The first day of Dream of the Red Chamber sparked heated discussions—partly due to the controversy over a celebrity openly smoking and drinking on livestream, but more so because of the perceived double standards. While Chu Zhi indulged in alcohol and cigarettes himself, he still advised others not to.
Comments on Mango TV leaned mostly negative:
Xiao Canmeng: "Telling minors not to drink or smoke is fine, but why lecture adults? If you're so high and mighty, why don't you quit first?"
Shangguan Xing: "Was a casual fan, but not anymore. A singer smoking like this—does he even care about his voice? Maybe he has talent, but he clearly doesn't value his career."
Suddenly Aware: "If you can't quit yourself, don't preach. Kinda off-putting. Though I admit, he smokes with the same swagger I used to."
Cat Eats Kaiju: "Let's be real—if he hadn't added that sanctimonious advice, I wouldn't mind. But since he did… Everyone knows smoking is bad. It's printed on the pack! How about leading by example first?"
Controversy breeds attention. The episode's popularity rivaled that of the previous guest, a Korean star, peaking at over 100 million views (though the exact live viewer count wasn't disclosed—platform metrics can be inflated).
Whether intentional or not, Wei Tongzi twice tried to dig deeper—Why do you drink? Why smoke?—but director Meng Teng cut her off via earpiece both times.
While the true viewership remained unclear, one thing was certain: Chu Zhi's on-screen behavior trended hard. By midnight, three hashtags blew up:
#ChuZhiSmokingLive
#IsChuZhiAnAlcoholic
#GodTierVisuals ChuZhi
Faced with backlash, the Little Fruits (fans) mobilized immediately. Every top-tier celebrity has a "Blacklist Defense Squad"—a team dedicated to scrubbing negative comments online. (Pro tip: If you post something critical about a star on QQ, don't be surprised if a "defense agent" adds you to argue. Speaking from experience…)
Fan counterarguments included:
"Celebrities are human too. Over 50% of Chinese men smoke—why is this a big deal?"
"Plenty of stars smoke, but Orange is just too honest to hide it."
"This honesty makes me love him more. Also, damn, he looks hot with a cigarette."
"He orders takeout every day—someone get this man a personal chef!"
The core tactic? Comment control. On Mango TV's official Weibo, critical remarks were buried under 50K+ liked fan posts, pushing neutral or negative opinions to the 50th reply and beyond.
One relatively objective comment by user Shi'er sparked a debate with a Little Fruit:
Shi'er: "Celebrities can smoke, but doing it on livestream is different. They're role models—fans will imitate them. Keep it private if you must."
OrangeAngel (fan): "He warned minors not to drink and advised adults to cut back!"
Shi'er: "And how does that help when he's the one chainsmoking on camera? Some fans even think it's 'cool'—no, it's just his face. Either way, Day 1 left me unimpressed."
OrangeAngel: "He's genuinely kind. Worth loving!"
Shi'er: "Kindness and hypocrisy aren't mutually exclusive. Personally, I can't stan someone who drinks heavily—family trauma."
Despite the fans' efforts, public perception remained divided.
No one linked his habits to depression—Chu Zhi had smiled often during the stream, appearing cheerful. Few remembered he'd been cyberbullied into a breakdown.
The crew returned at 6:30 AM, groggily setting up equipment. Wei Tongzi, who'd slept at 2 AM after coordinating fan defense efforts, moved on autopilot.
Pang Pu (joking): "Need some Pure Victory organic milk to wake up?"
Wei Tongzi (deadpan): "Only Li-Ning's Chitu running shoes can save me now… Well, maybe Lay's durian chips." (Sponsor plugs: never forgotten.)
By 7:30 AM, Chu Zhi woke—no alarm needed, his body clock was precise. But last night's nightmare wasn't an isolated incident.
"Four nightmares this week…" He frowned. "System, does severe depression cause neurological damage? Did I inherit this?"
[Depression disrupts neurotransmitters—dopamine, serotonin, etc. No physical lesions, but symptoms like nightmares/brain fog persist.]
"So you suffered a lot, huh?" Chu Zhi murmured, finally grasping the torment the original owner endured: months of sleeplessness, relentless nightmares.
The [Sweet Dream Chocolate] in the system mall (cost: 3 Personality Coins) guaranteed good sleep—but he only had 1 coin.
"System, I'm not stingy, but…"
[Compensation for accidental transmigration was already given (Entertainment Blind Box). Do not exploit bugs.]
"Not about that. Even Pinduoduo offers after-sales service. You're telling me you're worse than Pinduoduo?"
After a pause, the system relented:
[BUG FIX COMPENSATION: Sweet Dream Chocolate x1]
"Now THAT'S customer service." (He'd only ever met one system, but still.)
Yet Chu Zhi delayed claiming it. "This suffering is evidence. The world should know what he went through."
New Achievement Unlocked!
As Chu Zhi stepped into the living room—fresh-faced, no makeup—the system pinged:
[ACHIEVEMENT: "Face King" (Nickname: Handsome Hao; English name: Shuai De·BuYao BuYao De)
★ Barefaced in public x1 → 1 Personality Coin
★ x3 → 2 Coins
…]
"Easiest achievement ever." Chu Zhi rarely wore makeup anyway—good genes trumped contouring. (Note: "No makeup" ≠ "no hygiene." The latter's just gross.)