Chapter 65: Going Live

Zhao Qingqing was well aware of what the director was plotting. Block the recommendation slot, let “Never Expected” launch with no promotion, and then, with the show’s poor performance, hold her responsible for spending half a million on a flop? Quite the scheme. She knew he was targeting her because he knew she was about to take over as content director. But what was the point? He was definitely on his way out; even if he managed to tarnish her reputation, someone else would just take the position after her.

Expressionless, Zhao Qingqing gave him a glance and turned to leave. The sharp sound of her heels on the floor echoed through the office, making her colleagues’ hearts jump in their chests.

…

At the same time Zhao Qingqing was busy fighting for the recommendation slot, Hong Youcheng, the acquisition manager at YouYou Video, also caught wind through his own channels that “Never Expected” had been bought by Simple Video. He felt a fleeting sense of regret, but quickly put it out of his mind. Just as he’d thought before—while the show had its charm, it would hardly cause a stir. He trusted his own judgment; he couldn’t be wrong! With such short episodes, how could it possibly have any impact? Viewers would barely get into it before it ended. The feeling was hard to describe.

…

A rented apartment.

Zhao Wu, Bai Xiaoke, and a few others sat together, glancing at the clock now and then, their faces a mix of tension and anticipation. That afternoon, they’d learned that “Never Expected” would be going live on Simple Video that evening. When they heard the news from Xu Bunian, they were stunned into silence for quite a while. They were genuinely bewildered. They simply couldn’t connect the messy little series Chen Qi had shot with a giant platform like Simple Video. Wasn’t Chen Qi just shooting that series for fun? And yet he’d managed to sell it to Simple Video—and even get a prominent spot on the homepage? Good heavens! This was Simple Video, one of the two video giants in the country! How had he done it?

When they finally recovered, their curiosity was thoroughly piqued, and they were desperate to see what Chen Qi’s finished product actually looked like. After work, they came straight home and waited anxiously for eight o’clock to arrive.

At last, eight o’clock struck.

They eagerly opened the Simple Video app. At first, they saw no sign of “Never Expected” on the main page. But they didn’t care; they typed the title into the search bar. The results popped up quickly, and there, with Bai Xiaoke’s face as the cover art, was the series.

Staring at the cover, everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was really online? They exchanged incredulous glances, then clicked into the first episode.

The screen flashed, and two lines of text appeared: Chen Qi Studio. Future Films. Joint Production.

Seeing this, Zhao Wu and Bai Xiaoke’s group stared even harder, mouths forming perfect O’s. Chen Qi Studio? Chen Qi Studio? Chen Qi actually had his own studio? They stared at those five words as if the world had turned upside down, their minds blank for a moment. Who knew how much of a shock those words gave them? They’d always thought Chen Qi was just part of Future Films…

“Never Expected, la la la la la…” The show’s theme song pulled them back to reality.

“This episode is exclusively sponsored by Chen Qi Studio.”

“Waves on the Yangtze push the old waves forward—Chen Qi Studio is destined to be the biggest of them all!”

At that forced product placement, Zhao Wu and his friends couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of their mouths. That shameless style—it was just like him!

“My name is Wang Dachui…”

The episode proper began. Bai Xiaoke and his friends stared intently. After watching the first scene, Zhao Wu and his companions exchanged numb, shocked glances. The disbelief was clear in all their eyes. Bai Xiaoke was a bit better off—he’d participated in the entire production, so he was prepared for the scenes and dialogue. But even so, seeing the completed post-production result, he was rocked to the core. He’d never imagined it would turn out like this.

The others’ reactions were even more exaggerated. Even though they’d been in the shoot and present during Bai Xiaoke’s voice acting, they’d lost interest in the project on the very first day, so they hadn’t paid much attention to later scenes. Only now, seeing the finished footage, did they realize that scenes they’d thought were utterly ridiculous, with the right dialogue and editing, could have such explosive impact!

“I’m never working with a shoestring crew like this again!”

The first episode ended quickly, and the app automatically rolled into the next episode. Bai Xiaoke hit pause. He felt they needed time to process the barrage of shocking revelations they’d just received. The room fell into a deep, silent hush.

…

At the same time.

College student Xiao Zhang, who’d spent the day out and was heading home, also opened the Simple Video app, planning to find a random movie to kill time on the commute. Habitually, he skipped the opening ad and scrolled down the default page.

Then, “Never Expected” caught his eye.

“Never Expected?” Glancing at the rather slapdash-looking poster, Xiao Zhang instinctively frowned with disdain. Was low-budget, shoddy work now so half-hearted that they didn’t even bother making an attractive poster to lure viewers in? Was patience for that gone too?

Whether out of curiosity or simply because there was nothing else to watch, he clicked on it almost involuntarily. By normal logic, anything that got recommended to this spot had to have something to it, right?

The quirky intro caught his attention.

“My name is Wang Dachui, I’m an actor, filming a low-budget martial arts drama.”

Seeing Wang Dachui’s expressionless face and dazed eyes, Xiao Zhang couldn't help but chuckle. “This is seriously low-budget. What’s with the toy sword?”

“Clang!” The toy sword flashed.

Wang Dachui was startled: “At this quality, you’re still adding a sound effect?”

“Heh…” Xiao Zhang burst out laughing.

Then, Chen Qi appeared as the forgetful villain, reciting rather than acting out his lines.

“Hahaha!”

Hearing Chen Qi deliver his lines in such a deadpan, Xiao Zhang’s smile grew even wider. This show was actually kind of interesting.

“Come on, show me your ultimate move—the Nine Yang Divine Fist!”

The sudden twist made Xiao Zhang laugh so hard he almost left this mortal coil. What kind of absurd show was this? Could it get any more ridiculous?

“I can feel a powerful energy gathering in my fists—my left, blazing like fire; my right, cold as frost.”

Watching the scene, Xiao Zhang actually held his breath. Say what you will, the setup looked genuinely impressive. The showdown was about to begin!

But then, subtitles for “frost effect” and “flame effect” suddenly popped up, completely out of place.

“…” Xiao Zhang was left speechless.

Seriously? Couldn’t they just act like normal people? This twist nearly threw his back out!

“What the heck, you can’t even be bothered to do real effects, just slap some text on the screen?” Wang Dachui also complained incredulously.

“…” Xiao Zhang bit down hard on his lower lip.

This style of voicing the audience’s complaints before they can even grumble—enough already! You win! You win, okay?