The variety show "The Birth of an Idol" had already garnered a lot of attention during its promotional period. When the first episode aired, fans of the five mentors almost all tuned in. Although the mentors didn't have much screen time, the fans were still very satisfied, and the handsome young men were also very good-looking.
Then, the chubby Xu Zifan appeared.
[Hahaha, what the heck? Why is such a fat person participating?]
[White t-shirt and casual pants, is this guy trying to be funny?]
He got an A! He got an A! Wow, so confident and calm, it suddenly feels so cool!
[I also think it's cool and stylish! One of the members of a foreign JS group is overweight, and she's the lead dancer. Why can't we have overweight people in China? Don't discriminate against overweight people.]
Are you guys serious? Is it really good to have someone with such an out-of-place style in a seven-member boy group? I just want to see charming and handsome guys.
Xu Zifan's appearance triggered the highest number of comments since the show started. Half of the viewers were indifferent to him, while the other half questioned why he was even in the competition. However, when he introduced himself, most of the viewers were amused by his performance. Then, when they saw him sit on the throne without hesitation, the comments exploded. Half of the viewers thought he was really cool and confident, while the other half mocked him for trying to get screen time and not knowing his place.
After Pan Yu entered, his fans started dissing Xu Zifan, saying the throne belonged to Pan Yu. It turned out Xu Zifan knew Pan Yu and even called him "Panzi." The barrage of comments like "Haha, Panzi is so funny!" immediately overwhelmed Pan Yu's small group of fans, making them disappear completely, but making the nickname "Panzi" memorable. Moreover, judging from everyone's reactions, Pan Yu seemed quite strong. Since Xu Zifan and Pan Yu were good friends, does that mean he's actually quite skilled?
Of all the young men who came in, Xu Zifan impressed me the most. I suddenly had some expectations for his abilities, since he was the only contestant who wasn't stage-frightened, pretentious, pretending to be nervous, or joking around, and who still easily chose the throne.
The mentors' entrance sparked another surge in comments and viewership. Xu Zifan was then specifically praised, and his act of lending a hat to Pan Yu further solidified the audience's belief in their close friendship. Xu Zifan's performance was absolutely captivating, and his dancing was both energetic and explosive!
[Ahhh, I want to cheer for Fatty Brother!!! Who says fat people can't compete? Fatty Brother is a flexible fat guy, okay!]
[It's so good! I've contradicted myself. I was just saying I wanted to see a flirtatious guy, but this chubby guy is actually so charming!]
[He was imitating live! What kind of talent is that? He imitated it perfectly, the mentors were all stunned!]
[School party, haha, is this his first day as a solo trainee?]
[I can tell you're broke! You really need to change your clothes, they're all loose. I'm going to send Fatty a set! You're my source of joy today!]
[I was feeling really down, but seeing Fatty actually cheered me up. I laughed the whole time. Fatty, you're so calm! How can I tell you're happy?]
What's with "Mentor Bai" and "Initiator Bai"?! Wouldn't it be better to just call them Sister Xingchen and PD Bai? And Mentor Zhou, Mentor Yu... hahaha, they sound like well-behaved elementary school students.
When Xu Zifan returned to the throne, everyone was amused again by his casual ordering from the snack street. Even while Pan Yu and the others were performing, the live chat was still buzzing with discussions about Xu Zifan. Some even shared the same sentiment as some of the contestants: with Xu Zifan's unique physique, he was perfectly suited to sit on the throne. And with his excellent performance, it would be interesting if he debuted as the center! Just imagine a chubby, fair-skinned guy in the middle, flanked by three handsome young men—it's strangely appealing!
Pan Yu and his group performed a song and dance routine, but the audience's attention was only drawn back in the second half, so they didn't watch the whole thing and didn't remember much of it overall. At most, they thought Pan Yu's performance in the middle was pretty good. Sure enough, the mentors didn't give Xu Zifan as high a review, saying that their balance wasn't good enough and that their eye contact and expressions were lacking.
Some viewers even looked up the meaning of "balance," and it turns out that the best dance moves are those where every movement is coordinated and balanced. Otherwise, the movements will either be too soft, too stiff, or appear chaotic, lacking the clean, crisp, and captivating beauty of dance.
After someone posted this interpretation in the comments, the discussion started again. Pan Yu released two songs, and a small group of loyal fans were very unhappy and dissed Xu Zifan, saying that a fat guy like him couldn't possibly dance well. Pan Yu not only dances well but also choreographed his own dances, which is amazing. But since everyone is a layman, they genuinely felt that Xu Zifan's dance was more attractive, so of course they thought he was better. Besides, didn't Bai Yuchen also say that Xu Zifan had better balance while Pan Yu and Xu Zifan's were a bit lacking? Isn't Bai Yuchen a professional? These Pan Yu fans are so annoying. It's fine to like your idol, but there's no need to put down the fat guy, who is still Pan Yu's good friend.
Before Pan Yu knew it, the fiercely loyal young female fans he had deliberately attracted turned against him. The most memorable impression he left in the first episode, besides being known as "Panzi," was how brainless his fans were.
Because many viewers were focused on the comments and the balance of the performance, Pan Yu's solo performance didn't attract much attention; they just thought it was okay. However, since the mentors didn't offer much feedback and directly gave him an A before moving on to the next performer, the audience was quickly drawn to the following contestants and didn't retain much of an impression on Pan Yu. His carefully prepared, stunning entrance was thus ruined, while Xu Zifan's performance was quite natural. Pan Yu never imagined during training that the broadcast would be so different from his expectations.
After all one hundred contestants performed, the one who left the deepest impression on the audience was Xu Zifan, the humorous, agile, and composed chubby guy. He became a trending topic that very day, with everyone discussing him and labeling him with numerous tags: "King of Calmness," "Eating dirt to get so fat," "School gala trainee," "Master of Imitation," "Mentor Bai and Initiator Bai," "Optimistic, cheerful, and full of positive energy," "Setting a flag to lose weight," "Snack Street enthusiast"...
Besides the topics Xu Zifan deliberately created for himself, there were also things he didn't expect. For example, some viewers who rewatched the show noticed that when the mentors entered, Bai Xingchen's stunning face almost attracted everyone's attention. Many contestants even dared not look her in the eye; she was just too beautiful. But Xu Zifan was actually daydreaming at that moment! The goddess was so beautiful, even the comments section was filled with admiration, yet he was distracted in front of her in person? And afterwards, when the goddess praised him, he remained incredibly calm, making one wonder if his taste was abnormal!
So the topic "Bai Xingchen's diminished charm caused Fatty to lose focus" became a trending topic. The interaction between Bai Xingchen and Xu Zifan clearly showed that Bai Xingchen admired Xu Zifan, even encouraging him to act in movies. Xu Zifan was immediately labeled an "actor whose talent was wasted on talent shows," sparking much discussion and prompting many to watch his performance to see just how good his acting was. This led to even more fans of this type of actor becoming fans of Xu Zifan. Bai Xingchen, a recent Best Actress winner, was currently enjoying immense popularity, and Xu Zifan's fame increased dramatically as a result.
For example, when Xu Zifan and Pan Yu were entering the dormitory, their smiling eye contact was shown in slow motion, and the program captioned it: "Plastic brotherhood!"
Pan Yu's fans will definitely give Xu Zifan a severe dressing-down, feeling that Xu Zifan gave their idol an offensive nickname from the very beginning. Pan Yu said he didn't like it, but Xu Zifan called him that twice, resulting in many casual viewers now calling Pan Yu "Panzi," which is extremely annoying. Furthermore, Xu Zifan borrowed Pan Yu's top hat to show off, making several of Pan Yu's hat-flipping moves in the dance less impressive. Xu Zifan also sat on the throne and stayed in the best room, completely stealing Pan Yu's thunder; he's clearly just riding on Pan Yu's coattails.
They are fans of Pan Yu, and it's understandable that they have strong biases towards their idol. However, their insults towards Xu Zifan are off-putting. After all, most viewers of the show find Xu Zifan quite likable, and everyone was discussing her happily. It's annoying when Pan Yu's fans come in and act inappropriately, so many people have criticized Pan Yu's fans. It's only the first episode, so this phenomenon isn't serious yet; it hasn't trended on social media or attracted much attention, but it has significantly lowered people's impression of Pan Yu.
Pan Yu knew that young female fans were incredibly fierce, extremely protective of their own, and adept at criticizing others. Therefore, he deliberately interacted with fans on Weibo to create a persona of alluring charm and overflowing hormones, attracting a group of die-hard young female fans. His goal was to leverage these fans to ensure his success during group activities or when the group disbanded.
As originally planned, Pan Yu did indeed succeed. He was the best performer on the show, talented in singing, and popular, so people were naturally more forgiving of his fans. After the group disbanded a year later, he was already very popular with a large fan base. While the "loli" fans (young, girly fans) made up only a portion of his fanbase, most of the time the fans were rational and in control. He would also act rationally, so naturally no one would make him pay for his fans' actions.
But things are different now. Xu Zifan performed better than him, and the way the young female fans are criticizing Xu Zifan is making people's opinion of him worse. This was something he hadn't expected; who knew that Xu Zifan would suddenly become completely different from what he had anticipated?
After the first episode aired, Xu Zifan earned two nicknames: "Fat Brother" and "The Emperor of Calmness." When people mentioned trainees, they would call him "the gala trainee." Being a star isn't about having labels; it's about having enough. He's just starting out, and the more memorable he is, the faster he'll become famous. This is even more important than talent. Too many incredibly talented contestants in talent shows have been eliminated due to low votes. They certainly have talent, but if they don't know how to manage themselves, they won't become stars.
Fortunately, Xu Zifan is very good at managing himself and is very familiar with the entertainment industry.
The contestants were unaware of what was happening outside. After a nap, they began the second stage: learning to sing and dance to the show's theme song independently. Each person had three days to practice, after which they had to sing and dance the entire song in front of a camera. The mentors would then re-evaluate their performances based on the videos. A change in ranking meant a change of dormitory, classroom, and even the color of their clothes.
The contestants had been studying all morning and were exhausted by lunchtime. They ate heartily in the cafeteria, eager to get back and rest. Xu Zifan, holding a bowl of vegetable soup, looked at their food with drooling eyes.