Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

In the final episode of Code 11, at the moment Lou Zhi broke through layers of crisis to complete his mission, the real-time viewership ratings hit their absolute peak: breaking through 10%.

The average ratings for this episode reached 4.8%.

What did 10% and 4.8% mean in this context?

Last year’s Spring Festival Gala had a peak real-time rating of 27% and an average of 23%.

In other words, among the audience for the highest-rated program in the country, one-third watched the scene where Lou Zhi completed his mission.

The ratings for the grand finale of Code 11, a production from Sunrise TV, actually leveled with the top-ranked drama of the year from Dajiang TV.

“One can only imagine: if Code 11 had been a drama on an A-list satellite station, the ratings might have broken even more records.”

“Too strong! Both reputation and ratings are skyrocketing!!”

“As expected of Screenwriter Lin, the strongest Little Lin!”

“The ratings championship is what Code 11 deserves. It is truly, truly good to watch!”

Opening the trending search list, half of the entries were related to Code 11.

In the final scene, Lou Zhi recalled his comrades who had fought alongside him—those still living and those who had passed: Shen Yin, Wu Xinping… These characters also took turns trending tonight.

The popularity of the actors naturally grew higher and higher. The moment the show finished airing, Cheng Yuan and several other lead actors wrote farewell letters to Code 11. Cheng Yuan’s letter was the longest; he recalled his confusion as an extra, the surprise of being chosen by the Code 11 crew, and the hotel and flight money Lin Ji had transferred to him.

Cheng Yuan joked, “If I were a scammer, Teacher Lin would have lost over ten thousand yuan.”

“Hahaha, was there really such an incident? Little Lin is so brave!”

“So, it turns out the actors in the crew didn’t just memorize scripts; they also had to research character profiles and have group viewing sessions.”

“Now I understand why the actors in Code 11 each acted better than the last. An actor not understanding their character absolutely won’t work. Some actors don’t even look at the script; they just have a vacant face in front of the camera. Do you believe they can act well? I’d sooner believe I am the First Emperor.”

“So, Lin Ji has such a gentle personality in private? Dying of laughter, Cheng Yuan thought he met a scammer, but ‘he gave too much,’ so he succumbed.”

“What I want to complain about is, even with Code 11 blowing up like this, it only occupied half the trending list. When Code Falcon first aired, it dominated the list. How much did Maple Leaf TV actually buy?”

Code Falcon reached its grand finale the day before Code 11. Just as Qike Video had mocked, Maple Leaf TV indeed failed to maintain its 19th-place position. The ratings dropped directly to 21st; both real-time and overall ratings could be described as tragic.

On the day of the finale, the audience was focused on Lou Zhi’s movements; nobody cared if Yan Ying ended up with the beauty.

Maple Leaf TV remained silent regarding this result. In the days leading up to the end of Code Falcon, the official blog didn’t even post its regular promotions, wanting the show to simply meet its end in silence.

But that was impossible.

Unless Qike Video hadn’t made a mortal enemy out of Gu Lenian.

The result of Qike Video’s long-term antics was that, within the industry, regardless of whether it was a large or small platform, not a single one was willing to collaborate with Gu Lenian anymore.

Although he was once a famous A-list screenwriter, the back-to-back flops of Siege Operation and Code Falcon caused Gu Lenian’s reputation to hit rock bottom. Coupled with his numerous petty maneuvers before the show aired, he had become one of the most unpopular screenwriters in the eyes of the audience.

Platforms certainly have various reasons for choosing screenwriters, but “not going against the audience” has always ranked near the top.

* * *

The daily broadcast on Sunrise TV ended, but the attention belonging to Code 11 did not disappear. Several satellite stations were already negotiating with Sunrise TV, requesting to buy the second-run broadcasting rights for the show.

Code 11 was fully funded by Sunrise TV. During the early preparation stages, the station had considered seeking investment, but unfortunately, the other party would hang up as soon as they heard Sunrise TV’s name.

To finish filming this drama, Sunrise TV had even taken out a loan from the bank.

“I accompanied the leadership when we borrowed the money. You should have seen the bank’s attitude then,” the producer said with a laugh. “Recently, people from the bank have been coming over constantly, asking if we have any more shows to film.”

With just Code 11, Sunrise TV earned a fortune.

Advertising fees during the broadcast, sponsorship fees, copyright fees after the broadcast, as well as the overall boost to Sunrise TV’s image.

In the past, Sunrise TV was “that station that broadcasts how to get rich by raising pigs,” but now it was “that station that produced Code 11.”

After Code 11 aired, the higher-ups handed Sunrise TV several mission-driven dramas with very orthodox themes. These shows might not have the same ratings as Code 11, but to a certain extent, being entrusted with them was already a sign of recognition from the authorities.

* * *

As the screenwriter of Code 11, Lin Ji was equally rewarded.

Lin Ji could take a share of the profits from Code 11. During the broadcast, the invitations handed to him became increasingly frequent. A-list platforms like Dajiang TV and Qinglan TV no longer specified that Lin Ji write sweet romances; they let him play to his strengths. As long as the script quality was good, the stations were willing to take it.

“You should be free to attend the mid-year activities now, right?”

Tian Yao specifically called Lin Ji to talk about attending events. At the end of last year, Lin Ji had planned to attend two, but they were delayed because of the casting for Code 11. In the middle of the year, the Leap Awards ceremony was going to be held, which was one of the major events in the television world. Secretly in Love with You had also been nominated for this award.

“Wait a bit longer, I’m not quite finished here yet.”

Tian Yao sighed. “You really are a workaholic.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Lin Ji countered. “Once this drama reaches its conclusion, I’ll rest for a while.”

Code 11 had finished airing, but the commemorative activities for Lou Zhi had only just begun.

Riding the heat of Code 11, the Lou Zhi documentary launched by Sunrise TV also received a good response. The experience of the character Lou Zhi triggered the audience’s curiosity about heroes of the hidden frontlines. More and more heroes became known to the public, and the commemorative activities were held with great enthusiasm.

To some extent, this was Lin Ji’s purpose in writing Code 11.

Lin Ji deeply felt that the period during the broadcast wasn’t tiring, but the period after was worse: never-ending sharing sessions, summary meetings, and similar conferences. The internet was full of analyses of Code 11’s pacing, analyses of the actors’ skills, breakdowns on the reasons for its success… Some netizens even cataloged the four dramas Lin Ji had written so far to analyze his creative characteristics.

After returning to C City, Lin Ji collapsed directly.

He had a full week where he did not touch a script or anything related to television. He slept until he woke naturally, drank soda, ate cold pot skewers, and played “mindless” games like Link-up and 2048. If he wasn’t careful, an entire day would pass.

He had little interest in high-end consumption like RVs. Occasionally, strolling out was just to eat. Lin Ji wasn’t picky about expensive or cheap; he didn’t feel he had to eat rare ingredients. He just liked to eat a meal happily and freely.

Tian Yao contacted him a few times about the Leap Awards. Lin Ji promised to attend this time, but it wasn’t until two days before the ceremony that he started paying attention to the news about the gala.

Lin Ji was looking at an entertainment account. Just after finishing the news about the Leap Awards, the next one popped up: [Qin Yi’s former manager exposes multiple insider details.]

Lin Ji blinked, slid his finger down, and clicked in.

The news of Qin Yi firing his manager was no secret in the circle; Lin Ji had heard about it even while out of town. He always felt that a manager could be fired anytime, but choosing this specific juncture when the drama flopped was simply unwise.

Firing the manager so suddenly was Qin Yi’s way of expressing his dissatisfaction with taking the role in Code Falcon. Maple Leaf TV would inevitably have thoughts about that.

Sure enough, the former manager revealed several pieces of “black material” from before Qin Yi’s comeback, as well as the incident where he intentionally avoided Lin Ji on the day of the visit. Lin Ji looked at it for a while and only felt that the lethality of the so-called black material was probably not as great as the drama’s flop itself.

Either Qin Yi’s character was decent enough that even a close relationship like a manager couldn’t dig up real dirt, or the man was very good at hiding.

However, this had little to do with Lin Ji. It was a fact that Qin Yi rejected Code 11, but Lin Ji had found Cheng Yuan thanks to it. Just looking at the comparison of acting between Cheng Yuan and Qin Yi in their respective shows, he felt Cheng Yuan was stronger.

For Qin Yi, in an entertainment circle where Cheng Yuan existed, the difficulty of “ascending” was absolutely at its maximum.

This counted as one of Lin Ji’s minor revenges against him.

However, although Qin Yi was having a bit of bad luck lately, the number of actors who wanted to collaborate with Lin Ji had increased.

Those who had already collaborated, like Cheng Yuan, Chen Cheng, and Wang Ruoqiang, went without saying; many actors with good reputations of their own also expressed a willingness to work with him. Since God of War Returns Home, Lin Ji had already made several actors famous.

Anyone could become a star with a good script, but for an actor, the hardest part was exactly finding the right script.

What Lin Ji didn’t expect was that Yu Muzi’s side actually expressed goodwill toward him as well.

“Is this… a bit too magnanimous?”

Tian Yao dragged Lin Ji out for barbecue. When this was mentioned, Lin Ji found it somewhat unbelievable. “When my previous drama first aired, she even expressed support for Maple Leaf TV.”

As soon as Lin Ji finished speaking, he saw Tian Yao and Wen Qing staring at him in unison.

“What is it?”

“You even remember that?”

Lin Ji nodded.

Now these two couldn’t help but suspect: was Lin Ji peeking at Gu Lenian’s Weibo every single day?

“Wasn’t it said we should be broad-minded?”

“Am I not broad-minded enough?” Lin Ji asked the two back. “If I weren’t broad-minded, people wouldn’t come looking for me. I’m just too broad-minded, I’m sick of being broad-minded. I need to change.”

Tian Yao and Wen Qing: “…”

We often feel out of place with this person because we aren’t perverted enough.

“She probably really wants to transition, right?” Tian Yao said with a serious face.

Before Currently in Love aired, Yu Muzi’s reputation in the circle was better than Chen Cheng’s. After Code 11 aired, the situation reversed. Chen Cheng suddenly “opened her eyes” regarding acting and began her own path of transition.

Yu Muzi, however, could still only walk the path of sweet youth romances.

For an actor, reaching a certain age inevitably means facing a transition.

It’s not that actors over 30 couldn’t play high school students; what role an actor played was their own freedom. But a high school student played by a 30-year-old and one played by a 20-year-old were just different.

Yu Muzi could still play a youthful and cute female lead now, but this path was destined to be unsustainable.

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