Huayu: From "Good Fortune Across the Sky" to becoming a top star

The evening news broadcast is still a few minutes away.

The TV screen was showing a video of Zuli Jian elderly shoes.

Jiang Xun leaned against the headboard, bored out of his mind, and habitually took out his phone to scroll through Douyin (TikTok). Xiao Tian, ​​on the other hand, was holding the bucket of potato chips he hadn't finished, his eyes glued to the TV, crunching away, eagerly anticipating his second moment in the news.

"Do you think CCTV might give me more screen time?" Xiao Tian asked without turning her head, her tone filled with dreamy anticipation. "What if they do a special report on it... hehehehe."

"That's definitely not the case."

Jiang Xun's finger swiped across the screen.

His content has completely taken over the recommendation page on Douyin. Eight out of ten posts are related to him, some praising his horseback riding skills, some analyzing his short film shots, some criticizing him for being illiterate, and some marketing accounts are listing the "Top Ten Viral Ordinary People of 2018," with him firmly holding the number one spot.

He scrolled down expressionlessly.

Then I came across one.

A verified account, identified as a "senior media professional," posted a profile picture of a middle-aged man in a suit. The video content was a compilation of all of Jiang Xun's publicly released clips, accompanied by the account holder's vivid voice-over, each word sounding like a judgment being read aloud against Jiang Xun.

"A cowherd who didn't even finish junior high school became an idol adored by the entire internet overnight. His short videos have over 100 million views, his live streams have 3 million viewers, he has become a publicity ambassador for his hometown, even official media outlets have come forward to support him, and Douyin (TikTok) has enabled long video functionality for him."

"I want to ask, on what grounds?"

"Those students who have studied diligently for twelve years, those art students who have trained hard for four years in professional schools, those actors who have struggled in the entertainment industry for more than ten years—are they not as good as the face of a school dropout?"

"This isn't inspirational, it's anti-intellectual."

"What we admire is not talent, nor hard work, but a carefully packaged persona of innocence."

"Today we can make Jiang Xun famous, tomorrow we can make any good-looking person famous."

"But then what? When the hype dies down, when the buzz cools, when netizens' attention shifts to the next sweet and wild boy, who will pay for this distorted aesthetic? Jiang Xun himself? He's just a symbol pushed to the forefront."

"What we should really reflect on is every click, every like, and every comment from 'husband'."

"We created this carnival ourselves."

The video ended. The screen went dark.

Jiang Xun stared at the black screen, motionless.

Those words were piercing and incredibly harsh, but he didn't really care.

What he cared about was that Xiaotian was still beside him.

Although her eyes were fixed on the television, she kept an eye on his movements, occasionally stealing glances out of the corner of her eye.

An idea suddenly popped into his head.

He threw his phone onto the bed, then collapsed onto the pillow with a thud, closing his eyes.

Oda: "???"

"Jiang Xun? What's wrong?"

Jiang Xun remained motionless despite her calls.

As it turns out, Jiang Xun's acting skills were indeed quite good.

In Xiaotian's eyes, his face was terribly pale, and the veins on his face were bulging. For a moment, she even wondered if he had some kind of heart problem.

She panicked, her eyes involuntarily reddened, and her voice choked with sobs.

"Jiang Xun!" Tian Xiwei grabbed Jiang Xun's shoulders and shook him violently. "Jiang Xun, wake up!"

For a moment, Jiang Xun almost lost his composure because Xiao Tian pinched his flesh, which hurt a little.

But the play had already gone this far, so he could only keep going.

Xiao Tian shook the phone for a long time without any response, and frantically pulled out his phone to call 120.

The dial tone "1-2-0" had only rung twice when Jiang Xun could no longer pretend and suddenly opened his eyes: "I'm fine."

Xiao Tian's finger paused at the top of the screen, she hesitated for a second, then slowly raised her head and looked into Jiang Xun's eyes.

"You were faking it?"

Those two words carried anger, like the calm before a storm.

Jiang Xun realized he'd gone too far with the joke, fearing she might attack him at any moment. His mind raced, and he blurted out, "No, no, I just... I did feel a little uneasy just now. You might not believe it, but my mother had this kind of illness before she passed away, so there might be some genetic factor..."

Xiaotian stared at him for two seconds, the anger in her eyes slowly subsiding, replaced by a mixture of doubt and concern.

"How are you now? Should I take you to the hospital to get checked out?"

"No need, no need." Jiang Xun quickly sat up, patted his chest, and tried his best to put on a lively expression. "I'm perfectly healthy and full of energy!"

Xiaotian didn't say anything, but just stared at him with her big eyes, as if trying to determine whether he was lying.

Just then, the sound of the evening news broadcast came on the television.

The host sat upright in front of the studio, delivering the announcement in a clear and articulate voice:

"Today, a young Tibetan man named Jiang Xun has become an internet sensation. While his rise to fame has an element of chance, it has also allowed us to see the beauty of his hometown. This shows that if traffic is guided properly, it can become a positive force. However, traffic should not be abused; it must be used effectively to revitalize and utilize our beautiful resources..."

The message consisted of just a few words, without any accompanying pictures; the host simply read it aloud.

"No pictures were uploaded." Oda's tone was somewhat regretful, finally her attention had been diverted.

Jiang Xun quickly replied, "That's good. After all, it's 'Xinwen Lianbo' (the nightly news program on CCTV). Being on it is a success."

After the evening news program ended, the weather forecast melody began to play.

Oda picked up the remote and switched the channel to the news channel.

"Oriental Horizon" has just started.

This was quite impressive. The host was standing in the studio, and behind him, a short film clip of "Jiang Xun and Xin Long" was prominently displayed on the large screen.

It's clear they're going to report on this as a major event.

that's the truth.

Of the entire 30-minute program, 13 minutes, or nearly half, were dedicated to Jiang Xun.

It not only mentions Jiang Xun, but also devotes a lot of space to showcasing the appearance of Xinlong County, what it was like before it became famous, what it is becoming after its rise to fame, and its prospects for the future. The efforts made by the local cultural and tourism departments and their subsequent response are all clearly explained.

Xiaotian watched intently, her expression becoming incredibly excited. She had just roughly calculated that her own screen time alone was almost a minute!

"Jiang Xun, we did it!"

"Yes, yes, it worked! It worked!" Jiang Xun echoed.

Tian Xiwei took out her phone, not to send a message to her mother, but to turn down the volume and open Douyin again to search for information about Jiang Xun.

She thought that Jiang Xun's reputation would improve somewhat, since several news articles had praised the significance of his rise to fame.

However, the truth is quite the opposite.

……