Chapter 37 Short Drama Broadcast
Just half an hour before Giant Entertainment's short drama was released, Gong Zhou's post only added fuel to the fire, instantly shifting the audience's attention from the simultaneous release of two short dramas to the discussion about whether Giant Entertainment had actually gone bankrupt.
The reporters clearly filmed several small-time anchors wearing shirts and jeans filming a scene. Most people believe that Giant Entertainment sold the costumes that were originally used for the costume fitting, or that they used a pirated version that copied Gong Zhou's design from the beginning.
However, Gongzhou's initiative to claim the work directly shattered all the doubts circulating online, since no designer would want to be associated with a production team that ruthlessly sold off their work.
His post was instantly flooded with comments about sit-ups—
[Teacher Gong, I'm a long-time fan of yours. Look me in the eye and tell me that Juyu Entertainment didn't actually go bankrupt, right? The rumors about the 1 billion yuan trust are all fake, right?]
[What?! The costumes for the movie were really designed by Gong Zhou? And they were kept until filming wrapped and weren't sold?!]
Can anyone in the industry tell me how much a single outfit designed by a celebrity designer like Gong Zhou would typically cost?
[This is a true industry insider's treat. Gong Zhou's level isn't something you can hire just with money. It requires either resource exchange or a very good relationship with the main brand. Once you reach this level, the pure design fee for a single project is around one million, with no upper limit on material costs.]
[One million is enough to hire the entire styling team for a top-tier drama on the platform...]
[I had already closed the coffin lid, but after seeing this post, I suddenly sat up abruptly. Teacher Gong, you are a miracle doctor, waaaaah!]
[Ah ...
Why don't those conspiracy theorists come and cause trouble? They should all be slapped and sent away.
[So Giant Entertainment is actually fine, and Brother Fang persisted for almost ten days without denying the rumors just to pull off a big stunt before the broadcast? He's incredibly patient; I couldn't even hold back this long when I was saving up for a ten-pull...]
[Well done, Brother Fang! I'd like to crown you the "Childlike Wolf of Star Entertainment." That's pretty much what Brother Fang is like—very easygoing. (I forgot who should fill in the rest.)]
[Stop adding more, there wasn't a single photo of the costumes in the wrap-up pictures. I don't understand what everyone in the comments section is hyping up. They're treating one claim as proof, making the young actor laugh hysterically.]
[Next time you start criticizing, could you please hide your profile? You're just showing up as a moderator of Yao Mengran's supertopic? Instead of wasting time making sarcastic remarks about Juyu Short Drama, you should be worried about what Ruan Zihan has done to your idol.]
[Sorry, but established talent agencies like Xinghan have a clear advantage when it comes to producing short dramas compared to amateur productions. It's like a game-changer.]
Peng Ya's fingers danced rapidly across the optical keyboard as she focused on arguing with everyone who came to criticize her in the comments section.
She couldn't understand where these Giant Entertainment fans in the comments section got their confidence. Giant Entertainment was already mired in bankruptcy troubles, and the costumes might not even have been sold yet, but they were already arrogantly boasting.
Short dramas are less than one-tenth the length of long dramas. Xinghan Media previously produced two ancient costume dramas and one modern costume drama, all of which were hits of the year. Making short dramas would be a piece of cake.
Moreover, Xinghan has invited Meng Ran to be the female lead, so these die-hard fans will naturally give their full support.
After spraying herself with the intense spray for over twenty minutes, Peng Ya's finger joints were a little sore.
She blacklisted all those brainless fans who blindly supported Giant Entertainment and then skillfully clicked on the report page.
The alarm rang at exactly twelve o'clock, and she clicked on the mini-program from the link shared by Xinghan's account.
The mini-program interface is almost completely blank, just like it was a few days ago, except for a line of small blue regular script text in the upper left corner: "Dream Chasing Card Duels, This Young Master is a Professional."
...What is this? Could it be the name of a short drama called "Starry Sky"?
This name is so corny it's like crawling into Ruan Zihan's bed, which reeks of stinky feet.
Peng Ya got goosebumps all over her body. She clicked on the line of text in disbelief and found that no interface appeared.
Is it because too many people are waiting to watch Xinghan short dramas, causing the mini-program to lag?
She clicked into Ranran's exclusive fan group and found that everyone had encountered the same situation. It must be because the short drama was so popular when it was released that the mini program crashed in the background.
That's normal, after all, there are too many fans waiting to watch Xinghan's short drama. Peng Ya lay on the bed with her legs up. She had originally set aside an afternoon to watch the drama, but now she didn't know what to do.
She swiped back to the StarNet homepage and noticed that the rate at which new comments were being added to Gongzhou's posts was gradually slowing down. It seemed that the quality of Giant Entertainment's short dramas had fallen too low, and these fans had nothing to brag about.
She absolutely loves to see people make a fool of themselves.
Peng Ya smiled and clicked into the app store to download the Juyu Short Drama APP, intending to see what kind of mess the first few free episodes were.
The moment you open the app, there are no pop-up ads, only a black card background quietly hovering at the front of the screen.
This card has a holographic effect; it looks as if it vividly appears right in front of you the moment it pops up.
She clicked on it in a daze and saw a prompt appear: "Draw your exclusive card deck?"
As the "Yes" button lit up, she felt as if she were surrounded by a whirlwind.
As the wind subsided, the seven cards lit up in succession, forming a slowly rotating circle around her right hand.
"Congratulations, contestant! You have acquired the companion card 'Force of Nature'."
The opening screen actually came with a full set of holographic effects. Peng Ya was shocked and sat up in bed, only to find that the bed beneath her was gradually being replaced by smooth terrazzo, and the gaps between the slabs showed the same pattern as the card she had just drawn.
The female lead appeared beside her, frowning slightly: "It's your turn, hurry up and play your card!"
Peng Ya looked up in shock and realized that she had somehow ended up in the five-on-five team arena.
The arena is incredibly detailed. Not only are there different types of praying angels behind the thrones of the five opponents, but the patterns on the stone slabs on the ground also extend from the thrones toward the center of the arena.
She glanced down and noticed that the armrests of the throne beneath her were inlaid with a string of dazzling gems, and even the feather patterns at the tips of the armrests were meticulously designed.
A faint rumble of thunder echoed from the horizon, accompanied by the howling of the wind all around.
Peng Ya quickly stretched out her left hand and randomly drew one of the seven cards spinning around her right hand, throwing it at the other side.
As the card flew forward, a bolt of purple lightning flashed across the horizon, passing straight through the center of the card and striking the stone monument in the middle of the arena.
As cracks appeared layer by layer on the stone tablet, it seemed to resonate with the power of lightning, forming a huge ball of lightning that rushed straight toward the companion beast summoned by the card of the person opposite.
The purple lightning bolts stretched and formed chains, forcefully squeezing the white tiger opposite them until it coughed up blood.
The scene and special effects were so realistic that Peng Ya seemed to be sitting in the arena, and even the health app on her device was alerting her to a rapid heartbeat.
Just seconds after she played her card, the opponents suddenly stood up from their thrones and combined their cards into a giant card with a black shadow.
The abnormally large card didn't land on the central stone tablet; instead, it flew straight towards her.
Due to the restrictions of the arena rules, the opponent's card should have stopped at the edge of the field. However, strangely, it passed through the transparent barrier at the edge and rushed towards the card players on their side.
Even though she rationally knew that the card wouldn't hurt her, Peng Ya still reflexively closed her eyes in terror.
At the critical moment, the female protagonist lunged in front of Peng Ya, bravely shielding her companion from the curse of the card.
Upon seeing the blood gushing out in mid-air, Peng Ya instinctively screamed.
The bloodstains slowly turned black, as if someone had left a line of text against the backdrop of the arena.
Between the lines, there is both a mockery of the other party's various schemes and tricks, and an absolute confidence in one's own strength—"I've been making cards for many years, so what if I'm a little stronger?"
After the short, holographic opening screen sequence ended, Peng Ya's arm hairs stood on end.
The venue, the special effects, the holographic effects—even theatrical blockbusters don't have this level of quality.
Are all short dramas these days rolled up like this?
Although holographic live streaming is very common now, the cost of producing the post-production special effects to support holographic effects is more expensive than that of 2D animation. She can hardly imagine how much Juyu has invested in this splash screen.
This plot instantly piqued her curiosity to the extreme. Peng Ya didn't even bother to open the StarNet interface; she directly clicked on the first episode in the app.
The female protagonist, Xu Ci, is excessively powerful from the start, possessing the most outstanding card-making talent among the younger generation of the four major card-making families. The major families fight tooth and nail for the position of the next coordinator, and Xu Ci's biggest rival is the male protagonist, Yi Xingjue.
Unlike Xu Ci, Yi Xingjue rarely creates cards himself. He spends most of his time studying the card upgrade rules. The two have their own areas of expertise. When they occasionally meet in the arena, they fight to the death. You destroy one of my character cards, and I'll destroy one of your companion beasts.
Although Xu Ci is now cursed and forced to conceal her appearance, Yi Xingjue still recognized her at first glance.
His guard instantly went up, and Yi Xingjue slightly raised his chin and pointed to the fruit plate:
"Didn't you say you'd do anything for me? Peel this banana for me."
Seeing Xu Ci obediently peeling the banana with his slender white fingers, Yi Xingjue frowned slightly—what's going on? Didn't he usually act like he wanted to ride on his head when they met? There must be something fishy going on here.
Watching Xu Ci secretly squeezing the banana until it was soft and black when no one could see, Peng Ya raised an eyebrow slightly in front of the screen.
Wow, a young couple on the opposing lane.
The only annoying character in this whole thing was this chattering third male lead. He seemed to be from a completely different species in terms of intelligence compared to the male and female leads, constantly babbling on and on.
"Peel them carefully. Our Brother Yi has never let anyone help him peel fruit before. Don't forget to remove the seeds from the strawberries either. Pick out all the seeds one by one."
...Perhaps she was moved by the heroine's selfless act of shielding the victim from harm when the screen opened, Peng Ya is now extremely immersed in the plot, and she wishes she could jump into the story and slap the third male lead with both hands.
Picking and choosing, what kind of loading process involves picking out seeds from strawberries?
While the other two were acting out a Mr. and Mrs. Smith test-and-test each other, the third male lead was left with a mere cameo role as a powerful and arrogant underling.
With that level of intelligence, he's basically done for card making.
Let's see if Xu Ci can still be so arrogant once he regains his identity.
Peng Ya's anger reached its peak, and she couldn't wait to see Xu Ci break the curse and beat up these juniors.
After quickly watching the first ten episodes, she finally witnessed Xu Ci completing the last task for the male lead. A brilliant golden light shone on the rooftop, enveloping Xu Ci entirely in layers of light. Meanwhile, his original companion weapon seemed to be summoned, flying towards them from afar—
The screen suddenly went black, and a notification popped up in the middle.
[Unlock the next episode with 10 diamonds]
[New users can enjoy a 15% discount on their first seven days of registration; a one-time recharge of 500 diamonds will get you an instant discount]
Recharging is a decision that goes against our ancestors' wishes.
Peng Ya still remembers her original intention—to briefly watch the free episodes on Juyu's platform before Xinghan Short Drama went live, determined not to contribute a single penny to the competitor.
She silently switched to the mini-program interface, only to find a row of blue regular script text that couldn't be clicked. Meanwhile, her mind was constantly filled with thoughts of Xu Ci slapping the villain in the face.
The icon for the new customer discount is blatantly displayed, which is no different from having a bite of crispy fried chicken at 12:30 am on the third day of dieting.
It's only 500 diamonds, a small recharge doesn't count as a big recharge.
The card-making scene was fast-paced. As golden light enveloped Xu Ci, her original silver-white robe belonging to the Yi family disappeared inch by inch, replaced by a pure white flowing dress, with thin pure gold accessories around her neck, wrists, and waist.
Having not participated in the Card Arena for a long time, Xu Ci's ranking had dropped, so his first match after returning was against a useless male character.
Before stepping onto the arena, the third male contestant scurried over and knelt on one knee in front of Xu Ci:
"Miss Xu, I extend my greetings to you on behalf of the head of the family."
Who is the head of your household?
He bowed his head deeply, his expression one of reverence bordering on piety:
"The head of the family is Lü Zonghe from the Northern Border. My mother is the granddaughter of the current head of the Yi family. I am currently studying at the Yi family."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire arena spun around, and Xu Ci launched a one-on-one duel on the spot.
As a golden card was casually tossed into the center of the arena, he heard a voice from the horizon: "Advancing to the next level? You dare to challenge me?"
In an instant, the whole world seemed to be covered by golden lightning, and everywhere you looked there was a dazzling display of light and electricity.
The stone tablet in the center of the arena hummed under the effect of the cards. As Xu Ci moved his fingertips slightly, the arena beneath their feet began to tremble rhythmically, and a Valkyrie radiating golden light slowly walked in from the horizon.
The grand scene was so exhilarating to watch that Peng Ya patted her chest and couldn't help but switch back to the background to catch her breath.
She didn't recover for long; her mind was full of the plot, and she switched back to reality before she could even savor it for two seconds.
In the scene, Xu Ci throws another card into the center, and the Valkyrie suddenly has a long sword with complex inscriptions on it, made of white jade and gold. Following Xu Ci's movements, the Valkyrie slashes straight at the man's companion beast.
With a painful scream from the red fox, the six cards remaining in the man's hand shattered.
The cards he had painstakingly crafted over several years were all severely damaged due to the overwhelming difference in strength. His eyes were bloodshot, and he asked in a tearful voice:
"Miss Xu, we've never met before and have no grudge against each other, why did you use such force?!"
"Never met before? Are you sure?"
A card was lightly tossed into the center of the field, and a stone tablet revealed the image of another noble family. A crystal-clear jade pot appeared in Xu Ci's right palm.
The man's face showed fear, and tears streamed down his face: "It's you!"
This clip made Peng Yashu's toes go numb with pleasure. She rolled around on the bed a few times and added even more diamonds to her tank, planning to pamper this alluring short drama to her heart's content today.
She still has 30 episodes left to watch. In the later episodes, Xu Ci and Yi Xingjue should each be planning their revenge against the family that tampered with and cursed her in the arena. She also wants to see if the male and female leads will end up together in the finale.
Although she was reluctant to admit it, the first sixty episodes and the opening screen of Juyu's new short drama were not only far superior to S-level long dramas, but even far surpassed the big movies she had seen in recent years.
Every detail in the show feels incredibly realistic. The costumes of all the main and supporting characters are both gorgeous and respectful of the arena setting. The various props also show great attention to detail.
Even though the furnace held by the female supporting character only appeared for about twenty seconds from beginning to end, the production team still made a heavy prop out of metal.
The furnace was inlaid with the origin story of the female supporting character's family, and when it was slammed heavily to the ground, it stirred up a little dust.
Unlike some terrible dramas that disrespect the audience's intelligence, where a large water vat is smashed on the ground like a weightless piece of paper.
Especially the explosive post-production special effects; once those effects were revealed, Peng Ya knew that Giant Entertainment had most likely never lacked funding from beginning to end.
A notable characteristic of a poorly made drama that ultimately failed due to a collapse in investment is its cheap special effects. After all, it's easy for actors to finish filming a drama, but to make good special effects in post-production, every frame costs a fortune.
Peng Ya belatedly realized that her face was a little sore.
But who knows? Maybe Giant Entertainment's strategy is to finish the first sixty episodes carefully and lure people in first.
Putting aside this extremely unlikely possibility, the previous negative information circulating online was quite misleading—those unscrupulous reporters who livestreamed the Juyu Film Studio must have been the source of the fabrication. Following this logic, the Xinghan short dramas they filmed were probably also fake.
The quality of Xinghan might not be much worse than that of Juyu.
She had just switched out of the video interface to recharge her account when she found that her contact list had exploded.
Half of her friends were bombarding her with their thoughts on the short drama series, while the other half, fellow fans, were sending her all sorts of meaningless periods and strange emojis.
Why do fans on the list post these memes of celebrities holding microphones and sighing without saying a word? It makes them look so miserable.
Could it be that we can finally watch Xinghan's short drama?
The plot and quality were so stunning that it left people speechless.
The exceptionally high quality of Juyu Short Drama raised her expectations for short dramas to a very high level. Peng Ya hummed a song as she poured herself a glass of iced cola and set out a table of her favorite snacks. It's hard to imagine the happiness of enjoying two great dramas in one day.
After making all the preparations, she opened the mini-program with great anticipation.
What's puzzling is that the mini-program still only has that line of small blue text, with no other UI elements around it, and the entire interface remains blank.
She lightly touched the line of text with her fingertip and found that this time there was no complete lack of response; instead, a loading screen with an extremely laggy progress bar appeared.
Yay! Although there was a brief downtime of more than two hours, at least we can finally watch something again.
However, the progress bar always stopped at two-thirds of the way through. At first, she thought it was because her home network was not working well, but other websites and apps loaded perfectly fine. Moreover, the progress bar would restart once she switched to another screen.
Peng Ya dared not switch randomly anymore, and waited blankly for more than ten minutes on the loading page like a caveman who had just learned how to use a quantum computer.
With a flicker of the screen, the short drama finally appeared—
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