Chapter 171.2: The Phoenix (Forum Format) (Extra 5)
78L: Honestly, out of all of 1’s CPs, 1’s fans probably hate 21 CP the most.
Even with “brother and sister-in-law” CP, they trended all the way to Xie Xizhao’s actual Weibo and still managed to keep things civil. And they were pretty popular, too.
79L: I’m a 21 shipper, but objectively speaking: brother and sister-in-law got a Best Actor and Best Director award—actual mutual career boosts. Meanwhile, 21 just gave us some cutthroat center-battle drama during the talent show, and after that? Nada. Just turned the fandom into a giant parking lot.
And don’t even get me started on the infamous “delicate flower” trope in 21 fanfic.
1’s role as He Miao was already peak suaveness, but once it hits the fanfics? Boom—instantly becomes a soft, delicate waif.
He Miao himself would crawl out of the movie screen and punch the author for turning him into someone’s spoiled little wife.
80L: I’m cry-laughing right now.
But the biggest reason, honestly?
1’s girlfriend fans can’t stand seeing their man out there being someone’s bottom 😭
81L: Honestly—if you stayed silent, no one would’ve mistaken you for mute.
82L: You guys keep pushing it, and soon the different sub-factions of 1’s fans are gonna start fighting each other in here.
83L: What an honor to witness that mess—utter chaos, sun and moon darkened. As expected of a top-tier celeb.
84L: Please I’m begging you all, stop provoking 1’s fans. I’ll manually break the topic now:
I actually think the fan fights between solo stans don’t really have that much to do with CPs—it’s mostly about how resources get split.
Solo stans naturally don’t get along. CPs just pour fuel on the fire.
Still, same as before, I think the ex-royals had a decent relationship.
Otherwise there wouldn’t be so many shippable CPs.
85L: That’s it. Nailed it.
86L: Yeah, if you’re into CPs, that at least means you’re okay with the teammate.
Hardcore solo stans definitely aren’t thrilled about that.
87L: The most brutal fights in your group were definitely 21 and 23.
21 started back in the show days when 1 was fighting for center position—pretty sure the fanwar started the moment XXZ sat in center during the first stage.
23 was more like a disaster they made themselves.
And 45 used to argue over who got to be main vocal, they’d have little spats every few weeks.
But ever since 1 “ascended” (went full actor mode), there’s been less infighting.
Most of the bloodshed was during the survival show and the first two years.
88L: Slight detour—are there TP fans in the thread now?
89L: Painfully obvious.
90L: If I have to choose between the thread getting reported for spreading rumors or the Late Emperor fans occupying the post to chat about the group gossip, I’ll take the latter any day.
It’s all good—as long as 1’s hardcore solo fans don’t get linked to this thread, we’re safe.
91L: LMAO please I’m dying
Random number sisters, show mercy okay? Don’t go picking fights with a disbanded group.
Also… keep talking, I love the gossip.
92L: What do you even wanna hear? The fan circle’s all the same old drama anyway.
93L: Who does your fandom hate the most? And which ships are actually kinda sweet?
94L: Let me answer both at once: The more real a ship is, the deeper the hate runs.
95L: Tagging y’all: YuanZhaoYuan fans, speak up.
96L: Group stan here to answer.
Fans of 2 hate 1 the most (like the kind of hate—90% of their energy goes into bashing 1, the rest goes to 3).
Fans of 3 don’t really like to fight much, but they’ll clap back when 2’s fans go feral.
Fans of 3 are generally chill and take after their idol—kinda cool.
As for fans of 4 and 5, they clearly hate each other—classic mutual hate due to overlapping positions.
But 4 and 5 have this bubble around them, like, no drama gets through.
Overall, though, 4 and 5 are fine with the rest of the group.
One’s the leader, the other’s the maknae, and both are kinda backline in popularity, so there’s not much direct competition.
97L: Got it—4 and 5 are sweet vibes.
98L: Why no one mentioning fans of 1? Scared, huh? 😂
99L: Seriously though, who in C-ent even dares to mess with 1’s fans?
Only in these TP-related threads are they still called “1 stans.”
Outside of here, everyone calls them the Xie Empire.
100L: Even the drama subforums next door have been taken over by the Xie Empire.
We should be glad OP kept the title subtle or this thread would’ve been nuked already.
But from what I’ve seen, quite a few 1 fans actually love shipping, and they’re not a small group either.
They just wouldn’t join threads like this.
Hey 96L, group stan, back me up here?
101L: Your group’s fandom is like a palace intrigue drama, I swear—so entertaining.
102L: Honestly, I think 1’s fandom is pretty chill.
They went through a lot early on—dude was seriously mistreated—but ever since he “ascended” later in his career, the fandom’s all about that aloof, classy vibe.
They don’t pick fights just to hype other people up, and they sure as hell aren’t out here obsessing over his 80+ drama-based ships.
The whole vibe now is just super friendly.
The fanbase is massive, so there’s no pressure to stream data or spend money.
He’s already No.1, so fans are just enjoying dramas, movies, and stages.
As for ex-teammates…
Feels like 1’s fans don’t even acknowledge those creatures exist anymore.
103L: That’s got a lot to do with 1 himself.
His team never did that toxic “purify the fandom” or emotional manipulation stuff.
104L: Honestly, it’s not even about “not purifying fans.”
It’s just that from the start, he never tried to force or market ships.
All those CPs that blew up were natural—real chemistry with people he genuinely got along with.
105L: 1 is genuinely a nice person.
But still, gotta say—if you missed out on being a 1-shipper, you basically missed out on the entire world.
106L: Aside from stage performance fans, no one misses idol-era 1 more than the 1 shipper fans do.
Their daily routine:
Be born → dig up old content → sob over and curse Shenghong → die.
If the company had handled things better, the group could’ve lasted.
107L: Can someone go into more detail?
108L: He was the group’s sweetheart.
Had some health issues early on, super fragile—like a porcelain doll.
The whole group took extra care of him.
109L: You’re being modest.
Who still remembers that the nickname “Gu King” came from his reality show days?
And the ones “bewitched” were his own teammates.
110L: Bet you’d love this rec:
[All towards Zhao: It’s Not the Wind Moving, It’s My Heart Fluttering – Massive Compilation of Sweet Moments]
111L: I clicked in out of curiosity—
FOUR full compilations.
Each one is 200 pages.
And each page takes like 3 hours to go through.
I’m… absolutely shaken.
112L: Stop it, or the teammate stans will come back yelling that 1’s fans are pushing the “pathetic simp” narrative again.
113L: Omg I just remembered how 1 and 2 fans closed doors to throw shade at each other.
2’s fans said the YuanZhao ship is like a princess and her lovesick puppy—anyone who ships it isn’t a real fan.
1’s fans said it’s a CEO-type cold top and his sweet little wife—also, anyone who ships it isn’t a real fan.
I’m not a solo stan, so I’ll ship whatever I want—heehee~
114L: Your “Emperor Xie” has never been a delicate little flower, thanks. 2 fans, have some shame.
115L: Bro, what self-respecting 2 fan ships YuanZhao?! Stop blaming CP stans for everything 2’s fandom does.
116L: Okay, based on that reaction, it’s obvious which ship your group stans as “Visual Couple.”
117L: Alright then, time for solo stans to hit 21 with a daily diss.
118L: guna
119L: 21’s supertopic really is a parking lot—pants everywhere.
Next worst ones are 32 and 31.
Brother Fu really is the ultimate top.
120L: Emperor Xie, you…
121L: LOL, but honestly, XXZ was softer in the group compared to solo.
Probably because back then he didn’t have to handle everything on his own.
Wasn’t the TP team leader famously a workhorse too?
122L: The one and only best in the world—Teacher Zou.
123L: Teacher Zou really is a great guy. Super thoughtful and always takes care of everyone’s feelings.
He and Brother Fu totally have big brother energy—such a shippable pair. Like parents, heehee.
But you guys are sleeping on 24:
Naive big bro and his chaos agent little bro.
2 basically can’t deal with anyone but 1… except maybe 4.
124L: It’s a chaos-stan group anyway, but anything related to 1 still draws the most attention.
His fanbase is just that big.
Not even talking about anything else—just look at 21 and 12, when they clash it’s always pure bloodbath drama.
That said, I want to clear something up—
1 wasn’t soft in the group either. He was actually pretty good at taking control. In practice sessions and recordings, if the leader wasn’t leading, it was usually him.
I’d say his personality is more on the resilient/tough side. He was already a mini boss back then—just didn’t have the power stats to match yet.
21 was definitely the visual ship king at that time, and 14 was also riding high in popularity. There were still a lot of 14 shippers.
125L: 14 was also the red-and-white rose fire outside the group.
126L: Nah, I think you’ve got it twisted.
Not all red-and-white rose ships were 14.
Just like in the group, 1 wasn’t always the “right side” either.
His personal vibe has always been a bit contradictory—that’s why attribute stans keep fighting each other to death.
That’s just the Gu King for you. Okay, done, kicking the convo back outside the group now.
But honestly, I do miss Zhao when he was in the group. Like someone said earlier, back then he didn’t have to worry about everything on his own.
He’s doing great now too, but fans of 1 who aren’t toxic solo stans really don’t hate the teammates that much. They just hate the company.
127L: Tbh, your group had really good dynamics. That sugar compilation a few floors up was focused on 1, sure, but no matter what combo you pick, you could find tons of physical interactions.
Five and a half years together—
If no one had personality issues, even a contract marriage would’ve developed some feelings by now.
And don’t forget, they all came from that survival show bloodbath—3 out of the 5 even shared a dorm room.
I remember 3 had a younger brother with autism, and the whole group treated him like their own family.
Even Panpan posted a pic from their alt account recently of a gift that little bro gave them.
Brother Fu is a major bro-con. No way would he let someone with a condition get close to his colleagues unless the vibe was good behind the scenes. It’s not like it was something they had to do.
128L: And let’s not forget 1’s cat!
When he joined that drama crew, I swear it was 3 who helped feed the cat.
I’m half convinced they bought houses next to each other. Last time 3 was on a variety show, he didn’t even realize he had cat fur on him—golden and fluffy, LOL.
129L: AHHH our 31 is such a perfect big bro/lil bro dynamic, I’m obsessed.
130L: Also, 4 and 5 ran into each other backstage not long ago and hugged it out.
4 gave his bro this massive bear hug, it was so cute omg. Can 4 fans and 5 fans please just make up already? My heart is so soft…
131L: So like… what were the earlier posters even on about? I’ve been scrolling and all I’m seeing is decent relationships—if not close, then at least not enemies.
And this is what y’all call “plastic”?
132L: It’s just tragic angst, honestly.
Let’s be real—TP’s comeback stats could crush some successor groups’ whole careers.
Ships and drama are just seasoning for us, fun little side dishes.
But for some other groups… that is their whole meal.
Like we keep saying: TP disbanded, sure, but TP fans are still alive and kicking.
If you’re gonna spread rumors, better watch your back when you walk at night. 👀
133L: LMAOOO someone finally said it.
Some folks are gonna pop a lung reading this.
I just saw someone outside the fandom start a thread like, “Didn’t TP also sell heavy CP? Why is their group not called a ‘wheat bran’ group too?” And I just… 😂😂😂
134L: You’re insane. I randomly burst out laughing because of this.
135L: [Feeling bad.jpg] after reading that whole thing.
136L: Well, their group’s “explosive team spirit” was basically a cover for ganging up on the maknae.
Meanwhile, our maknae was literally saved by Brother Zhao from a bunch of awful people back in the day.
Artistic virtue? More like no art, no virtue.
Why are you still here? Go home and grow sweet potatoes or something.
137L: Wait a sec… why am I getting a little emotional reading this thread?
138L: …Same. I used to hate when the group members fought, but now seeing these old arguments feels… kind of nostalgic.
139L: It’s been so long. Zhaozhao’s already won the full grand slam in both film and TV, and I still remember how soft and well-behaved he looked in his debut documentary.
His hair was all smoothed down… so obedient… QAQ
140L: AHHH I miss them so much. I wasn’t even into shipping, but I still watched all the sweet moments from every pairing.
TP really had such a genuinely strong bond. Why did they have to be a limited-time group? I’ve cried enough tears to flood the Pacific…
141L: TP… I miss them so much… My very first idol group—never had a scandal, but they were limited-time only.
Sometimes I wish they had messed up somehow, so I wouldn’t still be stuck on them like this…
142L: G-fandom be like: “???”
143L: Crap, I’m laughing and crying at the same time. Truly a case of “drought here, floods there.”
144L: The whole point of a limited-time group is to witness that one beautiful moment in bloom… and then keep it frozen in memory.
Whether love or hate, it stays in the past—sparing us from the inevitable mess that comes after. But fr, upstairs nailed it—
A group with both good vibes and real talent is a rare thing. Such a shame they were limited.
145L: OKAY HOLD UP—
No time for mourning, the official account just posted!
VARIETY SHOW!!! AHHHH!!!
WE’RE GETTING NEW CONTENT, FAM—GO GO GO!!!
**TN
There are still some extras left, not forum format anymore. XD
