Recapture the Entertainment Industry

The release of this EP, from the very beginning of preparations, has made a huge noise.

With the professional team behind the scenes, Luo Ding's personal popularity, and the popularity of this successful hype, the number of album pre-orders on the Internet has reached an astonishing number.As for the physical store, when the store opened, it attracted a large number of customers who were waiting at the door to buy.

Most of Luoding's fans have already placed an order in the short-lived online pre-sale, but how can people wait with peace of mind for the one-month delivery cycle?It is the right way to quickly buy another EP and watch it first.

Besides, they have a hunch.

If it's later, I'm afraid I won't be able to buy it.

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"It's shipped! Don't rush! It's in stock!!" Gu Yaxing had a mobile phone in his left hand and a mobile phone in his right. They were calls from the company's department in charge of record sales and post-information feedback. When he walked into the office, he happened to be When he encountered the jingling telephone, he stared straight at the telephone, and next to his ears were the buzzing and bee-like complaints of his subordinates on the handset.

"They're all rushing for the goods! What should I do? The sales department's phone line has been blown up, and there are not enough people!"

"Who is to blame?! Why didn't you listen to them before asking them to stock up?!"

Record stores that had no idea of ​​Luoding's popularity before did not have a large inventory, but now seeing customers come and leave with powder puffing money on their wings, they are looking for death and life.

The other side complained aggrievedly: "That's right! I reminded them early tomorrow, and even showed them the numbers after the pre-sale. At that time, they said that we swiped the purchase record, and now we deserve it!!"

Gu Yaxing, who was busy and angry at first, was afraid that he would treat the customer with this attitude, so he could only comfort him softly.

Picking up the landline, there is a call from Japan for urgent delivery.It was originally scheduled to go on sale simultaneously in various Asian countries, but there was a small problem in the transportation, and the Japanese side delayed a bit. After the fans there learned that China had already started the album sales, they collectively rioted.

Gu Yaxing was anxious and afraid, sweating all over his head.While agreeing, he called the management department to inquire about the latest developments. After confirming that the audio-visual store in Tokyo would start selling in the afternoon at the latest, he finally felt relieved, and handed over the replenishment notice for the next batch of goods to other subordinates.

With a long sigh of relief, he collapsed into the chair exhaustedly, lying on the desk without saying a word.

He was clearly prepared enough, but he still underestimated Luo Ding's popularity.

Record stores from all over the world sold out in just one morning, and many fans who came late could only look at the empty shelves and howl.There must be a time lag for the re-arrival. Fans from all over the world who can't wait are calling for help and asking if there is anyone in other places who can buy the album on Weibo.

Counting the numbers on the e-commerce website that are counting shipments one by one and still increasing rapidly, Luoding's EP sales have reached an astonishing number in the mainland.

The album sales of mainland singers have always been unsatisfactory. Due to the limitations of piracy, filming, and the concept of few people buying albums, Gu Yaxing did not focus on album sales from the very beginning.

A large number of goods are first supplied to Japan, followed by South Korea, and finally Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The number of records left in the mainland is only less than half of the combined numbers of these regions.Although it may seem like a lot, if you calculate the population of a big country and divide it by the ratio, you can immediately see the gap.

But so far the market response clearly tells him that he still underestimates domestic fans too much.Fortunately, the second batch of shipments has been packed, and the shipment that was originally intended to supplement the supply of Japanese goods can temporarily withstand the domestic sales boom. In the past few days, hurry up and make the third batch of records before shipping them to Japan. Hurry up! Fortunately, there will be no major mistakes.

After all, it was the first time to lead such a popular artist, no matter how careful Gu Yaxing was, he still couldn't avoid making mistakes.Although it wasn't a major omission, the fans who couldn't bear the pheasant style of Yaxing Studio had already been hit by successive disappointments.

Poor Gu Yaxing was tied to the headlines of the forum and began to flog the corpse.

"Mr. Gu, are you really short of money and prepare more goods? Can you!?!"

"I feel sorry for my son, the company is too copycat, and the albums are not enough to sell."

"Please ask the company to contact a larger production factory. If you don't have the money to pay a deposit, you can let the fans raise donations. Don't hold the male god back, will it be successful? Will it be successful?!"

Gu Yaxing was very wronged. He found the largest production studio in the industry, and the stocking was based on the sales volume of the albums of first-line singers. Because of the existence of overseas fan bases, he deliberately increased the original number.Even the boss of the studio advised him not to get so fat all at once. Gu Yaxing thought he was audacious at that time, but now he is scolded for not being able to afford money, is he wronged?

Although the company is indeed quite poor, but the reason why the album sold out this time is not on him, okay? ?

While being wronged and scolded, but also happy that the album has achieved good sales, Gu Yaxing is really painful and happy this time.

Luo Ding's fans are mostly rational fans, and they have a little understanding of the domestic album market. Before the EP was released, they had already formulated the rules of the fan circle in private: after getting the EP, first search the original resources on the Internet, and upload audio. , You cannot upload MVs and behind-the-scenes shots, and you cannot take screenshots to expose MV details, and you can describe them in words.If someone violates it, others must use all kinds of methods to make soft and hard foam or pinch the other party to delete it.Because many fans who are waiting for resources have problematic consumption concepts, they would rather eat and drink with the money. If there are resources and they can be found on the Internet, then they will definitely not buy the album.

The mothers are really worried about the sales of Luo Ding's album. When they got the album and put it in the player, most of them were still thinking about how to describe the album from the most attractive angle after watching it. To convince those fans who are not willing to buy the album to empty their wallets.

In total, an EP contains two DVDs, one is the song accompaniment and the other is the normal album. The EP comes with two photos of Luo Ding's album.

The existence of photos has not been the focus of the studio's promotion of the EP, so many fans were shocked and lost their voices when they opened the album and saw these two photos.

Then he was pulled back to his sanity by the melodious fast frequency rhythm coming out of the sound.

There are four songs in an EP, two fast and two slow, intermingled with each other, and the most explosive dance song starts with it.

The dance in the practice room has been widely spread. Basically, as long as Luo Ding's fans are fans, they have worshiped that video ten times, tens of times, hundreds of times and countless times.Everyone knows that Luo Ding's dancing skills are good, and the dance music is also a part that fans are looking forward to. However, after the MV started playing, they suddenly realized that the version in the practice room before was really a fart!

Different from a private video shot straight from the beginning to the end, professional lighting, professional clothing, camera switching, and post-processing add too much color to a work.The stage outfit on Luo Ding's body may seem exaggerated in reality, but when it appears in the camera, it emphasizes the advantages of his body shape to be impeccable.Every glance of the man after putting on makeup on the camera is enough to make people's blood boil, and the lyrics jumped out of his mouth briskly while his limbs were swaying.

This song was specially written by He Guan and Ye Zhou to set the theme for Luo Ding's facade.

The plot of the main line is a story of a star chaser who is eager to be on the big stage and has his own dream. Through hard work, he is getting closer and closer to his dream.

Compared with ordinary dance music styles, the lyrics are particularly deep, and the melody is impassioned and deeply rooted in the composition.The young man on the screen finally realized his dream. He stood on the dark stage and stopped dancing, closed his eyes and raised his head, raising his right hand high.

The spotlight fell on him from top to bottom.

The noise of the audience suddenly sounded in the next moment.

The whole world turned into an ocean shouting his name.

Many fans didn't realize they were in tears until the music stopped.

It seems that I have accepted a long and heavy challenge with my children, bitter, gratifying, and hard work.Since Luo Ding became popular, there have been constant turmoil. Speculation, insults, and strife from all walks of life are constantly refreshing the limit of negative emotions that the fan circle can bear.Because while they are working hard to expand their own strength, the idol they love is also fighting side by side with them.

A line of large characters that finally slowly appeared on the screen caused many people to press the pause button and cry bitterly while covering their faces.

"Thank you for always being by my side."

Such a simple, straightforward, and gentle sentence.

The voice of the fan circle's big hand quietly appeared on the forum: "Nimma, this is the first time I heard dance music and cried."

Many people forwarded it one after another: "+1" "Cry like a dog." "It's so cool to be confessed by an idol..." "Nie Ma, I will never let him go in my life!"

Fans who are waiting for the pre-sale to be shipped or haven't bought the album at all are scratching their heads. However, after searching the entire Internet, they can't find any resource information about Luo Ding's EP. When refreshing, there are at most a few screenshots of the album. Once refreshed it was deleted again.Where is this screenshot to satisfy my hunger?It was clearly for fishing!Luo Ding was wearing a motorcycle suit that fully emphasized the advantages of his figure. He looked at the camera during the dance break. After makeup, the sharp facial features were charming at the corners of the eyes. There was no need for too clear pixels, and he grabbed the fans with just one glance. heart of.

“啊啊啊啊啊啊！！！！网店我去你妈快点发货啊啊啊啊！！！！！”一时偷懒没去抢现货买了预售的粉丝如今追悔莫及，只恨不得Through the screen, he dragged out the big guys who were showing off over there and beat them hard to get the picture out of their mouths.

“啊啊啊啊啊死就死吧老子这辈子居然花钱买唱片！！买就买吧快告诉老子哪里有现货啊啊啊啊啊！！！！！！”一些打开始并没打算购买专辑Fans can't sit still now. To be honest, how many adults can't take out double-digit and three-digit banknotes?It's entirely a matter of consumer attitudes and they don't want to buy it.Now when you are tempted by all kinds of hooks and can't hold it, the inherent consumption concept is a fart.But when they figured it out and prepared to give the money, alas, there was no need to sell it.

Other fans who were already very uncomfortable with this group were gloating at this time: "No, no, sister groups from all over the world are ready to grab the second batch of goods on the shelves in the afternoon, and I have to help my friends in small cities Let's grab a few copies, unless you have the stocking capacity in the first-tier cities and you can still break through the siege and gain something, other regions... hurry up and think about the scene of thousands of troops crossing the single-plank bridge."

At the same time, the second wave of big killers came.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)"

The rice circle suddenly boiled again.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhly, is your angel devil? I am a guitar!" This is a series taken by Luo Ding's recording jazz. On the body, a young man sitting on a high stool is wearing a simple white T-shirt and jeans, with his legs crossed, holding a guitar in his arms and singing affectionately.The whole world fell silent because of this picture.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the last love songs.” Slowly stroking the blue brick walls of the ancient city, or holding an umbrella and lowering your head peacefully on the road, from the composition to the color selection of the picture, it is so fresh that it makes people feel as if they are smelling the air of the early spring morning tide.

The whole fan circle suddenly started to grow old again, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah people who got the album shared their impressions of the new song while exchanging the photos they got with others Resources, the repeated part is not too much.

The sincerity of Yaxing Studio can be seen. For the sake of the portrait photos, many people feel that they should forgive Gu Yaxing for his lack of work.

The fans who didn't buy the album were so engrossed by these bastards, most of them opened the online pre-order page and started shopping frantically, only to find out in despair that the delivery date was within the entire month of September. In other words, those who are unlucky may not understand what those bastards are talking about until next month.

Some people who couldn't wait began to call relatives and friends in other areas.

Such as Japan, such as South Korea, such as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Who is free to help this group of people! ?They can't grab it by themselves, okay? ?

When hitting the wall repeatedly, many people indirectly learned the latest overseas sales situation from this.

Japanese and Korean fans are notoriously willing to spend money. As soon as the news of Luo Ding's insufficient albums spread from China to overseas, the fans of the support club began to feel insecure.After many people learned from the official sources that Tokyo would be the first city where the album would be released, they even rushed to Tokyo by Shinkansen from surrounding counties and cities to snap up the album.However, despite this, many people still failed in the end. Various forums were filled with complaints in various languages, and many fans in China couldn't help but feel closer to each other.

After the results of the sales statistics on the first day came out, the entire Yaxing Studio, including Luo Ding, was a little unbelievable about this figure.

Luo Ding has always followed the domestic route, that is, one of the group of singers who are popular but not popular.Although his records are often at the top of the sales charts of domestic singers, there are only so many of them.But now, the sales figure that could only be reached in a week before, has already been broken through this time only on the first day of the album's release.Such an achievement may only be achieved by a group of Korean idol groups with amazing fighting power in China, and there may be no such precedent in the Chinese-speaking circle from ancient to modern times.

"Breaking... breaking the record..." Gu Yaxing was still a little dazed, and stretched out his hand to slowly caress the computer screen.When it was calculated for the first time, no one believed that this number would be true. This has been confirmed after the third time.Gu Yaxing feels that he is now like a passerby whose forehead is suddenly covered with a big pie while walking. Originally, he only wanted Luo Ding's album to sell gratifying figures, but now the final result is not gratifying, but Scary!

If it weren't for the facts before him, and given him ten imaginations, he wouldn't be able to hope that his small studio could make a Chinese music sales legend!

Luo Ding licked his lips and hummed lightly.

This result... really surprised him. The domestic news media would be shocked if the EP could sell this result.

-

Luo Ding guessed right.

After the EP sales were counted, it quickly overwhelmed the original weekly champion and ranked first. After refreshing the ranking page, many people suddenly found that there was an extra airborne soldier on their heads. The first thing they thought of was definitely "open." What a joke!"

However, after many verifications, many people discovered that the airborne this time was not a network failure or a data error, but a real data crush!

The sales figures are still rising. On the second day and the third day, the runner-up, whose gap was not obvious before, was quickly pulled away. The difference of nearly single digits makes many people even dare not believe their eyes. .

The news media were surprised for the first time.

Are they really looking at the sales charts of Chinese albums instead of the charts of European and American music forums?You must know that the singer under Luo Dingwen's pressure is an emerging idol whose sales volume has been repeatedly praised by the industry in recent years. Fans are known for their strong fighting power, and they have refreshed the domestic album sales list three times in a row.The day before Luo Ding's airborne landing, many people were still guessing that this young man was going to win the championship again. However, the wind in the entertainment industry changed so quickly, and in just one night, it was completely different.

For the first time, the eyes of all walks of life focused on Luo Ding so unanimously. This time, it was definitely not the Internet media circle that was boiling, but the real TV media for mainstream audiences.

From shooting TV, to filming, to getting a Hollywood role in the later stage, until now the first EP has swept the major charts as soon as it was released.The name Luo Ding has already gradually become familiar to people.This is the first time that he used the most fair and impartial data to counter those voices who questioned him from the front.

Sales statistics have always been carried out on an official platform, and any changes in the data must be carried out with the synchronous cooperation of the market.Even those big companies in the industry who are well-known in the industry can do nothing more than spend money to fabricate part of the sales figures, but the sales miracle that Luo Ding has created today is not just achieved by fraud. There is a question of explanation. Many people speculate that they falsified sales, but more people think that if this company has any brains, it will not formulate the figures to such a degree that people can feel fake at a glance.

Judging from the reverse thinking, even if they are reluctant, many people still have to believe the official voice after various doubts.

That is, Luo Ding really fired the unprecedented first shot this time.

It wasn't until this time that many mainland media discovered that long before they paid attention to this young man, the other party's overseas audience circle had already been opened up.What many domestic artists can't do in their entire lives, Luo Ding has already accomplished it only by cooperating with others in the MV when he first debuted.Unlike those stars who boast that they are Asian XXX, his overseas fans are solid and practical, and the sales of overseas albums have refreshed his sense of existence.

Throughout September, Luo Ding lived a fulfilling and busy life.

The release of more and more albums will inevitably lead to a gradual increase in online resources, but fortunately, it has begun to enter the end of sales, and no amount of resources will have much impact on sales figures.And he, because of these gradually increasing network resources, has gradually become well-known to people. When the name "Luo Ding" appeared, it was finally no longer just a down-to-earth voice.

This has been the case throughout the ages, the smaller the audience, the more praise, the higher the status, the hotter the criticism.In the past, Luo Ding was widely spread in fan groups. Except for those who liked him, those who didn't know him, few people were willing to go out of their way to scold a starlet they didn't know much about.And in this short month, his sense of existence has been refreshed to a height that cannot be ignored over and over again, and the voices of "no feeling", "irritability" and "hate" towards him have also begun to appear so consistently.

All in all, all in order to explain one thing.

That is, he is really popular, has surpassed the influence of the Internet, and has begun to enter thousands of households.

Brand businessmen began to seek him as endorsements.Among all kinds of manufacturers' information, Luo Ding and Gu Yaxing ignored those inferior products that had a higher endorsement fee than the other, and chose two really high-quality big brands to shoot advertisements.Now that he is not ready to make money, the most important thing is to manage his own worth in the circle.If you endorse a brand that is too low at the beginning, then there will be fewer and fewer boutique manufacturers to come to you later.There are many short-sighted artists in the circle who can't get out of the shackles of inferior product endorsements. Luo Ding has seen too much, and it is difficult to be dazzled by those petty profits.Fortunately, Gu Yaxing, one of the beneficiaries, was also very supportive of this, which relieved him a lot.

Coming out of the shooting studio, Luo Ding drank a cup of warm salt and sugar water, fell on the seat and fell asleep.

Gu Yaxing changed him to a new nanny car, which was expensive, with a low-key logo, and the comfort of the ride was beyond the reach of the previous car.The music was very light, and it was turning to the most listened-to station on the car radio. After the hostess gave a gentle greeting and introduction, the familiar melody rang out, making Luo Ding, who was already a little sleepy, slightly twitch his lips.

The last love song "Concern" in the EP is the most popular among domestic mainstream media among the four songs on the album.Compared with the dance song "Dream", which has already started to rot because of its catchy melody, the tune of this slow music is more lyrical and the lyrics are more stylish.Since the single can be obtained on the Internet, it quickly occupied major radio stations and became one of the most recommended tracks by the hosts. Many domestic music news media also like to use this song as the background.

This means that a large part of the audience of Luo Ding's music in China is between the young and middle-aged.

In contrast, in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, it is obvious that the jazz song "Afternoon Black Tea" is more popular.According to many fans in Hong Kong and Taiwan, in addition to the mainstream media that always use this music in a loop, most of the more stylish Hong Kong and Taiwan restaurants have "Afternoon Black Tea" in their song playlists, and major music customers The data records on the terminal also show that this song is indeed more popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan with westernized styles. move.

In Japan, the most popular song is the MV "victory" co-produced with Duan Xiubo. It is about the exquisite picture of angels and fallen angels fighting and killing, which is more suitable for Japanese fans. This song was released in Japan from the album From the very beginning of the day, with its invincible popularity, it jumped to the top [-] of the "Favorite Music" in the local music scene.When the sales were almost coming to an end and the MV and audio began to be found everywhere, the second wave of ranking jumps began.The incomprehensible Chinese characters did not affect the enthusiasm of the fans in the slightest. In the MV, the angels in white and the fallen angels full of evil spirits were spontaneously printed by fans as posters, hung on advertising billboards in Tokyo, and even boarded department stores. The name Luo Ding on the advertising wall has also begun to be widely known by local Japanese people.

The response in South Korea is not far from that in Japan, but compared to Japan's single hit "victory", the dance song "Dream" has also received quite enthusiastic praise in South Korea.

Although the genes are close, it is not difficult to distinguish the looks of Chinese and Koreans. Among the stereotyped Korean stars with thick eyebrows and awl faces, Luo Ding's appearance is like a spring breeze, making people unforgettable.After all, pure natural and man-made are not the same, nothing less than the Korean people's advanced assembly line, but the real favorite is always the pure natural beauty. It is true that some of the charms of human beings have lost the most primitive after all after abnormal development. smell.

Although most domestic stars are pure natural, the packaging is flawed.Compared with South Korea, where buck teeth, crooked faces and squinting eyes can be eye-catching after various transformations, the domestic fashion circle that vividly portrays handsome guys out of the village is far behind. Overseas countries with local conservation policies.

However, this time Luo Ding completely reversed the situation because of various opportunities. The term "Chinese Handsome Guy" quickly started to attract people's attention overseas because of his pioneering, and because of his drive, many new generation singers in China began to promote their new works to Japan and South Korea.The popularity of Chinese style is just around the corner.

Because he has already gone abroad to Asia and even the world, the domestic news media are also willing to report on Luo Ding, who is a "long-faced" star in China. With his works, he is more confident in the headlines of various websites and newspapers. Positioning Mingqun makes The favorability of passers-by is increasing day by day. After several variety show activities, Luo Ding's fan circle is no longer the same as before.

When you go out, you need to carry a hat and a mask with you. Although it is hard work, it gives people a different kind of satisfaction.

Luo Ding thought to himself that he was probably born to enjoy these gazes.People's attention and pursuit will give him a sense of security that he has found the value of his existence.

Gu Yaxing found a trustworthy driver for Luo Ding who had worked in Yaxing Studio a long time ago. The sales of the album and Luo Ding's popularity made the company's economy gradually richer. The first thing he did was to improve Luo Ding's quality of life. It can be regarded as reciprocating.Wu Fangyuan, who used to be a part-time driver, has now become a full-time "assistant". He only needs to manage Luo Ding's basic necessities of life and do some errands for him. Slowly, Gu Yaxing is also trying to teach Wu Fangyuan what to do. Do something only a broker can do.

The driver drove carefully, and the congested roads in the city became much smoother after entering the suburbs.From time to time, he looked at Luo Ding's reaction in the rearview mirror to determine whether he needed to slow down. Wu Fangyuan in the passenger seat lowered his head and poked on the iPad, and suddenly turned his head excitedly and said to Luo Ding: "Break 1000 It's all over!"

Luo Ding rolled his eyes, turned around and pulled off his blindfold.Wu Fangyuan, that idiot, has been nervously refreshing the Weibo interface since six o'clock in the morning, clamoring to take a screenshot of the 1000 million screen, and it's almost nine o'clock now, and he did that in nearly three hours boring thing.

He didn't know why Wu Fangyuan was so obsessed with the number of Weibo fans, but he didn't open his mouth to reprimand him. Since he became popular, Wu Fangyuan has been under a lot of pressure. Within a limited range, Luo Ding doesn't mind if he uses his favorite Way to be happy occasionally.

Wu Fangyuan happily clicked out the picture album and began to admire the numbers in the pictures. Once upon a time, the numbers in this position were only pitiful five-digit numbers.From the end of spring to the beginning of autumn, such a huge change in just a few months made him lament the impermanence of life, and he was often moved to tears when he realized that Luo Ding had already made a comeback.

He knew that Luo Ding always rolled his eyes secretly, so let's just do it, as long as he is happy with himself?

Wu Fangyuan, who was snorting, put away the tablet, and said to Luo Ding with a choked voice, "Don't sleep, I'll be at the airport in a while. It's not good to be photographed sleeping."

Luo Ding yawned and turned over to sit up, looked at the time on his watch, and rubbed his temples: "Brother Duan arrives at 09:30, we can just wait outside, Fangyuan later, you go in to pick up someone, the fans who pick up the plane probably There are a lot, so be careful not to get hurt."

After being busy with various overseas fashion endorsement activities, Duan Xiubo finally returned to China, and kept calling Luo Ding at the airport while waiting for the plane.After parting for so long, Luo Ding suddenly realized that he also missed him. After seeking Gu Yaxing's consent, he offered to pick up the plane by himself.

Duan Xiubo was pleasantly surprised, probably because he didn't expect Luo Ding to be so enthusiastic.

Luo Ding also found it strange, according to his past habits, he usually kept silent on such troublesome promises.

What a ghost.

He looked at the street trees receding further and further outside the window, imagining the possible meeting with Duan Xiubo in a while, and couldn't help showing an expectant smile.