Before the waves caused by Chu Yan the previous day could settle, the morning report emails arrived right on the dot for the start of the workday, landing in the inboxes of major film and television companies and platforms.
Kiwi Video Headquarters, Data Monitoring Center.
The Operations Director stood in front of the giant screen, staring at the curve that had been climbing since the early hours of the morning. His coffee cup was raised halfway, frozen in midair.
“Is this data correct? It only premiered yesterday. How is the active user count during today's morning peak higher than yesterday's evening peak?”
The data analyst switched the traffic source to the main screen. With a swipe of his finger on the touchpad, the entry data for Episode 3 was magnified.
“The data is correct, Director. The proportion of newly registered users has shot up, and the rate of users purchasing memberships immediately after entering the site is also very high. The vast majority of the traffic is pointing directly to Episode 3.”
The director placed his coffee cup back on the desk, the bottom of the cup making a sharp thud.
“The episode where Chu Yan makes his entrance?”
“Yes.”
The data analyst dragged another curve onto the main screen. “The single-character poster resource allocation last night was originally calculated at 15%.”
The Operations Director saw the number that followed, his coffee cup freezing in midair again. “How much is it now?”
“42%.”
The director ran his tongue over his back teeth, only speaking after a long silence.
“Hiss, this kid is something else.”
He leaned down, picked up the walkie-talkie on the desk, and spoke much faster than before.
“Adjust our strategy immediately. Max out all promotional slots for 《The Grand Game》. Replace the main homepage carousel with that GIF of Chu Yan drinking in the snow, and plaster it on the APP's splash screen as well.”
The curve on the screen was still climbing. As he watched the constantly refreshing data, the coffee in his cup went completely cold.
“Whoever can bring in traffic is the platform's favorite son.”
Half an hour later, at the mid-mountain villa in Shancheng.
Jiang Yue's scenes for the day were scheduled for later, so he had just brought a cup of black coffee out of the kitchen when Jiang Kaiwen sprang up from the sofa holding his phone, his slippers squeaking noisily against the floor.
“Third Brother, it blew up.”
Jiang Yue tilted his head, looking thoroughly puzzled.
“Be specific.”
Jiang Kaiwen held the phone screen up to his eyes.
“Kiwi Video's in-app popularity score broke 8,500 last night. The effective views of the first four episodes directly claimed the number one spot for the same period. And look at this—look at your data.”
On the screen was a battle report compiled by Yuchuan Media Studio using public charts, in-app popularity, and visible data from various platforms.
For this very task, Su Qing and Chen Fei back in Donghai City had stayed up for half the night.
Jiang Kaiwen read faster and faster.
“Douyin views have surpassed ten million, Bilibili is completely flooded with your video compilations, and your Weibo followers grew by four hundred thousand overnight.”
He scrolled down with his finger. “Most importantly, do you remember the single-character poster resource slot you won during the livestream?”
Jiang Yue understood now. “They posted it?”
“More than just posted! Kiwi Video put your poster directly on the APP's splash screen recommendation.”
Jiang Kaiwen said excitedly, “Their internal team must have checked the backend data. The online user count surged the fastest during the episode where Chu Yan appeared. The discussion volume for your character alone is almost catching up to the male lead, Zhao Songcheng.”
This was within Jiang Yue's expectations. Video platforms were highly pragmatic; whoever could retain viewers and drive clicks would have resources showered upon them.
《The Grand Game》 had superb production quality, and Chu Yan's character, who played dumb in the early stages and had a massive contrast, happened to hit the sweet spot for many viewers.
At the same time, in Changning District, Donghai City, at Yuchuan Media Studio.
Chen Fei sat in front of the computer with dark circles under his eyes. The iced coffee by his side was already empty, and the timeline of his editing software was densely packed with clips of Chu Yan's appearances.
He deleted the last transition, leaving only the original footage and original audio for the entire video.
A carriage in the snow, a drunken gaze.
Su Qing stood behind him with a cup of hot water. After watching it once, she nodded.
“This is the one.”
Chen Fei stretched his aching wrists and clicked the publish button.
“Got it.”
As the notification for a successful upload popped up, he leaned back in his chair. His voice was incredibly hoarse, but his words were full of chuunibyou flair.
“What do you call this? This is the supreme emperor suppressing the current era—raw footage directly exported, zero-frame startup!”
Su Qing glanced at him and placed a preliminary commercial screening form on the edge of the desk.
“Once you're done suppressing the current era, read these eight emails and help me do a preliminary screening of their qualifications.”
The joy on Chen Fei's face cracked. “Sister Qing, even the donkey in a production team gets to eat some grass, right?”
Su Qing placed the cup of hot water in front of him.
“Drink some water.”
Chen Fei looked at the steaming hot water and shook his head helplessly.
“As expected, every act of kindness comes with a price tag.”
Meanwhile, in the marketing department of Jiuhe Pharmaceutical.
Old Liu sat at the head of the conference table. Staring at the hot search terms on the screen, he held his teacup without drinking, grinning so wide his mouth could barely close.
#TheGrandGamePremiere#
#ChuYansDivineEntrance#
#JiangYueInAncientGarb#
Several hashtags were pinned near the top of the list, and their popularity was still climbing.
The assistant handed over the advertisement scheduling sheet, his voice carrying a distinct note of joy.
“Mr. Liu, deciding to have Jiang Yue shoot the mid-roll ad back then was truly a stroke of genius.”
Only then did Old Liu take a sip of tea, in no rush to reply.
Everyone in the marketing department stared at him, waiting to hear their boss recount how far-sighted he had been back then.
Old Liu put down his cup, remaining modest outwardly while keeping his sense of achievement hidden.
“It's just that this young man has great likability among the general public.”
The assistant flipped to the next page. “The mid-roll ad will go online tonight in the middle of Episode 7.”
Old Liu looked at the placement slot, his smile deepening.
“Then let's see if the audience buys it.”
At 7:00 p.m., Episode 7 of 《The Grand Game》 was updated right on time.
Countless viewers waited eagerly in front of their screens, and the bullet comments instantly grew into a thick layer as soon as the episode started.
The plot progressed to the tightening of the court's hidden threads. Chu Yan was set up and drenched in ice-cold water. Though he appeared to be in a wretched state on the surface, he actually used the opportunity of changing clothes to send out intelligence.
He sat under the corridor with his eyes downcast, wet hair clinging to the side of his neck. His fingertips pinched the jade clasp that hid the letter, while a hint of the typical playboy's carelessness still lingered on his lips.
Bullet comments were flying across the screen.
【Ugh, the heir is so pitiful. Who else understands the sheer grievance of having to play a useless fool?】
【He clearly planned everything out, yet he still has to endure being humiliated as a good-for-nothing. If you're going to break my heart, don't use Chu Yan to do it!】
【Don't cry yet, guys! I feel like he's going to outmaneuver everyone in the next second!】
Just when the audience's emotions were drawn to their absolute limit, the scene cut.
It was the hostage prince's residence, and he was wearing the same deep purple robe.
Chu Yan sat before a chessboard, placing a stone with a cold expression. Outside the window, the night wind swayed the lamplight, while a fierce battle of black and white raged on the board.
The next moment, two masked assassins crashed through the window, resting their cold blades against his neck.
The audience had just held their breath in suspense.
Chu Yan's brow furrowed, his nostrils twitching slightly.
“Achoo!”
This sneeze was earth-shattering, causing even the assassins' blades to tremble.
A massive crowd of people in front of their screens was utterly dumbfounded.
Chu Yan took out a red paper packet from his sleeve. His movements were slow and deliberate as he poured water, dissolved it, and drank it down. The entire sequence was incredibly smooth, but no matter how one looked at it, this plot point left everyone completely baffled.
When he raised his eyes again, his face was still cold.
“Schemes never stop, so prevent colds early.”
The two assassins' hands holding the blades were still suspended in midair, utterly silenced by this sequence of events.
Chu Yan looked at one of the assassins whose hand was shaking, raising an eyebrow.
“The night wind is strong. Look at how your hand is shaking. Take it according to the instructions. How about a packet for each of you too?”
The bullet comments went blank for two seconds.
The next second, the entire screen was filled with "hahahaha".
【Hahahahaha, this is insane! I was just about to cry, and you shove 999 Cold Relief Powder in my face?】
【Assassins: Where's my sword? What did I come here for? Why on earth am I listening to his sales pitch, hey!】
【Help, how can he sell cold medicine with the aura of someone plotting to usurp the throne!】
【Guaranteed mid-roll ad of the year! The advertisers are going to wake up laughing in their sleep tonight, hahaha!】
【999 Cold Relief Powder—even my imperial assassins say it's good.】
In the marketing department of Jiuhe Pharmaceutical, the assistant watched the real-time comment section, the pen in his hand dropping onto the desk with a clatter.
Old Liu stared at the soaring search index on the backend. He raised his hand to fake a cough, but in reality, he was hiding the upward curve of his lips.
“This ad is a hit.”
Rate on N.U.
