Chapter 8: Video Release: Frog Fist

At his computer, Lu Chen was editing a video at full throttle.

To avoid any unforeseen complications and ensure a prompt upload, he hadn't returned to Shanghai today. Instead, he checked into a hotel, opened his laptop, and got straight to work.

At 9:15 PM, he finally finished editing and sent the video to Cheng Cheng, waiting for a reply with bated breath.

At 9:30 PM, Lu Chen received the confirmation and excitedly uploaded the video to Bilibili.

At 9:32 PM, a moderator caught sight of the video and, sensing its urgency, immediately escalated it.

At 9:36 PM, the head of the moderation team rushed into the office, crowded in front of the computer, watched the video with a grave expression, and promptly granted it a homepage recommendation.

At 9:38 PM, the video appeared on the Bilibili homepage.

Video Title: "I Got the Real Deal! I'm Doing the Frog Dance with Brother Frog"
Production Team: Creator (Lu Zong the Yo-Yo Master), Featured Guest (The Real Cheng Cheng)
Description: After making countless videos roasting Cheng Cheng, he finally appears in one of mine for the first time. At this moment, I want to say: persistent longings will surely find their echo! This is a mutual journey between Cheng Cheng and his 'Little Black Fans'! If you enjoyed this, please give me a free triple-tap!

—

When the video appeared on the homepage, all users were stunned. They were all doubting their own eyes.

Wait! Is that... is that actually Cheng Cheng on the cover?!

It must be fake!

This has to be a fake!

How could Cheng Cheng possibly shoot a video with Lu Chen? He’d be lucky if he didn't sue him!

Is there something wrong with my eyes? Or has the world suddenly changed when I wasn't looking? Has it become a version I don't recognize?

Or perhaps the cover is Photoshopped? Is that son-of-a-bitch Lu Chen using clickbait?

There were also some 5G-enabled surfers who had caught earlier reports about Cheng Cheng "showing his face."

Their jaws hit the floor:

So? Is this the collaboration Cheng Cheng mentioned before?

A joint video with a creator who has been relentlessly roasting him?

Good heavens!

In this moment, countless people couldn't process it!

The world has gone mad; the mouse is acting as the bridesmaid for the cat!

—

[Are you even human? Do you know how to apologize? You had so much fun roasting him and hurling abuse at him, and yet not a single person has apologized to him!]

The video opened with the desperate, tearful cries of a girl—a clip of a former Cheng Cheng fan accusing his haters, which Lu Chen had sampled and placed at the beginning.

Countless viewers who clicked on the video were unable to hold it together right from the start!

Then, Cheng Cheng’s hit song suddenly blared. Lu Chen performed a segment with his yo-yo to the rhythm of the music before stepping aside to reveal Cheng Cheng behind him, dressed in his classic skin.

At that instant, the comment section exploded!

Viewers covered their mouths in shock, standing up from their chairs!

It really was Cheng Cheng!

It was actually the real Cheng Cheng?!!!

[Huh?]
[Huh?] *99
[Holy cow!!! I can't believe my eyes!]
[The world has gone crazy! The world has gone crazy!]
[Brothers, type 'fear' in the chat!]

[Damn it, how did he get him? How on earth did he get him to agree?!]
[Everyone stand up, I repeat, everyone stand up!!!]
[I’m stunned, guys!]
[Oh no, I must have woken up too fast; I’m seeing Brother Frog perform his own meme. I think I’ll go back to sleep.]
[He even wore the classic skin!!!]
[This is the most explosive video I’ve seen all year! Without a doubt!]

To the beat of the background music, Cheng Cheng began his iconic dance.

Even though countless people had imitated this dance—to the point where it could be said it had been parodied to death and the audience was long accustomed to it—seeing Cheng Cheng perform it live still dazzled them!

It left them amazed!

His movements were so smooth and precise, as if every gesture had been meticulously fine-tuned. It was hearing thunder in the silence, seeing true brilliance in the details!

It was a perfect one-to-one reproduction, perhaps even surpassing the original!

[Smooth! So incredibly smooth!]
[Master-level precision.]
[The composure and ease of a veteran artist.]
[He’s back! It’s all back!]
[Officially licensed!]
[A true god descends!]
[This dance still has to be done by Brother Frog!]
[He was born for this!]
[I can finally see the essence of this dance!]
[I’m tearing up!]
[Enough, stop dancing, I said enough! My heart aches for you!]

The video lasted a minute and a half. Cheng Cheng and Lu Chen took turns: one performing an upgraded, "supreme" version of the dance, the other blending the dance with yo-yo tricks. Elegance and kitsch, tradition and innovation, were perfectly interpreted in this moment!

Art!

This is, for heaven's sake, art!

When the video finished, many were still unable to recover from their shock.

Countless people flooded the comment section:

[Why does his performance feel so different from everyone else’s? It’s so smooth.]
"No matter how much you look down on him, he started as a trainee. The bandwagon-hopping creators just can't compare."
"The unique skill of a veteran artist, in a league of its own!"
"The operating system is different; he’s got the 'Frog Core'."
"There’s a reason this dance has stayed popular for so many years."
"They aren't even in the same tier."

[The peak produces hypocritical support; the twilight bears witness to true believers.]
"From today on, I am a true 'icheng'!"
"The mutual journey of the 'Little Black Fan' and Brother Frog—I’m crying!"
"Brothers, for the sake of our Brother Frog, we cannot lose this battle!"
"Turns out, we were the true fans all along!"
"If the so-called 'true fans' won't fight this battle, then we 'true ichengs' will!"

It wasn't that the "Little Black Fans" were fickle, changing their stance just because Cheng Cheng released a joint video and danced for them.

In reality, from the very beginning, the "Little Black Fans" hadn't really believed the woman's sob story. Men and women think differently. When an emotional manifesto appears online, women focus on the tear-jerking descriptions, while men look for objective, rational evidence.

The woman’s biggest accusation against Cheng Cheng was infidelity. She had never provided substantive evidence; when faced with questions from netizens, she remained vague, and her account contained contradictions and biased framing.

It was only because Cheng Cheng’s relationship was confirmed that his core fan base collapsed. That alone caused his reputation to suffer, so no one cared if he had cheated or not—or rather, whether he had cheated became secondary.

But for men, a fact is a fact; things cannot be blurred. If Cheng Cheng truly cheated, he deserved to be banned and fade into obscurity. But if he didn't, he shouldn't have to bear the stigma of being slandered.

As the "Little Black Fans" put it: "If you deserve to be roasted, we will roast you to death, but if you didn't do it, we won't slander you out of thin air."

As for the "idol dating" issue, the public discourse had changed too rapidly; karma is everywhere. If it were six months ago, Cheng Cheng hiding his relationship would have been an indefensible betrayal of professional ethics, and the "Little Black Fans" wouldn't have helped him. "If you die, what does that have to do with me?"

But now, six months later, the issue couldn't be viewed that way. Another young idol selected from a different variety show, Li Xia'er, had also been exposed for dating behind the scenes six months ago.

At the time, Li Xia'er’s "husband fans," "boyfriend fans," and "true fans" had made a huge scene, abandoning her and turning against her, claiming it was wrong for her to date and that she had betrayed them. The worst part, they argued, was that she was dating a playboy and a scumbag.

But soon, female netizens grew unhappy and began attacking Li Xia'er’s male fans, claiming that Li Xia'er was not their sexual fantasy object, that the male fans were limiting her development, and that her dating was "fierce" and "living for herself."

Overnight, the narrative shifted entirely. Not only did the male fans fail to take Li Xia'er down, but they ended up looking like losers, branded as "stinky," "vulgar," and "jealous." Li Xia'er came out completely unscathed, successfully washing her image and becoming a symbol of freedom and independence.

Now that the same thing had happened to a different person, how could the male netizens not seek revenge?

Why could Li Xia'er date and walk away clean, while Cheng Cheng dating invited such wrath?

Isn't this a double standard?

A female star can do it, but a male star can't?

Why?!

Not to mention that every time a male star gets into trouble, the comment section turns into a blanket attack on all men, saying, "See? I knew none of them were clean; it’s just the base nature."

Male netizens had long been waiting to strike back!

This was a perfect opportunity. However, they still needed to be sure whether Cheng Cheng had truly cheated!

Countless viewers hounded Lu Chen, asking for the truth and sending him private messages. Even many other Bilibili creators came to ask him how he had convinced Cheng Cheng and if he had heard anything from him.

Forced into a corner, Lu Chen had to post a comment and pin it to the top:

"Too many people are asking, so I’ll reply once. Regarding this collaboration, Cheng Cheng himself contacted me, and he planned the video content. As for the public discourse online, I’m not in a position to comment, and it seems Cheng Cheng finds it difficult to talk about as well. If you have any doubts, you can follow Cheng Cheng’s official account @TheRealChengCheng."

The audience immediately clicked on Cheng Cheng’s account and found that, besides the joint video, he had just posted another one.

Video: "Frog Fist"
Creator: The Real Cheng Cheng
Description: This is a set of martial arts I created myself. I hope you all like it.

"Hello, friends on Bilibili."

In the video, Cheng Cheng faced the camera directly and said:

"Thank you all for your attention. Regarding all the voices about me—that I’m unworthy of my position, that I inflate my data, manipulate traffic, have terrible acting skills, am a bad singer, engage in marketing, and sell a fake persona—I have been reflecting deeply on myself during this time. I feel that what everyone says is correct. From now on, I will turn over a new leaf and work hard to become an outstanding artist and actor, worthy of everything this era has bestowed upon me."

"Additionally, regarding the various rumors about me recently, due to company reasons, it is not convenient for me to respond. However, I can firmly tell you all: they are untrue."

"Next, I will present a set of martial arts I created, 'Frog Fist.' I hope you all enjoy it—"