Tawana’s tirade left the British singer practically fuming.
But Tawana was quick to cut through the mess, sending the voice message, immediately blocking him, and, still not satisfied, heading to Instagram and other social platforms to unfollow him.
Who a celebrity follows or unfollows is itself a major indicator for fans.
Some obsessive folks, with nothing better to do, monitor celebrities’ follower counts and lists daily, noticing every addition or subtraction and discussing it endlessly online with other fans.
When Tawana suddenly unfollowed the British singer, it was discovered and instantly caused a frenzy in fan groups.
The two had collaborated often, interacted frequently, and always presented themselves as good friends to the world.
Tawana unfollowing him felt, to mainland fans, a bit like Faye Wong suddenly unfollowing Eason Chan.
At first, fans were utterly baffled, wondering if Tawana had unfollowed him by mistake.
But soon, they realised something was off.
Accidentally unfollowing someone on Instagram or Facebook is understandable, but unfollowing the same person on both platforms by mistake?
What kind of slip would that have to be?
It was clearly deliberate, alright!
So, people started speculating: why did Tawana unfollow the British singer?
Did they fall out?
Or was it a business dispute?
Initially, no one could figure it out.
Until some bright spark online said, “Tawana just slammed Britain during her China livestream. Could they have fallen out over that?”
Everyone instantly got it.
That must be it.
And since Tawana unfollowed the British singer, not the other way around, it likely meant Tawana was the one who initiated the split.
The internet erupted in an instant.
Some right-wing Western netizens couldn’t fathom it. What spell had Tawana fallen under to become China’s mouthpiece? Big sis, you’re American! Why are you acting as propaganda for a rival on the other side of the globe and dissing your country’s ally? What’s going through your head?
Left-wing netizens were more sympathetic. Nations, schmnations, we’re all part of a shared human destiny. We should cast aside prejudices and strive for good, right? Even if your kid steals something and brings it home, shouldn’t you, as a parent, step in?
Tawana couldn’t care less about any of this. She was set on winning Ye Chen’s favour, come hell or high water, bulldozing anything in her path.
…
After a day of earth-shaking online buzz, Tawana blocked several British entertainment industry acquaintances, then breezily kicked off her third Beijing concert.
Ye Chen wanted to bolt but couldn’t. Gu Qiuyi insisted he see it through.
With no choice, he gritted his teeth and committed to all four shows.
The first three concerts each dominated trending lists, with every trend unique.
But one topic stayed trending all three times: “Who is the mysterious male dancer kissed by Tawana?”
Netizens worldwide were insanely curious.
Some even said if the man’s photo was posted online, they’d pay $100 to see it.
Then, on the fourth day, someone started a poll online titled, “Would you pay $100 to see a photo of the mysterious male dancer’s face?”
In one day, over 5 million voted, with more than 3 million saying yes.
The media went wild again.
These fans were something else.
Willing to pay $100 to see a masked man’s face?
Is your money just blowing in the wind?
Couldn’t you spend it on something else?
Groceries, some beef, lamb, eggs, or milk, maybe?
You don’t spend a dime shopping, risk it all for freebies, but you’d fork out $100 online to see a guy’s face? That’s pure madness, isn’t it?
Three million people at $100 each, that’s $300 million!
Tawana wouldn’t even earn $300 million from three concerts!
But Chinese netizens stood up.
They were like, what’s the big deal?
Our entertainment industry was practically charging for exclusive celebrity photos on Weibo 800 years ago, alright?
Of course, our stars don’t dare price photos that high, usually just 28, 38, or 58 yuan.
…
By the fourth day, Xiao Churan was beyond curious about this mysterious man.
She’d watched three days of footage on her phone, and no matter how she looked at it, she felt it was Ye Chen.
But every time she thought so, she’d convince herself it had nothing to do with him.
Until the fourth day, watching a fan’s livestream and seeing the mysterious dancer take the stage with Tawana and Gu Qiuyi, she had a sudden idea.
She called Ye Chen.
She thought, “Isn’t Ye Chen the feng shui director?”
“Once the show starts, he shouldn’t be that busy, right?”
“If he answers right away, it proves he’s definitely not the dancer. If he doesn’t, it doesn’t confirm he is, but it makes him a bit more suspicious!”
No surprise, Ye Chen couldn’t answer.
To avoid any slip-ups during the performance, he didn’t even bring his phone on stage.
Besides, in that armoured costume, there was nowhere to put a phone.
Even if he had it, he couldn’t answer mid-performance.
