Chapter 74
Zhou Xiao stood at the kitchen window, dazed, watching the rain outside. The rain had been relentless in Shanghai for the past few days. It seemed as if it wanted to pour down all at once, pouring down all at once.
"Xiaoxiao, come quickly! It's about to start!" Qi Sisi in the hall looked at the countdown displayed on the LCD screen and couldn't help but urge Zhou Xiao loudly.
Zhou Xiao was immediately brought back to his senses by Qi Sisi's loud voice. He put the fruits he had just washed in the sink into the fruit plate and carried the fruit plate to the hall.
Qi Sisi in the hall was staring at the screen intently. When she heard Zhou Xiao's footsteps, she immediately turned around and quickly threw another game controller on the sofa to Zhou Xiao.
Zhou Xiao steadily caught the handle thrown by Qi Sisi, placed the fruit plate casually in front of the coffee table, sat cross-legged on the carpet next to Qi Sisi and began to choose a character.
Zhou Xiao and Qi Sisi had recently, at Dong Xiaoyu's suggestion, started hooking up their game console to the hotel's large TV. Playing games on the big screen was truly exhilarating. With the incessant downpour in Shanghai, the two had been engrossed in their games for several days. If Qi Sisi's mother hadn't stopped her from constantly disturbing Zhou Xiao, Qi Sisi might have already "grown" like a mushroom around him.
The two people here were playing games together on a rainy day, while Chu Cheng's fans on the other side felt that they were being tricked by their own voting team.
The incident started when one of their fans who was very good at recognizing people went to an offline music festival and happened to hear a boy standing next to him bragging to others about how he made a lot of money thanks to Chu Cheng.
The fan had initially scoffed, thinking that everyone was a boaster. He turned around to see what this person looked like, so he could tell the fan group that Chu Cheng had become so popular that he was being used as a boaster.
The more she looked, the more she felt something was amiss. Suddenly, she remembered that she had indeed met this person offline. And the man's voice echoed next to her, "Don't even mention it. I could use my current savings to support any artist at this festival."
This music festival had both big and small names, and the cost of supporting them was quite high. As this person continued to "look to the future," she also turned on the front-facing camera and secretly took a photo of the person next to her.
When she sent this person's photo to a Chu Cheng follower she knew, the other person initially thought they were quite destined to meet. How could they meet someone with the same support at the same music festival...
Rumors within the fan circle couldn't be kept secret, and soon Chu Cheng's biggest fan learned of the situation. After double-checking with several offline fans that they hadn't recognized the wrong person, they immediately led the group in cursing.
The voting team that was being criticized didn't know what was going on at first. When they saw the "big-character posters" in the comments section and private messages, they became like turtles, refusing to respond to the comments. Until someone exposed the voting team's skin...
Soon, the relevant content was posted on the forum by curious netizens. Everyone, who had been feeling unmotivated due to the trainees' interruption in get off work for the past few days, suddenly became more energetic.
——【Forum】——[July 19th evening]
[Topic] Did Chu Cheng’s voting group enrich themselves?
[Main Post] I was bored at night and searched the forums of various trainees. I ended up finding a shocking piece of news! It seems that the voting team members swallowed up the raised funds...
[Picture][Picture][Picture]
The picture above is a screenshot of a big fan taking the lead in scolding the voting team
1L
What can I say? It's what they deserve. Raising capital is a sensitive matter. The fans still trust the fan leader too much. This sea view room is just a minute away...
4L
I never spend money chasing stars [smile] No one can cheat me
12L
There is a new way to vote now. After buying a monthly video membership card and getting 181+18 votes, you can sell the monthly card at a low price. Then you can use the money to buy a monthly card... and so on...
19L
Reply to 12L: I vaguely feel there are a lot of manipulable points here, but can fans really be sure that the people selling the cards won't take a cut? With the voting so intense now, I don't know how many cards will be bought every day. This must be very profitable...
27L
I didn't expect that the first sea view house in Xingtu 101 was not owned by a fan but by the voting group kkkk
46L
I heard it's an old station for many years,
…
However, the Chu Cheng voting team was beyond the expectations of the bystanders. They stubbornly refused to admit it and even announced the closure of the website under the pretext of being overly attacked.
@小楚打投票组: Xiao Chu has done nothing wrong to Chu Cheng and has diligently supported and voted for him. However, I cannot accept the malicious exposés and personal attacks against Xiao Chu these past few days.
The mountains are high and the waters are long, we will meet again if we are destined to! @星路101-楚程V
[??? Big brother, are you the one who said offline that you made a lot of money from Chu Cheng? Did you really have to let us post the photos for you?]
[Why are you tagging Chu Cheng? I'm asking you why you're tagging Chu Cheng!]
[I'm not sorry, Chu Cheng: I took most of your fans' money and left a little for you because I think highly of you!]
[You're an old fan... You followed Chu Cheng from Feiniaoji. Did you really become like this because of money?]
[Where's the fan club? Why don't you come out and deal with your good friend @Chu Cheng National Fan Club V? They're running away with the money!!!]
[Maybe... do you still remember the surroundings? [vomiting blood]]
[If someone above hadn't mentioned the peripherals, I would have forgotten about them... Shit... I even bought two copies to support this idiot!]
【……】
That’s right, ever since the large-scale fan-made peripheral products started, Chu Cheng’s voting team also joined in for funding, and the amount involved must be at least tens of thousands.
When the group was first launched, many people were looking forward to the finished product. Unexpectedly, the site collapsed as soon as the purchase was completed. However, the subsequent operations of the site are even more disgusting.
The peripherals were not returned, saying that the factory was already producing them. However, the money on the table was used by the voting group for charity without authorization! It’s not that charity is bad, but the money was originally raised to vote for Chu Cheng, but now it has become a bubble.
…
On the second day, among the ten trainees' fan clubs, whether they were the ones who watched the show or the ones who were watched, they were all ready to go early this morning.
Because last night, all ten of their fan clubs received a message from the Star 101 production team, saying that the "Fashion" magazine will be releasing a preview cover at 12 noon today!
Although the production team asked the trainee fan club members not to tell anyone, it was obviously impossible. The news spread quickly, and soon screenshots of the censored communication interface appeared on the forum.
As 12 o'clock approached, both the trainees' fans and marketing accounts were waiting for the "Fashion" blog post. However, to everyone's surprise, after waiting for more than an hour, the official blog still hadn't posted anything.
As for the reason... just look at the latest post in the forum -
[Topic] A Little Melon: Don't rush the magazine promotion [Bow]
[Main Post] Don't rush to accuse the production team of giving fake news. The production team has emphasized many times that it should not be leaked...
1L
With such a narrow-minded attitude towards fashion, it is hard not to question whether it is really a top men's magazine in China.
3L
I'm speechless. They contacted the fan club ahead of time and clearly wanted fans to provide them with data. Now what's the point of showing off? I don't understand. And they clearly knew that netizens were watching them. Are they playing us netizens for fun?
7L
Do you have a sense of punctuality? Now everyone has been waiting for you to release a blockbuster video for more than an hour, and in the end there is nothing. It’s really terrible...
15L
I'm not saying anything bad about everyone, but leaking information is inherently wrong. How did they get the blame on the magazine? They've disrupted their promotional schedule, so it's only natural they're upset, right?
26L
Why do I vaguely feel like someone is leading the trend?
…
——Star Path Production Team——
Lin Qianxia breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the relaxed atmosphere in the forum. She sent the publicity department's analysis of the public opinion surrounding this mess to her correspondent editor at Fashion Magazine, who soon agreed to a specific time: 6:00 PM.
She couldn't help but sigh, "Old ginger still has its merits." After the release date was leaked, the Star 101 production team received complaints from the magazine. But as time passed, the magazine still hadn't released the blockbuster photos. This made the production team even more angry than the netizens, and they immediately served them a "light dish."
The reason Fashion Magazine agreed to collaborate with Star 101 boils down to the declining competitiveness of traditional print media and the urgent need for fresh blood. To put it bluntly, they were drawn to the trainees' fans' willingness to spend and their ability to influence. Perhaps they had restructured their initial thinking, but after Lin Qianxia sent them the public opinion report, they quickly relented.
Lin Qianxia sent the time to the group chat again, following Zong Zhengqian's instructions and planning to see if the trainees' fan clubs would listen to the production team. Fortunately, this time, the fans were clearly taken aback by the magazine's actions and were worried about whether it would affect the trainees, but this time, no one actually spread the news.
The Star 101 production team also figured out the tricks of the fan clubs early on. As for what it is, it's naturally the trainees' future prospects.
…
At 6 p.m., fans who had given up waiting for "Fashion" suddenly saw the official announcement with an 18-grid preview on the homepage.
However, after seeing all the photos, fans even felt sad that they would rather not post it at all. The post of "Fashion" was quickly dominated by the comments of the trainees. At this time, the concern was not who was in the front row, but to quickly collect all the comments of the trainees!
The photos released by Vogue left fans baffled, their minds abuzz with questions: Is this magazine really any good? Is it really a top-tier men's magazine? ... Look at what they've done to the once-pretty trainees...
This time, the theme of the photo shoot for the ten trainees by "Fashion" was future technology, but everyone swallowed a swear word when they saw the sinister filters and the heavy gloomy makeup on the trainees' faces.
Obviously, all of this indicates one thing: the magazine was very perfunctory in polishing this issue!
Fans of other magazines who were originally regretting that their own magazines didn't make the top ten are now relieved. They can now ridicule without any worries, because this set of sci-fi blockbusters of "Fashion" has quickly become a hot search.
A quick look at the trending topics reveals that the trainees are basically out of control. Negative comments from passersby and sarcastic posts from marketing accounts have driven many of their originally happy fans offline.
The eerie lighting and dull colors on the faces might seem high-end to some in the fashion world, but fans of the trainees still online are frustrated, asking why fashion can't be sunny, handsome, and beautiful. These photos might drive away all the newly-wed fans, right?
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