Chapter 6: Half Forum
[Gossip from the Goose Group | Late-night rant: Xingqiong’s god-tier performance shook the entire idol industry]
[Original Post] Been working overtime nonstop… Wuwuwu…
[1F] Industry-wide?
[2F] Not surprising everyone’s shaken. Just look at Yue Zhaolin’s face. No matter your aesthetic preferences, you can’t deny how stunning he is. Truly a face that rules.
[3F] OP: Replying to 1st floor — not really “industry,” just a small company employee. I’ve been stuck working overtime for days, completely drained. Boss insisted we ride the wave of hype from that “god-tier three seconds.” No choice but to put in the extra hours and practice.
[5F] Isn’t there a short challenge on Douyin too? Like just ten seconds? That doesn’t seem hard.
[6F] That might work for internet influencers on Douyin, but if you’re a trainee, shouldn’t you have higher standards?
[10F] The choreography for Electron Shadow is pretty tough. You have to break it down, memorize the positioning, and fine-tune every detail — it takes time.
[11F] I saw a dance crew do a full cover — very high level, and they nailed the styling too. Utility outfits, tall boots, face masks, even the bite guards. Really faithful to the original, but not to nitpick… it just didn’t have that Yue Zhaolin vibe.
His expressions were unbeatable. I think he wasn’t even wearing makeup — or just very light makeup — but his eyes? Absolutely mesmerizing. Just locking eyes with the camera had so much impact.
[12F] We’re fully in the “Yue Zhaolin Era” now!
[15F] This song really lucked out. Total comeback hit. (No offense — just stating facts.)
[16F] Harsh but true, honestly. I checked the data thread iA posted two months ago. During the actual promo period for Actual, the buzz was just average.
Peak concurrent listeners online?
50,000 — and it only lasted a day.
And now?
200,000.
[17F] Wait, is the music industry being saved?
[18F] That kind of streaming number? Total mainstream breakthrough.
[20F] The most popular “God-tier Three Seconds” video on Douyin already hit 5 million likes. That’s real traction — no botting, no fake hype. You know what that means?
[21F] Emperor Yue has ascended.
[25F] Ugh, the “Sheng-chick” stans are at it again? That guy hasn’t even debuted yet, and his PR team’s been flooding the forums nonstop. Promoting him like a swarm of locusts. Classic Xingqiong golden boy treatment.
[28F] Huh? iA’s pinging me — I’m outta here.
[30F] I get giving celebs you dislike a nickname — they make big bucks, and if you wear the crown, you bear the weight. But why add the word “chick” to insult the fans too? That just sounds nasty. Am I the only one who feels physically uncomfortable hearing it?
[31F] Oh please, don’t pretend to be all innocent. This isn’t new — it’s been like this forever. As soon as someone pokes your fave, suddenly you’re playing the moral police?
“Sheng-chicks” are just like Lao Sheng himself — always putting on a show. Reaping all the benefits and still acting like victims.
[40F] Replying to 31st floor: Typical “Sheng-chick” playbook. They swap to burner accounts, pretend to be random users, and spam hundreds of threads to fake hype for Sheng.
You really think that many people care about him?
Are there even any real neutral users left on Goose Group? Doubt it. Might as well rename the whole forum to “Yue Zhaolin Central.”
[41F] Wait… did you forget to switch accounts? Are you replying to yourself?
[42F] Pfft, that boomerang came back fast. So who’s the one who really loves using alts?
[45F] Honestly, I thought iA would send more people over. Seems like just two or three of them showed up.
[48F] Well… Actual is a second-gen group — they used a lot of resources passed down from the first-gen “She” group. So trashing Yue Zhaolin feels a bit like trashing their own idol too.
Their rival fandom even mocked them for this, saying iA was like the thief yelling “catch the thief.”
Also, Yue Zhaolin’s tag page got raided by them for days. iA fans already vented their anger by dogpiling on casual fans, so now things are finally settling down.
They probably agreed not to give Yue Zhaolin any more attention, and have gone back to fighting with their main rival fandom.
As for those two upstairs… probably just some young, overly aggressive solo stans.
[50F] That’s it? They’ve already cooled down?
[51F] The power imbalance is too big. There’s no fight to be had. — Yue Zhaolin blew up so fast that even the experienced, hardcore fans couldn’t keep up. They’ve been completely drowned out by a tidal wave of clueless casual fans.
[52F] His fandom is still scattered like sand — not yet organized. Can’t compare to a well-trained army.
[55F] But I took a peek at Yue Zhaolin’s Super Topic… and it’s surprisingly well-managed. Then I checked the follower count — holy crap, over 140,000!
And it’s only been a few days!
[56F] Xingqiong really is a veteran at marketing. Starlight hasn’t even started filming yet, and they’ve already locked down one of the nine debut spots.
They deliberately stirred up drama between seniors and juniors — instant name recognition in fan circles.
The music festival went viral — that’s the general public secured.
Even that glass bottle that flew past Yue Zhaolin’s head? Looking back, it was a stroke of genius. That made it into mainstream news. They’ve gone viral from every angle.
[57F] Manifesting Xingqiong’s career luck.
[60F] There’s still a month before Starlight begins filming. No way Xingqiong’s going to sit still. I bet they have more tricks up their sleeve.
…
[102F] 60th floor called it.
[103F] Xingqiong really knows how to spark a fire. They brought in Shao Meng and Shen Zhu from Actual to back up the trainees in a new performance video. Yue Zhaolin and another trainee were placed center stage…
[104F] (sharp inhale)
[105F] Just imagining it — if I were an Actual fan, I’d be fuming. It’s already someone I can’t stand, and now they’re performing alongside my bias?
[107F] The real point isn’t even the collab — it’s that Yue Zhaolin was center. It’s like a subtle reminder to fans: “This song blew up because of me.”
[108F] Good news: the song went viral. Bad news: it wasn’t the original artists who made it happen.
[110F] This kind of situation isn’t uncommon in the music world, but in the idol industry? This is a first.
And the kicker is—Yue Zhaolin is someone A-fans already dislike. He took Shao Meng’s center position and ended up going viral for it. That incident has always been a sore spot.
Now the guy who “stole” the center and the one who lost it… are filming together? I can’t. If I were a fan, I’d be absolutely sick. It’s such a slap in the face. Xingqiong really knows how to pour gasoline on a fire.
[111F] Why is it so quiet all of a sudden? No one’s replying anymore.
[112F] Everyone’s on Douyin. That outfit Emperor Yue wore in the new collab? Lowkey spicy…
—
Time shifts backward.
Cafeteria.
Fu Xunying chewed on his plain chicken breast without tasting a thing. He shoved some leafy greens into his mouth while across from him, Yue Zhaolin was on the phone.
Even the way they ate was part of their “fanservice training.”
Fu Xunying glanced over at Yue Zhaolin. This guy… was born for this kind of fanbait.
The more time he spent with him, the more Fu Xunying felt a faint headache just being around him.
Because Yue Zhaolin’s moves were too natural. It never felt like he was forcing the act—he just was like that.
Fu Xunying’s thoughts wandered. He almost felt like he could actually taste the original flavor of the chicken when he heard Yue Zhaolin say:
“Manager Man said we’re supposed to go to the third floor after we finish eating.”
Fu Xunying replied, keeping his tone neutral: “What for?”
“Filming a collab.”
With members of Actual.
Third floor.
Li Man was already waiting by the door. “Zhaolin, Xunying, over here. Actual hasn’t arrived yet, so you two go in first for hair and makeup.”
Hair and makeup?
Li Man looked at the two and smiled. “Don’t worry, we won’t go overboard. After all, you’re still trainees—not debuted idols yet.”
“Electron Shadow’s streaming numbers have skyrocketed,” thanks to Yue Zhaolin’s fan-captured videos. “We called you here to promote the song again.”
After the two stepped inside, the stylist brought over two outfits and handed them to Yue Zhaolin and Fu Xunying.
“Change clothes first, then makeup.”
The outfits had been chosen yesterday.
Xingqiong’s attention to Yue Zhaolin and Fu Xunying was meticulous—clothing for the collab video had to pass several rounds of approval from higher-ups.
“Yue Zhaolin’s look is curly hair, a gray-black sweater, and thick-framed glasses. This style gives off a bit of a ‘homebody’ vibe, toning down any aggressive energy.”
“For Fu Xunying, it’s a black hoodie and sweatpants. His collarbone is attractive—it’ll push the hoodie’s shoulder line upward nicely.”
The makeup focus was also different for each of them.
Overall, the goal was for the two to look somewhat evenly matched at a glance.
But on closer inspection… well, they’d just have to make do.
Fu Xunying went to the changing room while Li Man brought up another matter.
“By the way, Zhaolin, we found the guy who threw the bottle at you.”
“Found him?”
“His name’s Xu Wei. He just turned 18 and went to the music festival with a few friends. He said he had a bit to drink before entering.”
“He heard your name, thought you were an acquaintance, and since his girlfriend nearby kept talking about you, he tried to call out to you.”
“Calling out with a bottle, though?”
After the police investigated, they found Xu Wei was actually related to Yue Zhaolin. Xu Wei is Yue Zhaolin’s cousin.
Li Man said, “He claimed he was not in his right mind at the time and didn’t know what he was doing. He also said he wanted to see you and told you not to hold it against him because you’re family.”
‘Hmm, some things never change,’ Yue Zhaolin thought.
Ten years ago, when Yue Zhaolin’s father couldn’t have a son, he adopted a boy that his sister refused to keep—Xu Wei.
Xu Wei inherited the family throne and ruled with an iron fist. As for Yue Zhaolin, “she” was rebellious, refused to listen, and often got into fights with Xu Wei.
Later, Yue Zhaolin was taken away by their grandmother, changed her surname, and nearly forgot about these two troublemakers.
This reminder suddenly brought it all back—there was definitely bad blood between “her” and him.
Settle it privately?
That would be uncivil.
Li Man acknowledged this.
On Xu Wei’s side, Xingqiong’s lawyers would handle the communication. Even if Xu Wei wanted to settle quietly, he couldn’t bypass the company—after all, Yue Zhaolin had indeed signed the company’s “sl*ve contract.” Plus, Xingqiong had prudently taken out a bunch of insurance policies on Yue Zhaolin.
The situation was now fully in our favor; Xingqiong was prepared to be ruthless.
Xu Wei was truly in trouble.
After hair and makeup were done, Yue Zhaolin and Fu Xunying headed to the adjacent practice room to film a collab with Shao Meng and Shen Zhu from Actual.
Promoting the song was the official reason.
Following the company’s usual logic, Yue Zhaolin predicted the reactions once the challenge went public—
First, it would satisfy the vast audience on Douyin who were interested in Yue Zhaolin.
Second, once the collab was filmed, Actual’s royal family-level fans would see it as the company “provoking” their fandom.
In reality, the company’s goal was to stir up the hype while tormenting Actual’s fans.
Yue Zhaolin was the company’s chosen “enemy” to reignite the passion of fans who had followed Group A for four years but had since grown tired.
It would also cement Yue Zhaolin’s royal lineage.
Finally, once the spotlight shifted onto him, they could boost Fu Xunying’s popularity.
In short, it was a move with multiple benefits.
And at the center of this storm, Yue Zhaolin was fully aware: surrounded by flowers and brocade, engulfed in fierce flames—both passionate and perilous.
But he was still happy.
This was the path he had chosen.
One day, when Yue Zhaolin woke up with a changed gender, deep down his soul was still “her.” The past “her” envied this life:
Trained from a young age, talented enough to perform at school events; An English speech competition; Beautiful handwriting.
After Yue Zhaolin signed with the company, whenever he spoke up, the company arranged the best teachers. Dreams once chased in youth were now within easy reach.
This was the price—and the reward—of his deal with the company. How could he not be happy?
After finishing a seemingly peaceful but secretly turbulent shoot, Yue Zhaolin sought out Li Man. “Sister, I want to go out for a bit.”
“What’s up?”
Yue Zhaolin replied, “Hmm, I suddenly want to buy some flowers. A bouquet… of red flowers.”
Surrounded by blooms and brocade, blazing with passion—the bright red was the perfect match.
