Sun Dongxu pulled up the former anchor Mingming (Shiming) and Tianquan (Guo Tianquan) to co-found “Beautiful Tomorrow (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd.”, which netizens jokingly dubbed the “Departed Alliance”—an echo of the aftermath of the “Little Essay” incident, and another footnote to the collective “taking off solo” of former East Buy staff.
The cause-and-effect chain is clear. At the end of 2023, the “Little Essay incident” broke out. Sun Dongxu sparked a backlash in public opinion due to improper handling of the dispute over the authorship of Dong Yuhui’s script, as well as his forceful demeanor in live streams such as “throwing his phone.” That week, East Buy lost nearly 2 million followers, and its market value evaporated by about HK$6 billion. On December 16, he was dismissed as executive director and CEO.
After that, Dong Yuhui founded the studio “With Yuhui,” and on July 25, 2024, he separated from East Buy to become the first case of a top-tier anchor leaving to start a business. On November 6, 2025, Yu Minhong officially announced that Sun Dongxu left due to personal reasons. East Buy’s management reshuffling entered its wrap-up phase, and Sun Dongxu completely withdrew from the core management lineup.
The three partners’ new company was established on July 10. Sun Dongxu contributed RMB 3.4 million, holding 34% equity, and served as manager, director, and person in charge of finance. Mingming and Tianquan each contributed RMB 3.3 million. The business scope includes fresh produce, aquatic products, retail cosmetics, performance agency, and online culture operations, clearly pointing to the live-streaming e-commerce track. On May 20, Sun Dongxu had already tested live-streaming by selling books under his personal account “Sun Meili.” Within two hours, he climbed to No. 1 on the books and magazines chart. The account name “Meili” happens to be embedded within the new company’s name “Beautiful Tomorrow.”
Dong Yuhui chose a “top-tier personal IP” route, while Sun Dongxu attempted to strike a “supply chain + anchor matrix” combination. Meanwhile, East Buy, which stayed behind, opted to “de-IP” its anchor-based business, shifting toward self-operated products and offline experience stores. On May 21, Beijing’s first offline store opened; subsequent locations such as Xi’an and Zhengzhou were rolled out in succession.
Once comrades-in-arms, now each has stepped onto a different track.
The cause-and-effect chain is clear. At the end of 2023, the “Little Essay incident” broke out. Sun Dongxu sparked a backlash in public opinion due to improper handling of the dispute over the authorship of Dong Yuhui’s script, as well as his forceful demeanor in live streams such as “throwing his phone.” That week, East Buy lost nearly 2 million followers, and its market value evaporated by about HK$6 billion. On December 16, he was dismissed as executive director and CEO.
After that, Dong Yuhui founded the studio “With Yuhui,” and on July 25, 2024, he separated from East Buy to become the first case of a top-tier anchor leaving to start a business. On November 6, 2025, Yu Minhong officially announced that Sun Dongxu left due to personal reasons. East Buy’s management reshuffling entered its wrap-up phase, and Sun Dongxu completely withdrew from the core management lineup.
The three partners’ new company was established on July 10. Sun Dongxu contributed RMB 3.4 million, holding 34% equity, and served as manager, director, and person in charge of finance. Mingming and Tianquan each contributed RMB 3.3 million. The business scope includes fresh produce, aquatic products, retail cosmetics, performance agency, and online culture operations, clearly pointing to the live-streaming e-commerce track. On May 20, Sun Dongxu had already tested live-streaming by selling books under his personal account “Sun Meili.” Within two hours, he climbed to No. 1 on the books and magazines chart. The account name “Meili” happens to be embedded within the new company’s name “Beautiful Tomorrow.”
Dong Yuhui chose a “top-tier personal IP” route, while Sun Dongxu attempted to strike a “supply chain + anchor matrix” combination. Meanwhile, East Buy, which stayed behind, opted to “de-IP” its anchor-based business, shifting toward self-operated products and offline experience stores. On May 21, Beijing’s first offline store opened; subsequent locations such as Xi’an and Zhengzhou were rolled out in succession.
Once comrades-in-arms, now each has stepped onto a different track.