Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

Starting with the male lead Chen Xuedong, the main cast members of "Rush to the Dead Summer" took to the stage one by one.

The cheers from the fans who came to the scene grew louder and louder.

When it was Jiang Bai's turn to go on stage, what came into view was a bunch of fluorescent light signs.

Well, 50% belongs to Shuangzi, 40% to Chen Xuedong, and the remaining 10% to the other supporting actors.

Even Jiang Bai saw fans holding up light boards with the name "Zheng Hehuizi".

But there's no Jiang Bai.

Xu Xu had actually considered hiring a few people to pretend to be fans and hold up light boards.

Jiang Bai's resume was too clean; he had no previous works, and it would be too fake to have fake fans, so they gave up.

However, many of the fans who came to the scene may also be fans of Guo Jingming's original novel "Rush to the Dead Summer".

So when the host announced, "Next up is Jiang Bai, who plays Lu Zhiang in the drama," the book fans in the audience cheered in a very respectful manner.

Beauty is justice.

Although no one recognized this handsome guy named Jiang Bai.

But he's handsome!

In the original novel, the character Lu Zhiang was already very popular with book fans because he was a tragic character, and tragic characters are always more likely to attract fans.

So the book fans at the scene were quite satisfied that the production team found such a handsome actor to play Lu Zhiang.

Who can blame them when almost all of Guo Jingming's book fans are female?

Many female fans at the scene even took out their phones and snapped photos of Jiang Bai on stage, then posted them on Weibo to spread the news.

In the Weibo super topic community that had only been around for less than two months, posts about Jiang Bai began to appear like crazy in the super topic of the TV series "Rush to the Dead Summer".

Sisters, the actor who plays Lu Zhiang is so handsome! #pictures #pictures #pictures!

[#Picture#Picture#Picture# I need all the information on this guy named Jiang Bai within three minutes!]

【Lu Zhiang is the chosen one! This is exactly what I imagined Lu Zhiang to look like!】

[I've been looking forward to it for ages! The casting for "Rush to the Dead Summer" is amazing—the men are handsome and the women are beautiful; it's a paradise for those who appreciate good looks!]

[Link to Lu Zhiang's Weibo: @ActorJiangBai. He seems to be a complete newcomer; I wonder where the production team found him.]

[It's such a waste that this face isn't used to make TV dramas for us to watch. I'm totally into this Lu Zhiang!]

Of course, not everyone is praising it.

Some rational fans of the original work are also questioning why the production team chose a complete newcomer to play such an important second male lead.

Many people in the comments questioned whether the actor named Jiang Bai had some powerful background.

Fortunately, in 2016, the term "resource-backed celebrities" was not yet widely used, and fan culture was still in its early stages of development. The environment within the fandom was much more tolerant than it would be ten years later.

Although there were some dissenting voices, they did not generate much of a stir under Jiang Bai's authoritative and handsome face.

On Weibo, the hashtag for the TV series "Rush to the Dead Summer" has already caused a stir because of Jiang Bai's appearance.

At the press conference, Jiang Bai stood like an ant, merely a background figure on the stage, watching the male and female leads interact and promote the film to the fans.

In the twenty-odd minutes, Jiang Bai only said two sentences: one was a self-introduction, and the other was an imitation of Lu Zhiang's classic line.

Then he stood with Zheng Hehuizi and posed for a few photos for fans and media present, thus concluding his press conference segment.

There were no media interviews, and no need to deal with tricky questions.

After leaving the stage, he went straight backstage.

Ji Xuan, the assistant assigned to him by the company, immediately came up to him with her phone in hand.

"Brother Jiang, a lot of people on Weibo are curious about you!"

"You gained over 2000 followers on Weibo in less than half an hour!"

Jiang Bai took the phone and quickly browsed the fan page for the drama "Rush to the Dead Summer".

It's alright. The fans of the original work are more forgiving than he imagined, and they seem quite satisfied with his first appearance.

His company also registered a new verified Weibo account for him, which had tens of thousands of followers, and some active comments appeared.

This new account has only posted one blog post.

The content is a photograph.

Jiang Bai, wearing a white shirt, stood under the shade of a large tree, smiling brightly as he showed the camera the script for "Rush to the Dead Summer".

The accompanying message read: "Hello, I am Lu Zhiang."

Dozens of fresh comments flooded the comments section.

"I'm all for Lu Zhiang!"

"Her features are as if they were drawn with perfect precision using a compass and ruler. The distance between her eyebrows and eyes is just right, her nose bridge is perfectly high, and her dimples when she smiles are so sweet they're heartwarming. I love it!"

"His bone structure is absolutely stunning! His brow bones are high and prominent, his jawline is so sharp it looks like it was carved with a knife, he's handsome from the front, and his profile is so smooth it could be used as an aesthetic textbook!"

"The silhouette under natural light has a built-in soft-focus filter; it's like being blessed with natural beauty!"

"Who wouldn't call him 'husband' after seeing this?"

"Honey, look at my abs."

It can only be said that across the internet, everyone seems to have taken off their masks.

Jiang Bai, experiencing the overwhelming flattery from fangirls for the first time, felt like he was digging a three-bedroom apartment out of his toes.

He knew he was handsome, and people had always praised him for it in his past life.

But in real life, no one has ever said anything like that to him...

It's really hard to accept right now.

"Ahem..." Jiang Bai awkwardly handed his phone back to his assistant.

"All in all, isn't this a good thing?"

"Of course it's a good thing!" Xu Xu, who had been keeping an eye on online opinions, hurriedly walked in from outside and said with a big smile, "Your start is already very good."

"Most of the fans who follow 'Rush to the Dead Summer' are very satisfied with your image."

"The praise far outweighed the criticism."

"Many fans of the original work are looking forward to your performance."

"As long as your acting is good, all these people will be your potential fans in the future!"

Xu Xu was overjoyed.

Jiang Bai's debut today can be described as a resounding success.

He had already figured out how to release press releases to promote him.

Press releases can be made in droves, such as "People's Choice Lu Zhiang," "The Newcomer Actor Who Best Fits the Original Character," and "The Original Author's Strong Recommendation."

At least the current public opinion is quite positive!

In the era of traffic, marketing comes first!

When the Jukeai Studio was first established, it only had three core members.

One is Dai Lu, who oversees production, and the other is Xu Xu, who is in charge of artist management.

The last one is Wu Xue, who is in charge of publicity and marketing.

This demonstrates just how important the promotion and marketing of films, television dramas, and celebrities are in the era of internet traffic.

Wu Xue had already prepared many publicity and marketing plans for Jiang Bai, which would be adjusted according to different public opinion trends.

Jiang Bai took it all in stride.

No matter how good the marketing is, in the end, it all comes down to how well the show is broadcast.

Four days later, the crew will officially begin filming.

Whether it's a mule or a horse, you'll only know after you've put it to the test.