Chapter 72: A Fan's Wild Antics Court Disaster (Please Keep Reading)

The next day.

Liu Yichen’s fans were still making a scene on Weibo, voicing their grievances everywhere on his behalf.

Some fans even began posting extreme comments:

“What’s so great about ‘A Youthful China Speaks’? Isn’t it just using an ancient essay as lyrics?”
“I don’t think this song is anything special either. The professional judges didn’t give Yichen a single vote—if that’s not rigged, what is?”
“That’s right, this song isn’t even as good as Yichen’s ‘Here We Come’. Clearly, the show is trying to promote Fang Xing.”
“If the program doesn’t give us an explanation, we won’t let this go.”

The official Weibo of “Star of Tomorrow” was continuously bombarded.

Not satisfied with just attacking the show’s official account, the fans began to target Feifan Entertainment’s official Weibo as well.

The situation grew more and more heated; if this continued, the fans’ comments could spiral out of control.

That morning.

Tong Fei made a call to Chao Yin Media, hoping they would rein in their artist’s fanbase.

However, by the afternoon, Chao Yin Media had taken no action.

Things were escalating quickly.

Anyone daring to post about “A Youthful China Speaks” found themselves swarmed by rabid fans spamming negative comments and insults.

Frustrated, Tong Fei dialed He Hongtu’s private number directly: “Mr. He, what’s the meaning of this? Shouldn’t you be managing your artist’s fans? If this causes real trouble, it would be bad for everyone, don’t you think?”

He Hongtu replied indifferently, “No need to worry, Ms. Tong. This is nothing, just a small show of our artist’s popularity. Otherwise, you’d have kicked me out of the running already.”

Tong Fei’s tone turned grave. “Mr. He, now isn’t the time for this kind of contest. If the fans get too extreme and it affects the broadcast, we’ll all be in trouble.”

There had been precedents before—some stars or fanbases causing a public stir, leading to negative social consequences, and attracting the heavy hand of enforcement.

Given how popular “Star of Tomorrow” had become, it was on its way to being a national phenomenon.

If it were to be pulled off the air for remediation at this point, it would crash just as it was taking off.

Tong Fei didn’t want that outcome, so she still hoped Chao Yin Media would take responsibility for their fans.

“No need to panic. Relax, Ms. Tong, nothing will happen. Besides, isn’t it about time you arranged for Fang Xing to be eliminated?” He Hongtu sneered and hung up, then went back to relaxing with his secretary.

The call cut off, Tong Fei seethed with anger.

Just then.

A program director burst into the office, panting. “Ms. Tong, it’s bad!”

“What happened?” Tong Fei asked with a frown.

“Look at Weibo, quick. The official Youth League account just reposted ‘A Youthful China Speaks,’” the director replied anxiously.

Tong Fei’s eyebrows shot up as she hurriedly opened Weibo on her computer.

She quickly found the repost from the Youth League’s official account.

What was the Youth League’s account?

It was the official Weibo of a national, authoritative organization.

To be reposted by such an account—“A Youthful China Speaks” was about to soar.

Seeing this, Tong Fei felt the song now stood a real chance of being selected for the Spring Festival Gala.

In other words, the song had received official endorsement.

As a result, “Star of Tomorrow” would also benefit immensely from the song’s success.

Tong Fei’s eyes sparkled as she read the repost. This was the kind of recognition that even the biggest stars and companies in the entertainment world desperately craved, but rarely achieved.

Yet, at this moment, He Hongtu still wanted her to eliminate Fang Xing.

Given the current situation, Fang Xing was holding a royal pass—who would dare eliminate him now?

But in the very next second, Tong Fei was stunned.

After the Youth League’s official account reposted “A Youthful China Speaks,” crazed fans began flooding into the comments.

“They’ve lost their minds! These fans have lost their minds!”

Tong Fei reacted immediately. “Quick! Use any means necessary to quiet these fans. If Chao Yin Media still refuses to control them, we’ll have to abandon Liu Yichen.”

Now, the fans had even dared to attack the Youth League’s official account.

Tong Fei had no idea what might happen next.

If the show were pulled for remediation because of Liu Yichen’s fans, it would be over.

So if it really came to that, sacrificing one to save the rest was the only option.

Tong Fei dialed He Hongtu’s private number again, shouting, “Are you insane, He Hongtu? Letting fans attack a department you can’t afford to offend—if you want to die, don’t drag me down with you!”

She hung up without waiting for a reply and immediately ordered the company to mobilize all available channels to control fan comments.

At the same time, she began distancing the show from Liu Yichen, preparing to cut ties if necessary.

However, the fan attack on the Youth League’s account didn’t last long.

Before things could escalate, the fans vanished.

Tong Fei noticed the most vocal fans on Weibo had gone quiet and realized Chao Yin Media had finally intervened.

She knew full well that, for all his swagger in the industry, He Hongtu would never dare provoke the Youth League’s official account.

And indeed, her guess was correct.

At first, He Hongtu hadn’t curbed Liu Yichen’s fans because he thought their antics on Weibo were harmless—and even beneficial for publicity.

But when he heard from Tong Fei that fans were attacking the Youth League’s account, he leapt up in fright, flinging his secretary to the floor.

He immediately issued strict orders to the fan group managers: all comments must be deleted, and everyone was to remain silent.

Chao Yin Media thrived on fan economics, so the company maintained a complete fan ecosystem.

Every fan group was managed by someone from the company.

Thus, as soon as Chao Yin Media stepped in, the fans quieted down quickly.

Even those who remained active only commented on music critics’ or the show’s official Weibo, steering well clear of the untouchable authorities like the Youth League.

...

Both parts of episode six of “Star of Tomorrow” aired.

After “A Youthful China Speaks” shot to number one on the trending list and was reposted by the Youth League’s official account, Fang Xing’s popularity soared again.

The “Good Samaritan” incident, coupled with the official repost, earned Fang Xing tremendous public favor.

The day after the episode aired, Fang Xing surpassed Liu Yichen in the popularity rankings, claiming second place—and his numbers were still climbing, now threatening Wu Junchen’s first place.

Wu Junchen’s fans began to panic, frantically pooling money to boost his ranking.

As Fang Xing’s popularity rose, Wu Junchen’s fans spent even more to widen the gap.

This time, Star Video had partnered with Bright Ice Cream, with the slogan: “The taste of summer, the dream of summer music.”

They launched a campaign: purchase Bright Ice Cream, scan the code, and earn “Star of Tomorrow” popularity votes.

The campaign led to Bright Ice Cream selling out in many places.

Fans bought ice cream in bulk to support their idols.

Since ice cream melts quickly if not refrigerated, many of Wu Junchen’s fans gave it away to passersby on the street after buying it.

This, too, became a hot topic in the news, trending on social media thanks to independent media coverage.