Translator: ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

“Holy crap, is anyone following last night’s satellite TV ratings?”

“Can someone tell me if Code 11 is really going to overtake Code Falcon?”

“If I remember correctly, a few days ago, Code Falcon‘s ratings were over ten places higher than Code 11?”

Although the audience doubted their own eyes, the reality was that Sunrise TV was sitting firmly at the 8th position on the rankings, its earthy yellow logo particularly conspicuous among the glamorous satellite stations.

On the first day of broadcast, it felt as if a galaxy separated Code 11 and Code Falcon, but now, with the surge in Code 11‘s viewership, surpassing Code Falcon seemed to be only a matter of time.

The 5th and the 8th—it was no longer an unreachable distance.

The reason for the 5th place ranking was that, by the 10th episode, Code Falcon‘s daily viewership had declined for the first time.

After the ratings for this day were released, the voices mocking Code 11 had almost vanished. Marketing accounts were still promoting Code Falcon, but the audience buying into it was clearly not as large as in the previous days.

“Emmm… the plot of Code 11 has already hit its stride. Can someone tell me what the point of the character Wei Zhi in Code Falcon is? Just to show that Yan Ying is popular with women?”

“I’ll say this quietly: Gu Lenian’s thinking is clearly still stuck in the early days. He likes to create romantic rogue-type protagonists, but today’s audience doesn’t care for that anymore.”

“I can understand giving the spotlight to Yan Ying, but it should be a natural progression of the plot, not a desperate attempt to stack character tropes and artificially manufacture highlight moments.”

“No more nonsense, go watch Code 11. No bugs, focused on the career arc, and the camaraderie is very moving. It is a pity there are too few books about Lou Zhi on the market. I couldn’t find many even at the bookstore.”

“Upstairs can go watch Hidden Frontline, a documentary from CCTV about intelligence personnel. There is an episode about Lou Zhi. The adaptation in Code 11 is very consistent with the facts, so it is clear they did their homework. The show is great, and the real story is very inspiring.”

After the blog posts were sent out, the comment sections were actually all discussing Code 11. The marketing accounts realized something was wrong and deleted or blocked a few comments, but this only triggered a rebellious streak in the netizens. The discussion in the comment sections became more and more heated. Almost no one mentioned Code Falcon; all they were talking about was Code 11.

“Curious, is Code 11 really that good?”

“Marking this, I’ll take this recommendation for now.”

* * *

On this day, the busiest people were undoubtedly Chen Cheng’s fans.

Regarding Chen Cheng acting alongside a newcomer, the fans were originally quite unwilling. Coupled with the fact that the drama was airing on Sunrise TV, it was no different from the sky falling in their eyes.

Since the broadcast of Code 11 began, Chen Cheng had been relentlessly mocked by Yu Muzi’s fans. The ratings for the first two episodes were a bit low, and even though the character played by Chen Cheng had not yet appeared, the blame for the low ratings was still pinned on her.

To this day, the fans have not understood Chen Cheng’s reason for accepting this drama.

However, after the 7th episode aired, clips of Chen Cheng’s performance began to hit the trending searches one after another. Chen Cheng handled the character Shen Yin just right. Every glance, every smile, and every movement was full of charm, completely breaking away from the “flower vase” feel of her past roles.

There was no romance between Shen Yin and Lou Zhi; they were antagonists, even. However, the tension displayed during their scenes together particularly tugged at the audience’s heartstrings.

“My Sister is so cool!!! Every frame is worth collecting!”

“Sister, please scold me! So domineering! I am Sister’s dog!”

“I always felt that Sister Cheng wasn’t suited for those ‘little white flower’ roles, but currently, all female lead dramas are that type. Shen Yin fits my Sister so well!”

“Sister Cheng’s acting skills exploded! My Sister definitely has talent!”

Fans were howling as they saved GIFs of Shen Yin. Whether it was the seductive charm of her smiling face or her decisive and neat movements when taking action, it allowed the fans to see more possibilities for their idol’s acting skills.

From this moment on, no one would doubt Chen Cheng’s motivation for taking this drama.

“!! Sister Cheng was reposted by official media!!”

“Where? I’m going to look right now!”

The official media named Code 11 for its correct narration of history: “Commemorating those who once concealed their names for our happy lives: Lou Zhi, Shen Yin, Wen Ruohan… this is the role an excellent drama can play.”

Chen Cheng had been debuting for many years, but this was the first time she had been praised by an official blog. Previously, fans had always hoped she would take “Big Female Lead” dramas to fully display her charm as an actress, but now, playing a suitable supporting role also seemed quite good.

Moreover, the ratings for Code 11 were not bad at all.

“So excited! My mom didn’t know I liked Sister Cheng. She said yesterday that the actress for Shen Yin is beautiful and acts well.”

“I am moved to tears. Hurry to Weibo and search for Sister Cheng’s name, so much praise!”

Chen Cheng exploded in popularity as soon as she debuted, but in recent years, the dramas she starred in mostly had mediocre ratings, and her performances were also unsatisfactory. Every time she had a new show, many people on Weibo would criticize her.

But this time, whether entering “Chen Cheng” or “Shen Yin,” the real-time results showed nothing but uniform praise.

It was as if Chen Cheng had gained mass-market recognition overnight.

After being named and praised by official media, the popularity of Code 11 suddenly erupted.

Several well-known drama critics gave the show their highest evaluation at the first opportunity:

“If you ask me, what drama I’ve been watching lately, of course, it’s Sunrise TV’s Code 11. This drama uses Lou Zhi’s experience as the main thread, showing the stories of the heroes on the hidden frontlines who passed the light through war and crisis, fighting hard for the coming liberation.”

“No famous actors joined Code 11; it is not a ‘cool’ flick for audience entertainment. It can be said to be an atypical ‘Lin Ji’ style, yet it allows the audience to immerse themselves in the story, patiently ponder the plot, and carefully savor the characters, breathing along with them. There are powerful opponents in the drama who are a match for the protagonist, which enhances the richness of the script. The audience can better experience and understand Lou Zhi’s plight…”

“The several lead actors—Cheng Yuan, Chen Cheng, and Wang Zhiwei—all delivered brilliant performances. I think after Code 11, no one will ask the question ‘who is Cheng Yuan’ again. Chen Cheng is no longer the representative of flower vase actresses. They vividly displayed the characters’ faith, righteousness, ideals, and fate. The style of the whole drama is very calm, but a calm sea will also give rise to waves that make one’s blood boil.”

Sunrise TV welcomed a level of attention it had never experienced since its establishment.

The person in charge of a local chemical fertilizer enterprise visited several times a day, expressing willingness to increase sponsorship fees just to continue showing their face during prime time. Fast-moving consumer goods companies, which usually ignored Sunrise TV, also began to fight for advertising cooperation during the broadcast of Code 11.

The few minutes between two episodes had practically become a battlefield for merchants. Not only that, but some merchants even set their sights on the thank-you list in the end credits. As long as Code 11 was willing to give a spot, merchants were willing to pay.

Although the ratings for Code 11 had not yet surpassed Code Falcon, everyone could see that with its current momentum, overtaking it was only a matter of time.

The story of Code 11 became more exciting day by day; what did Code Falcon have to stop it?

* * *

“No one can say for sure. Hasn’t Code 11 failed to overtake us yet?”

The agent pretended to be relaxed while comforting Qin Yi. “Besides, our Code Falcon‘s results aren’t bad either. The ratings haven’t come out yet, the audience might not even like Code 11 that much.”

“You don’t understand.” Qin Yi let out a light sigh.

The skyrocketing ratings of Code 11 even made him feel a sense of dread. The opponent’s momentum was truly too startling. It was coming on fiercely, even giving Qin Yi an illusion that Code 11 might actually overturn Qinglan TV and Dajiang TV to take the throne as the number one in the ratings.

For an ordinary B-tier satellite station, this was an almost impossible task.

But for some reason, Qin Yi’s premonition grew stronger.

Perhaps it was because the screenwriter of this drama was Lin Ji. Before this show, Lin Ji had created miracles more than once.

To some extent, the current success of Code 11 was also a kind of miracle. The lead was just an extra, and no one was optimistic at the start, yet it still squeezed into the top ten of the satellite TV ratings.

Besides Lin Ji, who else could do it?

Qin Yi specifically went to watch Code 11. The more he watched, the more he lamented in his heart. Code 11 was truly a rare, good drama and could even be called a rare classic among espionage series.

What he had missed was actually such an excellent show.

Just one step away, and the role of Lou Zhi would have been his.

If his resume listed such a work, Qin Yi guaranteed that his position would certainly be more solid, and he might even have taken a step further in the fierce competition of the “Uncle Circle.”

Yet the agent was still over there rambling on, talking about the advantages of Code Falcon and how Lin Ji and Sunrise TV were no good.

“The problem is, the momentum of Code 11 has already taken off.”

Same genre, same time slot—this was a zero-sum game where one’s gain was the other’s loss.

It was just that previously, the winner who took all was Code Falcon, and now it was Code 11.

The agent froze for a moment. It was rare for Qin Yi to be this anxious.

And Qin Yi’s next words shocked him even more, “Luo-ge, let’s terminate our contract.”

The agent didn’t react for a moment, then carefully confirmed once more, “What did you just say?”

“We’ve collaborated for a long time. I don’t want to make things too difficult for you. I won’t short you on the benefits you deserve.” Qin Yi’s voice was not high, but the determination in his words could not be ignored. “But the contract that needs to be terminated must be terminated.

“The script for Code 11 was too good. Missing it is a regrettable thing, isn’t it?”

The agent said in disbelief, “There will be more good scripts in the future. You want to fire me just over this?”

“That was an opportunity delivered to our door. I let it go. Do you know how many people I have to compete with for other good scripts?” Qin Yi’s expression turned cold. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Many people online were already saying that Cheng Yuan was very similar to him, but the other party was younger and had better acting skills. With Code 11‘s current momentum, it had every possibility of becoming a phenomenal hit.

Compared to Cheng Yuan, the “low periods” Qin Yi had marketed before were nothing. Even during his low periods, he could still get lead roles or play supporting roles with significant weight; he just hadn’t become a star. Cheng Yuan, however, had climbed up from the absolute bottom. Before starring in Code 11, that guy was still a “dragon runner” extra.

From being ignored to being the only one chosen—the audience clearly favored Cheng Yuan’s narrative.

“You wanted to turn it down too, didn’t you?” The agent’s eyes widened, and his voice suddenly rose. “Wasn’t I acting according to your wishes? That time Lin Ji came over, the one who didn’t want to see him was clearly you!

“You wanted stability and safety yourself. Could I have interfered with your choice?”

But no matter what the agent said, Qin Yi was unwilling to listen.

He used to feel that the two of them supporting each other to get to this point wasn’t easy, but now, looking at the man’s shouting, Qin Yi didn’t even want to see his face.

Code Falcon was indeed his own choice, but if the agent hadn’t constantly disparaged Code 11, he wouldn’t have accepted Code Falcon while in a state of hesitation.

Watching Cheng Yuan’s lightning-fast follower growth and the soaring ratings of Code 11, Qin Yi was simply unwilling to the extreme.

NOTES

“Flower vase” (花瓶): A common term in the Chinese entertainment industry for an actor or actress who is physically attractive but lacks acting skills.

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