Translator: Ink Hub

Editor: Yoog

“Trying to figure out exactly how rich Lin Ji is… Seriously, he has the profit-sharing from Code 11. How many rounds of rebroadcasting has Code 11 gone through by now?”

“Has anyone deep-dived into Bai Mei’s jewelry? I’m so obsessed. They radiate a ‘beauty I can’t afford’ vibe.”

“+1. I saw the pigeon-egg ring, it’s truly exquisite and beautiful. Where did the Records of the Bai’s Return crew order their props?”

“Bai Mei is My Daughter” had already analyzed the jewelry from the first two episodes in a round of posts. After her blog went live, netizens who followed accessories followed suit, deep-diving into the ornaments worn by characters in the first six episodes of Records of the Bai’s Return.

For a drama, this served as yet another publicity point.

By this time, many book fans had already admitted that Records of the Bai’s Return was indeed filmed with strict adherence to the original work.

The story originally had a massive fanbase, but the fans had been wounded too deeply by the previous adaptation. Consequently, when Lin Ji’s version launched, they instinctively chose to be skeptical.

However, once book fans began to acknowledge an adaptation and were willing to patiently watch a series, how much of an impact would it have on the ratings?

The answer could be glimpsed through the latest data on the viewership charts.

On this day, the first and second positions on the leaderboard remained unchanged—still Dajiang TV and Qinglan TV—but the one with the most drastic fluctuation was Records of the Bai’s Return.

Xingzhou TV’s ranking rose to 4th, with its viewership officially breaking 2%!

Meanwhile, the ratings for Sunrise TV and Daqin TV broke 1.5% and 1.3% respectively. On the satellite TV viewership charts, this was already considered mid-tier territory.

Out of the top fifteen spots on the ratings list, three now belonged to Records of the Bai’s Return!

“I can’t imagine. If Records of the Bai’s Return was broadcast solely on Xingzhou TV, would the ratings have broken 4%?”

“Dajiang TV is officially in the ‘shaking in their boots’ series.”

“LOL. But honestly, lately, Shooting the Sirius and Records of the Bai’s Return are definitely the best things to watch, right?”

Coinciding with the surge in ratings was, naturally, the daily increase in discussion surrounding Records of the Bai’s Return.

As the screenwriter of the show and a recognized ‘storm-bringer’ in the industry, Lin Ji himself was actually discussed far less than the plot after the show aired.

Book fans were practically using microscopes, picking apart every detail of the currently aired episodes.

Some analyzed the costumes, makeup, and props; some scrutinized the streets, buildings, and interior designs; some critiqued the actors’ skills. Others even compared the drama’s timeline with the original book’s timeline. The timeline provided in the original Records of the Bai’s Return was very obscure, but experts who studied the work had always believed the plot contained reflections of reality, where certain key events could be mapped to real-life historical incidents.

During the adaptation process, Lin Ji had supplemented the timeline, making the plot appear much clearer.

The original Records of the Bai’s Return came with its own massive traffic. If an adaptation was too terrible, the drama would not only fail to absorb that traffic but would instead suffer a backlash, causing the show’s reputation to turn even more dismal.

But once the adaptation met the requirements of the book fans, and word of mouth fermented within their community, it brought endless traffic to the series.

“Chen Cheng’s follower count is rising again. It’s terrifying.”

“Code 11 gave her a boost, and now Records of the Bai’s Return is giving her another. If the combined ratings of the three stations for Records of the Bai’s Return break 5%, Chen Cheng will be the undisputed top Little Flower.”

“Sister Cheng is truly going on a rampage. But her portrayal of Bai Mei is genuinely impeccable. Any Little Flower who wants to move up the ranks should go find Lin Ji. Characters like Shen Yin and Bai Mei are truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.”

The improvement in Chen Cheng’s acting was also a hot topic in the entertainment industry.

When she first announced she was taking the role of Bai Mei, no one in the industry had high hopes. Even her fans were skeptical. But now, whenever Bai Mei was mentioned, even casual passersby would comment, “She played it well.”

“I strongly suspect Lin Ji opened an acting training class.”

“As a fan of the show, I’m curious about Little Lin’s creative methods, but I’m even more curious about how he trains his actors.”

“Replying to the person above, he didn’t open a training class, but the Records of the Bai’s Return crew did have one. The actors didn’t just have to read the original work but also had to write plot analyses. The crew specifically invited experts to give lectures to the actors.”

The crew hadn’t specifically publicized the existence of this training camp.

After all, Records of the Bai’s Return was spearheaded by the Publicity Department. When Xingzhou, Daqin, and Sunrise TV handled the marketing, they maintained a very tight sense of propriety. They would pick up on memes created by netizens, but they wouldn’t directly promote such things with great fanfare.

The original Records of the Bai’s Return was a classic, and the three stations hoped the drama could become a classic as well.

Just like now, as word of mouth gradually fermented, the three stations were slowly being approached by advertisers.

In fact, Records of the Bai’s Return had always had a hidden sponsor—the publishing house.

After the adaptation aired, the currently available editions of the book sold out. The publisher was already planning a new edition, featuring the television images of Chen Cheng and the other lead actors.

“Come to think of it, the Records of the Bai’s Return crew probably spent a fortune just buying hundreds of books, right?”

“After my deep-dive, the original book is 66 yuan. Assuming there are 500 people in the crew, that’s 33,000 yuan. You’re welcome.”

“LMAO. In the behind-the-scenes footage, the actors really are all holding a copy of the original book.”

“…Holy crap! I was enjoying the footage when a face suddenly popped up—isn’t that my supervisor?”

“Same supervisor +1! No wonder he hasn’t been hounding me for my thesis these past few days!!!!”

“Looking at my supervisor’s honest, smiling face, I suddenly feel like Records of the Bai’s Return is composed of some kind of evil alliance!”

“My supervisor is guiding the Records of the Bai’s Return crew, and my supervisor is guiding me, so therefore, I am also in the Records of the Bai’s Return crew. So, where is my autograph?! (pounces like a hungry tiger)”

“A reminder to the person above: at this very moment, your supervisor might be watching you.”

That flighty netizen disappeared for half an hour. Thirty minutes later, she joyfully posted a picture: [My supervisor gave me the crew’s signed photos!!!]

Her ‘evil’ behavior triggered a wave of condemnation from other netizens.

* * *

Those who felt the shift in viewership trends more directly were, obviously, the competitors of Records of the Bai’s Return.

Dajiang TV had prepared a bunch of marketing packages for Shooting the Sirius. Just as they were about to brag about their ratings, a discordant voice appeared in the comment section: [Doesn’t Records of the Bai’s Return have more if you add the three stations together?]

Dajiang TV: “…”

Where did this contrarian come from? Go argue with a toll booth!

At this moment, Dajiang TV wished they could borrow Lin Ji’s mouth for a bit.

It was a fact that the combined ratings of the three stations for Records of the Bai’s Return were higher, but in terms of individual station ratings, Dajiang TV had never fallen from the number one spot.

Dajiang TV actually felt aggrieved. Netizens always felt that the three-station simultaneous broadcast split the viewership for Records of the Bai’s Return, but had they ever considered that adding the three ratings together was basically three against one?

Was this reasonable?

Even if the ratings for Daqin TV and Sunrise TV weren’t high, they still had their own base viewership, okay?

It was simply a case of “no regard for martial ethics,” overwhelming the master with chaotic strikes.

Hateful!

Qinglan TV felt the impact even more deeply.

At least Shooting the Sirius was first on the charts, even arguably leading by a wide margin. Meanwhile, although Winter Promise had been consistently second, the gap between it and Records of the Bai’s Return was not widening; instead, it was shrinking.

In truth, Winter Promise was filmed quite well. Its reputation was solid, and audience feedback was great. The ratings just wouldn’t go up.

Qinglan TV was also trying to find marketing angles, but unfortunately, it had Shooting the Sirius in front and Records of the Bai’s Return behind it—both of which were masterpieces aimed at becoming classics. In any other slot, Winter Promise definitely wouldn’t have lost, but in this particular slot, it felt a bit lackluster.

Hateful!

In fact, after both Winter Promise and Records of the Bai’s Return passed their 10th episodes, the entire broadcast window became almost exclusively a battle between Shooting the Sirius and Records of the Bai’s Return.

Even though Winter Promise was good in both quality and ratings, its discussion level was a massive tier below the other two. Furthermore, the individual ratings for Xingzhou TV were no longer much lower than Qinglan TV’s.

“Come to think of it, it’s a pity Shooting the Sirius and Records of the Bai’s Return were placed in the same slot. Both are great dramas.”

“As a drama fan, I actually hope for more of this kind of competition. Either way, I’m the one benefiting.”

“LOL. In the future, could satellite stations please use this as the standard for their shows?”

And the ratings for Records of the Bai’s Return did not disappoint the audience’s expectations.

After entering the 10th episode, Xingzhou TV’s ratings officially broke 2.5%, leaving it only a step away from Qinglan TV.

Qinglan TV was showing a faint trend of becoming the “third party who gets killed while the first and second are fighting.”

Meanwhile, the Shooting the Sirius crew gradually increased their promotional frequency, and the plot’s reputation fermented further. Its ratings rose from 3.7% to 3.9%, only a hair’s breadth away from breaking 4%.

This was already a show that could rank in Dajiang TV’s top five for the entire year. For any satellite station, the goal of a 4% rating was extremely difficult to achieve.

It could even be said that 4% was a threshold. Once a drama broke through it, it could be classified as a “mega-hit.”

Xingzhou TV’s ratings were also rising: 2.5%, 2.7%… Finally, Qinglan TV was pushed down to the 3rd position on the leaderboard.

On that day, Qinglan TV secretly posted an emoji of someone lying flat and picking their feet: [This Emperor is tired.]

“Lin Ji is incredible!!”

“It flees, he pursues, it cannot escape even with wings!”

“Let me ask everyone here—when Records of the Bai’s Return first set its premiere date, did any of you imagine this scene?”

“A thousand words summed up → Little Lin is a god!”

Under the passionate gaze of the fans, the “three spots for Records of the Bai’s Return in the Top 15” gradually evolved into “three spots in the Top 10.”

“ROFL. What is this, the Records of the Bai’s Return Universe?”

“I feel like Maple Leaf TV’s 4.8% PTSD is going to turn into Records of the Bai’s Return PTSD. There’s a Records of the Bai’s Return in front and another Records of the Bai’s Return behind.”

“#SurroundedByBai#”

“Maple Leaf TV: Once, to torture me, Lin Ji sent out a single Code 11. Now, to torture me, he’s sent out three whole Records of the Bai’s Return. Little Lin, you have no regard for martial ethics!”

“I am currently pondering a serious question: could three of the top five spots on the ratings chart eventually be Records of the Bai’s Return?”

“I can’t even imagine that scene…”

Drama fans: “…”

The question seemed absurd, but once it was linked to the three words “Screenwriter Lin Ji,” it suddenly seemed to possess a sliver of rationality.

NOTES

“Go argue with a toll booth” (守ETC): “ETC” refers to the Electronic Toll Collection system. In Chinese internet slang, a “contrarian” (杠精) is someone who always “lifts the bar” (抬杠) to argue. Since an ETC gate automatically lifts its bar for everyone, telling someone to “guard the ETC” is calling them a professional arguer.

💝 Support the Team

possible odoabuchi

✍️ Translator

☕ Buy Me a Coffee