"He has that many fans?" Li Xing Wei asked his manager. How could the gap between top celebrities be this vast?
"Fucking dumb, why asking a question you already know the answer to," the manager cursed inwardly. Not only were they losing the fan war, but the album quality couldn't compete either.
The fact that their album was inferior shocked the manager. Da Hua Entertainment had invested heavily in acquiring high-quality tracks, aiming to position Li Xing Wei as the only top-tier idol in Mandopop with both popularity and talent.
At least three songs on the album were genuinely excellent—potential hits. Yet they still couldn't beat Chu Zhi? What kind of sorcery was this?
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Li Xing Wei's expression darkened.
The manager took a deep breath, swallowing his frustration. "This is why I hate working for narcissists." Aloud, he said, "Our sales are still higher. We'll hit 50 million in 24 hours—Chu Zhi can't even come close."
That was true. As long as they clung to this one metric and refused to admit defeat, then technically, they hadn't lost. Li Xing Wei nodded to himself.
No—scratch that. Why frame it as not losing? He wasn't losing to begin with. His new strategy: play both the glory card and the victim card.
The glory card meant frequently updating sales milestones to make fans feel their spending was worthwhile. The victim card involved having fan leaders subtly complain: "Our idol is being bullied by X, Y, Z..." Fans, upon seeing their beloved star wronged, would open their wallets even wider.
Originally, Li's team planned to fabricate some "areas of inferiority" for this narrative. But they quickly realized… they didn't need to fabricate anything. The gaps were real.
Meanwhile, Chu Zhi's 25117 Possibilities had launched across all major platforms—QQ Music, NetEase Cloud, Kugou, Kuwo—instantly dominating the charts.
On QQ Music (the largest platform), "Suddenly Missing You" topped both the New Songs and Popularity charts by noon. The comments were flooded with heartfelt messages:
"There's no such thing as 'suddenly' missing you. You were always in my heart."
"On repeat. I'm not afraid of missing you—I'm afraid of never hearing from you again."
"Memories flooding back... Wenwen, are you doing okay?"
"NiuNiu, AiAi, FangFang, LiLi, QingQing, TianTian—wherever you are, I miss you."
"Against the Light" ranked #3 on the New Songs chart (#2 was a K-pop girl group's latest).
The New Songs chart updated hourly, while the Popularity Index refreshed daily. The real-time sales rankings, however, updated every five minutes—a transparent tactic to fuel fan-driven competition.
Comments for "Against the Light" poured in:
"This isn't just a rock anthem—it's about believing in yourself. Postgrad entrance exams, here I come!"
"Life needs light. Became a fan after I am a Singer, and this album delivers."
"Cried listening to this. Thinking of the hate Nine endured breaks my heart."
"That moment when a beam of light stings your eyes—100 days left. I'll become my own light."
Though "Against the Light" didn't hit #1, it was the song that introduced many to Chu Zhi, hence the overwhelming engagement (999+ comments in minutes).
"Wind Blows the Wheat Fields" sat at #9, but its comment section took an amusing turn:
"When I'm rich, I'll hire him to hum this for me all day."
"The song paints such vivid imagery."
"Chu Zhi feels like a poet—gentle and artistic."
"My 100-day-old baby won't sleep to any lullaby… except the humming part of this song. Thanks, Orange, for your contribution to infant sleep science."
"What I Miss" ranked #4. With four songs in the Top 10 (1st, 3rd, 4th), Chu Zhi's dominance was undeniable. Meanwhile, Li Xing Wei's lead single barely scraped #6.
Lin Xia's two title tracks, "Innocent" and "Suspended River", languished at #10 and #14. What was expected to be a close battle turned into a rout from day one.
(Note: Both Li and Lin's albums had 3-4 free tracks to attract casual listeners and boost rankings. Whether they succeeded in attracting outsiders was unclear, but they were undeniably getting crushed on the charts.)
The massacre wasn't limited to streaming—it extended to critics.
25117 Possibilities: 8.7 on Douban
Can't Do Without Li: 7.5
Early Summer: 7.8
Wu Xi's Greatest Hits: 8.9 (but it's a compilation, so high scores are expected)
Douban, a notorious hub for anti-idol sentiment, shockingly praised Chu Zhi's album:
[User: FengQingYunSa]
"My feed was flooded with this album. Initially skeptical ('another overhyped idol release?'), I gave in due to Wind Blows the Wheat Fields—and was blown away. This album alone solidifies Chu Zhi as a real musician." ★★★★★
[User: Critic_Mango]
"What I Miss showcases Chu Zhi's vocal growth. The syncopated verses and explosive-yet-controlled chorus make it a Grade 9 art exam-level difficulty (on par with Black Humor or Fly Higher). He spent three days recording this one song—that's dedication.
Bonus: Guji Guji is my stress-relief anthem now." ★★★★½
[User: FivePoisons]
"After Survival vs. Living, I checked the credits—Chu Zhi composed AND arranged this. People praise his lyrics, but his arrangements are brilliant.
Alarm clocks, faucets, taxi horns, ringtones, plane takeoffs—all sampled into a looped rhythm mirroring life's monotony. Genius. Pairing upbeat melodies with bleak lyrics (or vice versa)? Masterful.
Compared to Can't Do Without Li and Early Summer's clichés, Chu Zhi's album is a revelation." ★★★★★
The album wasn't just loved by fans—casual listeners and critics adored it too. That's the real test, since fans will praise even garbage.
And no one doubted Chu Zhi's authenticity. After Dream of the Red Chamber's live songwriting session, who could question him? (His scheming nature always prepared for worst-case scenarios.)
"A bit of a waste," muttered Huang Bo of Taiyang Chuanhe Entertainment, skimming the reviews. Most albums only had 2-3 standout tracks—yet 25117 Possibilities had four.
Oh well. Huang was already calculating licensing fees for Chu Zhi's next album.
But the coup de grâce was still coming.
A Douban user (FallenAngel_Lucifer) posted in the music forum:
"The album cover shows light particles scattering in a dark abyss. The poster's text forms a face—both designed by Chu Zhi himself.
But here's the kicker: My cousin (a Mango TV staffer) revealed why it's called 25117 Possibilities. During Dream of the Red Chamber's livestream, fans submitted album name ideas.
Chu Zhi later asked the crew to count the submissions: 25,117 fan-suggested titles.
That's the romance of a true artist."