Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

These days, the titles of popular dramas tended to be short, usually consisting of four or five words. The more concise, the better. The Heiress Conceals Her Identity but Gets Dumped had a staggering eight words, making it look like a desperate webnovel author was frantically padding their word count.

“Don’t tell me this is just some low-quality fluff riding on Lin Ji’s name?”

“The title alone makes me lose all interest in watching. Emmm… is Rice Grains Video planning to follow this route from now on?”

“God of War Returns Home was tacky enough, and now comes an even tackier one. The audience’s bottom line really isn’t that low.”

Liang Jinjin was silent.

In truth, he was quite interested. She was already a wealthy heiress, and she had already concealed her identity, so why was she suddenly dumped?

As long as one was human, the desire for gossip existed.

The only bad thing about this drama was that it wasn’t suitable for recommending to friends. “The weather is getting cold, let the Zhou Group go bankrupt,” “God of War Beichen’s majestic power,” “Enter my Liang Sect and achieve great success in divine arts”… Liang Jinjin and his group of friends could not only recite these classic lines, but they could also throw over a dozen unique meme stickers at each other.

The title The Heiress Conceals Her Identity but Gets Dumped was simply a mouthful to say. It was impossible to recommend out loud.

Liang Jinjin lay on the sofa, starting to watch the first episode with great interest.

It happened to be summer vacation. Liang Jinjin was only a freshman, so his academic pressure was not great. He was in the most idle stage of his life, sleeping during the day and waking at night, living an extremely regular life.

His mother was particularly disgusted by this. Whenever she saw him lying on the sofa, she would start scolding him.

At this moment, his mother was not at home. The bullet chat for The Heiress already featured many fans of God of War Returns Home passing through. After opening this drama for only three minutes, Liang Jinjin was one hundred percent certain: this drama was definitely Lin Ji’s handiwork.

Firstly, the pace of this drama was startlingly fast. The first half of the episode had already clearly introduced the plot, and the “dog blood” that should be spilled was indeed spilled. The wealthy heiress concealed her identity to intern at her boyfriend’s company, only to be made difficult for at every turn by her boyfriend’s childhood friend. On the first day of the internship, the heiress “accidentally” bumped and damaged the childhood friend’s diamond-studded bag.

“This is a best-selling bag worth eighty thousand yuan. How many years will you have to work to afford the compensation?

“Forget it, I suspect you can’t afford it anyway. In the future, keep your eyes a bit sharper. Don’t touch things you shouldn’t touch.”

The childhood friend mocked the heiress wantonly. Her high-achieving boyfriend not only failed to stop it but instead reminded her to be careful in the future, “My parents are relying on Tingting. I can only let you feel a bit wronged for now.”

“She shouldn’t keep this boyfriend. He’s unreliable at a glance.”

Liang Jinjin was just reflecting on how these tacky lines were becoming more addictive the more he heard them when the sound suddenly ringing in his ear gave him a huge fright. Only then did he notice that his mother had been watching from behind him for an unknown amount of time. Usually, if Liang Jinjin was slumped over watching a drama, his mother would definitely give him a fierce scolding. Now, however, she sat down next to him. “What are you watching? Let me see.”

Liang Jinjin could only give up half the screen.

But his mother became more and more excessive. At first, Liang Jinjin could at least still see half the screen. After a while, only a quarter was left. After another while, he lost one hundred percent of the tablet.

Mother Liang watched with great interest.

By the time it was after work, the heiress didn’t want to be too high-profile, so she waited for her colleagues to go home before letting the driver pick her up. She met her boyfriend’s childhood friend driving a luxury car head-on. Her boyfriend, inside the luxury car, gave her an awkward smile. “Qiqi, I didn’t drive today. Tingting is giving me a ride home since it’s on her way.”

“They aren’t even married yet, so why call her Qiqi? They seem quite close. If he didn’t drive, can’t he take a taxi?”

Mother Liang commented while watching. Thus, Liang Jinjin’s original position naturally became hers. Liang Jinjin had no choice but to squat behind the sofa, catching glimpses of the tablet to finish the subsequent plot.

In the story, the heiress discovered that the luxury car the childhood friend was driving looked more and more familiar. It looked very much like a certain car parked in her family’s parking lot. Because this car’s logo was unique, it was a limited edition her father had bought. Isn’t this my family’s car? Why is she the one driving it?

Just as this line of dialogue finished, the screen immediately displayed that familiar phrase, “See you on Friday.” He was an old acquaintance of Rice Grains Video. Having gone through the baptism of God of War Returns Home, he was as familiar as could be with Rice Grains Video’s routine.

Mother Liang, however, was completely unaware. She was even very puzzled. “Why is that woman driving this car… Where is the next episode? Is it over?”

Liang Jinjin said, “It’s over.”

Mother Liang stared at Liang Jinjin. “Only two episodes? How can that be enough to watch?”

Liang Jinjin nodded. “…I think so too.”

After asking the questions, Mother Liang naturally took over his tablet. “This is a drama airing on Rice Grains Video, right? I don’t have a membership. Borrow your membership to let me watch first. Does Rice Grains Video have any other dramas like this?”

Liang Jinjin was speechless.

He thought he had only temporarily lost one hundred percent of his tablet. He hadn’t expected the time limit for the loss to be permanent. He was too naive.

“Help me check what brand that car of hers is,” Mother Liang asked, pointing at the car on the screen.

When the Empress Mother spoke, Liang Jinjin naturally complied. While he was searching for the car price on his phone, his mother had already started watching God of War Returns Home. However, God of War Returns Home was, after all, a male-oriented short drama. Mother Liang didn’t have much interest; she turned it off after only a few episodes.

Mother Liang repeatedly reminded Liang Jinjin that once the next episode of The Heiress Conceals Her Identity but Gets Dumped aired, he must remember to tell her.

Liang Jinjin originally thought that the heat for The Heiress in his home would pass just like that. Who knew that early the next morning, in his half-asleep state, he heard his mother calling a friend. “…She even stole someone’s two-million-yuan car to drive.

“That man definitely wants to eat soft rice. Tsk, it’s written all over his face.”

Liang Jinjin, hearing the call content, was speechless.

Very good. He had successfully delivered a fan to Rice Grains Video.

* * *

The Heiress Conceals Her Identity but Gets Dumped launched two episodes at once, but the calculated single-day viewership was not as high as God of War Returns Home. On the day’s viewership rankings, The Heiress was in fourth place, while God of War Returns Home was first. The rest were dramas from Qike Video and Chaoxing TV.

“I really want to complain. This title is simply too long. The chart can only display six words: The Heiress Conceals Her Identity but…“

“But transforms into a monkey.”

“But below the neck cannot be described.”

“This place should tag JJWXC. Learned it from JJWXC, right?”

The opening data for The Heiress was not considered bad. However, in the eyes of some industry insiders, it would not be easy for this drama to replicate the success of God of War Returns Home.

“The viewing group for God of War Returns Home does not overlap with The Heiress. Essentially, Rice Grains Video’s launch of The Heiress following God of War is an expression of being unprogressive and taking shortcuts. The two dramas have different themes and ‘cool points,’ yet they want to replicate the former’s success for the latter without any changes. Rice Grains Video must understand that dramas relying purely on stimulating the audience’s eyes and only highlighting the word ‘cool’ are difficult to sustain.

“The web viewership and discussion level of The Heiress have already explained everything. When God of War Returns Home had the same viewership as The Heiress, the discussion level was several times that of The Heiress, and the former’s viral memes also far surpassed the latter’s.”

An industry insider even more confidently stated that the current viewership of The Heiress was benefiting from God of War Returns Home. One part of the audience went for the name Lin Ji, while another part became interested in the fact that Rice Grains Video launched a short drama other than God of War Returns Home. It did not mean they liked this drama.

Once The Heiress aired a few more episodes, the heat would inevitably decline.

Indeed, whether on Weibo or TV drama forums, the discussion level for The Heiress was not considered high. The number of posts under the drama’s Super Topic did not have an advantage compared to other dramas, and it was even less than Secretly in Love with You and God of War Returns Home, both also written by Lin Ji.

Just after the industry insider published their “lofty views,” marketing accounts turned their sights toward Lin Ji, trying to imagine what kind of trouble he would stir up next.

But Lin Ji actually remained silent from beginning to end. He didn’t react to others speaking ill of him, nor did he react when they said the drama was no good.

“Is it because the opponents are all too weak to take a hit?”

“Dying of laughter. It’s summer vacation now, and The Heiress is out. This group only dares to talk nonsense saying the viewership is no good, but they don’t dare to release those famous screenwriters’ dramas to fight against The Heiress.”

“It’s truly Lin Ji PTSD. Here comes the question: what if The Heiress makes another hundred episodes?”

Audience members searched Qike Video and Chaoxing TV. Sure enough, the dramas of Gu Lenian and Zhao Jing, expected to launch in the summer slot, did not go head-to-head with The Heiress this week. Many viewers guessed that these dramas were perhaps waiting for the viewership of The Heiress to drop.

However, when one episode of The Heiress launched on Friday, and another on Tuesday of the second week, the audience was surprised to find that, contrary to the discussion level, the viewership of this drama was actually rising.

Unknowingly, the single-day viewership of The Heiress was already approaching Secretly in Love with You. Short dramas had an advantage in pace, so it was not surprising for the viewership to exceed long dramas, but… the question was, where exactly was the viewership of The Heiress coming from?

Liang Jinjin, who knew the inside story, smiled without a word.

It was true that the audience for web streaming platforms was primarily young people. But as everyone knew, this world usually had middle-aged and elderly people before it had young people.

Liang Jinjin had already peered more than once at the scene of his mother and aunts discussing The Heiress.

He had been following the viewership of this drama, so he was one hundred percent certain: since its premiere, the viewership of The Heiress had never declined. It could be described as continuously rising, not at all worse than when God of War Returns Home first aired.

When a certain major account thought the viewership of The Heiress could be called eerie and posted a thread to ask, the comments in the top section revealed the truth.

“My mom couldn’t move her feet once she saw the dumping part. She insisted on me getting her a membership; she wanted to know how the girl was dumped [cry-laughing].”

“Qi Lingxuan, who plays the heiress’s boyfriend, is a relative of mine, a distant cousin. A few days ago at a family gathering, he was pulled out by aunts and grannies and given a lecture. They said he looks more and more like a scumbag now. Even his dad was collateral damage; his gossip from his younger days was all dug up.”

“Then the person upstairs must pass a message for my mom: don’t step on two boats in the future.”

“My aunt also asked me to tell him.”

“Dying of laughter. My mom can recite the lines in The Heiress from memory. A few days ago, when I drove a new car home, my mom blurted out: Isn’t this my car? Why is it you driving it?“

The “my mom,” “my aunt,” and “my granny” in the comment section revealed the true source of the audience for The Heiress. By this point, even if industry insiders wanted to speak ill of this drama again, they had no reason to.

“The only Lin Ji drama that hasn’t harmed anyone.”

“Lin Ji doesn’t act out, and the world is so peaceful. The video platforms are as quiet as chickens. How harmonious.”

At the same time the netizens made the above reflection, the official blog of Maple Leaf TV suddenly shared that Weibo post of the industry insider criticizing The Heiress.

The Heiress had been online for several weeks, and that Weibo post was also posted several weeks ago. Suddenly being shared by Maple Leaf TV naturally attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

“It seems… not very harmonious?”

“Sounds of cheers and joy for eating melon were made.”

“Emmm… the truth is very simple. The drama Maple Leaf TV recently put on is also a ‘dog blood’ drama about a wealthy heiress. The heiress in that drama is hardworking and endures resentment. After being cheated by her husband, she’s cheated by her mother-in-law. She even gets mixed up in the trashy business of her brother-in-law and sister-in-law. A true foot-binding cloth: long and stinky.”

“The Heiress airs on Tuesday and Friday. The ratings for Maple Leaf TV will drop a bit on those two days. The question is, if you haven’t watched this drama for two days in a week, will you watch it for the remaining time?”

#ANewVictimAdded#

#LinJiRevengeAlliance#

NOTES

JJWXC (晋江文学城): Jinjiang Literature City. A massive female-oriented novel site in China famous for having extremely long, descriptive, and sometimes grammatically chaotic titles.

Eat soft rice (吃软饭): Slang for a man who lives off a woman’s money.

Foot-binding cloth (裹脚布): An idiom for something that is long, boring, and unpleasant.

Step on two boats (脚踏两只船): An idiom for two-timing or being unfaithful in a relationship.

Below the neck: A reference to strict censorship rules on sites like Jinjiang, where any romantic description “below the neck” is forbidden/censored.

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