Generation Z Artists

Chapter 145 The final conclusion
"Suddenly, some media outlets appeared" is an overly euphemistic way of putting it; in reality, it was the work of the Jilin Provincial Daily.

They raised their flags and shouted the slogan "Fang Xinghe Year," only to be angrily criticized by the 11 ugly people for being attention-seeking, leading to another round of verbal abuse.

Of the original 13 ugly guys, two have temporarily left the Fang Hei group.

They are Colonel Gao and Colonel Xu, both of whom have studied in Japan.

Their stance remains unchanged, but they obediently keep quiet. The remaining 11 ugly men, who probably didn't take too much money from their Japanese "daddies," will still target Fang Xinghe aggressively whenever they have the chance.

In fact, in today's media industry, being on the "opposing side" is a very good business.

Opposition is not smearing; it is less intense and will not cause a riot among Fang's fans, but it has a large number of Fang's haters and is also popular with the general public. As long as it can present a reasoned or novel view, the traffic will be extremely high.

Therefore, the voices that fiercely criticized Fang Xinghe decreased, but the voices that nitpicked increased, like toads crawling on your feet—they don't bite, but they're annoying.

This is a very clear sign of being a top influencer: not paying attention because of love or hate, but shamelessly trying to get attention for money.

Fang Xinghe was actually happy to see this happen; without opposition, where would the buzz come from?

Only with both sides present could we have the continuous stream of starlight income we see today.

The dispute began in November when Ji Bao first brought up Fang Xinghe, and it continued until the end of the year before finally being settled.

Jilin Daily, Beijing Youth Daily, and Xinmin Daily fought hard against numerous competitors and made a fortune.

They created a series of retrospectives, listing Fang Xinghe's various achievements this year to support their viewpoint.

Fang Xinghe watched two episodes and found them quite interesting.

The first item is the newspaper publication information.

Throughout the year, Fang Xinghe appeared on the covers of more than 150 newspapers and magazines, with more than 170 cover stories, more than 850 headlines, and more than 4200 personal articles.

Highest honor: Front page of the People's Daily Social Edition.

Daily Honors: Dominating the top spot on the literature section's headlines.

Counterfeit Honors: Most Popular Male Lead in Gossip Magazines

Publicly selected honors: Most popular person of the year, as voted by multiple media outlets.

We don't know who voted, but in terms of popularity, Fang Ge is indeed far ahead of all male celebrities.

Neither Nicholas Tse at the beginning of the year nor the good older brother who dropped out of school in the middle of the year could maintain the same level of intensity from the beginning to the end of the year as he did.

The reason we only count male celebrities is because Gege continues to be incredibly popular this year, drawing huge crowds wherever she goes to participate in events.

Since there is currently a lack of data statistics tools, no one can tell which of the two is mentioned more frequently, so let's just assume they are equally popular.

However, even if the basic popularity is the same, the traffic value is different.

Zhao Gege is still reaping the benefits of her roles, but as a celebrity, her popularity is very limited, and she doesn't get much discussion. She's only mentioned and praised in a very general way.

Fang Xinghe's popularity has ranged from the cultural war at the beginning of the year, to the cultural power of Time magazine, to the cultural role model during his Asian tour. Throughout the year, he has been exporting cultural viewpoints and setting cultural benchmarks.

—This cultural benchmark wasn't something our own newspaper hyped up; it was defined by the news broadcast.

Measured from both the level of topic popularity and topic value, the definition of "Fang Xinghe Year" is not an overstatement and has very solid reasons.

The reason so many people oppose it is because the media is really unwilling to accept it.

Fang Xinghe is their primary target whom they are eager to defeat. Even if they don't have the opportunity now, they still don't want to see Fang Xinghe ascend to the altar.

Allowing such a beast to dominate the minds of teenagers is extremely harmful.

So throughout December, both sides argued over this trivial matter.

They compared and praised everyone who could be used to suppress Fang Xinghe, including Han Han, Yang Shuo, Yu Qiuyu, Lu Yi, Tingfeng, Leonardo DiCaprio, etc. Regardless of whether they were related or not, they could all highlight some negative aspect of Fang Xinghe.

But outside of print media, financial media can no longer keep things in check.

The second major category is television appearances.

Fang Xinghe's data was originally very low. He had no TV commercials, appeared once on CCTV's Focus Interview, and appeared twice on the News Broadcast at the beginning and end of the year. The total time he spent on these appearances was less than one-tenth of Li Erpeng's.

Until mid-November, your company began to dominate the screen with its advertisements.

Japanese and South Korean companies produced about 30 different versions of advertisements, which were then distributed throughout Asia.

In the local country, it's not difficult to directly translate into the local language.

As a result, his daily advertising time across Taiwan's internet reached a staggering 100 minutes, elevating his face to the level of being a household name.

Awareness is not the same as popularity; the term "popularity" carries a positive connotation.

However, recognition is the foundation of everything. Once you know the face, and then match the behavior with the face, it will gradually become a symbol.

Unfortunately, the advertisements were too varied and didn't really capture his greatest strengths.

For example, in the jelly commercial, Fang Xinghe's bright and sunny smile is a classic image of a high school heartthrob.

Then there's the Suzuki motorcycle ad, with his cool expression and crisp, clean movements, exuding a wild and cool vibe.

Toshiba laptops have a different style altogether: focused, calm, and smart-looking, perfectly embodying the image of a top student.

Which image is the most memorable?

Actually, none of that applies. Too many variations result in mutual interference, affecting penetration and memorability.

However, all those advertising deals he took were just to fleece his customers. With over 2 million yuan already invested, what does it matter if his image lacks memorability? He can take it slow later.

At least, his name, identity, and deeds have finally reached the township level.

This is the biggest gain from six months of back-and-forth effort.

Few people are interested in the topic of cultural resistance; it's only hotly debated among the elite. But to make hundreds of millions on a single overseas trip and then spend it all within a month is truly astonishing.

What exactly was the concept of 2.5 million in China in 2000?
The annual income of impoverished families is less than 300 yuan, and many rural students only have two yuan for living expenses per month. They walk 20 miles to school, bring a boxed lunch for lunch, or even just eat two steamed buns. On weekends, they catch fish and dig wild vegetables to sell for a few yuan to buy stationery.

In urban dual-income families, 70% have a monthly income of less than 1000 yuan.

Rich man?

A few million is enough to dominate a county town, twenty or thirty million makes one a big shot in a prefecture-level city, and there are fewer than 200 people in the whole country with assets of over 100 million.

The two eras also had vastly different attitudes toward wealth.

No one cares about Zhong Shanshan becoming the richest man in 2025. Not one out of ten middle school students cares whether his assets are 100 billion or 400 billion. Who has the time to care? They might as well take a shovel.

Every overnight fortune story of 2000 was talked about with great interest, with figures like Mu Qizhong, Shi Yuzhu, and Chen Tianqiao shining brightly...

Wealth is the greatest legend of our time.

If we had a nationwide AI statistical tool, we could generate a curve like this—

Starting with the bombing of Japan, Fang Xinghe's name began to spread horizontally to remote and impoverished areas, and deeply penetrated into rural villages. While media attention had already peaked and remained unchanged, public discussion continued to break records.

After a slight dip and consolidation following the end of his trip to Japan, he went on to South Korea, where he became a national hero and broke through previous highs once again. After a second consolidation, he thoroughly penetrated all provinces and towns in the topic of making and spending money.

On the panel, Fang Xinghe's powder count broke the 100 million mark for the first time.

That was at the end of August, when the media was boasting that he had made over 8 million won in South Korea.

Immediately afterwards, his fan base skyrocketed, surpassing 2 million after he had spent all his wealth.

This is not just domestic data, but the total amount of powder residue across the entire Asian region.

It peaked at the end of November, and then began a steady decline.

This is not surprising. The fame brought by the ability to make money is only temporary. After the envy fades, most people will eventually return to their normal lives.

Those who truly have the leisure to maintain long-term attention and goodwill are inevitably a minority who have no life pressures, plenty of free time, and spiritual needs.

Logically speaking, Fang Xinghe's total amount of floating powder should not be able to stay above 1 million; the current world situation does not allow it.

However, after he distributed all the money, the decline stopped immediately.

The news program interviewed him for the third time in a year. Although the wording and descriptions were very restrained, it had a stimulating effect.

The reports from provincial and municipal television stations and print media are the real amplifiers.

Ji Bao: "For a long time, too many people have criticized Fang Xinghe's personality, calling him arrogant, willful, selfish, domineering, and inconsiderate of the overall situation... I have defended myself for this too many times, but I can never convince those who use prejudice to criticize him."

Now, I want to ask: What exactly is the big picture?

Is your so-called moral judgment really the big picture?
Do you think your baseless claims will affect the overall investment situation?
Is your hasty assertion that "it has had a huge negative impact on Chinese youth" a true reflection of the overall situation?
No, none of that. To me, Fang Xinghe represents the overall situation of Jilin Province—at least the overall situation of the education sector.

The 5000 million yuan scholarship fund for impoverished children, calculated at an extremely high standard of 500 yuan per person per year, will cover 10 impoverished children across the province.

The number of extremely poor school-age children registered in Jilin Province is not that many, totaling 41258. The subsidy standards to support their continued education are also not that high. If this money were used for meal allowances and miscellaneous fee subsidies, it could fully cover all poor families to complete nine years of compulsory education.

You'll never understand how amazing this is.

You will never admit how amazing Fang Xinghe is.

But it doesn't matter. We no longer need your approval, because we, the people of Jilin Province, know for ourselves how much light Fang Xinghe's positive, kind, and genuine nature can bring to teenagers living in hardship and suffering.

This not only solves the problem of sending tens of thousands of children to school, but also provides strong spiritual support and encouragement. We can fully expect that under Fang Xinghe's influence, the new generation of young people in Jilin Province will achieve success at an unimaginable rate.

How fortunate is Jilin Province to have Fang Xinghe!

The emergence of Fang Xinghe in China is a sign of its rise!

You bunch of clowns, if you don't shut up, you'll be swept into the dustbin of history by the rising new generation!

The article is not very rigorous; the unexcerpted parts contain a large amount of emotional appeal, which is quite prevalent.

However, readers and even media colleagues can understand—if a Fang Xinghe were to emerge from our hometown, we would also feel a sense of pride.

The only pity is that Fang Xinghe's real hometown is completely unknown. The only places he is known to the outside world are the province or the provincial capital, Changchun. When the various TV stations and newspapers in Changchun mention Fang Xinghe, they never mention Nong'an. They always refer to him as "our city's cultural icon".

The people of Nong'an were furious and howled in anger.

……

In the cultural sphere, Ms. Yi Ning also wrote an article full of passion that was very different from her original writing style.

"Everyone has their own unique talents, and even if one spends all one's wealth, it will return—the chivalrous spirit of the Spring and Autumn Period, the unrestrained joy of the Tang Dynasty—Fang Xinghe's Views"

You can tell from the title alone that she was really excited.

"Fang Xinghe has a chivalrous spirit in his bones. It is not the hypocritical loyalty in gangster movies, nor the chivalrous spirit of the common people in Water Margin who roar when they see injustice. Rather, it is more like the great righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Period, where everyone is responsible for their country and the world."

You always criticize him for being willful—and he is indeed willful, but beneath his willful and unrestrained exterior lies a strong sense of national responsibility.

So this isn't just a display of youthful chivalry and carefree spirit, but rather the true character and temperament of a renowned scholar.

The poet Li Bai wrote about the heroic spirit of "spending a thousand pieces of gold and then regaining it." Throughout history, the unrestrained chivalry of heroes who gave away their wealth just to keep their promises is the highest level of romance in the Chinese soul. However, the poems remain classics, but where are the heroes of the past?
I had thought that modern society no longer possessed such a grand foundation, that people were becoming more and more materialistic and money-oriented, but Fang Xinghe gave me a heavy blow to my soul.

He is a child who is particularly unwilling to owe favors to others and is very grateful, which is something that every one of us judges is well aware of.

However, his understanding of gratitude, loyalty, and grudges still far exceeded everyone's imagination.

It's easy to give away a thousand gold pieces, but difficult to give away ten thousand. What he gave away was far more than a million gold pieces.
Giving it your all, leaving no room for doubt, a simple "I like it" is already legendary...

Clearly, Teacher Yi is expressing her feelings rather than offering commentary.

That's true. Nowadays, few people can still offer objective commentary. Fang Xinghe has spent not a small amount of money on charity, giving back to his hometown, and supporting his mentor, but a staggering 1 million yuan, his entire fortune.

No one considered his 1.5 million yuan investment in Tencent as a legitimate investment; 99% of financial media outlets believed it was a reckless and wasteful expenditure that was bound to go down the drain.

Fang Xinghe didn't want to explain, which ironically caused unrelated economists to be frustrated and disappointed, which was quite ridiculous.

Fang's fans are conflicted; on one hand, they are worried about him, but on the other hand, they are also very excited.

See that? That's my idol!

Damn it, it's great to be a fan of such an idol, but what if he goes bankrupt?

Fans are experiencing a mix of pain and joy, obsessively chanting online, "Everyone has their own unique talents, it's okay, Fang Shen can make it back." If any Fang hater dares to mock Ziwei for being sick, they'll be instantly attacked and their entire family will be expelled...

As a result, near the end of the year, Fang Xinghe's total amount of floating powder miraculously stabilized at around 110 million.

With domestic and international data mixed together, it's difficult to determine the specific composition. However, such a massive force will inevitably force the media to make the term "Fang Xinghe Year" a public consensus.

Until December 31st, the People's Daily published its year-end summary, concluding in the cultural field: "This year is Fang Xinghe's year. We finally have our own cultural icon, outstanding in style and with great international influence..."

In the five major areas of politics, economy, people's livelihood, culture, and science and technology, Fang Xinghe completely dominated the cultural summary, praising him throughout and once again establishing him as a cultural benchmark and role model for young people.

But on this day, the star value didn't increase much—Fang's fans were already numb, watching their idol perform every day, and they couldn't muster any more enthusiasm or energy.

Most of Fang's fans simply smiled slightly and said, "Okay, I understand."

You know what, it's really satisfying to show off like this~~~
However, when Fang Ge looked at the total of 9.6 million star points, he suddenly felt a little worried.

There's too much, I have no idea how to spend it. I've already leveled up all my existing attributes to 89 points, and all that's left is to spend Starlight on various skills.

Forget it, I'll save up some more. I'll practice more skills when I have time later, because they're used up quickly anyway.

Fang Xinghe calmed down and continued writing his new book, preparing to welcome the new year and start a new story.

Fang Xinghe year?

It should be the first year of Fang Xinghe's reign.

One year isn't enough for me to keep going. Every year from now on, you'll see me moving forward...

(End of this chapter)