This celebrity became even more popular after being exposed of having multiple girlfriends
Chapter 233 - 222: Current Situation Survey

Chapter 233: Chapter 222: Current Situation Survey

Wu Mu’s words had hit Shi Wu right where it hurt.

Shi Wu, "...It’s not the company I used to work for, but I know their boss."

He always sighed when short dramas came up.

"Short dramas may look like a hot item, but the competition is fierce, and it relies too much on traffic. Many of my friends who work on these have lost so much money they can’t continue."

It’s one thing to just direct short dramas; win or lose, at least you get paid for your hard work. But for someone like him who had invested his own money into it, the loss was a downright disaster.

Shi Wu didn’t dwell much on his own hardships, simply mentioning them briefly before continuing to show Wu Mu around, "This place is 370 square meters in total, with the rent at 18,000 a month. The previous company had an eight-month contract left, plus their leftover equipment and materials cost me a little over 130,000 in total."

It really saved trouble to have insider friends helping set up the studio, always finding various connections.

Handling these things by himself would have been not only pricey but also awfully time-consuming and energy-draining.

Wu Mu nodded; all this would be compiled into a weekly email report for him, and he could simply check his inbox to see the detailed financial transactions.

Led by Shi Wu, Wu Mu had walked around the studio and now recognized all the staff in his new studio.

Including Shi Wu, there were only six people.

That was because Wu Mu had previously said he only needed enough staff to maintain basic operations, no need to recruit too many.

As his manager and lead agent, Shi Wu was naturally the core of the team. The rest included an assistant, a finance person, a business manager, and someone for operations and publicity.

Other necessities like makeup, styling, legal affairs, and public relations marketing weren’t handled by full-time staff but through contracts with companies that specialized in these areas, to be called upon as needed.

And out of these six, aside from Shi Wu, there was another old acquaintance of his.

Wu Mu, looking at the girl who was in charge of operations in his company, a girl who appeared to be only about twenty-five or twenty-six, was exasperated, "What are you doing in my company?"

His old acquaintance, the former superfan Shu Mei, was somewhat sheepish, "I’m working to make money."

Seriously, you, a superfan who once spent millions on me, are working for a salary of tens of thousands a month in my studio?

Star-chasing all the way into my company?

Indeed, Shu Mei was there to chase the star.

Ever since she had become a fan of Wu Mu again, she had been keenly following everything about him.

And the more she watched, the more she liked him, thinking her idol truly had become an "Evolved" just like his Weibo account name suggested.

Even though his personality seemed a bit different from before, a bit more of a "fun person" and not seeming to care much about fans, his talent was undeniable, and his character was lovable!

Undoubtedly, she, now a diehard fan again, was eager to do something for her Evolved brother.

But throwing money around didn’t seem to have many options, and after spending it, her Evolved brother wouldn’t even pay attention, lacking that sense of feedback.

Managing fan groups, engaging in fan operation activities... He hardly engaged with fans at all, with no so-called fan events, and he had also told her not to bother with managing fan groups.

So she was at a loss about how to support her Evolved brother.

Well, unneeded help was pointless; it was best to have help that produces some sense of feedback, some feeling of involvement.

Then she heard that Wu Mu was reopening his studio and was instantly inspired to work there.

Acting on her decision immediately, she contacted Shi Wu.

For Shi Wu, having a wealthy, well-connected, and experienced fan like Shu Mei was a godsend, and that led to the current situation.

"Shu Mei is quite capable. She joined the company not long ago and has already conducted a current status survey and development plan for President Wu," Shi Wu spoke on behalf of Shu Mei.

Current status survey and development plan?

Wu Mu was somewhat curious.

He didn’t really have a problem with Shu Mei showing up in his company.

Why would he worry about an independent adult who was born in Rome, with financial support and connections at home?

"I’ll go get it!"

It didn’t take long for Wu Mu to see the survey report Shu Mei had prepared for him.

Then he realized that Shu Mei was indeed capable, with the report being very detailed and clear.

Inside the document, a comprehensive analysis based on data collected from various platforms was presented on his current situation.

The specific data was extensive, so it wasn’t listed, but the conclusion was:

He was currently very popular online and had significant crossover appeal across various social circles among young people, both male and female. He had a noticeably higher profile than other idol stars.

Unlike traditional idol stars who mostly have female audiences, he had a substantial number of male fans.

These male fans generally had a positive view of him; when mentioning him, they tended to adopt a teasing attitude.

Some gamers, in particular, could be called his core fan base; they spoke highly of him, and his updates were often shared in various gaming communities and forums, a phenomenon not seen with other celebrities.

Among female viewers, his popularity remained higher than other idol stars in surveys.

However, their perception of him was generally lower than that of his male audience.

Shu Mei speculated that this discrepancy might be because his "fun people" fan base and gamer fans, who were predominantly male, were more vocal on platforms where male users were the majority, thereby influencing his reputation among male viewers.

On the flip side, his anti-fans and rival fan bases, mainly female, voiced their opinions on platforms dominated by female users, resulting in a relatively poorer impression of him.

Putting it in terms of platforms, his reputation was better on sites like Bilibili, Zhihu, Tieba, Hupu, and various gaming forums.

On Weibo, Xiaohongshu, and Douban, his reputation was relatively less favorable.

But whether good or bad, in terms of fame alone, Shu Mei’s conclusion was that he had reached, and even surpassed, the standards of top-tier stars.

Yet despite his fame, he hadn’t been acknowledged within the circle as having returned to the top tier.

Her analysis pointed to the main issue being his lack of fan engagement and no one managing data for him, leaving him with less visible popularity than other top-tier stars in daily life.

Plus, the industry was somewhat unclear about his ability to bring in money and carry viewership.

Based on his past performance and sales, it was generally believed that he must have quite a few silent fans spending money on him.

But with no data to support this belief, there remained considerable hesitation.

After analyzing these points, Shu Mei also devised a development plan.

"Boss, I think if we’re willing to invest in marketing or release a hit drama series or a hot album, we could return to the top tier!"

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