CHAPTER 394: 277 CHAPTER: IPARTMENT IS POPULAR, THE NEW ALBUM SETS SAIL

In my previous life, I’d grown accustomed to all sorts of messy affairs in the entertainment circle; I’d even witnessed them firsthand more than once.

But back then, I was one of the involved parties—no, that’s not right. I was right in the thick of it. After all, given my status, a colleague’s disgrace reflected poorly on me too.

But now, it’s different. Now I’m purely an onlooker, an absolute outsider.

Chu Tian’s interest was immediately piqued. His eyes were glued to the scene, unwilling to look away for even a second, as he thoroughly enjoyed the unfolding drama.

"You seem very engrossed."

"Ah, yes, it’s so interesting! Look, those two are about to start fighting again."

"Why is that Lin Yue always covering her face?"

"Damn, the ambulance is here already? But is it really necessary to call an ambulance for such a minor injury? Wouldn’t driving themselves be faster?"

Chu Tian couldn’t help but make running commentary as he watched, finding it even more exciting than a TV drama.

Xu Qingqiu was speechless at his side. She felt quite embarrassed and even reluctant to continue filming, while her boyfriend, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, relishing the drama more than anyone.

"You really are something else. You’re even more gossipy than the fans."

"Well, they rely on their looks to make a living. A hit like that, and who knows, her nose might be crooked now. What if someone captured that on camera? She’d be finished! Of course, she has to cover it."

"You’re saying her nose is fake?"

"It’s hardly a secret. Even her plastic surgeon has spilled the beans. Apparently, he’s a pretty famous doctor from South Korea."

Although Xu Qingqiu sounded disdainful, seeing Chu Tian so thoroughly enjoying the drama, she wasn’t idle either. In fact, she even fished out a box of fruit from somewhere and started eating and discussing it with Chu Tian.

Just as they were standing nearby and enjoying the show, Chu Tian’s phone rang.

"Hold on, Yichuan is calling me. I need to take this."

"Okay~"

Xu Qingqiu nodded indifferently, still fixated on the commotion being handled nearby.

"HMPH. Women..."

Seeing her like this, Chu Tian couldn’t help but laugh.

And here she was scolding me, yet she’s no different. Who isn’t gossipy? Enjoying a commotion is practically an instinct for all living beings.

Even ants will gather to watch their own kind fight, let alone humans.

Shaking his head, Chu Tian took his phone and walked to a secluded spot to answer the call.

"What’s up, President Hou?"

"Boss, our drama’s a hit!"

"What’s a hit?"

"The drama, ’iPartment’! Remember? It exploded! The ratings are through the roof!"

"What happened?"

Chu Tian thought he had misheard.

He pulled the phone away from his ear, glanced at the screen, and saw it was 11:12 in the morning.

This time isn’t right either.

The drama had premiered on Jiangyou TV Station just in the last few days. But it premiered during the prime-time slot, which was after 8 PM. It hadn’t been on for many days, airing only up to episode six or eight, as far as he remembered.

If it really was a hit, that should have been last night’s news. So why is he calling now?

"President Hou, are you awake? What’s going on? It’s broad daylight."

"ER..."

Hou Yichuan was rendered speechless by the remark and took a while to recover.

"No, President Chu, when you’re dishing it out, can’t you see who you’re talking to? Don’t get your friends and foes mixed up! It’s *our* TV drama that’s a hit, not someone else’s, okay?"

"Wait a minute, let me gather my thoughts. Isn’t our drama supposed to air at eight in the evening? Could it be that last night’s ratings are only being reported now?"

After hearing his question, Hou Yichuan finally realized where the misunderstanding lay and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"Boss, how long has it been since you last checked your memos?"

"What do you mean?"

"Alright, let me give you a quick rundown. The drama has been airing for five days now. On the first day, the ratings were only 0.2%, but by the second day, they had already reached 0.4%."

"So Jiangyou TV Station immediately approached us to discuss rerun rights. It wasn’t much money, but it showed they had high hopes for the series. Thus, they scheduled a rerun for 9 AM the following day."

"A couple of days ago, ’iPartment’ suddenly blew up online, especially some of its jokes. This wave of popularity quickly spread to the television station."

"Last night, the ratings had already climbed to 0.8%. This was a pleasant surprise for Jiangyou TV Station, so they proactively increased promotions. As a result, during this morning’s rerun, the ratings actually surpassed last night’s initial broadcast, reaching 1.1%!"

"1.1%, President Chu! And we’re only on the eighth episode—that’s already the benchmark for a massive hit!"

No wonder Hou Yichuan was so excited. With the widespread adoption of the internet and the rapid development of mobile internet, television viewership ratings had been steadily declining, almost to the point of losing their authority.

For the time being, they still somewhat reflected market trends, making this indicator quite important for the television stations themselves.

However, television ratings had already hit rock bottom two years prior, and it had become rare to see a drama series capture more than a 1.0% market share.

This wasn’t just the case for small television stations; even top-tier networks faced the same reality.

Yet, in such an environment, for a small, third-tier station like Jiangyou TV Station to suddenly produce a drama series with viewership breaking 1%, who wouldn’t be thrilled?

Hou Yichuan was relatively composed. Jiangyou TV Station, on the other hand, was already preparing a celebratory banquet and had even called Hou Yichuan several times, insisting on treating him to drinks.

After listening to his explanation, Chu Tian roughly understood what had happened, and a hint of embarrassment couldn’t help but show on his face.

"AHEM, AHEM. Sorry, I’ve been a bit busy lately and really haven’t had a chance to check."

Actually, it hadn’t been that long. Just a couple of days ago, he was still looking at reports and the memos his assistant had sent him.

Once things at the studio were settled, he was eager to see his girlfriend. After finally arranging matters concerning Wei Chuan, he figured there wouldn’t be much else happening in the short term.