Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 345 An Unexpected Award Ceremony (4.4k)
……

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Gu Qing was almost certain to be the trending topic tonight.

As he walked off the stage with the newly won trophy and returned to his seat along the aisle, he was surrounded by compliments and praises from all directions.

Congratulations, little brother Gu Qing!

"Deserved!"

"You're amazing, little brother!"

These voices, whether sincere or polite, revealed a secret expectation among some—hoping he would be even more "wild" and "arrogant."

In this circle, "praise to death" is a subtle but effective tactic that many people skillfully employ.

It's important to know that before the era of internet traffic began, the truly top male celebrity in mainland China was Wen Zhang.

This guy is a true phenomenon who has won over audiences of all ages with his solid works, achieving phenomenal popularity and becoming incredibly famous back then.

His most "out-of-the-box" interview was on Guo Degang's show.

Old Guo asked him, "Do you feel things are going smoothly for you?"

With his nonchalant attitude and nonchalant tone, Wen Zhang replied, "Yes, I'm extremely lucky, brother."

That undisguised pride and arrogance even left the well-informed Guo Degang speechless for a moment, and he could only reply perfunctorily, "I envy you."

Afterwards... a series of scandals broke out, including diva-like behavior and infidelity, coupled with the instigation of colleagues with whom she had long-standing grudges.

This once-dominant celebrity plummeted from the clouds to the mire in an instant, with almost no chance of recovery.

Gu Qing was fully aware of the flattery surrounding him, which was laced with veiled attempts to "kill" him.

But as long as one acts uprightly and honestly, without breaking the law or violating discipline, these petty tricks cannot shake his foundation.

His popularity is fundamentally different from that of the emblem.

The most crucial reason for the fall of the emblem from its pedestal lies in the fact that it was largely built upon his wife's connections and resources.
Back then, he was often ridiculed by the media as a representative of "living off his wife." After becoming famous, his ego inflated, and he mistakenly believed that it was all due to his own abilities. As a result, once he lost his wife's support, his status in the industry collapsed instantly.

This is remarkably similar to the experience of Show Lo, who later rose to fame through "Go Fighting!", as both underestimated the importance of their supporting systems.

Gu Qing's explosive popularity stems from his massive online following and irreplaceable commercial value.

The platform needs his popularity, and he also needs the platform's promotional channels.

As long as this mutually beneficial relationship remains stable and the show's ratings continue to rise, all conspiracies and tricks will be in vain.

As the cooperation deepened and the ties between their interests intensified, if any negative information about Gu Qing appeared online, his team wouldn't even need to intervene; the platform would proactively step in to protect his reputation in order to safeguard the project's interests.

As Gu Qing was pondering these things, his gaze inadvertently swept over Zhang Liangying, who had just lost the "Best Female Singer in Mainland China" award, and was frequently scrutinizing him with a complex and unreadable look.

This puzzled Gu Qingxin: Is there some grudge between us?

The awards ceremony is still ongoing.

"The winner of Best Group of the Year is: Twins!"

"Most Popular Chinese Group: TF Teens!"

"Most Popular Overseas Group: Bigbang!"

"Most Popular Mainland Male Singer: Li Ronghao!"

"Winner of the Best-Selling Digital Album in Mainland China of the Year: Lu Han!"

……

When the camera captured Li Ronghao winning the award, it also cut to a shot of Jay Chou. The two looked so alike from a certain angle that it became a little joke for the director to liven up the atmosphere.

After presenting these awards, the ceremony moved into the intermission performance segment.

Award-winning artists such as G.E.M., Lu Han, and JJ Lin delivered wonderful performances.

After the performance, the more prestigious "Most Influential Singer of the Year" award will be presented.

To everyone, the outcome of this award was almost a foregone conclusion.

Even Jay Chou, who had been sitting in a relaxed posture, unconsciously adjusted his position, switching his left hand from supporting his chin to his right.

"The first award goes to the Most Influential Female Singer of the Year: Li Yuchun!"

As expected, Chun Ge easily won the grand prize.

"The winner of the Most Influential Male Singer of the Year award is..."

The host, Xie Nan, opened the next envelope, her eyes widening suddenly as she looked at it with disbelief.
His throat bobbed, but he finally forced himself to say the name: "...Kwon Ji-yong from Bigbang!"

"what--?!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar!

Even Gu Qing, who had already prepared a smile and was about to raise her hand to applaud, was completely stunned. Her mouth was slightly open, and she subconsciously looked up at the big screen, her face filled with disbelief.

Have the penguins gone mad?!
Would you really go to such lengths to steal his trending topic?
It's not uncommon for entertainment award ceremonies to produce "upsets" for the sake of popularity or personal connections, but this result is simply outrageous!

Why should a South Korean artist win the "Most Influential Male Singer of the Year" award in the Chinese music scene?

This is a slap in the face to all the Chinese-language musicians present!

After a second of complete silence, the live stream chat erupted like a volcano:

"I'll test your code!!!"

"What does this mean? Giving our Best of the Year award to a Korean singer?!"

"Is the penguin crazy, or am I crazy?"

"Fuck you!!!"

Countless question marks and angry curses instantly filled the screen, even causing the live stream to freeze briefly.

At the same time, all Jay Chou fans turned purple with anger.

They never expected that Tencent would award this most prestigious award to G-Dragon, especially when Jay Chou himself was sitting in the audience!
Who doesn't know that their "little princess" was the hero who single-handedly resisted the Korean wave and proved to everyone that "Chinese wave is the coolest"!

Giving this award to a South Korean artist in front of him now is tantamount to a direct provocation!

The camera focused on Kwon Ji-yong, who was winning the award. He couldn't help but smile, revealing a surprised yet proud expression.

One can imagine his excitement and pride at receiving such important recognition in a foreign land.

The camera then quickly cut to Jay Chou.

At this moment, Jay Chou had a faint smile on his face, almost devoid of emotion, and simply clapped twice.

If it were someone with his younger temper, he probably would have stormed off long ago.

But now, he just feels... indifferent.

"Jay Chou!!!"

"Penguin, you'll die a horrible death! I'm going to cry!!"

"This is outrageous! Did you see that? So many celebrities were shocked!"

"Yes, even Gu Qing's mouth was agape in shock! How could this happen!"

"How can the Chinese music scene even get international?! Is this how you treat your heroes?!"

The fans in the live stream were both angry and heartbroken, especially by the slightly weathered yet serene profile of Jay Chou seen on camera.
It's as if we can no longer see that spirited and unruly young man from back then, which makes it even more heartbreaking.

The awards ceremony was still ongoing, but the atmosphere had already changed.

"Winner of Best New Female Singer of the Year: Dou Jingtong".

"Breakthrough Artist of the Year: Wu Mochou".

When it was the pop diva's daughter, Dou Jingtong, who went on stage, she rolled her eyes, her face showing undisguised disdain and displeasure. After accepting the trophy, she didn't even bother to give an acceptance speech and simply left the stage.
He casually tossed the trophy onto his seat, turned around, and left.

Her straightforward and fiery temper was a direct inheritance from her mother.

"Album of the Year: New Heartbeat (G.E.M.) and Talking to Myself (JJ Lin)".

When G.E.M. and JJ Lin took the stage again, they either looked angry or indifferent, and their acceptance speeches were extremely brief and perfunctory. They were clearly using this method to express their dissatisfaction with Jay Chou.

The subsequent winners were mostly the same. "Best Live Recording Album of the Year: Liang Bo".

"Best performances at QQ Music's Peak Live Show: Zhou Baihao and Vincy Chan".

"Best Stage Performance of the Year: Jane Zhang and Ke-Jun Wu"

Almost no one showed any joy at winning an award, and even if they did, they dared not show it in the tense atmosphere.

The Tencent executives behind the scenes were sweating profusely.

They never expected that awarding the prize to G-Dragon would provoke such a huge backlash from all the singers and the audience.

From their perspective, awarding important prizes to celebrities with top-tier online traffic can bring huge attention and returns to the company and platform.

This is similar to how some film and television award ceremonies in the future might award Best Actor and Best Actress to popular celebrities, making the audience feel that they are not worthy of the awards, but the capital behind them can profit from it.

"I'm starting to panic. This whole thing is already causing such a stir by awarding Kwon Ji-yong, and there's another one coming up..."

"Whether it's one person or two, it's still the same. The conflicting attention might be a good thing. At worst, we can just pretend to be dead for a few days."

"With the fan base of these two top-tier celebrities, even Jay Chou's longtime fans might not be able to win the argument."

"That's right, even if Jay Chou was incredibly famous, that's all in the past. Focusing on the immediate benefits is the most important thing!"

The higher-ups comforted each other, trying to stabilize the situation.

……

However, what happened next was something no one expected.

"Gu Qing was named QQ Music's Most Searched Singer of the Year."

"Gu Qing won the QQ Music Peak Chart Supreme Sharing Award."

"Winners of Best Film and Television Theme Song of the Year: Gu Qing's 'Memories of Farewell to the Nine Gates,' 'Passing By Your World,' and 'Spring Snow in the Courtyard.'"

"Winner of the Top Ten Songs of the Year: Gu Qing..."

"Winner of Best Music Producer of the Year: Gu Qing"

The latter half of the awards ceremony almost became a one-man show by Gu Qing.

Penguin seems determined to go all the way in "creating a god," showering him with almost every award they could offer.

Even the most prestigious and prestigious award, the "Most Popular Singer of the Year" award, unsurprisingly went to Gu Qing once again.

"Aaaaaah!! Little brother!!!" "That's awesome!!!"

"Back in the day, Jay Chou would 'go on stage to accept an award as soon as his nocturne started playing,' and my younger brother is just as good!"

"Most Popular Singer of the Year! This must be the best award tonight!"

Fans' joys and sorrows are not shared.

In contrast to the indignant Jay Chou fans, the "Gu family members" were absolutely overjoyed, their pride overflowing as they watched their idol take the stage time and time again.

Gu Qing herself felt incredibly embarrassed upon hearing who was named the top artist of the year.

He had prepared himself to stand with everyone against a common enemy, but little did he know that in the blink of an eye, he would become the biggest beneficiary of Tencent's strong support.
"Damn it, Gu Qing did it too!!"

"What did my younger brother do? What's wrong with him winning the award?"

"How can there be no problem? Don't you understand the meaning of being unworthy of your position?!"

"My brother is number one in every category—trending topics, views, influence—why shouldn't he win an award?!"

"What are you pretending to be, relying on your age?"

The two fan groups, who were just interacting amicably in the live chat, are now arguing fiercely.

At this moment, Gu Qing was even somewhat "grateful" that Quan Zhilong had diverted most of the firepower in advance; otherwise, he himself would likely be the one pushed to the forefront and bearing the brunt of the anger.

Even so, a large-scale fan war seemed inevitable after the awards ceremony.

Gu Qing felt utterly overwhelmed. He could guess with his toes that his potential competitors would not let go of this golden opportunity to push things along.

As he went on stage to receive the final grand prize, he was inwardly cursing the penguin for putting him on the hot seat without warning, while simultaneously racking his brains for a way out of the predicament.

With his superb acting skills, he perfectly portrayed the expression of astonishment, confusion, and disbelief the moment he heard his name called, and walked onto the stage with a furrowed brow.

But that's far from enough to extricate him from this turmoil.

"Gu Qing, isn't it time for your acceptance speech?"

Host Huang Jiaojiao asked with a smile, "We've been looking forward to this for a long time."

"..."

Gu Qing fell silent as she spoke into the microphone.

Anyone could see the difficulty and struggle on his face.

Tencent is heavily promoting him, so he can't possibly turn on them and curse them out on the spot. The higher-ups behind the scenes are keeping a close eye on him.

However, directly admitting that one is unworthy of their position and inferior to Jay Chou would be tantamount to groveling, which would inevitably severely hurt the feelings of their own fans.

In the hearts of many core fans, idols are unquestionable "gods," and once this halo is broken, a large-scale exodus of fans is almost inevitable.

"Gu Qing?"

Huang Jiaojiao's smile became somewhat stiff, and she frantically prayed in her heart that this young man wouldn't cause any live broadcast mishaps at this moment.

"...Thank you. Thank you to all my fans who support me, thank you all."

Gu Qing sighed inwardly. He couldn't think of a better solution for the time being, so he could only grit his teeth and bear it for now.

Let's just take it.

For someone with his level of popularity, at most he might lose some goodwill from casual viewers, but it wouldn't shake his core fanbase or fundamentally affect his career development.

"Gu Qing is not bad."

"He's a promising talent, knows when to advance and retreat, and has high emotional intelligence."

"It is indeed worthwhile to increase resource investment."

Backstage, the Tencent executives breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with satisfaction when they saw Gu Qing accept the award calmly.

The biggest star of the night, Jay Chou, only received the consolation prize of "Most Influential Concert of the Year".

When Jay Chou returned to the stage, holding his trophy, his gaze swept over Gu Qing, who was looking down and seemingly unconsciously picking at his fingers. He couldn't help but find it amusing and shook his head with a slight chuckle.

He didn't even care much about Kwon Ji-yong winning an award, so why would he be angry at Gu Qing, who won an award based on her strength and popularity?
He could clearly see Gu Qing's dilemma.

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he knows all too well what those behind the scenes want—nothing more than creating conflict, stirring up disputes, and reaping popularity.

The more these people want to see him get angry and lose his temper, the more he needs to act calm and collected.

He is old, but not dead!

It's not that they've lost their temper, it's just that they don't think it's worth getting angry over such things.

"Is it coming?!"

Is Jay Chou about to lose his temper?!

The audience and artists below the stage, unaware of what was going on, saw the ambiguous smile on his face and thought it was the calm before the storm. They held their breath in anticipation, thinking that he was finally about to explode.

"Mr. Jay Chou, what's the first thing you want to do right now after receiving this award?"

Huang Jiaojiao asked with a smile, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"The thing I want to do most..."

Jay Chou pretended to think for a moment, then smiled and said in a relaxed tone, "Of course, it's playing video games."

Before the awards ceremony, Gu Qing and I made plans to play a few rounds of video games together afterward.

As soon as these words came out, the whole place fell silent.

……

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(P.S.: There's one more chapter, probably very late, so go to sleep early, everyone.)
(End of this chapter)