By now, it hardly mattered how iQIYI or the production team responded. What truly turned the tide was Chu Zhi's own words.
And he didn't keep his fans waiting long.
@EatingABigOrange: [Image Attached]
Weibo's 140-character limit meant most long posts came as images. Chu Zhi's post was handwritten on a letterhead sheet, then photographed and shared. The content read:
"I chose not to drink on the show because I wanted to set a good example.
As for staying up late... reading is a habit I've developed. For me, four to five hours of sleep a night is enough.
Lastly, I stopped taking my antidepressants a long time ago—because of your support.
Everyone's doing their best to love life. I am too.
(P.S. Please follow your doctor's advice. My decision to stop medication was approved by my physician. Don't worry about me!)"
How much courage does it take to voluntarily quit antidepressants?
They are painful to take, but painful not to take. Even if you feel better, you still force yourself to stay on them—because they don't always help, but they usually prevent things from getting worse.
That's why Chu Zhi's choice struck Ni Xia as incredibly brave.
"Huff... huff..."
Ni Xia let out heavy breaths, as if purging all the anxiety and pressure weighing down her chest. She felt like she was finally releasing the emotions she had been bottling up.
Everyone was doing their best to live. "Jiu-ge has it worse than me, but he still tries to treat the world kindly. He still wants to be gentle to those around him. Shouldn't I try harder too?"
Ni Xia opened the Orange Home app. In the personal goal section of her account, she typed: [Strive to love life]:"Be with someone if it feels right, but don't force yourself if it doesn't. The point is to keep loving life."
A lot of things still hurt. Some wounds don't heal just because you try to think positively. But what used to be rot has become scabs now.
They still hurt when you look at them—but at least they're not festering anymore.
"It's not us supporting you, Jiu-ge. You're the one holding us up." Ni Xia said this in her heart.
In Japan, idols are called "sellers of dreams." But to Chu Zhi, idols are "guides who help their fans become better people."
If a woman earning 4,000 yuan a month spends half of it chasing celebrities and never invests in herself, what's the point of idolizing someone for five years without growing?
Chu Zhi planned to launch a study room feature on Orange Home, where he'd upload translated foreign texts and encourage fans to improve through his influence.
A patch of chives that's only dozens of centimeters tall will stay small no matter how often it's cut. But if the chives grow meters tall, even cutting a third leaves plenty behind. That's the difference.
Chu Zhi was playing the long game. With his system, he could easily stay relevant for 30 or 40 years.
His team's core slogan had always been: "Become better together with your idol."
About half an hour later, Orange Home stabilized again, and messages from fans started pouring in.
[Qingchu in July (Lv. 6)]: I'll keep supporting Jiu-ge no matter what. You have to stay well, Jiu-ge!
[PP Ai Yi (Lv. 7)]:I've been dealing with anxiety, especially about the future. But seeing how hard Jiu-ge tries to live, I suddenly feel less afraid.
[Su Qingxue (Lv. 1)]:Take care of yourself, A-Jiu. I used to just enjoy your music and didn't care about the person. But after watching the variety show and following the drama, I've realized your fans might be intense—but you're truly a good person.
[qiz (Lv. 5)]:I cried so much my eyes are swollen. I used to hate this world a little. But now... I've started to like it too. Like the world that A-Jiu loves.
...
In the battle between Chu Zhi and iQIYI, it was a threefold win. iQIYI won once, Chu Zhi won twice.
From the first episode's airing, he drew the most new fans. Many who just thought he had decent music were now solidly loyal.
That's rare. Casual fans are easy to attract. A good song or a charming interview is enough. But turning them into devoted followers? That takes real weight.
So, this first episode was a full sweep.
Even his number of "mom fans" went up.
His previously released singles, "Glory" and "You're Not Truly Happy," shot back into the top three.
Among all the fanbases in the world, Chu Zhi held eight-tenths of the total passion.
If he worked a little harder, he might as well corner the market with twelve parts and leave other stars owing him two.
The next morning, Chu Zhi lit a cigarette. A notification chimed in his mind.
["Smoke King" achievement unlocked: 1,000 cigarettes smoked. +8 Personality Coins]
He checked his bank accounts—still a bit short of hitting ten figures.
Blind boxes had been messing with his reason. He felt lucky again, like the double-choice streak from earlier. Just two more draws, and he'd get another two coins.
He made two anonymous donations totaling 20 million, completing the "Charity King" achievement instantly and earning 3 more coins.
"All right, let's draw twice." Chu Zhi's interest flared.
As the saying goes, "A gambler never wins the house." His two blind boxes yielded Russian language mastery and a copy of "Selected Poems of Gu Cheng."
If the system could accept emojis, Chu Zhi would've sent, [Shoulder bag slung, expression sunk.JPG]
Still, it wasn't a loss.
Language mastery wasn't just grammar and writing. It came with cultural context, idioms, local customs—about the level of a Russian teacher with ten years of experience.
He had to admit, he was a little pleased. Now fluent in Russian, Japanese, and English, Chu Zhi was a full-blown academic in the entertainment world.
"I'm getting too excited. Better focus back on saving money." He started to integrate the new rewards.
When it came to modern poetry, Gu Cheng was both refined and wild. He stood out in new-style poetry, traditional verse, and fable poems. Some said his poetry read like fairy tales.
His tragic ending—killing his wife and then himself—was a subject of endless speculation. Chu Zhi said nothing on that. After integrating the knowledge, all he could say was:
"If you call him a fairy tale poet, his work absolutely supports that."
"Hohoho, China Poetry Network, your king has returned." Chu Zhi logged into the site for the first time in ages.
He checked for ongoing events. Nothing clicked, so he submitted something to the daily poetry selection:
['Avoidance']
You refused to plant flowers,
You said, I don't want to watch them wilt, Bit by bit.
So, To avoid an ending, You avoided a beginning.
He closed the page immediately. Though he had messages and DMs waiting, he ignored them all.
Then he hopped into the van headed for Pudong Airport. Manager Qiu and Lao Qian had earlier flights—they were flying ahead to coordinate in Hokkaido.
The second week of Journey Among the Stars began tonight.
"This time we've got Koguchi Yoshihiro's concert, plus stargazing with the fans. After the emotional beatdown, we have to give them something sweet."
Chu Zhi was always generous with the sweet rewards. A custom app, a fan festival, a special trip to film under the stars—these weren't things other celebrities could easily copy.
They simply weren't on the same level.
The third week would take them to Otaru, far from Sapporo. It was all fast approaching.