[Lu Chen Makes a Surprise Appearance at Chen Fei'er's Fan Meeting to Deliver a Birthday Gift!]
[A Performance of "You Exist In My Song" Brings the Heavenly Queen to Tears!]
[Live Coverage: Witness the Most Romantic Love Story as Lu Chen Celebrates Chen Fei'er's Birthday in Huhai.]
[Love and Career Both Flourish – Chen Fei'er's Smiles and Tears.]
[Chen Fei'er]
On May 1st, International Labor Day, the first day of the domestic mid-year holiday, entertainment media across the country were once again flooded with news about Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er.
In the current entertainment scene, Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er might not be the absolute hottest stars, but when it came to couples with the highest public exposure, no one could surpass them.
Their drama, ''Autumn in My Heart'', had made them the ultimate national OTP, an unshakable position in the hearts of the public.
The romantic events at Huhai's Meikadi Center the previous night had already become a hot topic on blogs. Numerous videos from the scene were shared online, sparking envy and admiration from countless people.
Women envied Chen Fei'er for having the perfect boyfriend: tall, handsome, talented, and romantic.
Men envied Lu Chen for having a truly heavenly girlfriend, beautiful, charming, and famous nationwide.
And fans got to witness their beautiful relationship firsthand.
Thanks to Lu Chen's surprise appearance, Chen Fei'er didn't leave Huhai immediately after finishing her promotional events. She spent a sweet May Day holiday with him and only returned to Beijing on the 2nd.
With that, her nationwide promotional tour was fully completed. Despite being an intense ten-day schedule, the results were excellent. Pre-sales for her new album continued to climb, while some of the crowdfunding edition packages were being shipped to Xinhua Bookstores nationwide and would soon reach fans.
Industry estimates for the total sales of 'Flower Woman' had been revised upward to 2.5–3 million units. Even with huge promotional investments, substantial profits were now guaranteed.
Chen Fei'er's musical transformation was a dazzling success. Even the most critical observers had to acknowledge that her transition in singing style was flawless, cementing her status as the new generation's "Heavenly Queen of Love Songs."
Meanwhile, good news arrived from Korea.
After more than a month of broadcasting, ''Autumn in My Heart'' aired its final episode on KGS.
The finale scored a 39.52% viewership rating, just 0.48% shy of breaking the 40% mark.
For a Chinese drama in Korea, this rating was nothing short of miraculous. Notably, the last four episodes outperformed MBC's major yearly drama, 'The Queen's Power', despite 'The Queen's Power' having a far higher budget, bigger star lineup, and stronger promotion. Its highest ratings were eclipsed by ''Autumn in My Heart'', with only the average viewership leaving MBC some dignity.
It's important to remember that Chinese dramas normally have a very small audience in Korea. The rise of ''Autumn in My Heart'' and its challenge to 'The Queen's Power' wasn't just competition between episodes, it was a direct clash between two television networks.
Naturally, MBC was frustrated and even attempted to sway public opinion against KGS, but it didn't affect the success of ''Autumn in My Heart''.
The drama ended with a perfect average rating of 26.68% in Korea.
When the news reached China, the industry was stunned into silence, while fans erupted in celebration. Because according to Lu Chen's previous blog promise, 2,668 fans would travel to Korea for free, and still in pairs.
Some calculated that, at regular tour prices, Lu Chen would be spending at least 13 million yuan!
Such generosity is extremely rare in the entertainment industry. While it's common for celebrity idols to invest hundreds of millions in promotions, using real money to directly give millions worth of benefits back to fans is virtually unprecedented.
Some people in the industry started saying that Lu Chen was just putting on a show, making himself look rich and successful. They claimed that selling the broadcasting rights to Korea didn't bring in much, and he still had to spend a huge sum out of pocket, it was simply laughable.
But those critics didn't see the bigger picture. After Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er made their reward promises, both of their fan bases grew massively. In particular, Lu Chen's fan club, the Lu Family Army, surged by over a million members. The potential benefits far outweighed the millions he had spent.
In today's entertainment industry, it's all about fan economics. Investment is necessary to generate returns; in essence, it's an alternative form of marketing.
Moreover, few people knew that after ''Autumn in My Heart'' finished airing in Korea, the new drama 'Full House', led by Lu Chen and Lu Chen Workshop, had almost finalized its product placement contracts.
Lu Xi, representing Lu Chen Workshop, signed deals with 17 domestic and international brands, including Zhonghua Motors, Zhonghua Mobile, Thunderbird Watches, Lan Jie Cosmetics, Senqi Fashion, and others, totaling over 22 million yuan.
Because Lu Chen retained control over these profits and other derivative rights, without sharing with other investors, the new drama had secured its funding even before filming began, and was already profitable.
Related authorizations, such as for novels, comics, and brand logos, would generate additional revenue.
On top of that, ''Autumn in My Heart'' continued to generate residual interest. TV stations and distributors in Japan and several Southeast Asian countries expressed interest in acquiring the series, offering another revenue stream.
Under these circumstances, Lu Chen Workshop's previously tight funding situation was completely resolved. Even covering the travel expenses for the fans alone was no problem for him.
'Full House' was scheduled to begin shooting on May 8, with locations in both China and Korea, and a total investment several times larger than ''Autumn in My Heart''.
There was also a small side story: the influential blogger from Langchao Blog who had bet against Lu Chen, known as "Entertainment Observer", had suffered a public humiliation when his predictions failed. Yet, once the average Korean ratings for ''Autumn in My Heart'' were announced, he still honored his promise.
The only difference was that instead of running naked on a busy street, he did it in a deserted alley, earning only ridicule.
Lu Chen, of course, had long forgotten this incident and threw himself entirely into shooting 'Full House'.
Meanwhile, a major incident occurred in the film industry.
Director Zhang Wentian had an irreconcilable dispute with investors, causing a new film originally scheduled to shoot this year to be indefinitely postponed, effectively canceled.
As a result, the role that this top director had promised to Lu Chen also fell through.
(End of chapter)
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