vstars Chapter 65 Explosive Popularity
Chapter 65 Explosive Popularity
Nine o'clock sharp.
The Shanghai TV program "GG" came to an abrupt end.
The screen went black.
As petals fluttered down, a burst of guitar music filled the air, and the four large pink artistic characters for "iPartment" appeared on the screen.
The opening music begins, with a light and lively melody that exudes a youthful vibe.
"Take off your shoes and dance, walk barefoot in space..."
As the song played, the screen lit up.
Shen Teng, wearing an oversized denim jacket, grinned mischievously at the camera...
Qiao Zhenyu, wearing a white shirt, leaned against the bookshelf, holding a book in his hands. When he looked up, his sharply defined profile was revealed...
Gao Yuanyuan sat on the sofa, wearing a purple knit sweater and white straight-leg pants, exuding elegance...
The scenes changed faster and faster, finally settling on a group photo of the six people.
A bright smile.
Youth is vibrant.
……
A luxury villa in Chaoyang District.
Wang Fei leaned back on the sofa, a face mask on her face, one leg crossed over the other, her toes tapping rhythmically.
Nicholas Tse sat on the other side of the sofa, holding a can of Coke in his hand, his fingers tapping unconsciously.
He turned his head to look at Zhang Yadong, who was sitting on a single sofa:
"It has a bit of a K-Pop feel to it."
Zhang Yadong nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the television screen:
"It has a strong sense of rhythm, with a BPM of at least 100."
"The arrangement is also very clean, and the ratio of vocals to accompaniment is very well done."
Wang Fei finally spoke, her voice slightly muffled due to the face mask: "Who wrote it?"
Zhang Yadong shook his head: "I didn't pay attention."
Wang Fei asked with a strange expression, "Isn't your girlfriend a lead actress in the film?"
Zhang Yadong fell silent.
Since his last trip to the film set, he has subconsciously blocked out the existence of a certain person in his daily interactions with Gao Yuanyuan, including the projects she was in charge of.
In fact, the reason he came to visit Wang Fei's house today was because he didn't want to stay at home and watch the premiere of that drama with his girlfriend.
Unexpectedly, Wang Fei still remembered that kid and even took the initiative to watch it.
"I heard that the producer of this drama is a senior planner at Asia Pacific Entertainment, so maybe he has connections in that area," Zhang Yadong said vaguely.
Wang Fei blinked, feeling that someone was giving an irrelevant answer.
Just as she was about to continue gossiping—or rather, showing concern—the opening theme song ended.
Wang Fei stopped trying to find out more and turned her gaze back to the screen.
……
……
Dengshikou, Building 14.
Lin's mother, who had been lounging on the mahogany sofa, unconsciously sat up straight, and Lin's father, who was beside her, silently put down his newspaper.
Lin Meng slipped out of the room again at some point, clutching half a bag of shrimp chips, and sat cross-legged on the carpet.
While eating, she excitedly pointed at the TV and shouted, "Big brother! It's big brother!"
Lin Yi was extremely disgusted. "Okay, okay, just be quiet."
Lin Meng asked curiously, "Why is Big Brother on TV?"
Lin Yi didn't want to answer and warned, "If you say another word, I'll throw all your shrimp chips out."
Lin Meng was startled.
She glanced down at the shrimp crackers, then looked up at Lin An on TV, and then glanced down at the shrimp crackers again.
Shrimp chips won.
She promptly shut her mouth, buried her face in the shrimp cracker bag, and let out a muffled groan in protest.
Lin Yi ignored her and turned his attention back to the television.
On the television, Shen Teng and Dong Xuan are arguing about the wedding ceremony.
The two interacted in a manner very similar to modern urban youths, constantly exchanging witty remarks and jokes, which Lin Yi found quite entertaining.
Lin's mother also watched very attentively.
It wasn't the plot that attracted her; she mainly thought the characters were all very attractive, and their clothing style gave off a comfortable and fashionable vibe.
Every time Lin An appeared, she would grab his clothes tightly, extremely excited.
Lin Yuan was devastated by this.
……
……
Fragrant Hills Photography Studio.
In the lounge, the television screen flickered.
Ye Daying sat on the sofa in the middle, holding a cup of cold tea, his eyes fixed on the screen.
Yingda sat to his left with a script spread out in front of him, but his attention was clearly not on it.
The other actors were scattered in twos and threes on the sofas and chairs.
On the TV, Lin An and Gao Lu stood face to face, uttering a series of lines that made people burst into laughter.
The editing is fast-paced, with one surprise after another.
As the plot reached its midpoint, GG interrupted, and Ye Daying said in a hoarse voice:
"What do you think?"
The room fell silent for a moment.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and their eyes fell on Yingda.
Yingda rubbed his thumb along the edge of the script twice, remained silent for a few seconds, and finally spoke:
"This camera work doesn't seem like something Lin Cong could do."
Ye Daying did not respond.
Yingda didn't know how to respond, so he could only continue:
"My intelligence can't be wrong. Excluding set design, their budget per episode is at most 100,000."
He looked at Ye Daying, as if trying to persuade the other person, or perhaps trying to persuade himself:
"They burned through so much money in the first episode, their cash flow must have run into problems."
As he spoke, Yingda's gaze swept towards Tan Lin in the corner:
"Are there any additional investments coming in from Shanghai?"
Tan Lin straightened his back, almost reflexively sitting up straight, and shook his head, saying:
"Absolutely not!"
The atmosphere in the room became heavy.
Ye Daying glanced at Yingda and said calmly:
"I hope so."
Yingda opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing and turned his gaze back to the screen.
GG continues.
The lounge fell silent again.
……
……
One week later, Shanghai Television.
Director Pang sat behind his desk, the calendar in front of him covered with notes and reminders.
Film screenings, meetings with GG business partners, seminars... the schedule is packed with activities, leaving no time to breathe.
"Bang bang bang!"
A rapid knocking sounded at the door.
Director Pang's hand trembled, and a few drops of tea splashed onto the table.
He frowned, and before he could say "come in," the door was pushed open.
Assistant Xiao Zhou leaned halfway in, his face flushed red, panting heavily, as if he had run up from the first floor.
He was clutching a document in his hand, the edges of the paper crumpled from his grip.
"Director Pang!"
Assistant Xiao Zhou's voice was trembling, filled with an incredulous excitement.
Director Pang put down his teacup, took a tissue to wipe the water stains on the table, and said unhurriedly:
"What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"
Xiao Zhou rushed to the desk, slammed the document onto it, and exclaimed excitedly:
"Ratings! The first week's ratings are in!"
Director Pang was taken aback, and tentatively asked, "Love Apartment?"
Xiao Zhou nodded vigorously, his eyes shining as if he had discovered a new continent.
Director Pang glanced at him and reached out to pick up the report.
The first page contains basic information:
Number of sample households, coverage area, and statistical period.
It was all old news, and he glanced at it and flipped past it.
The second page shows the daily viewership chart.
His gaze fell on the numbers for the first day.
On its premiere day, it achieved a viewership rating of 6.03%.
Director Pang paused for a moment.
This isn't an ideal number, but considering the project lacks promotion and it's not a prime time slot, achieving this number on the first day is already quite good.
The gaze continued downwards.
The following day, the viewership rating was 9.55%.
Huh? Director Pang's eyes widened suddenly, staring intently at the number in front of the percentage.
9.55... a full 3 percentage points higher than the first day, this...
His gaze continued downwards.
On the third day, it was 13.21%; on the fourth day, 16.58%; on the fifth day, 19.53%... The numbers climbed steadily.
Director Pang turned his gaze to his assistant, Xiao Zhou, and asked earnestly, "No mistakes?"
Xiao Zhou said, "I checked it three times."
Director Pang pursed his lips, unable to speak for a long time.
After a long pause, he said to Xiao Zhou, "Please postpone the film review for me tomorrow."
"Huh?" Xiao Zhou was taken aback.
Director Pang waved his hand without offering an explanation.
He thought to himself, "I've dug up such a big piece of gold, can't I even rest and enjoy myself?"