Jiang Juyou had also seen the PowerPoint presentation used to warn trainees. She still clearly remembered the details of the incidents described in it.
"Don't try to guess their thoughts from the perspective of a normal person. They will infiltrate like cockroaches, desperate to become cameras, sticking to you 24 hours a day to observe your every move."
"Not allowing too much contact between everyone and fans is also to protect the fans, because those people will become jealous and may even harass ordinary fans."
"I hope everyone always remembers that this group of people is a very terrifying group."
No matter how many phone numbers were changed, they would be found immediately. The first text message received after getting a new number wasn't even from an acquaintance, but from those people asking: "I finally memorized your number, why did you change it again, haha."
Always being followed when going out, whether by car or plane, always being watched, recorded on video, photographed. And these videos and photos would be posted online with new stories attached to them.
When celebrities had free time to browse social media, they would come across fans' posts about excitedly running into them by chance. But upon closer inspection, they'd realize it wasn't a chance encounter, but stalker fans who had been following them.
At night, they would receive bombardments of phone calls, with the sole purpose of preventing them from sleeping. At home, they would receive mysterious food deliveries ordered by stalkers who knew their phone numbers and addresses.
If there were vacant apartments for rent in the building where they lived, those people would definitely rent them. Even taking the elevator home required mental preparation, always having to be on guard to avoid running into those people.
There might even be cameras installed at their front door, key holes might be molded, digital locks might be removed, and those people might even enter their homes.
Things in the house might have been rummaged through, personal items might have been touched - all sorts of psychologically disturbing things may have happened.
These things weren't suffered by the celebrities alone, but also by the people around them. Due to the jealousy of stalker fans, they might experience things they shouldn't have to.
All of these things were written in that PowerPoint, and now as Jiang Juyou looked at the slightly open door of her room, she felt afraid to enter.
Jiang Juyou glanced to her right. There was a cleaning cart in the hallway, but no staff in sight. She was about to go over and ask if anyone had seen any suspicious people when she saw a cleaning lady wearing gloves walk out of the room at the end of the hallway.
"Ah!" The lady saw her standing at the door and suddenly said something, but Jiang Juyou couldn't understand Thai. She tried to communicate in English, but the lady took out her phone from her pocket and typed a message using a translation app: "Your door is broken. I told the manager, and he said he would give you another room."
Seeing the text on the phone, Jiang Juyou suddenly felt relieved. Even if she had to change rooms twice, she accepted it. As long as it wasn't stalker fans or anything like that, it was fine.
The cold sweat that had covered her back suddenly made itself known at this moment. Now that the tension was gone, her body stopped heating up, and the cool dampness on her back actually made Jiang Juyou relax.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead, then put her hands together and thanked the lady.
Jiang Juyou took her room key, planning to go downstairs to find hotel staff to change rooms.
She had been here for less than an hour and had already changed rooms several times.
Originally, the staff from Random Entertainment had booked a room for her yesterday on the floor below. But the shower in the room where Sang Mo and the others were staying was broken, so they moved to her room. When Jiang Juyou arrived today, the hotel upgraded her to this small suite upstairs as compensation, but now its door was broken.
Under normal circumstances, Jiang Juyou might have thought this hotel was unprofessional, but today she just wanted to shout "thank heavens."
Jiang Juyou stretched her neck, and as she turned her head, she suddenly caught sight of the emergency exit next to the elevator.
The door was tightly shut, with a green indicator at the bottom corner of the wall, but that dim green light looked eerie no matter how she looked at it.
"..."
She stared at that door, images starting to spread in her mind. Just then, her phone suddenly rang: "Ding--"
Her heart pounded violently, and Jiang Juyou frowned, clutching her chest. With the look of someone who had just survived a disaster, she answered the phone, "Hello..."
Guan Xiaoxiao's voice came through solemnly, "We found the stalker fan. We've already called the police."
Jiang Juyou opened her eyes, "Where?"
"On our floor, in Sang Mo's room."
"I'm coming right away."
Jiang Juyou's heart sank as she entered the elevator and went down to the lower floor.
The entire hallway was in an uproar. The trainees, who had been ordered not to leave their rooms, were poking their heads out one by one, adhering to the principle of not leaving while refusing to give up on the excitement. Some quickly closed their doors upon seeing Jiang Juyou, afraid of being scolded.
Hotel staff were also present at the scene. As Jiang Juyou approached, Guan Xiaoxiao immediately came over to explain the situation, "I was about to leave after sending them back when I heard Sang Mo and the others shouting. When I went in, I saw that girl lying on the bed, probably not wearing clothes inside. We've called the police now, and we'll hold the hotel accountable."
Jiang Juyou didn't go in. Hotel staff were watching the crazy woman inside, who was shouting and screaming, though it was unclear what she was saying.
Guan Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, then said, "The person inside isn't Sang Mo and the others' stalker fan. It's the one who kept trying to throw herself into your arms at the airport today."
"Yesterday, some trainees said they saw her on the plane. She probably came with us yesterday... As for the hotel, a key card was stolen. It was a cleaning card used by housekeeping to clean the rooms, likely stolen when the cleaner wasn't paying attention at noon."
"...She might have thought you were staying in this room."
Her words were jumbled, but Jiang Juyou understood.
Combining this with what Jiang Juyou had seen in the PowerPoint earlier, she guessed that person had probably estimated the trainees' departure date, bought tickets for several flights, and then canceled the others once they confirmed which one it was.
The hotel was even easier to figure out. These weren't secrets; a call to hotels near the venue inquiring about available rooms would reveal the information.
When the police arrived later, their inquiries confirmed Jiang Juyou's suspicions. That person had seen that one key card was left when they were being distributed and guessed that the remaining room was hers, so she stole the cleaner's card today and snuck in quietly.
She just hadn't expected the room to be switched to the trainees later.
Several group leaders and translators finally handled the matter. As they were taking the woman away, Jiang Juyou ordered all trainees to return to their rooms and not look outside. She even went in with them, not staying in the hallway.
The members of Group C gathered in Gao Xiayu and the others' room, with Jiang Juyou also present. She glanced at Sang Mo lying on the bed with clothes covering his head, then at Chi Qiao beside him who seemed unaffected, and frowned slightly.
"The matter has been resolved. This afternoon... you can go out for a walk with the staff." She had originally wanted to tell them to stay in the hotel, but staying in the hotel would only make them overthink things.
Especially Sang Mo. His personality wasn't like his appearance; he looked like a flirtatious playboy, but was actually a pure-hearted young man with a soft interior.
Today's incident had definitely scared him, as several encounters had happened to him.
Pei Luming also showed some tact at this moment, no longer being so noisy. He asked Jiang Juyou in a soft voice, "...Can we go to the night market?"
"You can, but you can't eat anything. You're only allowed to eat local food after the performance is over."
"...Then what's the point," he muttered under his breath.
Gao Xiayu nudged him with his leg, telling him to be quiet.
Jiang Juyou smiled and said, "We're afraid you'll get diarrhea. Or do you want to perform on stage while having stomach issues?"
She didn't appear serious, and there was no sign of how the recent incident had affected her. Jiang Juyou said casually, "There are security personnel too. Remember to take bodyguards with you when you go out." She looked at the time and said, "I'll be going now. Chi Qiao, you all stay here for now. I'll have someone bring you the key cards when the rooms are ready."
Seeing her about to leave, Sang Mo also lifted the blanket to say goodbye to Jiang Juyou.
As the door closed with a "click" and Jiang Juyou left, the room seemed to be filled with oxygen again.
As soon as Pei Luming was unsealed, he jumped up and performed a set of punches. Gao Xiayu, however, said with a headache, "I'm really afraid that mouth of yours will get you into trouble."
"Huh? Did I just say something I shouldn't have?" Pei Luming turned his head in shock, trying to recall his recent conversation with Jiang.
Chi Qiao nudged Sang Mo with his leg, "Are you okay?"
"...Just disgusted," Sang Mo replied with a wan look on his face, as if he had just gotten off a boat and was about to be sick.
Chi Qiao hadn't actually seen anything. He had entered behind Sang Mo, and when Sang Mo shouted in front, it startled him into shouting as well. Sang Mo hadn't seen anything either, but he had a mild case of germaphobia. The thought of that woman lying in his bed, naked, had truly disgusted him.
Chen Wu, sitting in a chair, tossed him a pillow. "Don't think about it anymore. Think about what you're going to wear when we go out later."
"Don't want to go out. It's too hot," Ye Xing said, sliding down to lean on Yao Shuo. Chi Qiao followed suit, and the three of them played a game of human Jenga. At the bottom, Yao Shuo looked like he was about to curse, "Get up..."
The atmosphere in the trainees' room was still okay, but it was different among the staff.
Jiang Juyou always had two different faces when dealing with trainees and staff. She rarely showed a black face to the staff because she knew everyone was out here to work. Work was already annoying enough, and she didn't want to cause more trouble for everyone.
But today's incident had somewhat touched her bottom line.
The hotel's conference room was occupied by them. Although Jiang Juyou was wearing flat shoes, her steps echoed like high heels, each step tightening the hearts of the employees. Listening to the sound from the door, they couldn't help but swallow.
The heavy door was pushed open. The staff sitting in their seats straightened their backs, not daring to look directly at Jiang Juyou.
Usually, when she was late, Jiang Juyou would apologize. But today, after she entered, she said, "...Sitting comfortably?"
Jiang Juyou strode to the main seat, pulled out the chair, but didn't sit down.
"Are you here to work or to travel? I asked Guan Xiaoxiao to call you for a meeting, but several of you had to rush back from outside." Jiang Juyou looked at the time. "It's only been an hour since the trainees finished their rehearsal, right?"
The trainees had gone out early in the morning to rehearse and get used to the venue, only returning at noon. The staff related to the concert weren't involved in today's incident as they didn't have the responsibility of managing the trainees. But these people were different.
The few teams that came along this time were all specifically in charge of these twenty-one people. Their task was to take care of the trainees and ensure their schedule and safety. Those sitting in the conference room now were them.
Jiang Juyou suppressed her anger, trying to speak each sentence as slowly as possible, otherwise she would have shouted, "I've also seen the messages in the group. Today when the trainees reported suspicious individuals to you, you all dealt with it perfunctorily. Did you find their behavior amusing?"
"Were those PowerPoint presentations made just for them to look at? Guan Xiaoxiao, both Pei Luming and Sang Mo reported the situation to you, how did you handle it?"
"Also, why did the bodyguards who should have been in place yesterday only arrive today?"
"Are you really here on vacation?"
With each sentence, Jiang Juyou had to take a deep breath to release her anger, otherwise she couldn't stabilize her emotions.
The staff below lowered their heads, and Guan Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together, not daring to make a sound.
The incident had already happened, and arguing about it now wouldn't remedy anything, but Jiang Juyou needed them to learn a lesson.
"This was aimed at me today, and she didn't do anything dangerous. But what if she goes crazy in the future and has a knife in her hand? What if she takes a video, edits it maliciously, and spreads it? What if it causes extreme psychological trauma to the person involved?"
"Something that should have been nipped in the bud has escalated to this point because of your negligence. Sang Mo is already a sensitive child, and no matter how tall he is, he's only sixteen this year. He came abroad to work, and ended up seeing a naked woman lying in his own bed. Who's responsible for the psychological trauma caused? Which one of you will pay for the subsequent psychological treatment?"
"This is absolutely a major incident!"
Jiang Juyou, who had never loudly reprimanded anyone before, angrily pounded the table at this moment.
Finally releasing that breath, Jiang Juyou closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked at Guan Xiaoxiao, "Follow the company's regulations. Cancel the quarterly bonus for the C group staff, deduct one-third of this month's salary. For others, cancel the quarterly bonus, and all of you lose your eligibility for promotion evaluation this year."
They had just crossed into the new year a couple of days ago, and such an incident happened in the first few days. This wouldn't sound good when reported back to the company. With so many employees in the new talent development department, competition was already fierce. It seemed this year wouldn't be easy for everyone.
When leaving, Jiang Juyou didn't even say the meeting was dismissed. She just strode out with big steps, leaving the new staff members looking at each other, not daring to stand up.
After leaving the room, Jiang Juyou turned to her young assistant and said, "I just saw fans at the entrance. Contact the PR department and prepare response measures."
"I've already contacted the PR department," the young assistant said, lowering her eyes obediently, trying hard to distance herself from that group. She had heard everything at the door just now - one-third of the salary deducted, and this quarter's bonus gone directly.
Good heavens, this was January, and the New Year was coming up soon. Deducting salary at this time, how were they supposed to live afterwards?
Jiang Juyou took out her phone, wanting to contact Jiang Liuxing to give her a heads up in case anything appeared online, to help guide the public opinion.
But as soon as she turned the corner, she saw Liu Yue and Jiang Liuxing in vacation outfits, wearing straw hats and holding ice cream, swaggering in.
"Why are there so many people in the lobby?"
"...Could they all be fans?"
"Wow, there really are a lot of people."
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Jiang Liuxing had been talking all the way, but the person beside her had no reaction at all. She looked back and saw Liu Yue standing at the hotel entrance, staring at something diagonally ahead as if she had seen a ghost.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Liuxing asked, also looking in that direction. As she turned her head, she saw Jiang Juyou with a cold face, exuding an eerie aura.
"Hic!" It scared Jiang Liuxing into hiccuping.
Watching Jiang Juyou approach step by step, the two guilty parties began to feel weak in the knees.
"What are you doing here?" Jiang Juyou hadn't expected them to be staying at this hotel too. After walking over, she looked towards Liu Yue at the entrance, gesturing for her to come over.
Jiang Liuxing's hand holding the ice cream started to shake, "Well..."
"We came to see the concert," Liu Yue was the first to regain composure, pretending to have just realized they were staying at this hotel, and exclaimed in surprise, "Don't tell me... you're staying at this hotel too?"
Jiang Juyou nodded, her expression slightly better than before, "Yes, we've booked several floors upstairs."
Liu Yue and Jiang Liuxing only found out that the trainees were also in this hotel after checking in, but they didn't dare to reveal this in front of Jiang Juyou, fearing they might be mistaken for sasaeng fans. As fans themselves, they knew the difference between frontline fans and sasaengs, but Jiang Juyou might not.
There's just a fine line between being a fansite master and a sasaeng. If they wanted to, they could easily get the artists' contact information or private schedules - scalpers sell everything.
But they weren't like that, and couldn't understand such behavior, so they would never become sasaengs.
However, Jiang Juyou might not understand this reasoning. These outsiders only knew that those who took the same flight were sasaengs, those who followed and took photos were sasaengs.
Liu Yue glanced at the front desk and explained to Jiang Liuxing, then comforted Jiang Juyou, "Those at the front desk probably aren't fans. Most of the people staying at the hotel are from our country."
She then pointed at the entrance, "But there are a few fans at the door, not many. If you're going out, remember to avoid them."
With celebrities staying here, the hotel did manage the situation, but they could only prevent those fans outside from coming in.
Jiang Liuxing, on the other hand, didn't dare to speak up. She felt her sister's expression was off, much fiercer than usual, and didn't want to touch this sore spot.
"Your ice cream is about to melt, eat it quickly," Jiang Juyou glanced at the ice cream in Jiang Liuxing's hand, frowning slightly.
Jiang Liuxing hurriedly complied, stuffing the ice cream into her mouth.
"Are you two living together?" Jiang Juyou hadn't had the chance to ask how they knew each other, but then she thought, there are only so many fan site admins in the Domestic Entertainment Industry, so it's normal for them to know each other.
"No, we just met on the plane. Jiang Liuxing said she's here to gather material, as the special feature is about their concert," Liu Yue explained. Beside her, Jiang Liuxing quickly nodded in agreement.
"Alright then, you can go up. I'm heading out for a bit," Jiang Juyou said as she was about to leave. The small assistant who had been waiting nearby quickly stepped forward.
Jiang Liuxing hurriedly said goodbye to her sister, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she left. She shook her head and lamented, "Who upset her? It's terrifying. Don't you know that when she gets angry, I'm the one who gets scolded?"
Liu Yue, who usually feared nothing, had also been startled by Jiang Juyou's sudden appearance. She could still remember the feeling of her legs turning to jelly. After sighing, Liu Yue took off her hat and said, "Let's go upstairs. I'm exhausted."
-
The incident of Sang Mo encountering sasaeng fans didn't leak out, but unsubstantiated rumors were circulating. It started when someone on the forum revealed that some staff members from Random Entertainment's entertainment division had been punished, which led to rumors about sasaeng fans harassing trainees.
The forum was filled with people sympathizing with the innocent staff and cursing the sasaeng fans.
"Sasaeng fans deserve to die, but what did the staff do wrong? It's not like they could have stopped it even if they wanted to."
"? The comment above shocked me. If you're not a fan, why are you in the fan group?"
"What? Are we blaming the artist for being too charming instead of blaming the staff for not protecting them?"
"We don't even know if the news is true or false, and you're already starting to criticize."
"How major is this 'major incident'? Will the concert still happen?"
"If the new staff were punished, it must be related to the trainees, right?"
"By the way, to the person who leaked this information, aren't you worried? You've revealed internal regulations. Aren't you afraid Random Entertainment will find out and fire you?"
"This kind of thing can't be stopped. These punishments are announced company-wide. How could Random Entertainment control so many people's mouths?"
"So how serious is it? What did the sasaeng fans do?"
Because the reason hadn't been leaked, the specific situation wasn't revealed. Jiang Juyou knew this matter couldn't be kept completely under wraps, so she didn't have people delete the speculative posts as long as they didn't mention the trainees' names.
In the evening, in her hotel room, Jiang Juyou sat by the window looking outside, her thoughts as tangled as a ball of yarn, unable to find the beginning or sort it out.
"I used to think dormitories weren't necessary, but now I see they're very important. The toxic fan culture will definitely make this situation worse after they debut. By then, it won't just be about privacy invasion, we'll have to consider their personal safety too."
"People online used to joke that Random Entertainment might buy a private jet in the future... We've already unlocked an 80 million yuan dormitory, so buying a small plane isn't out of the question."
"...I've been talking for so long, why haven't you reacted at all?"
Jiang Juyou sat up straight, spread her hands towards the air, and asked, "Cong Lixia, are you asleep?"
"No." A dialog box appeared in front of Jiang Juyou. Relieved, she sat back down and continued rambling, "Don't be silent. Today's incident was quite scary, and it's nighttime now. If you don't respond to me, I'll be terrified."
Cong Lixia's voice carried dissatisfaction and confusion. Perhaps due to anger, he hadn't been responding to Jiang Juyou.
He questioned Jiang Juyou, "That person was clearly targeting you. Why are you only considering others and not yourself? Aren't your safety and mental state important?"
Cong Lixia didn't understand about other people. He only knew that Jiang Juyou had also been greatly frightened today.
He didn't like this. He didn't like Jiang Juyou prioritizing those things over herself.
Cong Lixia: Tail wagging suspended for today.
-
It hurts. After school started, my comment section has become so quiet. Everyone's busy, which is good.
[Bitter smile]
-
