Xiao Can was speechless, choked up.
Although he knew it was well-intentioned, and indeed had a comedic intention during recording, being bluntly labeled a “comedy video,” he couldn’t help feeling a bit sad.
But he also knew that if it weren’t genuinely funny, the video wouldn’t have garnered such a large audience.
He read through the most popular reposts and comments, which were almost all along the lines of “Didn’t expect it to be so funny until I clicked”, “Beauty, your face shouldn’t be used like this”, “Dizzy but cute”, “The most sincere fake acting I’ve ever seen”.
As for evaluations of the song itself, there were basically none.
His initial concerns were valid; if it hadn’t been for adding comedic elements, the video would have gone unnoticed.
The current result could be considered a huge success and a complete failure at the same time.
Xiao Can silently prayed that someone would notice his original intention and provide feedback on the song itself, even if it was criticism.
And then, his wish was fulfilled in a heavyweight manner.
He Xingzhou’s reputation among the public had always been mixed.
When people evaluated him, they always tended to add a “but.”
“He Xingzhou’s songs are really damn good, but the guy is just unbearable.”
“He Xingzhou’s mind is simply messed up, but it’s true he’s got some talent.”
“Really can’t stand this guy, but he deserves the awards he gets.”
Whether they liked him or not, everyone hoped he would keep a lower profile, shut his mouth, and focus more on writing songs and less on speaking.
He Xingzhou hadn’t made much noise online in the past two years, updating his Weibo only once every year or so.
It had been four months since his last high-profile statement, “The most sensational sexy curves in the world.” That time, the close-up picture of a musical instrument accompanying the post was inexplicably deemed too sensitive by the system and was blocked half a minute later, causing countless misunderstandings and becoming a topic of laughter afterwards.
But he didn’t care, simply leaving after expressing his feelings, leaving the public to speculate without any intention of explanation.
Now, four months later, he seemed quite enthusiastic and was even engaging in arguments in the comments section.
“Just feels awkward.”
“Being good-looking doesn’t make up for the fact that the song is trash and not funny.”
“Feel sorry for your taste.”
“All those words won’t change the fact that it sounds terrible.”
Xiao Can quietly read through all of his comments in the comments section.
The latest one was someone asking He Xingzhou, “Bro, why are you talking so much today? Are you free?” and his response was, “Hmm.”
So, this guy had come specifically to harass him out of boredom.
Xiao Can felt like an innocent dog being kicked while walking down the street.
Thanks to He Xingzhou, Xiao Can’s name appeared on the hot search a few hours later.
#He Xingzhou Says Xiao Can is Trash#
Clicking into the hot search, half of the people were expressing that He Xingzhou was indeed still the same, while most of the others were asking “Who is Xiao Can?” Only a few expressed, “But Xiao Can is really interesting and cute.”
As for He Xingzhou’s viewpoint itself, hardly anyone refuted it.
After all, in the field of music, going against He Xingzhou’s opinion would make one seem lacking in taste.
Xiao Can’s fans could only weakly say, “Xiao Can isn’t a singer,” to salvage his reputation. And those who disliked He Xingzhou said, “He’s just an amateur, it’s okay to watch for fun. Even if he sings badly, who are you to judge?”
Xiao Can looked at the phrase “sings badly” and tears welled up in his eyes.
He didn’t have much confidence in the songs he created, so he assumed he still had a lot of room for improvement. He humbly retweeted He Xingzhou’s Weibo, accepted the criticism with an open heart, and even tried to flatter him a bit: “Thank you, He Xingzhou, for your criticism! Indeed, there are still many shortcomings. I hope to have the opportunity in the future for you to give me some guidance in person. [Anticipating] I have always been your loyal fan!”
A few hours later, he appeared on the hot search for the second time that day.
#Xiao Can High Emotional Intelligence#
Just as he was silently contemplating that hot searches could happen without buying them, He Xingzhou actually replied.
“Not interested.”
Xiao Can was dumbfounded.
He had already prepared himself to be completely ignored, but he didn’t expect He Xingzhou to be so idle, leaving him completely unable to save face.
He was once so angry that he wanted to delete all the content of him singing He Xingzhou’s songs from his video account. He had already switched to the backstage interface when he finally calmed down and realized that he might be criticized for being petty if someone found out, so he gave up.
In the middle of the night, after much deliberation, he posted a long response on his homepage, first expressing complete understanding of He Xingzhou’s insistence as an artist, then emphasizing that He Xingzhou’s carefree and outspoken nature had always been something he greatly admired and even idolized.
Then, he mentioned the songs he had created.
He told everyone that this seemingly casual song actually took a lot of effort, then went into detail, listing the hardships of creation.
After that, he changed the subject, saying that these weren’t meant to emphasize his own efforts, as effort on the road to success was necessary and insignificant. What he wanted to say was that sincere and objective criticism was even more precious to him because of his value for it.
That made him sober up, preventing him from being overwhelmed by the current popularity. As a clumsy child still stumbling in the field of music, being praised by a master was already a kind of luck. He Xingzhou’s unintentional action had benefited him greatly.
Finally, he said: It’s a bit embarrassing to say, but the original intention of this video wasn’t to be funny. It was a serious attempt at writing a song that I wanted to share with everyone. But I was afraid it wouldn’t be good enough, so I added some other elements. Now it seems that I’m naturally more talented in comedy, haha. But I won’t give up. I hope that one day in the future, everyone will have more comments about me besides “funny.”
Sincerity is always a killer skill.
Except for the part about He Xingzhou in his short essay, most of it was heartfelt. He even felt moved while writing it, and sure enough, it received a good response after being published.
However, He Xingzhou, who had been active on Weibo all day, didn’t respond at all afterwards.
Xiao Can was quite satisfied with this.
The wave of attention was already enough. If this guy came out again and started talking nonsense, he would really have no way to deal with it. Talking too much would lead to mistakes, and endlessly continuing the sequel would easily annoy people.
From the results, this farce was definitely more beneficial than detrimental to him.
He trended on several different platforms, his fanbase skyrocketed, and at the same time, various cooperation invitations poured in. His popularity surpassed many minor celebrities.
From a certain perspective, being invited to tonight’s gala event was also thanks to He Xingzhou.
Of course, Xiao Can didn’t feel thankful at all. In that seemingly sincere little essay, every part involving He Xingzhou was written with disdain.
You’re amazing, you’re talented, you’re outstanding, your talent is about to explode, but you have no room for manners and education! Bah!
Anyway, bringing him traffic wasn’t He Xingzhou’s intention.
Xiao Can was very clear about his position. Internet celebrities come and go in waves, mostly just flashes in the pan. After a brief peak, it’s downhill. Those who could stay popular for a long time not only had the right timing and favorable conditions but also actively strived for it.
This event was originally a great opportunity for him, and he had made a lot of preparations for it.
Unfortunately, it was all ruined.
Xiao Can spent the whole night in a daze, finally holding on until the end of the event, then returned to the hotel without even bothering to remove his makeup before falling asleep exhausted.
He slept through until noon the next day, with the incessant ringing of the phone saving him from the nightmare he couldn’t escape.
He endured the headache and groped for his phone, realizing that the caller was his friend Mu Nianwen.
“Why are you still asleep!” Mu Nianwen was very excited. “I sent you so many messages and you didn’t reply. Weren’t you online? When did you become so indifferent?”
Xiao Can checked the time. It was just past twelve. With his usual schedule, he would have only just woken up at this time.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“You still ask me what’s wrong…” Mu Nianwen seemed speechless. “How fake was that fall you took yesterday? Didn’t you realize?”
Xiao Can was stunned. “What fall?”
“During the interview,” Mu Nianwen said. “…Wasn’t that intentional?”
“How is that possible!” Xiao Can realized what he was referring to and became nervous. “I wasn’t feeling well!”
“Huh?” Mu Nianwen was puzzled. “Weren’t you fine in the morning? What’s wrong, is it serious?”
The reason for not feeling well was difficult to explain. Xiao Can hesitated and changed the subject. “Maybe I was just tired, had a bit of a fever… Did it look fake?”
“Uh…” Mu Nianwen hesitated. “It was weird. It looked like it was carefully planned, but also very exaggerated… It made you seem very attention-seeking and not very smart.”
“Gasp!” Xiao Can took a sharp breath.
Who would carefully plan something like that! He had only practiced how to show a clear, cheerful, and natural smile in front of the camera!
“I don’t know whether to congratulate you or not, anyway,” Mu Nianwen paused, “you’re trending again!”
Xiao Can quickly opened Weibo, and #Xiao Can Fake Fall# was prominently displayed as the eighth trending topic.
He tried scrolling through the trending topics, and aside from the marketing accounts copy-pasting the same content for attention, there was a chorus of criticism and ridicule.
Some said his entire set of actions was ridiculously fake, some said they had always thought he was hypocritical and pretentious. What was most infuriating was that some accused him of deliberately riding on He Xingzhou’s popularity.
Xiao Can was furious.
How unfair! He didn’t force He Xingzhou to retweet his snarky remarks back then, and his attempts at damage control afterward were just dealing with the situation as it unfolded. Besides, if it wasn’t for He Xingzhou suddenly losing his control yesterday, he wouldn’t have embarrassed himself in the live broadcast at the gala.
“I knew it, you wouldn’t act so poorly…” Mu Nianwen worriedly said, “Are you feeling better now?”
“Much better,” Xiao Can said.
Although he still felt dizzy, at least he wasn’t as physically and mentally exhausted as yesterday.
“You should quickly hire an assistant,” Mu Nianwen advised, “Doing everything by yourself, getting sick from exhaustion on such an important occasion, it’s not worth it.”
“Let’s talk about it when I get back,” Xiao Can said.
He originally had an assistant, a recently graduated Omega girl from college who was very capable and got along well with him. Unfortunately, she resigned and returned to her hometown a few months ago to get married.
Xiao Can felt regretful but still sincerely wished her well.
Finding another assistant who was equally satisfactory wasn’t an easy task.
Xiao Can was a bit resentful towards her choice, feeling that the Alpha she married wasn’t worthy of such a clever and smart Omega.
At the same time, he also felt that his former assistant was really not thinking straight. If it were him, he would never sacrifice his career for an Alpha.
“Oh,” Mu Nianwen sounded very surprised as he continued, “Do you know Tan Zhen?”
“Not really…” Xiao Can was curious. “What about him?”
“He posted on Weibo, go take a look. He’s speaking up for you!” Mu Nianwen said.
