Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

……

……

What are you saying?

Gu Qing, who had just woken up, held his phone, his hair sticking up in a mess, his handsome face full of confusion.

"Stars, yachts, airplanes? And tens of thousands of people kneeling before me?"

"That's how the boss is..."

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Ya was so excited she was incoherent, rattling off a whole bunch of things. Gu Qing only caught a few keywords: "Trending topics exploded," "Fans went crazy," "The whole world is celebrating her birthday"...

"Checking the trending topics?"

Gu Qing rubbed her eyes to fully wake herself up from her sleep.

The sunlight filtering through the curtains was already quite glaring; it seemed to be getting late.

The world changed after I woke up?
He was still in a daze when his phone vibrated again—it was a message from Xu Wei, his tone equally excited, but at least somewhat organized.

The gist of the inquiry was whether it was possible to leverage the popularity of this birthday celebration to market in overseas markets and reinforce the "international top star" label.

Gu Qing frowned slightly after reading the message.

"Brother Xu, wait a minute, let me check the trending topics." he replied.

"Boss, I've already prepared the contents. I'll send them to you first." Xu Wei was clearly prepared and quickly pushed over a file package.

Gu Qing leaned against the pillow and opened the document.

The first few trending topics were relatively normal.

Buying a few advertising screens in Times Square in the US, installing some projections on the Bund, and having a light show on the skyscrapers in Shanghai—this is standard practice for A-list celebrities celebrating their birthdays. Although it's extravagant, it's not outrageous.

But the further down the page she scrolled, the stranger Gu Qing's expression became.

"A celebration on the Bund, yet they chartered several airplanes in the sky and cruise ships at sea?"

"A digital birthday celebration high in the sky in Hollywood?"

"Purchasing stars for naming, acquiring thousands of DeepEdge drones, gifting villas to the capital city, and connecting with over two hundred cities..."

"Donations to major charitable foundations, birthday celebrations in various countries overseas, and thousands kneeling in celebration in Thailand?"

His finger paused on the screen and clicked on the video titled "Tyrande's Birthday Celebration for 10,000 People".

In the video, a huge crowd filled the square, stretching as far as the eye could see. On the large screens around the square, scenes from the TV series "The Imperial Doctress" were playing.

Then, the most shocking scene unfolded—more than 20,000 people knelt down in unison, clasped their hands together, and shouted in broken Chinese:
"Happy Birthday, Your Highness Gu Qing!"

Gu Qing's hand trembled slightly, and she gasped.

What are they trying to do?!
After watching all those birthday celebration videos,

Gu Qing put down her phone, leaned against the headboard, and fell silent.

Surprisingly, yes.

Yes, I am happy.

Hemp, yes.

There is also suffering.

I was stunned by the surprises my fans had prepared so meticulously, and touched by their thoughtfulness. It would be impossible not to be moved.

But besides that...

Gu Qingren is also numb!
If this were ancient times, after his fans celebrated in the morning, he would have been taken to the execution ground and beheaded that afternoon.

With this influence and appeal, what exactly are you trying to achieve?
Thankfully, I'm a good baby and a good child certified by my mom, and I have my hometown to rely on, otherwise I would definitely be doomed.

Thinking of her hometown, Gu Qing felt a sense of relief and warmth welled up inside her.

In Anhui Province, 10 out of 25 cities celebrated his birthday. Major tourist attractions also hosted celebratory events.
Some scenic spots even offer half-price discounts—as long as you say you are a fan of Gu Qing and answer a few questions about Anhui culture, you can enjoy the discount.

Official tourism accounts and intangible cultural heritage accounts have all been sharing or posting videos online to celebrate his birthday as the spokesperson.

Truly strong support.

It also indirectly helped him get rid of a lot of trouble.

Gu Qing took a deep breath and was about to put down her phone when Xu Wei's message came again:

"Boss, I feel that for future development, we can focus on capturing the Asian market, especially South Korea, Japan, and Thailand."

The West is too discriminatory and xenophobic. We can learn from Brother Chen Long and take it one step at a time. When we become a sensation across Asia, they'll be begging us to come, without us even having to go.”

Gu Qing looked at the message and fell into deep thought.

He could understand Xu Wei's excitement.

This birthday celebration truly exceeded everyone's expectations. Those top-tier celebrities of his generation couldn't even compare to him.

As long as those respected veteran artists are not involved, he has already achieved a unique status in the Chinese entertainment idol industry.

We can appropriately shift some of our focus to developing international markets.

Taking advantage of the grand scale of this birthday banquet, it is indeed a very good opportunity for publicity.

Gu Qing thought for a moment and then dialed Xu Wei's number.

“Brother Xu, you can buy trending topics,” he said.

"Okay, boss!"

Xu Wei's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, "I have a few other ideas—"

"You said."

"Our fans have put so much effort into this, so we should naturally respond."

Xu Wei's tone became serious, "Boss, why don't you record a few thank-you videos and send them to the countries overseas where you're celebrating your birthday?"

Especially for Tayrande, you should express your sincere gratitude and it would be best to learn a phrase or two of Thai.

"I guarantee this market will be the easiest to capture! They're so enthusiastic; it's true what they say, 'the devil is in the details.'"

After listening, Gu Qing did not answer immediately, but asked a question:
"Brother Xu, I'm a little confused. Why are the fans on Tyrande's side kneeling? Is this a special custom there?"
Don't they usually only kneel before the king?

I remember that the laws in the Tyrese region state that even simply alluding to or defaming the royal family online can be punished by law.

Among all the celebratory videos, the sight of tens of thousands of people kneeling and chanting "Happy Birthday" to Tyrande naturally struck Gu Qing the most.

"Boss, I just checked."

Xu Wei quickly explained, "The kneeling ceremony is the highest level of respect in the Tayland region, and indeed only members of the royal family and monks can receive this kind of etiquette."

However, recently a trend of performing this kind of etiquette for idol artists has emerged there. Generally, only the most popular local artists receive this spontaneously performed etiquette from their fans, and it doesn't have any negative impact.

"That's it."

Gu Qing breathed a sigh of relief, no longer worried about being caught upon landing.

He glanced at the time; it was 8 a.m.

"Brother Xu, contact the makeup and styling team, and arrange for a photographer to come to my house."

Gu Qing said, "Thank you for recording the video. Also, I'll record another reaction video of me watching the birthday celebration, to express my gratitude to the fans all at once."

"No problem, boss!"

Xu Wei asked excitedly, "Which country's do we record first?"

"Of course it's our own."

Gu Qing yawned, her eyes still sleepy, and said matter-of-factly, "There are over 200 cities in China, and I'm still worrying about how to handle that. How can I have time to record foreign ones first?"

He seemed to have thought of something, and gave a serious and earnest reminder.
"Brother Xu, don't get confused. My fans in China are my core base. They are the ones I should thank first, and the order cannot be reversed."

Xu Wei was stunned for a moment, his expression suddenly changed, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his tone became alert:
"Boss, I forgot. Yes, we should thank our own fans first!"

Gu Qing nodded, gave a few more instructions, and then hung up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Qing didn't stay in bed.

After seeing the birthday celebration prepared for him by his fans, his desire to stay in bed and be lazy vanished.

He got up and went into the bathroom.

He had originally planned to go all out for tonight's live-streamed birthday party, appearing completely natural and down-to-earth—singing a few songs while playing the guitar, chatting with fans, and keeping a low profile.

But now...

We still need to keep a low profile.

Especially after such a lively time in the early morning and during the day, it's best to keep a low profile at night.

Gu Qing was not blinded by this magnificent sight.

But if you tidy yourself up and dress up carefully, it's still fine.

After quickly brushing his teeth and washing his face, he warmed up his voice for a while, then ran on the treadmill on an empty stomach for half an hour.

Then take out the breakfast that was prepared in advance from the refrigerator: whole wheat bread, corn, milk, and two egg whites.

After a quick meal, Zhao Ya and her team went home.

The cameraman started setting up the equipment, Zhao Ya received a business call and was talking, while Gu Qing had her hair washed and blow-dried by the makeup and styling team's assistant.

"Xiao Gu, have you decided what kind of makeup you want to do today? Or should I just decide for myself, like usual?" Sister Xu asked, taking out some makeup products from the side.

"Sister Xu, let's have something different today."

Gu Qing said, "Have someone go to the dressing room, to the cabinet on the left. That row contains all the costumes I specially kept for filming."

He recalled those videos where many fans reminisced about his film and television works, their words overflowing with nostalgia and affection.

Since the fans are so dedicated, Gu Qing can't let them down.

They simply showcased all the characters one by one, and also recreated Ah Dou's future mainstream costume change and transition videos in advance.

"Let's start with 'The Journey of Flower'," Gu Qing said.

"Xiao Gu, could you perhaps make some adjustments to Sha Qianmo's makeup and styling?"

Sister Xu couldn't help but say, "The makeup and styling in this drama are just too ugly."

Gu Qing smiled.

He wasn't surprised by Sister Xu's complaints.

Even Zhao Liying and Wallace Huo had to complain to the production team about the makeup and styling of "The Journey of Flower" more than once.

However,

One was embroiled in scandals at the time, and the other was too kind-hearted.

Although Gu Qing herself is quite famous, she is a newcomer who has just entered the film and television industry, and the production team doesn't take her seriously at all.

If it weren't for the actors' solid acting skills, their deep empathy for the characters, and their truly moving performances, they wouldn't have been able to portray them so convincingly.

Compared to other elaborate costume and prop dramas of the past, "The Journey of Flower" isn't actually that much better.

"Let's make some minor adjustments."

He said, "I try not to deviate too much from the original character, otherwise I'm afraid the fans won't be used to it."

Sister Xu nodded and began to work.

Her touch was very light and delicate, as if she were sculpting a work of art.

Gu Qing closed her eyes and let her apply the product to her face.

But my mind was still filled with those videos—the drones, the light shows, the stars, and the kneeling girl.

He suddenly felt a little dazed.

Is all of this because of him?
……

Everything is ready, and construction has officially begun.

Following in the footsteps of the film and television industry, Gu Qing has worked on numerous projects, including "The Journey of Flower," "Brotherhood of Blades," and "Legend of Nine Tails Fox."

One character, one makeup and styling.

A memorable scene, a captivating performance.

Sister Xu's skills are truly remarkable; every makeup and styling touch is just right—preserving the essence of the original character while also addressing the shortcomings of the original.

Sha Qianmo's allure, Xiao Chuan's wickedness, Liu Changyan's gentleness...

Gu Qing presented everything, and the post-production was handed over to the team for editing.

He was getting a little tired after changing six outfits in a row.

"Xiao Gu, three sets are enough, take your time shooting."

Sister Xu decided to stop, advising, "Applying too much makeup at once is bad for your skin."

"it is good."

"Sister Xiaoya, send the finished video to Brother Xu. He can decide for himself whether to post it on his account every three days or once a week."

Gu Qing raised her hand to remove the fox ears, took off Liu Changyan's clothes, changed back into a well-matched set of casual clothes, and sat down on the sofa.

"Boss, the video is edited, and it's 23 minutes long." Zhao Ya held a tablet in her arms and handed over some warm water with her other hand.

The cameraman also respectfully reminded us that the equipment was set up and we could start filming at any time.

"Okay, let's start filming." Gu Qing took a sip of warm water and nodded with a smile.

The camera flashed a red light.

Gu Qing looked at the camera, a signature gentle smile on his face:

"Hello, everyone in the Gu family—"

"Boss, today is your birthday."

A voice-over from Zhao Ya reminds you, "Your fans have prepared a surprise gift for you."

A tablet was handed to Gu Qing.

Gu Qing looked down and saw a video playing on the screen.

His expression, which started with laughter and conversation, gradually softened.

Deep Zhen, with thousands of drones.

Shanghai, the city in the sky.

Jinan, a red-silk wedding hall by Daming Lake.

Director Qing, the blue dream of the underwater world.

Wuhan, naked-eye 3D large screen.

Chengdu, a 200-meter-long scroll painting of Tianfu.

Nan Jing, a holographic projection on the Qinhuai River.

Cities after cities, videos after videos.

Gu Qing's expression softened more and more.

When he saw the long list of charitable donors, his eyes reddened slightly, but he still smiled and said:
“This is my favorite, but I don’t want it to be in my name; I want it to be in your names.”

“This is your kindness. The people who have been helped should be most grateful to you, not me.”

At last,
When the video of thousands kneeling before Tyrande appeared on the screen, Gu Qing's expression became complicated.

He looked at the kneeling girls, watching them shout "Happy Birthday, Your Highness Gu Qing" in broken Chinese, and remained silent for a few seconds.

"This...is too heavy..."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

The video finished playing. Gu Qing put down the tablet, faced the camera, and said earnestly:
Thank you.

"Really, thank you."

His voice was soft, but sincere.

"I saw these surprises. I received every city, every video, and every token of my heart."

He paused, then suddenly smiled:
"But I still have to say—it's too expensive."

"Just having you all wish me a happy birthday is enough for me."

His gaze softened, as if he were looking at each fan in front of the screen:
"Remember my birthday, and also remember your family members' birthdays."

"And don't forget the name of our fans—"

He blinked, his smile clear and sunny:
“'The Gu family'”.

"Bye-bye, see you in the live stream tonight."

He smiled, clenched his fist, and then waved to end the recording.

……

Lunchtime.

Gu Qing and her team had a lavish lunch at a nice restaurant nearby.

"Boss, do you know what's going on on the trending topics right now?" Zhao Ya asked, her eyes sparkling, while eating.

"what's the situation?"

"You occupy eight out of the top ten spots!"

Zhao Ya was so excited she almost poked Gu Qing in the face with her chopsticks. "The remaining two are trending topics: 'Gu Qing's fans' and 'Gu Qing's birthday'! That means the top ten are all yours!"

Gu Qing was taken aback: "That's so exaggerated?"

"And there are even more outrageous ones!"

Zhao Ya showed him her phone, "Look at this, the trending topic 'Gu Qingtai and Lande are kneeling before thousands' has already surpassed one billion views!"

And this, the trending topic 'Gu Qing's fans send stars' has garnered over ten million discussions! And this—"

"Alright, alright," Gu Qing quickly interrupted her. "Let's eat."

Sister Xu laughed from the side, "Little Gu is just shy."

"It's not because I'm shy."

Gu Qing picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks. "I think... it's too much."

"How did that happen?" Sister Xu asked, puzzled. "It's normal for fans to like you and be willing to spend money on you, isn't it?"

Gu Qing shook her head, offering no explanation.

Of course he knows that his fans like him and are willing to spend money on him.

But he also knew how heavy this affection was.

It was so heavy that he had to handle it with utmost care, neither letting it down nor squandering it.

……

In the afternoon, Adou's official staff came over to help debug the equipment.

"Mr. Gu, we have reinforced the server."

The junior manager, suppressing his nervousness and excitement, reported, "It can accommodate 100 million people online at the same time without any lag."

We've also pre-tested the gift restrictions. The comment speed is split between two screens—one for real-time comments and one with a reduced, editable display.

He added, "We will have staff following up on this live stream in real time from the back end."

If Mr. Gu has any further needs, please feel free to send us a message.

"Okay, thank you for your help." Gu Qing nodded.

"No trouble at all!"

The junior manager waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Our platform should be thanking President Gu. Without your daily traffic generation, how could we have grown so big and strong?"

What he said was the truth.

In particular, Gu Qing broadcast the birthday party live on the Adou platform.

All the shareholders in the company were extremely fortunate—just as the app was about to launch, they found Gu Qing to join them and agreed to let him become a shareholder of the company.

Otherwise, how could it have gained such popularity and attention?

This 1.5% equity stake is an absolute steal!

After the junior leader left, Gu Qing returned to her room and began making final preparations.

It's not that Ah Dou looks down on the traffic of one of his own small business owners.

If it weren't a paid live stream, they would believe it even if there were tens of millions of viewers.

But this is a paid live stream.

In the past, the number of viewers for paid live streams of birthday parties of top-tier celebrities was generally only around 30,000 to 50,000.

Of course, the paid tickets are definitely much more expensive than Gu Qing's thirty yuan.

Therefore, the platform believes that someone of Gu Qing's caliber—one against three top influencers—can only reach a maximum of 300,000 to 500,000 users at the same time.

Strengthening a server for a million users is actually sufficient.

4:50 PM.

Gu Qing sat down at the computer desk.

The room was quiet; he was alone.

Apart from the makeup and styling team who had just finished their makeup and Zhao Ya sitting in the living room, ready to give instructions, there were no other outsiders in the entire villa.

He looked at his makeup and styling one last time in front of the mirror.

For tonight's makeup and styling, he unusually went for a "male model" look.

Her jet-black, smooth hair was interspersed with blue and white wig pieces, and her bangs fell gently down.

Clip-on earrings and a necklace shimmered under the light, while the black jacket was inlaid with silver patterns, perfectly embodying the concept of a "man who stepped out of a comic book."

Fair-skinned, pure and beautiful, yet with a touch of aloofness, her looks are extremely striking.

Since his fans are so dedicated, he should just give them a good "charm".

4 points.

Gu Qing started the live stream in advance.

The moment the screen lit up, his face appeared in front of the camera.

Is anyone there?

Those eyes, filled with a mixture of doubt and curiosity, stared directly at the camera.

Stick it to your face.

Intuitive.

A stunningly beautiful face.

Meanwhile, Ah Dou's backstage.

The staff were still chatting and laughing, discussing how many people would watch today's live stream.

"I'd guess 300,000," someone said.

"Isn't 300,000 too conservative? I think 500,000 is more appropriate."

"Paid live stream, bro, it's thirty yuan! You'd be lucky to get three hundred thousand."

"That's true. Let's bet 300,000 on a hot pot meal."

"make a deal."

Just then, a staff member glanced at the increasing number of viewers in the back-end live stream.

His expression froze instantly.

"Steal...steal the young master?!"

A colleague leaned over and asked, "What's wrong?"

"look!"

On the screen, the numbers were jumping wildly.

150,000.

220,000.

460,000.

With each blink, the number of people increases by tens of thousands.

"This...this can't be right?!" The man rubbed his eyes. "Is this a real person?!"

"Stop staring!"

Another staff member realized what was happening and exclaimed in a trembling voice, "Get the backup server out first! If the 100 million viewers in the live stream crash, we're finished!"

"Hurry up!"

The backstage area immediately descended into chaos.

What they didn't know was that it wasn't just fans flooding into the live stream at that moment.

Fans put on a massive spectacle that shocked the nation in the early hours of the morning, and then an incredible kneeling ceremony was held abroad in celebration—

To put it dramatically, wouldn't you say this is a way of promoting national prestige?
A Chinese artist who is so beloved by fans abroad.

At a time when national self-confidence is in dire need, the phenomenal success of "Wolf Warrior 2" allows Gu Qing to go global without having to grovel.

This has attracted many idle netizens to come and have a say in the matter.

There are especially many guys on Tieba.

Although 30 yuan is a lot, compared to the hundreds or even thousands of yuan that artists spend on birthday parties, many people are still willing to grit their teeth and pay it.

Not to mention industry peers and staff, as well as movie fans from all walks of life who admire Gu Qing and are quite wealthy, all of whom are willing to contribute this small amount of money.

The number of people watching the live stream has exploded, hasn't it?
In the live stream room.

The comments section is going crazy.

"Aaaaaah!! Brother—??"

"Handsome, who are you?"

Where did my pure, cute, and fair-skinned little brother go?

"I'm dead! I'm dead!!"

"Damn it, why can't I send gifts?!"

"That's so cool!!"

"My mom asked me why I was kneeling while looking at my phone."

"Sisters, I took a screenshot! I'm going to use this as my wallpaper!"

"Please, please let me send you a gift!!"

"Why do you all seem so eager to die every day? Why not live happily and continue on together?"

The lively barrage of comments made Gu Qing chuckle softly.

That smile, magnified infinitely in the lens, was another devastating blow.

This statement caused an even bigger uproar in the live chat.

"Alright, alright!! We'll risk our lives to go with you!!"

"Little brother!! Can you please stop smiling so beautifully!!"

"My heart can't take it!!"

"Okay, okay,"

Gu Qing said with a smile, "Today we won't talk about anything else, we'll just chat, sing songs, and celebrate everyone's birthday."

He glanced at the number of online users in the upper right corner of the screen.

For a moment, he was stunned.

"How much is this?"

He thought he was seeing things, blinked, and looked again.

That's right.

Online users: 1,847,326.

One million eight hundred and forty thousand.

It's only been a few minutes since it started airing?

Are all these people really his fans?
of course not!

Aside from the carefully timed birthday wishes from fans,

Whether they were genuinely close to Gu Qing or thought they were, most of the entertainment industry sent their blessings tonight.

Furthermore, the number of celebrities watching this live stream was by no means small.

From top-tier celebrities to unknown artists in their early twenties.

Everyone was stunned when they clicked in and saw Gu Qing's brand new "comic book style" makeup and styling.

……

—On the set of "Eternal Love" (Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms).

As the sun sets, the scenery is absolutely breathtaking.
"Sisi, it's time to eat your noodles!"

"Yangyang, I've come up with a new idea for your cooking scene. Why don't you go over and act it out, and see how it goes?"

No one responded.

Director Zhao looked around and his gaze fell on the sunshade.

Liu Tianxian was sitting on a small stool, holding a small electric fan in one hand and her phone in the other, staring blankly at the screen.

The female assistant standing behind him was also craning her neck, watching intently.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on Liu Tianxian, giving her cool and aloof face a soft golden edge.

She was wearing a theatrical costume—a white dress, with long hair flowing over her shoulders.

Judging solely from her makeup and styling, she undoubtedly embodies the ethereal, otherworldly goddess Bai Qian, exuding a divine aura.

But at this moment,
Her expression, however, was somewhat...dazed?
"Xixi?" Director Zhao called out again.

Still no response.

What's wrong with this child?

Director Zhao muttered something strange, put his hands behind his back, and walked forward to see what was going on.

……

...(End of this chapter)