Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

The reason the viewership for Currently in Love had flopped so spectacularly was twofold: first, because of Lin Ji; second, because of the support from rival fans for Secretly in Love with You. In the minds of Yu Muzi’s fans, the word “rival” was essentially synonymous with “Chen Cheng’s fan.”

Although both sides were quite unwilling to admit it, to a certain extent, the acting careers of Yu Muzi and Chen Cheng were indeed tied together. It began with Yu Muzi clout chasing Chen Cheng, but as she kept at it, Yu Muzi eventually gained the capital to actually compete with her.

In terms of television ratings, Yu Muzi truly was stronger than Chen Cheng. As fellow “traffic” stars, Chen Cheng’s ability to carry a show had weakened significantly over the past few years.

Seeing Yu Muzi’s fans spouting nonsense, Nie Ou could not help but jump into the fray to argue back. “We do not know if Chen Cheng’s new drama will flop yet. Unlike some people, Currently in Love is a flop that is known by everyone far and wide.”

As a die-hard fan of Chen Cheng, she had known for a long time that Chen Cheng was acting in Lin Ji’s new drama. In truth, the influential fans were all aware; they had simply been suppressing the news to prevent smaller fans from leaving the fandom out of disappointment.

The fans’ thoughts were simple: they would treat the show’s broadcast with a cool head and refrain from grand promotions. Although everyone was disappointed in the management agency, feeling that with Chen Cheng’s status, she could have landed a far better project.

“Did Cheng-zi really have to take this role? Sigh, Sunrise TV… the station that even my parents do not like to watch.”

“Is she considering a transition? She has taken very few roles in the last two years. Even if she wants to transition to serious acting, she could have taken a serious drama from another satellite station. This one… the lineup is truly too poor.”

“The male lead is really… Who is he?”

Nie Ou searched online. The male lead, Cheng Yuan, did not even have an encyclopedia page. She did not even know which management agency he belonged to.

Just as she was feeling confused, her friends on the homepage started howling again, “He does not even have a company!!”

Nie Ou did not know how to comfort her fellow fans anymore. She could only say, “Lin Ji’s previous dramas had pretty good quality. This one should not be too bad, right?”

The fans understood that complaining was useless and could only pray that Code 11 would become a hit. However, compared to Chen Cheng’s other dramas, the fans’ attention on this one was much lower; it would likely be difficult to gain more traction through fan power alone.

Nie Ou, however, had made up her mind: as long as this show aired, she would definitely watch it to the end.

She loved Secretly in Love with You so much that Wang Ruoqiang had become her side bias. There was no helping it; the Ji Ning filter was too deep. Whenever she had free time, she would definitely rewatch clips of Secretly in Love with You.

Many satellite stations had released sweet idol dramas in the second half of the year. Nie Ou had watched most of them, but if she had to evaluate them, not a single one could compare to Secretly in Love with You.

Nie Ou simply followed the Sunrise TV official blog. While waiting for the official announcement of the Code 11 premiere, she bickered with Yu Muzi’s fans while enlarging the leaked photos from the set.

As a fan of many years, Nie Ou could judge Chen Cheng’s mood from her expression. At the very least, Chen Cheng, surrounded by the crew, looked happy.

Nie Ou thought to herself, That is not a bad thing.

* * *

What Nie Ou did not expect was that after waking up from a nap, Chen Cheng had actually been kicked out of the “Four Small Starlets” list.

Among the four starlets, Chen Cheng had been the first to achieve fame. It was just that her career had been rocky in recent years: the ratings for several of her lead dramas were unsatisfactory, and she was being chased by a strong rival like Yu Muzi. Nie Ou understood the reality, but watching Yu Muzi’s fans mock her, saying, “It is the Three Small Starlets now,” she still felt extremely indignant.

She placed all her hopes on Lin Ji’s script.

Unlike the thoughts of others, Nie Ou had always felt that precisely because Chen Cheng’s choice seemed so absurd, the script of Code 11 must have had something that moved her.

Otherwise, even if her Sister Cheng was desperate for a role, she could have just found a young actor to film a romance between an older woman and a younger man. Why would she have to pair up with Cheng Yuan and take a role on a tacky platform like Sunrise TV?

Nie Ou waited and waited. Finally, she saw the official announcement for the broadcast of Code 11. Just as she was waiting for the premiere day to support it on Sunrise TV, someone in her fan group suddenly dropped a screenshot.

“Tragic news! Maple Leaf TV’s Code Falcon is airing the day before!”

“…?”

“!! Look at the synopsis for Code Falcon. I remember clearly, this show did not have this name before, and the protagonist did not have a code name.”

“Is the competition between satellite stations really this primitive?”

“That is a bit disgusting.”

Nie Ou also recalled the rumors. The news of Lin Ji’s and Gu Lenian’s new drama being signed by two different stations had been fluttering all over the internet. The two already had a conflict and were clashing in genre. If she remembered correctly, the title of Gu Lenian’s new drama had been finalized long ago, and it definitely was not called Code Falcon.

“There is also Qin Yi’s interview… Dammit, Lin Ji really did look for him.”

Nie Ou clicked the link. What came up was an interview Qin Yi had given not long ago.

Qin Yi was not an actor Nie Ou liked, but he was exceptionally popular among the older generation. He was a familiar face who frequently appeared in serious dramas.

For an espionage film, he was indeed a very suitable choice for the protagonist.

Nie Ou read the full text of the interview seriously.

In the interview, Qin Yi admitted that he had indeed received invitations from both the Code 11 and Code Falcon crews. Both scripts were of good quality, but after a comprehensive review of the options, he ultimately chose Code Falcon. The reason was: “In the script, the character’s righteous spirit of sacrificing himself for the nation moved me. In Teacher Gu’s writing, the character Yan Ying appeared before me as if he were alive; I found it hard not to be moved. As an actor, it is my duty to present excellent characters to the audience.”

Nie Ou: “…”

What a load of crap!

Nie Ou was particularly sensitive to this kind of nonsense. Yu Muzi had said too much of it when she first became famous, and now warning bells rang frantically in her head whenever she heard this kind of subtle “stepping on one while lifting another.”

At the end of the interview, Qin Yi gave a seemingly sincere wish that both Code Falcon and Code 11 would have high ratings. Nie Ou could only sneer.

What kind of sincere congratulations involves rushing to air your show the day before the other person’s?

The other show is called Code 11, so yours changes its name to Code Falcon? And you call that sincere? Sincere, my foot!

Qin Yi’s “sincere” interview was naturally reposted by marketing accounts. However, the marketing accounts did not just release screenshots of the interview; they also released photos of Lin Ji visiting Qin Yi’s management agency.

“Two screenwriters issued sincere invitations. Qin Yi truly is an actor recognized by the industry for his skill.”

“Compete fairly, sincerely congratulate your opponent. Who understands the magnanimity of the number one man in the Uncle Circle?”

“Personally, I feel Qin Yi made the most correct choice. He filmed Code Falcon, and Screenwriter Lin promoted a newcomer as the male lead. This is also a small contribution made by Qin Yi; if it were not for him, the newcomer would not have had the chance to rise.”

Nie Ou’s eyes nearly rolled to the back of her head. Yet, there were actually people mocking Lin Ji.

“Does a ‘red hot’ screenwriter still have to go to the door and beg people?”

“Dying of laughter. He brags every day about how popular his shows are and how high the view counts are, yet serious actors do not want to pay him any mind. What kind of serious actor would want to collaborate with a screenwriter who came from web dramas?”

“So pathetic. Is this not just what happens to screenwriters who rise through marketing? Sigh, can he not just film some serious, good dramas next time?”

“The way he looks, begging at the door is truly embarrassing.”

Nie Ou was about to start cursing when she refreshed her feed. Lin Ji himself had reposted that Weibo post: “I do not find it embarrassing.”

Six simple words. He did not even use an exclamation mark. It was enough to show how calm Lin Ji was when he posted that Weibo.

“Is fighting for a suitable actor embarrassing?” This was the repost from the Sunrise TV official blog.

“I actually find it surprising. Everyone knows how stubborn Lin Ji’s temper is. The fact that he was willing to lower his head and see Qin Yi is precisely because he believed Qin Yi could play the role well, isn’t it?”

“…After seeing the photo, I really want to ask: the agent was the one present the whole time, right? Qin Yi, did you even see him?”

“A ‘red hot actor’ does not need to beg, but is it too much to just walk downstairs and meet? Here, I only see the arrogance of a famous actor.”

“+1. Lin Ji is a famous screenwriter, in the top ten on the income list. Will you not even grant him a meeting? Fans, surely you do not believe the crap your ‘Brother’ says about treasuring you?”

The main issue was that the photo from the marketing account was taken too perfectly. One look at the angle showed it was not a sneak shot; it looked more like a photo leaked from the inside.

In that photo, the expression on Lin Ji’s face was not the awkwardness of being rejected—it was the sincerity of someone wholeheartedly recommending their own work.

On the contrary, the expression on Qin Yi’s agent’s face looked fake at a glance.

“Given Lin Ji’s temper, anyone else who offended him would have been mocked by him long ago. This photo is from last year; the reason he did not act out back then was because he sincerely wanted you to act in his work.”

“I have been a fan of Qin Yi for many years, even before he was famous. In these few years, I have witnessed his bitterness and struggle, and I understand that it was not easy for him to persist until now. But I want to say, changing the drama’s name is not sincere, and intentionally changing the schedule is not sincere. Qin Yi, have you forgotten how you used to look in various crews, awkwardly trying to please people with a smile?”

“Same here, as an old fan. +1.”

There was no need for old fans to post photos; marketing accounts already had a stack of photos of Qin Yi fighting for opportunities before he became famous. When Qin Yi’s old photos were placed next to Lin Ji’s current photo for comparison, it inevitably made people sigh: The dragon slayer eventually becomes the dragon.

Qin Yi only became famous after turning 30. One of his fan-attracting points was his sincerity: because he had suffered in the past, he cherished his hard-won opportunities more.

A person like him should cherish his fans more than younger actors, would not become arrogant from becoming famous too early, and would treat every role he portrayed with absolute seriousness.

In the eyes of his old fans, the way he treated Lin Ji was essentially destroying the persona he had built with his own hands.

Before Code Falcon had even aired, Qin Yi lost quite a few fans. He knew in his heart that new fans followed whoever was famous, but old fans were the ones with long-term affection. After the online public opinion began to ferment, Qin Yi’s management agency quickly issued a statement, saying that Qin Yi was away on a business trip that day.

The fans knew this was only enough to fool netizens who were not in the know. Qin Yi had a lot of heat; regardless of where he went, his itinerary was transparent. However, since Qin Yi had explained it this way, they were willing to pretend it was true.

Lin Ji: “So that is how it was. Going on a business trip by walking must have been a lot of hard work.”

This was Lin Ji’s latest Weibo post. The text seemed calm and normal, but the attached image:

It was a photo clearly showing Qin Yi’s figure.

#CCitySameCity

#IAmAtXXPlazaInCCity

That plaza was less than one kilometer away from Qin Yi’s management agency.

Netizens: “???”

“Dying of laughter. Can you not hit the face when you hit someone?”

“@Qin Yi, you lost out. The dog company will not even reimburse your travel expenses.”

“Hahahaha! I have discovered it: when it comes to the script, Little Lin is perfectly normal. As for everything else: no one can stop my Little Lin from acting out!”

“So considerate. He even circled the colored tiles in front of that shopping mall. No other city has those, indeed 23333.”

NOTES

Side bias (小墙头): A celebrity that a fan likes secondary to their main “bias” or favorite idol.

23333: A Chinese internet slang used to indicate laughter, similar to “lol.”

Translator’s Note: It looks like the upcoming ratings battle between Code 11 and Code Falcon is going to be personal. Enjoy, and drop feedback.

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