Long Jia in front of the stage blocked the host from straying off-topic, ensuring the program continued smoothly.
“Chi Ji danced so well! It’s amazing how good a guy can look in high heels!” Xiao You said, passing the microphone to the mature and stylish man from the Red team, Yu Feng: “How do you feel about it, Yu Feng?”
“Hmm, very strong,” Yu Feng said, raising an eyebrow: “I can’t learn it, it’s too difficult for me.”
The audience understood his implied meaning, laughing heartily.
“The character he portrayed indeed had a lot of design thought,” Long Jia subtly regained control of the conversation, quickly diverting the topic: “In terms of creativity, Xie Lianyun has always had a super strong skill in writing love poems, those with secret crushes better listen up.”
Xie Lianyun, unfazed, took the microphone and interacted with the camera, drawing everyone’s attention to the next segment of the show.
FALSE’s score only came close to Crown’s once during the middle of the program.
By the end of the show, their score was at 15 million, while Crown broke the previous record, pushing the score to 50.12 million, setting a new high.
Multiple trending searches broke into the top twenty, and the fans, not focusing too much on the program’s data, were happily celebrating.
We held on! We won again!!
Our brothers always deserve it, the new album is amazing!!!
Qi Ding stayed in the headquarters meeting room, sighing like a seasoned veteran, then quickly perked up, continuing to manage the situation through the night.
“In the next few days, I’ll need everyone’s hard work, I’ll pay triple overtime.”
“Chairman Qi is wise!!!”
“Chairman Qi, working all night must be hard!!!”
Most fans, after busily watching the show, were blissfully unaware of any issues.
My Chi Ji truly dominated the stage, even looks stunning in women’s clothing!
Fans of FALSE, frustrated and angry, began a new round of vicious slander.
They were already mocked for faking data and having only artificial popularity; they were waiting for this battle to vindicate themselves, but their score wasn’t even a quarter of Crown’s.
Anonymous forums were again filled with vitriol and controversy through the night, with ghost images, crash images, black-and-white obituaries non-stop, biting back, claiming Crown has always faked data, unscrupulously doing anything to win.
[52l]: Hah, a five-year-old group crushing newcomers, how wonderful. My poor little unpopular group, used as a sacrifice by yours and then stomped on. Since your group is so famous it’s out of this solar system, why bother with our transparent ones? Is it fun to cyberbully and doxx innocent people speaking up for our group? Like idol, like fan, all the same character:)
[165l]: Sisters, don’t bother with some sour losers, come and happily adore Chi Ji, haha, look at my baby’s unedited live photos [Image] [Image]
[234l]: Ah, four consecutive wins can be so lonely. I wonder if the brothers are celebrating with champagne or red wine tonight. I heard that when a certain team was at the airport today, they all had sour faces, their noses almost twisted in anger. By comparison, my Jue Jue and Chi Ji are like emerging lotuses [Image]
[444l]: Your crown team is all ** [Smile], even if my team’s not up to par, they wouldn’t publicly dance in high heels, they have some dignity [Smile][Smile]
[577l]: 234l, their noses were already crooked… don’t say it out loud, or some idiots will go and flood my team’s inbox with insults.
[609l]: To 444l, you’re already extinct, wake up. Tired of using foot-binding cloth as a face mask every day?
Sensitive figures like Jiang Shu and Qi Ding were already tirelessly engaged in preemptive PR.
They weren’t just competing in the show; they were also more confident in controlling public opinion than in past years.
Both sides were seizing the opportunity to strike first.
This was no longer about morality or values; it was a murky battle of capital.
The battlefield was Chi Ji’s public image.
SPF’s edits were quicker than Caibi Media’s, almost as if the old staff were driving the interns to work at a breakneck pace.
Professional explanations and key highlights effectively guided the audience to view the performance from an objective perspective.
@Entertainment Doughnut: Stunning work! Popular idol Chi Ji perfectly recreates the Broadway classic “Rock Barbie”! [Video Link]
@Gossip Girl Speaks: A Tony-award-winning classic popular in the UK, USA, Germany, France, and Korea, professionally recreated by Corona’s lead singer Chi Ji. His dance moves and high notes are amazing, what a celestial brother!
@Musical Sneak Peek: The dimensional wall is broken!! Compare the “Sugar Daddy” dance by the foreign master and our little Chi Ji, which one is better? [Flowers] [Flowers]
Unable to match their PR speed, Caibi Media simply went to shopping districts and universities the next day to interview passersby.
They specifically chose seemingly conservative middle-aged and elderly people, as well as kids who tended to blurt out whatever came to mind.
@Eight Lord Talks Entertainment: Shocking! When a school kid sees a male celebrity dancing in high heels, they say this! [Video Link]
@Inside Scoop: Old man furiously labels Chi Ji as ‘perverse’ and ‘frivolous’, harshly criticizes contemporary men for lacking masculinity, becoming increasingly degenerate! [Video Link]
If it were just the two sides leading their teams into a battle of words, the issue might have fizzled out in a few days.
But more and more bystanders started joining in, along with those jumping on the bandwagon.
Gem fans were trying hard to control the direction of comments on Weibo, but outside the entertainment circle, several big Vs took the lead to enter the fray for money, spewing as much offensive language as possible.
Mostly male bloggers in military, history, and sports fields naturally attracted confident, often arrogant male followers.
They had already been filled with anger when they saw the amateur male contestants being thrashed in “Idol’s Code” and didn’t shy away from accusing the show of using actors and having a hidden agenda.
Now seizing the opportunity, they intensified their mockery, joking and raging about ‘revoking manhood’.
@Old Chen Talks Military: You fangirls always disowning this or that fan, today I’m disowning this high-heeled ** from manhood, got a problem? Come at me, I’ll take on ten of you without fear! What normal man would dance in high heels? Going on such a show without worrying about the bad influence on kids?
@Ask Daoist Hermit: Don’t ask, it’s LGBT, it’s about freedom of choice, a public figure resorting to such measures to win, dancing lewdly, it’s disgusting, a decline in public morals!
Some Bilibili up masters quickly followed with parodies, deliberately wearing black stockings and acting coy in front of the camera, jokingly asking when they would be disowned from manhood.
[Shocking! A guy actively requests to be disowned from manhood] Wearing women’s clothes is fun, trying on my sister’s high heels~~~
[Disowned from Manhood] A wave of ghostly training, making Chi Ji sing “Chicken Song” online, don’t forget to like, share, and comment!
[Disowned from Manhood] Brother Huang comments on the Chi Ji incident, furiously invites female fans for a verbal brawl!
The reason these toxic men targeted Chi Ji instead of the long-haired Bo Jue, who exudes a noble aura of classical music and has won the Chopin Competition, is because of the distance and prestige Bo Jue commands.
They’ve never even heard of musical theatre; seeing someone in high heels, they react as if a frustrated old bachelor were drugged, laughing and cursing in a group.
SPF had entered a 24-hour shift mode, with the public relations department expanded to its maximum, staying on the frontline non-stop.
The PR team immediately had their tech people monitor and shut down offending accounts, with platforms racing to delete posts, lock threads, and ban users.
While guiding positive narratives in various fields, they also reached out to well-known professionals abroad to comment on Chi Ji’s performance.
Unexpectedly, these professionals were more familiar with the name Noah, bringing out signed posters from years ago, praising the young talent’s exceptional abilities.
Moreover, YouTube videos of the performance exceeded two million views, with enthusiastic likes and comments in various languages.
Both officials and fans were translating and finding opportunities to regain the high ground.
[Such an astonishing performance! Surprised how well this Easterner portrayed this classic role! He must have practiced a lot, his fundamentals are so solid!]
[Isn’t that Corona’s Noah! He’s so cute, too bad I’m abroad, I’d love to fly over for his concert tt]
[Incredible! I shared this video with my professor, he loves “Rock Barbie,” and gave it a big thumbs up after watching!]
Everyone knew that capital was manipulating people like pawns, a truth most were painfully aware of.
In the world of fame and fortune, honor and defamation are like poisoned blades, never distinguishing between right and wrong when striking.
SPF knew whether the female host acted on her own whim or if it was a premeditated move by some.
“Let’s suppress this for now,” Qi Ding said coldly, smoking, “We can’t let others bully us like this.”
“After a while, we need to hit back hard,” Jiang Shu spoke indifferently, “They’re underhanded, we don’t need to show any mercy.”
Huo Ren, on the day of the performance, found an excuse to borrow Chi Ji’s computer and phone, not daring to let him go online.
Uncle Jiang started to cancel non-essential work, trying to reduce Chi Ji’s public appearances as much as possible, keeping him insulated from the storm.
But this storm was too vast.
Chi Ji blinked, seemingly unaware of everything yet also seemingly aware of everything.
He quietly didn’t resist, hiding in his room, sleeping away entire afternoons, often hugging a pillow and staring blankly, unwilling to come out and play.
In the past month and a half, Chi Ji spoke much less, and although he still smiled as before, his appetite and emotional state weren’t good.
Sometimes he would quietly tell Huo Ren that he felt a tightness in his chest, uncomfortable, and that he had nightmares when he slept.
A doctor discreetly diagnosed him, concluding it was close to moderate depression.
“He was already denied his personality and gender for the same reasons last year; he should not be subjected to such repeated triggers,” Dr. Zhai said seriously. “Chi Ji needs to avoid harm as much as possible and receive more support and companionship—but no medication for now, I’ll come to accompany him regularly.”
Bo Jue sighed deeply, “Depression… sigh, we as his brothers haven’t done enough.”
Huo Ren felt so guilty he couldn’t speak, covering his face with his hands, unable to breathe for a long time.
“Don’t demonize depression, but also don’t ignore it,” the doctor advised them gently. “It’s more like a psychological cold.”
It can recur, disappear, be exacerbated by repeated triggers, and be led to recovery with careful care.
“You’re a family. Just give him more love and help him relax in the right way, and things will slowly get better.”
SPF was fully engaged in PR while also tracing the connections of their adversaries, preparing for a fierce counterattack.
Huo Ren talked with Jiang Shu to request a reduction in Corona’s workload and travel frequency for the year, to protect Chi Ji’s mental health as much as possible.
Jiang Shu agreed.
“I’ll handle the company’s work. You guys take Chi Ji out to have some good times,” the uncle said, rubbing his forehead. “For important events, try to participate, but I’ll push away minor events and interviews.”
However, Crown still had to perform.
February 12th was the OSC awards ceremony, February 14th a Valentine’s Day commercial event, and on February 17th, a long-planned album promotion.
After these engagements, SPF would give them a disguised vacation under the pretext of shooting a music video.
Amidst the online turmoil and restless journalists, only the 17th floor remained as calm as ever, as if nothing had happened.
Long Jia earnestly wrote a long letter and slid it under the door.
Mei Shengyao clumsily played “Wicked Little Town” on the piano, trying to lure Chi Ji out of the room.
Bo Jue cooked pear and apple soup, leaving it at the door with a gentle knock, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.
On the day they had to leave, Huo Ren, wearing a cap, stood at Chi Ji’s door, knocking gently.
No response.
“It should be knocked like this.” Xie Lianyun glanced at the clean soup bowl by the door and knocked again rhythmically.
Bang bang – bang bang bang!
A soft voice inside quietly sang along, “Do you wanna build a snowman?”
“Chi Ji, come on—let’s build a snowman—” Xie Lianyun shouted, “It’s snowing heavily!!”
“Brother—let’s have a snowball fight after work—” Mei Shengyao joined in, shouting, “Then go eat shaved ice!!!”
Finally, the door quietly cracked open.
Chi Ji poked his head out, a bit nervous: “I, I’ll change my clothes right away, um, Ren Ren?”
Huo Ren took off his cap, smiling: “Do I look good?”
His soft, tousled hair hung by his forehead, a clean and bright peach-pink, like an elf.
The author has something to say:
The full counterattack begins in March.
I swear, if anything happens to my soft boy, I’m going to riot! Leave Chi Ji alone you losers!