Little Fruits were busier than ever, especially the ones studying abroad. News kept rolling in from all over.
One fan, known by the complicated username FishPrisonRain, excitedly shared, "It's here! The Morning Post featured brother Jiu! Thailand's Morning Post is their second-largest paper, just after the Thai Daily. I grabbed a copy. Here, let me share."
FishPrisonRain, or just Fish for convenience, was studying at Chulalongkorn University. Within minutes, she posted a photo and helpfully translated the Thai article:
"Asian superstar Chu Zhi stunned audiences across multiple nations with his performance of 'Left Hand Pointing to the Moon'. The song soared to Thailand's Twitter trending list overnight with the tag 'A voice from reincarnation'.
According to GDH559—Thailand's top film production company—executives expressed, 'If we were to shoot a historical or Buddhist-themed film, we would definitely consider using this track as the theme song.'"
"GDH559 has made most of the Thai films released in China," Fish added.
Another fan, Initial_n, chimed in: "My uncle does business in India, so I had my cousin grab a couple papers. As expected, plenty of outlets featured brother Jiu. The biggest one was The Frontline, an English-language paper. Let me post the clip."
"Since 'After I Close My Eyes' took Asia by storm, Chu Zhi does it again with 'Left Hand Pointing to the Moon'. Music critic Jaydeen wrote: 'Chu Zhi is a rare artist who listens deeply to a country's soul. His EPs released in Japan and South Korea prove this. 'Left Hand Pointing to the Moon' clearly channels Buddhist influence, suggesting a strong familiarity with Indian culture.'"
Why would Asian newspapers outside the three participating countries (China, Japan, South Korea) cover this event? Because the public was hungry for it, and news is driven by demand.
"Jaydeen used to be a singer, now a behind-the-scenes composer for classic Bollywood films. According to my cousin, he's got serious status in India," Initial_n added.
If Chu Zhi's management team cared about milestones, then his fans cared about the entire journey.
Just like with his previous movie, Little Fruits made it their mission to collect every major foreign article about Chu Zhi. He truly was the dream idol of career-driven fans—not an exaggeration, but perhaps even an understatement.
Two albums, two foreign-language EPs, and one movie that shook the entire continent. Stardom had come so fast it was dizzying.
Of course, top-tier publications like Korea's Dong-A Ilbo and Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun were immediately tracked down, thanks to Little Fruits studying abroad.
"Vocal virtuoso Chu Zhi (23) delivered a 'legendary live performance' at the 'Japan-China-Korea Music Broadcast'.
His sustained C6 high notes broke mic limits. Attempts to replicate it by singer Mayoko Kyoku and composer Takumi Kato failed multiple times.
Takumi Kato remarked: 'Chu Zhi's C6 diction defies anatomy. No human should be able to replicate that.'"
—Yomiuri Shimbun
"According to Taiyang Chuanhe Entertainment, Chu Zhi's management agency, the performance of 'Left Hand Pointing to the Moon' on June 11 was an original composition by Chu Zhi himself. It quickly became a trending tag on DAUM.
Achieving this on DAUM—South Korea's biggest portal—is nearly impossible without both a strong fandom and broad public appeal.
The song surpassed stiff competition from top idol groups to top the tag charts. Its impact proves that Chu Zhi is now a full-blown celebrity in Korea."
—Dong-A Ilbo
DAUM is South Korea's largest portal, home to paid fan clubs and an internal tagging system.
Unlike Wikipedia, where anyone can edit, DAUM's "hot word" tags are added by staff. They usually only apply to politicians and bankers, rarely to artists unless they're veteran actors.
Currently, only Jo Kwon, the lead singer of the mega-popular GZ Boy Group, had such a tag. But now, Chu Zhi not only had one, so did his song.
DAUM couldn't ignore a first-place finish. They even wanted to prioritize a Korean song, but their own performers didn't deliver.
Meanwhile, sales of "After the Clouds Clear" had plateaued at a few hundred a day. Thanks to the broadcast, they soared again, surpassing 100,000 in a flash.
JYP's President Park nearly popped his eyes out.
Unlike other label heads, Park was a former singer. He still had artistic pride.
After much thought, he concluded: "Strength. People idolize strength. Chu Zhi embodies every fan's dream: talent in composing, performing, and visuals. Too strong."
Could we split that into three people? Park wanted to create a boy band with separate members for looks, vocals, and songwriting.
"Looks can be fixed with surgery. We can get someone to a 6/10. Vocals? Train a strong-lunged trainee. Not expecting C6 diction, but C5 should be doable."
"But songwriting... That one's hard to fake."
His vision: a deconstructed Chu Zhi boy group. Not the usual all-rounders, but specialists.
"Totally doable. In a sea of lookalike boy bands, we need a niche."
Park's giddy, monkey-like grin said it all.
Sales of both "After the Clouds Clear" and the older EP "A Slight Expectation for the World" surged. Japanese EPs that had languished with just a few thousand copies in stock? Gone in hours.
Fans rushed to Sony Music's site. Total sales crossed 100,000.
Chu Zhi's wealth soared again. His family, already well-off, was now too rich.
Vietnam's Saigon Liberation Daily, Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, and Malaysia's The Star all featured reports on him.
His influence stretched across Asia, backed by real popularity.
His fan bases? Unmatched. The official Chu Zhi fan club, microblog bar, Japanese fan site, and Orange Orchard No.79 all had platforms with millions of followers.
Dozens of fan accounts on Weibo and TikTok were dedicated to him, most with hundreds of thousands of followers, many over a million.
Other celebrities wept. He wasn't just a benchmark—he was a tidal wave.
Take Zhou Yiyu, for instance. His agent Brother Zhan forced him to start learning French.
CEO Huang of Taiyang Chuanhe once said, "Learn a foreign language. Look at your senior Chu Zhi. I'm not saying be him, but every artist at Taiyang Chuanhe should speak at least one."
Thus, foreign language proficiency became mandatory for trainees. The irony? Many of them became singers to avoid school.
Now they were learning even harder.
"Please, stop showing off!" Zhou Yiyu cried. "You're not inspiring us, brother, you're burying us!"
He was referring to how Chu Zhi could drop Buddhist scripture into everyday conversation.
He feared CEO Huang might suddenly demand that next.
Location: Beijing
Time: Afternoon
Characters: Two senior officials
"A golden-scaled fish is never meant for shallow ponds. When the winds rise, it becomes a dragon," said Director Jiang from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
"Don't exaggerate," replied Director Dong from the Literary Review Center. "Since the 21st century, we haven't had a single true national-level superstar. And now suddenly we have an Asian icon? Come on."
But since Chu Zhi was one of their official picks for the performance, Jiang had to defend the outcome.
"It's not exaggeration. He just needs one more blockbuster film or hit song. With his current popularity, age and years of experience no longer matter."
"Did you know," Jiang added, "Chu Zhi's combined follower count on Instagram, Twitter, and Weibo is over 100 million? Even allowing for overlap, he's got serious cultural influence."
Dong conceded, "Fair. I saw in a report that his Hanfu outfit during the performance got a lot of attention from foreign YouTube users."
"A golden-scaled fish indeed," Jiang repeated, beaming from the recent praise their selection received.
But while they basked in glory, the organizers in Rongcheng were in hot water. Nicknamed the "Eight Pigs," the ones responsible for earlier shady behavior finally faced disciplinary action.
Rongcheng issued a public statement and confirmed internal penalties for two individuals involved. But public attention had mostly moved on, so the issue didn't make much noise.
===
Golden-scaled fish metaphor: Reference to potential greatness rising when opportunity comes