I really didn't intend to make a living based on my looks.

Shanghai was hit by torrential rain on August 1st.

The neon lights of Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street were reflected in the puddles, their reflections blurred by the raindrops.

The tourists on the Bund had long since dispersed, the entire city was submerged in water, and even taxis were driving cautiously.

On Siping Road in the HK district, several white-collar workers who had just come out of a convenience store huddled under the eaves to avoid the rain.

"What's going on over there? Why is the queue like this?"

Across the street, in front of the Sheraton San Zhi Hotel, a long, dark line stretched along the sidewalk all the way to the street corner.

Hundreds of people, some holding umbrellas, some wearing raincoats, and some even with their bags on their heads, completely blocked the hotel entrance.

The heavier the rain, the longer the line became, with people constantly jumping out of taxis and plunging into the rain, splashing through the puddles as they ran to the back of the line.

"I heard a celebrity is coming."

"Wow, even this heavy rain can't dampen their enthusiasm?"

Who is it?

"I don't know, I think he's an actor in a TV series, his name is something like Jiang Chen."

"Never heard of it."

"I've never heard of it either, but look over there, there are several pretty hot girls there."

"...How about we join the queue too?"

"..."

The atmosphere in the hotel banquet hall was so hot it felt like the ceiling was about to be lifted off the ground.

A venue meant for 800 people was crammed with 1,200, with more people standing than sitting in the back, and the aisles on both sides were completely packed.

Blue-purple lights shone down from the ceiling, and a huge hand-painted poster was displayed on the main backdrop.

Baili Tusu stood holding his sword, the inscription on the blade clearly visible.

The LED screen was playing Jiang Chen's "Sword Heart" music video on a loop, with two-meter-high character standees on both sides.

The front row was filled with cameras and microphones, and the media reporters in the first row were adjusting the white balance, while the cameras in the back row were already pointed at the empty stage.

The fan section in the back was a sea of ​​orange.

Hundreds of orange T-shirts were crammed together, shining like tiny, lit flames in the blue-violet beam of light.

The homemade light signs were held up densely, with the characters "Su" and "Chen" being the most common, and a few others saying "Chengzi Yongxiang Sui" (May the oranges always be with you).

A girl with her hair in a bun was standing on tiptoe, peering intently towards the stage. Someone next to her tugged at her sleeve: "Where did you come from?"

"Hangzhou is an hour away by high-speed rail. How about you?"

"Singapore."

The girl with the bun hair suddenly turned her head, her eyes wide open: "Singapore? You flew all the way here to see Chenchen?"

"Yeah, I flew back specifically to see Chenchen! The rainstorm is nothing!"

"How long have you been flying?"

"Six hours!"

"Six hours?"

"Yes! I was still in class yesterday, flew in early this morning, and came straight here after landing!"

"You're working too hard..."

"I have to give it my all," the Singaporean girl said, clutching her light stick. "I've liked Chenchen for a long time, and this is his first leading role in a drama. I absolutely have to come and support him!"

A girl next to me suddenly handed me a cup of hot water.

"Have something hot to drink, or you'll catch a cold."

"Thanks……"

"You're welcome," the man smiled, "I'm an orange too, we're family."

The Singaporean girl took the cup, her eyes welling up with tears.

Fans follow celebrities not only because they like the stars, but also because of the atmosphere they create.

They are probably just ordinary people, each with their own lives and their own loneliness.

But in these offline settings, you are not alone; you are part of a group.

Everyone held up light boards together, shouted names together, and got excited for their idols together. This feeling of being recognized and accepted was particularly strong.

At exactly 10 o'clock, the lights suddenly went out.

The entire banquet hall was bathed in deep blue light, and a close-up of the sword pattern of the Burning Sword appeared on the LED screen. The screams from the audience instantly drowned out the background music.

The host walked out from the side stage, and as soon as he raised the microphone, his voice was swallowed up by the deafening shouts from below.

"Jiang Chen! Jiang Chen! Jiang Chen!"

"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. It's pouring rain outside today, but judging from your enthusiasm, you're even more intense than the downpour! That's right, those who have come to the 'Gu Jian Qi Tan' Shanghai Fan Carnival Party today are the ones you've all been waiting for..."

Before he could even say his name, the entire audience had already said it for him.

The sound waves exploded, and all the light boards were raised at the same time, the yellow lights converging into a sea of ​​stars that trembled slightly under the impact of the sound waves.

"Let's welcome Jiang Chen, the actor who plays Baili Tusu!"

The lights on the side stage came on.

Jiang Chen walked up from the right side of the stage.

Today he wore a white shirt with dark gray trousers, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms as usual, and one button undone at the collar, looking neat and tidy.

Yang Zi, wearing a pale yellow dress, followed half a step behind, carefully lifting the hem of her dress as she walked onto the stage.

Today is one of the promotional events for the TV series "Gu Jian Qi Tan"—a fan meeting in Shanghai.

During this period, the show is still airing and its popularity is soaring, completely overshadowing "Xuan-Yuan Sword".

From a 0.7% rating on its premiere to a recent breakthrough of over 2%, Shandong TV has outperformed Hunan TV, becoming the biggest dark horse of the summer season.

Jiang Chen's Weibo followers also surged from 41 to 600 million.

This offline fan meeting was an event organized by the production team to give back to the fans, and it was also the first fan meeting that Jiang Chen held in his personal capacity.

The process proceeded smoothly, including promotion, interactive activities, games, and autograph sessions.

During the classic scene reenactment segment, three fans were randomly selected to come on stage.

The first girl was chosen to meet Jiang Chen by the stream. Her hand holding the script was shaking. Jiang Chen looked down at her and suddenly said, "Why are you so nervous? I'm not really going to use the Burning Sword to cut you." The whole audience burst into laughter.

The second girl drew the 30-second eye contact rule. She blushed from the first second, and by the fifteenth second her ears were red. When she went down, her legs were weak.

Jiang Chen called out to her retreating figure, "Remember to put on a face mask when you get back," which drew another round of laughter from the audience.

After the interaction ended, the instrumental version of "Kenshin" started playing again from the speakers.

The host handed the microphone back to Jiang Chen, who stood in the center of the stage, and the audience gradually quieted down.

"It's raining heavily outside today," he began. "When I was backstage, I saw you all come in through the curtain. The girl with the ponytail in the front row, your jacket is soaked; you must be cold wearing it now. And the girl next to you, your canvas shoes must be dripping wet!"

The girls in the first row nodded and then shook their heads vigorously.

"No wonder it's cold."

Jiang Chen glanced at her. "I had my assistant go to the pharmacy next door to buy some cold medicine. Everyone will get one after the event. It's preventative, not poison, so don't worry about taking it."

The audience burst into laughter.

The girl who was called looked down at her soaked coat, then looked up at him, her eyes already red.

He pointed to the back row: "The guy in the third row who held up that light board for an hour, get his batteries replaced. And the guy in the fifth row, he's from Hangzhou, right? Don't think I don't know, you even posted that selfie with your high-speed rail ticket in the supertopic."

The girl from Hangzhou screamed.

"And one more thing." Jiang Chen lowered his hand, his gaze sweeping across the room. "I saw you all. I saw every single one of you. Those who came in the rain, those who took overnight buses, those who took time off work—I saw them all. Thank you, really."