"Winning King of Songs isn't easy," Horman, the Himalayas muttered to himself.
"We've gotta throw the match. If Azazel's already been eliminated, then the championship and that so-called King of Songs title are nothing but poisoned apples."
He made up his mind to take a dive, but in his heart he started cursing Chu Zhi. If it weren't for that guy setting the bar so high, he wouldn't have to tread so carefully now.
Then he just cursed everything.
Totally normal. Horman could get angry over anything, anywhere, except in bed. In bed, he was calm as still water.
"I wonder which poor bastards'll end up in the second half of the finals." That thought made him smile.
The fourth episode of Masked Singer had aired. Danny, the football player who lost three times in a row, was finally eliminated. The top three, Black Goat Kara, Red Lion Golan, and Himalaya Horman, would face off next week to see who'd take the crown.
Horman wasn't the only one planning to take a dive. Kara and Golan had the same idea. Kara had already hit her goal as a substitute, just wanting to sing two extra songs. Golan originally wanted to win the King of Songs title to slap critics in the face, but now even she changed his mind.
So next week's semifinals would be all about seeing which of the Red Lion, the Himalayas, or the Black Goat could throw the match more convincingly…
Chu Zhi's secret identity, Azazel, might've stepped off the stage, but his legend still dominated. It didn't just affect the contestants, even the producers led by Lukinski were in a bind. Several invited guests for the second half had already turned them down.
The American version of Masked Singer had a fixed schedule: 5 episodes to crown the first-half champion, then 6 new masked singers competed in another 5 episodes for the second-half champion, followed by the grand finals where the two champions faced off for King of Songs.
"Mr. Evron, Zibegneu's agent just declined," Lukinski reported.
Evron, the VP and FOX's head of entertainment content, frowned deeply.
"What if we offer a higher price?" Evron asked.
Zibegneu was a Polish singer in the same "school" as Horman. If Horman's style was cursing everything, Zibegneu's was looking down on everything. To him, all those so-called seniors were trash. He acted like heaven was number one, earth was number two, and he was number three. That arrogant attitude stirred up tons of controversy, but also drew tons of attention.
"It's not about pay. It's a flat refusal with no room for negotiation," Lukinski said.
"Doesn't Zibegneu brag on Twitter every day about being the hardest-hitting vocalist alive? What, now he's got no balls?" Evron swore, then asked, "Mr. Lukinski, shouldn't you challenge his pride?"
"…" Lukinski hesitated. "Sir, I didn't expect Zibegneu to lose all his fighting spirit in front of Chu Zhi. You should check his Twitter bio."
Twitter bio? Evron opened Twitter, clicked into Zibegneu's page, and saw:
[ I don't need anyone's recognition. I know I'm world-class on stage. But Chu Zhi isn't of this world. ]
"That last line was added just recently," Lukinski explained. "Not only did Zibegneu lose his will to fight, I think he's become Chu Zhi's fan."
Evron was stunned, then spat out one word: "Pathetic!"
Professional singers didn't want to touch the second half, because Chu Zhi had already left behind three "untouchable" performances. Nobody felt confident enough to surpass them. And Masked Singer couldn't just invite football legends, comedians, or random celebrities forever…
The production team's situation was like the sky over Los Angeles that day, covered in dark clouds, ready to burst into a storm.
Meanwhile, back in Shanghai, the skies were bright, but Aiguo Corporation was bracing for its own storm. Inside the company's conference room, the executives sat stiff and serious. No one even touched their now-cold tea. The atmosphere was heavy.
"Brother Chu, United Brands wants to settle out of court," Niu Jiangxue said.
"They made their money, and now that they know they can't win, they want peace? Where was that sense earlier?" Lao Qian sneered.
Fei Ge said, "I think we should at least hear their offer. If it's sincere enough, there's no need to make an enemy."
He didn't add the rest, but everyone knew. United Brands was one of the global top ten fruit companies, backed by Wall Street capital. Making enemies with them wasn't wise.
"What's the point of worrying about enemies now that they've already ripped us off?" Wang Yuan retorted.
And really, could United Brands even compare to Adidas, which Chu Zhi had crushed across Asia? To Wang Yuan, Fei Ge was just overthinking.
"They're offering to compensate Brother Chu with three million, and on top of that, a three-year endorsement deal worth sixty million US dollars," Niu Jiangxue said after a pause.
"What a neat little calculation," Chu Zhi said flatly.
Here was the truth: United Brands had registered "Little Fruits" as an orange brand, then pushed misleading slogans like "Head to Orange Home, eat Little Fruits, be Little Fruits" and "Little Fruits only eats Little Fruits." They even hired an actor whose side profile resembled Chu Zhi's to star in ads, making consumers think the brand was tied to him.
It was blatant infringement and counterfeiting. How they had the guts, no one knew.
By the time Aiguo investigated, Little Fruits oranges had already moved 3.17 million tons across Asia through United Brands' massive channels. And they weren't cheap either. At eighteen yuan a jin, far more expensive than ordinary oranges, who knew how much dirty profit they'd raked in.
"I could hear that scheme all the way from Shanghai," Fei Ge muttered. "Three million to settle this? Plus a sixty-million endorsement? Given Brother Chu's worth now, twenty million a year is already low. They just wanna take advantage."
"More likely, they just got a taste for it after counterfeiting once," Lao Qian said. "Typical United Brands. Same shameless tricks as back when they were United Fruit."
Three million tons sounded huge, but considering Chu Zhi's fanbase across Asia, there was still so much untapped potential.
"I bought two jin to try. Honestly, the taste was mid. If they weren't slapping Xiao Jiu's name on it, no one would waste money on this crap." Wang Yuan added, "Even Xiao Zhuzi said it tasted bad."
Everyone immediately understood. If even someone from the dark cooking world called it bad, then it was really bad.
"We've dealt with counterfeits before, but this one from United Brands hits the hardest," Wang Yuan said. "I think we should fight this properly, no matter how much time it takes."
She even handed over a copy of customer reviews from Taobao's United Brands flagship store selling Little Fruits oranges.
[Anonymous buyer] Bought: Diameter 70–75mm, net weight 4.5 jin [Little Fruits eating Little Fruits, am I just eating myself? Supporting A Jiu, bought 3 jin!]
[Do You Believe in Starlight?] Bought: Diameter 80–85mm, net weight 8.5 jin [Support! Even though I don't like oranges.]
Over 90% of reviews directly or indirectly said they bought it because of Chu Zhi.
[Heard it was Jiu-yé's oranges, had to grab 2 jin.]
[Needed vitamin C anyway, so I stocked up!]
[Repeat buyer. Taste is so-so, but Little Fruits only eats Little Fruits.]…
Chu Zhi stared at those reviews. His face stayed calm, but the longer he read, the angrier he got.
A dragon has its reverse scale. Even the Emperor Beast did. Well, maybe not exactly… calling fans his reverse scale was a bit much. But look, he'd nurtured his fans with care, and some random nobody swooped in to reap the harvest. How could the Emperor Beast not be pissed?
"We're rejecting the settlement. Some things can't be solved with money," Chu Zhi said coldly. "And what's this one-million settlement? Who exactly are they trying to insult?"
"I agree. No settlement this time," Niu Jiangxue added. "But United Brands' legal team won't be easy."
She was confident, though. United Brands was clearly in the wrong, and besides, this was China's home turf. Still, lawsuits could drag on forever.
The discussion shifted to whether they should release an official statement right away.
"With Brother Chu's influence, won't a statement just boost their publicity?"
"Sure, but I've got a way to make that publicity crush them instead. The more people talk, the heavier the weight on them."
"Qi Qiu's PR team sounds pretty confident this time. But United Brands has multiple brands in China and knows the PR game well."
"Are we overestimating them? Jiu-yé's influence here isn't a joke."
…
After heated debate, they decided to post a clarification across all platforms at 4 p.m. sharp.
Eat a Big Orange!: [United Brands' Little Fruits oranges have absolutely nothing to do with me. Don't be misled by certain brands' shady advertising. @LittleFruitsOfficial]
On Instagram, Weibo, Douyin, Bilibili, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, Chu Zhi and Aiguo's official accounts both issued clarifications. Aiguo's wording was even sharper, directly accusing United Brands of false advertising, infringement, and counterfeiting.
#LittleFruitsCounterfeit#
#UnitedBrandsInfringement#
The tags exploded across Asia, and even the US and Europe joined the discussion.
"What, it's not tied to Jiu-yé?! Damn, I bought five jin already."
"Gross. I'm backing Xiao Jiu all the way."
"Who cares if it's counterfeit? Honestly, those oranges taste great."
"Who the hell's shilling for them? Tastes great my ass. If I hadn't tried it myself, I might've believed you. Eighteen yuan a jin, sour as hell, not sweet at all. Tastes like crap."
…
The official website of United Brand immediately posted a statement,
[Statement
The trademark and name "Little Fruits Oranges" were designed by Xiaoyi Design Company. The meaning is "though the fruit is small, every orange is juicy and sweet."
The promotional campaign was handled by our company's PR department in cooperation with Tianyi (Shanghai) Advertising Company. The model in the ad is a talented young actor named Li Zhaoliang. In all official channels, we've never once mentioned Mr. Chu Zhi's name.
If there's been any misunderstanding, we sincerely apologize and will take full responsibility. For customers who mistakenly bought our products due to this misunderstanding, we're offering free refunds.]
Put bluntly, the translation reads like this: the name wasn't chosen by us, we've never tried to piggyback on anyone's fame, and since we're being oh-so-kind we'll even give refunds. A perfect little "we wash our hands clean" essay.
United Brand's PR team knew what they were doing. Not only did they rush out a neat explanation, they also sent in paid commenters to muddy the waters. Comments like: "Tsk, are fans being too controlling? Don't tell me the words 'Little Fruits' can only be used by you," "I actually think Little Fruits Oranges taste great," "Aren't you guys overreacting? Chu Zhi, better rein in your team or your public image will crash" flooded the feeds.
For an average star, that combo move was usually enough. The heat of discussion would get redirected into hating on toxic fan groups, sprinkle in some old scandals like Li Fei's incident when fans forced a renaming from 'Yixing Yunfei' to 'Yixing Yunfei,' and boom, chaos everywhere.
But United Brand miscalculated two things. First, Chu Zhi's image in China. With solid works and upright values, the public didn't believe for a second that he'd pull some cheap trick.
Second, they underestimated the power of Little Fruits fans.
The fan group ranked number one on the Internet Fan Power KO charts exploded.
Data Emperor: "Couldn't you think harder before posting this? Xiaoyi Design is fully owned by United Fresh Fruit, which itself is a subsidiary of United Brand. In other words, it's just your own company. And that actor Li Zhaoliang? He literally got plastic surgery in Annam to look like brother Jiu. Out of all the talents at Tianyi, you 'just happened' to pick him? Sure, let's call that a coincidence."
Li Jufu: "Never mentioned Chu Zhi? Do you think the internet has no memory? Three months ago, your official account literally posted [Mr. Chu Zhi's favorite is Little Fruits]. Your CEO Zhang even said, [My favorite star is Chu Zhi, because he loves Little Fruits]. And your flagship store is plastered with Jiu-yé's photos."
Internet Spokesperson: "The shamelessness is unreal. Just checked your JD flagship store's refund rules. Customers have to return oranges intact and in the original box? If you wanted to refuse refunds, you could've just said so. Instead, you came up with this nonsense to trick us. Honestly, I could cry."
Grave Digger: "Found something fun. That 'Fang Dake Watermelon' campaign was also yours. Fang Dake himself had nothing to do with it, but you went ahead anyway. That scandal blew up for a bit, then got buried. So, @UnitedBrand, turns out you're repeat offenders."
Fan comments swarmed everywhere.
United Brand's JD and Taobao flagship stores got their ratings slammed down to three stars. JD, overwhelmed with complaints, straight up suspended the shop.
But the internet uproar wasn't even the deadliest blow. The next day, the Market Supervision Bureau summoned them for a meeting. That kind of "chat" usually meant a massive fine was incoming.
The joy of counterfeit profits had flipped into misery. Regulations in Japan and Korea were already strict on produce. Once fans there realized Little Fruits Oranges were knockoffs, they refused to support their idol through fakes and filed massive complaints.
Convenience store chains like FamilyMart, 7-Eleven, and Lawson quickly followed up, announcing within three days that they'd stop importing Little Fruits Oranges, and they'd review United Brand's other fruits too.
In just three days, United Brand was a mess.
The previous victim, Fang Dake, couldn't hold back his glee. "Jiu-yé really is something. United trash thought they could get away with anything. This time they hit a steel wall, I'm dying of laughter."
Fang Dake, a variety show regular, had gotten famous for his funny expressions while eating watermelon on camera. United Brand used his likeness without permission for their "Fang Dake Watermelon." His influence was small, and even after he complained, his agency didn't want trouble with a giant, so all he got was one million in compensation and a token endorsement deal.
That's why United Brand dared to be so brazen. They'd pulled the same stunt so many times without issue. But they'd run into Chu Zhi this time, and things went off the rails. Executives scrambled to contact Aiguo, offering an $80 million endorsement over three years plus $5 million in damages.
It was a lot of money, even generous. But Chu Zhi didn't accept. He hung up on Niu Niu's call and muttered, "You touched my leeks and think money can fix it? Your whole company's going down."
United Brand wasn't Adidas. Selling fruit meant most consumers didn't care about brand names. But with so many complaints and distributors pulling out, they were paying dearly.
April 19th rolled around, a rather special day.
At Wudu's Shanqu District Police Bureau, assignments were being handed out.
That afternoon, Chu Zhi's Besieged on All Sides album signing was scheduled at Wanda Plaza's atrium. After review, higher-ups decided to assign twenty traffic police, thirty regular officers, plus fifty security guards hired by the organizers. One hundred people in total to maintain order.
"Isn't this a bit much?" Xiao Wei asked cautiously. "It's not even a concert, just a signing. Do we really need over a hundred people? Sounds like a waste of police resources."
Captain Wang shot back, "Xiao Wei, you don't chase stars, do you? Or are you still on 2G internet?"
"I'm not much into it, but I do know Chu Zhi's really famous," Xiao Wei replied. "Still, usually twenty security staff is enough for a signing. This is five times that."
Lao Huang, dark-skinned, chimed in, "Captain Wang, you a Little Fruits fan too?"
"I'm in my forties, the only star I chase is the red one on our flag," Captain Wang said. "But my son's a hardcore Chu Zhi fan. When he heard I'd be on duty at the signing, he begged me a hundred times to get him an autograph."
Then he answered Xiao Wei's question. "If it were Chu Zhi's concert, we'd need thousands of staff. That's way beyond what our district could handle. The entire city bureau would have to mobilize. He doesn't show up often, so whenever he does, things go insane."
Just how insane? Xiao Wei wasn't being difficult. Normally, signings had a few hundred spots. Even if you tripled that for attendees, you'd get around a thousand, maybe two thousand tops. A hundred staff still seemed like overkill…