Generation Z Artists

Chapter 130 Grand Audience
When I first heard about this, Brother Fang was silent for a long time.

Wang Charlie stared wide-eyed and asked Kadokawa, "Sign 50,000 people?"

"how is this possible?"

Kadokawa waved his hand solemnly, saying righteously, "A second-class seat that only cost a little money for a ticket is hardly worthy of Fang-san's autograph!"

"There are even tickets?!"

Wang Chali's voice rose another eight octaves.

“Of course.” Kadokawa became even more solemn. “Fang-san’s beauty is a gift from heaven. Even if you look at it from the mountain, you should pay for it. That’s only natural.”

Wow, Kadokawa really went all out with this autograph session.

The entry requirements are simple: if you have an official copy of "Cang Ye Xue" and buy a ticket for between 2000 and 5800 yen, you can enter and see Fang Xinghe.

Note that this only refers to the price of a seat.

Queuing to sign in?

You need to pay 8800 yen to get into the inner field, and whether you can even get a seat is another matter, since there are 8000 standing seats in the inner field.

With 55000 seats and 8000 standing room, Kadokawa felt it wasn't a bad deal at all, and argued confidently, "To ensure Mr. Fang's safety and the order of the queue, I set up a completely spacious and secure queuing area under the stage, which resulted in a huge waste of space..."

Wow, you're awesome!
But can it really work?

He landed in Tokyo with strong doubts, and when Kadokawa picked him up at his hotel, the tickets were already sold out.

really do.

The event attracted more than 12 fans to participate in the ticket grabbing. Since there are no online purchases or e-tickets available, fans had to queue up at various ticket outlets, resulting in a significant overcrowding.

Moreover, according to Kadokawa's statistics, the fans attracted by this event ranged from 12 years old to 60 years old, making up an extremely wide demographic.

The proportion of fans under 30 years old is less than 65%, and the proportion of female fans under 30 years old is less than 35%, which is not as healthy as an idol.

This is something Fang Xinghe has never accomplished in the country.

Xiao Fang, Charlie, and Director Wang looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Gudong..."

Director Wang swallowed hard and asked with difficulty, "So, based on that book?"

"What do you mean by 'that book'?" Wang Charlie protested, pointing at the television and jumping up, shouting, "That's a cultural treasure of the Japanese!"

At this very moment, NHK is reporting on the grand gathering of fans around the Tokyo Dome. They can't understand what the fans are saying, but they can understand the few Chinese characters on the screen.

"Aoi Snow" is a cultural treasure of Heisei Japan

The written record shows the scene captured on TV by drone, with fans lining up in huge numbers, tens of thousands seemingly endless, muttering to themselves, "Even 'Cang Ye Xue' isn't this popular in our country, is it?"

Wang Bin shook his head: "Not only is it not that popular, it's also been heavily criticized..."

He turned to look at Fang Xinghe, whose face was completely calm. A bold guess suddenly came to his mind, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Little Fang, did you foresee this scene when you were writing it?!"

How can it be!

Fang Xinghe's original intention in writing was simply to create a top-notch youth angst novel, pioneer the tragic aesthetic track, and to entice and retain fans.

However, since simple campus angst stories are too simplistic, the idea of ​​integrating them with the historical context arose, transforming the angst from melodramatic and unexpected events into profound and inevitable ones.

Until its publication, he was targeting the domestic youth market and never thought it would have any international impact.

Indeed, this is true when looking at the situation in Southeast Asia.

Apart from Singapore, where it sold extremely well, the total number of copies sold in other countries combined did not reach 80, and that was only because his culture war had sparked a great deal of discussion beforehand.

The sensational popularity he generated in Southeast Asia was 80% due to his good looks, charisma, and status as a cultural icon.

It's different in Japan, though; they truly love "Azure Night Snow".

It was a love that Fang Xinghe had never expected.

As a foreign Gen Z, how could he know that Japan is in such a state now?
So, Fang Ge was also very shocked, but he was able to act. He smiled calmly and did not answer the question. He left a mystery in the documentary footage, leaving it for fans in later generations to guess.

The TV was blaring gibberish that was impossible to understand, so everyone picked up a newspaper from their hotel room and glanced at it, only to find news about "Cang Ye Xue" everywhere.

"Sanzai Shimbun": "Yugen" and "Wabi Sabi" world view
"Asahi Shimbun": Fang Xinghe - a rebellious scribe and a new standard-bearer of Higashi Aya literature

Wang Charlie struggled to read the few Chinese characters on the newspaper, and asked in surprise, "What does 'wabi-sabi' mean? I see this word appears very frequently."

Fang Xinghe stared at the two words on the newspaper, lost in thought.

……

Today isn't the actual day of the autograph session, but rather the extremely tedious preparation period.

After a quick lunch, various groups of people began arriving in the afternoon, filling the nearly 200-square-meter presidential suite to capacity.

Among them were the editor-in-chief, photographer, and makeup team of Vogue Japan—Kadokawa only asked their makeup team to provide styling advice for Fang Xinghe, but the editor-in-chief and chief photographer came uninvited.

At that time, the fashion capital of all of Asia was clearly in Japan.

As the No.1 fashion magazine, Wogua naturally stands proudly at the top of the fashion scene in Asia.

However, the current editor-in-chief, Kimmy Fukuda, almost pleaded with Fang Xinghe to appear on the cover of the previous issue of Vogue Japan, and even offered her the most important September issue cover.

This mixed-race Japanese woman, surnamed Fukuda and named Kimi, spoke fluent Chinese and kept popping around in front of Fang Xinghe whenever she could.

There's no need to go into the details; it's basically a three-word repetition: "Come on, come on, come on!"

Now that they've arrived in Japan, a super-vote-rich country, Fang Xinghe will definitely be featured in two magazine issues. There's nothing wrong with being a "squab," but Wang Chali still has to find a way to make a name for himself.

What will you offer in exchange?

Ms. Fukuda was extremely frustrated.

In Japan today, no more than five male celebrities have unlocked the September issue of the Goguryeo magazine. Most of the September and October issues feature supermodels, which are ultra-high-end resources that Japanese celebrities would kill for.

But facing Fang Xinghe...

“Our boss doesn’t have a pressing need to appear in fashion magazines. Actually, appearing in literary magazines would have the same effect, or even be better.”

For every sentence Wang Charlie spoke, the lady would drop a few gold coins.

Finally, they even revealed her most important resource: LV.

The LV Japan Regional Director is a foreigner. He personally led the team and brought a bunch of haute couture gowns to the event. As soon as they arrived, they saw many familiar faces.

Yes, they were the second group of people crammed into the presidential suite—the Japanese regional managers of a luxury clothing brand.

They personally brought their own clothes and jewelry to sponsor Fang Xinghe, essentially wanting to observe this young Chinese man firsthand to determine their future decisions.

Fang Xinghe, a top influencer in China, doesn't deserve their special treatment, after all, many brands don't even have stores in mainland China.

But Fang Xinghe, the current top star in Asia, is different. With just one book, "Cang Ye Xue," he has sold 130 million copies in Southeast Asia, more than 500 million in Japan, and is also selling like hotcakes in South Korea. The young man in front of us already has all the elements to become an Asian spokesperson.

Especially her looks, figure, and temperament, are simply too satisfying.

Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, the initiative is clearly not in their hands.

The third group consisted of officials from the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ambassador was amiable, chatting with Fang Xinghe with a smile, while the counselor was serious, reminding Fang Xinghe of various precautions. One played the good cop, the other the bad cop; the scene was quite something.

This is naturally because Fang Xinghe is simply too audacious. His previous defeat of those Americans put the entire diplomatic front in a very passive position. If something similar were to happen again in Japan...

The counselor couldn't help but shudder.

The Japanese Foreign Ministry official didn't talk much about that; whenever he opened his mouth, the topic invariably became "Azure Night Snow." "You like reading it too?"

Fang Xinghe raised an eyebrow and looked at the thin Japanese man, who was at least 50 years old, with a somewhat strange feeling.

"Of course, with Fang Sang's own efforts, Snow has the potential to become a national treasure of Japanese literature, and every Japanese person should love it."

This is outrageous, this is ridiculous.

How can a work that hasn't sold 300 million copies in half a month be considered a success?
"You didn't know?" the official exclaimed in surprise. "Just yesterday and today alone, Snow has already sold a million copies! That's an extremely remarkable achievement for a comic book..."

Fang Xinghe really didn't know.

However, the fourth group of people were influential figures in the broader cultural sphere who approached him to explore various renowned works for adapting "Cang Ye Xue".

The manga adaptation rights were priced at 150 million yen, which is approximately 10 million yuan.

Animation adaptation rights, film adaptation rights, television series adaptation rights, merchandise development licensing...

All the rights are being snapped up, and the current combined price has already exceeded 50 million RMB.

Of course, no one expects to reach an agreement today. Most people just come to pay a visit, chat briefly, get acquainted, leave a gift, and take their leave.

Even so, Fang Xinghe's team was exhausted from receiving guests.

But that wasn't the end of it; there was a fifth wave of people coming.

A true literary figure.

The editor-in-chief of "Literary World" is Hitoshi Matsue; Mariko Ozaki, NHK literary program planner, famous literary critic and ardent fan of the genre; Hiroki Azuma, a pioneer of subculture theory; Natsuo Kirino, a hard-boiled female writer; Mitsuyo Tata, the protagonist of the Naoki Prize for social criticism from a female perspective; and a super heavyweight figure—Takashi Atoda, president of the Japan Writers Association, one of the nine judges of the January 2001 Naoki Prize of the Japan Literature Promotion Association.

These people spoke to Fang Xinghe with great enthusiasm and respect. Although they didn't talk much, it was clear that they genuinely liked "Cang Ye Xue" and wanted to be friends with Fang Xinghe.

Takashi Atoda even asked him, "If the Naoki Prize were to include 'The Snowy Night' in the shortlist this year, would you be willing to participate?"

The Naoki Prize is Japan's highest award for popular literature, and it has historically been awarded only to Japanese citizens, with very few foreign literary works nominated.

According to Kadokawa Tsuhiko, winning an award was impossible, but being shortlisted was already a great honor and could further boost sales.

Considering that the shortlist would be announced at the end of the year, Fang Xinghe immediately offered A Dao a rosy picture: "Of course, it would be a great honor."

What I was thinking was: Come on, you guys win awards and I'll be clapping from below. Keep dreaming.

After arriving in Japan, Fang Ge's bottom line became extremely flexible. He was all smiles and would take any opportunity to cut someone's money without hesitation.

The point is that I don't care about morality with you.

The most outrageous one in this group was Mariko Ozaki. Wow, she was radiating a murky red light, and she was fervently inviting Fang Xinghe to become a Japanese citizen, saying things like, "You will rule two eras in Japan and become the most upright and respected person in the top echelons of society"...

However, she is right in a sense: Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe and internationally bestselling author Haruki Murakami enjoy a transcendent status in Japan.

They certainly don't have as much power as politicians, but 99.9% of politicians would have to bow deeply to them when they meet.

Their exposure is certainly not as high as that of celebrities, but even the most popular celebrities have to kneel and be respectful in front of them.

Their income is certainly not as much as that of zaibatsu (financial conglomerates), but it's a steady 1 billion yen a year. For someone like Keigo Higashino, a single book can generate 800 million yen in royalties.

Compared to the miserable lives of writers in China, they are living in paradise.

However, let Yang Yi handle the matter of naturalizing as a Japanese citizen. Your father can live quite well even in hell.

Fang Xinghe was unhappy, but then Mariko Ozaki became even more fanatical, which was outrageous.

She found an opportunity to whisper to Fang Xinghe: "Your anti-Japanese remarks can't be suppressed for long. Although we've tried our best to block them, you've already visited Japan. With your good looks, it's bound to cause an even bigger sensation. At that time, attention will shift from the book to you personally, and what you said will definitely be dug up. You should be prepared in advance!"

Fang Xinghe nodded and smiled gently.

Kadokawa's ability to keep the news under wraps to this extent far exceeds Fang Xinghe's expectations.

This guy definitely spent a lot of money and mobilized all his connections, but the smartest thing he did was to guide the public to discuss "Cang Ye Xue" itself and hide the author's information.

However, as soon as Fang Xinghe himself arrives, all efforts will collapse, which is equivalent to entering the second stage of the BOSS battle.

So Kadokawa simply did the opposite, expanding the stage to its limit.

This guy is really awesome, you have to admit he's amazing.

On that day, there was actually a sixth wave of guests – representatives from many Japanese companies whose products were suitable for Fang Xinghe to endorse.

They weren't even allowed into the room; Kadokawa intercepted them outside.

"Today is not a suitable day for business negotiations. Please leave your business card and return home!"

No matter if it's Toyota, Honda, or Nissan, if the person coming isn't a high-ranking executive, they won't be allowed through this door.

Look, Fang Ge, who's about to take the stage at the East Egg, is just that awesome.

But when he looked at himself in the mirror, he felt like an idiot.

"Is it really necessary to go to such lengths?"

Ms. Fukuda gave him a non-mainstream, frizzy hairstyle.

It's not yet the year when the post-90s generation starts to become active, but this style is actually quite trendy, at least 3 to 5 years ahead of its time.

Ms. Fukuda's explanation made a lot of sense: "To reflect your anger and unruliness, to be closer to the character of Chen Cang in the early stages, and to awaken the fans' memories of the text..."

However, Fang Xinghe certainly wouldn't leave himself with such a dark history, so he decisively demolished it.

"Forget it, I'll do it myself."

I straightened my hair, washed it, gave it a quick blow-dry, and randomly picked a pair of sunglasses from a pile of luxury goods around me. I clipped them onto my head and used them as a headband, creating a natural slicked-back hairstyle.

Then, instead of opting for haute couture gowns from major luxury brands, I chose the best quality, simplest white shirt, tucking one half of the hem into my waistband and leaving the other half hanging out.

I unbuttoned two buttons on my shirt collar, buttoned one wrong, and then just grabbed a Cartier double-ring necklace and hung it around my neck.

The lower half of her body was black jeans with several asymmetrical holes cut into them using a knife.

Then Fang Xinghe relaxed his back a little, stood casually in front of the mirror, tilted his head slightly and looked at people sideways, and Miss Fukuda was immediately dumbfounded.

A pioneer?
Obviously not.

However, that nonchalant, cool, and rebellious vibe is stronger and more authentic than the previous avant-garde styles.

At first glance, you can tell this guy is damn handsome, but upon closer inspection, nothing about him is out of place. He is outgoing yet maintains an Eastern restraint, without compromising Fang Xinghe's precious youthful charm.

"This...this...this..."

Ms. Fukuda hesitated for a long time but couldn't come up with anything. Finally, she gave a wry look and offered an angle.

“Fang Xinghe, luxury brands rarely lend people their formal wear. You’re ignoring their kindness like this…”

Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized that it wasn't a big deal that Fang Xinghe didn't give them face, after all, he was a unique literary genius with idol-like looks, not a Johnny's idol with literary talent...

So she quickly changed her tune: "Your outfit is too plain... at least wear some rings, earrings, and a watch, right?"

"I'm not wearing it anymore."

Fang Xinghe strolled casually toward the food counter, bent down, rummaged through the candy box, pulled out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and popped it into his mouth.

With a cold expression, he said in an unquestionable tone, "That's it. If it's not filmed well, it's your problem, not mine."

Ms. Fukuda looked at Fang Xinghe, whose slanted eyebrows and cold eyes revealed a hint of his pectoral muscles, her legs went weak, her face flushed, and she obediently nodded.

　I uploaded it at 5:30 yesterday, but it got stuck in the review process and I had to revise it until 11:00. I'm fed up with that. Say whatever you want.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)