Chapter 126: Instant Drama King! Ku Ying’s True S Arrives!
“This is wrong! This is wrong! How could this be Chi Ye? Did he use AI face-swapping?”
Yue Na.
The person in charge of the Film and Television Department, who had personally “supported” six of Chi Ye’s dramas, all of which had failed, shook his head and waved his hands, indicating that this was absolutely not Chi Ye.
“This isn’t the money-loser I know!”
“Is there a possibility… he’s actually Goujian, and this guy hid his singing skill just to leave Yue Na? Then hiding his acting skill wouldn’t be that strange, right?”
“Yeah, he acted so well before he left us, doesn’t that just show his acting skills are good?”
Other Yue Na employees, who had specifically “monitored” the popularity of 《 Circulation 》’s premiere today, began to analyze, but the more they analyzed, the further they strayed from the truth.
The person in charge looked dazed.
Is that so?
It must be, and if it isn’t, it must be!
Damn Chi Ye, you are truly damnable!
You doing this makes us at Yue Na look so foolish, do you understand?
“Don’t rush, it’s only been one episode, the popularity is only 7,000. What’s the hurry? If the drama’s performance isn’t good, no matter how natural his acting is, we can spin it as negative.”
Someone next to him comforted him, gesturing.
Ku Ying has the lowest traffic among the three major platforms. Although they deliberately gave 《 Circulation 》 a prominent big screen recommendation today, and there were also various tricks from Chi Ye outside the venue.
However, compared to the other S+ dramas with substantial publicity and distribution expenses, and even the 10,000+ popularity of “their own” 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》, there was still a chasm-like gap.
So, no need to rush, what’s the hurry!
“Right, right… we can’t let this drama succeed…”
Otherwise, I’ll lose my rice bowl!
The person in charge of Yue Na’s Film and Television Department was indeed a bit anxious and turned to discuss with another person in charge, leaving instructions: “Continue monitoring! Report 《 Circulation 》’s popularity hourly!”
Huh?
More than 《 Dream Xi Yuan 》 and 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》 that our company invested in?!
Everyone was dumbfounded.
…
“The lines are okay, but the rest… not much progress.”
Shi Jinwei hadn’t even finished one episode. Originally, she only planned to watch for a minute, but in the end, she watched for five minutes… and then turned it off.
Her expression was calm, and she said softly to her still-wanting-more assistant, “Let’s get to work. We have a Weibo sweep-the-building announcement today.”
“…Okay.”
…
【 Ahhh!! So good! I found a treasure! 】
【 Damn, the pacing of this plot, the first divine drama of 2025 has arrived! 】
【 Hey, are you there, are you there? Why aren’t you replying? 】
Global Warming binge-watched four episodes of 《 Circulation 》, and then frantically messaged her girlfriend and in various fan groups.
From the “feedback” she received, almost all fans were overwhelmingly saying “OMG,” “My brother is so handsome,” “Not enough,” “Ku Ying, release four more episodes, four per person,” and other positive comments.
Cough cough… Of course, Global Warming also knew that fans’ positive comments were basically equivalent to no comments.
She was more concerned about the evaluation of “pure bystanders.”
Coincidentally, her girlfriend was a pure bystander, not at all interested in Chi Ye… she liked Shi Daifu.
Therefore, she desperately needed her girlfriend’s feedback!
“Hmm?”
On the other end.
Her girlfriend stared at the just-concluded fourth episode of 《 Circulation 》, and subconsciously clicked on the next episode, only to be met with the latest trailer for 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》.
“Bad luck!”
Her girlfriend cursed, then said indignantly, “No, why are there only four episodes? Is Ku Ying too stingy? Do they look down on us?”
As she said this, she gradually snapped out of her drama-watching state and saw Global Warming’s ten questions she had sent on her phone.
“Is it good? Yes, it’s good!”
After four episodes, following the plot pace of 《 Circulation 》, she had been completely captivated, and at this moment, she was bursting with the desire to share.
She quickly replied:
【 So good! I declare this the best drama of 2025 so far! 】
【 I was focused on watching the drama just now, so I didn’t reply. 】
【 Are there other recommendations for this kind of infinite loop genre? I can’t get enough! 】
Upon receiving her girlfriend’s “reply,” Global Warming felt a sense of relief.
If even pure bystanders like it, then it must be genuinely good, right?
She asked curiously: 【 Did you become a fan of Teacher Chi after watching it? 】
【 Hmm? No. 】
Global Warming was displeased: 【 Then you like 《 Circulation 》 so much, but you’re not a fan of Teacher Chi? Are you just being perfunctory? You didn’t even watch it! 】
Her girlfriend replied: 【 No, I’m a fan of Ran Qiao. Sister Qiao is absolutely amazing, her acting is incredible, I really like her now… 】
Global Warming: “…”
Forget it, you “thing” with no taste!
She and her girlfriend then had a friendly debate about who had better acting skills between Chi Ye and Ran Qiao. Afterward, still thinking about “bystander” evaluations, she ended the conversation and turned to search for 《 Circulation 》 on Weibo and Douyin.
Then she reached a very surprising conclusion—it seemed, perhaps… everyone really liked it?
「 OMG OMG OMG!! Hu Ye, if you keep this up, I might just become your fan! 」
「 Huh, surprisingly good. 」
「 Hu Ye is really handsome. 」
「 No, I’m a pure bystander, I weakly ask, is it genuinely good or not? I’m kind of in a drama slump recently, only 《 Dream Xi Yuan 》 is watchable. 」
「 It’s genuinely good, no lies. I’m not a fan of anyone. You can check my profile. It’s quite a pleasant surprise. 」
「 Ran Qiao is so beautiful! Chi Ye is so handsome! 」
「 For this infinite loop genre to be produced, and to be this good, it’s amazing. 」
「 When did Hu Ye’s acting become so good?! 」
Because of the moniker “Hu Ye,” Yue Na was actually a bit lax with their paid commenters for reputation management.
Logically, they should have bought paid commenters to attack Chi Ye’s acting and 《 Circulation 》’s reputation as soon as 《 Circulation 》 premiered, to ruin its name first.
However, because of the reason “once Chi Ye appears, I’ll turn into chocolate with a strong smell,” Yue Na’s paid commenters were a step behind.
This resulted in a flood of positive reviews when 《 Circulation 》 first premiered.
Not long after, #Chi Ye_Goujian_Real# ascended to the hot search list.
Then, Yue Na’s paid commenters finally arrived, beginning to mass-produce negative reviews of 《 Circulation 》.
「 It’s bad. 」
「 The lines, the acting, an insult to the audience’s eyes! 」
「 Any drama starring Hu Ye gets an automatic one-star rating! 」
As a result, these negative comments, mixed with the earlier wave of positive reviews from bystanders, created a bizarre spectacle.
Ordinary bystanders don’t have that much energy or inclination to chase stars. When they encounter a good drama, they might at most say it’s good, but they won’t argue.
But now, everyone was still caught up in watching the drama and hadn’t left when Yue Na’s paid commenters rushed in, causing many bystanders to instantly become rebellious.
「 What, blindly giving bad reviews? Are you saying this quality deserves one star? What high-art film were you watching? 」
「 Hu Ye’s acting this time is undeniable. It’s not great, but compared to before, it’s like a different person. 」
「 Change your IP address before trying to spread hate, are paid commenters this unprofessional now? 」
「 Haha, I knew it, there would be haters. Hu Ye is naturally born with a black-red physique. 」
“That’s about it. Let’s start the large-scale publicity and distribution.”
Inside a certain restaurant.
Chi Ye observed the online public opinion and 《 Circulation 》’s current popularity, and exchanged a few words with Keke and Director Zhang.
Publicity and distribution. 《 Circulation 》 had very little publicity and distribution before because it was only an A+ investment, and the expenses were almost entirely used for quality. The publicity and distribution fees were consequently a bit stretched.
Its current popularity was largely thanks to the popularity of 《 Guang Nian Zhi Wai 》 and Chi Ye himself.
But this did not mean that 《 Circulation 》 had no publicity and distribution.
Chi Ye was an old hand at this and firmly believed in one principle: with good quality, coupled with good publicity and distribution, this was the most scientific marketing strategy for a hit drama—money should be spent where it counts.
If the quality was not up to par, the audience wasn’t blind. No matter how much publicity and distribution was done, it would end in a complete loss and a mess.
For example, 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》.
Currently, 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》 had a station popularity of 10,030.
It surpassed him.
《 Circulation 》’s publicity and distribution were fully rolled out at the perfect timing of the first wave of bystander reputation fermentation and Yue Na’s black paid commenters being “caught on the spot.”
On the Weibo hot search list, Chi Ye’s personal hot searches from the morning gradually changed.
#《 Circulation 》 Drug Test#
#《 Circulation 》 Canon#
#Xiao Heyun Li Shiqing#
#《 Circulation 》 Reputation#
#Yue Na Paid Commenters Caught#
Various hot words related to the plot of 《 Circulation 》 itself soared to the hot search list and, with the embarrassing incident of “Yue Na paid commenters caught,” the popularity rapidly expanded.
In the first four episodes of its premiere, 《 Circulation 》 generated three viral memes.
One was the “drug test meme” by Teacher Fang Min playing the female director, and the “Canon meme” from the lullaby of death during the bus explosion.
And finally, the “Circulation meme,” which most closely matched the drama’s title.
Whether a drama is popular or a hit isn’t determined by fans hyping it up, but by whether the audience likes it. And if the audience likes a drama, that drama will definitely spawn many popular memes.
“A hit drama first spawns memes,” this is a consensus inside and outside the industry.
Therefore, when 《 Circulation 》’s production team merely fanned the flames, and the three viral memes that quickly dominated the hot search list appeared, 《 Circulation 》’s first-day popularity instantly surged, experiencing an ascendant rise!
From 7,000 to 7,500, from 7,500 to 8,000.
As of noon the next day, when 《 Circulation 》 aired its fifth and sixth episodes, it had directly risen from the premiere’s 7,000 station popularity to just over 10,000 in one day!
An A+ investment broke through 10,000 station popularity on Ku Ying in one day.
Penguin’s S+ drama 《 Dream Xi Yuan 》 took three days to break this record.
Milktaro’s S+ drama 《 Deep Sea 》 took two days.
Ku Ying’s highly promoted “Drama King” 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》 also took three days.
People inside and outside the industry were dumbfounded when they saw this increase in popularity.
Ku Ying itself was also dumbfounded.
“No… who is the S+ here?!”
Ku Ying Headquarters.
The senior executives in charge of film source publicity and distribution looked at this data report and the real-time online monitoring of 《 Circulation 》’s public opinion…
After a day of fermentation, not only did 《 Circulation 》’s hot searches not decrease, but they increased.
Because 《 Circulation 》 itself is a 15-episode “mini-drama,” with 6 episodes aired, according to 《 Circulation 》’s plot pace, it had already entered a mini-climax, and the audience was captivated at first glance.
《 Circulation 》’s production team’s hot search period had long expired. These hot searches were the result of organic word-of-mouth and public opinion fermentation.
“Manager Li… um… do you think the schedule for 《 Circulation 》… needs to be adjusted?”
The deputy paused, cautiously observing his leader.
He knew that it was this leader who had strongly advocated for 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》 as a promising project.
As a result… 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》 had now become a complete money-loser, and its current popularity was maintained solely by their financial investment in marketing, hoping to make the first-half reports look better.
On the other hand, 《 Circulation 》, which no one had even considered before… seemed to be picking up steam.
Seemed?
It already has!
The leader glanced at the deputy: “Schedule? What schedule?”
“It airs one episode a day, so this drama will be over soon…”
“What one episode a day.”
The deputy: “Ah?”
The leader was displeased: “Isn’t 《 Circulation 》 four episodes a week? When did it become one episode a day? It can run for a month!”
The deputy: “…Then let’s change it to weekly broadcast.”
“The viewing calendar hasn’t been released yet, has it?”
The leader reminded: “If it has been… then cause a technical glitch.”
“Don’t worry, only the first half was released, it can be adjusted.”
The deputy finished, then hesitated: “Um… do you think we need to invest marketing and recommendation resources into 《 Circulation 》? If we do, it’s just an A+, and resources are limited. We’ll have to take them from 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》, and even downgrade its tier… they’re definitely going to have opinions…”
The leader looked at him as if he were an idiot: “What A+? It’s S+! 《 Circulation 》 is our Ku Ying’s true S+ for the first half of this year, don’t you know?”
The deputy was completely dumbfounded: “Ah…”
“They have opinions? I have opinions too! Ji Hemming, that money-loser… Invest, don’t worry about 《 Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi 》. If they have opinions, send them to me.”
The leader waved his hand, his heart unable to contain its excitement.
Saved, his performance stain is saved!
《 Circulation 》, what a 《 Circulation 》!
…
Ku Ying’s re-evaluation of 《 Circulation 》 had a significant impact on its subsequent success.
Since the drama was already filmed and even premiered, the so-called S+ resources only left marketing.
But what 《 Circulation 》 lacked the most was marketing funds.
So after Ku Ying shifted its “bet,” the popularity of Circulation began to visibly ascend.
The originally not-so-stable in-platform popularity of over ten thousand quickly stabilized.
Streaming platforms like Douyin, Bilibili, Weibo, and Xiaohongshu began to feature a large amount of soft publicity and distribution for Circulation, and its official Douyin account gained 1 million followers overnight.
With its own quality, Circulation, which enjoyed S+ publicity and distribution, completely ignited this summer’s Summer Slot.
It didn’t even take a single night for Circulation to easily surpass Ku Ying’s “Drama King” Deng Ji Feng Chui Qi, reaching a popularity of 10100+ and continuing to rise.
#CirculationExplodedOnPremiere# topped the hot search list at number one.
#LetsEnterCirculationsSummerVacation# was second on the hot search list.
#ChiYePlasticSurgeryActingSkills# was third on the hot search list.
#RanQiaoHasGrownUp# was fourth on the hot search list.
Yes, as Circulation exploded, Chi Ye and Ran Qiao, who could be said to have been at the “very bottom” of the music and film industry before, finally truly made a name for themselves.
Especially for Chi Ye, from this moment on, he was no longer just a singer; he was also an actor.
Yue Na’s six consecutive flops were merely his camouflage!
