Old fans' passionate support surged wave after wave, causing the topic of Jiang Ling to skyrocket.
The sudden surge of terrifying popularity frightened a group of Xu Feifei's fans who were spewing venom.
"Oh my god!"
"Who is this Jiang Ling? How can she still have such terrifying appeal after retiring for over a decade?"
"Did her fans buy bots? Why has her popularity exploded so dramatically?"
"Holy cow! Celebrities from the last era are as cold as they can be, how can there still be so many fans supporting her?"
"It's too exaggerated, it's simply outrageous!"
…
These fans who were immersed in the idol circle simply couldn't understand.
The entertainment industry has always been a place where new faces are celebrated and old ones are forgotten.
A celebrity who has no public attention for over a year might completely fade away, let alone sixteen years.
Sixteen years in Dragon Country law marks adulthood; this not only spans an entertainment era but also a generation.
Even a superstar, after retiring for sixteen years with no mention or trending topics, would surely be completely forgotten.
What did this woman named Jiang Ling do back then, and why do so many fans still support her after thousands of days and nights?
It's not surprising that Xu Feifei's fans were so astonished.
Although the current popular young idols and emerging stars boast tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of fans, most of them are zombie fans bought by their agencies to bolster their idols' image.
Nowadays, a celebrity wouldn't dare claim to be a top-tier without tens of millions of fans as a baseline.
However, Jiang Ling back then, with a fan base comparable to today's top stars, had genuine, die-hard fans without any filler.
In the eyes of the audience sixteen years ago, Jiang Ling was not only their dream lover but also their eternal god!
They could disbelieve their agencies, they could disbelieve directors, but they couldn't disbelieve Jiang Ling's discerning taste in selecting scripts.
After watching her performance as Hai Long, the audience understood what "a glance that lasts for ten thousand years" meant.
After watching her as Zhao Hede, the audience understood what "seductive eyes like flowing silk" meant.
After watching her as Li Shengnan, the audience understood what "the most unforgettable character in this life" meant.
After watching her as Tang Ruoxuan, the audience understood what a chivalrous woman who sacrifices personal love for a greater cause was.
After watching her as Wu Meiniang, the audience understood that a true female protagonist relies on wisdom, not beauty.
…
The movies and television series starring Jiang Ling almost spanned their entire childhood and youth.
Their unwavering support for Jiang Ling to this day is not solely due to her acting skills and character, but also because that era was so beautiful.
That time was carefree, allowing them to freely follow their idols and express their opinions online.
But now, youth is gone, the burdens of life have smoothed their edges, bent their spines, and they are no longer young.
Rather than being unable to let go of Jiang Ling, it's more that they can't let go of their most beautiful youthful years.
"My brothers and sisters, charge ahead and spray these idiots to death!"
"What top-tier traffic, what first-tier young stars, in front of my Sister Ling, they are all trash!"
"Jiang Ling, please come out, the entertainment industry cannot be without you!"
"When there are no tigers in the mountains, monkeys become kings; look at the current entertainment industry, what a mess it has become!"
"Remembering the heat of Sister Ling's peak back then, Xu Feifei, this foot-washing maid, is not even worthy of being compared to her, let alone carrying her shoes. How dare her fans insult Sister Ling as an ugly monster and an old, faded aunt!"