One blind box draw cost five Personality Coins. Chu Zhi opened one and got a [Custom Album Voucher *1]—not the Song Credit Voucher he'd been hoping for.
"This reward's still useful... but it requires freezing ten Personality Coins before use. I don't have enough." Chu Zhi frowned in thought.
To clarify: the Custom Album Voucher allowed him to pick twelve songs of his choice by spending ten Personality Coins.
He had already used one such voucher before to select songs like Left Hand Pointing to the Moon and Fireflies , totaling five songs. That left seven more slots.
Currently, he had thirteen Personality Coins. If he froze ten, he'd only have three available.
"If the first Custom Album Voucher isn't enough, I'll need to use a second one."
The Emperor Beast needed to find a way to earn more Personality Coins. For example, he was thirty repetitions short on [Overload on Carbs for One Day *550], which would take another month or so to complete.
As for [Eat Spicy Food *1200 times], he still had over a hundred instances left. Even if he ate spicy food both at lunch and dinner every day, it would still take more than fifty days.
Unless... he ate spicy food in the morning too? That could cut the time down to just over a month. But his intestines might not survive that kind of torture. Chu Zhi genuinely debated it.
The closest-to-completion achievement was [Go Barefaced in Public *700 times], and he had just over twenty left. Completing this would reward him with nine Personality Coins—more than enough.
"I'm aiming for the 'Face King' title, but I also can't neglect 'Carb Addict' and 'Merciless Butcher.' Those are my backups."
Once a plan was made, it had to be followed strictly. Starting with tonight's late-night snack.
The Sands Hotel had a 24-hour kitchen, but its restaurants were mainly Peranakan and French cuisine. Neither could deliver the level of spiciness Chu Zhi craved. After all, as someone from Shancheng, his spice tolerance was practically off the charts.
"Chinese food is only available during the day." Life was hard. Chu Zhi let out a sigh.
For context, Peranakan cuisine is a fusion of Fujianese and Malay cooking. It's mostly sweet and sour, with a faint hint of spice—practically unnoticeable for someone like Chu Zhi.
Still, the food was tasty. While the spice level didn't cut it, the carb count was more than enough.
With a full belly and a clear mind, Chu Zhi reminded himself: A man should protect himself when out and about. No alcohol tonight.
He opened the Orange Home app. In preparation for the second fan festival, a post had been pinned in the comment section since June:
[What do you most want to see on Orange Festival day?]
Only two or three hundred people would be able to attend the event in person, but that didn't dampen fan enthusiasm. There were hundreds of thousands of comments submitted.
What counted as "valid" suggestions? Not messages like "Ahhh I just want to see Jiu-yé in person" or "I really want to be there." Those were considered invalid.
Only actual proposals counted, no matter how absurd.
For example:
"Will there be a swimming pool at the venue? I want to see brother Jiu swim."
Chu Zhi browsed some of the most liked comments:
[Can Little Jiu dance? His body proportions seem perfect for dancing, especially in ancient-style costumes.]
[I want to duet The Brightest Star in the Night Sky with Jiu-yé!]
[Can the venue be bigger? Please select more attendees. I'm crying here.]
[Want to see brother Jiu rock out live.]
Obviously, not every fan's dream could be realized. The space and schedule simply couldn't accommodate them all. But Chu Zhi's goal was to fulfill as many wishes as possible.
Dancing, for example, came up again and again in top comments.
"Why do they want to see me dance?" Chu Zhi was genuinely puzzled.
But confusion aside, he began considering the logistics.
"There are lots of dance skills in the system. Jazz, Latin, belly dancing, even MJ's moves... but I've never managed to draw any of them."
He paused, wondering if he should just signal to the system, hinting for a "backdoor" trade to unlock a dance skill and perform at Orange Festival.
Wait—why did the performance need to be flawless?
He wasn't a professional dancer. He had never danced publicly before. If he learned a routine from scratch just for the fans, wouldn't that be even more touching?
Besides, Chu Zhi had inherited Cheng Dieyi's grace and poise. Certain movements came naturally to him. He had a definite advantage when it came to picking up choreography.
"With over half a month until September 6, I'll make time to choreograph a dance, hire a coach, and train properly. This time, my Little Fruits cried so much. I need to show them I care." Chu Zhi immediately emailed Niu Niu to explain the situation and his plan.
Why not leave a WeChat message? Or send a text?
Chu Zhi figured Niu Niu, his manager, was swamped today. No need to pile on more tasks. She could read the email tomorrow when things settled down. There was no rush.
Back on Orange Home, Chu Zhi picked out seven doable suggestions from the top comments and saved them in his phone notes. He wanted to plan them out carefully.
Since the Orange Festival was for the fans, he would do his utmost. His goal wasn't grand. He just wanted to stay one step ahead of other stars.
Sleep at three, wake at seven.
This guy was too busy. He even forgot to turn off the "sick leave simulation." In the middle of the night, he woke from a nightmare in cold sweat. Total oversight.
Jolted awake, Chu Zhi immediately shut down the sick leave mode. Even the calm and composed Emperor Beast was human, after all. Mistakes could happen.
From morning onward, his phone wouldn't stop ringing. Calls came one after another—Min Jeongbae, Cai Jia, Wu Xi, Zhang Ning, Zheng Huo, and more. Even Gu Peng, who had extreme social anxiety and hated phone calls, called in to show support.
Because Back to the Countryside aired so late the previous night, none of his friends disturbed him then. But they all knew Chu Zhi woke early, so the calls flooded in during the day.
Cai Jia: "Captain, ever heard the phrase 'never abandon, never give up'? Once a captain, always a captain."
Zhang Ning: "If you ever feel wronged, just call me. I've got all the time and energy for you. No need to hold back."
Zheng Huo: "Come visit us during the New Year. I'll cook a feast just for you. That's how I won over your sister-in-law."
Liang Pingbai: "I spend most of my time in Shanghai. Let's catch up sometime and talk music."
Gu Beisheng: "Brother Jiu—uh, I'm not great with words, but you've got this."
The calls didn't come one after another. They overlapped. One hadn't ended before the next one came in.
Originally, he'd planned to walk around Singapore in the morning, but in reality, he was so busy answering calls that he didn't even get to eat breakfast.
It also proved just how well-connected the Emperor Beast had become. In just over two years, he had built solid relationships throughout the entertainment industry.
At 3 PM, the signing ceremony with SMRT was held, witnessed by various Singaporean media outlets.
It didn't have to be flashy, but the client insisted. They wanted all of Lion City to know: "We've signed a deal with Asia's superstar, Chu Zhi."
The endorsement itself was simple. SMRT specialized in public transport, so their buses and trains were plastered with giant posters of Chu Zhi.
Big bold slogans followed:
"Chu Zhi x SMRT"or
"SMRT—Chu Zhi's Choice."
The Emperor Beast saw a bus drive past with his own face on the side and couldn't help but feel a little strange.
"Thank goodness they didn't slap my face on the front of the bus. I'd never keep a straight face," he muttered under his breath.
Because of the endorsement, Chu Zhi would be staying in Singapore for two days. After wrapping up his schedule in the afternoon, he returned to the Sands Hotel—only to witness a surreal sight.
The hotel was swarming with fans. Inside and out, floor after floor, crowds had gathered. Cameras were everywhere, from massive telephoto lenses to handhelds. Even the side lanes were full of fans waving support banners.
Wang Yuan glanced at the scene and said, "Xiao Jiu, hold on here. I'll go check it out."
===
程蝶衣 | Cheng Dieyi, a famous Peking Opera role known for graceful, feminine movement.
娘惹/峇峇 | Peranakan culture: "Nyonya" refers to daughters of Chinese-Malay unions, while "Baba" refers to sons.