Stanning

I accidentally gave a gift meant for my long-time bias to his teammate. I was about to go explain the mix-up to the staff when I heard my bias, Jiang Ran, scoff. "More worthless handmade junk. I can't even be bothered to throw it out." "Can these broke fan-girls stop trying to be stans? It's f*cking pathetic." I froze, humiliated. Just then, his teammate, Zhou Yao, quietly picked up the gift box, tucked it away, and then posted on social media. [How can I ever work hard enough to deserve fans this thoughtful? I'll remember this forever. /heart] Oh. So that's what it feels like to get emotional value from this. In that case, I'll just stan the one who's actually grateful. Later, when my bias found out that gift box contained the lead actor contract for a billion-dollar film, he had a complete meltdown. He spammed his account a hundred times, crying that his fan had sent the gift to the wrong person, and even called the cops to try and get his teammate to return the box. 1 Hearing Jiang Ran's words, my mind went blank. I had been his stan for almost a year. I’d followed his concerts all over the country. I’d quietly sent him gifts worth well over a million. I never expected him to be so openly disgusted. It was so different from his public persona that I genuinely wondered if I was the problem. Was my first attempt at a handmade gift really that bad? I mean, I get it. The group, LUM, was pretty underrated, but Jiang Ran, as the C-position, was hugely popular, almost A-list. It made sense that he’d have high standards. I was about to find his assistant to explain the mix-up and get the real gift to him, when a social media notification popped up. Zhou Yao had just posted. LUM-ZhouYao: [How can I ever work hard enough to deserve fans this thoughtful? I'll remember this forever. /heart] I stared at it for a few seconds. The photo was of him, holding my gift box with both hands, smiling with genuine sincerity, completely unaware of the mix-up. My heart felt... complicated. Honestly, Zhou Yao was just as handsome as Jiang Ran. His dancing and vocals were solid, too. But the entertainment industry is cruel. Talent isn't enough; if you're not memorable, you don't get popular. And in this group, Jiang Ran was so bright that he eclipsed everyone else. I looked through the one-way glass into the green room again. Zhou Yao was getting ready to leave. He was carefully placing my gift box into his suitcase, along with a few other small gifts from fans. Suddenly, I didn't have the heart to ask for it back. He seemed... so sincere. Whatever. The 999 paper cranes inside didn't have a name on them, just little blessings written on the back. As for the contract hidden in the false bottom... that wasn't hard to fix. I'd just go home and tell my CEO father not to sign the final papers. The contract would be void. As I hesitated, Jiang Ran and his entourage pushed the door open. He was still complaining to Zhou Yao as they walked out. "Tch. Look at you, like you've never seen a gift before." Zhou Yao kept his head down and said nothing. Everyone else just smirked, clearly used to this. I felt a sour pit in my stomach. I turned to leave, but my phone buzzed. It was Jiang Ran. He was texting me. [Sis, didn't you say you had a surprise for me?] [I didn't see your gift.] [?] [You forgot?] [You have one hour to send it to my hotel room. And to make up for it, add that H-brand limited-edition bag I sent you a pic of last week.] I was confused. I’d gotten Jiang Ran's private contact three months ago from his assistant. It was right after I’d returned from Paris Fashion Week and sent him three pairs of runway-exclusive sneakers. He’d loved them and posted them several times. But he was always cold. He never initiated a text, and only replied with polite "thanks" when he received something. This was the first time he'd ever messaged me. I didn't understand what he was so angry about. I just replied: [?] I was wearing a mask, standing in the crowd, so he hadn't noticed me as he walked past. I saw him staring at his phone, his expression annoyed, furiously typing. But I never got a reply. I figured I should at least explain, since I had promised a surprise. I typed out a message explaining the mix-up. When I hit send, a bright red exclamation mark appeared. ? He... he blocked me? He didn't even give me a chance to explain? I’d been his fan for a year. Not counting tickets, flights, and hotels, or the money I spent on streaming parties, charting, and buying his useless endorsements... I'd spent almost a million on private gifts alone. And because one gift didn't show up on time, he throws a tantrum and blocks me? A hot flash of anger surged through me. I was about to text my best friend to rant when social media lit up again. Jiang Ran had also posted. 2 LUM-JiangRan: [Babies, please don't send expensive gifts in the future, okay? It's the thought that counts. The love between us is a two-way street; it doesn't need to be measured in money. /love] The photo attached was of him, standing in front of a mountain of luxury brand gift boxes. In the background, a small pile of less-expensive gifts was tossed carelessly in a corner. Heh. He was really working that "two-faced" angle. The anger I’d just suppressed came roaring back. His fans, "The Fuel," immediately started flooding the comments, praising him. [Jiang Ran and his Fuel are a two-way street forever!] [Oppa, you're making me cry!] [I see my gift! This is what it feels like to be cherished by your bias!] [...] What a touching display. I had to laugh. Ten minutes ago, I would have been one of them. Now... I couldn't even relate to the person I was ten minutes ago. Was I out of my mind? How did I ever stan this... thing? The "descent" (disillusionment) was instantaneous. Fine. At least I saw his true colors. I was done wasting my energy on him. I was about to unfollow him and delete the app, but I saw a few comments shading Zhou Yao. [lol, same group, but one teammate is so pathetic he has to post about some cheap trash, while our C-position's warehouse is full. Hilarious.] [Ugh, I bet the other three are jealous and bully our oppa... nooo!] [They should know their place. When are the other three going to just dissolve the group? Stop leeching off our oppa's fame!] [If they weren't dragging him down, Jiang Ran would be a global superstar. Hope they all die tonight so they can stop sucking his blood.] These comments had thousands of likes. The anger shot right back up to my temples. Yes, Jiang Ran was good. Otherwise, I wouldn't have liked him. But he wasn't that great. His hit song, the one that made him famous? Zhou Yao wrote it. The company just gave it to Jiang Ran to sing. The other members were all talented in their own right. And they never tried to steal the spotlight; they were professional. I couldn't believe his fans could be so toxic. I've done a lot of things in my life, but I've never been able to stand by and watch a humble, handsome guy get bullied. Even if he was faking his gratitude, at least he was putting in the effort. On impulse, I went back to Zhou Yao's post and left a comment. [Oppa, that gift is from me. Make sure you check the bottom layer of the box, there's a surprise. ;)] 3 After sending the message, I called my best friend to rant while my driver took me home. We spent the next two hours absolutely shredding Jiang Ran. When I finally checked my phone again, it had exploded. Zhou Yao had actually DM'd me. LUM-ZhouYao: [Thank you, baby. I'll check for the surprise when I get to the hotel.] [That's so many paper cranes. It must have taken you so much time. I opened a few, and every single blessing inside is different.] [To be honest, I'm ashamed. I'm so far from the person you're wishing for... but I promise, I will work hard!] I felt a pang of something. I'd sent Jiang Ran so much, and I'd never received this kind of emotional value. I was genuinely touched. I sent him back a [Keep it up!] and logged off. The comments under my reply to him were full of haters. [What era is this? Who still gives handmade crap?] [A pile of paper, and he posts it. Like fan, like bias. No class.] ... I was so mad I was about to type up a response, but I just screenshotted it and sent it to my assistant. "Have my lawyer deal with these." I was done with fan culture. I uninstalled the app. But just as I did, my WeChat started blowing up. Jiang Ran, who had blocked me two hours ago, had unblocked me and was spamming me with messages. [What the hell is your problem?] [You don't send me a gift, and you give one to my teammate instead??] [I wouldn't have even known if I didn't see your logo on his box when I got to the hotel! You switched biases?] [If you're gonna switch, at least pick someone better, not a f*cking flop.] [And a 'surprise'? You're just a desperate old woman trying to buy attention. If it wasn't for those sneakers, you think you'd ever have my contact?] [Since you switched, don't you dare ever tell anyone you stanned me. It's embarrassing.] I always had my gifts stamped with my private seal, a small bamboo shoot, for my name: Song Xizhu. He... he thought I was a "desperate old woman" (老女人)? I was shaking. I sent back a single [?]. A red exclamation mark. He'd blocked me. AGAIN. He gets to rage-text me and I don't even get to reply?! The nerve! I screen-recorded the entire chat. He must have been so blind with rage to leave a trail of evidence like that. I wasn't done. Three days ago, my family's company had finalized the acquisition of LUM's agency, Starlight Entertainment. I'd been planning to ask my dad to give Jiang Ran all the company's best resources. Now? Heh. He could forget it. I immediately called my dad. After I told him the whole story, he was furious. "Dad, don't ban him," I said. "He makes money. Let him work himself to death for us. But as for resources... if he's so great, he doesn't need them." "Give them to someone who's actually grateful." My dad, a seasoned capitalist, agreed. I hung up, finally feeling calm. But my phone immediately blew up again. My best friend. [Xizhu!!! Zhou Yao is desperately trying to find you on social media! He said someone sent him a massive gift and he has to talk to them! The company and his manager are all posting, trying to find you! Your comment is blowing up!] My sleepiness vanished. He'd found the contract. Just then, my phone rang. It was Jiang Ran. 4 I answered, put it on speaker, and hit record. A desperate, crying voice came through the phone. "Sis! Bamboo-sis! I was wrong! I was so wrong!" "I shouldn't have blocked you! I was stressed! I wasn't myself! I'm human garbage!" I just listened. "That gift... that gift was for me, right? Zhou Yao doesn't deserve it! He's a nobody! Giving him something that important will ruin it!" "Sis, please, talk to your dad! Get the contract back! I'll kowtow to you! I'll do anything!" I finally spoke, my voice ice. "Jiang Ran, where do you get the nerve to call me?" "I..." "Didn't you say I was a 'desperate old woman'?" "No! I was lying! I have a dirty mouth! Please, sis, you're better than this, don't hold it against me!" "Didn't you say to pick someone better, not a 'f*cking flop'?" "He's not a flop! Zhou Yao is my best brother! I... I was jealous! Jealous he had a fan as good as you!" His excuses were pathetic. "Too late," I said. "The contract has his name on it now. And our company doesn't employ artists with 'no morals'." I hung up and blocked him for good. I checked social media. It was chaos. #ZhouYaoBillionDollarContract #StarlightEntertainmentSearchingForFan #JiangRanMeltdown Zhou Yao and the company were tagging my burner account. And Jiang Ran... five minutes ago, right before he called me, he’d posted a dozen times. He was crying that his long-time fan-sister's gift had been "intercepted" by his teammate, Zhou Yao. He was heartbroken, and he hoped his "sister" would see this and that his teammate would "return what doesn't belong to him." He even attached a selfie, his eyes red and puffy. His "Fuel" fans exploded. They flooded Zhou Yao's account. [Thief! How dare you steal from your teammate!] [Our oppa was so good to you! You backstabbing snake!] [A flop is a flop. Stealing gifts? Disgusting!] [@LUM-ZhouYao GIVE IT BACK! Or we'll end you!] Zhou Yao's thank-you post was now a warzone. I saw red. Fine. You want to air this out? Let's air it out. I logged into my burner account and posted the screenshots and screen recordings of Jiang Ran's abusive texts. My caption: [@LUM-JiangRan Bro, stop crying. I switched biases. It's not his fault. After all, he didn't call me a 'desperate old woman' or say I was 'embarrassing.' :)] I tagged Starlight Entertainment. And I tagged my father's personal account. I threw my phone on the bed. You want to fight? You just brought a knife to a nuclear war. 5 My post crashed the servers for half an hour. When they came back, the trending topics had changed. #JiangRanPersonaCollapse [EXPLODING] #JiangRanAbusesFansAudio [EXPLODING] #SongXizhu [EXPLODING] #JusticeForZhouYao [HOT] #StarlightEntertainmentNewCEO [NEW] My burner account gained three million followers. My DMs were chaos. [OMG! This is the drama of the year! Rich fan-sister destroys two-faced idol!] [He dared to say that to his biggest sponsor? The audacity!] [LMAO "at least pick someone better, not a flop." I'm dying.] [The bamboo logo... wait... that's Song Xizhu... as in, the daughter of the Song Corporation? He was abusing his new boss's DAUGHTER?!] [I thought he was stupid. Now I know he's stupid stupid.] Jiang Ran's fandom was in flames. My dad's company moved fast. Starlight Entertainment Official Statement: Starlight Entertainment is now a fully-owned subsidiary of the Song Corporation. Regarding the severe negative conduct of our artist, Mr. Jiang Ran, all his activities are suspended indefinitely, effective immediately. We are proud to announce the greenlighting of the $1 billion S-class film "Heaven's Ask," starring our artist, Mr. Zhou Yao. We are grateful to Ms. Song Xizhu for her investment and vision. My dad even retweeted it, adding: [I support all of my daughter's decisions. You bully my daughter, you answer to Song Corp.] It was over. Zhou Yao, meanwhile, was blowing up my DMs. [Sister... is this... is this real?] [A billion-dollar movie... me?] [I... I can't. I don't deserve this. This gift is too much.] [Sis... are you just using me to get back at Jiang Ran? If you are, please... I don't want to be...] My heart softened. Even now, he was terrified he was just a tool. I replied: [Not to get back at him. It's because I admire you. Let's talk about the contract in person. Are you free?] He replied instantly. [Yes! Always! Where are you? I'll come right now!]

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