, which Huayao had hired themselves, is of excellent quality!"
Zhou Xiao: ...
Of course it's good, these people have stood out from the fan groups of various companies by relying on their "financial ability". And they are not looking for the salary of being an extra (Huayao did not mention the salary, it is likely that they are just making money out of nothing), they are all here for their idols.
The dozen-step staircase for the photo and chorus was already packed with people. Those afraid of heights were placed at the bottom, while those at the top were those who had no fear of heights at all.
After the 300 extras took their places, the long-awaited NINE STAR arrived at the center of the venue, bringing everyone's anticipation. When their eyes met, everyone on both sides fell silent for a moment.
Zhou Xiao, wearing a mask, stood behind the camera, his eyes narrowing as he watched the live feeds on the screens. There were quite a few fans here, presumably having picked up and dropped off the members at the airport a few days ago.
NINE STAR, who had been busy practicing for a while, were a bit surprised when they first saw many of the extras they'd seen offline. But after hearing the sounds coming from the speakers, they quickly recovered and began preparing for their live rehearsal.
There are not as many cameras outdoors as on stage, so in front of each member, there is a photographer holding a camera to shoot them individually.
The prop crew, who had been standing by, couldn't help but recall Zhou Xiao's warning. This was a stage for 9+9 people. If they hadn't heeded his warning, it would have been difficult for anyone to move around before rehearsal even began.
Zhou Xiao, who was standing aside, was also holding up her camera and taking pictures openly. With Qiu Ze's generous guarantee, she had already signed a confidentiality contract in advance.
The content shot today must be released after the show airs. Zhou Xiao's promise was that she would release it the day after the May Day Gala.
Ji Shao, a guitar draped across his body, was captured in the camera. Caught in the morning sunlight, he looked even more youthful than usual. Perhaps to evoke the youthful, upbeat vibe of May Day, his attire also looked exceptionally bright.
Bright yellow is a disastrous color for many people, but when worn by Ji Shao, it exudes a lively and romantic atmosphere from the inside out.
The black hair was slightly curled, fluffy and natural. Although it was just a rehearsal, the high spirits of the person before me seemed to pull me into a midsummer night seaside music festival.
This is a band, a limited band that burns its youth wantonly on a suburban lawn, under the watchful eyes of everyone. When the music starts, it all begins.
It is often only at this time that fans of each member can feel the charm of the group. And then, under the hormones released by the members on stage, their love for each member deepens.
"Wow, is NINE STAR so strong?" Shang Xia, who was sitting in front of the screen, couldn't help but touch her arms which were covered with goose bumps after the first rehearsal.
Shang Xia isn't a fan of celebrities. She believes NINE STAR is the most famous and undisputedly number one men's group in China; otherwise, they wouldn't have packed in for the May Day gala. Her most profound memory of the group came during the talent show, when her WeChat Moments were constantly flooded with posts about her cousin.
As for the person she was asking for votes for, Shang Xia narrowed her eyes, as if it was the center position on the screen who always dominated her attention. Compared to the youthful and pure appearance she had seen in the circle of friends, Ji Shao's appearance had not changed much, but the intimacy revealed in his every move made people feel more comfortable.
The band's inherent rock and roll style completely electrified the fans present today. The close proximity, especially, made them feel like VIPs at the concert! So close, it felt as if they could just reach out and touch the members sweating it out.
Those who had paid a high price to get tickets at the auction were now filled with joy! Even though the entire rehearsal had only been this one song, everyone could hear it a hundred times without getting tired of it.
Under the camera, Ji Shao looked a bit hot from repeated rehearsals. Zhou Xiao had long since discovered that Ji Shao was particularly sensitive to heat. For example, at this moment, beads of sweat on his forehead were already dripping down his chin onto the grass at his feet.
Ji Shao, breathing lightly, smiled naturally as the last note fell. He subconsciously reached out to touch the shiny in-ear monitor on his ear. At the staff's beckoning, he grinned and cheerfully waved goodbye to the extras before him.
Today's rehearsal was divided into two time periods. Since the camping base is a venue exclusively for NINE STAR, they had plenty of time to rehearse.
Besides, although each stage performance only lasts a few minutes, the energy consumed is very high.
For example, fans who were full of energy and high intensity cheering before the break, thinking they could rehearse hundreds more times, soon felt tired, hungry, and sleepy after the adrenaline effect wore off.
When it was lunchtime, the "extras" who were just trying to eat a few mouthfuls of food found out that they had been given a snack!
As bucket after bucket of McDonald's appeared before their eyes, accompanied by the "flirtatious" glances from NINE STAR's big manager, everyone unanimously ignored the second one, their health rapidly recovering at 1% per second.
While the atmosphere within the group was gradually improving, the production team at the main station was experiencing difficulties adapting to the new environment. Having only seen actors and singers perform standing poses, the production team clearly had no experience with boy bands.
Although Ji Shao had appeared on CCTV's May Day Gala last year, he had performed as a singer. So, at noon, when the camera crew gathered to review the results of the rehearsal, they all fell silent.
The biggest problem is the stiffness of the camera movement. This is a feeling that everyone can feel. However, the members' individual candid shots are indeed at the level of the main station photographers.
"How about someone else take charge of the camera this afternoon?" Du Huiyue pondered for a moment. She turned around and looked at Shang Xia beside her and said, "Let's each take charge of the camera twice this afternoon and see how it goes."
Although Du Huiyue already had a candidate in mind, she knew that if Brother Qiu were here, he would still prefer them to try to solve the problem first, rather than rushing to find external help as soon as they encountered difficulties.
Shang Xia was a bit nervous at first when Du Huiyue said that, but she didn't think much about it before she agreed. When everyone else went to lunch, she furtively pulled out her phone and started watching NINE STAR's performance.
After an unknown amount of time, Shang Xia's face was already smiling, and she began to take an interest in the afternoon's filming. This wasn't because she had suddenly become enlightened, but because when watching NINE STAR's previous gala performances, she saw a rare unanimous response in the comments and barrage: this director's camera cuts are terrible!
Therefore, after learning that the directors of other satellite TV stations also had the same problem as their filming this morning, Shang Xia felt relieved.
…
On the lawn, this was the fourth time the music had played since the afternoon rehearsal began. But by now, everyone was starting to feel a bit exhausted. Singing and dancing under the scorching afternoon sun, coupled with the fans on the stairs joining in with their full attention, soon became a bit too much.
Fortunately, the production team who were keeping an eye on the progress immediately interrupted the ongoing stage when they noticed the situation was declining, allowing everyone to take a break before rehearsing.
On the other side, Shang Xia breathed a sigh of relief after receiving a signal from her colleagues to pause the rehearsal. This was her second time shooting, and Shang Xia now understood why everyone was having trouble cutting shots.
Influenced by their inherent thinking, these photographers, who were used to shooting purely standing stage performances, had no energy to pay attention to a group of nine people. Therefore, every time the camera switched, it would always reveal their unfamiliarity with the members.
Thinking of this, Shang Xia quickly raised her head and looked at Du Huiyue who was deep in thought behind her. When their eyes met, they soon had the answer in their hearts.
Du Huiyue hoped she could still practice. But for the Nine Stars and extras at the rehearsal, it was truly too much. They couldn't suffer because of the director's limited abilities.
So after weighing the pros and cons, Du Huiyue picked up her phone and called Zhou Xiao, who was still at the scene. As for whether the other party had the ability, she was not sure.
But one thing is certain, if Zhou Xiao is not able to do it, then we can call it a day.
…
When everyone had recovered their energy, rehearsal recording resumed. No one in front of the camera was aware of the changes that had taken place behind the scenes. But to complete this performance, everyone was fully cooperating.
When the plucked strings sounded again on the lawn, the melody of NINE STAR's new album's title song "Spring Echoes" once again dominated the entire venue.
Ji Shao, in the center, fingertips touched the strings, becoming the absolute center of the melody. Next to him was Chu Cheng, holding another guitar. The two smiled at each other and played a more passionate rhythm.
Behind them was the drummer Xiang Rui, whose presence was very strong. Although his movements were a little immature, his control of the rhythm was just right...
This was a performance that everyone felt was fantastic. It was also the first time Zhou Xiao directed the photographers' shots and made on-the-spot cuts. And the performance continued.
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