Generation Z Artists

Chapter 121 Creates Another Social Sensation

The publication of "Time" magazine held extraordinary significance for Fang Xinghe.

Because becoming a cover figure for Time magazine is considered by the public to be one of the second-highest honors—specifically in the current era.

Fang Xinghe himself wasn't interested in this, but he really wanted to figure out how much Star Points this level of "honor" could bring.

With each wave of popularity, he no longer lacks star points. Optimistically, he should be able to raise all his physical attributes to 89 points by the end of May, after which star points will only be used to enhance skills.

However, this also means new troubles.

Star Points are too hard to get.

A large number of casual fans are of no use in meeting this demand; generally, only die-hard fans and die-hard fans can meet the standards.

However, he has already reached the limit in refining his fanbase. In the idol writer track, no one can do better. Even the combined peak periods of Han Han and Guo Jingming do not match his core scale. Without a doubt, this is the ceiling of the times.

So, which direction should we take next?
It depends on a key data point – the Star Points feedback from each level of honor.

From the perspective of literature and culture alone, the highest level and most recognized by the Chinese people should be the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Fang Xinghe vehemently dislikes the two stinking ideological prizes of the Nobel Prize in Literature and Peace, but he has to admit their supreme influence worldwide and the current worship and superstition of them among the Chinese people.

The next level is a mix of regional and language awards, as well as professional awards.

Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Booker Prize, Cervantes Prize, etc.

Then there are national single awards.

Mao Dun Literature Prize, National Book Award, Akutagawa Prize/Naoki Prize, etc.

Other specialized awards, though not widely favored by the mainstream, are actually quite prestigious, such as the Hugo/Nebula Awards and the Hans Christian Andersen Awards.

The Time magazine cover star is not an award, but according to Fang Xinghe's estimate, the sense of honor it brings to fans should be comparable to the Mao Dun Literature Prize or the Victor Hugo Award.

Even if it can't be completely on par with international standards, it's at least equivalent to international recognition, a level that fans can brag about openly while haters have no way to refute it.

Fang Xinghe felt no moral discomfort about accepting Western stamps.

Because our mother always taught us that confrontation is confrontation, making money is making money, cooperating in confrontation, and being independent in cooperation, using the other party's money to hone our skills, this is the true essence of development.

Domestic elites have a strong consensus on this kind of thing—how to do business with the West, do it normally, and how to guard against them, guard against them with high standards.

Therefore, public opinion holds two different attitudes toward Huawei and Lenovo.

The head of the online army is certainly an elite, so Fang Xinghe can clearly distinguish between "striving for Western honors" and "conducting cultural resistance." He just looks down on a few overly politicized and disgusting double-standard awards.

Of course, we should strive for other legitimate awards if we have the opportunity.

People in China today value this; acquiring one more can boost their confidence, which is actually very valuable and meaningful.

Fang Xinghe himself doesn't care about Olympic gold medals, international literary awards, or the three major European awards, because in 2030 we really won't need awards to prove anything anymore.

But if he were alive in 2000, and were to continue spouting empty rhetoric like "I disdain accepting Western awards" and using his personal influence to initiate another act of isolationism, that would be incredibly arrogant.

The difference between pride and arrogance lies in his repeated attempts to integrate into and change the times.

……

At the end of April, something happened that was neither too big nor too small.

Ding Yan and Wang Jiaying's new books were released for sale at the same time.

The reason for putting them together is that there are too many hot topics in the cultural world recently, and as the weaker link in the "Post-80s Youth Literature Publishing Plan", it would be easy for them to be drowned out by the quarrel if they were to publish their books separately.

Combining them makes a difference. Both books are about unrequited love on campus, so the genres are clashing, but the content is quite complementary. Of course, Fang Xinghe wants to put them together and promote them.

Ding Yan's new book is called "This Warm Monsoon of Youth". The content is the same as the previous draft. It is a secret love that was never confessed and existed only in her heart from beginning to end.

The male protagonist in the book looks exactly like Fang Xinghe, but he is different from the real Fang Xinghe.

In Ding Yan's writing, Chen Ye is more perfect than Fang Xinghe—mainly in terms of being polite, gentle, and kind.

It's pretty much the classic prince charming image that little girls dream of, only Ding Yan's portrayal is much more realistic than "Cinderella".

The immense pressure of reality prevented the female lead from showing any emotion, while Chen Ye seemed to sense it, yet also seemed not to. In any case, he didn't give any extra response. They remained classmates for three years, experiencing some interesting and heartwarming things, before finally going their separate ways after the college entrance examination.

Wang Jiaying's new book is called "Epidemic," which is very powerful and courageous.

She brazenly included her previous remarks in the preface—

"Although I feel very humble inside, the act of liking or longing for someone is never humble in itself."

I didn't write this book for myself; I wrote it to speak out for the millions of girls in the world who also love Fang Xinghe.

We are not good enough for you, but we are worthy of love.

Rather than calling this a traditional campus romance novel, it's more accurate to describe it as a story of a dreamy girl's infatuation.

The structure is as scattered as an egg yolk... no, as scattered as "Triple Gate".

Half reality, half consciousness.

It contains many realistic scenes as well as some dream-like content, and sometimes the two are mixed together, making the story itself seem psychedelic.

What makes this book so amazing is that it truly lets loose its fantasies about Fang Xinghe.

The male protagonist is named Chenxing, and his appearance is described directly. They first met at a writing competition, but the difference is that the female protagonist and the male protagonist attend the same school. The female protagonist is a transfer student from a big city to her ancestral town.

Upon the publication of this book, transfer applications to the Experimental High School surged by 5% again.

The correct meaning of "again" is that there had already been a surge in prices.

Numerous girls from all over the province of Kyrgyzstan submitted applications to transfer to the Experimental High School.

Even the Jilin Provincial Daily, the very newspaper that loves children, couldn't help but complain: "All the pretty girls in Changchun are planning to go to Experimental High School. Is Experimental High School really that good? Not really. These potential early romance seekers go there with a series of goals: first, get an autograph; then, take a photo; and finally, become the 'big sister'..."

Because it was so unserious, this little article was relegated to a corner, becoming just another grain of sand in Fang Xinghe's gossip news.

Fang Xinghe was already used to the fact that lice didn't itch when they were plentiful.

The good news is that both "Epidemic" and "Monsoon" have become hits, especially among girls, and are expected to achieve sales targets of over one million per month.

The final market potential is around two million, and its popularity is comparable to that of the previous "Triple Gate".

Of course, he can't compete with "Triple Door" in this lifetime. The good brother has been carried away by Fang's haters, and he's about to make 300 million, slowly aiming for 400 million.

Chen Jiayong cried himself to sleep in the Peking University restroom: Why am I the only one who's so miserable? I've only just managed to scrape together 20 yuan!
There's really no way around it. Even when Uncle Fang is leading his friends on a flying adventure, he still has to follow the basic principles.

Once the initial buzz is established, the actual sales volume depends on the writing skills or the gimmicks used.

Although Ding Yan and Wang Jiaying's books are immature, their themes are so appealing that it's no exaggeration to say that any girl in Fang's fandom with spare money would be willing to buy and read them.

Then, the credit for the booming sales was once again pinned on Fang Xinghe, and the newspapers were full of praise for him.

"Fang Xinghe sparked a craze for youth literature, creating a huge market out of thin air."

"Fang Xinghe deserves great credit for the literary market's return to its former glory of 20 years ago!"

"A train runs fast because of its locomotive. The first New Concept Writing Competition, under the leadership of Fang Xinghe, is creating a miracle in literary history!"

"Fang Xinghe, Han Han, Ding Yan, Wang Jiaying... four super bestselling authors with books selling over a million copies each, the youth storm of the post-80s generation is sweeping across the entire society!"

Don't think it's cheesy, because there are plenty of even more cheesy voices out there. Those tabloids that aren't serious enough will exaggerate anything for the sake of sales.

However, Fang Xinghe did indeed greatly change history and led a revolution.

In his previous life, the popularity of "Triple Door" did not change the overall sluggish market for youth literature. Chen Jiayong's book only sold 1 copies, and no other young writers stood out in the first and second competitions. Xiao Si only gained enough credibility to publish a book after two competitions and got his first opportunity to plagiarize... paraphrase.

However, this life is completely different.

"Cang Ye Xue" is not only a bestseller, nor is it just a hit after being banned; it also has a very special characteristic—it is easy to replicate.

It's unrealistic for a teenage writer to reach the level of "Cang Ye Xue." The tension created by the collision between the dark background and the unrestrained sunshine of the teenager requires a great deal of social experience and a high level of thinking. Two different writing styles are actually the simplest requirements.

However, the tragic aesthetic style of "Cang Ye Xue" is easy to imitate.

During that period, girls would suddenly burst into tears every day. There were many women who went to school or work with two big walnuts on their heads. A smart person would immediately understand - oh, they cried while reading "Cang Ye Xue".

Cultural circles, writers, and publishers have all offered their interpretations, affirming the market value of this new era of tragic fiction and identifying a market gap.

Then publishers everywhere were waving money around, searching for young writers: "Can you write in that style? If you do, I'll put 200% effort into promoting it for you!"

The youth literature market suddenly went from a cold start to a hot start.

However, before the next work bearing the banner of tragic aesthetics was published, the youthful confusion of "Triple Gate", the beautiful pure love of "Monsoon", and the frantic unrequited love of "Epidemic" became hits one after another, completely opening up the entire market for youth literature.

When people see this, they think, "Oh, so you don't necessarily have to write tragic stories. As long as you're associated with Fang Xinghe, anything you write will be a bestseller. So why wait for a successor to the aesthetics of tragedy?"

First, contact the winners of the first New Concept Writing Competition to urge them to submit their work!
This directly led to all of Fang Xinghe's classmates sitting at the table, each with a reliable or unreliable invitation to read books, making the second New Concept Writing Competition winners green with envy.

However, their lives are much better than in their previous lives. The youth literature market needs this kind of new force. It can be said that as long as they can write, there will be no shortage of publishers willing to try it, and there will be no shortage of popularity.

—There's such a big Fang Ge in front of me, let's just tag along!
Women can get away with taking advantage of men without any problem, and men can get away with taking advantage of Fang Ge without any problem either. There is no law to protect Fang Xinghe's "right not to be taken advantage of," so now people take advantage of him every day.

The heads of online troll groups no longer personally collect public opinion data; they simply can't keep up with it all.

This task was assigned to Senior Sister Shi Zi. She was free and meticulous, and could compile a large amount of intelligence every day.

However, she wasn't good at using the internet, so when Fang Xinghe turned on her computer to browse forums, she made another shocking discovery—damn, the internet is practically exaggerating how much people are bragging online.

In many entertainment forums, Fang Xinghe has acquired a new nickname: Ziwei Xingjun (紫微星君).

Wait, what's going on with you guys?
He searched online extensively, but due to a lack of AI tools, he was unable to successfully trace the source.

It's only roughly clear that the whole Ziwei Xingjun thing probably originated from Xiao Gangpao's flattery.

In the last interview, Gang Ge shouted out the Southern Dipper, shamelessly trying to ride the wave of popularity, but he made a big joke—the Big Dipper governs life, the Southern Dipper governs death, he got it backwards.

Originally, he didn't have much status in the industry and was far from the influential director he was when the film industry collectively shifted towards commercialization. So, the entertainment industry didn't recognize him as the Southern Star. Later, someone changed it and said that Fang Xinghe was the reincarnation of the Purple Star.

This praise didn't have much impact in reality, since it seemed to have been published in a tabloid. However, it spread online, and everyone started discussing it seriously.

Because Fang Xinghe now dictates the internet ecosystem, his words and phrases are all the rage, used by both fans and haters. Coupled with the booming youth literature market he has created, fans are confidently proving that Fang Xinghe is a celestial being, while haters, with an attitude of mockery and deliberate praise, are joining in the chorus.

The only difference is that fans call him Ziwei Xingjun, while haters simply call him Ziwei.

Because the youth literature market was indeed brought up by Fang Xinghe single-handedly, the general public basically accepted that he was qualified, and as a result, a broad consensus was formed.

Then the trouble started—the haters began using him to attack all entertainment stars.

From up-and-coming newcomers to established stars like Yan Gege, from Hong Kong and Taiwan in the south to the Arctic Ocean and across the Pacific Ocean in the north, they were indiscriminately swept across the internet, relentlessly bringing negative publicity to Fang Xinghe.

Fang Xinghe's head was buzzing as he looked at the sea of ​​Ziwei Xingjun and Ziwei on the internet.

"I knew it! The amount of powder residue has been dropping again these past two days!"

His initial surge in popularity peaked around mid-April, and then it plummeted. He initially thought this was normal, as the initial surge was merely a temporary emotional phenomenon with poor sustainability. However, it turned out there was such a meat grinder.

"Never mind, it's not a big problem."

Soon, Fang Xinghe calmed down and coldly observed the online uproar and counter-uproar.

When a fandom grows large, it's inevitable that trouble will arise; even a god couldn't handle it.

Constant clashes, constant battles, constant eliminations—the dynamic equilibrium formed through iterative processes is the destiny of all things with a fan base.

If Huawei fans and Xiaomi fans can start a war, isn't that even more absurd?
Being given the title of "Ziwei Star Lord" has both advantages and disadvantages for Fang Xinghe, with the disadvantages even outweighing the advantages.

But now that things have come to this, he will only consider how to mitigate the disadvantages, rather than being afraid to fight.

"To enter the entertainment industry with the blessing of being blessed by the heavens, sounds quite interesting, doesn't it?"

Fang Xinghe chuckled mischievously at the thought of being able to inflate the power levels of those wealthy people from all walks of life.

She skipped a grade this July and will take the college entrance exam next June. It'll be here soon...

On May 1st, Time Asia, with its aloof and silent approach, released its magazine as usual, dropping a bombshell on the Chinese mainland without warning.

That day, all the newspapers and television stations were dumbfounded—wait, why didn't you even release a preview?!
After the initial shock, came the madness.

If you don't follow up on news of this caliber, you're not fit to work in this industry!
Amidst the chaos and turmoil, only three newspapers—Jilin Daily, Beijing Youth Daily, and Xinmin Evening News—leisurely released their pre-prepared press releases.

Fang Xinghe, the youngest cover figure in the history of Time magazine, is shaking the whole of Asia with his cultural power!
This title is really awkward.

Fang Xinghe knew perfectly well that he was not the youngest cover star. Zhao Yao had said that the youngest was the first test-tube baby born in 1978, a once-in-a-week cover star, a feat that could never be surpassed.

However, at that time, the Chinese people did not know this, and such special cases could indeed be excluded from normal Dengfeng. Therefore, once this title of "youngest" was attached to him, Chinese society ushered in a new and even more intense sensation.

This was an even higher level of "honor" than Fang Xinghe had anticipated. He could finally get a direct feel for just how many Star Points he could get from a single jackpot...

(End of this chapter)