CSGM - Chapter 150

Chapter 150: Winning Them Over with Virtue

Regarding the incident of "Chu Xi Carrying Ren Zhi and Sprinting to Escape Sasaeng Fans at Night," neither of the two main parties involved offered much of a response.

The day after the incident, Ren Zhi sobered up and heard about the explosive news, feeling utterly mortified.

Chu Xi scratched her head and gave her a sheepish, equally awkward smile.

It seemed this was the downside of being a celebrity. Fragments of your life were always being captured by cameras, magnified infinitely for everyone to watch and scrutinize.

And the impact of this incident wasn't limited to the many official media outlets that came forward to criticize this distorted fan mentality and call for rational celebrity-chasing.

It became the fuse that ignited a battle between the two solo stan groups and the CP fans.

Chu Xi's fanbase was much larger than before. As the saying goes, a big forest has all kinds of birds. While there were still peace-loving, easygoing Milkshakes, a new militant faction had also emerged.

Needless to say, the same was true for the Cheeses. The fighting power of these career-focused fans had always been formidable.

Everyone started arguing over this matter, tearing into each other online with a sense of "unprecedented" ferocity.

The two solo stan groups indiscriminately attacked the CP fans-

【Neither Zhizhi nor Xixi has admitted to any kind of relationship, so could certain people please stop forcing this ship??? Stop your fantasizing, xx and xx are just ordinary work partners! /[Smile] To those in the know, you look like the nosy auntie from the village next door. To those who don't, they'd think you were reincarnated from the Civil Affairs Bureau, rushing to meet your marriage quota!!!】

【As everyone knows, CP fans don't count as real fans. /[So Happy]】

【Please note, this is a solo Super Topic!! Do you understand what a solo Super Topic is!! Anyone talking about other celebrities can get the hell out!!!】

In any case, they would never believe their idol was in a relationship with their rival. So what if she carried her and ran in the middle of the night?

It was just a coincidence that they were walking together, an act of urgency! Friends can do that too!

Ren Zhi's career-focused fans were as disdainful of Chu Xi as ever-

【Please, Sister, conduct yourself with dignity!! Please, company, consider her long-term development!! Please protect your artist's reputation and stop letting her be used by some clingy clout-chaser!!】

【Every collaboration, Zhizhi was cast first, and then a certain someone wrangled her way in. If that's not blatant clout-chasing, what is? You went from an 18th-tier nobody to the A-list. Don't you know in your heart how much of my sister's popularity you've leeched off of? To put it bluntly, without the popularity Zhizhi brings, you'd still be a total flop!】

【I'm so furious!!! Zhizhi, do you have some kind of charity hobby? Stop collaborating with people who drag down your status!!】

Chu Xi's solo stans were now a massive group as well. You look down on our Xixi? Well, we despise your idol even more!

They also proclaimed in their solo Super Topic-

【Xixi, you went from being unnoticed to this dazzling stage. We've all seen your hard work! Don't be PUA'd by a certain someone's fans. Are all the A-listers in the world boosted by your sister? Why doesn't the Earth revolve around her?】

【Xixi has a clean record and is developing across film, TV, and variety shows. She's an artist praised by name by CCTV and a partner of the police. Her future is limitless! All her bad luck this year has been spent on collaborating with Big-shot Sister. From now on, her fortune will surely turn, and things will only get better and better! /[Rose]】

【The way a certain fanbase talks is hilarious. Does her talent need to be hyped up by the popularity of a CP? I don't even want to say who's really doing the hyping. Shouldn't it be deeply concerning that Big-shot Sister has no romance rumors at her age? You all think she's beautiful and rich, so why is no one pursuing her? Could it be that her private personality is so bad that no one is willing to be around her? /[Hehe] I feel sorry for Xixi, being used as someone else's shield.】

【Sister Xi became a top-tier new star at 26, young and beautiful. Big-shot Sister's official age is already 28, who knows what her ID card says? And look at the state of her skin-she's probably afraid she's past her prime, which is why she's so desperate to latch onto someone younger to maintain her popularity. /[Husky][Image]】

A deliberately over-sharpened photo, clearly not a real unedited picture of Ren Zhi, was being used by the solo stan Milkshakes to trumpet the decline of her looks.

Only the CP Super Topic remained clean, almost entirely free of hostility.

Let the outside world burn in the heat of battle; the CP fans only focused on what they loved to see.

Let's rewatch that video from yesterday of Xixi's girlfriend-power exploding as she carried her LP and ran away!

CP Fan: 【Oh my god, my grandma, my coat, my jacket, my dear, my darling, my screwdriver and my plum blossom knife, my great-aunt and my grand-auntie, I'm so shocked I'm limping, my dad, my grandpa, my socks, my shoes, my great-uncle and my second grand-uncle, MY CP IS THE SWEETEST!!! /[Back to School]/[Licking Screen]】

Onlooking netizens: We feel like we're watching the battle between TFBOYS fans and EXO fans all over again-ah, the tears of history!

Seeing this farcical flame war escalate, the Four Little Flowers and Jin Yuan had been feeling immense pressure whenever they went online recently.

Some fans were so controlling it was frightening.

It was as if Ren Zhi and Chu Xi not developing beautifully on their own, according to their wishes, was some heinous crime.

The assistants from both sides often found themselves gulping nervously while scrolling through these solo Super Topics, secretly thankful that both Sister Zhi and Sister Xi were broad-minded people who didn't care about such public opinion.

The days passed one by one.

August arrived. Idol Training Camp was about to conclude, and the review for Jade-Carving Ballad had passed smoothly. To celebrate, the publicity department organized a fan meeting for the cast.

The event was set to be held at a mall venue in a certain city. The two leads, Ren Zhi and Chu Xi, as well as Zhuang Yuge and Zhou Yu, who played important supporting roles with second billing, were all present.

Those who managed to buy tickets for the fan meeting were either fans with the hand speed of someone who'd been single for eighteen years, or people with connections to the production team or the venue organizers.

Today's fan meeting went off without a hitch. The four actors answered the host's interview questions and played a few small games.

The fans in the audience, holding up signs, would frequently burst into cheers, shouting their love for their idols.

"Chu Xi!! Xixi!!!"

"Zhizhi! Zhizhi!!"

"Octopus Bro!"

"Brother Yu is the most handsome!"

All four were currently popular traffic stars. Some fans, even if they couldn't get tickets to the fan meeting, would choose to wait outside.

Just to catch a glimpse of their idol and send them their passionate love.

Jin Yuan and Xiao Ju were waiting outside the venue together. Following Teacher Ren's instructions, they bought water and bread for all the fans waiting outside with signs, banners, flowers, and gifts.

It was a hot day, and everyone was drenched in sweat. Jin Yuan was worried the fans would get heatstroke from standing under the sun for too long.

However, no amount of gentle persuasion could convince them to wait in a shaded area. It seemed the Milkshakes and the Cheeses were secretly competing to see whose fan support was more impressive and grand.

Jin Yuan & Xiao Ju: "..."

The fan meeting didn't last long. After about an hour and a half, the actors smiled and said their goodbyes to the audience, leaving the venue one after another with the crew.

Backstage, Chu Xi quickly took the old-fashioned popsicle Xiao He had bought for her. She felt like she was about to dry out; the venue's air conditioning was really ineffective.

She even had beads of sweat on her back, the moisture clinging to her T-shirt and ruining a star's perfect image. Fortunately, she had brought a change of clothes and went to the dressing room to change.

Ren Zhi followed her in to help unbuckle her belt, since it was inconvenient for Chu Xi with a popsicle in one hand.

"You just love eating these frozen things. Aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache later?" Ren Zhi muttered.

Chu Xi still got cramps on the first day of her period, often hissing from the pain, but she never stopped eating iced drinks and popsicles in the summer. She was incorrigible.

"Hehe," she chuckled, then used her free hand to suddenly lift Ren Zhi's chin and kiss her.

Pulling back, she licked her lips, tasting the fragrance of the lipstick on them, and asked Ren Zhi, "Sweet?"

The old-fashioned popsicle was just frozen sugar water-cheap, practical, and delicious.

Ren Zhi chuckled. Although she didn't eat sugar, she was helpless against Chu Xi's occasional mischievousness. She ran her tongue over the lingering icy sweetness on her lips and replied with a smile:

"Very sweet."

Zhuang Yuge, who happened to be passing by, paused her steps for a moment. After hearing that, she silently walked away.

"..." So innocent. Why did she have to accidentally overhear that?

After the Jade-Carving Ballad fan meeting ended, the audience left the mall in an orderly fashion.

Outside, Zhuang Yuge's and Zhou Yu's fans had mostly gathered in their groups and left contentedly, but a large crowd was still clustered at the mall entrance.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the large crowd was clearly divided into several smaller groups.

Chu Xi's solo stans and Ren Zhi's solo stans. These two groups had always despised each other, and now, by some unlucky coincidence, they had started cursing each other out.

Chu Solo Stan & Ren Solo Stan: "Mad, so you're the ones running your mouths online every day, huh? I've been wanting to face off with you offline for a long time. Come on! Who's afraid of who!"

It didn't even take a few minutes. The battle was remarkably efficient, quickly reaching a white-hot intensity.

The already chaotic mall entrance instantly erupted as if a pot had exploded, becoming even more disorderly.

Some rolled up their sleeves, some kicked the other side's support signs, and some grabbed the rival's posters and crumpled them...

"What can she do besides act pretentious and blatantly ride coattails?! Her acting is wooden, her singing is plain! I'm embarrassed for you, having an idol who got famous entirely by leeching off others!!!"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think the entertainment industry is owned by your Big-shot Sister, that every newcomer who gets famous relies on her! She's been marketed as a top-tier star for years, but I haven't seen many long-lasting hit works. She's a woman who's actually thirty years old and still has the nerve to play a young girl. At least Chu Xi is younger than her! Old woman!"

Half of the more moderate fans were trying to hold back their agitated fellow solo stans, pleading, "Forget it, it's not worth it. Don't cause a scene here. Outsiders will think this is the quality of our fanbase, and it'll tarnish our sister's reputation."

The CP fans who had been holding up signs of the two of them together at the venue didn't dare say a word. The few of them were squeezed in the middle of the crowd, only daring to offer a gentle word of persuasion to the left, then a soft whimper to the right.

"No, no, Xixi has her own talent."

"Don't be angry, don't be angry. Zhizhi is a senior, and we've all witnessed her work."

But both sides were red-eyed with fury, cursing viciously, and they had no goodwill for the CP fans either-

"Get lost! What kind of fans are you CP fans! Chu Xi's/Ren Zhi's reputation is what it is today because of people like you!"

People in the crowd started shoving each other. Jin Yuan and Xiao Ju rushed in frantically to break up the fight, but the fans today didn't recognize the two assistants. They were both pushed out of the crowd and had to hold onto each other to stay upright, narrowly avoiding a fall.

Jin Yuan looked at them, furious. "You... you...!"

Xiao Ju: "You watch them here, I'll go get security!"

By the time the mall's security guards, and even the police-notified by some unknown passerby who had dialed 110-arrived on the scene, the mall entrance was in complete chaos.

Dozens of kids, high school and college-aged, were brawling. The ground was littered with torn and crumpled fan merchandise-and of course, bags covered in dusty footprints, a jacket and a few shoes on the ground, a broken bracelet, a fallen hair tie...

Hair-pulling, foot-stomping, shoving, trading punches and kicks. Some were still repeatedly shouting, "Big-shot Sister!" and "Clout-chaser!"

They had even knocked over the inflatable mascot at the mall entrance. The speaker playing advertisements suddenly went silent. The police arrived, separated the crowd, and reprimanded them with a harsh frown:

"What are you all doing? This is a group brawl, do you know that?!"

Chu Xi and Ren Zhi, having heard what was happening outside, also rushed out. However, Chu Xi had Ren Zhi wait under the protection of the assistants while she went to the entrance alone to check on the situation.

The moment she stepped out of the mall, she kicked a beige backpack. The zipper seemed to be broken, and the books and test papers inside had spilled out.

She frowned, picked up the backpack, and randomly pulled out a textbook.

The cover page: Physics, Second Semester of Eleventh Grade.

She'd be a senior when school started.

Then she turned to the first page. The student's name was very elegant, clearly a young girl's, but next to her name, she had drawn a heart and written the two characters for "Ren Zhi," along with other things-

"Only love in this life," "forever," "red rose [rose drawing]"... and other similar short phrases.

Chu Xi quickly put the book back and pressed her fingers to her brow.

Impressive. Even when she confessed her love, she wouldn't have dared to be this cringey.

A total of thirty-six people involved in the fight remained. Only two of them were boys; the rest were all girls. Several police cars took all these kids back to the station.

The final count showed that all thirty-six were students, mostly in high school or their first year of university. Only eleven were adults, less than a third.

To call it a group brawl... well, it wasn't that serious. The way they fought was quite comical; they mostly went for messing up each other's hair-highly insulting, but not very harmful.

But the police officers felt that these celebrity-chasing kids needed to be taught a lesson!

If they hadn't shown up in time today, they were afraid these fans might have caused some real trouble.

Now, all thirty-six of them were sitting in a conference room at the police station. The police captain had a female officer go in to lecture them.

Chu Xi and Ren Zhi followed behind in their car. The police officer who greeted them was surprised to see them, looking them up and down.

"What are you doing here?"

Chu Xi shrugged. She was too embarrassed to say that her girlfriend was actually worried about this bunch of immature brats.

She spoke before Ren Zhi could. "Officer, I was just curious, did they break the law?"

The officer who met them pondered for a moment. "It doesn't quite constitute a crime, but the incident was very serious. They have to stay here for a cautionary lecture!"

Then he glanced at Chu Xi and Ren Zhi. The righteous police officer was completely unmoved by their beauty and spoke sternly.

"As public figures, you also need to set a good example and guide your fans correctly. Today was just a minor scuffle, but what if something more serious happens in the future? They're still young and at their most impulsive. No matter how you look at it, we shouldn't be escalating conflicts!"

Chu Xi sighed innocently.

Ren Zhi nodded. "We understand. Will they be sent home after the cautionary lecture?"

Officer: "Yes, that's the plan, but it also depends on the effectiveness of the lecture."

"How will you lecture them? A verbal lecture?" Chu Xi suddenly spoke up. "I think that's too light. They definitely won't learn their lesson."

Ren Zhi and the officer turned to look at her at the same time. "???"

What was that? Surely she didn't want these people to be detained for a few days?

The officer was stunned. Was this really an idol? Half the people in there were her fans!

Officer: "What do you mean by that?"

Chu Xi took off her mask and sunglasses, her face righteous.

"I suggest that if you're going to educate them, you should do it properly."

Don't bother with those superficial verbal lectures. Students on summer break have too much free time.

She walked into the police station, and under the watchful eyes of the other two, picked up the beige backpack from a chair in the hallway. She rummaged through it and pulled out a set of test papers.

"This set is difficult enough. If you make a copy for each of them and only let them leave after they get a passing grade, and call their parents to pick them up if they fail, they'll learn their lesson," she said, bringing the papers back to the officer.

The officer looked at her with an expression of astonishment, disbelief, and gradually, admiration for her wisdom.

What a genius troll!

And she was their idol! As expected, she was the expert when it came to 'education'!

After discussing this method with his colleagues, the entire team of officers at the station applauded and resolutely decided to adopt Chu Xi's proposal!

The female officer, who had been lecturing the fans until their ears were calloused and their hearts were filled with impatience, suddenly left the conference room.

Without any warning.

The thirty-six people left in the conference room looked at each other, then around the room, completely bewildered.

A short while later, a slightly older male officer with a straight, thin-lipped mouth-who looked very strict-came in holding a stack of test papers, which he distributed to the thirty-six individuals.

He relayed Chu Xi's words verbatim and then left the conference room.

Five minutes later, dozens of people were still in a daze.

Ten minutes later, half of them had their heads down and were writing, but it seemed they were flipping the test papers over more often than they were actually writing.

The officer watching them in the surveillance room turned and asked Chu Xi:

"Isn't the test you picked a bit too difficult?"

Just now, Chu Xi had grabbed an eleventh-grade test. At first, the officers thought the grade level was reasonable, but now it seemed like none of them could solve the problems.

But Chu Xi was firm. "If they can't even pass this, they shouldn't be chasing stars with grades like these. Let their parents take them home to study properly."

The officers in the surveillance room: "........."

Somehow, it felt like you were the cruelest one here.

In reality, the threat of calling their parents was just a pressure tactic to scare them.

Since they were all locked in together, shouldn't it be that if just one person could pass, everyone could pass?

Fifteen minutes later, someone in the conference room started to grumble.

The atmosphere broke the ice with complaints.

"I'm only a freshman in high school, how am I supposed to do eleventh-grade problems?"

"Ah! I'm even unluckier than you, okay? I'm a liberal arts student, I don't know physics at all!!"

"Why is this so hard? This is all competition-level difficulty! Who picked this test for us?"

"Can these police officers even solve this? If they can't do it, why are they making us do it!"

The officer in front of the monitor twitched his lips and looked up at Chu Xi.

Chu Xi patted his shoulder. "I can do it. Don't worry, let them bitch."

"I told you all not to fight. Ugh, if my mom comes to get me, I definitely won't be able to use my phone next semester. You guys have ruined me."

"Is it my fault? I wasn't the one who wanted to fight in the first place."

"You were clearly the one who pushed me first!"

"You started it! Don't try to shift the blame! Do you have any decency?"

"Smack-" Someone suddenly slammed their pen on the table and stood up in a huff.

"Enough! Can you all stop arguing?!" Among the CP fans who had been caught in the middle and were now being unfairly punished, someone finally snapped. The young girl's eyes were wide and tearful as she spoke. "It was you who were fighting, what was there to fight about? We just wanted to break it up, and now we're stuck here doing this test with you. We're the most innocent ones here! How are CP fans not real fans! Did we not help with the data for Zhizhi and Xixi? Our contributions are part of their works' data too, so what right do you have to point at us and bully us? Selfish! Sob sob sob..."

After she finished, she buried her head in her arms and cried. Amid her sobs, the others instantly fell silent.

"Sob sob sob... I'm a terrible student! You guys have really ruined me, I'm definitely not going to pass!"

Her online friend immediately grabbed a tissue to comfort her. "Yueyue, don't cry. I know a little bit, I'll let you copy the questions I know... There, there, it's okay. Let's just ignore them..."

After the final round of arguing and crying, everyone began to accept their fate.

They stared at the physics competition problems in their hands, their brains working furiously.

Those who knew the material wrote furiously, racking their brains to solve the problems. Those who didn't looked around, their eyes darting over other people's papers.

"I know question 16, I've done the original problem before. Let me copy your answer for the big question 19, and I'll trade you..."

"Why should I?"

"If we don't pass, all our parents will be called. Do you want to be taken home by your parents?"

The high school freshmen, the liberal arts students, and the university students who had already 'returned to simplicity' could only pin their hopes on the few key players from the eleventh-grade science classes.

"Let me see the answers, and I... I'll replace your posters."

"You also have to apologize to us."

"Don't push your luck."

...

Forty minutes later, the arguments in the conference room had mostly ceased.

All thirty-six people were united by a single goal: finish the test as quickly as possible so the police wouldn't call their parents!

"I've done a similar problem before. I think I remember the teacher's thought process was..."

"Hey, hey, hey, the correct answer for question eight should be C. You guys calculate it again!"

"So annoying! I'm already in university, why do I have to do high school problems! Ahhhh! I'm sorry, I can't help with anything, I'm a liberal arts student... Huh? n equals 20? Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

"If all our answers are the same, will they find out we cheated?"

"Who cares, let's just pass first."

In the conference room, everyone was whispering and passing notes. The blank test papers gradually filled with black ink.

Two hours passed, and the conference room door was suddenly pushed open again.

With a series of rustles, the fans reacted with lightning speed, shoving their papers back into place, lowering their heads, and pretending to focus only on their own tests.

The scene that greeted them was one of a quiet, orderly exam.

Chu Xi and the officer, who had been watching from the surveillance room for a long time before coming over, wanted to laugh at their clumsy, transparent act.

But they both held it in. The stone-faced officer who had handed out the tests earlier spoke from the doorway. "You can turn in your papers now. The teacher who will be grading them has arrived."

After he finished, he left, and Chu Xi closed the door and entered the conference room.

The teacher who had come was actually her!

Some eyes showed surprise, while others shone with delight.

There were even involuntary gasps of sheer surprise in the conference room.

"Quiet. Are you all done?" Chu Xi walked slowly to the table and placed the paper box she was carrying on it.

Only her fans dared to reply in a small voice, "F-finished."

"Hand in all your papers."

Those who hadn't finished copying all the questions looked troubled.

Chu Xi said coolly, "Now."

Everyone had no choice but to get up and hand in their papers.

A Milkshake asked, "Xixi, are you going to grade them?"

At that moment, a warm current flowed through their hearts. They never expected Xixi to come here. Their idol was so much better, so much better than Ren Zhi...

"I'm not grading them. I already looked at the questions when I was picking out the test for you. I figured you wouldn't be able to solve much anyway."

Crash-! It was as if a soft-focus filter had shattered in the Milkshakes' hearts.

What had they just heard!

Everyone instantly turned to look at Chu Xi. "??!" Chu Xi had picked their test?!

The Cheese solo stans immediately began to grind their teeth quietly. This evil woman...

Chu Xi looked at their stiff faces and laughed.

"Why so quiet? I saw you all discussing things so enthusiastically on the surveillance monitor just now."

The thirty-six assorted fans: "........."

Could you please say something nicer?

Chu Xi laughed again, a mocking laugh that seemed to slap them in the face. It was as if her laughter was saying: Hehe, I saw you all cheating just now, you clowns.

Just when even her own fans didn't know how to respond, she opened the large paper box tied with a green ribbon.

A snow-white, exquisite two-layer fruit ice cream cake was suddenly revealed, its sweet fragrance spreading through the air.

Chu Xi handed two bags of paper plates and forks to the people on her left and right to distribute.

"Go on, eat. Your brains worked hard just now, so have something sweet to replenish your energy. You've shared weal and woe together, so from now on, you're all one family. Stop fighting all the time, okay? Teacher Ren won't be happy to hear about it either."

A Ren Zhi fan, who had accepted the cake with her head lowered in embarrassment, licked her lips and asked tentatively, "Is Teacher Ren with you...?"

"Hm?" Chu Xi turned to look at her, a smile in her eyes.

"If she weren't with me, I wouldn't have the pocket money to buy you all such an expensive cake."

The few CP fans bit down on their plastic forks. "!!!"

This was a dog-food-flavored ice cream cake!!!

As she saw the group of kids off from the police station, Chu Xi smiled and waved one last time. "Whether you continue to like us in the future or not, go home and focus on your own lives. I wish you all a safe journey."

The clouds on the horizon were tinged with dusk. Chu Xi stuffed her hands into her pockets.

—What a bunch of little brats, making her baby worry. She had to be sent to win them over with virtue.

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