CHAPTER 475: CHAPTER 374: A SUDDEN CHALLENGE

"Heart Inquiry" almost parachuted into a release date.

Nowadays, it’s rare for TV dramas to secure a release date one or two months in advance, promote it steadily, and then air it smoothly.

In reality, the release of "Heart Inquiry" encountered numerous twists and turns, with previously set airing dates being repeatedly postponed. The key reason being that some were obstructing the broadcast of the show.

Why say so?

The reason is simple, this drama is expected to be a hit, to explode—within the industry, this has essentially become a consensus.

Thus, this implies another thing: other dramas airing during the same period will be squeezed in market share, and platforms that didn’t secure this drama’s rights will lose a considerable audience.

Therefore, various groups used all sorts of tactics, and finally, on December 5th, the release date was parachuted, and it aired that evening.

This happened just two days after the conversation between Zhou Yun and Song Chi, so sudden that Zhou Yun hadn’t even joined the crew of "Falling Leaves".

In fact, Zhou Yun and Song Chi received the news barely half a day earlier than the general public.

Luckily, it’s the era of the internet.

The celebrities’ Weibo accounts are major channels for promotion.

When Song Chi, Su Yan, and Zhou Yun, the three leading actors, simultaneously promoted it on Weibo, the topic quickly reached the trending searches with a little operation.

This isn’t surprising; many people had high expectations for this drama.

The trailer was released, maxing out the anticipation.

The fans of the three celebrities welcomed their own carnivals.

Among them, Song Chi’s fans were the happiest since they knew this drama was Song Chi’s first project as a producer, in which she invested a lot of effort. They used their power to promote it and tried their best to recommend this series to their friends.

Even though the drama hadn’t been released yet.

Because they trust Song Chi’s judgment in picking dramas.

Regarding this drama, Zhou Yun’s fans were the most calm and restrained among the fans of the three.

It’s not because her fans are more rational than others but because Zhou Yun was just a supporting actress, the second female lead, in this series. At that time, Zhou Yun had just become famous. Being able to play the second female lead in such a big production was worth celebrating and taking seriously, but now it seems somewhat insufficient for the current Zhou Yun.

If it were not for Zhou Yun’s relationship with Song Chi and her own promotion on Weibo, her fans would have been quieter.

Zhou Yun was looking forward to the airing of the drama throughout the day.

Who knew that by the afternoon, another drama also officially announced its release, set to air tonight as well.

It was a historical comedy, looking at the trailer, it was totally themed around festive joy and filled with laughs.

The main actors were Chen Jing and Fan Zhu.

In terms of celebrity power, Chen Jing and Fan Zhu couldn’t compare to the ace lineup of Song Chi, Su Yan, and Zhou Yun.

But the director of this historical comedy was Niu Tu, who, ten years ago, had created a historical comedy with a viewership rating breaking eight, and had become the top director in the domain of TV comedy series, bringing with him significant attention.

Su Yan created a WeChat group and sent a screenshot of this drama’s announcement in the group, saying: "Are they deliberately challenging us?"

"Heart Inquiry" is aired jointly by Binjiang TV Station and Yuehai Network.

"Mother and Son Inn" is set to air on Hongcheng TV and Haiyu Net.

Zhou Yun saw the message sent by Su Yan and didn’t reply, but she contacted Zhou Lan.

Zhou Lan always had more information than her.

Zhou Lan was busy at the company monitoring her drama’s promotions and press releases. The airing of a drama involved massive promotional efforts; it was like going to war.

She also saw the news about "Mother and Son Inn" being scheduled, but didn’t take it seriously.

Chen Jing was a new artist signed by Ning Yao’s agent Luo Peiyao, who had also auditioned for the male lead in an unnamed modern drama produced by VX but didn’t get the role.

Although Fan Zhu was a veteran senior, she wasn’t considered a big celebrity.

Without Niu Tu’s direction, hardly anyone would pay attention to such a TV drama.

Zhou Lan said: "’Mother and Son Inn’ comes under the historical comedy banner, which is a completely different genre from ’Heart Inquiry’. They don’t clash in terms of theme; having it as a contender might not be a bad thing for ’Heart Inquiry’; it might even generate some buzz and attract attention."

But Zhou Lan underestimated "Mother and Son Inn"’s intention.

That evening, both dramas aired simultaneously.

In a period without any blockbuster releases, "Heart Inquiry" reached a real-time rating of 0.8%, and "Mother and Son Inn" started at 0.4%. By midnight, "Heart Inquiry" had reached 100 million views on Yuehai Network, and "Mother and Son Inn" stayed at 10 million.

Comparing the two sets of data, "Heart Inquiry" unsurprisingly claimed victory.

But just then, a marketing account leaked a screenshot purportedly from a WeChat moment posted by the producer of "Mother and Son Inn".

The suspected WeChat moment from the producer of "Mother and Son Inn" read: "Some say ’Mother and Son Inn’ was completely defeated? Those who say such things really don’t understand the industry. What kind of celebrity power are we up against? Our main actors are newcomers! To achieve such results on the first day of airing, alongside a major drama like ’Heart Inquiry’, is already a great success, I even received a congratulatory letter from the head of the platform!"

This leak spread fiercely online.

Zhou Yun saw this and hadn’t even had a chance to talk to Song Chi when his phone rang.

Song Chi excused himself to the window to take the call.

Observing Song Chi’s gradually gloomy expression, Zhou Yun guessed that the caller was probably discussing this matter.

The call lasted about ten minutes before Song Chi hung up.

Zhou Yun asked, "What happened?"

Song Chi gave her a smile, shook his head, and said, "Nothing, let’s go to sleep early; I’m heading to the company."

"Going to the company this late?" Zhou Yun asked in surprise.

"There’s something I need to handle, you sleep first," Song Chi replied.

But Zhou Yun got out of bed and said, "I’ll go with you."

She quickly changed her clothes.

Song Chi looked at her in surprise.

As Zhou Yun turned around and saw Song Chi still standing there in a daze, she said directly: "Hurry and change your clothes, what are you still standing there for?"

Song Chi then snapped out of it.

The two arrived at Song Chi’s company in the middle of the night.

When they got there, Wu Chengbao was already there, talking to everyone in the meeting room.

As they walked into the meeting room, unavoidably making some noise, everyone’s attention was drawn.

Wu Chengbao paused his speech, walked over, patted Song Chi on the shoulder, then smiled at Zhou Yun, saying, "The boss lady is accompanying our boss to supervise."

This joke made everyone laugh.