The word "KOCCA" made Guan He tense up immediately.
Earlier, when the sudden call from mega-idol Chu Zhi came, Guan He already had some guesses. But now, he was certain.
Desperate, Guan He had reached out to several influential figures in the Korean entertainment industry. He hadn't dared hope for much.
After all, it was normal for others not to help. Who wanted to take on someone else's burden?
The only person he'd hoped for was Teacher Wang Qian. Never in a million years did he think Chu Zhi would be the one to lend a hand.
"Did it not work?" Chu Zhi's voice came again over the phone.
"It worked. Thank you, brother Jiu. The two who bullied us were handed over to the police this afternoon," Guan He replied quickly, full of sincere gratitude. "Really, thank you so much for everything. I'm sorry to have troubled you. I didn't mean to disturb you like this..."
"You and Siqi are overseas, standing on your own, holding onto your dreams. It must be painful to be isolated," Chu Zhi replied. "To prevent similar incidents in the future, I've created a small overseas support group. Any Chinese trainee in South Korea can join. I'm inviting you and Li Siqi to join."
There was no reason to refuse. Guan He immediately agreed and accepted on behalf of Li Siqi too.
"If something like this happens again, call JYP Entertainment's customer service line and press 0#. Leave a message. JYP will step in to help. If they can't solve it, I'll handle it," Chu Zhi explained.
"Brother Jiu... could I add you on WeChat? I swear I mean no harm. I just want to repay your kindness one day," Guan He said nervously, gripping his phone tightly. He wasn't trying to leech off fame. That line earlier—"you and Siqi are alone overseas, holding onto your dreams"—had nearly broken his emotional dam.
He wasn't doing this just for glory. He just wanted to be a star and make a living. If he had other options, he wouldn't be suffering in silence.
"Of course. Add me. When you're standing on the big stage, just treat me to a meal," Chu Zhi replied with a laugh.
"I will. I swear I will." Guan He spoke with conviction.
Before hanging up, Chu Zhi gave his WeChat ID: bierenjiadexiaomaomi.
Guan He immediately sent a friend request.
[Keep going, light-chasing youth.]
Chu Zhi sent the message as soon as they connected. Guan He pinned the chat to the top of his app, right next to his mother's. That short line gave him incredible strength.
He rushed to tell Li Siqi, who had been watching dance practice videos.
After hearing it all, Li Siqi's face shifted from shock to daze to pure admiration.
"Brother Jiu is just too amazing... too amazing... too amazing," he murmured.
Three repetitions for emphasis.
Li Siqi knew himself. He couldn't have done what Chu Zhi had—contact KOCCA, establish a support line via JYP... It was beyond generous.
They weren't naive either. JYP was one of the Big Three. Even if their founder was a former singer, that didn't mean they were saints. Chu Zhi must have paid a price to get their cooperation.
"Brother Jiu is the best star I've ever seen. No one comes close," Guan He added.
Before bed, they received another call. This time it was Niku, a Thai trainee sent to FNC by his agency back home.
Niku, who struggled with Korean, had also been bullied. He called to ask if they could help him too.
It wasn't unexpected. Niku and Li Siqi were fairly close.
"Sorry, Niku. I can't help. What I did was ask a famous artist from home for help," Li Siqi explained. He also encouraged Niku to try the same.
Niku ended the call. He stared at his phone. Thai celebrities in Korea were few, and he doubted any would help.
Still, with nothing to lose, he sent out messages to several of them—but with little hope.
He couldn't help but feel a little envious. Li Siqi's country had Chu Zhi.
Across the sea, Chu Zhi was still filming.
Always one to think long-term, Chu Zhi reflected. Guan He and Li Siqi had reached out and found help. But what about those who hadn't?
If he was going to help, then he might as well solve the problem completely.
The reason most trainees didn't report bullying or go to the embassy was simple—they didn't want to lose their shot. Going public meant being pushed out.
These trainees had already fought hard to reach Korea. They couldn't afford to give up. Enduring it seemed like the only option.
So Chu Zhi created an official channel within the rules. JYP, as part of the Big Three, didn't need to act much—just seem connected to the victim. That alone was enough to make bullies wary.
Why did JYP help? Not quite how Li Siqi and Guan He imagined. No major cost. Chu Zhi's new Korean mini-album was being released through JYP.
With profit on the line, JYP wouldn't say no. Past cases had proven it. A Japanese EP titled Just a Bit of Hope for the World had sold nearly 200,000 copies in Korea alone. A Korean album would sell even more.
Chu Zhi's rabid fan group, the "Apostles," were infamous in fan circles. Even JYP's market team struggled to predict their behavior. They were once called the "plague of the fandom world" by Korean media.
"Great work, Teacher Chu. Can we redo that last shot? There was a flaw in the commercial scene," the assistant director asked.
"Of course. Let me take a sip of water, then let's roll," Chu Zhi agreed without hesitation.
The assistant was prepared for excuses. Many celebrities acted like royalty during shoots. Not Chu Zhi.
"No wonder he's the top of the top. The others are just internet idols," the assistant thought.
They finally wrapped around 10 p.m. His team was still waiting. The nanny van drove them home.
If Chu Zhi worked past 11 p.m., he always made his assistants Xiao Zhuzi and Qiu go home. He could rely on his miracle meds, but they couldn't. They needed to rest.
"Didn't expect releasing a Korean album would help me learn some Korean," Chu Zhi mused, closing his eyes. Still, his Japanese and Russian were far better.
He could single-handedly translate Flowers in the Mirror into Japanese and Russian. But Korean? Not a chance.
Manager Lao Qian had suggested a simpler method: post the bullying video on Instagram. Chu Zhi's fanbase would have exploded and blown FNC up.
It would've been easy—just a few taps—but Chu Zhi didn't go that route. Most victims didn't want that kind of exposure.
The next day—
Yesterday's overcast skies had cleared into brilliant sun.
In Shanghai, Chu Zhi's team gathered in the meeting room.
"If needed, we can establish support groups in other countries," Chu Zhi said. "Right now, my influence only really covers Japan and Korea."
"You're underestimating yourself. With a bit more effort, you could extend to Thailand and Russia too," Lao Qian said.
Russia wasn't a stretch—two of Chu Zhi's songs had even caught the attention of Vitas. Thailand was trickier.
"Thailand's entertainment industry is solid," Lao Qian explained, "but their music scene is dominated by K‑pop, and manga and films are taken over by Japan. Since you're big in Korea and Japan, your fame spilled over."
Self-spread fame, in a way.
"Alright, back to business. Brother Fei, let's talk about the Chu Ci: Ode to the Orange promotion plan," Chu Zhi said.
Promoting albums and dramas took months of prep. Though his album would be free, it brought in tons of exposure, and Taiyang Chuanhe wasn't afraid to spend.
The whole morning passed in meetings.
Brother Fei, head of promotions, spoke the most and looked the most excited.
"If this works out, Chu-ge will become a beacon for foreign artists—respected both inside and outside the industry."
"Two birds, one stone."
Fei muttered it quietly. People found him annoying sometimes—he was rational and profit-driven. He wasn't helping those boys out of pity, but because it made business sense.
That's how the industry worked. You earned respect either with seniority or by doing something that helped everyone. In Taiwan, Li Zongsheng was revered for improving backstage pay for music workers.
Right now, only two trainees had benefited. But over time, that number could grow to twenty, thirty, or more.
Chu Zhi's album would drop in a month or two. Meanwhile, Zhou Yuyi's debut album The Night No One Cared About was scheduled for January 9. She was unknown, so it would be a free digital album.
The title track wasn't a hit, but one song—How I Wish to Hold You in an Ordinary Life—exploded.
The chorus might have been cliché, but the lyrics resonated deeply.
And with Zhou Yuyi's smoky voice, lyrics like 🎵"No matter what, we went through storms together. Let's grow old quietly, peacefully."🎵 had real bite.
It debuted at #1 on Douyin's trending music chart—a feat even major artists struggled to achieve. Viral hits were mysterious. Some old songs blew up again with no promotion.
Taiyang Chuanhe had launched many new artists. CEO Huang Bo favored Kang Long, but Zhou Yuyi's momentum seemed greater.
"With Chu Zhi's Midas touch, if he wrote songs for others, he'd dominate the industry," Huang Bo thought.
But he also felt a pang of regret. He'd poured resources into Kang Long with no payoff.
If only he had bought one of Chu Zhi's scrapped demos…
He planned to have Kang Long's agent, Big Bowl, reach out for a song. Big Bowl was second only to Sister Niu among their company's top agents—and had nearly become Chu Zhi's manager.
Big Bowl had tons of resources. The fact that Kang Long got assigned to her showed how much they'd invested.
Huang Bo had no special relationship with Kang Long. It was more like a fan's obsession with an obscure idol. His voice just aligned with Huang Bo's tastes.
Like shipping weird fictional couples—Zhang Fei and Voldemort, Voldemort and Lin Daiyu, Lin Daiyu and Lu Zhishen. Nonsense ships. But when your personal taste is strong, you push for your favorites, even if no one else gets it.
He was the CEO of an entertainment company. As long as his biases didn't affect the business, he would keep giving Kang Long resources.
===
Referenced Song:
Original Title: 多想在平凡的生活拥抱你 (Duō Xiǎng Zài Píngfán de Shēnghuó Yōngbào Nǐ)
English Translation:How I Wish to Hold You in an Ordinary Life
Artist: Zhou Yuyi (周羽艺)
EP: Just a Bit of Hope for the World (稍微期待世界一下)