Chapter 68: Where Did This Chen Qi Suddenly Appear From?
Simple Video.
Zhao Qingqing had not yet finished her workday.
“Never Would Have Thought” was the first project she independently handled as future content director, and she cared deeply about its performance.
She stayed in the technology department, keeping a close eye on the show’s data.
The backend showed a dramatic rise in viewership, almost exaggerated. But Zhao Qingqing knew that, at this stage, click counts offered limited insight.
What was that saying again? Put a pig in the right spot, and it’ll fly.
Similarly, although their platform, Simple Video, couldn’t rival the traffic of Excellent Video, it was still the second largest video site in the country. Any work featured on the homepage—even if terrible—would attract plenty of clicks.
So, at this moment, click counts were no real measure of success. What mattered to her was how many viewers the show could retain.
Five minutes, ten minutes…
After half an hour scrutinizing the numbers, Zhao Qingqing’s anxious heart finally settled.
The data showed that most viewers who clicked in stayed; not only did they finish the first episode, they moved on to the second, the third…
Seeing these promising figures, a beautiful curve appeared at the corner of Zhao Qingqing’s lips.
She exhaled a long breath, turned to leave the technology department, and went home in radiant spirits.
—
Rental Apartment.
Amid his frantic novel copying, Chen Qi received a text from Zhao Qingqing.
“Never Would Have Thought” was doing exceptionally well, with enthusiastic viewer feedback.
Chen Qi dismissed it with a slight pout and continued typing away at his novel.
Good results? Isn’t that only natural?
He’d anticipated this long ago. To him, the outcome held no surprise at all…
The next day.
At nine o’clock, Chen Qi received another call from Zhao Qingqing.
He assumed she was reporting more results, but her words left him stunned.
An advertiser wanted to collaborate.
Unable to find his contact through any channel, they reached out to Simple Video.
“My episodes are already fully produced. How can we collaborate now?” Chen Qi was baffled by the request.
“They’re not asking for much,” Zhao Qingqing explained. “They want to sponsor the show, maybe replace those humorous pre-episode credits like ‘This episode exclusively sponsored by Chen Qi Studio’ or ‘This episode sneakily released by the director’ with their product branding.”
“Is that even possible?” Chen Qi was shocked!
Product placement before launch was one thing, but changing ads after the show was already online? What kind of outrageous move was this?
“For other shows, probably not. But yours—I think it’s feasible,” Zhao Qingqing laughed. “Isn’t that the whole theme of ‘Never Would Have Thought’? I feel like your show could do anything to the audience and they wouldn’t be surprised. Changing a few ads now, even swapping sponsors every week, wouldn’t feel out of place. In fact, viewers might suspect you’re doing it on purpose.”
Chen Qi: “…”
“Think about it?” Zhao Qingqing asked.
“No, that’s just too shameless,” Chen Qi refused outright.
He made this drama for fame, not for ad placements.
He’d already produced all ten episodes at once—wasn’t that hint enough? If he had intended to add ads, he would have released two episodes first, then held the rest back to negotiate.
One had to admit, the advertisers’ instincts were incredibly sharp—so quick to sniff out the commercial potential, and even imagine such brazen tactics.
—
Seeing his resolute attitude, Zhao Qingqing said no more, but reported the show’s stats.
“Never Would Have Thought” was trending higher and higher; after twelve hours online, it had surpassed a million views.
“Is that considered good?” Chen Qi had no real concept of view counts.
“It’s nowhere near the big-budget dramas, but for a small production, it’s very impressive. I predict the numbers will keep climbing for days; it’s still in the fermentation stage, not many people know about it yet, and there’s plenty of room for growth.”
Chen Qi nodded, saying nothing.
“Are you really not planning a sequel?” Zhao Qingqing asked suddenly at the end of the call. “With its current popularity, even just ad placements in a follow-up would bring in considerable income.”
“No,” Chen Qi refused again. “Even the funniest gags get old with repetition. This kind of show lives on the element of surprise.”
“Alright,” Zhao Qingqing said, a little regretful, and hung up.
She truly was disappointed.
With this level of popularity, a sequel season would surely rake in profits.
If it were any other producer, they’d be rushing to start production.
But not him—he refused!
—
Shortly after Zhao Qingqing hung up, Chen Qi received calls from Zhao Wu and Bai Xiao Ke.
On the phone, they were almost incoherent, their words jumbling together.
No one could fathom how complex their emotions were, nor how shocked they felt seeing their names in the end credits yesterday.
The powerful visual impact still hadn’t worn off.
They had no other intention calling Chen Qi—just to say thank you.
Only now did they realize Chen Qi’s promise of future collaboration wasn’t just idle talk.
—
In the days that followed, “Never Would Have Thought” continued to soar in popularity. Almost every viewer felt a refreshing sensation.
Accustomed to serious dramas, they were suddenly confronted with a genre that reversed expectations at every turn—it was like opening a door to a new world.
Some lines from the show were so catchy that netizens used them in all sorts of chat scenarios.
“Getting promoted to general manager,” “Becoming CEO and marrying a rich beauty,” “Reaching the pinnacle of life,” and so on.
Lines like “He makes such a good point, I’m speechless,” and “Weren’t we supposed to be each other’s angels?” were made into memes by imaginative netizens, popping up everywhere in conversations.
Those who’d watched “Never Would Have Thought” would smile knowingly at the memes; those who hadn’t were amazed.
With all these accidental boosts, the show attracted more and more attention.
In just a single day, it crossed the five-million view mark!
For a project with an all-new cast and director, this was explosive success.
More importantly, while the data was skyrocketing, the online reviews were overwhelmingly positive.
Isn’t that infuriating?
As the show garnered attention, so did its cast and crew, especially Chen Qi, the writer-director-star.
“Where did this Chen Qi come from? He’s hilarious!”
“No idea, there’s nothing about him online. I wanted to look for more of his work.”
“He’s not just funny, he’s shameless! Have you seen those ridiculous self-promoting credits at the start?”
“Hahaha, I noticed too—so cringe-worthy!”
“This imagination… it’s genius!”
—
Excellent Video.
Hong Youcheng stared blankly at the data his subordinate had just delivered.
He was bewildered.
The report showed that today, Simple Video’s traffic had surged noticeably.
The reason was clear.
“Never Would Have Thought”!
The very drama he had dismissed had brought considerable traffic to Simple Video.
Reading the stark numbers, Hong Youcheng found it hard to believe.
This wasn’t logical!
That silly show was only an hour long—how could it have such impact?
He trusted his tech team, but still doubted the data’s authenticity.
After a moment’s confusion, he opened his computer and searched for “Never Would Have Thought.”
The results…
He was shocked by the show’s popularity.
Not only did netizens rave about it, but many veteran users on film sites posted reviews.
Hong Youcheng clicked through a few threads.
“Why is ‘Never Would Have Thought’ so popular?”
“How did such an obviously low-budget drama become a hit?”
“What’s your take on ‘Never Would Have Thought’?”
All the posts were overwhelmingly positive. Countless netizens commented that watching the show made them laugh themselves silly, and it lifted their mood.
Hong Youcheng was dumbfounded.
He had no idea what was happening, or how it happened. He even went to Simple Video to check—the show was just as he remembered.
Seeing the dense barrage of comments, his face twisted in disbelief.
Was this still the world he knew?
He had to admit, he’d misjudged.
He underestimated the show’s power. He never expected this silly drama to make such waves.
Having reluctantly accepted the facts, he felt another headache coming.
Chen Qi had first approached them before going to Simple Video; barring surprises, he’d be in for a scolding tomorrow.
But…
He didn’t have to wait. As he was thinking this, the content director called.
Seeing the caller ID, Hong Youcheng adopted a look of utter despair.
—
(Please vote for recommendations~~)