"Senior Song, the ratings for 'Office Girls' have dropped." Xie Dong grinned as he reported the good news to Song Xia. "It's only the eighth episode, and the ratings have already fallen below 1."
Song Xia looked bewildered. She remembered that in her previous life, the ratings for this drama, although not breaking 3, were always around 2. How come it didn't even reach 1 now?
"What happened?"
"Firstly, their extensive marketing beforehand led to excessively high audience expectations. Secondly, their constant comparisons and criticisms of 'He Came from the Sea' in the early stages caused some netizens to be resistant to this drama. Thirdly, the plot of this drama collapsed."
"The plot has fallen apart?" This was something Song Xia hadn't expected. Wasn't this drama praised until the very end in her previous life? It even made Gu Zhiya quite popular.
"It was originally a story about two ordinary people working hard and gradually falling in love. Suddenly, a rich young master appeared who was devoted to the female lead until death. Then the female lead insisted that the male lead forgive his cheating and abusive father. This caused netizens' emotions to explode."
Song Xia opened her phone and, sure enough, there were countless news articles criticizing the plot of "Office Girls" for being clichéd. She also saw the scene Xie Dong had mentioned.
After hearing the female lead say things like, "He is, after all, your father, and it's not easy for him to be sick and hospitalized now," she twitched her lips hard. She didn't remember this scene happening in her previous life!
Xie Dong was triumphant: "It wasn't for nothing that I gave her a big push before. The more her fans praised her before, the more severe the backlash is now."
"You did a great job, you'll get a bonus this month."
"Thank you, Senior Song."
"By the way, I heard the script wasn't like this before. Go check and see if a certain actress changed the script."
Xie Dong's eyes lit up. If Gu Zhiya caused the script to become contradictory, this would be a wonderful surprise!
Meanwhile, in a luxurious villa, Qiao Leyi was furious with Gu Zhiya: "Who told you to change the script without permission? Didn't I tell you to listen to the director before I left?"
Gu Zhiya was still unconvinced: "It's clearly the director and screenwriter who are incompetent. 'He Came from the Sea' also had a similar plot, so why was it so popular?"
"Where is the same plot? The elders of the merfolk tribe have never done anything wrong, and the female lead advised the male lead for his own good. But what did you change? Also, why did you change it to make the rich second-generation heir devoted to you until death? In the original script, wasn't his pursuit of you a business scheme? How do you explain it back later? That he was moved by your kindness and then withdrew on his own?"
Seeing her daughter's evasive gaze, Qiao Leyi knew she had guessed right. She had only stayed at home for half a month longer during the Lunar New Year, so how did things turn out like this?
"But the second male lead in 'He Came From the Sea' also took advantage of the second female lead at the beginning, but didn't he change his mind later?"
"What kind of drama were they making, and what kind of drama did you accept? Don't you know that? If you want a Mary Sue romance, why don't you just accept a romance drama? Look at the comments online now, don't you know you're wrong?"
Gu Zhiya naturally realized the mess she was in, but what could she do now?
So he cautiously said, "I didn't change anything after that."
Qiao Leyi took a deep breath: "I'm so angry with you! The audience is already turning away from this plot. What's the point of not changing it later? It's a complete waste of such a good script and such a good opportunity!"
Gu Zhiya lowered her head and remained silent. She was filled with regret. She blamed herself for being so infatuated with the drama "He Came from the Sea" that she lost her mind. Why didn't the director stop her back then?
She forgot that the people the director had personally chosen had all been replaced by the capital behind her. What could the director do if she wanted to change the script?
"It's best to remain silent for now. Have a good talk with a few fan leaders and tell them to take a break for the next few days. We'll see how to proceed once the plot returns to normal."
However, while they want to take a break, their rivals in the industry don't want the hype to die down. They've been constantly criticizing and praising how well the show was made, and now they want us to shut up?
Fans of "He Came from the Sea" especially didn't miss this opportunity, thinking that the show's concept was so novel and great. Is that all?
[Say something! Why are Gu Zhiya's fans so silent now? Why aren't the ratings being reported anymore?]
[You say we have no taste? This is your taste, huh? The female lead is so magnanimous, even advising the male lead to forgive his criminal father! How dare you!]
[A rich second-generation heir falls in love with his rival's assistant and even gives up a multi-million dollar project for her—how noble! Is that even possible in real life?]
Perhaps due to the intense ridicule, some fans who weren't notified couldn't help but retort: "It's just a TV series, is it really necessary to take it so seriously? 'He Came from the Sea' even has mermaids, stop with the double standards!"
[Are we applying double standards? We never touted the realism of the love story in "He Came from the Sea," but your producers kept saying it was relatable to ordinary people's lives during their promotional activities.]
Gu Zhiya's fans are still trying to justify their actions: "But that doesn't mean this kind of scenario hasn't happened in real life! What are you so smug about? Is it necessary to bully someone like this?"
Bystanders were amused and annoyed by these remarks: "We're bullying people? Which fan group was being so aggressive before?"
Xie Dong looked at the online debate and a wicked smile crept across his face: "Give them another good blow."
Just as Qiao Leyi was racking her brains to control the comments, some people who seemed to be Gu Zhiya's fans started saying that the male lead actor did not perform well, which caused the audience to misunderstand the female lead. These comments and complaints quickly spread.
Immediately, Lan Mengfan's fans, who had been attacked by Gu Zhiya's fans before, pushed these comments and posts to the top of the trending searches. Then Xie Dong continued to have people imitate Gu Zhiya's fans to attack the actor who played the male lead. Although people in the industry could tell at a glance that someone was targeting Gu Zhiya, who wouldn't want to watch the show?
Gu Zhiya has considerable capital behind her, but the entertainment industry is too big for her to handle alone. Many people have long disliked Qiao Leyi and Gu Zhiya and wouldn't mind giving them another push.
Then, just when Qiao Leyi and Gu Zhiya were in a state of panic, the actor playing the male lead directly pulled out the original script of the plot from the past few days, along with a screenshot of a chat, which was telling him to memorize his lines again.
Once the evidence was presented, it directly proved that Gu Zhiya's side had modified the script. The original plot had been completely altered by her.
Then, a person suspected of being an insider revealed that the actress was not invited to play the role, but rather she brought her own investment to join the production and drove away the actresses originally chosen by the director.
That's not all. Gu Zhiya was a child star. Two child stars who had acted with her in the past came forward and said that Gu Zhiya's beauty and kindness were just an act, and that she had been a bully since childhood.
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