Shang Yechu's move is destined to be highly controversial, both now and in the distant future.
This Weibo post was published without any review or approval from anyone in the company. And within ten minutes, it ignited across all social media platforms!
The first to be thrown into turmoil was naturally Shang Yechu's fan base. Several key fans who were pushing for sales changed their profile pictures to black and announced they were unfollowing her. A considerable number of other fans, while not unfollowing her, immediately turned into abusive followers and began hurling insults at Yechu.
The small group led by the desperate abandoned woman who has been reborn went on to launch a scathing attack on Ye Chu herself. Their vocabulary encompassed a wide range of terms, including illegal industries that violate social norms, various human organs, and verbs, nouns, and adjectives that would be subject to Weibo's traffic restrictions. It was truly all-encompassing.
Surprisingly, despite receiving the most criticism, this small group did not unfollow. In particular, the desperate abandoned woman who returned from the brink of death not only did not return the magazines she had already purchased, but instead bought another 4,813 magazines and posted them on her Weibo homepage.
@Desperate Abandoned Woman Returns:
[@叶初Leaves Anyway, you're destined to be a flop, so I'll give you a few more coins as a way to save up for your funeral. [Grinning face][Grinning face]]
The desperate abandoned woman returned to life and arrogantly pinned this Weibo post to the top of her personal homepage, triggering a wave of insults and reposts.
Of course, many fans were deeply moved by this. For example, students and working-class people like Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Lvsu felt very touched and cancelled most of their magazine orders to show their support for Ye Chu. This led to heated clashes with opponents.
Led by Chlorophyll and others, the "Mengzhui" (a group of fans who support the "Ruzhui" group) could no longer tolerate the insults and discipline inflicted on Ye Chu by the "Ruzhui" fans. They spontaneously organized themselves and launched a fierce attack against the "Ruzhui." Some wealthy "Ruzhui" fans were not to be outdone. They retorted that those fans who supported refunds were poor people who couldn't afford to support their idols, and they also joined the battle.
They insulted their former fans and some big fans who had turned against them, showing off their villas, gardens, luxury cars, jewelry, bags and other luxury goods to mock the working-class fans.
[One of my bags is enough for Ye Chu to film for three days straight. Buying a few magazines is no different than feeding a dog. Can you stop barking at me, you poor bastard?]
[Is the leg hair of the innocent old lady Ye back again? A beggar whose annual salary isn't even enough for my monthly allowance and a good-for-nothing with no ambition are a perfect match [thumbs up]]
[I'm not returning the magazine because the money is nothing to me, not because I haven't stopped being a fan. Ye's fans, if you keep acting like this, be careful your idol might just die a horrible death.]
[@叶初Leaves If you're going to act like a prostitute, don't pretend to be virtuous, okay? Why didn't you support your fans' spending earlier? You've already done magazine shoots and sales are soaring, and now you're all clucking? It's hilarious.]
[@叶初Leaves @叶初Leaves @叶初Leaves Request to leave the entertainment industry]
[Shang Yechu, you really don't treat your fans like human beings! Is it fun to treat them like monkeys? I beg you, please shut your stinking mouth! Don't you see how hard your fans work to boost sales by organizing groups? Do you think you're so high and mighty?]
A pheasant is indeed a pheasant; it can't be made from mud, and a pheasant can never become a phoenix.
[Lao Ye thought his call for rational consumption from his fans would earn him a leg hair and a huge following, but in reality, he only got a mess and became a laughing stock.]
[You misjudged her; Ye Bitch is too easily swayed... She'll behave herself after being rejected by the fashion industry. Just stick to your tacky and poor image.]
Objectively speaking, the post-millennium era is one where poverty is mocked but prostitution is not. When engaging in online arguments, most wealthy people don't need to do anything; simply flaunting their wealth is enough to garner a large following of unpaid mercenaries. The destructive power of their displayed wealth far outweighs their harsh words themselves.
Ye Chu's fandom was not immune to this principle either. Students and working-class people were deeply affected by Ye Ya's behavior, and the already tense atmosphere within the fandom was on the verge of exploding. The second Plant War (Ye Ya VS Ye Ya: the Darkened Version) was launched in full swing.
Of course, compared to the previous battle that crushed Chu Zixin's fans, this war can only be considered a mini version. After all, the number of fans who unfollowed and turned against him, and those who angrily switched sides and insulted him, was not that many—and there aren't that many people in this world who take pride in giving money to magazines.
Interestingly, many new fans who hadn't bought the magazine before, as well as casual fans and drama fans who only followed Ye Chu but didn't participate in the fan circle, actually started buying the magazine after seeing this statement!
Each person didn't buy many copies, just one or two, three or five. The advantage was that "Half a Day" had just finished airing, and Ye Chu's casual fans and drama fans were at their peak. Little by little, despite a wave of returns on the "Muse" magazine's mini-program, sales didn't drop significantly; in fact, they strangely saw a slight increase.
The "playing dead" faction, the "doting" faction, the "insulting and chasing" faction, the "unfollowing" faction, the "obedient" faction, the "unfollowing and turning against" faction, the "you don't want me to buy but I'll buy anyway" faction, the "moved and even more devoted" faction, the "I just love Ye Chu, what can you do to me" faction, the "Xiao Bao is so kind and good, Mommy kisses you" faction...
In an instant, Ye Chu's fandom split into countless factions and forces. Each faction ruled its own territory, with kings everywhere, a brief but glorious period. Even Ji Juntao wanted to borrow a line from the play "Half the Sky"—"What a magnificent spectacle of life!"
Ji Juntao intended to teach Shang Yechu a lesson, to show her the turmoil her reckless behavior had caused within the fandom. However, the conflict escalated, reaching the point where she uttered many unwise statements. At this point, there was no time to give Shang Yechu a stern warning; instead, many professional and influential fans were hastily removed from the fandom to maintain stability.
Compared to the chaos within Ye Chu's fan circle, the opinions of outsiders are just as chaotic.
Fans of other celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry all thought Shang Yechu had gone mad.
The fashion industry is not to be offended; this is a consensus within the industry.
Although the outlandish fashion trends in the fashion world are often ridiculed by the general public (of course, most of the time no one really cares), within the entertainment industry, the fashion world is an absolute authority.
It controls traffic, trends, reputation, and exposure frequency. The six major magazines and countless brand resources collectively define "high-end" and "fashion." Furthermore, this circle has always been characterized by its tendency to form cliques, its petty nature, and its deep-seated grudges!
Shang Yechu's public appeal to her fans to consume rationally is tantamount to cutting off everyone's source of income—everyone is happily profiting from her fans, and suddenly a young man jumps out and tells her fans not to be exploited. What kind of logic is that?
Despite Shang Yechu's humble attitude and even her personal expenses to make up for the losses, in the eyes of the powerful figures in the fashion industry, this is what a greenhorn like her should do!
With this statement, Shang Yechu's fashion career is essentially over. She will be forever shut out of this high-barrier circle, and collaborations with top luxury brands are out of the question. The labels of "green tea bitch," "pure white lotus," and "country bumpkin" will be impossible to shake off for at least the next ten years. After all, the fashion industry and social media have always been closely intertwined, with both controlling a large volume of media outlets. Shang Yechu's public image on social media is largely dictated by these media outlets.
Of course, it's impossible to say that Shang Yechu's acting career is over. Ultimately, the fashion industry can only influence artists who rely on exposure, buzz, and fan conversion rates—in short, traffic-driven artists.
Artists who follow the "cool guy/sweet girl," "business queen/queen," "fashion icon," or "darling of big brands" route are essentially commercially dead once they are blacklisted by the fashion industry. Their value lies in that system of online traffic; once that system is cut off, they're finished.
For artists with solid work and strong acting skills, it is the fashion industry that needs them to elevate their image, not the other way around. The power of a broad public base to overwhelm the aesthetic control of the elite is an age-old truth.
But Ye Chu's problem was that he was too young!
Indeed, Shang Yechu has produced a wealth of works, including immortal masterpieces like *Yun Qing Ji* and *Tian Ban*, classic works like *Xiao Feng Que*, and literary works like *The Mute Woman*, which are highly favored by literary circles. Yet, she's only in her early twenties!
Who can guarantee that her future works will be as masterpieces as hers?
Unless Shang Yechu dies young or suddenly retires from the entertainment industry, he'll likely remain in the business for another two or three decades. Once his output of new works ceases, he'll inevitably have to rely on the fashion world to maintain his popularity. Shang Yechu's actions are tantamount to cutting off his own arm!
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