Previously, netizens knew that Xu Zifan and Tan Yi had a distant relationship, but they did not know the inside story. This revelation started from the beginning when Tan Yi tried to get Xu Zifan a second bad drama, and detailed how many bad resources Tan Yi "helped" Xu Zifan get, which made him full of scandals.
Given Tan Yi's extensive resources, he could easily have mentored Xu Zifan without giving him such poor opportunities. He's been featured in most variety shows that netizens have never even heard of, generating no buzz whatsoever. The only things circulating online are clips of Xu Zifan's poor performances. However, Xu Zifan previously revealed that the master tapes and the actual show footage were edited together, showing that the negative performances were not a reflection of his true personality.
This is quite intriguing. If Tan Yi really wanted to take care of his brother, why didn't he give him a better or even average resource? If he really wanted to help, seeing Xu Zifan being maliciously edited and bullied time and time again, why didn't he stand up for him and instead continue to give him such terrible resources?
It's said that helping each other is a matter of friendship, and not helping is one's right. However, Tan Yi was recommended into the entertainment industry because of Xu Zifan, so this seems a bit ungrateful. Furthermore, considering Xu Zifan's exceptional talent after leaving Li Hua, it's hard not to suspect that Tan Yi is jealous of Xu Zifan's talent and deliberately preventing him from rising to prominence.
It's said that Tan Yi lost the role originally intended for Director Chen, and Xu Zifan was chosen instead. Immediately afterwards, Xu Zifan was targeted with malicious attacks. Do we even need to ask who did it?
Tan Yi was thrust into the spotlight, and everyone stopped paying attention to Xu Zifan's acting skills. Instead, they were discussing whether Tan Yi was a "poisonous snake" (a man who is known for his venomous and malicious behavior). Many people from the Holy Emperor came out to analyze the situation, and their speculations were quite convincing, completely cementing the label of "backstabbing cult leader" on Tan Yi.
What angers Tan Yi the most is that he could have entered the entertainment industry on his own. He only got in through Li Ge, who was connected to Xu Zifan, to follow in Xu Zifan's footsteps and get those resources. Now everyone says that Xu Zifan helped him get into the industry, that Xu Zifan is his benefactor, and that he has become an ungrateful wretch.
Tan Yi was urgently recalled to the company, and relevant personnel held a meeting to seriously criticize him for hiring online trolls to smear Xu Zifan. The company had already rejected his request, but he acted recklessly and now the company is suffering losses as a result. If he weren't Bai Xue's boyfriend, this matter would definitely have been dealt with much more severely.
The meeting discussed and decided to issue a statement saying it was a misunderstanding, that the two brothers were just too busy to pay attention to each other and gradually drifted apart, and that even if Tan Yi wanted to help but didn't do it effectively, his initial intention to help was good and he didn't want to harm anyone.
No one bought the statement, of course. But the more you explain, the worse it gets. The company decided to handle it quietly, telling Tan Yi to keep a low profile and find an opportunity to land a good movie role and win an award. Naturally, no one would mention the matter anymore. Standing on high ground is the best way to clear one's name.
Tan Yi couldn't swallow his anger any longer and smoked one cigarette after another in the stairwell. His agent found him, patted him on the shoulder, and said with emotion, "Xu Zifan is riding high right now. It's unwise to go up against him. Let's keep a low profile for now. You've had such a smooth ride. It's not a bad thing to encounter a setback. Use this time to coax Miss Bai. As long as you keep Miss Bai happy, you won't have to worry about resources."
Tan Yi stubbed out his cigarette, his expression grim: "I know, I made a stupid move this time, but I won't do it again."
He said this, but inside he felt like a heavy stone was pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe. Why did he have to take Xu Zifan's path after being reborn? Because Xu Zifan had succeeded on this path, and it was the path he had been following and understood. If he didn't take this path, who could guarantee his success?
He was a good actor and a humble and polite person in his past life, but what happened? He remained lukewarm in popularity.
He had already tried to do it once on his own, and he knew that it wouldn't work and he wouldn't become famous. Since he was reborn, he naturally wanted to choose a shortcut. The path he was most confident in was the one that Xu Zifan had taken.
Now, due to a moment of carelessness, several resources in his hands have been snatched away by Xu Zifan. In other words, Xu Zifan has taken back that path. How can he feel at ease?
In his past life, he looked up to Xu Zifan his entire life. The feeling of powerlessness that came from being a professionally trained actor being suppressed by someone with unorthodox skills had become his obsession. Was he going to have to look up to Xu Zifan again in this life? He would definitely break down!
Tan Yi was under immense psychological pressure, but without support, he couldn't do anything. He suddenly felt a bit annoyed with Bai Xue. Why was it that in his past life, Bai Xue took the initiative to help Xu Zifan secure various investments and find good resources, while in this life, he tried so hard to please Bai Xue, and she actually got angry with him at this crucial moment, delaying his career? This woman was really not likable at all, yet he had to swallow his pride and continue to please her.
Tan Yi backed down, and Shenghuang didn't press the matter further. The two companies reached a truce again. However, the series of negative news reports severely damaged Lihua's reputation, and Chairman Bai grew increasingly displeased with Tan Yi. "Such a person, lacking a sense of the big picture and so easily flustered, wouldn't be able to manage the company well if entrusted to him in the future."
There's something else about this incident that no one expected: after the Holy Emperor personally proved that Xu Zifan was extremely talented, netizens wanted to find Xu Zifan's works to watch, and then his fans recommended his only good work so far - "Survival on a Desert Island".
"Survival on a Desert Island" has become a hit again, with the number of views and ratings soaring in the six episodes that have already aired.
This directly led to the discovery of many details that Xu Zifan had hidden in the show, and even fans went back and watched it several times.
Things like doing homework beforehand, staying away from the opposite sex, high intelligence, exceptional memory, identifying herbs and wild game, and judging the time by the weather—these are just a few of the many qualities that have been discovered about Xu Zifan. They aren't as obvious as hunting, fishing, or cooking, but closer inspection reveals…
He's such a gem!
At the beginning of "Survival on a Desert Island", the director asked Xu Zifan if he dressed up so handsomely to outshine others. Xu Zifan smiled at the camera and said that he did it only for his fans.
Back then, he only had a small number of fans, nothing compared to his massive fanbase now. When fans see this scene again, they can't help but scream with excitement. This is their idol, always so devoted to his fans—how could anyone not love him!
There's also Xu Zifan's unintentional remark on the show, saying that being in the ocean is liberating, free from false rumors and ridicule, and much safer than being in a crowd.
This statement broke the hearts of his fans. At the time, he was being attacked online, and no one cared about him. Most of his fans at the time were just fans of his looks and didn't fight for him at all.
Now, Xu Zifan's fans have stood by him through several ups and downs online. Hearing this again, their hearts ached terribly. What were they doing when their idol was being bullied like that? They wished they could travel through time and be fully armed to protect him!
After this wave of "Xu Zifan fever" subsided, several more topics related to him appeared online, such as #XuZifanTreasureBoy#, #XuZifanSpoilsFansOnline#, and #WeAllOweXuZifanASorry#.
The Holy Emperor discovered that Xu Zifan was truly a magnet for trending topics. The company hadn't done anything, yet he could frequently generate hot topics and trend on social media. Even when he was struggling to survive on a deserted island overseas, his legend still lingered.
This is not good either. Previously, he gained popularity by trending on social media, which was a positive sign. Now that Xu Zifan has received good resources and is working hard to produce works, netizens are also waiting for his representative works. If he frequently trends on social media at this time, it will consume his popularity and easily reduce his public image and goodwill.
Because Xu Zifan was recruited under Feng Xuanqi's orders and given the best resources, everyone below would report anything about him to Feng Xuanqi. Upon learning this, Feng Xuanqi immediately ordered the trending topic to be removed and instructed Liu Xiangdong to contact Xu Zifan's biggest fans, telling them to keep a low profile and patiently wait for Xu Zifan's work.
This was Xu Zifan's first contact with "official" channels, and they were incredibly excited. Realizing that being too high-profile wouldn't be good for Xu Zifan, they immediately took action. Xu Zifan spoils his fans, and they spoil their idol too; they absolutely couldn't be fans who held him back!
By the time Xu Zifan finished filming "Survival on a Desert Island," the online buzz had died down. Shao Hua gave Xu Zifan a detailed report on the week's events. Looking at the Beijing sky from the plane, Xu Zifan smiled and said, "Joining Shenghuang was the right decision. Qiqi is decisive and has a keen eye. From now on, we can confidently venture into the entertainment industry without any worries."
Xu Zifan got really busy, filming movies, TV series, variety shows, and commercials. Liu Xiangdong made a detailed schedule for him, and the time was allocated very reasonably, but all of these required shooting in between.
At first, the directors were quite worried that his approach would not produce good results and hoped that he would turn down other jobs. However, he only needed one or two takes to get the role right, and he was also very entertaining on variety shows. He was never late or left early, and his performance was always better than others.
Because of his outstanding performance, the others in the group were unwilling to be outdone and worked even harder, which accelerated the progress and made the directors very satisfied, so they had no complaints.
When the last episode of "Survival on a Desert Island" aired, "Plastic Brothers" premiered. After two episodes, "Escape Room" aired, and Xu Zifan's fans were overjoyed. They could see their idol every weekend and review the episodes they had already watched. It was simply too good to be true.
Moreover, Xu Zifan showed a mature and steady side in "Stranded on a Desert Island", with outstanding survival skills and a thoughtful care for everyone; in "Plastic Brothers", he was like a big boy who pranked his brothers, enthusiastic and cheerful, always laughing and joking, and also a game master, showing his youthful and energetic side; in "Escape Room", he fully demonstrated his high IQ, high EQ, and ability to control the overall situation and integrate all relationships.
This multifaceted Xu Zifan makes fans feel closer to him, understand him better, and like him even more!
All three variety shows were huge hits, becoming top-rated variety shows.
Xu Zifan's fanbase has grown steadily because of this, and his fan base is very stable. Even casual viewers have come to like this smart boy who brings joy to everyone every weekend.
After these three variety shows became hits, almost everyone, from elderly people in their sixties and seventies to children as young as seven or eight, had heard of the name "Xu Zifan." His large billboards appeared in prominent places throughout the city, and his national popularity skyrocketed.
After all three variety shows finished airing, his newly filmed TV series premiered, perfectly taking over the time slot, and the masterpiece that everyone had been waiting for finally appeared.