Chapter 148: The 148th day of being popular
"So, why are we helping those marketing accounts claim that the new drama is very depressing?" someone frowned and asked, "Isn't that just driving away bystanders?"
Zhou Fei pondered for a moment and replied, "Probably... it's to not deceive the audience!"
He paused and explained to the puzzled looks of others, "As consumers, the audience naturally has the right to know. If we only promote the excellent aspects of the drama and do not mention its flaws, it would be hiding part of the truth and unfair to the audience."
There was indeed some truth in his words.
Moreover, the Spring Festival was approaching, a time for family reunions.
If uninformed viewers watched this drama and felt depressed, wouldn't that ruin their festive mood?
Although promoting this matter wouldn't benefit Yao Bianliang herself, this attitude of highlighting the strengths and acknowledging the weaknesses was also a responsible approach.
Several employees couldn't help but admire Yao Bianliang a little.
Achieving this level of transparency was not easy.
"Wait, look at the trending topics..." Xiao Pang, who was sitting by the window, suddenly sat upright and exclaimed softly, "There's an outbreak of human-to-human transmission in City H? Is it true or fake?"
He originally wanted to go online and see how Yao Bianliang's new drama was being reviewed.
Unexpectedly, the first news that caught his eye was about the outbreak.
"An outbreak?" everyone was taken aback.
It was indeed a fresh term. In recent years, there haven't been any large-scale outbreaks.
Especially for their generation, they had no concept of such things.
At that moment, the discussion about Yao Bianliang was temporarily set aside.
Some people gathered around to look at Xiao Pang's phone screen, while others immediately opened Weibo to check for more specific information.
Sure enough, the entertainment-related trending topics had all declined to vary degrees, and the related entries for the "Good Drama PK Competition" were pushed to the bottom.
The first trending topic displayed a few big characters: #CityHOutbreak#.
"It's almost Spring Festival, how come there's an outbreak?" someone expressed concern.
Many were migrant workers who had left their hometowns and planned to return home for the Lunar New Year.
It would undoubtedly be terrible news if they couldn't go back due to the outbreak.
"Let's see how the situation develops. Maybe the outbreak will be under control in a few days," Xiao Pang remained optimistic.
Everyone started discussing the situation, expressing their thoughts one after another. Meanwhile, Zhou Fei quietly sat at his workstation without saying much, unusually maintaining his silence.
He lowered his gaze and looked at the major headlines, his eyes filled with deep contemplation.
***
"Director, the production team just notified us to speed up the progress."
The staff members were busy bustling around on the filming set, setting up the next scene to be recorded.
Several actors sat nearby, earnestly reading the script, and everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
An Xincheng looked at the notification from the production team on his phone and looked at the director with a hint of worry. He said, "The outbreak this time is estimated to have a significant impact. Can we still catch up with our schedule?"
Yao Bianliang, next to him, also looked anxious and awaited the director's response.
This outbreak suddenly erupted so suddenly that it caught everyone completely unprepared overnight.
Fortunately, the area they were currently in was not City H; otherwise, their activities would probably have been halted immediately.
Nevertheless, they still had to accelerate the filming progress; otherwise, this short drama might not be able to go online as scheduled.
The director glanced at the schedule and said, "It should be possible. We've been keeping a tight schedule all along. If necessary, we can have the staff members work from home during post-production."
Hearing this answer, An Xincheng and Yao Bianliang breathed a sigh of relief.
Especially Yao Bianliang, who relied on this drama to complete her system task.
If the drama couldn't go online smoothly, her task would be automatically deemed a failure.
"There shouldn't be a big problem," An Xincheng said. "The experts have advised us to take precautions in the near term. Once the vaccine is developed, there shouldn't be much of an issue."
"That makes sense," the director rubbed his chin. "It's just a pity for this Spring Festival. Many people won't be able to go home for the New Year."
The two of them engaged in idle conversation, occasionally expressing their feelings.
Yao Bianliang was still determining how things would unfold in the future. After all, she hadn't experienced such a situation in her previous life.
However, as she listened to the director and screenwriter's conversation and read the comments from experts and netizens, she also held an optimistic attitude toward the matter.
The outbreak was fierce this time, and it probably wouldn't be resolved in a short period. But things should return to normal after one or two months, right?
With this thought in mind, Yao Bianliang switched her phone to the screen she had been checking earlier.
During this period, she had asked Assistant Chen to help her find rental housing information, and they had already found several suitable options.
After recording the final competition program, Yao Bianliang wouldn't immediately receive the system bonus; she had to wait until the task duration ended.
During this time, she naturally needed a temporary place to stay.
"Hmm... this large penthouse in the city center looks great," Yao Bianliang rubbed her chin, finally focusing on one of the messages.
Located in the city center with convenient transportation and beautifully decorated.
The house was spacious and bright, with a comfortable sofa, an extra-large bed, two huge balconies, and a separate walk-in closet.
This was much better than the four-person dormitory she had lived in before.
Anyway, she would soon receive a large sum of money with the production team bonus plus the system bonus.
There shouldn't be a problem with enjoying herself a little, right?
Moreover, if she could successfully complete the task, she would directly receive a trillion. By then, she could spend it however she wanted.
"This one will do," Yao Bianliang was very satisfied and forwarded this rental housing information to Assistant Chen, asking him to take care of it.
After the completion of the system task, the outbreak should also come to an end.
Yao Bianliang could happily go out and enjoy life!
Just the thought of the beautiful future made Yao Bianliang's eyes involuntarily light up with a smile.
Over the past few days, the spread of public opinion has finally had an effect.
Yao Bianliang could clearly feel that the number of viewers in her livestream room had significantly decreased.
There were many evaluations about their group circulating online.
"The drama is good, but it's too depressing. If you want to relax and rest, I don't recommend choosing this drama."
"I just love watching Yao Xinxin's brainless sweet dramas! No need to think, just seeking happiness."
"+1, I just went to Yao Bianliang's livestream room for a glimpse and left after two minutes."
"As someone restless and shallow like me, I probably can't appreciate such profound realistic themes. Hahaha."
Whenever Yao Bianliang saw these comments, she would smile and give the person a like.
Thank you, thank you! Thanks to everyone for contributing to her journey of becoming "Cold."
This was also thanks to Yao Xinxin's strenuous promotion; otherwise, relying solely on tap water wouldn't have achieved such good results.
Of course, there were also many people criticizing Yao Xinxin.
Reviews like "The plot is too brainless," "The antagonist is too disgusting," "They only talk about love every day," and so on still occupied a large portion of the comment section.
But compared to the situation a few days ago, this was already very good.
Everything was progressing smoothly.
Yao Bianliang leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.
"Oh, Liangjie, Yao Xinxin's short drama is also preparing to livestream its grand finale," Xiao Hu, one of the supporting actors, looked at the messages in the comment section and scratched his head. "It seems like their progress is similar to ours."
"Oh?" Yao Bianliang raised an eyebrow.
If Yao Xinxin's grand finale were released today, it would undoubtedly overshadow the hype of her grand finale.
With this in mind, a smile appeared on her face.
She truly had a good sister. Not only was she powerful in terms of public opinion, but she also had a strong connection with her.
"Where's the video? I want to watch it too," Yao Bianliang said.
Xiao Hu immediately sent a link, and Yao Bianliang clicked on it. In the video, a large forest engulfed in flames came into view, with the fire spreading and obscuring the vision.
The soil had been charred black, thick smoke billowed, and ash filled the air.
Yao Xinxin, playing the female lead, stood on the outskirts, her eyes filled with tears, gazing into the depths of the forest, seemingly hoping for some miracle to occur.
"He must still be alive, right..."