Chapter 143: Subsequent Changes in Popularity

Chapter 143

This data really surprised Sangzi.

It's not 7000+, not 8000+, but it actually has over 9500 views.

How popular was the premiere of "Major Cases"?

In my hometown, it doesn't seem to be as important as the "Mandala".

The key point is that "Mandala" was broadcast on the same day as the behemoth "Moon Shadow Starfish".

The impact of "Moon Shadow Starfish" was reflected in other dramas. On this day, apart from "Mandala", only one other drama had a popularity score of over 8,000.

Sang Zi clenched her fist gently.

She then searched for the live updates of "Mandala" and, sure enough, marketing accounts had already published yesterday's popularity rankings. On the hot search list, "Moon Shadow Starfish" had become a huge hit during its premiere and was already ranked third.

In conclusion, the momentum of "Moonlight Starfish" is indeed unstoppable.

However, many netizens also noticed "Mandala".

"This movie's popularity has actually reached 9500?"

"That's pretty impressive, Lin Yuan."

"If it weren't for 'Moon Shadow Starfish' being released at the same time, 'Mandala' would have been worth a major marketing campaign. Unfortunately, it was unlucky to run into 'Moon Shadow Starfish'."

"Lin Yuan has been quite popular these past few years, okay? An actor who has starred in hit dramas can't possibly have no presence in his new works. I just don't know how long this data can be maintained. Relying on fans won't work; he has to attract casual viewers."

Sang Zi: "..."

Next, it was time for her familiar segment of criticizing others.

In short, the quality of "Mandala" is still unknown. If the quality cannot be maintained, the market is destined to be drained by "Moon Shadow Starfish".

This is what happens when a show airs at the same time as a blockbuster.

The casual audience for "Moon Shadow Starfish" is huge, with far too many viewers having read the original work. In addition, the first two episodes of "Moon Shadow Starfish" have excellent visuals, pacing, and plot. Under these circumstances, unless "Mandala" has a significant advantage, viewers will eventually be drawn to "Moon Shadow Starfish".

This statement is objective, but Sangzi still felt subtly uncomfortable.

Although the popularity of "Mandala" exceeding 9,500 has exceeded her expectations, in her opinion, the quality of "Mandala" is no less than that of "Moon Shadow Starfish". If only quality is considered, the two would not have such a large difference in popularity.

The Mandala is already amazing, okay?

Sangzi posted several pictures on her homepage to promote "Mandala". She felt that as long as "Mandala" maintained its current pace, its popularity would definitely continue to rise. Although Sangzi could still see some pessimists saying that the popularity of "Mandala" would drop in the next episode.

Clicking into the pages of those comments, Sangzi could clearly see whose fans they were.

What Sangzi finds most frustrating is that most of the celebrities who battled Lin Yuan have gradually faded into obscurity. Even someone as resilient as Geng Yue couldn't withstand such a massive drain on his health, yet his fans chose to blame Lin Yuan.

They never considered that if their idol had a slightly better character, honed their acting skills a little, and hadn't spent their energy belittling competitors, the outcome would have been very different.

Instead, they always thought it was Lin Yuan's fault.

In terms of exposure, Lin Yuan is the celebrity with the lowest appearance frequency that Sang Zi has ever seen. Even compared with celebrities in the industry who are known for being aloof and unassuming, Lin Yuan appears on the trending topics list even less often.

His trending topics are entirely supported by his awards and works. Before and after the Golden Wing Awards, Lin Yuan did trend on social media a few times, but that was entirely because he was cast as the male lead in director Ren Maoxing's film.

Lin Yuan never trends on random, irrelevant topics.

In Sang Zi's opinion, the reason why Lin Yuan keeps getting on the trending topics is because he has not yet reached the peak.

As a fan, Sangzi was tired of the constant pessimism about Lin Yuan online. She only hoped that Lin Yuan would become more famous and reach the peak, where no one could defeat him.

Lin Yuan's choice to let his work speak for itself doesn't mean his fans have no complaints!

angry!

Sangzi can only hope that the next episode of "Mandala" will be even better and that its popularity will rise further.

Although this is not easy.

However, both "The Powerful Minister" and "Major Cases" had much more difficult beginnings than "Mandala".

...

The latest episode of "Mandala" aired that evening, and Sangzi sat down in front of her tablet right on time.

Yesterday, someone in the live chat said that the person who hurt Han Shen was a lawyer, and that Han Shen shouldn't have targeted the lawyer's son, hurting innocent people, and so on.

Sangzi just wants the saint to get out of the comments section.

If we're talking about innocence, aren't the Han siblings even more innocent? The murderer and the lawyer didn't consider the Han siblings' situation when they colluded.

Today, the Mandala tells the story of how a lawyer's son abuses his position to commit evil.

"Mandala" is fast-paced and doesn't shy away from portraying the villains. The lawyer's son has made so many mistakes, yet he always manages to escape punishment by taking advantage of his father's and the murderer's status.

He didn't consider the girl's parents when he hurt her.

Even if he didn't participate in the murder of Han's parents, he still enjoyed the wealth and status that comes with being a lawyer. In essence, he was an accomplice of the murderer and was not innocent at all. Besides, he was a rotten person at heart.

After this scene aired, Sang Zi felt incredibly angry, wishing she could grab a knife and chop it into the screen to vent her frustration.

However, in this part, "Mandala" suppressed the audience's emotions. Sang Zi had been holding back for so long that she could no longer contain herself, and the revenge was just beginning.

"Aaaaaaah, it's starting!!"

"So awesome—Han Shen, a true god! This is how he's designed, it's so cool!!"

The audience's emotions had been suppressed to the extreme, and at this moment, the people who had been induced by Han Shen took action.

The entire revenge process was bloody and violent, and the "Mandala" production team did not hold back at all, presenting this scene to the audience in its entirety.

Compared to the status that lawyers hold, those who have been harmed are just a group of powerless ordinary people. They have waited for this opportunity for a long time and felt frustrated for a long time. Finally, it has come.

Ordinary people, under certain circumstances, can also transform into devils.

Fresh tears welled in her eyes; the thrill of revenge overwhelmed her reason. Watching this scene, Sang Zi's emotions were also stirred, and she felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

If Han Shen had done it himself, Sang Zi wouldn't have felt it so strongly. The "Mandala" production team deliberately chose to have a group of people do it together.

She understood all too well the anger that ordinary people accumulate.

If she were in the same situation, given a chance, she would definitely act without hesitation, even if it meant going to hell.

Completely swift and unburdened by emotions, this is the most straightforward form of revenge.

The lawyer's son himself caused this group of avengers to become so ruthless.

Their grievances cannot be appealed, and the perpetrators can mock the victims with impunity. Day after day, year after year, this kind of life makes it easy for the strings of reason to snap.

When the lawyer found his son, he only saw a corpse. Everything had been cleaned up, and a figure was waiting to turn himself in.

But now, the injustice suffered by the person who surrendered has been exposed online, and the evil deeds committed by the lawyer's son have also been clearly revealed. Netizens are cheering for the person who surrendered, donating money to him, and taking every possible means to reduce his punishment.

Inciting public opinion used to be one of the lawyer's specialties.

But when it all happens to you, it's not so pleasant.

The lawyer breaks down, the lawyer is desperate, but the more pain he shows, the more the audience can feel the satisfaction of revenge.

"A thousand words can be summed up in two: Serves you right!"

"What do you mean he deserves it?!"

When the lawyer felt isolated and helpless and was on the verge of collapse, Han Shen happened to appear and offered him help.

Every time Han Shen appears in a suit, Sang Zi can't help but scream – since the premiere of "Mandala", Lin Yuan has never worn the same suit twice; every single one is brand new.

Suits are inherently a way to enhance one's appearance, and Lin Yuan, who is already quite handsome, exudes an even more mature and charming aura when dressed in a suit.

GVM is so lucky to have Lin Yuan as their spokesperson.

If the popularity of "Mandala" rises a bit more, GVM will definitely sell like hotcakes.

When Han Shen appears as an avenger, he always has a pair of eyes that seem to be smiling but not smiling. The camera seems to favor these eyes, always giving them close-ups. Sang Zi thinks that they are not only beautiful, but also seem to contain a lot of gentleness. But once she thinks about what Han Shen has gone through, she knows that this gentleness is just an illusion.

He has sold his entire future to revenge; how could tenderness possibly exist in him?

Before she knew it, Sangzi had finished watching two more episodes of "Mandala".

She repeatedly dragged the progress bar, a blank look on her face.

How can time pass so quickly?

She didn't feel anything at all, so how did "Mandala" finish airing?

When Sangzi used to watch dramas, she always felt that the plot was unbearably slow. Even watching at double speed was too slow for her. To be precise, it was wordy. The characters kept repeating the same things, but the plot didn't have many twists and turns.

The amount of information in "Mandala" is more than enough, with ample plot in two episodes. Most importantly, revenge is taken decisively and without any unnecessary delays, leaving the audience feeling completely undone.

nice! ! !

Does the production team dare to air 10 episodes a day?!

That's simply not enough.

Sangzi didn't watch "Moon Shadow Starfish" today. I'm sorry, she's a petty person. "Moon Shadow Starfish" didn't actively try to discredit "Mandala," but it didn't stop a group of people from using "Moon Shadow Starfish" to discredit "Mandala."

She contributed to the 13,000+ views of "Moonlight Starfish," so Sangzi decided that she would not contribute to that view today.

"Mandala" is still good. The pacing is similar to "Major Cases". "Major Cases" has several episodes for each case, with investigation, solving, and revelations crammed full of information, so the audience only feels fulfilled.

The revenge in "Mandala" is clearly a series of interconnected events, starting with dealing with minor bosses and then gradually transitioning to the major boss.

...

After watching the two episodes today, Sangzi searched for "Mandala" online and found that there were more and more discussions about the show.

Some netizens even edited together the revenge scenes from "Mandala," showcasing the classic satisfying drama formula of suppression, explosion, and climax.

"Mandala" is not just mindless entertainment. Although it is not as rigorous in details as a crime drama, it can still stand up to scrutiny.

While searching for real-time updates, Sangzi couldn't help but wonder if the popularity of "Mandala" would rise tomorrow.

She really hopes that "Mandala" will be seen by more audiences.

Tonight's trending topics are still mainly about "Moon Shadow Starfish". The new episode of "Moon Shadow Starfish" has also received good reviews, with no particularly harsh comments. In short, both the public and the media believe that "Moon Shadow Starfish" is destined to be a hit.

Other dramas airing at the same time as "Moon Shadow Starfish" could only be relegated to being its supporting roles.

Sang Zi rarely visited gossip forums; she hadn't browsed them in a long time. Usually, she would only come to the forum to find like-minded people when Lin Yuan had a new work released.

Sure enough, the tone of gossip forums was similar to that of Weibo—

"Objectively speaking, 'Mandala' is quite good, it's just unlucky that it was released at the same time as 'Moon Shadow Starfish'."

"+1, I prefer the 'Mandala' version."

"How about we do a survey? Will the popularity of 'Mandala' break 9500 tomorrow, or drop below 9500? Let's take a gamble?"

Then netizens started a call for predictions on the popularity of "Mandala", and it appeared on the homepage of Sangzi.

She decisively voted for "break 9500", and after a while she checked again, she found that more netizens thought the popularity of "Mandala" would decline, and the ratio of the two was an astonishing 2 to 8.

"Speaking of which, Lin Yuan's luck is quite bad. If he hadn't made an enemy of Xu Lijia, he might have won the Golden Wing Award for Best Supporting Actor this year. Now is the time for him to prove his worth, but 'Mandala' has run into 'Moon Shadow Starfish'."

"It's all predetermined. There's no reason for Lin Yuan to stay popular forever. 'Major Cases' was so long ago. Do you really think the audience of that show would wait for him until now? The popular actors in the drama industry have all changed."

"+1, Lin Yuan prides himself on taking the quality route, making other actors seem like fast-moving consumer goods. We're all in the entertainment industry, who's more noble than whom? At least they have proper formal training, unlike him, a washed-up idol, and he still acts like he looks down on everyone. It's hilarious."

Sang Zi took a deep breath and managed to stop herself from swearing.

What exactly did Lin Yuan do that made him look down on people?

But she couldn't help herself and replied to the post: "So does that mean someone with formal training is necessarily a better actor than Lin Yuan?"

"As far as I know, Pan Jun is the only young actor with formal training who has won the Golden Wing Award, but Pan Jun's Golden Wing Award... well, it's quite prestigious."

Sangzi's provocative post immediately sparked a world war.

The comments section below the post was filled with arguments, with some even confidently declaring that the popularity of "Mandala" would inevitably drop below 8,000 tomorrow.

Sang Zi: "..."

Everyone knows that's impossible.

This shows that the fact that the actors with formal training are not as good as Lin Yuan in acting skills has indeed broken the defenses of the fans of several formally trained actors.

During this period, "Moon Shadow Starfish" was clearly the most popular, crushing all the new dramas. However, the two main actors of "Moon Shadow Starfish" had no rivals and did not follow the traffic route. On the contrary, "Mandala" was ridiculed the most. Everyone wanted to suppress Lin Yuan's popularity.

...

The next morning, before the previous day's drama popularity chart was even released, the predictions of forum users were the first to trend on social media.

Marketing accounts, eager to stir up trouble, brought up netizens' polls—"Mandala is in danger! Over 8,000 netizens believe its popularity is declining, compared to only 2,000 who believe it's rising..."

"It seems that the audience is not very optimistic about 'Mandala'."

The hashtag #AudiencesDontLike" quickly rose to the top of the trending searches, its rise was too fast and did not match the level of discussion. The crew of "Mandala" couldn't help but wonder which company bought this negative trending search.

Although the outside world was not optimistic about "Mandala", the crew members were quite calm. Lin Yuan had already adapted to this situation, while others, such as Shi Ran who played Han Wen, truly felt the popularity brought by "Mandala".

Her Weibo followers have increased.

On the day "Mandala" premiered, she gained 50,000 followers on Weibo, and the next day, the increase even accelerated, from 50,000 followers per day to 100,000 followers per day.

Shi Ran has acted in several dramas, and "Mandala" is the one that has gained her the most fans. Her character Han Wen has far fewer scenes in the drama than Han Shen, but her fan base has grown so much. This is probably because her character has a strong presence. However, Shi Ran also feels that this should also mean that the audience of "Mandala" is much larger than she imagined.

It's impossible that the show had no viewership, yet she inexplicably gained followers here.

Thinking of this, Shi Ran felt a little embarrassed. "Mandala" had been airing for two days, and Lin Yuan had been the one bearing all the brunt of the controversy, while she was the one enjoying the good thing of gaining followers.

As a result, Lin Yuan told her in a serious tone that, at times, gaining followers is not a good thing.

Shi Ran nodded gently: "I understand."

Lin Yuan is in the eye of the storm because someone wants to suppress his influence.

It's said that the dramas "The Powerful Minister" and "Major Cases" were produced a long time ago, but looking at the entire entertainment industry, there are very few male stars who have starred in two hit dramas.

Moreover, many celebrities experience a sudden surge in popularity only to suffer a major setback, but Lin Yuan has maintained a steady and solid career, achieving popularity beyond expectations.

Shi Ran recalled a popular comment she had recently come across regarding the negative reception of "Mandala." The comment essentially said that while everyone criticizing Lin Yuan was mocking him, they all secretly hoped their idol would become like Lin Yuan.

If Lin Yuan's achievements were compared to those of male celebrities of similar age, his fans would have already been praising him to the skies.

...

Once 10 o'clock had passed, the daily TV series popularity chart was officially released.

Because "Moon Shadow Starfish" generated unimaginable buzz on its first day, recently not only fans of the show's main actors but also marketing accounts have been paying close attention to the popularity of various dramas.

With the addition of "Mandala" sparking discussion, marketing accounts were already waiting for the trending topic to emerge before 10 a.m.

The popularity of "Moon Shadow Starfish" is likely to drop, a prediction made by many marketing accounts. Although the premiere attracted a lot of viewers, many of them were fans of the original work who were just there for the spectacle.

If "Moon Shadow Starfish" can maintain its high quality, its popularity, which has fallen, will gradually rise again, as viewers still value the reputation of the series.

At this moment, "Moon Shadow Starfish" is still number one on the popularity chart, with a total popularity score of 12,600.

The number of views dropped by more than 1,000, but the overall popularity is still remarkable, which is quite a good result.

The second place remains "Mandala," a ranking that netizens had already anticipated.

But the problem is, the numbers that follow the mandala...

Something's not right, something's very wrong.

"???"

"I suspect I'm seeing things. This shouldn't be happening, 'Mandala'."

The popularity number following "Mandala" is a staggering 10386.

Many netizens watched it again and again before they were sure they hadn't misread it.

"But how could that be?"

"It's broken 10,000! Wow, Mandala is amazing!!!"

Many marketing accounts had previously predicted that the popularity of "Mandala" would be around 9,000.

As a result, within just a few minutes, the popularity of "Mandala" reached over 10,000.

The popularity index increased by about 800 compared to the previous day. For a new drama, this level of popularity has reached the threshold of becoming popular. If the subsequent performance is good, there is a high possibility that it will become a minor hit.

With "Moon Shadow Starfish" as a competitor, the fact that "Mandala" has achieved such popularity can only mean one thing—a high audience retention rate.

In other words, the vast majority of viewers who watched the first two episodes of "Mandala" stayed to continue watching the rest of the series.

Many new viewers have also joined the ranks of "Mandala".

Marketing accounts continued scrolling back, only to discover at this point that although many netizens believed that "Mandala" would be at a disadvantage in the competition with "Moon Shadow Starfish".

Surprisingly, not a single one of these netizens who posted about "Mandala" criticized its poor quality.

Many people even felt sorry for "Mandala" because if it had been released in a different time slot, it would likely have become the most popular film.

But now, the popularity of "Mandala" has exceeded 10,000.

Apart from "Moon Shadow Starfish" and "Mandala", there are no other dramas on the list with a popularity score exceeding 8000.

The initial advantage of "Moon Shadow Starfish" was much greater than that of "Mandala", but even with such a premise, "Mandala" still had a popularity of over 10,000.

Based on yesterday's data, "Mandala" indeed has no chance of surpassing "Moon Shadow Starfish".

Looking at today's data, however, things are not so clear.

"Lin Yuan is a man who creates miracles."

"Suddenly I feel... the popularity of Lin Yuan's starring dramas is truly a mystery."

"+1+1".

With the onslaught of "Moon Shadow Starfish," few people are optimistic about "Mandala." If "Mandala" experiences a drop in popularity as expected, viewers will not show much interest in it.

But the popularity of "Mandala" has unexpectedly increased.

A quick search for "Mandala" reveals the protagonist's suit-wearing scenes, the atmosphere of revenge building, the fast-paced and ruthless rhythm, and the inclusion of heartwarming moments—all the hallmarks of a popular drama.

In addition, Lin Yuan already had two hit dramas, "Major Cases" and "The Powerful Minister," and his reputation has never been bad. Even though these two dramas were "a long time ago," Lin Yuan is still alive and still making dramas.

Viewers will at least turn on "Mandala" and watch one or two episodes to give their opinions.

Once the evaluation started, it just wouldn't stop.

"The Mandala is actually more beautiful than I expected."

"I watched four episodes straight, sacrificing my precious lunch break. I won't stop until I see the revenge scene."

"How does it compare to 'Moonlight Starfish'?"

"They're not the same genre, so there's no need to compare them. However, 'Mandala' is indeed faster-paced than 'Moon Shadow Starfish,' has its exciting moments, and the character portrayals are quite good. The protagonist isn't a saint; he's quite cunning."

The Mandala thus attracted a wider audience!

On this day, details related to "Mandala" also began to gradually appear on trending searches.

Whether it's the Han siblings whose parents were murdered, the unspoken understanding between them, or Han Shen's strategic planning... all these elements have become points of interest in "Mandala".

For new viewers—

"Does Lin Yuan look like this?"

Fans, represented by Sang Zi, were like this: "?"

What would Lin Yuan look like if he didn't look like this? Since they met Lin Yuan, he has always looked like this. He has never had plastic surgery and has always had his original face.

Other celebrities at least show signs of minor cosmetic procedures, but Lin Yuan's... the traces of these procedures aren't very obvious.

Then, Sangzi understood why the new viewers had asked the question.

This viewer quietly shared Lin Yuan's latest airport photo.

That's right, it's the airport photo from the day "Mandala" premiered.

Lin Yuan looked exceptionally haggard in the photo, his skin dry and wrinkled. He had probably rushed to catch a flight, so he wasn't wearing makeup, though he had shaved and his hair was...

never mind.

In short, Lin Yuan will probably look like this in ten or twenty years.

However, for new viewers, Lin Yuan looks like he's just a regular airport.

However, he presents a completely different image in "Mandala," and the contrast between the two can only be described as tragic.

Sang Zi rubbed her temples—did Lin Yuan even know that her new look was slightly unattractive?

How can this image attract new fans?

Although Sang Zi knew very well that Lin Yuan himself probably didn't care at all, because that's just how he is.

For now, the only option is to have Lin Yuan play more handsome men.

If the character is handsome, Lin Yuan was handsome at that stage; if the character is ugly, fans will only see an ugly Lin Yuan for a considerable period of time.

Sang Zi strongly suspects that Lin Yuan no longer has any fans who admire his looks.

Lin Yuan himself also caught a glimpse of the comparison picture posted by that viewer.

That's not the point. The point is—another netizen in the comments section said that the Lin Yuan in the airport version is a rat, while the Lin Yuan in "Mandala" is a kangaroo.

The kangaroo has fewer clothes than the kangaroo, so the airport version of Lin Yuan is a naked Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan: "..."

Let's say something positive.

He didn't quite understand this logic.

In short, it wasn't anything nice to hear, and he didn't want to listen.

The fact that netizens are discussing him means that the popularity of "Mandala" has indeed increased, and Lin Yuan himself has gained a lot of followers on Weibo. However, "Mandala" has not yet achieved the same momentum as "Moon Shadow Starfish".

The main creators of the production team were already quite satisfied.

The fact that "Mandala" achieved such popularity in competition with "Moon Shadow Starfish" was something no one expected before the series premiered.

AIR Video did not anticipate this.

When AIR Video acquired "Mandala," they were drawn to Lin Yuan's influence. However, the platform also understood that no matter how widespread Lin Yuan's influence was, it couldn't compare to the generations of readers accumulated by "Moon Shadow Starfish."

However, for "Mandala", the popularity of "Moon Shadow Starfish" reaching 12,000+ is not far away.

AIR Video is not aiming to surpass "Moon Shadow Starfish," and it is acceptable for the two shows to share popularity.

Of course, the production team of "Moon Shadow Starfish" may not accept this outcome.

The production cost of "Moon Shadow Starfish" has not been disclosed. AIR Video has made a simple speculation that, including production costs and promotion expenses, the investment in "Moon Shadow Starfish" is probably more than five times that of "Mandala".

The popularity of "Mandala" quickly surpassed 10,000 views, making the investment in the "Moon Shadow Starfish" production team seem somewhat wasted.

...

On the third day of airing, the gap in popularity between the two dramas narrowed further.

The popularity of "Mandala" is approaching 11,000, while "Moon Shadow Starfish" is still maintaining a level of 12,000+, but it seems that it will still be difficult to rise to 13,000+.

All the voices criticizing "Mandala" have now fallen silent.

What can they say? Does a drama series with over 10,000 views have even the slightest connection to the word "flop"?

Moreover, as the plot unfolds, viewers are discussing "Mandala" more and more.

In some ways, it generated just as much discussion as "Moon Shadow Starfish".

After all, the story of "Moon Shadow Starfish" is familiar to the audience, but "Mandala" is completely unfamiliar.

At first, the plot of "Mandala" only made the audience feel excited, but as the story progressed, everything Han Shen sacrificed for revenge was gradually revealed to the audience.

Why does this feeling of pleasure occur?

Because Han Shen staked his entire life on it.

He survived because of this belief, but will he be able to live a happy life because of it?

The answer is clearly no.

But any viewer who has seen "Mandala" will not dislike Han Shen.

Han Shen's vengeance deepened, but everyone could see that he was drifting further and further away from happiness.

He even... actively pushed away this happiness.

"Mandala" is fast-paced, and in parallel with the revenge plot, Han Shen's love suddenly comes into play.

In other dramas, the combination of revenge and love always makes the audience think of bad things. The protagonist's revenge is either disrupted or the protagonist's relatives or lover die because of the delay caused by love.

But when it comes to Han Shen, many viewers hope that he can find love.

Han Shen allowed his sister to be happy, to live an ordinary and peaceful life, and to escape the world of revenge, but he himself was drawn closer to her.

Han Shen's life was already shrouded in darkness.

Sangzi didn't even dare to watch this part.

Han Shen may have been mentally prepared, but she wasn't.

Sang Zi eventually watched it, and she even relived the scene of Han Shen shedding tears several times.

The comments section was filled with heartbroken voices.

Han Shen allowed himself to gradually descend into darkness, allowing himself to be assimilated. Everyone knew that he would never turn back.

This scene touched Sangzi because both Han Shen and the girl who liked him were sincere.

Han Shen couldn't show his ambiguous smile in front of the girl because he had given his heart. In front of her, his emotions were genuine, and he could reveal his true self.

At other times, he was just pretending.

Sang Zi found this kind of plot particularly unacceptable.

The reason I watched it so many times is because Lin Yuan in the scene was so heartbreaking.

Han Shen rarely shows his vulnerable side, and this vulnerability is different from that of Shao Jing, who is also portrayed by Lin Yuan.

It's like a gemstone placed right in front of you, only to be suddenly shattered.

Han Shen originally possessed this gem, but he smashed it himself.

He has given his entire life; he has no future.

All Sang Zi can say is that "Mandala" is really enjoyable when it's exciting, but when it breaks the hearts of the audience, the screenwriter doesn't hold back at all.

Sangzi watched this episode repeatedly.

In her opinion, Lin Yuan's performance in this episode absolutely deserves a Tung Blossom Award; he's such a great actor.

Sang Zi no longer cares about things like "Moon Shadow Starfish" or popularity rankings; all she wants is for Han Shen to be happier.

If "Mandala" only had sweet romance, she might not have been so impressed. Unfortunately, Han Shen gave up on love.

"Have some decency!!!"

"Aaaaaaah! I don't like interfering with the main characters' love, but here, they're both so good together, can't they just be together?"

"How did it suddenly become so tragic?! I want to ask, does the screenwriter do justice to us, the audience, by writing this kind of plot?"

The comment section of the official Weibo account for "Mandala" has been flooded with comments.

Marketing accounts quickly reposted the story, claiming that the latest plot of "Mandala" had caused dissatisfaction among viewers.

Then the pessimists reappeared, saying that "Mandala" has finally been exposed for what it really is.

Then, the latest episode of "Mandala," which "revealed its true colors" and "aroused audience dissatisfaction," has a popularity score of 12566.

Netizens: "..."

Why is it not quite what I imagined?

At this point, "Mandala" quietly climbed to the top of the TV series popularity chart, marking its first time doing so.

"Moon Shadow Starfish" is also quite popular, consistently ranking above 10,000 views. However, compared to "Mandala", its pacing is too smooth, lacking some dramatic twists and turns.

Besides, although "Moon Shadow Starfish" tells a story of a regretful love between the protagonists, the original work is from 70 or 80 years ago, and the views on love at that time are different from those now.

Zou Yueying and Gu Haixing's regret lies in the various missed opportunities, while Han Shen's regret lies in his voluntary giving up.

The fact that he voluntarily gave up was even more shocking to the audience. By the time this episode aired, the audience even felt Han Shen's heroic sacrifice.

Missing out is a gradual process, while giving up is a decisive act that pushes happiness further away.

"Moon Shadow Starfish" spent several episodes depicting this missed opportunity, allowing the audience's emotions to build up little by little without ever reaching their peak.

"Mandala" suddenly evoked all the audience's emotions, only to explode just as suddenly.

To some extent, the audience's expectations for "Moon Shadow Starfish" were 100 points, but the current version of "Moon Shadow Starfish" has only achieved 80 points. On the other hand, the audience's initial expectations for "Mandala" were not high, but "Mandala" has achieved 90 points.

As "Moon Shadow Starfish" has been airing, problems have gradually emerged.

Admittedly, it is still a high-quality drama, and both Zhuo Yuan and Zhong Jiangyu are very talented. However, because the drama has a long timeline, Zhong Jiangyu could only make some choices in terms of national sentiment and personal feelings during the adaptation. He focused on the love part, so for the audience who were looking forward to "Moon Shadow Starfish" portraying the war-torn era, this drama could not meet their expectations.

Audiences have limited patience.

From Lin Yuan's own perspective, the visuals of "Mandala" are not as good as those of "Moon Shadow Starfish". Considering the length and the points that would stimulate the audience, the director also cut some parts during the editing.

This is mainly to cater to the tastes of today's audience.

If "Moonlight and Starfish" had a faster pace and focused more on the portrayal of the historical context, making Zou Yueying and Gu Haixing's love a tragedy driven by the times, it would have been more to my liking.

However, Lin Yuan is neither a director nor a screenwriter, so his thoughts do not represent anything.

In short, although "Mandala" was more popular than "Moon Shadow Starfish", the production team did not promote it extensively. AIR Video did want to promote it, but considering that they would be working with Zhuo Yuan and his partner again in the future, they gave up.

Besides, "Moon Shadow Starfish" didn't flop.

The two dramas were about the same in popularity. The reason why "Moon Shadow Starfish" did not rise much was simply because its pacing was a little slower.

Once the series has reached a certain length, viewers will still have the patience to continue watching.

The same thing happened with "The Powerful Minister". It started out unremarkable, but eventually won over the audience with its quality.

Lin Yuan felt that adapting "Moon Shadow Starfish" into a movie would be better, as the pacing could be improved, and the theme of the movie must reach a certain height, with the theme of national sentiment being indispensable.

"There might be interference from Qingxi Video here." — Feng Zeng had found out more information.

Lin Yuan strongly suspected that his agent could easily become a spy.

How do you know everything?

"Connections." Feng Zeng twirled his fingers. "I can't tell you."

Feng used to be quite bad at interpersonal communication and didn't know how to please people, but as he became Lin Yuan's agent and the studio adopted a self-financing model, he had to grit his teeth and become good at it, even though he wasn't good at it.

After Lin Yuan gradually gained popularity, Feng Zeng felt less pressure.

Lin Yuan is famous enough that he doesn't need to curry favor with others. He has access to more and more resources, and he can make effective use of these resources.

In this way, Feng's network of connections in the industry grew wider and wider.

“Qingxi Video can’t possibly stay out of it,” Feng Zeng said. “The platform paid for it, so its authority is much greater than you think.”

"Zhuo Yuan isn't going to say anything?"

"They definitely said it, but the director and screenwriter must respect the platform's opinion," Feng Zeng said. "Anyway, 'Moon Shadow Starfish' is doing quite well now, but Zhong Jiangyu seems to be very dissatisfied."

"How so?"

“In recent years, there have been rumors in the industry that Zhong Jiangyu’s writing skills have declined. For him, the script of ‘Moon Shadow Starfish’ is a great opportunity to prove himself.”

“Zhong Jiangyu is quite good at writing grand themes. If he had the decision-making power, he would definitely include the theme of national sentiment in the script.”

"Since it's not happening now, it's probably because the platform is interfering."

Lin Yuan shrugged: "It's a customized drama for the platform."

“He has more autonomy than the screenwriter of the commissioned drama,” Feng Zeng said. “Anyway, he was quite dissatisfied that the popularity of ‘Moon Shadow Starfish’ was overshadowed by ‘Mandala’.”

"I'm really sorry." Lin Yuan grinned.

"He smiles like a villain."

"Thank you for the compliment."

"With your face, it looks even more like it."

Lin Yuan: "Personal attacks are prohibited, thank you."

He considers himself uniquely ugly now, with a weathered, round face, and is one of a kind in the entertainment industry.

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Author's Note: Update! [kiss][kiss]