Chapter 40

So far, they were still a little way behind first place.

They had tried every method they could.

They had long since exhausted every trick for stirring up the fans.

Almost every active fan they could mobilize had claimed accounts and was working on the numbers day and night.

They still couldn't catch up.

What could they do?

There was only one path left.

Album sales accounted for twenty percent of the score.

To put it bluntly, they had to throw money at it, as much as they possibly could, and push that twenty percent to its limit to make up for the gap in the remaining eighty percent.

But now that things had come to this, some people began to question it.

-"I'm suddenly wondering if this is necessary. There will be plenty of chances to get first place later, and even if we vote them into first this time, they might not get the award."

-"It'll be fine if we succeed, but if we don't, won't we lose everything?"

-"I suddenly think the company made the right decision. We shouldn't have fought for it in the first place. We're up against a famous top fandom."

Gu Zhijing was among those who had doubts.

Work hadn't been busy these past few days, so he had tried claiming accounts and working on the numbers himself. He had put in the effort too.

But he had only kept it up for a little while before he found it too exhausting.

To prevent votes cast from the same IP from being cleared, every time they switched accounts, they had to turn on airplane mode, wait several seconds, and then switch accounts.

To prevent plays on single-track repeat from being disqualified, when they streamed, they also had to add another song only a few seconds long to the playlist, then loop the playlist day and night.

They were working so hard.

Was it worth it?

It was.

Why wouldn't it be?

"Then do you want to see the four kids sitting in some remote corner until it's time to leave, knowing full well that none of the awards onstage have anything to do with them, but still having to sit there for four hours until it's over?"

"We don't even know if the captain's health has fully recovered. Can you really bear to see that?"

"Don't you want to see them standing on the awards stage? Don't you want to see them recognized by mainstream media? Don't you want to see them climb higher and go further?"

"I won't say much else. Just the same thing as always-our brothers' hands are meant to hold trophies, not clap for others."

You're telling me what we put in won't be proportional to what we get back?

But when have we fans ever concerned ourselves with getting something back?

Just think about it.

That penniless little workshop, the shoddy stage lighting and equipment, the reused props and cheap costumes, those pitch-black years without a glimmer of light, when they endured every cold shoulder and tasted every rejection.

Never let them go back to that again.

Spend.

Use cold, hard cash to pave them a flower road leading to a brilliant future.

Three days later.

At six in the evening, the latest episode of New Direction was released.

The show was prerecorded, and the data had already been tallied three hours before the deadline. The results would be announced at the end of the show.

Inside Leap Entertainment's dorm.

The four of them sat in front of a tablet, all of them extremely nervous.

They had indeed said they were ready to give up, but after Gu Zhijing told them what the fans had done these past few days, even the most hard-hearted person couldn't help being moved.

What if?

What if a miracle really did happen?

The moment the episode loaded,

Gu Zhijing quickly dragged the progress bar to the end.

At the same time, Weibo, supertopics, dedicated forum groups-everywhere exploded at once.

[New Direction's week 98 chart revealed.]

[TOP1]

[Color4 "Set off" (02↑01)]

The room was quiet for a moment.

Then Jiang Yu was the first to throw down the cushion in his hands, stand up, and cheer.

Xu Linyuan's eyes silently reddened, and he rubbed his nose hard with the back of his hand.

Gu Zhijing's fingertip, still pressed against the screen, tingled slightly.

His mind went blank for an instant, and it was as if all the strength had been drained from his body before slowly, slowly returning.

They had actually done it.

To outsiders, this was just an ordinary first-place win.

At most, it was only a stepping stone that gave them a way to knock on CMJ's door.

But only Color4 and their fans knew how much it meant.

Gu Zhijing pulled back his finger, lowered his eyes, and gave the reddened tip of his nose a small rub.

Suddenly, someone ruffled his hair.

He looked back and met Sheng Chi's gaze.

He was no longer quite so calm either.

There was a smile on his face, and in his eyes was the disbelief of someone who had been embraced by a miracle.

Like someone walking through the dark night,

finally seeing the dawn.

In that instant, Gu Zhijing wanted to cry and laugh at once. Almost without thinking, he threw himself into Sheng Chi's arms. "Brother Chi, we really did it!"

Sheng Chi fell backward from the impact, leaning against the bed behind him.

The soft bundle in his arms was so excited he was making little sobbing sounds, rubbing his face against Sheng Chi's neck and tickling him. A faint, inexplicable flutter rose in Sheng Chi's heart, mingling with the surprise that had yet to fade.

Sheng Chi's fingertips went stiff for a second. Then he slowly wrapped his arms around Gu Zhijing and curved his lips. "Mm."

Author's note: I once saw a sentence that fits perfectly here.

The reason we believe in and bless miracles is that we have truly witnessed them.

-

Thanks to the little angel who threw a landmine: T#T*^O^*, 1;

Thanks to the little angels who gave nutrient solution: Jiang Ting Is the Shou Beneath Me, 9 bottles; Little Purple Sweet Potato, 4 bottles; T#T*^O^*, 2 bottles; Sweet and Sour Fish and Clouds Steaming over the Pine Path, 1 bottle each;

Kisses, everyone!

Chapter 41

[CMJ is today, right? I didn't remember wrong, did I? Boo-hoo, I can't wait!]

[What time does the livestream start? My hand's about to fall off from refreshing.]

[It starts at 16:00. It's still early, don't rush. I hope our little workshop dresses the kids nicely today. It is their red carpet debut, after all.]

[Don't worry, our little veggie group isn't the same little veggie group it used to be! Besides, even if the company can't afford haute couture, there'll be brands willing to sponsor them!]

[Making a wish, making a wish: first, good styling; second, their looks go viral; third-never mind, it doesn't matter whether they win an award, as long as the kids are happy!]

[Are all you veggie girls mom fans? You worry so much. Do you really think of those guys as kids?]

[What's wrong with that? Come join the Color4 fandom! Try becoming a mom, free and painless!]

Gu Zhijing scrolled all the way to the last comment before exiting the forum.

Today was the day of the CMJ Music Awards ceremony.

It was also their first time walking a red carpet.

Color4's traffic and fanbase had shot up over the past two months, but in the entertainment industry as a whole, that number of fans wasn't enough to make anyone take them seriously, much less make up for how little recognition they had with the general public.

As far as the pecking order went, they really were at the very bottom of the entertainment industry.

As a result, they had received very few red carpet invitations over the past two months. Even when they did, the ceremonies weren't particularly prestigious, and they mostly clashed with their show recordings, so they hadn't gone to any of them.

After putting them off one after another, their red carpet debut ended up being at the grandest music awards ceremony of the year.

Who wouldn't be nervous about that-

Well, except Gu Zhijing.

While their manager, Brother Fei, was busy on the phone discussing publicity and promotion, and his teammate Jiang Yu was busy praying they would win an award, he actually had the leisure to scroll through his phone.

Jiang Yu came over and tapped the back of his head lightly. "How are you still in the mood to play on your phone?"

Gu Zhijing remained perfectly composed. "It's just walking a red carpet. Don't be nervous, don't be nervous."

Back when he was still a carefree young master in the Gu Family, he had seen his father attend business ceremonies and walk red carpets.

Wasn't the process just walking the red carpet, signing your name, posing, taking photos, and leaving?

What was the big deal?

"Is this just about walking a red carpet?"

Jiang Yu's expression suddenly turned serious. "This is another milestone in Color4's advance into the entertainment industry!"

Gu Zhijing: "..."

He was speechless for a moment. He glanced inside and asked, "Is Brother Chi still not ready?"

"Should be soon."

Xu Linyuan, who had only just come out himself, chimed in. "His stylist couldn't find an accessory for his outfit earlier, so he sent someone to get it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the door to the styling room swung open.

Sheng Chi walked out.

Gu Zhijing looked up, and his eyelid twitched.

Male celebrities' red carpet looks were generally fairly conventional. Whether it was their hair or their clothes, they chose popular styles that couldn't go wrong, but his stylist had been quite daring.

He had slicked Sheng Chi's hair back.

Ordinary people had a hard time pulling off slicked-back hair. It could easily expose flaws in their face shape and make them look greasy rather than fresh.

Sheng Chi, however, had good bone structure. With his forehead exposed, the lines of his face looked even stronger and sharper, and paired with a suit, it gave him a commanding presence.

Gu Zhijing was dazed for a moment and typed a few words on his phone.

By the time he came to his senses, the Weibo post had already been sent.

[@ Centrifugal Heart·: Place your bets, I'm putting down five hundred!! Brother's styling today is super gorgeous!!!!]

He was something of a longtime fan in the fandom, and as soon as he posted, quite a few fans joined the discussion.

[Really? Really?]

[I believe my brother can pull off any look. I'm betting too!]

[CMJ's security is so tight, there are never any sneak peeks. I really want to see Brother.]

Gu Zhijing typed with a smile.

[Yes! I'm super excited to see Brother.]

Inside, though, he was howling, I've already seen him! Jealous? Jealous? Jealous?

Ever since Gu Zhijing had become a girlfriend fan, he had gotten quite used to typing "Brother" online.

By the time Sheng Chi came up to him, he still hadn't realized it. He looked up and said instinctively, "Brother-"

Sheng Chi: "Hm?"

Gu Zhijing hit the brakes and quickly corrected himself. "Brother Chi, what is it?"

"You're the only one still spacing out here."

Sheng Chi flicked his ear lightly with a fingertip. "It's time to go."

Gu Zhijing's ears turned red.

Ever since Sheng Chi had touched the rim of his ear last time, it seemed to have become an unspoken understanding between them.

Because Gu Zhijing was wearing makeup and Sheng Chi didn't want to smudge it, whenever he wanted to get his attention, he would just touch his ear.

He put away his phone, took just a second to suppress his flustered expression, and switched out of his online girlfriend-fan mode. He nodded obediently. "Okay."

-

There were still several hours before the red carpet.

After leaving the styling room, they planned to head to the lounge CMJ had prepared and rest for a while as they waited for the official start.

Unexpectedly, the staff member who came to meet them looked apologetic. "Sorry, we didn't allocate the numbers properly this year, and there's been a small mishap. There aren't quite enough lounges, so you may need to share one with someone else."

This sort of thing wasn't uncommon in the entertainment industry.

Fei Yue was very understanding and nodded. "That's all right."

The staff member nodded, her expression brightening. "Then I'll go speak to Teacher Wei's people. He has a room to himself, and it's fairly spacious. Usually people agree to this."

Unexpectedly, after they reached the door, the staff member knocked and gave the assistant inside a rough explanation.

Inside the lounge, Wei Ming lifted his eyes when he heard her. "Who? Color4?"

The staff member nodded. "Yes, just the four of them, plus their manager."

Wei Ming lowered his gaze again and said coldly, "Sorry, that won't be convenient."

The lounge was well soundproofed, but the door was open.

The people outside heard every word and instantly fell silent.

The staff member was terribly embarrassed too.

She had worked in the industry for several years and occasionally encountered situations where there weren't enough lounges and several artists had to share. Most people agreed, and those on good terms might even chat for a bit.

She hadn't expected Wei Ming to be so young and yet so fond of putting on airs.

Color4 was a newly popular group, at least. Their status in the industry might not compare to his for now, but who knew what their momentum would be like in the future?

However he put it, he had refused without sparing them any face.

The staff member didn't understand why.

But the members of Color4 knew perfectly well.

Of all the people she could have asked,

it just had to be...