There is an old saying: if you hit someone with a stick, you must also give them a sweet date afterward.
For Chu Zhi's fans, this New Year had been an emotional rollercoaster. First came the tear-jerking moments, and then the Orang Home app released something called "Moments of Happiness."
[Winner of the "Moments of Happiness" submission: Qing Si]
"Sigh… I didn't even get drawn for the Orange Festival qualification, so how could I possibly win an event prize?" Little Fruits, He Guo groaned.
Just seeing the winner's ID was enough to make her feel as if her soul had been split from her body with jealousy.
What made it worse was that the winner even posted to show off.
[Qing Si]:Hahaha, really? It's actually me? I don't even know what to say. I'm only a mild 'Jiu addict.' My fiancée is the real heavy Jiu addict. Now the problem is… what wish should I make? It's so hard to choose.
"At the very least, people shouldn't be so…" He Guo scrolled through the replies. Some fans sent their blessings, while others were going crazy with envy.
Then, she noticed a prompt pop up.
"Huh? The app wants to update."
Just as He Guo was about to stew in her lemony jealousy, a notification appeared saying the Orange Home app had a new version ready. She tapped without thinking. After the update, the app redirected to a page with one simple line:
[A Love Letter from Chu Zhi to All Little Fruits]
The words "Chu Zhi" and "love letter" appearing together was something no Little Fruits could possibly resist. He Guo's fingers moved faster than her brain, tapping into the link.
It opened to an event page. The background was rose-colored stationery, with only one line in the center:
[A love letter that no Little Fruits fan can resist. Available to read on February 23.]
"Huh? That's it? What kind of love letter is this?" He Guo admitted she was intrigued.
In the few seconds she sat frozen, comments began drifting across the screen like floating petals:
"Jiu-yé wrote me a love letter, he really did!"
"Hehehe, I didn't think Jiu-yé would make our relationship public so soon."
"What is it exactly? Any spoilers?"
"No matter what it is, I'm super excited!"
Each comment was wrapped in drifting rose petals, as if swaying along with the flowers.
So this page only appeared after updating the app… He Guo sighed. These people's hands and internet speeds were ridiculously fast.
One particular comment caught her eye:
"Wow, Jiu-yé's love letter is plastered everywhere. He's basically announcing it to the whole world."
He Guo opened Weibo out of curiosity, and sure enough, the same advertisement was there. Not just on Weibo, but on all the major news and social platforms.
With hashtags like #February23LoveLetter, people who weren't in the know might think a movie called Love Letter was premiering on February 23.
The marketing push from Niuniu's management team was massive, covering not only China but also Japan and South Korea. Of course, the nickname for fans was localized in each country: Ragdolls, Students, Apostles, and so on.
The campaign sparked huge discussions on Instagram, Twitter, and Weibo. Fans were buzzing with speculation, while casual onlookers were mostly just curious: what kind of "love letter" deserved such an extravagant rollout?
Many companies treated Chu Zhi's every move as a textbook case to study.
Why study him? Because most of what Chu Zhi did could not simply be copied. Without the right groundwork, attempting the same would backfire spectacularly.
That was why companies studied carefully—taking what could be imitated and applying it where possible. After all, the Emperor Beast shaking up the entertainment industry singlehandedly was no small feat.
There was a saying often attributed to Che Guevara: After we are gone, they will build you schools and hospitals and raise your wages—not because they have become good people, but because we were here.
Though these words weren't actually Guevara's, they did align with his actions. And the slightly improved state of the previously stagnant entertainment industry was also thanks to Chu Zhi's existence.
Before him, no one demanded trainees learn foreign languages, no one thought to guide fans positively, and certainly no one led fans to "see the sea" or "watch the sunset" together.
When Niu Jiangxue's team launched this campaign, word spread quickly among every celebrity in the industry.
Among those close to Chu Zhi were Li Fei and Zhou Guowu.
"What's brother Jiu up to now?" Li Fei chuckled, waiting for the show to unfold.
"By the way, when's the fifth album coming out? I've nearly worn out the Chinese-style tracks from the last one."
Li Fei was somewhat of a technical showman, with a background in classical singing. Among the traffic stars, no one sang better than him… except Chu Zhi.
Li Fei was currently at an awards ceremony, while Zhou Guowu was filming a big-budget web drama. With capital investment in the entertainment industry cooling, landing a starring role in a major film was becoming increasingly difficult.
"Brother, captain, please… can you not stir things up again right after New Year? You know you never do anything small." Zhou Guowu understood Chu Zhi well. When he made a move, it was always big.
Meanwhile, Lin Xia, holed up in a recording studio working on an album, saw the promo and muttered, "Why do I feel nervous all of a sudden?"
Only three days remained until February 23.
The album that would later be hailed as the "Miracle of 21st-Century Physical Album Sales in Asia," Little Fruits Are Sweet, was about to be released.
"Brother Jiu, Brother Jiu, look at this—my newest creation, the Dream Cake!" Life assistant Xiao Zhuzhi proudly presented a black, oddly shaped cake.
"Sister Wang, Brother Qian, you have to try some too," Xiao Zhuzhi added.
"Zhuzhi, is it a chocolate cake? It's so dark," Chu Zhi asked curiously.
"I don't think it's chocolate. I smell soy sauce and vinegar," Lao Qian said abruptly.
That couldn't be right… who would put soy sauce and vinegar in a cake?
"Yep! I invented this over New Year at home. It's a special New Year cake with spices from our family dinner—pepper, soy sauce, vinegar. The taste is unique, and everyone who's tried it says it's great." Xiao Zhuzhi beamed.
"Brother Qian, I know you love cake the most," Chu Zhi said with a sly smile. "Want to try it?"
"Try it… or die?" Lao Qian wanted to pass it off to someone else, but the only other person nearby was Sister Wang… so he caved.
One bite later, Lao Qian's furrowed brow relaxed into delight. He nodded.
"This is actually pretty good. Breaks the mold. Who says cake has to be sweet? Sour, bitter, spicy, salty… all flavors can work."
"Right? That's exactly what my mom and brother said," Xiao Zhuzhi replied proudly.
"I'll have another bite. Delicious." Lao Qian took a big mouthful.
Wait… really? It was good?
Wang Yuan narrowed her eyes, studying Lao Qian for any sign of bluffing, but his expression showed nothing but enjoyment.
The Emperor Beast sensed something was wrong. Even if Lao Qian's expression was flawless, the lack of any flaw was the biggest flaw.
So Chu Zhi and Wang Yuan each took a small bite.
The moment the cake touched their tongues, the soy sauce and pepper exploded in their mouths.
So ruthless! Lao Qian was ruthless.
Chu Zhi's mind blanked for a second. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lao Qian watching with a cheerful smile. Oh, so it was a game now?
"How is it?" Xiao Zhuzhi asked expectantly. She seemed immune to her own culinary chaos and genuinely believed it tasted good.
"Not bad. But I can't eat too much cake because I have to watch my figure," Wang Yuan replied diplomatically.
"Zhuzhi, your cooking is improving. Leave the rest of this cake to us," Chu Zhi said, taking the cake from her hands. "Brother Qian and I will finish it."
Lao Qian's smile froze. Did they really have to go down together like this?
Before he could protest, Chu Zhi split the remaining cake in half. One half for each of them.
"Pretty good," Chu Zhi said, chewing steadily while mentally chanting, Simulating illness, voluntary loss of taste.
"…," Lao Qian muttered, eating his share. This was truly lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot.
The bizarre little cake was just a side episode on their journey. The group's real destination was Star City, where Chu Zhi would appear as a special guest judge for the latest season of I Really Am a Singer.
His performance of Against the Light had been inducted into the show's Hall of Fame. At present, the Hall only held two performances: Chu Zhi's and the final winning performance from the championship.
He wouldn't be singing this time. Just making an appearance was enough.
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"逆光" (Ni Guang / Against the Light) – Original artist: 孙燕姿 (Sun Yanzi / Stefanie Sun)