novellhall Chapter 385 Chen Xun, Welcome to the Zhang Family!
Chapter 385 Chen Xun, Welcome to the Zhang Family!
Chapter 384 Chen Xun, welcome home!
Chen Xun and Christine were both stunned.
The arrival hall was packed with people, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Half of the fans in the front row were dressed in neat Spider-Man suits, and the other half were dressed in red support clothing. The light sticks in their hands formed a sea of stars.
"Chen Xun!"
Spider-Man!
Welcome home!
A montage of his works was playing on the airport's large screen, with familiar scenes accompanied by fan-written support songs, echoing throughout the hall.
The moment he appeared, the fans shouted in unison, "Chen Xun! Welcome home!"
The unified shouts, filled with fervent enthusiasm, struck Chen Xun's heart, instantly bringing tears to his eyes.
He had traveled to more than a dozen countries around the world for roadshows and met countless enthusiastic fans, but only at this moment did he truly feel the weight of the word "home".
Christine, who was standing next to him, was also stunned. Looking at the scene in front of her and the enthusiasm in the fans' eyes, she subconsciously tightened her grip on Chen Xun's hand.
Upon seeing her, fans immediately shouted enthusiastically, "Christine! Welcome to China!"
"MJ, we love you!"
Kristen, who was initially extremely nervous, blushed instantly upon hearing the enthusiastic cheers. She smiled and waved to the fans, saying in broken Chinese, "Thank you! I'm so happy to be here!"
The fans erupted in even louder cheers, igniting the atmosphere at the scene.
Chen Xun patiently signed autographs and took photos with the fans in the front row, trying his best to meet everyone's requests even as the security personnel kept urging him to hurry up.
Just then, a dozen or so children in clean school uniforms carefully squeezed to the front of the crowd. The girl in the lead, Lin Xiao, held a picture book in her hands, looked at Chen Xun, her lips moved, and tears fell down first.
"Brother Chen Xun————"
When Chen Xun saw the "Seeking Shadows Charity Project" sign hanging around their necks, he immediately stopped, squatted down, and looked at them with tenderness in his eyes: "What brings you here?"
We would like to thank you in person.
Lin Xiao handed him the sketchbook, her voice choked with emotion, and said, "If it weren't for you, I would never have been able to get into the Beijing Film Academy, and I would never have had the opportunity to make my own film. You gave us children from the mountains the chance to pursue our dreams."
The boy behind her handed over his award-winning short film USB drive, blushing as he said, "Brother Chen Xun, my short film won an award! Thank you for buying us the camera, and thank you for letting us know that children from the mountains can also be directors."
The youngest girl stood on tiptoe, stuffed the jar of origami cranes in her hand into his, and whispered, "Brother Chen Xun, this contains a thousand origami cranes that I folded. I wish you happiness forever and that you can always make the movies you love."
A dozen or so children surrounded him, chattering about their recent lives and expressing their gratitude, their eyes shining like stars.
The surrounding fans fell silent.
Many people's eyes welled up with tears upon seeing this scene.
They admire Chen Xun not only because he brought one classic character after another to life, not only because he carved out a niche for Chinese people in Hollywood, but also because after achieving great success, he always remembered to turn back and lend a helping hand to those children still struggling in the mud.
Looking at the children in front of him, holding picture books, USB drives, and origami cranes in their hands, Chen Xun felt as if something was blocking his throat, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.
He initially started this charity project simply because he wanted to do something small within his capabilities.
But I never imagined that my small action would actually change the lives of so many children.
He hugged each of the children, his voice slightly hoarse: "No need to thank me. It's because you've worked hard enough and are good enough. Seeing you realize your dreams is the happiest thing for me."
"Keep up the good work! I'm looking forward to seeing your movies on the big screen!"
The children nodded vigorously, their tears falling even harder, yet they laughed with extraordinary joy.
The airport pick-up lasted for a full hour.
As Chen Xun got into the car and left the airport, he looked out the window at the fans and children still waving, and held the gifts the children had given him. He couldn't calm down for a long time.
Christine leaned gently on his shoulder, holding his hand, her eyes filled with pride: "Chen Xun, I'm so proud of you. You're not only a good actor, but also a very, very good person. I finally understand why so many people love you."
Chen Xun turned to look at her, lowered his head and kissed her forehead, his heart filled with warmth.
That evening, the Chinese premiere of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" was held as scheduled at the Shanghai Film City.
The entire Xinhua Road is covered with Spider-Man elements.
The red carpet outside the cinema was packed with fans who had traveled from all over the country, and the screams never stopped from the moment the red carpet began. The cheers reached their peak when Chen Xun took Christine's hand and walked onto the red carpet.
Kristen wore a tailor-made Chinese cheongsam with silver spider web patterns embroidered on the dark satin, which not only fit the Spider-Man theme but also carried the gentle elegance of the East, stunning the audience as soon as she appeared.
Fans chanted her name wildly, and she smiled and waved to them, saying in increasingly fluent Chinese, "Thank you everyone! I really like Shanghai!"
During the red carpet event, Chen Xun patiently signed autographs for his fans as always.
When he encountered a disabled fan who came in a wheelchair, he specially walked off the red carpet, squatted down, and took a photo with him and signed autographs.
Her gentle gesture elicited screams from the fans at the scene.
Inside the premiere venue, the moment the lights dimmed, the entire room fell silent.
When the Marvel intro animation lit up and Chen Xun, playing Peter Parker, appeared on the big screen, the entire audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.
During the two-hour movie, the audience laughed and felt tense along with the plot. When Peter refused to join the Avengers at the end, swinging through the buildings of New York on his webs and shouting "Your good neighbor Spider-Man," the whole audience burst into long applause.
After the movie screening, during the post-screening Q&A session, fans received another surprise.
Suddenly, a fan-made video was played on the big screen, containing blessings recorded by fans from all over the country.
There are heartfelt words from the children of the "Finding Shadows Charity Project," as well as all the highlights of Chen Xun's journey since "2 Broke Girls."
The video ends with a striking line of text: "Chen Xun, keep moving forward, we will always be behind you. Welcome home."
The fans in the entire theater chanted this phrase in unison, their voices reverberating throughout the screening room.
Chen Xun stood on the stage, looking at the sea of stars below and the enthusiastic faces, and his eyes reddened once again.
He picked up the microphone, bowed deeply, and said in an incredibly firm voice, "Thank you everyone. Many people have told me that Chinese actors don't go far in Hollywood. Today, being able to stand here and bring my work home, and to receive your love and recognition, is the luckiest thing in my life."
"I will keep making films, portray each character well, and live up to your expectations. I will also continue the 'Finding Shadows Charity Project' so that more children with dreams can have the opportunity to see a bigger world."
"Thank you for giving me the confidence to go home."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire audience erupted in thunderous applause once again.
Footage from the Shanghai premiere went viral online overnight.
It even went beyond national borders, sparking a new wave of heated discussions on overseas social media platforms.
The trend first took off on Twitter, where videos of fans greeting the audience at the airport, the entire audience singing along at the premiere, and clips of children giving speeches for charity were edited into multiple short videos. Within 24 hours of being released, the videos had been viewed over 1.2 million times and received over 800 million likes.
The video showed a support team stretching for hundreds of meters at Pudong Airport, Spider-Man-themed decorations throughout Shanghai, and deafening cheers at the premiere, leaving countless overseas netizens completely stunned.
In the comments section, besides the astonishment at Chen Xun's popularity, all sorts of outrageous rumors quickly spread: "What level of influence is this? Are all of China's top celebrities this terrifying?"
"He definitely has powerful connections! An ordinary actor couldn't possibly get an entire city to change its theme for him; his father must be a top official in China!"
"I heard he's the heir to one of China's top ten richest families according to Forbes; going to Hollywood to act is just for life experience!"
"No wonder Warner Bros. and Marvel are so supportive of him; he wields immense power in China, even getting official cultural and tourism departments to endorse him!"
Even more outrageous, some overseas marketing accounts made in-depth videos to investigate the matter.
The story fabricates that Chen Xun comes from a top military and political family in China, whose family controls most of the country's film and television resources. It claims that his trip to Hollywood was an official mission of cultural export, and that even the lead role in "Spider-Man" was secured by domestic capital.
This video went viral on the internet, and countless netizens actually believed it to be true.
The hashtag #ChenXunHiddenSecretsRevealed# immediately climbed to the top of Twitter's global trending list.
These outrageous rumors spread back to Weibo in China, where fans laughed until their teeth ached: "Foreign websites are making up a story about my brother being from a military and political family, how come I didn't know my brother had this background?"
"It's laughable. His biggest background is that stubborn streak he showed when he was an extra in Hollywood, refusing to leave even after being yelled at by a director for three hours."
"Foreign websites: He's the son of the richest man! Us: His biggest hobby is squatting on the film set eating boxed lunches; adding two fried eggs is considered a treat."
"In a unified response to foreign websites: Yes, he does have connections. His connections are China's 14 billion viewers, his achievements from his numerous films and television dramas, and his four years of dedicated charity work. That's all."
While fans were making jokes and debunking rumors, they were also swept up in the support from Shanghai.
Originally, the domestic promotional tour for "Spider-Man" was only scheduled for five stops: Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Hangzhou.
As soon as the Shanghai station made its grand entrance, the fan clubs in the other four cities couldn't sit still any longer.
Fans flooded the supertopic with posts: "Our sisters in Shanghai are all curled up like this, we absolutely can't lose! We must make sure that every stop on Xun Ge's journey home makes him feel the warmth of home!"
Thus began a nationwide, intense campaign of fan support.
Even local cultural and tourism bureaus have caught wind of this trend and joined the frenzy.
For the second stop in Beijing, fans put on a top-tier support show in the capital.
Three core subway lines—Lines 1, 2, and 10—will simultaneously launch Spider-Man-themed trains.
The interior walls of the train carriages were covered with posters of Chen Xun's works and public service quotes. From Guomao Station to Universal Studios Station, all 28 subway stations along the line were booked by fans, playing trailers for "Spider-Man" and montages of Chen Xun's works on a loop.
Along Chang'an Avenue, 23 large screens in the core business districts, from Guomao to Wangfujing, all simultaneously played support videos.
Universal Studios Beijing has even gone so far as to directly collaborate with other industries.
The Spider-Man actor in the park specially rehearsed a welcome dance, and even hung a banner on Hollywood Boulevard that read "Welcome Chen Xun Home".
What's even more surprising is that the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism posted a Weibo post directly on its official account, showing off the photo-taking route along the central axis of Beijing, with the caption: "Welcome Chen Xun and the Spider-Man crew to Beijing. The wind along the central axis is also waiting to welcome those returning home."
It brought the brand's prestige to its peak.
On the day of the roadshow, the Wanda Cinema CBD store, where the BJ premiere was held, was packed with fans all along Jianguo Road.
The fans wore matching support outfits and lined up in two rows without pushing or shoving. They even brought their own trash bags, and left not a single scrap of paper behind after the event.
What's even more touching is that BJ Station's fan support didn't involve expensive flower walls or luxury items. Instead, in Chen Xun's name, they donated 2000 books and 100 learning tablets to the left-behind children at BJ Sun Village, and also provided them with a year's worth of nutritious meals.
For the third stop, Guangzhou, fans booked out both banks of the Pearl River.
The light show at the Canton Tower, Liede Bridge, and Pazhou shopping district featured a specially commissioned Spider-Man theme and a montage of Chen Xun's works, which was played every half hour from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. All the cruise ships on the Pearl River were decorated with Spider-Man themes, and a red banner that read "Welcome Chen Xun to Guangzhou" was hung at the bow of the ship.
The Guangzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau went even further, inviting Chen Xun to visit Yongqingfang and the Canton Tower, and even launching a special guide for "Spider-Man's Guangzhou Food Tour." Local time-honored teahouses also launched Spider-Man-themed dim sum.
Chengdu Station has come up with even more creative ideas.
All the large screens in Chunxi Road and Taikoo Li were completely overrun. Fans even invited a Sichuan opera face-changing master to perform a "Sichuan opera face-changing version of Spider-Man" at the roadshow.
The moment the red and blue Spider-Man mask appeared, the scene erupted in cheers!
Even Chen Xun was stunned and immediately began to learn the basics of face-changing from the master.
The video immediately topped the trending search list that day.
The Chengdu Culture and Tourism Bureau officially announced that Chen Xun had been awarded the title of "Chengdu Culture and Tourism Honorary Experience Officer" and invited him to visit the panda base. The base even prepared a poll for the newborn panda cubs to vote on the name Spider-Man, which went viral online.
Hangzhou Station took romance to the extreme.
A synchronized light show featuring 35 buildings in Qianjiang New City covered the entire Qiantang River bank. Support banners were hung on cruise ships in West Lake, and Spider-Man-themed photo spots were set up in Xixi Wetland. The official account of Hangzhou Culture and Tourism Bureau posted three Weibo posts in a row, inviting Chen Xun to visit West Lake and Lingyin Temple, and even jokingly saying, "We've prepared all the osmanthus cakes in Hangzhou for Brother Xun."
At the roadshow, fans used origami cranes to create a giant Spider-Man poster.
Each origami crane contained a blessing from a fan, which brought tears to Chen Xun's eyes.
The five-stop roadshow generated phenomenal excitement at each stop.
Wherever Chen Xun goes, the local business districts are packed with fans.
Related topics are sure to top the trending search list!
This has led to a surge in popularity for local cultural and tourism attractions, with ticket bookings for the Chengdu Panda Base increasing threefold.
Boat reservations for West Lake in Hangzhou are booked up for at least two weeks in advance.
Netizens joked, "Chen Xun isn't just promoting a movie, he's practically an ambassador for city cultural tourism."
What's even more surprising is that countless fans spontaneously organized themselves and paid for their own trips to follow Chen Xun's domestic roadshow from Shanghai to Beijing, then to Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Hangzhou.
There were overseas fans who flew back from Canada, and students who had just finished the college entrance examination who used their scholarships to buy train tickets for the entire journey, just to catch a glimpse of Chen Xun.
Their roadshow vlog went viral again on foreign websites.
The outrageous rumors about his background have intensified, with some overseas netizens even asserting, "He is definitely a prince of China; otherwise, why would so many people travel thousands of miles to follow him?"
When Chinese netizens saw these rumors, they couldn't stop laughing and commented directly in the comments section: "That's right, his background is himself, and he earned respect through his own strength."
This nationwide roadshow extravaganza has left countless popular celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry dumbfounded.
Several domestic films were released at the same time, and many top young actors were doing promotional tours.
However, their roadshow only attracted a small number of fans cheering them on at the cinema entrance.
Not to mention citywide screens and the involvement of the Culture and Tourism Bureau, even trending topics on social media require companies to buy their way onto the top of the list.
Seeing the spectacle of Chen Xun's roadshow, several top young male celebrities looked on in disbelief at a private dinner.
"I'm really impressed. This isn't a roadshow; it's practically a city tour. Even the Culture and Tourism Bureau is personally involved. This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this in the Chinese entertainment industry."
"He's a Golden Globe winner, a Marvel lead actor, and he's already established himself in Hollywood. What do we have to compare with? Forget about the cultural and tourism bureau; my roadshows can fill half a commercial district with giant screens. My company has been bragging about it for half a year."
"We originally wanted to release the film at the same time to ride on its popularity, but now it seems like we're just trying to piggyback on its success. We can't even keep up with its hype."
"The scariest thing is his fans. They are incredibly capable. They not only have purchasing power, but they are also organized and disciplined. The whole internet is praising them. Compared to them, our fans are like a pile of loose sand."
Not only was the person in question surprised, but some disgruntled fans, seeing Chen Xun's popularity soaring ahead of everyone else, felt unbalanced and began to subtly criticize and spread rumors on Weibo.
A fan of a popular young actor from a period drama series, who was also released at the same time, first attacked Chen Xun in the super topic, saying, "Chen Xun is just a Hollywood prodigy, his acting skills are so-so, and he relies entirely on special effects." Then, he went to Weibo posts related to charity to spread rumors, saying, "The 'Finding Shadows Charity Project' is just a show, the money didn't even reach the children, it's just used to whitewash and create a persona." He even photoshopped fake donation details and spread them everywhere.
These words immediately angered Chen Xun's fans.