Huayu Entertainment: It was the young actress who took the initiative.

In the following days, Chen Mo's Weibo followers grew at a rapid and visible rate.

Before the Running Man show aired, thanks to the behind-the-scenes footage of "Eternal Love," his fan count remained stable at around 400,000.

This is already quite a lot for an actor whose show hasn't even aired yet, but it's still some distance from becoming a true "viral sensation".

The day after Running Man aired, the number of fans exceeded 600,000.

On the third day, 800,000.

On the fifth day, 1.03 million.

"It's broken one million."

Wang Lihua's voice on the other end of the phone was tinged with laughter.

"And it's still growing. At this rate, it should reach 1.5 million next week."

Chen Mo scrolled through the discussions on Weibo.

His name is still on the trending topics list, but the topic has expanded from simply "Chen Mo's figure" to a wider range of discussions.

The most discussed topic was a Weibo post by a well-known figure in the fitness industry.

This big shot, whose ID is "Iron-Blooded Akai," is an authoritative figure in the domestic fitness circle with millions of followers.

He rarely comments on matters in the entertainment industry, but this time he unusually posted a long Weibo post:

"Recently, many people have asked me what I think of @ChenMo's figure."

To be honest, at first I thought it was just some troll trying to make me offend someone.

But after watching the full Running Man episode and some gym videos dug up by netizens, I changed my mind.

Let me state my conclusion first:

Judging from his appearance, Chen Mo's physique is at the pinnacle of what can be achieved through natural fitness.

The reasons are as follows:

First, the muscles are proportionally balanced and do not exhibit any pharmacological characteristics of localized overdevelopment.

Secondly, the body fat percentage is estimated to be below 10%, maintaining both a toned physique and functionality.

Third, top-notch athletic performance.

Someone posted a video of him deadlifting 240 kg at the gym. I watched the video, and his form was perfect and his power delivery was smooth.

With a weight of around 75 kilograms, lifting a weight 3.2 times his own body weight is absolutely top-tier among natural fitness enthusiasts.

Some netizens also asked me who has a better physique, him or Eddie Peng.

All I can say is that Eddie Peng has a great physique and his self-discipline is admirable.

Objectively speaking, however, Chen Mo's athletic performance data is superior.

What does it mean to deadlift 240 kg?

Many professional athletes in China cannot necessarily do this.

In conclusion: Eddie Peng's physique is achievable for an average person through self-discipline, while Chen Mo's physique, in addition to requiring self-discipline, demands far more innate talent.

This professional analysis quickly went viral.

Fans in the fitness community shared the post, and netizens from the entertainment industry also came to watch.

The comments section was even more lively:

"The big boss has confirmed it: Chen Mo's physique is genuine!"

"A 240 kg deadlift??? I struggle to lift even 80 kg..."

"So there's a reason he's so popular; with that level of self-discipline, he deserves to be famous!"

"Even more amazing than Eddie Peng? My god, a new national fitness icon is about to be born!"

"From today onwards, Chen Mo will be my motivation for working out!"

As the discussion heated up, Chen Mo's image in the public eye gradually changed from "a somewhat popular young idol" to "a self-disciplined and hardworking tough guy actor".

Some have even started to describe him as the "new generation of national fitness god," and he seems to be poised to replace Eddie Peng in the fitness self-discipline persona.

Its popularity among the public has visibly increased.

However, with fame comes trouble.

Amidst the chorus of praise, a discordant voice began to emerge.

On a forum known as a "gathering place for straight men," someone posted:

"Chen Mo is a real man; all those idols these days are effeminate!"

The post compared Chen Mo to several popular young male celebrities, using exaggerated language to the extreme.

While elevating Chen Mo to a pedestal, they belittled other popular celebrities, making them seem worthless.

These posts, which used derogatory and provocative language, were quickly reposted to platforms such as Weibo.

Some more radical individuals started attacking various platforms, flooding the comment sections of other celebrities' Weibo accounts.

Comments like "Look at Chen Mo" and "This is a real man, you guys are all sissies" are common.

The consequences were predictable.

The fans of those popular celebrities were enraged and began to fight back.

Chen Mo's Weibo comment section was immediately flooded with messages.

"Who does he think he is? Just because he has a few muscles doesn't make him any better than everyone else?"

"He's got a knack for self-promotion and putting others down; this washed-up celebrity is desperate for fame, isn't he?"

"Keep your rabid fans in check, don't let them bite people everywhere!"

"Hilarious! Just because she appeared on Running Man, she thinks she's a big star?"

Even more offensive insults followed.

Looks like there are bad guys among the crowd? Trying to use me as a weapon?

Chen Mo scrolled through the malicious comments, pondering what to do.

"Should we issue a statement? Or contact the fan club to manage the fans?"

Wang Lihua made the suggestion on the other end of the phone.

"Issuing a statement now would make me seem guilty, so I'm guiding fans to speak rationally in the fan group."

Then we deleted some overly extreme comments to avoid escalating the conflict, but we didn't intervene excessively.

Wang Lihua felt a sense of admiration as she listened to Chen Mo's calm voice on the phone.

She had seen many young artists lose control of their emotions when faced with cyberbullying when they first entered the industry.

But the composure Chen Mo displayed, beyond his years, was indeed quite rare.

"So we'll continue with our work as usual, ignoring all this?"

"Yes, normal publicity and normal work. 'Eternal Love' is about to air, so let's focus on publicity first. This noise will probably dissipate naturally in a few days."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Lihua began arranging for her team to do some public relations work.

That evening, Chen Mo received a call from Yang Mi.

"You saw the Weibo post?" Yang Mi asked directly.

"Um."

"You handled it well; you managed to stay calm."

Yang Mi first praised him, and then said:

"This kind of mudslinging and inciting conflict is clearly orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. Once you become famous, naturally some people will want to bring you down."

"Does Honey know who it is?"

"I'm not sure, but the circle is only so big, and it's always the same people coming and going, but none of that matters."

The important thing to remember is that in the entertainment industry, being criticized means you still have value; if no one criticizes you, you're just a washed-up celebrity.

You seem to have a lot of experience with this.

Chen Mo couldn't help but chuckle when he heard Yang Mi's words:

"Is Honey trying to comfort me?"

"I'm worried that you're so young, and this is the first time you've faced something like this, you might not be able to handle it..."

"Thank you for your concern, Sister Honey."

Chen Mo felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing the worry in Yang Mi's voice and thanked her.

"Just saying thank you?"

"Understood. I'll have my younger brother pay a visit another day."

"Hate!"

Yang Mi's reproachful tone came from the other end of the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo walked to the window.

Outside the window, the streets of Beijing on a winter night are bustling with traffic and flashing neon lights.

He recalled the days in his previous life when he struggled on the fringes of the entertainment industry. Back then, he wasn't even qualified to be discussed, let alone criticized.

The current turmoil only proves that he is on the right path.

Controversy and attention are the prerequisites for opportunity.

That night, discussions about Chen Mo continued to ferment online.

Some people praise it, some criticize it, and some remain indifferent.

Regardless, the name Chen Mo has truly entered the public eye.