Chapter 114: Attacked at the Book Signing Event

One week after its official release, the album "Intertwined Time and Space" had sold 5.5 million copies, with total revenue exceeding 120 million. While the rate of sales has slowed, the high quality of the album suggests a long tail of demand, with total revenue expected to surpass 200 million.

To give back to his fans, Rainbow organized a large-scale autograph session at a shopping mall. Fans could purchase physical copies of Zhou Miao's album at cost, or simply join the queue for an autograph without making a purchase.

At 10:00 AM, Zhou Miao appeared at the Golden Resources Shopping Mall, the largest commercial complex in Beijing. The venue was already completely swarmed by countless fans; looking out, one could see a vast, dense sea of people, too many to count.

The number of fans exceeded expectations, and Gu Zhiyin hurriedly contacted the warehouse to request more stock, fearing the prepared supply would be insufficient.

The event began half an hour later. The tens of thousands of fans present formed a winding, serpentine line. After a year of practice, Zhou Miao’s signing speed had improved significantly—one per second—and the originally planned photo-op session was canceled to save time.

The line moved slowly until a girl dressed in a JK uniform approached. Zhou Miao took the album and, keeping his head down, began to write. Suddenly, the bodyguard standing behind him frowned.

The girl seemed nervous, but it wasn't the excitement typical of meeting an idol. Her eyes were locked onto Zhou Miao, her fingers trembling as she clutched a thermos. Her expression suddenly turned ferocious, and she yanked the lid off the container.

"Watch out!" The bodyguard, sensing danger, lunged forward and shoved Zhou Miao aside. At the same moment, the girl viciously splashed the unidentified liquid from the cup toward Zhou Miao.

The bodyguard’s back blocked most of the transparent, colorless liquid, but some still splashed onto Zhou Miao’s exposed arm. The moment it made contact, terrifying white smoke rose from both the bodyguard’s back and Zhou Miao’s arm. The searing, burning pain caused both men to scream out.

The moment the attack occurred, the fans erupted in shrieks, and chaos broke out. The girl tried to flee in the confusion but was tackled by surrounding fans.

Gu Zhiyin, who had been on the perimeter, heard the screams and realized something was wrong. She rushed in to find the bodyguard and Zhou Miao lying on the ground in agony, while the girl held down on the floor struggled as enraged fans surrounded her, striking out at her.

"It’s sulfuric acid! Use fresh water, quickly!" another of Zhou Miao’s bodyguards realized what the girl had thrown and shouted.

Gu Zhiyin turned pale with fright and immediately dialed for an ambulance and the police.

Fortunately, a hospital was nearby, and an ambulance arrived in less than twenty minutes. Zhou Miao and his bodyguard were rushed off for emergency treatment.

Shortly after, the police arrived. The girl, who had been pummeled by Zhou Miao’s fans, was finally taken into a police car, her face swollen like a pig’s head.

Zhou Miao’s fans were clever; the moment the police arrived, they stopped, and with thousands of people mingled together, no one would admit to having laid a hand on her when questioned.

...

In less than five minutes, the news of Zhou Miao being splashed with sulfuric acid surged to the top of the trending topics. Some were worried, some were outraged, and some gloated.

When Zuo Qiu arrived at the hospital, the area outside Zhou Miao’s room was packed tightly with reporters who had caught wind of the incident. Overwhelmed with anxiety and rage, Zuo Qiu could no longer contain herself and shouted, "Get out of my way, all of you!"

The restless reporters were stunned into silence, silently clearing a path as Zuo Qiu walked in and quickly shut the door.

Inside the room, Zhou Miao sat on the edge of the bed, holding up his arm for a nurse to apply bandages while using his other hand to call Hu San. His mental state seemed relatively normal.

Seeing Zuo Qiu enter, Zhou Miao nodded to signal he was okay and continued talking to Hu San. "You don't need to come over; it's full of reporters outside. I'll be discharged soon anyway. We’ll talk when I get home tonight. Yeah, I’ve got things to do here, I’m hanging up now. Bye."

"How is the situation?" Zuo Qiu asked anxiously.

"It's alright. Brother Long blocked most of it, otherwise, I’d be disfigured by now. A little splashed on my arm, and it’s been treated, though it will likely leave a scar." Zhou Miao frowned slightly; the stinging pain in his arm had yet to subside.

"Brother Long had it worse. The acid soaked through his clothes and burned his entire back. He’ll be hospitalized for a long time," Zhou Miao added.

Relieved that Zhou Miao was not seriously injured, Zuo Qiu said, "Don't worry, I will provide Brother Long with generous compensation."

Zhou Miao shook his head. "No, I’ll cover that. By the way, where is the woman who attacked me?"

"Still at the police station. Gu Zhiyin told me she’s being very difficult and refuses to say anything. Ever since she got in, the only thing she’s said is that she’s a minor."

Zuo Qiu sneered. "She thinks that being a minor means she won't go to jail. I’ll make sure she stays behind bars until she’s an adult!"

"I suspect she’s been planning this for a long time, just waiting for an opportunity to get close to me. I reckon she’s either a fan of Huiyuan or Lin Zekai," Zhou Miao said.

Realizing a nurse was still in the room, he quickly fell silent.

After his wound was dressed, Zhou Miao and Zuo Qiu exited the room, met by a barrage of camera flashes ten times brighter than any red carpet.

The bodyguards Zuo Qiu had brought held the reporters back. Zhou Miao didn't stop for a single second, no matter how loudly they shouted.

The two went to the inpatient department to check on Brother Long. He was lying on his stomach, wrapped up like a mummy, while his wife crouched nearby, helping him drink water.

"Are you feeling better, Brother Long?" Zhou Miao asked with concern.

Brother Long smiled, revealing a set of white teeth. "I just took a painkiller, so it's a bit better, but I'll probably be out of commission for a while."

Zhou Miao sighed and said to Brother Long's wife, "Sister-in-law, I am truly sorry. Brother Long was severely injured because he was saving me. Please rest assured, I will not treat him poorly."

Brother Long’s wife offered a strained smile. "This is his job."

After staying a while longer, they said their goodbyes. That afternoon, accompanied by Zuo Qiu, Zhou Miao went to the police station to give a statement.

"Mr. Zhou, please think carefully—have you offended anyone?" the officer in charge of the case asked.

Zhou Miao frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "Too many."

The pretty policewoman nearby laughed out loud. Seeing Zhou Miao and her colleague looking at her, she coughed and pretended nothing had happened.

The officer continued, "Based on our preliminary judgment, this appears to be a case of an extremist fan. Her phone was crushed at the scene; we are currently repairing it to extract chat logs. We will notify you as soon as we have a conclusion."

On the way out after giving his statement, they ran into a middle-aged couple in a rush. The moment the woman saw Zhou Miao, she dropped to her knees with a thud.

"Mr. Zhou, you are a magnanimous person. Please, I beg you, don't pursue charges against my daughter. She’s only 16; if she goes to jail, her life will be ruined!"

Zhou Miao immediately realized who they were. He stepped aside to avoid the woman’s kowtow and said coldly, "If that bottle of acid had landed on my face, my life would have been ruined too. Since she decided to do this, she must pay the price!"

With that, ignoring the couple's pleas, he left the police station with Zuo Qiu.