You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

The speed at which the US changed its mind has surprised everyone.

From the White House's cryptic social media post to the State Department's official adjustment of its wording regarding Japan, less than forty-eight hours elapsed.

The international public opinion arena seems to have been flipped, and those voices that had been temporarily silenced due to US pressure have re-emerged, even more intensely than the first wave.

European media were the first to follow suit.

A major French newspaper published a commentary on its front page with the title "The Abandoned Ally".

The article was quite scathing, directly listing the contrast between the US's previous and current attitudes in a table at the top of the page. The left side showed the "statement a week ago," and the right side showed the "statement now." The two columns together sounded like statements from two different countries.

The article concludes with a powerful statement: "When a country can completely reverse its stance on an ally within a week, it means that the ally has never truly been treated as a partner."

German financial media are taking a different approach.

They commissioned an international relations scholar to write a lengthy analysis, the core argument of which was simple: the US's swift withdrawal this time indicates that Japan's importance on their strategic chessboard is declining.

The article cites a series of data to support this judgment—Japan's share of US foreign trade has been declining year by year, and its technological substitutability is also weakening. The author concludes: "When your allies feel you are no longer important, being abandoned is only a matter of time."

Even the British media, which have always maintained close ties with the United States, have spoken out.

The Times published a short report titled "A Lonely Summer in Tokyo," and the article was written in a restrained manner, but that restraint itself was an attitude.

One passage in the article was reprinted by multiple media outlets: "Japan once thought it had a solid security net in the Asia-Pacific region, but now the load-bearing walls of that net are crumbling one by one."

Other Asian countries reacted more directly.

Several mainstream South Korean media outlets have published a series of special reports, all focusing on the theme of "Japan being snubbed by the United States."

One television station edited together news footage of the US's statements before and after, and played it side by side. The first part was the Secretary of State saying at a press conference that "the US-Japan alliance is the cornerstone of regional peace," and then it cut to the White House spokesperson saying, "We respect the feelings of people around the world about history." The two news reports were less than a week apart, and the spokesperson in the footage was the same, but the position and tone of voice were completely different.

The host concluded by saying, "When a country's ally can make such a 180-degree turn in such a short time, that country should rethink its position on the diplomatic chessboard."

Several diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) exchanged views in an informal setting. Although no formal statement was issued, according to Reuters, internal memos from several member states mentioned "reassessing the depth of economic cooperation with Japan."

A trade official from an ASEAN country put it bluntly in an interview: "What we business people fear most is customers suddenly disappearing. If the stability of the Japanese market becomes a problem, we will consider shifting our orders to more reliable sources."

The official statements from the Chinese government have consistently maintained a degree of restraint.

When asked about the change in the US attitude at a regular press conference, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs replied with only one sentence: "China has noted the recent changes in the international situation and has always advocated that all countries should respect each other and treat each other as equals."

There wasn't a single superfluous word. But the comments section was much more lively than the main text, with the top comment reading, "Translate this: Your sugar daddy doesn't want you anymore," which received tens of thousands of likes.

The public's reaction was completely out of control.

The back-end data of several e-commerce platforms in China surged again in those few days, while the search volume for Japanese brands plummeted to a new low.

The same applies to physical stores. The once bustling Japanese department store on Nanjing Road in Shanghai closed several floors within a week, and the cosmetics and clothing sections that were still open posted notices of "renovation and adjustment".

Passersby glanced inside and saw only empty counters and workers packing and dismantling shelves.

Meanwhile, the situation within Japan is deteriorating at a visible rate.

The stock market line completely lost its support after the US statement.

The Japanese stock market opened with a gap down, and there wasn't even a decent rebound during the day. By the close, the price was one point lower than the opening price.

The atmosphere in the stock exchange hall was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe. Several retail investors squatted in a corner smoking, and no one cared about the cigarette ash scattered all over the floor.

The news from the manufacturing sector is even worse.

Honda and Nissan announced new production cuts on the same day, which together involve shutting down several production lines and temporarily furloughing thousands of employees.

Although Toyota has not officially announced production cuts, it has included "contingency plans to deal with a significant decline in market demand" in an internal memo.

A representative from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) made a blunt statement in an interview: "We have never seen such a rapid contraction in demand."

The electronics industry isn't much better off.

During the earnings calls of Sony and Panasonic, the most frequently asked questions by analysts were "When will sales in the Chinese market recover?" and "Are there any policy risks in the North American market?"

The management of both companies gave similar answers – "It is currently impossible to predict the timeline for recovery."

What troubles the Japanese government even more is the change in public sentiment.

The initial wave of boycotts originated from China, and the Japanese people could comfort themselves by saying it was external pressure.

Now that even the US has publicly removed the chairs, self-doubt among the Japanese people is surging out like a burst dam.

The voices of those who were initially defending the government on social media are fading, replaced by a wave of questioning.

Why did our allies abandon us in such a short time?

"Did we really do something wrong?"

Posts like these filled the homepages of major Japanese forums like snowflakes.

There aren't enough people to delete posts; for every one you delete, three more pop up.

The congressman who had previously been attacked for making inappropriate remarks seized the opportunity to speak out again.

He posted a video on his social media account in which he sat at his desk, holding a stack of documents he had previously presented to Congress. His tone was calm, but his words were incisive: "Our allies have withdrawn because they don't want to be held back by historical baggage. And us? When do we intend to unload this baggage?"

The video spread extremely quickly on Japanese websites, and the comment section was filled with heated arguments.

Some people criticized him for causing trouble at this critical juncture, while others replied, "He was telling the truth, it's just not pleasant to hear."

Lu Ran learned about these things on a Friday afternoon.

He was sitting in his office at the time, flipping through a weekly report sent by the operations department.

The data section of the weekly report is several pages longer than last week, detailing changes in user activity and consumer behavior trends in various regional markets, including China, Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.

He paused when he turned to the North American page—data showed that several TUTU games had seen a new surge in downloads in North America.

He knew what this meant.

When the American public begins to question why their government is supporting Japan, they will return to the game that made them aware of this history to verify, confirm, and solidify their judgment.

This iterative verification process allows the game to maintain high activity levels for a period of time, and each round of verification brings more new details to the attention of more people.

He closed the weekly report and put it aside, then picked up his phone and glanced at it.

A news notification popped up on the screen with the headline "Japan's central bank announces it will maintain its benchmark interest rate unchanged, disappointing market expectations."

He opened it, glanced at it twice, and then closed it.

He could guess the outcome without even reading the details—when the economy can't hold on, there's not much the central bank can do anyway.

Lu Ran put down his phone and was about to pick up the weekly report again when his phone vibrated again.

This time it wasn't a news notification, it was a phone call.

The caller ID showed a landline number, and the location displayed was Beijing.

He hesitated for a second but still answered.

"Hello, Mr. Lu, this is Xiao Zhou from the Golden Melody Awards organizing committee. I've contacted you before." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded very young, with a polite sense of urgency.

"Well, the Golden Melody Awards were postponed this year due to some unforeseen circumstances, and I can't go into the details here. The date has been rescheduled for the middle of next month. My supervisor asked me to call you to confirm how Professor Shen's health is and whether she's able to attend the awards ceremony."

Lu Ran leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.

Shen Yuege's physical condition is quite stable now, and the bulge in her lower abdomen is very slight. It is not noticeable at all when she wears a loose dress.

But instead of making the decision for her directly, he said, "She's perfectly healthy, no problem. But I'll talk to her later and give you final confirmation, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I completely understand." Xiao Zhou said "okay" twice, his tone noticeably more relaxed. "Then just call me back anytime after you confirm. Also, regarding the opening performance segment that you and Teacher Shen discussed before, it has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts. If you two are still willing, we hope to keep this segment. Of course, if Teacher Shen is not feeling well, we can adjust it."

"It should be fine. I'll confirm and let you know later."

After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran put his phone on the table.

He recalled what Shen Yuege had said during the preparations for last year's Golden Melody Awards: "Don't wear a windbreaker when you go on stage to accept your award."

Now it seems that her request was indeed reasonable.

When it comes to award ceremonies, no matter what you wear, you have to be worthy of the stage lights and the cameras in the audience.

He picked up his phone and sent Shen Yuege a message: "The Golden Melody Awards called, it's in the middle of next month. You should be fine going now, right? You'll definitely get the trophy, I can even get it for you."

Shen Yuege replied with a voice message immediately.

"No, I must accept my trophy in person. I'll definitely be there next month."

...