It was a crazy morning on the Chinese internet when a rumor started circulating Nine Percent’s Cai Xukun (蔡徐坤) and former PRISTIN member, Zhou Jieqiong (周洁琼) were dating. The rumor started when netizens noticed Cai Xukun had changed his profile picture on Weibo of him wearing a plaid blazer. Coincidentally, Zhou Qiejiong also changed her profile picture wearing a very similar blazer and pose as Cai Xukun around the same time. This led netizens to think the two changed into “matching couple profile pictures.” Netizens and entertainment bloggers sleuthed up additional “proof” of them wearing “matching couple outfits” to convince themselves of this rumor.
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While the two were acquainted through season 1 of “Idol Producer” as Zhou Jieqiong was one of the dance mentors, there are no pictures of the two together that would suggest they were dating. When Sina Entertainment reached out to Cai Xukun’s work studio to confirm the rumors, they responded, “There is no such thing. He is busy working on music everyday. He doesn’t even have enough time.” While Zhou Jieqiong’s camp hasn’t responded, good friend and actress, Jelly Lin (林允), might have made matters worse when she used her other account handle to help Zhou Jieqiong clarify the rumors.
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In the now deleted posts, she said: Everyone, no need to guess. My “Qiong Qiong” is working out, going out, and beautifying herself. She is very busy!” She also uploaded pictures of her and Zhou Jieqiong doing said activities:
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While Jelly Lin was trying to help Zhou Jieqiong, netizens took it the wrong way. Some fans left comments such as: “Shouldn’t celebrities be busy coming out with new works?”, “The nerve to say she is busy working…Going out everyday…”, “Subtext: The female doesn’t have work. She’s working out, going out, and beautifying herself everyday.” Netizens felt Jelly Lin’s action was doing more harm than good. Additionally, in one of the pics, Jelly Lin and Zhou Jieqiong were seen shopping at a bootleg shop.
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Nonetheless, the topic of Cai Xukun and Zhou Jieqiong and related topics remained on the hot search list on Weibo. At one point, “Cai Xukun and Zhou Jieqiong “was trending at #1 on Weibo with over 3 million searches.
Credit: ETtoday.net, Weibo (1, 2, 3, 4)
