Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

Chapter 85 Bangkok Airport Falls!

Shanghai Hongqiao Airport is bathed in clear skies with stable airflow.

After a brief rest and wait, the international flight carrying Jiang Bai, Tian Xiwei, and their team took off on time, breaking through the clouds and flying towards Bangkok, Thailand, thousands of miles away.

Jiang Bai and Xiao Tian sat in first class, their agents sat in business class, and the rest of the passengers sat in economy class, clearly separating them.

This is also the most cost-effective approach.

During the four-hour international flight, the atmosphere inside the cabin was quiet and relaxed.

After relieving the fatigue of rushing to the set for several days, Tian Xiwei leaned on Jiang Bai's shoulder, closed her eyes and took a short rest, her brows and eyes relaxed, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Jiang Bai turned his head to look at the layers of clouds outside the window. He wasn't sleepy at all and was thinking about his plans for the day.

The team had already conducted thorough research on the current popularity of "A Love So Beautiful" in Southeast Asia.

Both of their management teams were well aware that this trip to Thailand would inevitably attract a great deal of attention, and they made preparations in advance for security, itinerary management, and public opinion control.

Even with prior estimates of the hype, no one could have predicted that this grand overseas airport welcome would break the record for the most enthusiastic overseas welcome of Chinese celebrities in the past two years.

The flight was smooth and landed on time at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport at around 1 p.m. Bangkok time.

After the plane came to a complete stop, the first-class passengers were the first to disembark.

Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei kept a low profile throughout the process, following staff members to enter the country in an orderly manner, and proceeding along the exclusive VIP channel.

The team originally expected that fans would only gather in the airport's public exit area, waiting in an orderly manner and offering gentle support, without causing congestion or chaos.

But the moment the group walked out of the VIP passage and turned the corner into the airport hall, the sound of the entire world instantly overturned everyone's perception.

Buzz—

The overwhelming screams, cheers, and shouts of support swept in like a tidal wave, making people's eardrums vibrate.

Looking around, the huge airport arrival hall was packed with people, shoulder to shoulder.

As far as Jiang Bai could see, there were crowds of people, raised light boards, colorful banners, and fluttering support flags.

The once wide and unobstructed airport passageway was now completely blocked, with people packed in layers, even filling the gaps between passageways, creating an unprecedentedly grand scene.

This is not a small-scale support event for ordinary domestic entertainment stars going abroad, but a top-level airport welcome event comparable to the overseas trips of real international superstars.

Previously, Jiang Bai had seen news reports and videos of Huang Jingyu holding a fan meeting in South Korea.

He became a sensation in South Korea with the movie "Addicted".

After comparing it in his mind, Jiang Baifa realized that the popularity, scale, and crowds that greeted him at the airport were even greater than those for Huang Jingyu in South Korea.

On both sides of the passage, thousands of local Thai fans, local Chinese, international students, fans who came from Vietnam, and cross-border fans from Malaysia and Singapore gathered here.

The news that they were coming to Thailand had been announced a week in advance, since they were also going to hold a fan meeting.

Moreover, the local television station had announced in advance that the two would be coming to record a program.

That's why so many fans came to greet him at the airport, crowding the entire waiting hall.

Countless mobile phones, cameras, and video cameras were raised high, their lenses aimed at the exit, and the sound of shutters clicking incessantly, crisp and dense, like a torrential downpour that never stopped.

Reporters from various Southeast Asian media outlets, entertainment bloggers, and local entertainment channel production teams were already on standby.

All cameras and microphones were pointed at the scene, just to capture the two of them on camera as soon as possible and seize the first news material.

"Jiang Bai!"

"Tian Xi Wei!"

The loud and clear cheers rose and fell throughout the entire venue.

Shouts in Thai, Chinese, and English mingled together.

Someone was calling out their Thai names.

But many fans imitated the Chinese pronunciation of the two names and shouted their names in relatively complete Chinese.

Although it's about feet, it's about sincerity.

Countless fans trembled with excitement, standing on tiptoe and waving vigorously, their eyes filled with fervor and joy.

Some fans were so emotional that their eyes reddened, and they choked up as they called out the names of the two.

To be honest, Jiang Bai was shocked by the scene.

He only aired one TV series in Southeast Asia!

He's not a star who's been working in Southeast Asia for a long time, nor is he one of those K-pop idols who have plenty of stages to repeatedly gain fans.

How can these Thai and Vietnamese fans be so enthusiastic just because of a school drama?!

They seem even more fanatical than his fans in China!

The crowd surged and the atmosphere remained heated. Even with the airport security team in place in advance and lined up to block and guide the flow of people, they were still unable to suppress the surging crowd.

The crowd surged forward, almost breaking through the security line, forcing staff to constantly adjust their formation to firmly protect the passage and clear a route for the two people.

Within minutes, airport access was completely restricted, with the passageways for ordinary passengers blocked by crowds, and the entire arrival hall nearly paralyzed.

Such a scene is enough to demonstrate the terrifying popularity the two currently enjoy in Southeast Asia.

Whether Huang Jingyu actually paralyzed the South Korean airport is unknown, but Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei definitely paralyzed Bangkok International Airport.

This out-of-control spectacle completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

Before their departure, Xu Xu and Tian Xiwei's agent, Sister Li, had already finalized the complete security plan with the local Thai team.

From the VIP exclusive access route and the spacing between security posts on both sides, to the crowd diversion and control and the division of media shooting areas, every detail has been repeatedly simulated, making it a top-level emergency plan in the industry.

They originally thought that with this plan, even if there were a large number of fans, it would be enough to ensure that the two could pass through smoothly and there would be no crowding, blockade, or loss of control.

But witnessing the overwhelming crowds firsthand, the two realized that they had greatly underestimated the popularity of "A Love So Beautiful" in Southeast Asia, and even more so the fervor of the local fans.

The contingency plan anticipates orderly onlookers and gentle support.

The reality was that the crowds were huge and everyone was restless.

The massive crowd of people waiting to greet the arriving passengers surged forward like a tidal wave, far exceeding the capacity of conventional security measures to suppress them.

The airport's fixed security personnel on duty were all in place, each on high alert, doing their best to stop the crowd.

Unfortunately, the people in the front row were constantly being pushed forward by those behind them, and the defensive line was on the verge of collapse time and time again.

Left with no other option, the airport had to urgently dispatch perimeter patrol and mobile security personnel to provide support.

A large number of uniformed security personnel quickly assembled, forming a human wall to guard the passageway and barely keep the surging crowd at bay.

The cacophony of voices, shrill screams, and the incessant clicking of camera shutters created a deafening roar, making one's eardrums ring; the scene was utterly chaotic.

Tian Xiwei, who was at the center of the storm, was also somewhat at a loss for what to do in this situation.

Her figure was petite, and she was swept up by the surging crowd and the noise around her. She subconsciously tensed up slightly, took a step closer to Jiang Bai, and her eyes showed a hint of panic.

Surrounded by unfamiliar foreign faces, filled with cheers in incomprehensible Thai, and with countless cameras pointed intently at you, such a large-scale spectacle inevitably makes one feel somewhat uneasy.

Jiang Bai keenly sensed the nervousness of the girl beside him.

He instinctively turned to the side, stretched out his long arm, and firmly grasped Tian Xiwei's wrist. With a little force, he gently pulled her to his side, raised his hand to protect her shoulder, and held her firmly in his arms.

He himself turned slightly to the side, his back straight, firmly blocking Tian Xiwei from the crowd in front of her.

A dense array of cameras and an overwhelming wave of noise.

His posture was upright and steady, exuding a strong sense of security, keeping all the chaos and noise outside, leaving only a peaceful little world in his arms.

But that one moment of physical contact and the protective gesture that showed his overflowing boyfriend power completely ignited the already frenzied atmosphere.

The screams and cheers that had been rising and falling suddenly increased several decibels, becoming even more turbulent and enthusiastic, almost lifting the ceiling of the entire airport terminal.

Countless fans who were waving and filming were instantly captivated by this scene, their eyes lighting up and their emotions completely overwhelmed.

The hall was filled with a dense cacophony of excited and jubilant shouts in Thai, delivered at a rapid pace and brimming with high spirits.

Jiang Bai couldn't understand a word of these foreign languages, but some local Chinese were shouting.

He could accurately guess the fans' inner thoughts from their excited tone, jubilant expressions, and the rhythm of their cheers.

It's nothing more than the straightforward and enthusiastic sentiments and screams of "the on-screen couple is showing affection in real life, they're even sweeter in real life than in the drama, and their mutual tenderness is just too adorable."

Countless fans frantically held up their phones, desperately trying to capture this iconic moment with the shoulder pad.

The camera flashed continuously, capturing the scene of Jiang Bai calmly protecting others and Tian Xiwei obediently snuggling against him.

The girls in the front row were so excited that they kept stomping their feet and screaming while covering their mouths, but they couldn't bear to look away even for a second.

Fans in the back row held up banners and light boards, chanting the names of the two artists repeatedly. The cheers, a mix of Chinese and Thai, once again resounded throughout the airport.

The media reporters at the scene were immediately impressed and couldn't stop clicking their cameras.

This tender and heartwarming scene was captured on video and uploaded to the internet in just a few minutes.

It is foreseeable that their interaction will soon become a trending topic on the internet in China and Southeast Asia.

After waiting a while longer, more security personnel finally joined in to maintain order.

The situation at the scene was finally brought under control.

Actually, there weren't many fans who came to pick up Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei at the airport; it was probably close to a thousand people.

If this were a concert, it would probably fill one stage of the stadium with a thousand people.

But because it was in an airport, it was packed with people.

After the scene stabilized, Jiang Bai looked up at the enthusiastic fans on both sides, raised his hand and waved gently in greeting, his movements gentle and proper.

Even without the filters of his on-screen persona, he is still incredibly handsome in real life, with refined and three-dimensional features and an outstanding presence.

No need for any extra styling; her natural aura alone instantly captivated the audience, raising the screams and cheers to another decibel.

Tian Xiwei, standing to the side, was even sweeter. With a bright smile and crescent-shaped eyes, she waved and nodded to the fans on both sides, her soft and endearing appearance making her incredibly approachable.

The energetic and lively young woman stunned Bangkok the moment she appeared.

Occasionally, when fans shout "Go for it!" or "Welcome to Thailand!" in Chinese, she will stop and respond softly with a smile.

Her well-behaved and gentle appearance instantly won over countless fans.

The two walked side by side, their temperaments complementing each other and their looks matching. This eye-catching scene brought the cheers and camera shutters to a fever pitch, with every lens locked on the two, unwilling to miss a single moment.

Meanwhile, the online buzz had already exploded the moment the two landed, dominating the charts and trending on social media.

Half an hour before the plane was about to land.

Related hashtags such as #JiangBaiThailandAirport# and #WelcomeJiangBaiTianXiWei# have quickly climbed to the top of the real-time trending list on Thai Twitter.

As the two officially appeared at the airport, fan-taken photos and short videos were uploaded to the internet in real time, causing the online buzz to explode instantly.

Within minutes, Jiang Bai dominated three of the top ten trending topics on Thai Twitter.

First place: #Jiangbai arrives at Bangkok Airport#

Third place: #The male lead of A Love So Beautiful becomes a hit in Thailand#

Seventh place: #JiangBaiChinaHandsomeGuy#

Not just the Thai domestic rankings.

On social media platforms in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and other Southeast Asian countries, a large number of fans are also following the couple's real-time updates.

These are fan-taken videos taken by fans at the scene, taken from a passerby's perspective. They are unedited and unfiltered, and they truly record the sensational scene of the huge crowds at the airport.

Within just five minutes of being uploaded to the external network, the number of views exceeded one million, and the number of likes, shares, and comments skyrocketed at an astonishing speed.

The company just registered Instagram accounts for them, but they've already gained over a million followers each, even after just passing the real-name authentication.

Tian Xiwei's Instagram account, W—tian, has already amassed 180 million followers after simply sharing a still from a drama.

Jiang Bai's account posted one more post than Tian Xiwei's. In addition to stills from the drama, he also posted a behind-the-scenes photo from filming on set, and his account has reached 265 million followers.

The comment section of overseas netizens was completely flooded with messages.

"This is the male lead from 'A Love So Beautiful'! He's even more handsome in person than in the drama!"

"This is the first time I've seen a Chinese celebrity receive such extravagant treatment at a Thai airport; they're being treated like top-tier superstars!"

"His temperament is so clean and gentle, he exudes youthful charm, I instantly became a fan!"

"Chen Xiaoxi and Jiang Chen appeared together offline! My youth is complete!"

"No wonder this drama swept across Southeast Asia; who could resist its good looks and atmosphere!"

It's not just ordinary netizens who are discussing it.

Several mainstream Thai entertainment media outlets and television stations quickly published articles, photos, and videos from the scene, providing full coverage of the couple's trip to Thailand.

The grand welcome at the airport quickly became the focus of public opinion throughout Southeast Asia.

Regardless of the country, the media are all the same: whoever has the most traffic and the most current buzz will be the subject of fierce competition for news reports.

These overseas media reports were quickly redirected back to the domestic entertainment industry.

The saying "flowers bloom outside the wall but their fragrance lingers inside" applies here.

It's worth noting that before this, while Chinese celebrities going overseas generated buzz, it was mostly limited to their fan base for self-entertainment.

Most of the so-called overseas airport pick-up news is actually organized by local Chinese and international student groups.

Essentially, it's still the domestic fans who are making the effort, making it difficult to break through the circle and attract the attention of ordinary people abroad, let alone dominate the charts in multiple countries and get collective follow-up reports from mainstream media.

The last foreign celebrity to achieve this level of nationwide sensation, media frenzy, and airport paralysis in Southeast Asia was the K-pop idol groups.

Jiang Bai and Tian Xiwei created a peak myth of Chinese entertainment going global with the drama "A Love So Beautiful", completely breaking the predicament of the sluggishness of Chinese entertainment going global in recent years, which is indeed worthy of being written about in detail.

Let's turn our attention back to the scene of people arriving at the airport.

The security team remained on high alert throughout, carefully protecting the two as they moved forward steadily.

It took us nearly ten minutes to walk through the airport passageway, which is only a little over a hundred meters long.

Upon reaching the exit, a fleet of private vehicles was already parked outdoors, and security personnel were doing their utmost to set up a cordon to prevent crowds from getting too close.

Just before getting into the car, Jiang Bai stopped, turned around to face the fans in the audience, bowed slightly, and waved goodbye gently.

"Thank you, thank you everyone for coming to pick me up at the airport."

"I can already feel the enthusiasm of the Thai fans."

"I hope we can meet again at a fan meeting in the future!"

"Love you all!"

Tian Xiwei also waved sweetly and made a cute heart gesture to the crowd, sincerely responding to every bit of affection that came from afar.

This scene was captured precisely by countless cameras, leaving behind a series of airport photos before the two finally got into the car.

Once inside the car and the door is closed, shutting out the noise and excitement of the outside world, the car finally returns to quiet.

Tian Xiwei let out a long breath, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief. She turned to look at Jiang Bai, her tone tinged with astonishment: "This is too unbelievable!"

"My team told me before that we were very popular overseas, but I never expected to be this popular. The entire airport was full of fans who came for us!"

She has never seen such a top-notch and grand airport reception since her debut.

Even the offline events of top domestic celebrities might not achieve the sensational effect of causing airport paralysis.

Jiang Bai smiled faintly upon hearing this. He was indeed somewhat shocked and surprised, but in front of Tian Xiwei, he still tried to analyze the scene.

"The subject matter of 'A Love So Beautiful' is well-suited to the Southeast Asian market. Its clean and pure youthful romance has no cultural barriers and is most likely to evoke empathy from the general public."

"Given the initial buzz generated by the short videos being shared on foreign websites, the current success, while somewhat unexpected, is understandable."

In its past, domestic entertainment industry youth dramas were a powerful tool for going global.

The trilogy of "A Love So Beautiful," "Put Your Head on My Shoulder," and "Meteor Garden" is poised to dominate the Southeast Asian youth drama market for the next few years.

In this life, however, he personally started this trend, igniting the era of Chinese youth dramas going overseas ahead of schedule, making this popularity earlier, more intense, and more extreme.

Agent Xu Xu sat to the side, watching the rapidly refreshing trending search data in China and Southeast Asia on his phone, the soaring number of Instagram followers, and the constant stream of media invitations. His eyes were filled with undisguised joy and emotion.

Having been in the industry for many years, he knows all too well the value of this popularity.

Even if this is just a fleeting bubble of popularity, it's still an overseas market buzz that no other star in the Chinese entertainment industry can achieve!

It's the ultimate overseas popularity that countless artists dream of and can only dream of!

Regardless of how many real fans Jiang Bai can convert from the drama's popularity in Southeast Asia after the show's popularity fades, there's no point in discussing how many of these drama fans will become actual fans.

At least for now, when news of his sensational overseas activities returns to China, his domestic fans are sure to be furious.

While our brother is conquering new territories abroad, we at home must also cheer for him and offer our hearts and teeth!

On Weibo, the "white rice" fans launched a massive military campaign, with their troops rampaging and causing chaos.

I'm not targeting any particular family, but everyone except Megan and Reed, please stand up!

Do you have any idols with such a high level of overseas influence? May I ask?

Can your idols cause chaos at Bangkok airport just by visiting Bangkok?

Do your idols get to be greeted by thousands of foreign fans at the airport?

I'm a little reluctant to chat with you lowly scoundrels who are practically unknown abroad.

We're no longer on the same level.

Do you even know what an international superstar is?!

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