Duan Xiubo had grown accustomed to being bombarded with notifications.
After the concert, the fan community was in an uproar for days. Fan recordings, live photos, audio clips, edits, and footage of the support activities spread widely online. Many fans who couldn’t attend the concert cried just from looking at the photos, especially the moment at the end when the audience and Luo Ding on stage bowed to each other.
The same scene occurred during the additional concerts, and it seemed the fans were intent on making this a tradition for Luo Ding’s future concerts.
“A-da!!!!!!!!!” Duan Xiubo’s alternate account was flooded with messages. “A-da, you must have been at the concert too, right? There were so many beautiful people there. Which one were you?!”
Duan Xiubo usually didn’t respond. His alternate account was for showing off (like album posters and merchandise), reposting, and liking posts. Over time, as he spent more time in the fan community, he found some of Luo Ding’s fans genuinely interesting and began following them back. However, he rarely interacted, maintaining a low-key yet aloof presence that only heightened his mysterious status.
For instance, when he gave away concert tickets this time, several of the recipients were loyal fans he had carefully vetted—true die-hards who would go to great lengths for Luo Ding.
In this regard, Duan Xiubo’s standards were much stricter than Gu Yaxing’s.
Backstage at a show, the atmosphere was hectic. Mi Rui helped the stylist deliver two pairs of boots to the dressing room. When he entered the makeup room and saw Duan Xiubo curled up in a chair, calmly scrolling through his phone, he couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
Even if he were clueless, he knew what Duan Xiubo was doing. Duan Xiubo had several phones, all of which passed through Mi Rui’s hands. The traces left behind couldn’t escape his notice! The piles of local files in video apps, the accounts on forums and Weibo that Mi Rui managed—all followed similar people. When Duan Xiubo was being bombarded with notifications, Mi Rui’s homepage was no less chaotic.
Seizing the opportunity to approach, Mi Rui glanced at the screen and rolled his eyes. Of course.
The phone was playing a GIF of Luo Ding and Duan Xiubo at Tokyo Airport. Luo Ding was smiling and talking to the crowd, while Duan Xiubo, lagging behind with a bunch of items, naturally leaned in close to Luo Ding. Luo Ding noticed his presence and didn’t shy away, turning to smile at him.
The people around them seemed stunned. The two exchanged warm, familiar smiles, and all the handmade gifts fans had given Luo Ding ended up in Duan Xiubo’s hands, which he accepted without a second thought.
Mi Rui pulled out his own phone and checked. Sure enough, this GIF was everywhere. Scrolling down, nearly a page and a half was filled with reposts of the same image, drowning out messages from mutual followers.
The comments were amusing.
“[Bye] Boyfriends, huh…”
“So strong…”
“So clingy…”
“So doting…”
“Sweetness overload! Open wide, here comes the sugar! Daily life is already a masterpiece!”
“Please leave some room for fan creations. You two are so sweet, we can’t compete…”
Seeing Duan Xiubo’s expression—desperately wanting to laugh but holding back because of the people around—Mi Rui sighed, put away his phone, and snatched Duan Xiubo’s as well.
Duan Xiubo glared at him.
“It’s time to record the show, sir,” Mi Rui coaxed. In the past, he thought he had Duan Xiubo’s temperament figured out, but after learning from Luo Ding, he had started treating Duan Xiubo like a feline, using soothing tones. “You can scroll through your phone anytime. You haven’t memorized the script yet. What if you mess up during the show?”
Duan Xiubo stubbornly held out his hand. “Give me the phone.”
“Then you have to memorize the script,” Mi Rui said, clutching his bag. A stylist passing by suddenly called out, “Mi Rui! Can you check if we can adjust Mr. Duan’s outfit…”
“Oh, I’m coming! Hold on.” Mi Rui, always professional on set, immediately responded, then warned Duan Xiubo, “We have less than fifteen minutes. No more phone.” He tossed his bag to Duan Xiubo before hurrying off.
Seeing Mi Rui leave, Duan Xiubo rummaged through the bag, found three phones, set aside Mi Rui’s Huawei, and picked up the two iPhones.
Unlocking one, he saw the same GIF from earlier. He watched it again, pulling up the comments and laughing like an idiot. Glancing at the time, he casually liked a post.
Time to memorize the script.
Although the final product of a show might only be a few dozen minutes, the actual recording process was exhausting. The editors would extract the highlights from one to three hours of footage, but the guests and hosts had to follow the entire process step by step.
Duan Xiubo was currently recording a talk show, the highest-rated entertainment program in the U.S. The host, Norton, was witty and humorous, though not much to look at, with exceptional eloquence.
Duan Xiubo and Norton bantered back and forth, evenly matched, and soon became immersed in the recording. Unbeknownst to him, the fan community was in an uproar over a small mistake he had made.
Under the post with the GIF, people began to notice something unusual. Among the list of likes, a familiar avatar appeared.
Of course, after a celebrity’s Weibo account gains popularity, similar fake avatars always pop up. Optimistic fans, however, are repeatedly lured by the slim possibility that it might be real, either clicking on the fake avatar to investigate or hovering over the username.
No expectations, just for fun.
This fake avatar was incredibly convincing. While previous fakes might have used a similar screenshot, this one seemed more advanced, with a verified badge that looked real.
Clicking into the account, they noticed the username was also strikingly similar—missing a stroke, a line, or maybe an extra space.
Then everyone started playing a game of “spot the difference,” but soon, they couldn’t laugh anymore.
This account… didn’t seem fake…
If faking a name, avatar, or verified badge was possible, how did they manage the follower count…?
And the “following” status…
Fans, with trembling hands, clicked into the account’s past posts, where comments often exceeded ten thousand… Were these fake? Was this an extreme CP fan?
Someone nervously commented under the original post: “Big sis, I think… we’re being watched…”
Luo Ding Fan Club: “…Big sis, check your likes list…”
I’ll Support Luo Ding to the Heavens: “This must be a dream…”
Luo Xiaoding, I’m Your Devoted Fan: “Duan… Da… do you… even know… what you’re doing…”
Duan Xiubo laughed heartily on the show, slinging an arm around the host’s shoulders as they joked about the director.
The fans were losing their minds. Comments temporarily halted, while private chat groups exploded with thousands of messages.
“Ahhhhhh! What is the official account trying to pull?!”
“He liked a post saying they’re a match made in heaven!!!!”
“Is this coming out of the closet?!!!!”
“OMG, this is too beautiful to watch!!!!”
The original poster and the poster of the liked comment were both trembling, having stopped posting. Duan Xiubo’s like felt like a group of elementary school kids secretly playing cards in the back of the classroom, thinking they had outsmarted the teacher, only to turn around and find the principal watching them.
Not just watching, but giving advice: “Play the Ace of Spades!”
Terrifying! Not flattering at all!!!
The poster nervously scrolled through their past posts—”match made in heaven,” “shamelessly showing off their love”… Had Duan Xiubo… seen all this?
“What should I do…?”
Other big names in the fan community, unwilling to share the burden, waved her off: “Go treat yourself to a good meal, OP.”
*****
Mi Rui checked the time. The show was almost done recording. Outside, the sky was darkening, and he was getting hungry, debating whether to go straight home or take Duan Xiubo out to eat first.
His phone rang. The caller ID showed it was a copywriter he occasionally hired to manage Duan Xiubo’s accounts: “What’s up?”
The person paused, seemingly choosing their words carefully: “Mi Rui, have you been on Mr. Duan’s Weibo recently?”
Mi Rui was puzzled: “Huh? Yeah, why?”
“Did you log in two hours ago?”
Mi Rui thought back to when he had watched the GIF—about two hours ago—and admitted readily: “Yeah.”
“Why did you like something random?!!!!” The copywriter sounded like they were about to cry. “Go check the homepage, Mi Rui! You’ve really screwed me over!”
After hanging up in a hurry, Mi Rui was still processing what had happened. It took him a moment to realize what the copywriter meant, and he quickly pulled out Duan Xiubo’s phone to check Weibo!
He grabbed one iPhone, unlocked it—A-da’s account. Damn it.
He grabbed another and finally found Duan Xiubo’s official account. The post from a day ago, which had only 15,000 comments before, now had over 30,000!
He was shocked. Clicking into the comments, he saw a bunch of accounts with avatars of Duan Xiubo and Luo Ding being intimate, leaving messages in a tone of “What do I do now?”—
—”Mr. Duan, do you know what you’re doing?”
“Is this official bullying the fans into submission…”
“Please stop showing off your love. We know you’re a couple, okay? Can you leave some pure space for the fan community?”
“Being watched is so stressful…”
…
The likes list?
Mi Rui, trembling, followed the fan community’s tutorial to pull up the likes list. The first image he saw made his vision go dark.
He tried to recall if he had accidentally swiped and liked something.
But…
Absolutely not!
Duan Xiubo emerged from the recording studio, the host walking beside him, smiling and chatting. The atmosphere was friendly, with a line of assistants trailing behind.
Duan Xiubo said, “I can’t join for dinner. Work’s been busy lately, and I have several shoots tomorrow morning.”
The host looked disappointed: “It’s really good wine!”
Duan Xiubo smiled: “I’m not much of a drinker, but since you enjoy wine, I have some well-aged bottles at my vineyard.”
The host immediately brightened and was about to shake Duan Xiubo’s hand in thanks when he noticed Mi Rui, who looked like an angry little rooster.
“…” The host hesitated, then whispered, “Did I upset your manager?”
Duan Xiubo, without thinking, quickly covered: “He’s been having some personal issues lately.”
Ah! The host, a romantic Frenchman, gave Mi Rui a sympathetic look.
Mi Rui wanted to confront Duan Xiubo but was pierced by the host’s pitying gaze. Before he could speak, the host walked over, patted his shoulder, and said, “A man’s world should be broader.”
With that, he left, leaving Mi Rui silently staring after him. After a moment, he turned to Duan Xiubo with a stern expression: “What did you tell him?”
Duan Xiubo ignored him, hands in pockets, and walked off.
Mi Rui knew he had little authority over Duan Xiubo, so he followed like a dutiful wife, trying to sound firm: “What did you do on your phone earlier?! Do you know what kind of trouble you’ve caused!?”
Duan Xiubo: “Huh?”
“Did you like something on Weibo?! Did you?!”
Mi Rui was practically roaring in a whisper, his anger palpable. Duan Xiubo, finally sensing something was wrong, stopped and nodded innocently: “Yeah, but I used my alternate account.”
“Damn it!!! Alternate account my foot!!!!” Mi Rui wanted to tear his hair out. He shoved both phones into Duan Xiubo’s hands: “Look! Look!! Which account did you use to like that post!!!!!!”
Duan Xiubo, realizing the gravity of his mistake, didn’t unlock the phone. Instead, he stared intently at Mi Rui.
Their eyes met, and Mi Rui, on the verge of tears, said, “Ancestor, do you want to make my job harder?!”
Duan Xiubo paused, then tentatively asked, “…Should I undo the like?”
“Undo it?! That would make it even more suspicious!”
“It’s just a like…”
“You liked a post saying you’re a match made in heaven! What were you thinking?!”
“…” Duan Xiubo had no retort and bowed his head in apology.
Mi Rui couldn’t really do anything to him. After all, Duan Xiubo was his boss to some extent. As the paid manager, cleaning up his messes was part of the job. The fact that Duan Xiubo was willing to be scolded was… rare.
But this salary was going to cost him at least ten years of his life.
As Mi Rui quickly contacted the copywriter to strategize, he sighed inwardly.
Duan Xiubo immediately put a pink-green phone case on his alternate account’s phone to avoid future mix-ups. Logging into the account, he noticed the usually carefree fan community was now on high alert.
Everyone was speculating whether Duan Xiubo had accidentally liked the post or if he had been lurking in the fan community all along.
Luo Ding Fan Club: “We must stay vigilant. With Mr. Duan’s resources and their… daily interactions, he might already be a big name in the fan community.”
I’ll Support Luo Ding to the Heavens: “We need to investigate… Why do I feel like our child is about to go astray? Did he see all those dirty jokes?”
Luo Xiaoding, I’m Your Devoted Fan: “QAQ So embarrassed. I can’t face Luo Xiaoding and ask for his autograph with my ID anymore.”
“Post selfies! Selfies! Everyone in the group needs to post! We must find the suspicious alternate account!!!!”
“I’ll make a list and gather all the big names!”
Duan Xiubo broke out in a cold sweat. As soon as the suggestion was made, everyone agreed. Selfies began flooding the feed.
“I’ll Support Luo Ding to the Heavens” was a clean-cut office worker with frameless glasses.
“Luo Xiaoding, I’m Your Devoted Fan” was a chubby girl with a hilariously cheerful smile.
The head of the Luo Ding Fan Club was the most beautiful but also the most intimidating. Her expressionless face and piercing gaze, combined with the luxurious office background, sent chills down everyone’s spines.
A group of beauties and handsome men began the anti-counterfeiting verification. Accounts that remained inactive were quickly filtered out.
Aside from a few reclusive users who rarely posted, the fan community’s big name “Alessandro” was also a suspect.
Duan Xiubo wanted to play dead, but for several days, every time he logged into his alternate account, he was bombarded with messages.
“A-da!!!! Hurry up!!!! Don’t play dead!!!!!”
“Where’s your selfie?! Even a side profile will do, or cover your mouth. Just let us know you’re a girl, and we’ll rest easy!!!!”
“Are you the alternate account?!?! This is too beautiful to watch!!!! Super big name!!!!!”
“…” Duan Xiubo clutched his phone, palms sweating.
So guilty… What should I do?
Author’s Note: Do or die.
R : Big A !!! come out !!!!
So sorry guys, I’m late. I was sooo sick urgh the allergies got me. To make up for everything.. I’ll fully update the novel today… (or tomorrow lol) but I’ll 100% do my best ! Love y’all ( ˘ ³˘)❤
Keep me fueled with caffeine! Support me on Ko-fi! It helps a lot ! Thank you so much ♡(´･ω･)(･ω･`)♡
