The host for the gala was the morning news anchor Kang Yu. He wasn't a CCTV Tier-1 host, but he was definitely Tier-2.
"Welcome, everyone, to the 'Caring for Rural Children' charity gala organized by four honored artists, Chen Enfeng, Yang Yu, Chu Zhi, and Gu Minghong," Kang Yu announced.
Anchors trained at CCTV are in demand even if they move to other stations. Their fundamentals are rock solid.
Kang Yu's voice had that precise broadcaster tone. As he spoke, photos rolled on the big screen behind him, giving everyone a quick look at the children's reality.
"According to the latest census, there are over eight million left-behind children under sixteen in our country. More than ninety percent are under the care of their grandparents, and over three hundred thousand have no guardians at all.
"Our nation still has nearly two hundred thousand rural children living in poverty…"
What did "children in poverty" mean in concrete terms? The footage showed a simple, brutal truth. In one family, the parents had passed away when the kids were very young. A thirteen-year-old brother took care of his little sister, who was only in second or third grade. They still had to climb the mountains together to dig bamboo shoots, and what they ate barely kept hunger at bay.
After the basics, Kang Yu introduced the guests. "There's a saying in the industry. At any charity performance, there's a good chance you'll find Teacher Chen Enfeng on stage."
"Please welcome the queen of charity performances to bring us the next song." The moment he wrapped up, the hall filled with applause. People truly respected a veteran artist who'd devoted most of her life to charity.
Chen Enfeng performed "Guangyue Tower." The prelude with chimes, panpipes, and tubular bells surged with power. Then her voice rang out, heavy with history:
🎵"Cold stars brush the railing and shine so clear, A silver river chills the day and soaks my sleeves, People leave, towers empty, rise and fall of times, The earth runs red for ten thousand miles…"🎵
That first note was pure history. Chu Zhi admired it. Even with six stacked emotion buffs, he couldn't match that sense of weight.
The song praised a historic tower in Liaocheng, not a widely known landmark. Borrowing the tower to speak of the ancients, it was a theme song from the '90s adaptation of Water Margin in this parallel world.
It had been covered over twenty times. People born in the '70s and '80s knew it by heart. There wasn't a full audience singalong, but plenty of voices joined in.
Riding the heat of the moment, she also sang half of "The Power of China", just the A section and chorus.
"I've always felt that people's living conditions shouldn't be worlds apart," she said. "To be precise, we shouldn't have one side wasting food in luxury while the other can't guarantee three meals a day.
"I started doing charity performances in my twenties because I wanted to narrow the gap between hunger and hunger."
Tears trembled in her eyes. She was remembering children who'd gone months barely tasting meat. Her own childhood had survived even harsher times, but that was a different era…
"My auction item is the 'Best Folk Singer in Popular Music' trophy from Popular Monthly," Chen Enfeng explained. "It was a music award set up by the magazine from 1995 to 2007."
To be honest, none of the post-'90s singers in the scene, including Chu Zhi, had ever seen those awards in person. The trophy was a gramophone design. Back then, readers subscribed to the magazine, pulled out the ballot, checked their picks, and mailed it in. It was simple, but the award's weight was real.
Boss Yang from Yang Health Enterprises bought the trophy for 1.6 million, then pledged another 3 million worth of medical screening equipment for rural schools.
Total donations were pushing 5 million. The number looked great. The hall applauded, and she looked satisfied.
"Amazing, bringing in several million again for the kids. That's a blessing," Gu Minghong praised, clapping so hard his words came out a bit jumbled.
"It's a lot more than I expected," she said. "Maybe it's because the gala's a higher-spec event this time."
"Specs or not, it's still your presence that rallies people," Chu Zhi said.
"I hope the funds I raise don't look too shabby," Yang Yu said, a little worried.
The stage cleared for the next guest.
"Have you all heard of Yangyu Rescue? It's this logo," Kang Yu said, pointing to the screen. A cute little potato, tiny arms holding a rescue ladder, with the line, 'Yangyu Rescue, saving lives.'
"Floods, mudslides, fires, earthquakes, wherever there's need, they show up," Kang Yu continued. "For over ten years, Teacher Yang Yu's been at the front lines."
"Let's welcome Teacher Yang Yu."
As Yang Yu came on stage, the big screen showed footage of him leading volunteers into disaster zones. Some rescue operations needed to be recorded.
"I read that you've been injured multiple times while rescuing people. Is that true?" Kang Yu asked.
"Disaster relief is a race against time," he said. "If you're a minute faster, you might save a life. A lot of times you just can't worry about your own safety.
"When disaster strikes, all we can do is try to minimize the damage."
Like Chen Enfeng, he didn't milk the sadness. He didn't mention specifics, just started to sing.
The song was "New Life", and it carried pure hope. Chu Zhi stood and applauded. Maybe he had emotion buffs, but Yang Yu poured so much hope into the song that everyone could hear it.
Put simply, what Chu Zhi's emotion buffs did was show the ceiling of emotional injection.
Great song, great composition.
Yang Yu's auction item was a notebook containing the first draft notes for the musical Ten Thousand Steeds Galloping.
That show had become one of the representative works of national musicals. As a first draft, the notebook had real artistic value.
President Guo of Blue Sword Beverage Group in Chuan Province took it for 1.2 million, then pledged another 2.5 million worth of school supplies.
"I'll just say a few words," President Guo said. "I've always respected Teacher Yang Yu. The first draft of Ten Thousand Steeds Galloping is also worth collecting, so answering his call felt natural.
"Thanks to the China Charity Federation for giving us this platform." He returned to his seat.
"Charity's everyone's job. Thank you for that speech, President Guo," Kang Yu said as he kept the show moving.
The third performer, Gu Minghong, sang a more youthful, motivational track. His auction item was one of his favorite paintings, Nine Oxen.
Fun fact, he wasn't just a singer. He was a properly trained painter in the Lingnan school. Some of his works had sold for over a hundred thousand at Christie's.
"Five hundred thousand."
"I'll do seven hundred fifty."
"Nine hundred thousand, I'm in for nine."
"Add another hundred thousand."
Bids climbed.
Chen Enfeng had called it. In a setting like this, the invited entrepreneurs already had numbers in mind. Nine Oxen climbed all the way to two million, a small peak for the night.
The CEO of Xingli Department Store won it, then pledged four million worth of milk for poor rural families.
"Didn't expect that, didn't expect that at all. Your painting hand never got rusty," she said with a smile.
"If I had that talent, I'd just stop singing," Yang Yu laughed. "Two paintings a month, and I'd live quite comfortably."
"Life's tough, being multitalented sure helps," Gu Minghong quipped. He'd spent enough time on Bilibili that the occasional old-school meme slipped out.
"Xiao Chu, we're waiting for your stage," Gu Minghong said, calling him out with a grin.
The Emperor Beast thought, if his poet identity ever got exposed, it'd cause an even bigger stir than painting.
"I'll do my best and not hold the line up," Chu Zhi said, standing and heading out. He was the final act.
On stage, the host was already setting things up.
"Some people might wonder why Teacher Chu Zhi's at a charity gala," Kang Yu said. "I wondered the same thing before I looked at the numbers. After I read this data…"
Two tables appeared on the big screen.
From 2019 to 2024
Personal donations by Chu Zhi: 27.69 million
Charity funds covered 14 fields and helped tens of thousands.
From 2021 to 2024
Total donations by Aiguo Company: 32 million
Primary focus: treating children with congenital heart disease.
Donating five million a year personally and over ten million through the company put him in the upper-middle tier for the entertainment industry. He wasn't a one-man outlier, and compared to veterans like Chen Enfeng, Yang Yu, and Gu Minghong, the numbers even looked modest.
What shocked everyone was the second set of numbers.
Anonymous Donor: the Tree Planter
From 2019 to 2024
Total donations: 370 million
Projects funded: 2,178
People helped: hundreds of thousands
Could it be…?
A wild thought flashed through the audience.
Kang Yu continued, "The Tree Planter, the individual with the largest anonymous donations in China, is Teacher Chu Zhi."
"I've triple-checked the authenticity of this information," Kang Yu added.
The whole hall went silent, like someone hit mute. Not a single whisper.
Five years, three hundred seventy million. It wasn't a small sum at all. Every gaze locked on the screen and those jaw-dropping numbers.
Chen Enfeng, Kang Yu, and Yang Yu stared in shock. The biggest anonymous donor in all of China had been hiding in plain sight.
"Over three hundred million. I haven't even earned thirty million in my whole life," Yang Yu clicked his tongue. The number was honestly terrifying.
"No wonder they invited Xiao Chu. So it wasn't just for publicity, it turns out…" Chen Enfeng didn't finish the sentence. It turned out he wasn't just there to boost the event, he was more than qualified to be a model for charity.
"I'm really curious. Why donate anonymously?" Gu Minghong asked the question everyone wanted to know.
It was a real question. Chen Enfeng and Yang Yu were just as confused, but the person in question was about to perform, otherwise they'd have pressed him on it.
Since the organizers dared to announce it, then as unbelievable as it sounded, it had to be true. The audience broke into an uproar.
Even the mom fans scattered among the seats felt blindsided. Why hide something so good?
Reporters looked like a breaking headline had just landed on their faces.
A Guangming Daily reporter glanced at a Renren Daily colleague. Different papers, same stunned expression.
"Teacher Chu Zhi, could you tell us why you chose to donate anonymously?" Kang Yu voiced what eighty percent of the hall wanted to ask.
"It wasn't on purpose," Chu Zhi said, pitch perfect. "I just wanted to do something good quietly. It's not that big a deal, so there's no need to make it known to everyone. What matters is helping people."
"…"
Even well-seasoned Kang Yu didn't know how to follow that. He cleared his throat twice. "Teacher Chu Zhi, do you have anything to say about celebrity charity?"
He'd forced a topic switch, poor host, but it really was a talking point the federation had asked them to cover.
"I personally support celebrities with the means to do charity," Chu Zhi said. "Compared to most professions, stars and idols earn a lot."
"I also know there are stars who fake donations," Chu Zhi added bluntly. "It's embarrassing. Whatever the reason, fake donations burn through public trust. Say a star promises, if the box office passes some number, they'll donate. Maybe I wasn't going to see the film, but I go because of that promise. Then the donation never arrives. Next time I hear the same thing, I won't be thrilled to support it."
"Don't do that," Chu Zhi said, solemn.
Director Hou and President Wang Mao, seated below, gave him a mental thumbs-up. They'd only hoped the guests would gently address the issue. They didn't expect Chu Zhi to fire straight away.
Was he not afraid to offend people? Wang Mao wondered, then realized that at Chu Zhi's level, who was there to fear? It was others who'd worry about offending him.
"Whatever happens, don't burn out people's kindness, because kindness should never be treated like something disposable," Kang Yu said. "Now, let's enjoy Teacher Chu's performance."
With that, the host yielded the stage.
Chu Zhi sang "Tomorrow Will Be Better", a well-known inspirational song. His voice came in soft and warm.
🎵"Gently wake your sleeping heart, slowly open your eyes, Look at this busy world, is it still spinning on in lonely circles…"🎵
It was beautiful.
When young singers share a stage with veteran artists, they often get crushed. That never happened when he stepped up.
The Emperor Beast's auction item was the lead sheet for Light That Fell Into Life. It looked like an ordinary score to most people, but to Little Fruits, to die-hard Little Fruits, it was priceless.
"So it's that song," Cheng Xiaoxue felt a twist in her chest.
On the show Red Chamber: Dream, they'd revealed Chu Zhi's suicide note and depression diagnosis. The host, Wei Tongzi, had taken a letter, a medical report, and two scores from a box.
They performed "You're Not Really Happy" once on the program and later released it as a single. The other song, "Light That Fell Into Life", never appeared again.
"This is a song I wrote a while back," Chu Zhi said, introducing the item. "Compared to a trophy, a notebook, or a painting from the three teachers, it probably looks a bit half-hearted."
No way it was half-hearted. Cheng Xue, sitting in the audience, knew exactly what it meant.
"Then let's begin the auction," Kang Yu said.
On behalf of Haitian Foods, Cheng Xue bid two million immediately. She was Haitian's vice chair and executive vice president.
That broke the night's top price so far.
"Two point five million," Yan Xin of Sushang Construction bid. Clearly, Cheng Xue wasn't the only one who recognized the piece.
She wasn't the only mom fan either. Ji Haiting from Longguang Real Estate joined the bidding, and the price climbed to six million in no time.
None of the three lost their heads. Everyone invited here wasn't a fool. Even for charity, a score couldn't go sky-high. If the press ran with an inflated figure, online opinion would turn bad for both the companies and Chu Zhi. The three didn't want to lose, but they couldn't push the price higher. The air got stuck.
"Six point five million."
A man's voice cut in. It was Su Shangbai, executive president of Dabai Confectionery. Yes, Su Shangbai had been invited too.
The mom fans folded. If any of them raised the bid, the other two would follow. Better to let an "outsider" win it clean.
Dabai Confectionery also pledged five point five million worth of clothing, donating school uniforms for students from poor families. In China, where tuition's waived, uniforms can still be a huge burden for rural households.
Wearing a sapphire-blue suit over a turtleneck that made him look polished, Su Shangbai spoke up.
"Teacher Chu Zhi's one of my favorite singers, so getting one of his unpublished scores fulfills a wish of mine," Su Shangbai said. "And Dabai Confectionery takes social responsibility seriously. Charity's our duty."
With that, the gala moved toward its finale, but the shock it'd created was just getting started.
First, the loose ends. More than two hundred entrepreneurs attended. Even those who didn't win anything still donated five hundred thousand each before leaving. Since they'd come and enjoyed the show, it wouldn't feel right to leave without doing something.
"When did you get back? Why didn't you say a word?" Chu Zhi asked.
"I wasn't planning to, but I heard about this gala," Su Shangbai said. "Dabai Toffees need brand presence in the domestic market, so I came."
"Twelve million to build presence, isn't that a bit expensive?" Chu Zhi asked.
"Charity doesn't worry about returns," Su Shangbai said. "Besides, it kills two birds with one stone."
Su Shangbai had been the first to help him right after the transmigration. The Emperor Beast felt grateful, and it'd been a while, so they had dinner and caught up.
Mostly, Su Shangbai talked about growth. Chu Zhi had endorsed the brand last year or the year before, then stopped tracking the details.
He only learned tonight that Dabai Confectionery had been going head-to-head with Mars and Mondelēz in Malaysia, Annam, and Indonesia.
If they won, Dabai Confectionery would be a powerhouse. If they lost, well, "we'll just start over."
He wasn't afraid of failure. Chu Zhi felt that Su Shangbai was even sharper than before.
He ate with his buddy with an easy heart, and, sure enough, "Tree Planter Chu Zhi" hit the hot searches.
News outlets rushed out coverage.
"'I Just Wanted To Do Something Good Quietly'," Guangming Daily.
"'Why Did Chu Zhi Become Chu Zhi, And Not Someone Else?'," Renren Daily.
"'The Caring For Mountain Children Gala Ends, And Chu Zhi Reveals His Biggest Secret On Stage'," Southern Daily.
Renren Daily's headline looked odd at first glance, but in their editorial language, "Chu Zhi" meant a star who was positive, highly capable, and at the top of the charts.
Earlier, when Renren Daily wrote about Zhou Yuyi, they'd said, "If you want to become Chu Zhi, the prerequisite is creating works your fans love. Blindly managing your fandom won't do…"
If you wanted the real spectacle, you had to read the self-media clickbait.
"'He Finally Slipped, You Won't Believe What Chu Zhi's Been Doing Behind Our Backs'," UC News.
"'I Never Imagined He's That Kind Of Chu Zhi'," QQ Highlights.
"'Chu Zhi Fires On The Entertainment Industry, Most Stars Caught In The Crossfire'," Today's Hot Topics.
===
Tomorrow Will Be Better — "明天会更好", Míngtiān Huì Gèng Hǎo.
You're Not Really Happy — "你不是真正的快乐", Nǐ bù shì zhēnzhèng de kuàilè. Original artist: Mayday.
Light That Fell Into Life — "落在生命里的光", Luò zài shēngmìng lǐ de guāng.