Chapter 85: "A Real Man"

As Zhou Ran made his statement, the internet immediately erupted, and the headline "Zhou Ran's Best Male Singer Speech" shot straight to the top of the trending search list, its popularity soaring at a remarkable speed.

Discussions about Zhou Ran’s remarks spread like wildfire online, with an endless stream of opinions and assessments.

"If a young man isn't bold, can he really be called young?"

"Who does Zhou Ran think he is, being so arrogant and conceited?"

"Can't he learn a thing or two from his fellow award recipient, the veteran Chen Wenhua? Did you see him act like this?"

"Why shouldn't Zhou Ran act this way? Doesn't he have the work to back it up? His talent is undeniable—if you disagree, let your work speak for itself!"

"That's my audacious Xiao Ran!"

"I'm unfollowing him. Just look at how conceited he’s become."

"Are you kidding me? Haven’t you seen how far Zhou Ran has come, step by step? If I suddenly had his kind of talent, I’d be over the moon—Heaven is first, Earth is second, and I'd be third."

Zhou Ran’s words on the award stage sparked a massive uproar online; some supported what he said, while others vehemently opposed his attitude.

Yet Zhou Ran paid no attention to these online debates. He simply sat quietly in his seat, waiting for the next award for Best Song to be announced.

Even if Zhou Ran knew about the discussions raging on the internet, he wouldn’t care much—after all, those who opposed him weren’t even part of his target audience. If they weren’t his fans to begin with, why should he be angered by their complaints?

What Zhou Ran needed to do was focus on his duty as a singer: to release albums with care, and to pour his efforts into every aspect of his music.

At this moment, the Huayu Entertainment Company Zhou Ran had signed with was far from idle. Their public relations team was already in action. In fact, ever since Zhou Ran attended the awards ceremony, their PR machine had never stopped working. Truth be told, Zhou Ran’s ability to win these major awards was inseparable from Huayu’s involvement.

Xi Hanwei, Zhou Ran’s manager, had learned of Zhou Ran’s nominations even while the organizers were still deliberating. He personally called the relevant parties, effectively giving Zhou Ran an official endorsement. Without this, the organizers of the Chinese Golden Melody Awards would never have dared to grant Zhou Ran all these nominations at once.

Behind the scenes, there were always those who worked quietly for these results. Xi Hanwei’s efforts were all aimed at ensuring the partnership between Zhou Ran and the company would proceed smoothly, and at furthering their anti-dumping strategy.

To be honest, this anti-dumping plan had already reached the upper echelons—it was no longer just a matter for Huayu alone, but something involving higher authorities.

As for Zhou Ran himself, he was largely unaware of all this. These negotiations were handled by Li Mi in discussions with Huayu. All Zhou Ran needed to do was perform well; the rest would be taken care of by the team.

Zhou Ran’s performance did not let their efforts go to waste. In the remaining time at the Chinese Golden Melody Awards, he won yet another trophy—the Best Song Award.

When Zhou Ran won this prize, the entire internet exploded, as many people had been betting on whether he could sweep all the awards, making this a hot topic for wagers and setting up “flags.”

Now that Zhou Ran had actually won, many of those who had set up these flags found themselves compelled to fulfill their promises, while others hurriedly deleted their posts, pretending they had never said anything, as if their memories had simply vanished.

One of those who set a flag was Ear Emperor, and his promise was particularly bold.

When Zhou Ran won Best Male Singer, Ear Emperor was already preparing to fulfill his vow: he would record a congratulatory video for Zhou Ran in women’s clothing.

In Ear Emperor’s mind, Zhou Ran was sure to win the final Best Song Award. After all, the Chinese Golden Melody Awards had already given him all the major prizes—only Best Song remained, and given the quality of Zhou Ran’s music, that award was as good as his.

For Ear Emperor, a man must keep his promises—if he dared to make a vow, he would see it through to the end.

However, while recording the congratulatory video, a small incident occurred: Ear Emperor repeatedly burst out laughing, unable to accept how he looked dressed in women’s attire. It was truly a test of his composure.

After more than ten retakes, Ear Emperor finally managed to record a version that, while still featuring several laughing fits, was at least somewhat presentable.

As soon as Ear Emperor posted the video online, he immediately disconnected from the internet, determined to disappear from the digital world for a while, knowing full well that as soon as the video went public, social death was inevitable.

And indeed, his prediction proved true. As soon as Ear Emperor uploaded the video of himself, in women’s clothing, congratulating Zhou Ran on winning six major awards, it instantly went viral.

The contrast was just too striking—a mature man dressed in a pink maid’s outfit, congratulating Zhou Ran. The sheer absurdity made people burst out laughing.

Yes, Ear Emperor had gone all out and bought a pink maid costume. His thought was, if he was going to do it, he might as well do it thoroughly. As long as he wore a maid outfit, social death was guaranteed—so the degree of embarrassment didn’t matter anymore. If he was going to play, he would play it to the hilt.

Moreover, this was Ear Emperor’s first time revealing his face to the public, and with the added buzz from Zhou Ran’s victory, the video shot straight to the trending charts.

His friends, upon seeing the video, immediately called him, but Ear Emperor, ever the strategist, had already severed all connections and gone into airplane mode, escaping alone to the wilderness to avoid being found.

In the end, his ordeal turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Ear Emperor’s cross-dressing stunt gained him over a million new followers and even earned him the title of “Real Man.”

With Ear Emperor leading by example, many others who had set up similar flags bravely stepped forward to fulfill their own promises, turning the internet into a massive scene of social embarrassment.

People discovered that their old friends could be surprisingly flamboyant—some made public confessions, others washed their hair while standing on their heads. For a while, the internet was bursting with laughter, and no one was short of entertainment.