Chapter 70: Cheering for the new drama...
Which "them"? Who are they?
Normally, Sheng Yi might have had some doubts, but right now he just wanted to brush it off. Even if he said the sun rises in the west, she would accept it and just nod along with "uh-huh".
Wen Shili lowered his eyes, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself. In the end, he said nothing, only placing his hand on her head and patting her. "No rush, we have plenty of time."
The words were similar to Zhang Li's, but the tone was completely different.
He seemed even easier to talk to than she had imagined, perhaps a little bit.
When Sheng Yi woke up the next day, Wen Shili had already left. She hugged the blanket, looked at the dawning scenery outside the window, and went back to sleep for a few more minutes.
Everything returned to its usual rhythm.
If there's anything different, it's that "Starry River Like a Dream" suddenly got its license.
It's not entirely true that it happened suddenly.
This drama was always aimed at the summer season. After filming, it began intensive editing and post-production. Once completed, it was immediately submitted for review, but the review process has been stalled.
The platform has even prepared backup options, but for the production team, no one wants to miss out on the summer traffic.
The issuance of the certificate was followed immediately by the filing of the document.
Although the production team only occasionally released some materials during holidays to maintain the show's popularity after filming wrapped, the attention surrounding it has never diminished, and the release date announcement immediately made it into the top three of the trending topics.
All parties began to launch promotional campaigns, but Sheng Yi was unable to participate in the excitement—she couldn't get time off.
If we can't be there in person, it would be inappropriate to also be absent from online promotion.
After thinking for a moment, Sheng Yi posted on her WeChat Moments, asking her friends and family to help promote it.
This is standard practice in the industry; everyone helps each other out, giving each other a boost and building up some buzz. As long as there's no animosity, people will generally give each other face, since it's just a matter of a few clicks. Some thoughtful people even prepare the copywriting for each other.
Sheng Yi had just finished editing her message when she heard someone calling for the next scene to begin. She quickly sent it, and the makeup artist came over to touch up her makeup a little.
As the weather gets warmer, sweat makes makeup prone to smudging. Her face was too delicate, fair with a rosy glow, youthful and tender, so makeup was the only way to conceal it.
One scene was filmed three times before it was approved. As soon as the director yelled "cut," Sheng Yi immediately ducked under an umbrella. Actually, they were quite lucky this year. The temperature here was several degrees lower than in S City at this time of year, and the costumes weren't too thick. Compared to their previous experiences filming period dramas in the sweltering summer, it was quite pleasant.
Sheng Yi took the water and drank a couple of sips. Jingjing then handed her the phone. Sheng Yi flipped through it and saw that the promotional post had already been shared by quite a few people.
Colleagues who are collaborating with us were among the first to respond, and friends like Wu Simin naturally agreed without hesitation, as well as film crews we've worked with before, colleagues we've collaborated with on shows... I didn't even finish scrolling through one or two screens.
Fans were amazed by her actions. In the past, Sheng Yi was always the one who quietly acted as the publicity officer for others. When had they ever seen her take the initiative to move people?
One by one, they clutched their handkerchiefs, "Waaah, my sister is so thoughtful."
"I apologize. I heard a couple of days ago that I complained about my sister when we weren't doing promotions. I'm sure Yiyi didn't want things to turn out this way either."
"Of course the scenes we're filming are more important. Can't you guys prioritize things? If everyone takes leave, how will we even be able to film?"
"I know, but this isn't her last project in the pipeline. Look at how other studios promote their projects; our studio should put in some effort too."
The story unfolds from beginning to end, ultimately spurring the studio on.
In fact, it wasn't just her; the male and female leads also invited all the connections they could. This whole operation left the onlookers completely stunned.
"Are they trying to lure half the entertainment industry into this show? I was initially interested, but this is a bit over the top."
"These resources are basically just for those who are about to become famous. Popular IPs + famous directors, they've been marketed to the point of being oblivious to the world. Their desire to become famous is written all over their faces."
"The trailer looks quite appealing, but I'm worried it might be a scam."
"No, I can't stand it anymore. Is this the first time you've seen this kind of propaganda? It's a perfectly normal thing, why are you all spouting conspiracy theories and spreading rumors? Stop trying to take advantage of this opportunity to put me down."
Bystanders? Who would participate in such a chaotic battle? So the onlookers turned their attention to the other side.
With the male and female leads' fans drawing attention away from the attack, there were fewer attacks on Sheng Yi's side. However, these attacks were just the same old clichés: they were trying too hard to become famous and were so desperate for fame that they had no shame.
Some people have gone off-topic, analyzing whether her relationship with Xu Jiayi is really as bad as rumored. After all, some people who have no public interaction have also forwarded Sheng Yi's post, even though Xu Jiayi has attended several events with her.
I can't muster the energy to pay attention to the excitement online, and even if I do see it, I'll probably just laugh it off.
In the entertainment industry, fame is fame, and obscurity is obscurity; the lines are always clear. Anyone with ambition is desperately climbing the ladder; they don't have time to worry about saving face. Compared to endless socializing with big investors while holding a wine glass, this is nothing.
There's a crucial scene to shoot early tomorrow morning. After wrapping up, the director called a short meeting. The golden time for filming is limited, and nobody dares to lag behind. If we didn't shoot it today, we'll have to get up in the dark in the middle of the night to reshoot it tomorrow…
After the meeting, no one went back to their rooms; instead, they went through a scene together. It was only after the director found out that he came over and ordered everyone to go back to their rooms. "It would be a real problem if you couldn't get up tomorrow. Put your phones away and go to bed early!"
Sheng Yi felt like she had only been asleep for two hours when the alarm went off, and it took a lot of effort to get out of bed.
The temperature difference between day and night is large here. She wore thermal underwear under her trousers, but she was still shivering from the cold.
While she was rubbing her hands together and waiting for her scene, someone came over to chat with her, "Teacher Sheng, is your new drama going to air tomorrow? I forgot again. I'll definitely tune in on time."
Sheng Yi smiled and said yes, having someone to chat with made her less sleepy. After a few more words, it was her turn. Sheng Yi took off her coat, and her hands, which had just warmed up, became icy cold again.
The scene was finally filmed before dawn. The first half of the shoot was over, and the colleagues, who had just been beaming with excitement, instantly looked like wilted cabbages, falling into a deep sleep on the way back.
Sheng Yi didn't even eat breakfast; she went into the room and immediately sprawled onto the bed.
It was already afternoon when she heard the knocking. She took out her phone and checked the time: 2 PM.
Her next scene was filmed at four o'clock.
She yawned and got out of bed. "Coming, coming."
While she was washing up, Jingjing stood behind her watching her. Shengyi saw this in the mirror and felt that her expression was strange.
Sheng Yi spat out the water in her mouth, turned on the tap, washed her face, and then asked, "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing," Jingjing said softly, "It's just that I'm trending on social media again."
If there was nothing wrong, she wouldn't have that expression. Sheng Yi reached out her hand, and Jingjing immediately handed her the phone.
Sheng Yi took a look and saw a trending topic on the page. The topic was prominently displayed at the top of the list in deep red. The topic was: #Wen Shili cheers for Sheng Yi's new drama#.
Clicking on it leads to the Weibo post by Wen Shili. It's a repost of her promotional post from yesterday, with a simple message inviting everyone to watch it tomorrow.
The words and procedures were perfectly normal; the problem was him. He was too easy to attract attention, and every little thing he did would be magnified infinitely. That's why Sheng Yi never even considered asking him for help.
It was posted around 10 a.m. this morning, and it was still going viral at 2 p.m.
She touched her forehead, handed the phone back to Jingjing, quickly applied some lotion and moisturizer, and then they went out together. As they walked, she sent a WeChat message to Wen Shili: "Why did you suddenly retweet my Weibo post?"
Wen Shili replied instantly: "Didn't you tell me to share it?"
Sheng Yi: "?"
He sent me a picture directly; it was her WeChat Moments post from yesterday when she was trying to recruit people.
Sheng Yi went back and looked at it, only to find that she had forgotten to remove the person from the group after hastily editing the text.
Given his sensitivity, didn't he know it would cause a huge uproar before he posted it? But he didn't seem to care at all, saying, "Everyone knows we're friends."
Friend? Sheng Yi almost laughed.
Even casual netizens don't expect to see any true friends in this world of fame and fortune. Only when both parties can gain something from each other can they be called friends. But the difference in popularity between him and her is too great. One-sided interaction will only make people feel that he is climbing up.
Commonly known as "riding the coattails" of trending topics.
This type of person is usually dismissed by fans and categorized into the same category: a washed-up person who tries to ride the wave of popularity.
Admittedly, she had considered using his popularity to her advantage before, but now, as both parties in the relationship, she didn't want to make things too awkward for herself.
Without even thinking about it, the Weibo comment section wouldn't be very pleasant. Back when she was just following the crowd, she'd heard people say that when big-name fans dislike someone, what's more disgusting than insults is simply ignoring them.
Even if someone posts a Weibo post related to a certain person, the comments section will pretend not to see it and say things like "Brother/Sister, you are so handsome/beautiful," or "Looking forward to your new drama," as if that person who is clearly there is just an eyesore of trash, not even worthy of a glance.
Sheng Yi suddenly felt that she was being pretentious. In the past, when she saw related news, she would just laugh it off. There are thousands of people on the Internet, so who can expect to unify anyone's opinions?
With attention comes buzz. In this industry, the worst thing isn't controversy, but obscurity.
For example, right now, Wen Shili's simple Weibo post directly overshadowed the traffic generated by all the hard work of his entire crew in promoting the show, and by leveraging a viral hashtag, he brought the show's popularity to its peak.
Whether it's worth it or not depends on your perspective.
Sheng Yi smiled wryly and replied, "Thank you."
Wen Shili, however, insisted on digging deeper, "Are you in a bad mood?"
Sheng Yi discovered that he was actually very sensitive. Perhaps as a musician, he never lacked the keen observation to perceive subtle emotions, and at the same time, his acting career was also validated by awards. How could anyone underestimate this person?
So she didn't try to fool him anymore. "It's alright, but I feel like I'm going to get yelled at again. You'd better talk to me next time."
She had told herself she would be honest with herself when she took that step, but emotions don't stay on the same level forever; when faced with real problems, fluctuations are inevitable. In the end, he was simply innocently affected by his own emotions.
Wen Shili stared silently at the screen, the smoke dissipating from his deep eyes, revealing his true nature clearly, though she was destined never to know.
Or perhaps, they discovered his intentions and thus ruthlessly thwarted them.
He looked up into the distance and saw green plants struggling to climb upwards, stretching out their verdant tendrils and leisurely peering into the window. Little did they know that if he closed the window, he would sever all hope.
So he could only remain silent and say to her, "Okay, I understand."
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