Chapter 234: Maybe I’m A Fake Fan
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“How’s it going on your end?”
Bai Zhi and Su Qing Cen said to each other, unanimously. They had looked at the Weibo status and shook their heads at the same time. They then looked towards Meng Fan.
Meng Fan shrugged. “I don’t have the tolerance.”
“Then is he really losing fans and getting attacked?”
“That makes sense though. I mean, we saw the videos. No matter how much they liked him before, it’s hard to not get angry after seeing what he’d done. He will definitely lose fans, but I didn’t think they would destroy him so recklessly.”
“Call it a profound righteousness!”
“If this is the case, we won’t even have to use the tactics we prepared.”
“I think this is the best outcome.”
“Yes! Meng boss really is a lucky man. Even without our preparations, he would still be okay.”
Meng Fan was thinking as well. Could it be his +1 luck in action?
They continued to film their MV as the commotion continued in the discussion boards on Weibo—most of it consisting of curses and scolding—and soon, it became a chaotic scene of the uprising of anti-fans.
This video spread quickly throughout the internet, which was also quick to criticize. Meanwhile, the Korean netizens had gone into silence.
Most of the famous websites and big name accounts on Weibo had all engaged in their trash talking. Naturally, they also commended what needed to be commended. They didn’t need Bai Zhi or Su Qing Cen to publicly announce anything. There were already a bunch of public accounts and companies twisting the story to reach a broader audience.
If Meng Fan’s “violent beating” had been the case of a regular white knight saving a girl from a male attacker, he would only receive some reposts and thumbs up on the internet. At most, they would commend him. But it would never start a discussion.
Conveniently, he had hit a K-pop star. There was immediately content to discuss.
The netizens took another look. Holy sh*t! The perpetrator already had several discussion points of his own! And thus, he was on the front page.
The reality was so. Shortly after the video, the hashtag #IronHero began trending on Weibo. And not only did the front page featured Meng Fan’s attack on the K-pop star and his bodyguards, but it also broadcasted about Meng Fan catching a thief on the bus, and crus.h.i.+ng a pervert with his weight.
Violence?
No. Justice!
Even Meng Fan himself felt these words of praise were too exaggerated.
This incident could count as partic.i.p.ation in a big event in the entertainment circle. It allowed him to experience rapid changes in the industry and saw how people dealt with public relations firsthand. He’d only heard of it before, but this time, he had seen it for himself.
“All good?”
“All good!”
At 2:30 pm, both MVs wrapped up filming half an hour ahead of schedule. The main content of both MVs featured Meng Fan’s sand art, and his efficiency was much higher than what Bai Zhi and Su Qing Cen’s directors had foreseen. Since he was so efficient, the MV filming process naturally went faster.
This also didn’t prevent Meng Fan from browsing Weibo, as Bai Zhi, Su Qing Cen, and their team was collaborating during this time to deal with the incident.
The MV director was a very well known figure in the community. He knew of Meng Fan’s 11/11 sand art performance and recognized his abilities. However, he was still worried about Meng Fan’s ability to perform on set, so he specifically hired a creative director that specialized in sand art to a.s.sist. Reality proved that this money had gone to complete waste.
Not only did Meng Fan demonstrated a very high level of sand art skills, but he also expressed the artistic style of sand art, and even considered the plot, the frame, and the music of the MV. Not to be obnoxious, but the director only needed to point the camera at the sand art table, and mind their own business and they would be A-OK.
Filming two MVs in two days was a hefty workload, yet the director didn’t feel troubled at all and even enjoyed the process. He was itching to ask if Meng Fan was interested in collaborating in the future, for he enjoyed Meng Fan’s hardworking att.i.tude. However, he thought about the time when Meng Fan rejected David’s invitation to the Las Vegas talent show and decided to leave it.
As they prepared to leave, sister Sun arrived from outside. “There’s a bunch of journalists outside the studio, and they’re all here to interview Meng Fan. I’ve temporarily blocked the ones from the studio.”
Bai Zhi smiled. “If Fan debuted right now, he could count as breaking into the industry, right?!”
Meng Fan smiled bitterly. “Please don’t. I still want to peacefully go home and draw my manga.”
“You don’t want to be interviewed?” Su Qing Cen asked.
Meng Fan nodded. Su Qing Cen asked her a.s.sistant to arrange for a car so they could leave out the back.
The group left in two waves. Bai Zhi and the director’s team left through the front entrance, while Su Qing Cen and her staff, along with Meng Fan left through the back. A car was already waiting.
“Wait.”
After driving for a short distance, Meng Fan suddenly asked the driver to stop.
“Huh?”
Su Qing Cen was curious and looked towards Meng Fan’s gaze. A small distance away from the studio, a girl with a face mask was approaching them. She seemed to be in a hurry.
Su Qing Cen was curious. “Who’s that?”
“It looks like the fan that got hit yesterday.” Meng Fan thought about it and asked the driver to head over. They pulled up in front of the girl and Meng Fan opened the car door. “Are you looking for me?” He asked.
The girl was stunned. She was scared out of her skin and did not expect Meng Fan to appear.
She had arrived early, hoping to find Meng Fan inside. As she hesitated, the journalists arrived, which made her more reluctant to enter. She was also worried that they would recognize her, so she hid.
“We were just planning to find somewhere to eat.” Meng Fan smiled at the girl. “Why don’t you join us, if you have anything to say, we can chat over lunch.”
As he spoke, he moved aside to make room for her inside the car.
The girl was still a bit shaken, but she nonetheless sat down in the car with a blank expression on her face. Seeing Su Qing Cen kindly smiling at her, she felt her acc.u.mulated emotions from yesterday erupt, as her eyes began to flow with tears.
The Benz was large, and Meng Fan could see Su Qing Cen’s glance, telling him to move to the other side. Su Qing Cen reached out and clutched the girl to her chest, laying her head on her shoulders.
The girl cried the entire trip, thoroughly soaking Su Qing Cen’s shoulder with her tears. She stopped once they got out of the car.
They had departed to find food of course. Meng Fan was not joking.
“Thank you! Sorry!”
The girl had a lot to say, but aside from these two sentences, she couldn’t utter another word more.
Meng Fan received his pork rib noodle from the waiter and put it in front of the girl. He smiled. “I accept your thanks, but you don’t need to apologize. You don’t owe anyone anything.”
Honestly speaking, Meng Fan didn’t know what to say to the girl either. He didn’t have a knack for consoling people and seeing Su Qing Cen’s pork intestine noodle in front of her, he thought for a second before turning back to the girl. “To be honest, I’ll still tell you the same thing. I think chasing idols is a beautiful experience. Like me! I am also a big fan. I’m Shan Jin bro’s biggest and most hardcore fan—no, more like an iron fan—and the beauty, as I understand also comes from making yourself more wonderful. There must be some s.h.i.+ning points on an idol that fuels you to become a better person too. Fans support their idol so that they can feel motivated by them. I think this is the most healthy, and normal relations.h.i.+p between a fan and their idol.”
“So what kind of energy did you absorb from me?” Su Qing Cen interrupted.
Meng Fan thought about it carefully and shook his head. “Nothing really. Maybe I’m a fake fan.”
The girl laughed through her tears. She saw the s.h.i.+ning point on Meng Fan, like sunlight dispersing a hazy sky.