Chapter 42: Koi
The sudden popularity of the show "National Idol" has taken many industry insiders by surprise.
Considering that it's a talent show that wasn't broadcasted via Cable TV channels and having insufficient initial marketing, this was an unexpected result.
Yet, quite incredibly, the popularity of the show hasn't dipped since it aired a few days ago, with its popularity continuously increasing.
Along the way, numerous contestants began to dominate hot searches and popular microblogs.
At first, it was the An Family brothers who attracted everyone's attention.
But then, after watching the show, viewers began to flock and support Su Jinli, Wu Yu, Zhou Wenyuan, and Wei Jiayu.
Just a few days ago, the low-profile superstar Shen Cheng surprisingly started following Su Jinli from "National Idol", which led to Su Jinli and Shen Cheng jointly trending under the hot search headlines.
This development led to interrogation about Su Jinli's background. Is he truly an artist from a poor studio? It seems highly connected, to even get Shen Cheng involved.
However, after following Su Jinli, Shen Cheng hasn't made any other moves and didn't even log into his microblog anymore. Gradually, the public stopped discussing this topic.
Presumably... they're just really fond of this contestant?
Many of Su Jinli's fans have headed over to Shen Cheng's side to align themselves, asking Shen Cheng if he also admires their idol.
Most of Shen Cheng's fans are rather aloof initially, somewhat repelling Su Jinli's fans and thinking that Su Jinli was just taking advantage of popularity. However, they eventually warmed up, since their idol proactively followed him, and Su Jinli has not even reciprocated the follow until now.
A few days ago, Su Jinli again made it to the hot search list.
"Su Jinli, The Koi Immortal"
An influencer in the entertainment industry compiled a bunch of user's microblogs, the screenshots show users re-sharing Su Jinli's microblog for making wishes.
Days later, users were amazed to see that their wishes had actually been granted by Su Jinli's luck!
Subsequently, the users returned to make repayments for their granted wishes.
Following this, the number of users coming by reputation kept increasing.
Some people didn't even know who Su Jinli was. They saw someone sharing his post on their home page, and the post had as many as 3 million shares, all with wishes attached. So they just followed suit and made their own wish.
What was magical was that after blindly jumping on the wish-making bandwagon, many users saw their wishes granted shortly after, and they returned to repay their wish too.
After this period of accumulation, Su Jinli has inexplicably climbed to the trending list, reaching the sixth position.
In the current hot topics ranking, An Zhiyan is as always, ranking first, Lu Wenxi, who has been a bit low-key recently, is in third place, and Shen Cheng, being quite low-key with fewer blogs, is ranked in fifth place, and ends up alongside Su Jinli.
No doubt, Su Jinli, who has been magically and continuously gaining popularity, has become the most popular contestant in "National Idol".
The popular saying going around the internet was, "Kind-hearted people will have good luck if they vote for Su Jinli."
The short video of Su Jinli campaigning for votes has been turned into an animated expression package by many people, used when posting on microblogs. Paired with words praying for overnight wealth, it's just like the existence of a koi immortal.
When Yura found some time, she also shared Su Jinli's microblog with the caption: "Repost this koi and expect good things to happen."
The news about Su Jinli bringing good luck was spreading more and more, prompting netizens to urge Su Jinli to quickly post a new microblog.
However, there were strange terms appearing on Su Jinli's hot search trends today.
"Su Jinli Poisoned"
"Su Jinli Being Rescued"
Upon opening the microblog, there were blurry pictures captured by the waiting fans near the "National Idol" training camp.
In the photo, An Zhihan is seen carrying an unconscious Su Jinli, whose chest is covered in blood, out of the training camp and onto a car.
An Zhihan was rushing and so was blurred in the photos - their identities could only be discerned by their silhouettes.
Wu Yu, who was not far behind, was captured clearly when he opened the car door.
Subsequently, gossip microblogs started releasing news.
The source of their information was unclear, but they directly released the shocking news.
Su Jinli had an adverse reaction after eating food given by fans, resulting in a severe case of food poisoning. The condition was estimated to be so grave that it might lead to a loss of the ability to speak.
The internet exploded instantly.
The scandal was a deadly blow to the reputation of the still-growing talent show.
Fortunately, after the public relations team intervened, the surge of information was controlled, and many microblogs were deleted.
The information was controlled, the show team did not issue a statement, trending search terms were manipulated, and other trending topics related to Su Jinli were also simultaneously regulated.
The next morning, everything was quiet as if nothing had happened.
The news was fleeting and then disappeared, seemingly like baseless speculation.
________________________
When An Zhihan returned to the bedroom, he mysteriously waved at Wu Yu, Fan Qianting, Chang Siyin who were still waiting at the door.
After gathering a few friends, An Zhihan led them to the bathroom.
Four grown men huddled in a small bathroom made the scene look rather strange and crowded.
An Zhihan took out a tablet from his clothes, and on the screen was a photo of Su Jinli.
"Do you miss him?" Wu Yu looked at the photo and asked indifferently.
"Uh... this photo is pretty good. It's the look from the MV, right?" Fan Qianting nodded after looking at it.
"Did you call me here to see a photo of Su Jinli? By the way, how is he now? Is he going to make it to the next round?" Chang Siyin followed up with questions.
Holding the tablet, An Zhihan swiped the screen, revealing a photo of Shen Cheng: "Do you think they look alike?"
"From the first day in the dormitory, I mentioned this. You all scoffed." Fan Qianting was the first to comment.
"They do kind of look alike, but they have completely different temperaments and personalities," said Chang Siyin.
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Wu Yu asked An Zhihan.
"Su Jinli mentioned he has an older brother whom he hasn't seen for a long time. A while ago, he was frantically asking for Shen Cheng’s contact information. When my brother went to the hospital, he saw Shen Cheng personally feeding Su Jinli. Can you all guess why?" An Zhihan looked at them all.
"Did Su Jinli succeed in chasing his star?" Fan Qianting asked.
"No way... Shen Cheng is Su Jinli’s brother? Why do they have different surnames?" Chang Siyin started to guess along.
"One takes the father's surname, the other takes the mother's. They were separated for so many years – presumably due to their parents divorcing," An Zhihan answered.
"Are you sure about the relationship between Shen Cheng and Su Jinli?" Wu Yu also joined in questioning.
"My brother saw this with his own eyes. When I pried for details from him, he suddenly glowered, affirming he also guessed the relationship. I didn't expect that one day I would share a dormitory with Shen Cheng's brother."
"I'm already sharing a dormitory with An Zhiyan’s brother, and now I’m with Shen Cheng's brother. I feel incredible," Fan Qianting followed with an exclamation.
Wu Yu was listening to their analysis in silence. After thinking for a while, he grabbed the tablet in An Zhihan's hand and took a look, then said: "Don't gossip about this kind of thing."
An Zhihan was particularly annoyed: "I know, I brought you guys to a hidden place only to share this with you, right?"
"Firstly, we cannot ascertain if it is true yet. Secondly, even if they are indeed brothers, it should be up to them to handle the situation. Whether or not to make it public is their decision. Lastly, Su Jinli's condition is still not entirely confirmed, so I'm more worried about his health."
After Wu Yu finished speaking, he tossed the tablet back to An Zhihan.
Looking at Wu Yu's expression, An Zhihan was so angry that he jumped up and cursed: "Is it enough that only you care? I also care! I check the news every day."
Chang Siyin also followed up: "Please inform us if there's news about Su Jinli, Fan Qianting and I still need to go to training."
"Okay, fine, I understand," An Zhihan left the washroom dispiritedly.
After resting in the dormitory for a while, he saw someone come in. As he raised his head, he saw Su Jinli walking in with a large backpack.
Seeing Su Jinli, all of An Zhihan's words amounted to a single exclamation: "Damn it!"
He even forgot about the cameras in the dormitory.
Wu Yu was originally reading in his bedroom. When he saw Su Jinli, he immediately stood up, put down his book, and walked over to ask, "How are you?"
In a pitiful manner, Su Jinli looked at them. Then, he took out a small notebook from his pocket and began to write: I can't talk for now, my throat is damaged.
"Can you still sing in the future?" An Zhihan was most concerned about this issue.
Su Jinli continued to write in response: I am currently mute, I need proper rest and care.
"Do you need to take medicine or is there anything else you should do for care?"
Su Jinli found his backpack too heavy, so without answering, he put it down and stretched his shoulders. Then, he went to the doorway and dragged a suitcase inside.
When Su Jinli opened her backpack, they all saw that it was full of things like Vitamin C and calcium tablets. There were even three boxes of adhesive bandages inside.
And what about the other stuff? Was that menthol oil? Quick-acting heart rescue pills? A foot fungus remedy?
What kind of assorted oddness was all this?
When Su Jinli saw their shocked expressions, he shyly smiled.
When he mentioned returning to training camp, Shen Cheng had Jiujiu buy all these things and insisted that he must bring them all. Carrying it all had exhausted him to the point where he was nearly speechless.
As for the foot fungus remedy... it was what Shen Cheng gave him to manage the fishy smell that occurs during showers.
The suitcase was filled with clothes that Shen Cheng had bought for him.
From underwear and sleepwear to everyday outfits, and even including three raincoats and two pairs of rain boots.
Su Jinli tidied up a bit, and when he looked up, he saw An Zhihan and Wu Yu were staring at him. He gave them a gentle smile.
"What's going on?!" An Zhihan voiced out directly. "I've been worried for several days, nearly creating a fuss with the program team to postpone the schedule, and you come back without saying anything, just tidying up your stuff here?"
Su Jinli took out his notebook and continued writing, then showed them: I have met my brother!
Then they saw Su Jinli's big grin, so sweet as if slathered with honey.
An Zhihan and Wu Yu exchanged glances with an understanding.
Then they saw Su Jinli writing another line: Don't tell others, my brother wouldn't want me to say it.
What he meant was: I've only told you two.
________________________
Author’s note:
An Zhihan is smarter than his brother in this matter.
[An Zhiyan: "I was just blinded by love, and I didn't think that little Jinli looked like the sly Shen Cheng!"]
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