Chapter 12 The Music Festival Memory
Huh?
Should I remember him?
In that instant, I froze as countless novel plots rushed toward me.
The drowning child I saved as a kid?
No, I couldn't even swim.
The lonely male classmate I helped in school?
Wrong. I never had a hobby of helping others.
Then where could we have met? Think, brain, think!
"Pfft." A laugh came from beside me. The culprit finally explained, "A few months ago at the music festival where Xia Yuqing performed, I was standing right next to you. Everyone was cursing him for being too loud, but you—"
"Only I was seriously filming Xia Yuqing?"
"No. Only you were teaching me how to set up a tripod."
Apparently it was his first time being dragged to a live show to watch his Brother play rock. The photographer suddenly had diarrhea, so he was forced to step in and turn from audience member to photographer.
He filmed the entire show only to realize later that he never hit the record button.
When Xia Yulie got home, he faced a storm of "greetings" from his younger Brother.
At that time, he kept thinking—
If only he had asked for that girl's contact information back then. She was the only professional filming the whole thing. At least he could have bought the video from her.
"So... shall we officially add each other?"
I added my idol's Brother's contact.
If I told the fans, they wouldn't dare believe it.
But the other party seriously explored fan circle knowledge with me every day, trying to learn from me.
What could he possibly learn?
He couldn't learn anything!
Idols should stay far away from fans!
When I sent this line to Xia Yulie, he replied slyly, "But I'm his Brother."
His Brother doesn't count either!
Just as I was protesting, he sent me a fitness photo.
Eight-pack abs, perfectly defined.
I zoomed in. Xia Yulie: "Is this level of body management acceptable?"
Better than his Brother.
Cough.
I typed seriously: "Just average."
After playing this game of open schemes and hidden moves for a while, fans of the account started sending me private messages.
"Sis, you're my only sis. Please update videos!"
"It's a small matter that Xia Yuqing has no god-tier edits without you! But Zheng Fengchen's fans next door are all spreading rumors that you've run away again!"
That one sentence woke me up completely.
That damn coward Zheng Fengchen!
I had to show him what real power looked like!
Just as I was gearing up to grind out more videos, my account suddenly received a private message.
It was from Zheng Fengchen's Studio.
Although it looked like a staff member was logged in, the tone was painfully familiar.
"I've been looking at your account. It's been a long time since you updated."
"If you've unfollowed Xia Yuqing and want to come back, I can give you a few signed photos for free."
I had followed Zheng Fengchen for three years and seen him personally jump into fan groups countless times.
That arrogant, superior tone!
It had to be him.
I didn't reply. Instead, I immediately switched to every platform to check Zheng Fengchen's recent activities.
He was still running around doing various performances.
But his professional ability was truly worrying. The videos fans shot were full of mockery.
No wonder he thought of me again!
It was because no one was frame-by-frame editing for him anymore!
"Still haven't decided?"
"I'm warning you not to be too greedy!"
Greedy over a few signed photos?
Hahaha.
How had I not noticed in the past three years that Zheng Fengchen was this stingy? Meanwhile, Xia Yuqing next door was willing to offer up his own Brother to keep fans, yet this guy could only come up with a few autographs?
Who was he trying to disgust?
The moment I took screenshots of these words, the other side started retracting them one by one. I guessed a staff member had taken over.
After retracting everything, they started playing dead, pretending nothing had happened.
But I wasn't about to let them go.
I immediately sent a provocative reply: "Signed photos? Sending stuff nobody wants. Try eating something better!"
Zheng Fengchen was so angry he smashed a phone.
"Send it! Post these words! Let the whole internet see her ugly face!"
The manager paused. "What are you waiting for?"
"Bro, what if she took screenshots? If we post this, we're finished."
"What if she didn't take screenshots?"
The manager took a deep breath. "Bro, we can't gamble on that 'what if'! If it doesn't work, we can just hire a few more photographers. With your current fame, do you really lack one small Fan Editor?"
Zheng Fengchen sat on the sofa, staring darkly at the video on his phone.
Of course he didn't lack Fan Editors.
But he lacked ones who could actually deliver results!
Ever since "Wind Leaves Trace" deleted her account, all those viral videos disappeared. Other fans' videos couldn't get popular at all. The highest only had a few tens of thousands of likes.
What were a few ten thousand likes?
Just fans hyping themselves. What he wanted was real virality!
"Hey! Xia Yuqing's Fan Editor Walk With Yuqing just dropped another hit—"
"Shh!"
The abruptly stopped voice couldn't stop Zheng Fengchen's rage. He opened "Walk With Yuqing"'s page and found that the latest video had reached a hundred thousand plays again. The comment section was full of passersby praising it.
The unlucky phone was smashed again!
"Contact her again!"
The video blew up again.
Xia Yulie messaged me late at night: "Want some benefits?"
I nodded furiously.
At the same time, I felt that Xia Yuqing was truly a dedicated idol. To keep his fans, he was even willing to sell out his own Brother.
Great idea!
If he ever got into trouble later, he could just throw his Brother out as a shield and wash himself clean.
Logically, I should have felt ashamed.
But those fitness photos were just too good... That fair-skinned Mommylike Guy. My face heated up.
"This is the benefit for 100k plays."
"The next benefit won't be for this level of numbers."
So shameless.
I was successfully lured into following every single one of Xia Yuqing's performances, pumping out videos and god-tier edits like crazy.
"Sis, you've been so productive lately, like a donkey."
"Is there some mission you must complete, sister? Or maybe check out my idol instead?"
I was hooked until I couldn't tell north from south. I couldn't even understand what the comment section was saying anymore. I didn't even notice when Zheng Fengchen's Studio contacted me again.
"Last time we didn't communicate well. What conditions would make you willing to come back and produce content?"
Conditions?
My mind was spinning as I typed: "Got a brother? Show me some Mommylike Guy?"
One slip and it became eternal regret.
The chat records between me and the Studio eventually made it onto the Trending List.
#FanEditorWalkWithYuqing
#FanEditorInsultsZhengFengchen
Clicking in, it was clearly the screenshots of the Studio contacting me twice.
The Studio came across as the dignified party desperately trying to retain me. I became the villain who used an artist's videos to blow up. Then I arrogantly mocked and threatened my old boss.
Even more, some "insider" came out to expose:
"Someone from the circle here to tell the truth. Everyone still remembers the fight between Zheng Fengchen and Xia Yuqing a few months ago, right?"
"The whole thing was suspicious from beginning to end. Can one Fan Editor really stir up such a huge wave? Everyone should look at who ultimately benefited after this incident."
With this kind of guidance, Zheng Fengchen's fans, who had been holding back for months, completely exploded.
"I've wanted to say this for a long time! Wind Leaves Trace has always been a traitor! If she wasn't paid off, how could she have gotten Xia Yuqing's music festival video from months ago?"
"Not only did she take the money, she also gained fans and fame. Finally someone exposed her!"
"Our studio suffered such great grievance but still swallowed the bitterness and took the initiative to contact her and lower our heads. Which artist's team is as miserable as ours?"
"We spent three years raising our baby until he became so bright and beautiful, only for him to be ruined by Xia Yuqing and that Fan Editor Wind Leaves Trace!"
The fans cried everywhere.
The Trending List was gradually steered off course. My account's private messages were flooded with curses from confused passersby.
My fingers were shaking with anger.
At this critical moment, Zheng Fengchen himself posted a cryptic Weibo:
No text, only three sailboat emojis.
The comment section had turned into a massive fan support gathering. They cried while comforting their brother.
"The sails have passed, brother, let's go home!"
Zheng Fengchen hadn't wasted his three years in the entertainment industry.
His skills at reversing black and white and confusing right and wrong were practiced to perfection.
With just a few screenshots, he turned the situation around.
Even if I released the screenshots of the Studio's messages before they could retract them, it probably wouldn't be enough to reverse the current situation.
Xia Yulie had already sent me several messages.
"Are you okay?"
"I've collected all the accounts spreading rumors and attacking you. We can sue anytime."
"It's not easy to clarify this right now. If you're upset, you can come to me first. We'll strike back when the time is right."
I ignored him.
A few hours later, there was a sudden knock on my door.
When I opened it, Xia Yulie was standing there. He had sweat on his forehead.
"Why are you here?"
"I came to see you." He first checked my expression. After seeing that I looked the same as usual, he breathed a sigh of relief, then coughed twice. "Won't you invite me in?"
Xia Yulie was way too comfortable.
After entering, he walked around, cleaned up my living room, and even went to the kitchen to cook a pot of white fungus and red date soup.
I sat in the living room with my laptop on my knees. It took me a long time before I finally asked him.
"Why did you come?"
"My reputation is so bad right now that even my alt account's fans don't dare speak up for me. No one will buy my videos if I post them in the future."
"I'm useless to Xia Yuqing now. You're wasting your time on me."
Thump.
He flicked my forehead.
"Bai Zhu, are you stupid?" Xia Yulie crossed his arms and looked at me. "Did you really think that all this time I was relying on selling my own abs to help that idiot Xia Yuqing keep his fans?"
"If I wanted to seduce fans one by one, why wouldn't I just start a streaming account and become a male bodhisattva?"
Huh?
Wasn't it seduction?
I was genuinely stunned for a moment.
Xia Yulie laughed in exasperation. "Everything I said at that first dinner was just an excuse. Don't tell me you didn't notice?"
He had been interested since that music festival. He just didn't manage to get my contact information then. Later, he went through a lot of trouble to find me again.
He had been interested since that music festival. He just didn't manage to get my contact information then. Later, he went through a lot of trouble to find me again.
"Xia Yuqing isn't worth me going through all this."