Guan Xiaoxiao, who had been busy reporting to the domestic team, looked up when she heard this. Her gaze swept across the front, only seeing members of her own team and then the other passengers from business class.
"It's just the people from our business class, probably curious," she said to Sang Mo as she put away her phone. "Don't be so jumpy, guys. Pei Luming has already pointed out dozens of suspicious people to me."
The distance between fans and artists is difficult to control. The company can't control the fans, so they can only tell the artists to be more vigilant. The trainees were also repeatedly warned before leaving, told to pay attention to their surroundings.
But some people are just too obedient. Pei Luming had been paranoid since he finished his makeup and left the park area. Guan Xiaoxiao was about to have a nervous breakdown because of him.
First and business class passengers always disembark first. The fans were still in the back, only now catching up.
Guan Xiaoxiao looked back and urged Sang Mo, "Walk faster, don't fall behind."
Fans had already started coming out, eager to squeeze close to the trainees. Guan Xiaoxiao quickly put away her phone and shielded Sang Mo to prevent fans from touching him.
Liu Yue and Jiang Liuxing were also jostled in the crowd. The two were like tourists swept away by waves, flowing with the crowd, not even knowing how they got off the plane.
Outside, the overseas fans were counting down. The plane should have landed by now, and fans in the airport lobby started to get restless. Group B came out first, while Group C was still inside checking their outfits. Pei Luming was rummaging for his small fan when he heard the screams erupting outside.
"Wow—" He couldn't help but exclaim.
They had always heard the staff sisters say they were quite popular overseas, but they didn't know exactly what it was like.
The show had been intentionally expanding overseas since it began airing, providing exclusive subtitles for foreign fans, but hadn't made any special efforts beyond that.
These fans couldn't participate in voting, couldn't buy merchandise or photo cards, and the Galaxy app had only opened its overseas login portal today.
But the trainees' overseas popularity far exceeded the company's expectations. It seemed the domestic entertainment circle also had a certain following abroad.
When Group C came out, the scene was even more crowded. Fans were desperately trying to squeeze closer to them. Airport security had to step in to escort the trainees out.
Their expressions were even more animated than when they were in China. It was hard to imagine how they had so many fans overseas, despite the language and cultural barriers.
Among them, Ye Xing and Sang Mo were the most popular. Their names were almost the only ones that could be heard in the crowd.
Ye Xing, dressed in summer attire, wore a white sleeveless shirt with two or three silver necklaces. He had taken off his headphones and hung them around his neck.
Fans all around were calling out his name, struggling to pronounce it correctly in strange accents. Ye Xing clasped his hands together and would look over to thank fans whenever he heard them call him.
But there were just too many people. Phones with selfie mode on surged in front of him, and at some point, one of the bracelets on his wrist was pulled off.
The ranking clip from the pop-up store that had recently caused a sensation in China was equally popular abroad. K-pop fans were shocked by the nail-biting one-point difference. It was then that more foreigners learned about this show, and were surprised to find it had translations in multiple languages. Within a week, they had caught up with all the episodes.
As the show's popularity soared, the differences in popularity among the members were also magnified.
Overseas, Ye Xing's face was still the hard currency, universally acknowledged for his looks. No wonder he had so many fans.
After struggling through the crowd, the trainees quickly boarded the van. Ye Xing's backpack, which had been on both shoulders, was now slung over just one as he got in.
Once he was on, the other trainees on the van applauded and teased him, marveling at his overseas popularity.
Of course, the short videos on foreign platforms were also transferred back to China. The news of Ye Xing trending in Thailand was also brought back by marketing accounts. Fans were surprised that they had fans overseas while also criticizing Random Entertainment for not protecting the trainees well enough, as several videos showed overseas fans managing to touch them.
By the time the news reached China, the trainees had already arrived at the hotel. They were like students on a summer camp, having to listen to their teachers at every step. Now they were distributing room keys. Sang Mo and Chi Qiao were assigned to one room, Gao Xiayu was rooming with Pei Luming, Ye Xing with Yao Shuo, and Chen Wu was paired with someone from Group B.
"Those who have received their room keys can go upstairs now. Take your luggage with you. The staff's room numbers will be sent to the group chat later. If you have any issues, come to us directly, okay?" Guan Xiaoxiao stood in the middle of the trainees, looking very much like the rabbit police officer surrounded by large animals.
As soon as she said they could go upstairs, those closest to the elevators ran faster than anyone else. Pei Luming wanted to rush over too, but he was paired with Gao Xiayu, who had the key card. Running over wouldn't do any good.
He looked at Gao Xiayu, who was still talking to others, and couldn't help but start jogging in place, trying to get his attention.
Sang Mo and Chi Qiao stood still, planning to wait until there were fewer people before going over. Chi Qiao, sensitive to heat, had already taken off his shirt and was wearing a sleeveless top like Ye Xing. He held a small fan, blowing it on himself for a while before turning it towards Yao Shuo next to him.
Just as he was about to share the fan with Sang Mo, he noticed him staring off into the distance at something.
"What are you looking at?" he asked, following Sang Mo's gaze.
Sang Mo, who had been looking towards the hotel front desk, turned back and moved closer to Chi Qiao, asking in a low voice, "Don't you think that person looks familiar?"
Chi Qiao looked around and spotted an unfamiliar face among the staff. "What's wrong?"
"I saw her on the plane earlier."
"Economy class?"
"No, business class. She was sitting diagonally in front of me and kept looking around on the plane."
Chi Qiao was speechless at his remarks. He tapped Sang Mo's arm with the room key card, "Maybe she was just curious. And it's possible for her to be staying at the same hotel as us."
Yao Shuo, standing nearby, also glanced at the front desk. The girl Sang Mo had been watching was dressed ordinarily, with shoulder-length hair. Because she had her back turned, they couldn't see her face clearly.
He turned to reassure Sang Mo, "The fans found out about our flight information later than we did. By then, business class was already sold out, so it can't be a fan. And it's even less likely at the hotel."
"First it was Pei Luming being paranoid, and now it's your turn, huh?" That's how Chi Qiao put it, because earlier Pei Luming had been seeing sasaeng fans everywhere.
Sang Mo: "..."
"Let's go, time to head upstairs." Gao Xiayu pulled his suitcase with one hand while the other held onto Pei Luming, who was trying to rush forward. Only after saying it was time to go upstairs did he release Pei Luming.
The other members of Group C only started moving then, with Pei Luming being the first to spring into action. He glided forward with his suitcase, taking the lead. Ye Xing made way for him, reminding him, "Be careful not to fall, slow down."
Meanwhile, back in China, Jiang Juyou was slowly packing her luggage. She was going to be away for nearly a week, returning with the trainees. After the weekend concert, the trainees still had to record a show together, possibly staying in Thailand for a few days before rushing off to Singapore.
Jiang Juyou was on the phone while packing clothes, with Jiang Tang eating in the living room and listening.
"It's definitely not possible these few days. I have to go to Thailand, then fly to Singapore. Let's set a time when I get back... What novel did Sister Chen Xi mention? Okay, I'll search for it later."
After hanging up, Jiang Juyou tilted her head back and let out a long sigh, "Ah— my neck hurts."
Jiang Tang called out from outside, "What novel?"
"What—?" Jiang Juyou didn't hear clearly.
Jiang Tang asked again, taking out her phone to search, "What novel?"
"...Was it called Wild King, Night... Wild Ambition?" Jiang Juyou hadn't really heard clearly, so she repeated it several times based on her memory. "Search for it and see. Chen Xi said it's an online novel with a good plot."
"Didn't she mention the author's name?"
"...I forgot to ask, but she said the cover was black."
As they were talking, Jiang Tang found the answer. "I've found it."
Jiang Tang shared the link with Jiang Juyou, then cleared the things on the table and moved to the sofa to start reading.
Jiang Juyou, still inside, noticed the silence outside and asked, "What's it about?"
"It's about revenge. Both the male and female leads are seeking vengeance."
"Can that kind of plot pass censorship?" Jiang Juyou stopped tidying up and came out to take a look, squeezing next to her sister with her phone in hand.
Jiang Tang pursed her lips. "I've only just opened it."
The two of them started reading the novel together, completely ignoring the suitcase sitting in the room.
Winter days are shorter and more desolate. After sitting there for just a while, the sky outside had completely darkened.
As Jiang Juyou read, she closed her phone and leaned in to read with her sister. Jiang Tang glanced at her, "Aren't you going to pack your suitcase?"
"Oh right, the suitcase." Jiang Juyou sighed after saying this, then fished out her phone from under her bottom to check the time. "It's already past seven."
She leaned back to the other side and looked at the trainee management group chat. The messages had piled up, so she tapped to start reading from the top.
"@Guan Xiaoxiao, Sister Xiaoxiao, Pei Luming says there's a suspicious girl following him."
"It's not."
"@Guan Xiaoxiao, Sis, Pei Luming found another one."
"Not that one either."
"@Guan Xiaoxiao, Sis..."
"Tell him to calm down for a bit. I remember what all of his sasaengs look like, okay? That's not one of them, it's just a curious passerby."
The group chat was full of reports about various situations happening with the trainees, including all sorts of strange occurrences. A staff member had given out the wrong key card, allocating the room originally prepared for Jiang Juyou to someone else. Among all this, the most headache-inducing for the staff was Pei Luming, because he really did cause a lot of trouble. There were even complaints about him visible in the group chat.
"The pretty girl even comes to report to me when she eats a cookie..."
"Hahaha, he just wants others to care about him. If you pay a little attention to him, he'll be fine. If you ignore him, he might get depressed."
"That's because he's greedy. He got indigestion from eating too many snacks before, so Sister Xiaoxiao told him he has to report whenever he eats snacks."
"Hahahahaha, that's so cute!"
Jiang Juyou scrolled through the message history, then posted in the group: "Is everything arranged over there?"
Someone immediately replied: "Boss, it's all set up. They're in their rooms now."
"Boss, are you coming tomorrow?"
Jiang Juyou replied: "Yes."
Originally, Jiang Juyou was supposed to go with them today, but because she had a lunch appointment, she had canceled her flight the day before.
"Jiang Juyou: Keep an eye on them, don't let them eat carelessly. We don't want them getting stomachaches."
"Guan Xiaoxiao: Understood."
-
The next day, Jiang Juyou got off the plane with her young assistant. As they walked out pulling their luggage, they were surprised to see many people holding up banners with Jiang Juyou's name on them, some even featuring screenshots of her from the show.
Jiang Juyou's steps faltered, not expecting so many people.
"Wow..." The young assistant was the first to exclaim, but she quickly reacted, moving to Jiang Juyou's other side to ensure no fans could get close. She had seen the commotion with the trainees online yesterday and didn't want any more mistakes.
There were about forty to fifty fans at the scene. As soon as they saw Jiang Juyou come out, they started calling her name, holding bags with gifts for her.
Some of them had come yesterday too, expecting Jiang Juyou to come out with the trainees. When they didn't see her until the end, they searched online and found out that Jiang Juyou had changed her flight to a day later.
As the show swept across Southeast Asia, Jiang Juyou had also gained enormous popularity, with fan sites and data sites springing up in no small number.
One short-haired fan was particularly excited, constantly saying something that sounded like a mix of Chinese and Thai. She kept trying to push a red paper bag into Jiang Juyou's hands, but Jiang Juyou doesn't accept gifts, so she could only push it away while repeatedly apologizing.
The young assistant could only stretch out her arms, trying hard to block the fans pushing forward.
The gift-giving fan still tried to squeeze towards Jiang Juyou, scaring the young assistant so much that she quickly shielded Jiang Juyou behind her, avoiding the fan all the way until Guan Xiaoxiao came in to assist. Only then did she dare to breathe a sigh of relief.
Once in the car, the young assistant was drenched in sweat, collapsing into her seat as if her soul had left her body. "...She was really strong."
"Thank you for your hard work," Jiang Juyou said, also sweating profusely. She truly hadn't expected so many people at the airport.
The young assistant sat up and turned to look at Jiang Juyou, "Boss Jiang." She gave her a thumbs up and said, "Your charm is truly invincible."
Guan Xiaoxiao, sitting in the front passenger seat, also chimed in: "Boss, your popularity is way more terrifying than the trainees'. They had over twenty people yesterday, and on average, each didn't get that many fans. You just pulled in forty to fifty people all by yourself."
Jiang Juyou: "..."
The two of them were teasing Jiang Juyou, unaware that their jokes were actually true. Jiang Juyou was more famous overseas than the trainees. As early as the first season, Jiang Juyou had attracted attention due to her exceptional youth. When the second season started airing, people noticed that her aura and fashion sense had changed.
Later, when a fan site admin posted on Weibo about buying a house, it not only exploded in China but also caught the attention of international fans. They thought it must be some top celebrity, only to later discover it was the beautiful female boss of a company.
It was from that point on that Jiang Juyou's popularity overseas skyrocketed, especially among female fans, even surpassing that of the trainees in numbers.
While fans in China didn't dare write risqué stories about Jiang Juyou, overseas fans were churning out dozens a day. Even the "poison wine" fans in China had to sneak overseas to read them quietly, not daring to share such things with Jiang Juyou.
After Jiang Juyou got off the plane, the trainees also received this news. They all rushed back to the hotel to tidy themselves up, afraid that Boss Jiang might suddenly call for an assembly.
They had just returned from rehearsal, all sweaty, and as soon as they reached the hotel, they heard that Boss Jiang had already gone upstairs.
Pei Luming shouted all the way, "I'll shower first, I'll be quick! I'm going first!"
Gao Xiayu dug at his ear and nodded, agreeing to his request. Chen Wu, who got out of the car behind them, patted Gao Xiayu's shoulder. "Thanks for your hard work, brother."
Gao Xiayu patted his hand back, giving a wry smile.
Everyone went upstairs, with Sang Mo being the last one again. He was still holding the jacket he had just taken off, slowly walking towards the elevator. By the time he arrived, the elevator doors had long since closed. He wasn't in a hurry and just stood there waiting.
The hotel lobby had strong air conditioning. After taking a sip of water, Sang Mo put his jacket back on. He raised his hand to check the time, and when he lowered it, he found himself making eye contact with a girl in the elevator mirror. There had been no one beside him just a moment ago, but now she had suddenly appeared.
She had appeared silently, with bangs covering her face, holding a red bag in her hand. It startled him.
Sang Mo clutched his chest, wanting to move a bit to the side, but suddenly the girl turned towards him, raised the bag, and said something to him.
"Sorry--" Before he could finish speaking, the girl suddenly raised her voice and started babbling loudly, her emotions seeming more agitated than before, frightening Sang Mo into backing away repeatedly.
Just then, the elevator doors opened, revealing an empty car. The girl immediately shoved the item into Sang Mo's arms, said something loudly, and then ran into the elevator.
Left behind were the frozen Sang Mo, shocked by the encounter, and the hotel staff who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
The hotel staff asked Sang Mo what had happened and if he needed any help. Sang Mo, holding the bag, didn't dare move for a long time. When he finally came to his senses, he quickly dropped the bag, took out his phone to contact the company's female staff member, and waved his hand to tell the hotel staff that everything was fine.
Before coming to Thailand, the company organized a class for them, warning about the horrors of sasaeng fans. They were told that some people's desires are insatiable, and not to be kind to fans who approach them privately. Otherwise, these fans might escalate their behavior, becoming more demanding and eventually going crazy.
The instructor gave examples of sasaeng cases from China and abroad, which truly frightened inexperienced kids like Sang Mo. After the class, he remained constantly vigilant.
"...Sister, that person is a sasaeng fan."
"She just said a bunch of things to me and tried to stuff something into my arms. She seemed really crazy."
"She just got into the elevator. I'm in the lobby now. I'm afraid to go up."
Sang Mo sent voice messages to the staff sister. Guan Xiaoxiao was in Jiang Juyou's room at the time and played the messages aloud. Jiang Juyou, who was in the bathroom, also heard them.
"What's going on?" Jiang Juyou came out, putting down her face towel to take a look.
Guan Xiaoxiao stood up with a serious expression, her brows furrowed. "He says he encountered a sasaeng fan. I'll go down and check."
"I'll come with you," Jiang Juyou said, tossing aside her face towel and grabbing her room key and phone to go downstairs with Guan Xiaoxiao.
The mention of a sasaeng fan suddenly transformed the previously peaceful, culturally rich corridor into something terrifying. Guan Xiaoxiao couldn't help but rub her arms.
Jiang Juyou thought for a moment and asked, "...What did he mean by 'is'? Have you encountered this before?"
"...Probably, but that was in business class. Fans shouldn't be able to get flight information before me."
Jiang Juyou fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
When they reached the lobby, they saw the other members of Group C. The boys were standing together with Sang Mo in the middle.
Guan Xiaoxiao squeezed in and asked Sang Mo, "What happened?"
Pei Luming, always quick to speak, said, "It's that person from the business class, the one who was looking around suspiciously. I told you about her! Sang Mo encountered her too. We just saw her in the elevator when we came out. She got off on our floor and then went into the emergency stairwell."
Pei Luming was gesticulating excitedly, "Normal guests wouldn't use the emergency stairs!"
Gao Xiayu told Guan Xiaoxiao, "We told Brother Liu Long. He's talking to the hotel staff now."
Hearing this, Jiang Juyou glanced towards the front desk before turning back. She patted Sang Mo's arm and said, "Alright, you guys go back to your rooms. Xiaoxiao, go up with them. I'll check on the situation at the front desk."
"Okay," Guan Xiaoxiao replied, then sent a message to the group chat, telling the trainees not to leave their rooms or open the door for strangers.
After sending the message, she herded the boys towards the elevator. Pei Luming circled around, saying, "Sister Xiaoxiao, you stand in the middle. We'll protect you."
Guan Xiaoxiao felt a headache coming on. "Stop messing around," she said, pulling him back into line.
"What did the hotel say?" Jiang Juyou asked when she reached the front desk.
Liu Long turned to her, his face full of displeasure. Frowning, he said, "They said they'll keep a closer eye on the monitors for our floor, but there's not much else they can do. Since there's been no threat to personal safety, we'd have to report it to the police after something happens for them to find the guest and make her check out."
"Then let's report it to the police."
"It's not serious enough to file a case."
"..."
"Besides, there are many other fans staying in the hotel. We can't do anything except tell our people not to leave their rooms."
Jiang Juyou closed her eyes, feeling helpless. She rubbed her forehead and sighed, "Alright, thanks for your hard work. You should go up and rest too."
They couldn't control what fans thought. All Jiang Juyou could do was spend money to upgrade the trainees' accommodations to avoid harassment.
She had been wondering if it was necessary to unlock that dormitory building, since 80 million yuan could rent her a house for decades. Now she realized it was indeed necessary, as residential buildings couldn't stop the steps of those crazy individuals.
Jiang Juyou exited the elevator, stretching her neck and shoulders. After sitting on the plane for so long without resting since arriving, her body ached as if it was falling apart.
She took out her room key from her pocket. Just as she was about to swipe it, she suddenly froze in front of the door.
The door was slightly ajar.
But she definitely locked it before leaving.
A sense of horror swept over her, and Jiang Juyou's scalp began to tingle.
"..."
Jiang Juyou: At this moment, I hope it's just a ghost inside.
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The comments section of the last chapter was more interesting than my main text.
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