“Hey! What happened to the slow motion we agreed on!”
Han Song, still frozen in the lock, finally found his voice. Caught between laughter and tears, he yelled at the audience, “This wasn't in the script! Director! Director Xu! He's ad-libbing! I want to file for worker's comp!”
At the edge of the stage, Chen Jiaming laughed so hard he almost dropped his microphone.
Shaking his head and facepalming, he thought to himself that these two jokers were truly treating the premiere like their own living room.
With a smile, Jiang Yue released his grip and patted Han Song on the shoulder to help him steady himself.
He picked up his microphone, the smile still lingering in his eyes, and offered a slightly apologetic explanation. “Sorry, Brother Han. Muscle memory. Just now, I subconsciously went with the most effortless angle.”
Han Song rubbed his wrist and complained to the entire audience with a look of tragic indignation, “You all saw that, right? This kid is pure evil! We agreed to show off together, but he ended up hogging all the cool points for himself! This is way too humiliating for a Secret Service Squad Two Captain!”
The noise from the audience threatened to boil over again.
The host quickly rushed up to smooth things over. “That was absolutely stunning! Teacher Jiang Yue, that sequence was practically art! You really have genuine martial arts skills!”
Jiang Yue shook his head, his expression earnest. “The sequence just now was essentially an application of torque, leverage, and ergonomics.”
He raised his hand to trace the path of Han Song's earlier attack.
“By assessing the direction and speed of the opponent's kinetic energy, finding the most efficient torque point, and then applying a counterforce, you can easily redirect a massive force with minimal effort.”
He paused, then added a disclaimer, “Of course, I don't recommend trying this at home. Exercising is fine, but locking up your coworkers on stage is not—especially a senior like Brother Han. Even if you do lock them up, you need to exercise restraint.”
The next second, laughter and applause erupted simultaneously throughout the venue.
What the hell kind of physics formula was that?
And locking up your coworker on stage was just too ridiculous.
A veteran entertainment reporter snapped photos while whispering in awe to a colleague nearby, “We've got today's headline. ‘Science-Geek Actor Jiang Yue Counters Han Song Live on Stage.’ This title definitely has viral potential!”
Striking while the iron was hot, the host invited the main cast members back to the front of the stage for the final segment.
They would randomly draw keywords submitted by the audience and respond to them. Only three keywords would be drawn this round.
The first keyword drawn was “overtime.”
Han Song grinned as soon as he saw it. “Who wrote this? Must have been submitted by some corporate slave, right?”
He cleared his throat, switching to Fu Xiao's sinister tone. “Overtime? There is no overtime in the Secret Service Department. If you don't finish your mission, don't bother coming back.”
The audience, mostly working-class people, let out a collective groan of deep, relatable pain.
The keyword Jiang Yue drew was “year-end bonus.”
He glanced at the slip of paper, his rogueish charm returning. “As for year-end bonuses, that depends on the ledger. Whoever holds the ledger calls the shots.”
Someone in the audience shouted, “Then who has the ledger?”
Jiang Yue lazily raised his eyes. “Well, it's definitely not in yours.”
Cheers and laughter erupted once more. Some audience members laughed so hard their stomachs ached, forcing them to clutch their bellies as they chuckled.
The final keyword was handed to Xu Pingqiu. Written on it was “Season 2.”
The atmosphere in the venue shifted instantly. The cameras in the media section snapped toward him in unison, and the fan section quieted down significantly. Everyone was waiting for his answer.
Xu Pingqiu looked at the paper, then scanned the audience. “Let's finish watching Season 1 first. If the viewership, reviews, and discussion are all good, I'll go talk to the platform about Season 2.”
The host pressed, “Director Xu, does this count as a public pledge?”
Xu Pingqiu brought the microphone closer, his tone crisp. “Count it as half of one. The other half depends on October 1st.”
Thunderous applause erupted across the venue.
The premiere drew to a close in a joyful and relaxed atmosphere.
October 1st, the first day of the National Day holiday.
The streets of Donghai City were filled with a sea of red flags, and Yuchuan Media Studio hung up a sign indicating they were closed to visitors.
Jiang Yue gave the entire staff a five-day vacation.
Jiang Kaiwen volunteered to stay behind and monitor the premiere data for 《The Hidden Sentry》, moving directly into the guest room at Jiang Yue's place.
While Donghai City seemed to have been put on slow motion, the battleground of the internet was already heating up.
At 7:30 PM, inside Jiang Yue's living room.
Jiang Kaiwen sat cross-legged on the sofa. The coffee table in front of him had been cleared to make room for two tablets and a laptop.
The tablet on the left showed the real-time trending topics on Weibo, while the one on the right displayed the real-time data dashboard provided by Penguin Video for partners. The laptop was logged into the backend of Yuchuan Media Studio's official account, ready to publish promotional materials at any moment.
“Bro, everything's ready.”
Jiang Kaiwen's voice carried a hint of excitement as he continued, “Feedback from the platform says pre-release reservations have already surpassed two million, and we're holding three trending spots. The official drama account, Penguin Video's reservation page, and our studio's Weibo have all posted watch-along previews in advance. The virtual screening page is also live, just waiting for the 8:00 PM livestream to drive traffic.”
Jiang Yue sat on the adjacent single-seater sofa, also holding a tablet.
The screen displayed the livestream schedule sent by Penguin Video.
He was dressed casually today in a loose, pure white long-sleeved T-shirt. His soft black hair fell naturally, giving him the relaxed vibe of the boy next door.
“The virtual screening is a good idea. Consider it a premiere benefit for the fans.”
Jiang Yue casually reminded him, “But don't overspend the budget. If it turns into a money-flinging contest, it won't look good if word gets out.”
After all, if the scale of a virtual screening was too massive, it could easily lead to a public consensus: that the general public didn't want to watch it on their own, and they had to rely on free memberships to “invite people to watch.” This would essentially confirm the criticism that the drama was bad and lacked organic appeal.
“Don't worry!”
Jiang Kaiwen flipped open his notebook. “Tonight at 8:00 PM, 《The Hidden Sentry》 premieres with six episodes. The platform's promotion has been coordinated. You and Teacher Chen will do a joint livestream watch-along tonight. The livestream passcode, virtual screening rules, and fan giveaways are all in the schedule. We've been warming up for three days; tonight has to be a roaring success!”
Leaning back against the sofa, Jiang Yue unlocked his phone to check Weibo.
The official account for 《The Hidden Sentry》 had posted another watch-along reminder ten minutes ago, with the retweet featuring Yuchuan Media Studio's virtual screening link.
On the poster, Zhou Jinnan held half a mandarin orange in his mouth while Lu Cheng held a teacup. Between them was a line of gilded text:
【The Secret Service Department is footing the bill tonight. Yuchuan Media Studio invites you to join the game.】
The comment section below was already buzzing, filled with uniform messages like “Thank you, Boss Jiang” and “Captain Zhou is so generous!”
At 7:50 PM, Jiang Yue entered the officially authorized Penguin Video livestream room right on time.
The screen was split into a picture-in-picture layout.
The large frame on the right showed the countdown for the upcoming episodes. The left side was split into two smaller frames: the top one featured Chen Jiaming holding a thermos of goji berry tea, and the bottom one showed Jiang Yue in his white T-shirt, his hair slightly messy.
“Good evening, Brother Chen.”
Jiang Yue waved.
“Good evening.”
Chen Jiaming leaned closer to his screen to take a look. “Your background... Are you at home?”
“Yes, I gave my staff some time off.”
Jiang Yue adjusted his camera angle. “Tonight, we'll just be ordinary viewers watching the show.”
The livestream had only been open for a short while, but the viewer count rapidly climbed into the millions.
Bullet comments flooded the screen layer upon layer.
【Ahhh! Jiang Yue in casual boyfriend style!】
【Teacher Chen's thermos—late but never absent!】
【Zhou Jinnan, are you always this clean and fresh at home!】
【Six episodes tonight! I'm fully prepared to pull an all-nighter!】
At exactly 8:00 PM, 《The Hidden Sentry》 officially launched on Penguin Video.
In the most prominent spot on the homepage, the poster read: “National Day Holiday Blockbuster: Enjoy Six Episodes on Day One!”
The first two episodes were free, while members unlocked all six.
At the same time, the main feature began right on schedule.
The opening theme was a double bass solo with a Republic of China era vibe. The visuals flashed through the gloomy, war-torn streets of Shanghai after its fall, finally settling on the gates of the Secret Service Department.
The first episode opened with zero fluff, diving straight into a scene of Fu Xiao brutally interrogating students.
With dark red blood and dim, yellowish lighting, the moment Han Song's face appeared, an overwhelming sense of sinister cruelty washed over the audience.
【Holy crap, Brother Han's gaze is insane. I dropped my snacks out of fear.】
【Captain Fu is so twisted, I love it.】
Looking at the comments scrolling across the screen, Jiang Yue couldn't help but chime in, “Don't be scared, everyone. The official account already posted a preview—Brother Han will be joining the watch-along tomorrow too.”
Rate on N.U.
