novelraw Chapter 81 Internet Celebrity
Chapter 81 Internet Celebrity
March 10, 2003, 5 PM.
In a male dormitory at a university in Beijing, the lights were off, but the screens of three computers were still lit, casting a dim glow on three young faces.
"Holy crap, what's this?"
Li Mingyang stared at the screen, the mouse hovering over a forum post.
The post title was quite ordinary—"Dong Xuan, a senior from Beijing Film Academy, her dance is amazing"—and it was posted in the "Pictures Section" of Tianya Community.
He had just clicked on it casually, thinking it was just another clickbait headline.
The video buffered for a few seconds, then started playing.
A girl.
A man in a white shirt, bare-legged, stands in what looks like a dormitory room.
There were no dazzling lights, no elaborate sets, just a simple girl wearing a men's shirt that was clearly a size too big.
Then she started dancing.
The dance steps were so simple they were almost silly—stretch your legs, swing your hips, sway your arms, and repeat just a few movements over and over.
But when the girl jumped, she had a half-smile on her face, a mix of shyness and mischief.
The worst part was that shirt.
It was ridiculously large; the sleeves covered her fingers, and the hem swayed back and forth on her thighs.
As she moved, her shirt fluttered, revealing glimpses of her bare legs behind the fabric.
Li Mingyang's eyes widened.
"What are you looking at?"
The boy in the upper bunk peeked down.
"Don't make a sound."
In the video, the girl is singing the chorus—
"I want nobody nobody but you..."
The voice was soft and gentle, repeating itself over and over again.
It's just one line, yet it's like a spell that seeps into my brain.
The two-minute video finished playing quickly.
Li Mingyang stood there, his finger clicking "replay" involuntarily.
Second time.
The third time.
Fourth time.
"Are you ever going to shut up, you fucking bastard?"
The guy in the upper bunk cursed, but then lay down himself and stared at the screen.
Li Mingyang only came to his senses after the fifth replay.
"Who is this?"
"It says in the post that she's from Beijing Film Academy and her name is Dong Xuan."
Li Mingyang quickly scrolled down to read the comments section.
There are already more than twenty replies.
"Holy crap, those legs..."
"This dance is addictive, I've watched it five times already."
"Requesting a download of the original video!"
"Me too!"
"Can someone make a GIF? I want to use it as my desktop wallpaper."
Li Mingyang licked his lips and typed a line in the reply box.
"May you have a long and peaceful life, OP! Please provide the download link!"
Sent.
He picked up the toilet paper and silently walked towards the restroom.
His brother, who slept in the bunk above him, silently slipped his hand under the covers.
They were just two of the many boys.
That evening, the video began to spread like wildfire.
First, in the image posting section of Tianya, seven or eight identical posts appeared overnight, all about "Dong Xuan, a senior from Beijing Film Academy".
Some people shared the video on Xici Hutong, some started a new thread on 163 Forum, and others made it into a GIF and spread it in various chat rooms.
Qian Lang had been keeping a close eye on all of this.
The video was filmed on the 7th and edited today.
Once everything was done, he uploaded it to the internet.
At first, I kept bumping the thread with a secondary account, but now I feel relieved.
He made the right choice.
"You're praising her so much, why don't you praise me?"
Liu Tao said behind him, a little jealous.
"Then why don't you sign with my company?"
As he spoke, Qian Lang reached out and pulled her over, letting her sit on his lap.
"Hehe, I'm not coming. Seeing you with Dong Xuan would make me so angry."
"Come on, you just think my company is too small."
"Okay, okay, I was wrong..."
As Liu Tao spoke, he began to wriggle around on him, and the temperature in the room quickly rose.
The video continued to circulate the next day, but something even more ruthless followed.
Someone posted a torrent on a BT download site with the title "Beijing Film Academy's Campus Belle Dong Xuan - Nobody Dance Original Clear Download".
The file isn't large, only about 30 MB, but the image quality is much clearer than what you can see online.
Downloads started to surge.
100 times, 500 times, 1000 times...
On the third day, Qian Lang tallied up the numbers and found that the BT torrent alone had been downloaded more than 20,000 times.
With the addition of online viewing on various forums, it is conservatively estimated that 50,000 to 60,000 people have already watched this video.
For the Internet in 2003, this was an astronomical figure.
It's worth noting that a few months ago, the New Zealanders made a live-action short film of "The Matrix," which was distributed via BitTorrent, and it only got 7 downloads in its first week.
Dong Xuan's video has almost caught up with other people's weekly progress in just three days.
And this is just the beginning.
The number of comments on the post has exceeded five hundred.
"I could watch this dance all day."
"Too innocent, yet so alluring, I can't resist."
"Never mind, I'm declaring her my wife."
"Get out of here, that's clearly my wife."
Someone dug up Dong Xuan's photo and posted it in the thread.
Some people even dug up some of her previous minor roles and compiled them into a collection.
"Beijing Film Academy's Campus Belle" and "Goddess of Geeks"—these labels began to be attached to Dong Xuan.
Meanwhile, Dong Xuan was staring at the computer screen, grinning foolishly.
"hey-hey!"
She never imagined she would become famous in this way.
"What are you grinning about?"
Qian Lang cursed at her from across the room.
"Hehe, I'm just happy!"
Dong Xuan is not stupid.
Although the concept of "fan economy" hasn't been proposed yet, there's only the concept of "brand awareness economy."
But she also knew that once more people liked her, she would become truly famous.
"This is nothing."
Qian Lang's short-term plan for Dong Xuan was to follow the same path as the internet celebrity in 2003.
The concept of internet celebrities doesn't exist now, and current internet technology can't achieve the same rapid information exchange as in later generations.
There is no Douyin, no Weibo, and not even a blog.
However, that doesn't mean there's no chance.
Qian Lang saw a huge market of college and high school students.
This group of people constitutes the main body of internet users today.
This group also forms the core of film and television production.
It is also the main component of certain specific consumer products.
"Next, you need to create a thread on Tianya, um, the name is 【I am Dong Xuan】, do a simple self-introduction, and then post some daily photos on it every day, not too many, just one a day is enough."
Don't post anything fancy, post something pure and cute, and also...
You can also share your feelings with everyone.
In short, it's about making everyone feel that you're very close to them.
Qian Lang said a lot.
The video going viral is just the beginning.
What he just said is the most important thing: becoming famous is not the goal; the goal is to attract fans.
"Oh, I have to send it myself?"
Dong Xuan spoke with a worried expression.
She thought she was done with her work.
"Of course! Look who's the most idle person in our company!"
Qian Lang said irritably.
Of course, he also knew that it wouldn't be long before Dong Xuan was provided with a team.
But now Dong Xuan has to do things herself.
Only by doing it yourself can you understand how you became famous, cherish the hard-won achievements, and appreciate the fruits of others' labor in the future.
"Oh, I see. Why are you being so fierce?"
"Hehe, none of them have as big breasts as yours!"
"you,,,,"
Dong Xuan glared at Qian Lang.
Qian Lang pretended not to see it.
"Get to work, I'm heading out to Huairou. You'll be busy these next few days, don't slack off!"
He said this as he grabbed his bag and went out the door.
The filming is about to wrap up, and Ning Hao has been waiting for him.