APCF – Chapter 76 Special Follows

When Qi Xingchen received Qi Yunxiao’s call, he was reluctant to issue a public statement, fearing it might affect Dongcheng’s reputation.

Moreover, My Era was still airing, and if an announcement was made, viewers might still question the show’s fairness. If the show collapsed, both he, Bo Ye, and the other mentors would be accused of collusion, getting dragged into the controversy.

However, he didn’t expect Dongcheng to handle things with such transparency and precision. Not only did the platform’s reputation remain intact, but it also gained a wave of positive public sentiment.

As a result, My Era saw a surge in attention. Even netizens who didn’t usually follow talent shows or idol development programs started rooting for the trainees.

Some prominent influencers even dubbed My Era as the first fully transparent talent show in mainland China—an unmanipulated competition where the platform had no ties to any agencies, no capital interference behind the scenes, and where trainees debuted purely based on their own abilities and public votes.

With this kind of public support, the trainees, the official social media accounts, and even the mentors saw a significant increase in followers.

Qi Xingchen was amazed by how the situation unfolded—until he returned home and saw his older brother.

Qi Yunxiao said, “Dongcheng’s main intention was to protect you, not the show.”

“I can see that. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have deliberately released extra footage of Kevin and me,” Qi Xingchen said curiously. “But why wouldn’t Dongcheng protect My Era? Isn’t it their flagship variety show?”

“Dongcheng TV was temporarily acquired by my friend Ji Dongdong—no, Ji Yuedong—to air his lover’s web drama. Later, his lover won Best Actor, and Ji Yuedong lost interest in managing the platform. That’s why issues like employees accepting bribes and backstage manipulation could happen.”

So that’s how it was. Qi Xingchen suddenly felt a bit disheartened. “Then My Era only approached me because you put in a word with Ji Yuedong, right?”

“No,” Qi Yunxiao shook his head. He wouldn’t have let his precious younger brother go out and work so hard.

“Someone recommended you to the show.”

Who recommended him? Qi Xingchen was both curious and delighted.

If it wasn’t because of family connections, then it meant someone genuinely recognized his ability. The program wouldn’t have chosen him otherwise. This proved that he had secured his spot on My Era through his own efforts.

Thinking about this, Qi Xingchen happily bounded upstairs, jumping into his room.

Lying on his bed, he waited for his excitement to settle before making a phone call to the caregiver.

“Hello, Mr. Qi.”

“No need for formalities. I have a question for you,” he said. “Since you started taking care of Tao Xuan, how many times has his sister visited?”

“Let me think… She came once during the first two days after he was admitted and then once a few days ago. Other than that, she hasn’t visited.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. My colleague and I take shifts with no gaps—we eat and stay with the patient at all times.”

When Qi Xingchen hired caregivers, his only requirement was that they must always keep an eye on the patient. Tao Xuan was in a fragile mental state, and Qi Xingchen was worried he might attempt self-harm.

Moreover, Tao Xuan was in a VIP ward with a private bathroom, so the caregivers wouldn’t have to leave for long periods.

This meant that Tao Tao hadn’t visited her brother nearly as often as he had initially assumed.

From the time Shang Yuliang made a vague post about Qi Jiaze’s alleged school bullying until now—over two months—Tao Tao had only visited once.

As an artist, Tao Tao’s career was on the rise, so being busy was understandable. But Tao Xuan was still her brother. No matter how packed her schedule was, she could have made time to visit him at least once more.

Tao Tao’s behavior was very strange.

Qi Xingchen had always seen Tao Tao as an older sister and a friend, but now, he found himself inexplicably disliking her.

However, whether he liked her or not wasn’t the priority right now—the urgent task was helping Liang Jing out of this crisis. Tao Tao could neglect Tao Xuan, but he couldn’t.

If Tao Xuan’s condition worsened, the first person affected would be Liang Jing.

After thinking for a moment, Qi Xingchen pulled up Qi Jiaze’s WeChat.

Xingxing: [Are you out of class yet?]

Qi Jiaze (King): [Still in evening study. I’m dying of boredom.]

King: [Bro, let’s go out for hotpot!]

Xingxing: [Don’t use that as an excuse to skip class.]

King: […I just wanted to have hotpot with you.]

Qi Xingchen wasn’t about to give him a chance to skip class, so he ignored the hotpot topic.

Xingxing: [I heard from Liang Jing that you’ve been visiting Tao Xuan lately.]

King: [Yeah, I brought him some practice books.]

King: [I was careful when talking to him, just like you said! I didn’t make him mad!]

Xingxing: [Mm, I trust you.]

Xingxing: [Jiaze, I have a task for you now.]

King: [Tell me, bro. (Curious)]

Xingxing: [Tao Xuan might have to stay in the hospital for a long time. He has the college entrance exam next June, and I’m worried he’ll fall behind on his studies.]

Qi Jiaze felt his scalp tingle.

King: […You’re not asking me to tutor him, are you?]

Xingxing: [You guessed right.]

Qi Jiaze was silent for a long time.

King: [Bro, I think you have some serious misconceptions about my grades. You should find a tutor or a smart classmate for this.]

Xingxing: [No, it has to be you. You’ve seen Tao Xuan’s condition—would you feel comfortable letting someone else do it?]

Even with Qi Xingchen’s gentle and patient nature, Tao Xuan barely responded to him. Yet, every time Tao Xuan met Qi Jiaze, he seemed noticeably more lively afterward. This meant that, while Tao Xuan acted annoyed by Qi Jiaze on the surface, he had actually already accepted him deep down.

If it were anyone else, they might only make Tao Xuan even more depressed.

Besides, Qi Xingchen had a little personal motive too—Qi Jiaze was a complete slacker when it came to studying. If he was tasked with tutoring Tao Xuan, it might help him reinforce his own knowledge and prevent him from failing the college entrance exam miserably.

Xingxing: [So? Can you do it?]

Could he do it?

Qi Jiaze stared at his phone screen, feeling extremely conflicted.

He really didn’t like studying—that was a fact.

Tao Xuan, on the other hand, was once a top candidate for Qinghua and Beida (China’s top universities), only to be held back by his illness—a real shame.

Last semester, they had already covered all the high school material, and this semester was just review. The daily routine consisted of practice problems, explanations, and summarizing question types.

As long as he took good notes in class, understood the problem-solving methods, and passed them on to Tao Xuan, that should be enough.

It didn’t seem that hard.

Qi Jiaze took a deep breath.

King: [I guess… I can give it a try?]

Tutoring Tao Xuan and helping Liang Jing out of trouble were important, but so was his younger brother’s safety. Qi Xingchen repeatedly reminded Qi Jiaze not to lay a hand on Tao Xuan.

Even though that part of the storyline had already passed, there was no guarantee that another incident of “hospital room violence” wouldn’t occur. The plot had already deviated significantly, and Qi Xingchen couldn’t afford to take a single misstep.

Qi Jiaze solemnly promised him, and from the next day onward, he began paying serious attention in class. After evening study, he conducted Tao Xuan’s first tutoring session.

Standing outside the hospital room, Qi Xingchen listened in for a while, quietly marveling at his younger brother’s intelligence and kindness.

After just one day of class, Qi Jiaze had fully grasped an entire type of problem and was explaining it fluently. At the same time, he was careful to be mindful of Tao Xuan’s emotions, speaking in a voice several tones softer than usual.

Truly, a rare little angel.

If only he hadn’t done that stupid hot air balloon support stunt—Qi Xingchen thought indignantly.

After spending two days at the hospital keeping an eye on Tao Xuan, the highly anticipated third episode of My Era finally aired.

Thanks to the “bribing scandal” fueling public interest, the episode shattered previous records, reaching an all-time high in viewership. The number of bullet comments and online discussions more than doubled compared to the last episode!

Qi Xingchen spent over twenty minutes just trying to load the episode. As the screen transitioned from black to color, the first scene was of the mentors playing mahjong, followed by Bo Ye stepping in to take his punishment for him.

Bullet comments:

[Holy crap, holy crap, Night Bro is kinda spoiling little Qi!]

Next, Wei Qin claimed he had a facial allergy and begged Bo Ye to take his punishment instead, but Bo Ye told him to just apply it to his arm.

[Before the game even started, Night Bro volunteered to help little Qi. But when Wei Qin asked for help, Night Bro basically told him, ‘If your face is allergic, then don’t play at all.’ What a glorious double standard, hahaha!]

[All five mentors are friends and get along well. Please don’t overanalyze. Thanks.]

…So Bo Ye hadn’t actually refused to help Wei Qin.

Qi Xingchen had completely misunderstood him—he felt utterly ashamed.

Once he finished watching the episode, he had to make sure to properly apologize to Bo Ye.

The episode then progressed to his training sessions with Class F. He thought it would just be briefly mentioned, but to his surprise, the editing included several small practice room clips.

The bottom right corner of each clip showed the time: 2 AM, 3 AM, 4 AM.

Bullet comments:

[He had no obligation to help, but he chose to. No words needed—respect for Teacher Qi’s dedication!]

Next came the first round of performances. When Kevin attacked him, he retaliated without hesitation, and Bo Ye, cold-faced, forced Kevin to apologize.

[I guessed this part would be epic after seeing the preview clips from Dongcheng, but I didn’t expect it to be this epic! AAAHHH is Teacher Qi actually a secret underground rapper?!]

[Damn! That was SO satisfying!! Teacher Qi is the best!!!]

[Night Bro’s words were perfectly delivered—he hit the nail right on the head. Absolute 100/100.]

[OMG, Night Bro is so charismatic. That “Apologize to Teacher Qi” line… I can’t take it, how can someone be this direct and fearless?! AAAAAHHHH!!]

The screen flooded with the word “EPIC” over and over. Bombarded by wave after wave of exaggerated praise, Qi Xingchen’s face turned bright red.

In the final shot, the scene froze on the image of Class F trainees embracing Qi Xingchen, crying in his arms.

[Crying, this is so touching.]

[I totally understand how Class F feels about Teacher Qi. If I were a trainee in Class F, I would definitely fall in love with such an amazing mentor… No, wait—I think I already have.]

The faces of Wu Qian and the others flashed through Qi Xingchen’s mind again, making his nose sting. He couldn’t hold back the emotions surging within him, so he tossed his tablet aside and hugged his pillow.

Before he could fully process his feelings, An Ran suddenly called in a frantic rush. The first thing she said was: “Holy shit!”

The second thing she said was: “Holy f*ck!”

Qi Xingchen deliberately put on a dignified tone and said, “Miss An, please maintain your professional demeanor as a career woman.”

“I can’t! I’m floating! I’m about to ascend to the heavens!” An Ran’s voice was filled with excitement. “Xingxing, do you know how many followers you have right now?”

Before Qi Xingchen could answer, she shouted: “Five million! You’ve hit five million!!!”

Qi Xingchen’s eyes widened. Lately, he had been avoiding the internet after being bombarded by Kevin’s fans, so he hadn’t been keeping track of his follower count.

When did his followers skyrocket to five million?

It was unbelievable.

He murmured, “Do I really… deserve to be liked by five million people?”

“You do. You absolutely do.” An Ran sniffled. “Xingxing, before My Era, I didn’t understand why you pushed yourself through that brutal one-month training regimen. But now, I completely get it.”

“Your hard work didn’t go to waste. The public has seen you and grown to love you—not because of luck, but because it was inevitable. Your dedication is paying off.”

An Ran blew her nose and said, “In the next couple of days, I’ll have Uncle Qin bring you to the company. We need to work on your brand positioning.”

Qi Xingchen didn’t quite understand. “…What do you mean?”

“It means—” An Ran deliberately drew out her words, “from now on, everything about your career—your image, your public persona, your brand value, your appearance fees—needs detailed planning. Xingxing,”

She paused for a moment before continuing, “You’re not the same as before. You’re no longer just a small-time actor drifting around the company. You’ve become a professional artist, an idol, a star.”

“Congratulations.”

Hearing this, Qi Xingchen felt a bit overwhelmed.

It had been half a year since he entered this world. He had initially joined The Poor Traveler just to survive, then somehow ended up acting in Heart of the Ocean. After that, he was recommended for My Era, where he had learned to act, sing, and dance along the way.

Unknowingly, he had transformed from a struggling orphan desperately trying to stay afloat into a rising star.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to react.

“Alright, I won’t keep you any longer,” An Ran said. “When the time comes, I’ll call you in advance. Get some good rest. Oh, and don’t forget to retweet My Era’s official post and express your support for audience supervision starting from this episode.”

“Got it, I will.”

After agreeing, Qi Xingchen ended the call, shoved his phone under his pillow, and lay spread out on the bed in a starfish position, staring up at the ceiling.

As he listened to his heartbeat gradually calm down, Qi Xingchen took out his phone again and shared the post on Weibo.

—— Qi Xingchen: “I hope all viewers will supervise together. 💪” //@Official Weibo of My Era: [Video]

About forty minutes after reposting, he received a notification.

—— Bo Ye: “💪” //@Qi Xingchen: “I hope all viewers will supervise together. 💪” //@Official Weibo of My Era: [Video]

Qi Xingchen turned off his notifications, realizing that the only reason he had received an alert about Bo Ye’s post was that Bo Ye was in his Special Follows list.

He rubbed his face—if Bo Ye had time to repost Weibo, was he not busy at the moment?

Coincidentally, Qi Xingchen wanted to chat with him. He switched to WeChat and sent a [GIF of a mushroom head peeking out].

Xingxing: [Not filming right now?]

Bo: [Waiting for the set to be prepared.]

Bo: [How did you know I wasn’t filming?]

Xingxing: [Saw your Weibo post.]

Bo: [I just reposted it. You saw it that fast?]

Qi Xingchen: “…”

The person he liked had a very sharp way of looking at things.

Seeing that there was no reply, Bo Ye turned to Allen and asked, “Why can Xingxing see my posts in real time?”

“Weibo has a feature called Special Follows,” Allen shrugged. “Either Xingxing just happened to be scrolling Weibo, or… you’re in his Special Follows list.”

Bo Ye wasn’t active on Weibo; his account was usually managed by Allen. Just now, his manager Zhao Nuo had told him to make a statement, so he opened the app, felt too lazy to search for the official post, and simply reposted it from a fan account.

Thinking about it carefully, his little fan didn’t seem like the type to be glued to his phone all the time, so the first possibility could be ruled out.

That left only one option.

He was in his little fan’s Special Follows.

Bo Ye curled his left hand into a loose fist and pressed it against his lips, coughing lightly to conceal the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

At that moment, Allen saw a crew member struggling to move a prop and ran over to help. Bo Ye, now left alone, fumbled to open his following list.

Two seconds later, all fan-tracking apps for Ye Kong (Bo Ye’s fandom) blasted out a real-time update:

[Your idol Bo Ye is online!]

The Ye Kong fandom was puzzled—he had just come online to repost a Weibo post, and now he was back again. Was he on some kind of intense promotion schedule today?

Then, their real-time updates were flooded with notifications:

[Your idol Bo Ye has unfollowed @Qi Xingchen]

[Your idol Bo Ye has followed @Qi Xingchen again]

[Your idol Bo Ye has unfollowed @Qi Xingchen]

[Your idol Bo Ye has followed @Qi Xingchen again]

The Ye Kong fandom was completely baffled—What the heck is he doing?!

Did his phone glitch?

Was he messing with Xiao Qi (Qi Xingchen)?

Question marks flooded every major fan group chat. Meanwhile, Bo Ye, completely unaware of the existence of fan-tracking apps, kept fiddling with his settings.

Qi Xingchen stared at his phone, utterly stunned.

Yes, that’s right—after seven years of being a devoted fan, he had naturally installed a fan-tracking app.

He ignored Bo Ye’s previous question and quickly typed: [Was your Weibo account hacked?]

Bo: [No.]

Qi Xingchen didn’t dare to expose his use of a fan-tracking app, so he rephrased his question: [Then… why are you still playing around on Weibo?]

After struggling with the settings for a while and still failing to figure things out, Bo Ye was about to search for answers online. But seeing Qi Xingchen’s message, he bluntly asked: [Tell me how to set up Special Follows.]

With his idol personally asking for help, Qi Xingchen instinctively responded, sending step-by-step screenshots.

Shortly after, his fan-tracking app popped up another alert:

[Your idol Bo Ye has followed @Qi Xingchen again]

Then, Bo Ye went offline.

Qi Xingchen lay in Bo Ye’s following list—unchanged.

His heart pounded wildly—he knew a secret that no other Ye Kong fan knew.

He was in Bo Ye’s Special Follows.