Let's rewind two hours.
Director Zhou sat on the sofa in the living room of his apartment, watching the number of likes on the Douyin video on his phone screen jump up at a visible speed.
He checked Weibo and saw that it was already trending at number one, followed by a dark red "hot" icon.
The assistant, standing beside him, looked a little pale. " Director Zhou, should we have the official Weibo account issue a clarification now? If this continues, the comment section is going to explode."
Director Zhou didn't reply immediately.
He first dialed the phone number of the person in charge of the publicity department of Tengda Video and put it on speakerphone.
"I saw it trending? What do I do now?"
Director Zhou asked somewhat nervously.
"I saw it." The voice on the other end of the phone was calm and unhurried. "Our suggestion is to wait a little longer."
The assistant was taken aback.
"Wait until the topic reaches its peak before having the official Weibo account clarify. This way, you can maximize the buzz, and after the clarification, netizens will have an 'oh, so that's how it is' feeling, which will actually increase their attention to the show."
The head of the publicity department paused for a moment, then said somewhat awkwardly:
"The only problem is that before the clarification, the solo fans of the two leads might get fired up, especially Cheng Che's side."
Director Zhou frowned slightly. " Star Journey?"
"Yes." The person on the other end of the phone sighed. " Ning Qing's solo fans are alright; there aren't that many of them, and their fighting power is limited. But Star Journey is different. It's been established for less than a year, and it's already invincible in the entertainment industry. It has many wealthy female fans, is highly organized, and acts in an orderly manner. It's a completely different concept from ordinary fan groups."
After hanging up the phone, Director Zhou sat on the sofa for two minutes.
Then he dialed Qin Lie's number and had President Fang contact Ning Qing's agent.
The three parties communicated and agreed on a process: after the official Weibo account clarified the situation, the artists on both sides would then post on Weibo to take responsibility and give their fans an explanation.
Qin Lie hung up on Director Zhou and immediately called Cheng Che.
Cheng Che and Ning Qing had just returned to the apartment and were sitting at the coffee table in the living room.
Cheng Che answered the phone, listened for a few minutes, hummed in response, and then hung up, glancing sideways at Ning Qing.
"What's wrong?" Ning Qing asked curiously.
"Regarding the trending topics," Cheng Che shrugged and said, " Director Zhou said the official Weibo account will issue a clarification first, and then we'll each post our own Weibo."
Ning Qing took out her phone and glanced at it, her expression changing from calm to helpless.
She didn't read the comments section carefully, but those questions that were pushed to the top were enough to make her uncomfortable at a glance.
The two men's agents arrived at the apartment one after the other.
Qin Lie entered first, glanced at Cheng Che sitting cross-legged beside the coffee table, sighed, and sat down opposite him.
Ning Qing's female agent followed behind, holding a phone in her hand, her expression also not very good, and sat down next to Ning Qing.
"Write it first, then wait," Qin Lie said unhurriedly. "Post yours after the official account posts it. Don't use too harsh a wording, but don't be too soft either. If it's too harsh, the fans won't be happy; if it's too soft, it'll make you look guilty."
Ning Qing's female agent nodded and added:
" Xiao Qing, just say it's for the show's filming, thank everyone for their concern, don't explain further."
Ning Qing hummed in agreement and picked up her phone to start typing.
Her wording was very proper. She wrote, "Thank you for your concern. ' The Realm and Old Friends and A Chat with Old Friends ' is a character-based variety show. The anime convention shoot is part of the program. Please look forward to the full episodes." After she finished writing, she showed it to her agent, who nodded.
On Cheng Che's end, Qin Lie handed him the phone. "Write it yourself, and show it to me when you're done."
Cheng Che took the phone, thought for a moment, and then started typing.
He wrote slowly, but his fingers never stopped.
Qin Lie leaned over and glanced at the beginning, raising an eyebrow.
Are you sure?
"Sure."
Qin Lie paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Okay, once you're done writing, wait for the official Weibo account to post it."
The two sat side by side next to the coffee table, each holding their phones.
Ning Qing glanced at Cheng Che's screen out of the corner of her eye, leaned over to take a look, and swiped her finger across the screen a couple of times, as if she was wondering if she could modify it to resemble a version.
"You're being too..." she hesitated, then added, "... too unrestrained."
"That's what you call interesting," Cheng Che said with a smile.
Ning Qing glanced down at the neatly written text she had penned, then at Cheng Che's, before turning to her female agent, her eyes gleaming with anticipation, and said:
"Can I make some changes?"
"No." The female agent's tone was firm.
Ning Qing's expression fell slightly, and the corners of her mouth turned down.
She usually has that aloof demeanor in front of the camera, but now her usually cool face showed obvious displeasure, like a child whose toys had been confiscated.
Cheng Che chuckled beside her and turned to look at her:
"Why don't you repost mine with an emoji?"
Ning Qing glared at him, but didn't say anything. Her finger hovered over the phone screen, as if she was hesitating.
"If you repost my post, your fans won't criticize you," Cheng Che said enticingly. "They'll think you're just promoting the show, not that you're dating him."
Ning Qing glanced at him, then at her agent.
The female agent thought for a moment, then shook her head:
"Proceed with the original plan for now. We'll discuss the reposting after the official Weibo account posts it."
Ning Qing put her phone away and gave a muffled "hmm".
Cheng Che teased her again, and Ning Qing raised her hand and slapped his arm, her expression like a cat with its fur standing on end.
Cheng Che laughed and dodged to the side, only to be chased and patted twice.
The female agent sat on the sofa, watching this scene, and sighed inwardly.
Is Cheng Che Incubus?
Ning Qing has been in the industry for so many years and has seen all kinds of male celebrities. She always has a cold face and doesn't talk to anyone. How did she end up failing here?
Then she glanced at Cheng Che's face out of the corner of her eye, and subconsciously looked away.
He's so handsome!
Two hours later, the official Weibo account of " The Realm and Old Friends " issued a clarification.
Five minutes after the official Weibo post, Ning Qing posted her Weibo.
The wording was the same as the paragraph I had just written, nothing special. The comments section was split evenly between fans and casual viewers. Some people said, "So it was just a TV show," while others were still asking, "How do you explain the interlocked fingers?" But the buzz had already dropped considerably.
Then Cheng Che posted on Weibo.
"Today, I, incognito, stumbled upon a comic convention and, seeing the joy of the crowd, decided to share in their happiness. What, am I not even allowed to have some fun? Continue the music, continue the dance."
The following paragraph shifted the tone from Shen Che back to Cheng Che himself:
Haha, isn't that funny?
In " A Chat with Old Friends," I played the role of Shen Che, who, even in Hyundai, is still the same person who pretends to be stupid on the surface but actually understands everything.
This part of the comic convention was an unscripted interactive experience. I dressed up as Naruto and strolled around the convention in Shen Che's style.
As for holding hands? What's wrong with Shen Che and the female lead holding hands in Hyundai?
In the drama, they were scheming against each other in the imperial court, so why couldn't they relax a bit at the comic convention? You can watch the show yourselves when it airs; I had a lot of fun, anyway.
After this Weibo was published, the comment section received over 300,000 comments within ten minutes.
[Hahahaha, he calls himself "I, the lonely one"!]
Keep playing the music and dancing! I'm going to save this phrase as my signature.
[As expected of Che Baby, even his clarifications are so witty!]
[So that Naruto laugh was Shen Che's laugh, not Cheng Che Che's? I'm actually starting to kind of want to see Shen Che act stupid at the anime convention.]
[The one mentioned earlier will be available when the show airs; I want to watch it too.]
[To be honest, this Weibo is much more effective than a proper clarification. I'm not angry at all now, I just want to watch the show.]
[ Ning Qing's post was so formal, while Cheng Che's post directly referred to himself as "I, the Emperor"—the difference in their styles is just too great.]
[Is this what actors are like? Even their clarifications involve Roleplay.]
Ning Qing sat next to him and read Cheng Che's Weibo twice.
Then she took out her phone, forwarded Cheng Che's post, and added two words: "Play music."