Late July.
The Chinese music scene was buzzing with activity.
"Love Song King," the final episode, was about to air.
"Era of Music King," the third season, was also set to begin early next month.
Thanks to Ting Yu's outstanding performance on "Era of Music King," the Chinese music scene had garnered significant attention from overseas netizens, with many international fans already captivated by Ting Yu.
However, it wasn't just the music scene that was hot; the film and television industry was too.
The broadcast of "Journey to the West" remained a global sensation.
The character of Sun Wukong attracted many foreigners who enjoyed superhero stories. Short video platforms were filled with foreigners dressed as monkeys, shouting, "Eat my old grandson's staff!"
This was a very successful cultural export.
In the current film and television industry, with the fall of top stars like Zhang Qingyun, many newcomers had risen to prominence.
While their scale might not reach Zhang Qingyun's previous level, there were still many actors who became famous with just one drama.
Chen Zhe was one of the most successful.
A graduate of the prestigious Shanghai Theatre Academy, coupled with his remarkable acting skills, he was far superior to those who relied solely on their looks. Moreover, he possessed an idol-like appearance. With the capital backing of Guangnian Entertainment, he starred in several films, utilizing a strategy of veteran actors guiding newcomers. The promotion of his scenes with seasoned actors quickly propelled Chen Zhe to viral fame online.
"After waiting for several months, the movie 'Journey of Gods and Demons' is finally about to be released!"
"Looking forward to Chen Zhe brother's movie being a big hit!"
"Everyone, let's work hard to make the movie 'Journey of Gods and Demons' and Brother Chen Zhe's birthday trending topic #1!"
Today was a rare opportunity. The movie "Journey of Gods and Demons," jointly produced by Guangnian Entertainment and Dingsheng Entertainment, was scheduled for release in August. The latest preview was released today.
Coincidentally, it was also the birthday of the lead actor, Chen Zhe.
Naturally, his fans wanted to give Chen Zhe a trending topic #1 as a birthday gift.
Of course, the reason they had this idea was that Ting Yu was not actively promoting. Tomorrow was the final episode of "Love Song King," and if they put in some effort now, they could still vie for the top spot.
In the entertainment industry, trending topics were a reflection of a person's popularity. Many celebrities engaged in various forms of hype for trending topics.
Of course, this did not include Ting Yu, because any action he took would guarantee him a trending topic.
In the more than two years since Ting Yu appeared, his presence had been visible on Weibo's trending topics whenever he entered them.
This was a situation envied by all celebrities, but they also knew they couldn't compare to Ting Yu.
As a result, when they wanted to create hype, they could avoid Ting Yu's promotional periods.
For instance, now that Ting Yu had no new updates, Chen Zhe's fans were diligently boosting their idol's popularity, striving to secure a trending topic #1 for their idol's new movie as a birthday gift.
With the relentless efforts of these fans, the trending topic #Wish'Journey of Gods and Demons' a Big Hit, Happy Birthday Chen Zhe# finally reached the top position.
Before Chen Zhe's fans could celebrate for long.
#Mo Yan Documentary, a wave of nostalgic memories from youth!#
A trending topic directly shot to #1!
Then, many topics related to Mo Yan's documentary also emerged, pushing Chen Zhe's trending topic out of the top five.
The sudden change left Chen Zhe's fans bewildered.
They avoided Ting Yu, but not Mo Yan?
"I'm so annoyed, Mo Yan is so old, what is he chasing trending topics for!"
"So hateful, stealing our brother's trending topic, we finally got there!"
"It must be bought trending topic. I just checked, Mo Yan usually only gets a few thousand likes on Weibo and not many comments. When did he become so popular?"
Although Chen Zhe had talent and was different from other popular celebrities, his fan base still operated with the typical fan circle tactics.
Many fans, seeing their idol's trending topic stolen, had already started to react fiercely, complaining in Mo Yan's topic threads.
Although Mo Yan held a high status in the Chinese music scene and had many fans, most of them were older. Some young people were not familiar with Mo Yan, so they felt that Mo Yan's Weibo comments were usually few, and even trending topics wouldn't be this fast.
"I advise Chen Zhe's fans not to be so angry. I heard that Teacher Mo Yan is going to retire from writing. He has made so many contributions to the Chinese music scene. It's not too much for him to be trending on his retirement, is it?"
"Young people nowadays have no basic respect for seniors."
"Even Ting Yu calls Mo Yan 'Teacher.' What are you, Chen Zhe, compared to him?"
"Chen Zhe still has acting skills, it's just his fans who are too annoying."
"After becoming popular with one or two movies, the fans have become incredibly arrogant. They haven't experienced the harshness of society."
"Chen Zhe's fans really want their idol to fail!"
Because Chen Zhe's fans were complaining in Mo Yan's topic threads, many people found it unacceptable. After all, trending topics weren't exclusive to any one person.
As an actor heavily promoted by Guangnian Entertainment, Chen Zhe had many resources and genuinely good acting skills. It was only a matter of time before he surpassed the previous top star, Zhang Qingyun.
...
Kyoto.
Lin Family Villa.
"Susu, these people are too much. You didn't even post the promotion for 'A Chinese Odyssey' to help Teacher Mo Yan get the top trending topic, yet these Chen Zhe fans are spewing venom under Teacher Mo Yan's trending topic," Lin Yanyu said, lying in Su Yu's arms. She had intended to browse the day's gossip but found the internet in chaos.
"Isn't this Chen Zhe an artist from Guangnian Entertainment?" Su Yu asked.
Lin Yanyu nodded, "That's right. After Zhang Qingyun fell, Chen Zhe took over his market. This person's acting skills are indeed remarkable; he's a talented student from a prestigious film school. However, Guangnian Entertainment isn't nurturing him as a character actor. To quickly capture the market, they're still managing fans with the fan circle approach."
Cultivating a character actor requires the accumulation of many works.
For popularity, however, all that's needed is to generate hype.
These two growth paths are completely different. Popularity can be monetized more quickly, but the fan loyalty is not as high as for character actors. It's akin to overdrawing the actor's career prematurely.
However, one good thing about Chen Zhe is that he does have talent, making him much better than those popular celebrities who only know how to create hype.
It is precisely because of this that Chen Zhe's fans believe he represents the pinnacle of acting among the younger generation in the Chinese film and television industry.
"Guangnian Entertainment might be deliberately trying to provoke a confrontation here," Su Yu mused.
There was a deep-seated animosity between Mo Yan and Guangnian Entertainment.
Previously, on "The Masked Singer," they had sent Mo Yan's first disciple, Liu Yi, to intentionally provoke Mo Yan, causing him to be caught in public opinion.
This time, with Mo Yan's retirement from writing, they encountered the promotion for Guangnian Entertainment's Chen Zhe's new drama and birthday celebration.
Given Mo Yan's status in the entertainment industry, even if he took the trending topic away from Chen Zhe, the latter would not dare to say anything. But now, this matter had escalated so much.
Without a doubt, Guangnian Entertainment was fanning the flames behind the scenes.
"Their movie is scheduled for release in early August?" Su Yu suddenly asked.
"That's right," Lin Yanyu nodded.
Su Yu said with a half-smile, "Then, should I send him a big gift?"
Those people at Guangnian Entertainment were probably feeling pleased right now, as provoking Mo Yan had given their movie high exposure. However, they didn't realize that "A Chinese Odyssey" was also scheduled for release in early August.