IBABS Chapter 64.1 — Gossiping & Eating Melon & CP Fans Online

After publishing the article about Su Zhe titled “He chose the path of champions, a path without the entertainment circle,” Zhuo Siming quickly transformed from an intern rookie reporter at Pear Media to a full-time employee.

The follow-up article “From nationwide contempt to national hero, on Su Zhe’s path to becoming a champion, did you contribute any obstacles?” along with the synchronized hashtag campaign #Entertainment Circle Welcomes Su Zhe Back had left a deep impression on gossip followers across the entertainment industry.

Zhuo Siming had essentially launched his career as an entertainment reporter with these two viral articles, creating a brilliant opening chapter for himself.

With his keen sense for gossip, Zhuo Siming always felt that even though Su Zhe remained wholeheartedly dedicated to the sports world, someone with top-tier idol looks, a legendary background, and such extraordinary talent would generate news value no less interesting to the public than the average trending celebrity.

Moreover, considering the public’s tolerance and curiosity toward sports stars, topics related to Su Zhe could more easily gain attention without triggering backlash.

When Zhuo Siming used this as the foundation to draft a series of planned reports about Su Zhe from an entertainment perspective, he immediately received approval from Pear Media’s editor-in-chief. He promptly booked a flight to Country D during the World Championships to conduct a series of special interviews and reports.

What Zhuo Siming didn’t expect was that after arriving at the World Championships venue, before he could even begin his planned coverage of Su Zhe, he first stumbled upon a true top-tier celebrity from the entertainment world, Shao Xingchen.

When he saw Shao Xingchen, Zhuo Siming suddenly remembered why he had been sent to stake out the airport when the national track and field team departed for Country D… What was it they had said? That he might catch top-tier celebrity news at the B City airport???

Unexpectedly, after all these twists and turns, he really had snagged major celebrity news.

After this realization and several days of gathering material, Zhuo Siming released his scoop on the final competition day of the World Championships.

The Weibo post Zhuo Siming published directly tagged Pear Media, and after Pear Media reposted it, the traffic immediately exploded. Simultaneously, hordes of gossip followers quickly flooded the scene. Shao Xingchen’s fans, nicknamed “Satellites,” immediately forwarded the related topics to their fan club management group. The managers promptly contacted staff at Shao Xingchen’s studio to inquire about the matter while discussing what direction they should take in controlling the narrative.

Meanwhile, under the post that currently only showed a blurry capped figure, numerous gossip followers had already begun discussing.

[_(:з」∠)_I remember this! Earlier, some sharp-eyed fans noticed that Su Zhe’s photos weren’t taken from the media section angle toward the field. People talked about it for a while, but eventually assumed the national track team had just brought their own photographer…]

[??? Seriously? The person is covered from head to toe. How can anyone tell this is Shao Xingchen???]

[Sister, you’re not being professional enough!!! If there was nothing suspicious about this photographer, even with air conditioning inside the stadium, who would bundle up like this in that desert region of Country D? Dressing like that itself proves something’s definitely off about this photographer!]

[The sister above is right!!! Wow, what an incredible bombshell. A top entertainment celebrity disguised as a national track team photographer??? This logical connection makes my head spin…]

[Front line report! I specifically searched for World Championship news from several consecutive days. On the first day, there was no sign of this photographer in the track team’s section. After Su Zhe posted his first set of photos, this photographer who is suspected to be Shao Xingchen appeared at the competition’s second day!]

[Hmm, like the sister above, I went through both sets of photos Su Zhe posted. Obviously, although both were taken from the spectator stands, the angles are completely different. The position for the second set is obviously better. Based on the venue layout diagrams I could find, we can basically determine that for the second shoot, the photographer was positioned in the track team’s spectator section. (Attached is a diagram showing the relationship between photo angles and the venue layout)]

[…OvO??? Impressive, sister! These days you need serious skills just to enjoy fresh gossip… Let me contribute too. I analyzed the images using software to identify the camera and lens. Both sets of photos Su Zhe posted were taken with C brand’s latest professional series body and a 200-400mm super telephoto zoom lens… In conclusion, there’s no doubt both sets were taken by the same photographer. The real question now is, is this photographer Shao Xingchen???]

It has to be said that when it comes to gossip, the entertainment industry’s netizens not only possess boundless enthusiasm but also astonishingly sharp investigative skills.

Less than half an hour after Zhuo Siming posted the first set of images, enthusiastic netizens had already confirmed that both sets of photos were taken by the same person, and that the photographer had changed positions between the two shoots.

Just as everyone was debating whether this photographer was actually Shao Xingchen, Zhuo Siming promptly released a second series of images. These compared the photographer’s visible clothing items in various photos with Shao Xingchen’s personal style.

From what could be observed – from the casual jacket and inner T-shirt to the pants, hat, wrist accessories showing beneath sleeves, and neck accessories – everything matched items found in photos of Shao Xingchen’s personal style.

At the same time, Zhuo Siming thoughtfully provided reference photos of Shao Xingchen wearing a hat and mask during low-profile outings, creating a perfect comparison with the on-site photographer.

Meanwhile, a mysterious Weibo account released a blurred screenshot of Shao Xingchen’s WeChat Moments. It was the Country D street scene he posted on the evening of October 4th.

[_(:з」∠)_… If this image is real, that’s definitive proof. At this point, I can’t help but wonder – a top star personally traveling all the way to Country D to take photos of a former entertainment circle nobody who’s now a sports star… What’s this all about???]

[Well, let me see… This post was made on the evening of October 4th, right before Su Zhe released his first set of photos. Assuming this image is genuine, we can reasonably deduce that Su Zhe originally didn’t know Shao Xingchen was in Country D watching the competition. On October 4th evening, Su Zhe might have discovered through WeChat Moments that Shao Xingchen was in Country D. After they communicated, he received his photos from Shao Xingchen and posted them on Weibo. The next day, Su Zhe brought Shao Xingchen to the Chinese track team’s seating area for a better view of the competition and photography angle… which led to the second set of photos Su Zhe posted…]

[Wow, sister! Perfect logic and perfect timeline! Now let’s think about why Su Zhe didn’t post any more photos after the 4×100m relay, and why this “Chinese track team’s exclusive photographer” wasn’t seen in the stands in the following days? XDDD Feels like this photographer only wanted to photograph Su Zhe and had zero interest in anyone else’s competitions!]

[Ahem, the sisters above are all correct, but one key point is… =w= Why haven’t any other track team members shared individual photos taken by this photographer except for Su Zhe? Hmm, looking at it this way, I suddenly find this a little sweet…]

[This image has all the identifying information blurred out. How can you claim it’s definitive proof from our Boss¹? Is that fair? Besides, even if it’s real, what’s wrong with going to watch a competition in person? Can’t you media accounts survive without using our Boss for traffic?]

As the gossip fermented, the fan club was still coordinating with Shao Xingchen’s studio staff and couldn’t immediately provide unified response guidance. Some of Shao Xingchen’s independent fans anxiously jumped in, attempting to defend their idol under these suspicious posts.

Meanwhile, comments with strange undertones, which were hard to distinguish between haters and overzealous fans, began appearing in the comment section.

[Exactly! Even if our Boss has worn all these clothes before, that doesn’t prove the photographer in the picture is him! Besides, even if he did personally travel abroad to take photos for someone else, are you suggesting taking photos means they’re dating???]

This comment created massive waves. Originally, attending an international event like the World Athletics Championships and taking some photos wasn’t a big deal. Although Zhuo Siming’s posts had subtle implications, having someone explicitly state them was another matter entirely.

At this point, the “Satellites” fan club’s delayed comment-control army finally arrived on the scene.

[Thank you everyone for your concern about our Boss. October 2-5 was his personal schedule. After filming the drama “Chasing the Light,” he developed an interest in track events and arranged a private trip to watch the World Athletic Championships in person. Due to his personal photography hobby, he took competition photos for his friend Su Zhe. For the sake of staying low-profile, Su Zhe didn’t reveal the photographer’s identity when posting on Weibo, which led to this discussion. We apologize for any confusion. Please look forward to Shao Xingchen and Su Zhe’s performance in “Chasing the Light” and witness the friendship between Xie Wei and Lu Ming! #Shao Xingchen World Championships Photographer# #Shao Xingchen Su Zhe Drama Chasing the Light#]

At the “Satellites'” request, the “Philosophers” who had belatedly arrived also appeared, thanking Shao Xingchen for taking such beautiful photos of their idol.

[Thank you, Xingchen-gege, for taking such handsome photos of our baby! Those two sets of photos are incredibly beautiful. I’ve been saving them and staring at them for days!!!]

[Thank you thank you!!! A thousand praises to you! Master Xingchen, you’re amazing! Just wondering, aren’t those remaining photos on your memory card taking up a lot of space??? Please, please release them all! Waaah, our baby’s earthly beauty shouldn’t be enjoyed by you alone!!!]

The “Satellites,” being efficient traffic-driving fans who had weathered various fandom wars, quickly steered the commentary in a positive direction under unified guidance.

Shao Xingchen and Su Zhe’s friendship shot up to the trending topics, and gossip enthusiasts recycled all of Shao Xingchen’s previous Weibo posts that tagged Su Zhe.

This situation, if viewed romantically, involved a top celebrity specifically clearing his personal schedule to travel to Country D just to watch someone’s competition and take several individual photos of them.

If this had involved different genders, it would likely have been immediately labeled as a relationship. However, since they had previously worked together on the same drama set and their past Weibo interactions suggested a decent relationship, the “Satellites'” explanation actually made sense.

Besides, with the entertainment industry’s all kinds of promotional tactics, who could say this situation involving both Shao Xingchen and Su Zhe at the World Athletics Championships wasn’t just another publicity stunt for the “Chasing the Light” production?

Zhuo Siming’s side didn’t release any more gossip. He spread rumors to grab traffic, attention, and real-time reporting, not to make enemies with Shao Xingchen’s camp.

So, after causing a commotion for half a day, the matter basically settled down.