By mid-March, the peach blossoms shyly tinted the fans' cheeks.
Chu Zhi wandered through the big city. It had been a long time since he saw peach blossoms, but at least there were peaches to eat.
"Boss, are you okay? You looked lost after the meeting," asked the driver Lao Qiu with concern, noticing Chu Zhi pause for several seconds with a peach near his lips but not eating it.
"Nothing, just thinking about the meeting," Chu Zhi replied, then asked, "Brother Qiu, have you succeeded in quitting smoking?"
"Quitting is easy," Lao Qiu said. "The hard part is not picking it back up. I just quit a few days ago but smoked again today."
Lao Qiu redefined what it meant to quit smoking. As long as he went half a day without smoking, he called it success for that half day.
"Let's go, Brother Qiu, to Sanlitun," Chu Zhi said, finishing two peaches quickly.
He took another peach from the bag. After eating it with a soft crunch, Chu Zhi nodded silently. It wasn't very sweet. The best way to eat peaches was to finish two at once, so they could be digested together.
Around six in the evening, Beijing's traffic was terrible.
Lao Qiu was feeling blocked inside too. Seeing someone smoking while waiting for a car, he wanted a cigarette as well.
Chu Zhi went to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for a conference, where he was given a political assignment with political rewards. Strictly speaking, it wasn't mandatory. The ministry hoped he would release a new Chinese-style album to promote Chinese culture and traditional instruments.
"That makes sense. Since Chu Ci: Ode to the Orange Tree is the origin of the new Chinese style, maybe I need a proper conclusion too," Chu Zhi mused. "But this year I'm going to the West, how can I release albums backwards?
Going to the West and releasing albums domestically are not mutually exclusive. I have finished all the awards I can get here anyway. How come your brain isn't working? I can develop in Asia and still release a new album. It doesn't conflict."
Chu Zhi thought it over. The main issue was that without leaving one or two standout works domestically, it wouldn't feel right.
Songs like Fireworks Cool Down, Blue and White Porcelain, East Wind Breaks, Hair Like Snow, Lantingji Xu, Rolling Pearl Curtain, A Laugh from the Sea, A Chinese Ghost Story...
Just thinking about it made him unable to stop. Indeed, he had to release an unsurpassable milestone Chinese-style album. Chu Zhi clearly imagined the shock its release would cause.
"I need to collect all these. I have to make a custom album. The last quota only has six songs left. Why do I always lack personality coins? Is there a bug that can give me 1000 at once?" The Emperor Beast wondered what on earth his brain was thinking.
The system shivered in fear.
"What!?" Chu Zhi slammed his fist into his palm.
The system jumped in shock, thinking he had found a bug.
But the Emperor Beast's thoughts had long drifted elsewhere. Chu Zhi happily decided to record two albums this year: one in English, one in Mandarin, to be released around Chinese New Year's Eve.
Then he would join the crew to shoot Shiyi Lang.
Two albums and one movie — most stars would need a cloning technique to manage.
"Got my hands full," Chu Zhi muttered. "Better to stay busy than let my mind wander."
What should have been a half-hour trip took two hours because of traffic before they arrived at Sanlitun.
This year was special for the Emperor Beast. His 2+1 contract officially expired. Huang Bo, the boss of Taiyang Chuanhe, did not try to keep him. Chu Zhi knew well that the "temple" was too small to hold him.
No company in China could hold Chu Zhi anymore, so they parted ways peacefully. He even helped employees like Niu Jiangxue resign so they could change jobs without burden.
"There are still companies wanting to sign Chu Zhi? Don't they know better, or are they just naïve?" Huang Bo laughed. "Unless it's a top innovative agency or a William Morris-like Hollywood agency willing to share stocks, there's no chance."
Last year's Fortune global celebrity wealth ranking almost placed Chu Zhi in the top five. No domestic entertainment company's total revenue matched his.
"Besides, now the company..." Huang Bo muttered something inaudible.
The group of mom fans led by Wang Yuan quickly bought 24.6 percent of Taiyang Chuanhe's shares, even more than Huang Bo himself, although he firmly controlled the voting rights.
At dawn, both sides announced statements.
The gist was that Chu Zhi founded "Aiguo Media," which held cross-shares with Taiyang Chuanhe, turning from a signed artist to a partner company.
Half an hour later, Taiyang Chuanhe announced a strategic partnership. "Chu Zhi will serve on Taiyang Chuanhe's board, selecting potential new stars to produce an album."
Chu Zhi's stockpile of songs was nearly full. Many songs did not suit him to sing, so it was time to write for others and expand his influence.
Once the news went out, the company's stock stabilized. Taiyang Chuanhe was not a one-legged stool, but Chu Zhi's leg was huge. Over sixty percent of the company's market value increase came from him.
The comments flooded with congratulations:
"Congratulations, Jiu-yé finally owns his own company. My impression of Taiyang Chuanhe instantly improved."
"Aiguo — honestly, I like Aiguo Media."
"Ah Jiu's future is more independent. Please take care of your health though."
Amid the warm congratulations, a Little Fruit named ye_azui stood out.
"Brother Jiu's concert — have you forgotten? A singer should be able to hold concerts!
Counting two EPs overseas and occasional singles, there are already seventy or eighty songs. Although I don't like Brother Jiu's first two electronic albums, there are over fifty songs I do love.
A concert is definitely enough. Hurry up, Brother Jiu, my money is jumping in my wallet. I'm afraid if I don't spend it soon, the bills will jump away!"
Chu Zhi had debuted for over five years, and even counting his comeback, over three years. Being an Asian superstar without a concert was strange.
The message seemed to ignite the Little Fruits' ambition. Surely a concert had to happen. Rows of repeated comments appeared below: "Money is jumping, urgently need a concert!"
Some Little Fruits also commented: "Do you remember, Ah Jiu has PTSD? I'm sure you've forgotten because Ah Jiu has delivered many god-level live performances, but he always needs to drink. If it's a concert, even without encores, it lasts two hours, so..."
This self-flagellating Little Fruit was named "Wolfland Restart." Their motions of stabbing themselves were smooth and artful, at a tricky angle. Honestly, even the Emperor Beast had never imagined such a path.
The excited Little Fruits became conflicted. They really wanted to attend a concert, but PTSD was a problem.
When the concert would happen and how many shows to hold were all decisions for Niu Jiangxue. Since this didn't make headlines, there was no need to announce anything yet.
The concert was not urgent. Something bigger happened: Chu Zhi triggered a new achievement.
No new achievements had appeared for over two years. It was thought he had explored all personality behaviors.
"Such a surprise?" Chu Zhi said, noticing the new entry was full of malice.
[Apprentice Mage (It is said on the continent of Teyvat that being single for thirty years turns one into a mage, casually throwing fireballs!)
Single at 24 years old, 5 personality coins★
Single at 25 years old, 6 personality coins]
"Uh... the original body is 24 now?" Chu Zhi asked.
[It is just past midnight. Today is the original body's 24th birthday.] the system replied.
"Wait, stop joking. The original body's birthday is September 9th. That number is unique. You can't be wrong," Chu Zhi said. "Today is March 18th. What birthday? I'm well-read. You can't fool me, system."
Chu Zhi thought to himself, the number 318 seemed familiar.
[Beep beep beep — system error, crackling noise.]
The harsh alarm startled Chu Zhi. Had something gone wrong?
It wasn't about drawing blind boxes. Even if he never drew one again, his current singing skill was enough to sustain his career in Asia. The key was the only item that came with him from Earth.
If it broke, no trace of Earth would remain.
After about seven or eight minutes, the system "revived."
[Self-repair in progress. System repair complete.]
[March 18 is the host's Earth birthday. Due to the system fault, the host may decide whether to adjust the date.]
"No adjustment. Next March I get six personality coins. If I adjust, I have to wait until September for a full year. I'm not stupid," Chu Zhi decided firmly.
After gaining five personality coins, Chu Zhi said happily, "Thanks, I even forgot my own birthday."
The Emperor Beast felt a chill. Why did the system think stars should be single?
In the end, he did not ask further. The extra achievement meant extra income every year. No need to ask why.
By late March, the total sales of Little Fruits Are Sweet — four physical versions — reached 4.68 million across Asia. Sadly, it did not break the 5 million mark.
Location: Hongqiao Airport
Characters: Chu Zhi and many
Event: About to be revealed
"The winning Little Fruit, Qing Si, has an American fiancée?" Chu Zhi was stunned.
"Qing Si studied at Sichuan International Studies University, then went as an exchange student to University of California, Los Angeles. He met his fiancée during school," Lao Qian said. "That kid's impressive, took down a foreign girl."
"This information should have been told to me earlier," Chu Zhi sighed.
Lao Qian was stunned, then understood quickly. "What? Does the fiancée's nationality affect the gift you prepared, Jiu-yé?"
It did affect it. Chu Zhi's gift was to teach Qing Si to sing Today You Must Marry Me together.
He hadn't expected the fiancée to be foreign, likely unable to understand Chinese well. The gift was therefore weakened.
This was not Lao Qian's fault. He had an ironclad American Little Fruit, which surprised him too.
"Ask this Little Fruit first," Chu Zhi said.
If the song had to be changed, he had no idea what to replace it with yet.
[The host's prize pool once contained a very suitable song.] the system said on its own.
Huh? Chu Zhi's attention was not on the suitable song. Instead, he wondered why the system spoke up. It had never done so before.