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Chapter 71
The moment when the results were announced, it wasn’t just the passersby who were surprised. The bosses of other platforms, investors, and actors of major IP dramas also felt incredulous! This was a 20 episode school online drama that made no splashes after the project was announced. During the filming, there were no hot searches and the leading actors were 18th tier actors who were unknown… how could it overtake the star-studded big IP dramas?
Many people made guesses. “The data is fake right?”
“It must be increased by using money. It’s 20 episodes. One-click from beginning to end is 20 plays. If you get a water army to click it a dozen times, won’t the viewing volume go out?”
Fans of other dramas were sour and even went to the official Weibo page to scold them. [It’s too much for you to fake the data!]
Pei Shaoze didn’t ask a water army to increase the water army. Folding Paper could reach hundreds of millions of views on a certain day because many viewers felt good watching it. They re-watched it or lent their account to relatives and friends. Part of the broadcast volume was really repeated views.
However, the thing that couldn’t be ignored was that the number of new views for Folding Paper was also quite impressive.
Mr Liu simply wanted to hug Pei Shaoze and cry. In fact, he had faced great pressure when buying this drama. He was just the deputy manager in charge of procuring new dramas for the platform. If the result wasn’t good then it would be hard for him to explain to the company’s management. Now the performance of Folding Paper exceeded everyone’s expectations. Just five days after it finished, the backend payment amount had reached 30 million!
30 million! Many online movies had to broadcast all summer to make this much money, while Folding Paper did it in five days after it finished airing! He couldn’t believe it when his colleague in the data department showed him the records and he called Pei Shaoze immediately. “Overall, our Folding Paper is too strong. There are currently more than six million viewers buying the last 10 episodes and the backend has reached as high as 30 million yuan!”
Based on the profit share ratio, Pei Shaoze had recovered his investment cost and made a profit of 2 million yuan.
There weren’t many investors in the circle who could recover the investment cost and make money from their first investment. Many investors testing the waters for the first drama would lose everything all the way down to their underwear. Mr Liu thought excitedly that his initial impression was really correct. Previously when talking to Pei Shaoze, he was convinced by this man’s calm and confident look and signed the unprecedented ‘box office profit share’ model.
He thought Pei Shaoze would be excited as well but the man on the phone was still calm. “I checked the data. The traffic of this year’s summer vacation is around 10% higher compared to last year. After the three dramas, Flowers in a Mirror and the Moon Reflected in the Lake Investment Elite, and Gene Project finishes airing, there will be a huge flow of viewers to our Folding Paper, and the revenue of this drama can be increased by a few times.”
How many more times could it be increased? Mr Liu raised an eyebrow when he heard this and smiled. “President Pei, the Internet has been scolding us for increasing the data. Tonight, the Linghu TV official Weibo will reveal the backend payment rate and hit them in the face. Hahaha, just wait to see a good show! My guess is that the platforms that didn’t buy your drama will be very angry. You don’t know this but the number of registered users for Linghu TV in the past few days has increased by hundreds of thousands. It’s all caused by Folding Paper!”
Mr Liu couldn’t wait to rush and hug Pei Shaoze’s thigh. Due to this drama, his year-end bonus would probably be doubled! As the fourth largest broadcasting platform in China, Linghu TV had been rushing to grab users from the top three. Their platform started late and the capital strength behind them wasn’t as strong as the first three. The big IP dramas often couldn’t be grabbed. Unexpectedly, an unknown school drama with just 20 episodes of sweetness would have such a terrifying influence!
Many people signed up for Linghu TV to buy Folding Paper. After all, it was an exclusive system. They could only buy it from Linghu TV if they wanted to watch it. It was precisely due to this that Linghu TV’s daily active users had exceeded the third‐ranked platform for the past few days and was getting close to the second‐ranked one, Chinchilla TV!
The executives of Linghu were shocked. This was a dark horse. They were experiencing the terrible dark horse effect!
***
On the fifth day after Folding Paper finished airing, Linghu TV released a poster. [Congratulations on the payment of Folding Paper reaching over 35 million!]
In the few short hours after Mr Liu called, they received an extra 5 million. His colleagues in the Linghu publicity department had just finished the poster for ‘over 30 million’ when the boss made an emergency call and excitedly told him, “It’s 35 million. Quickly change the poster!”
The publicity department worked overtime to photoshop it and released the poster on time at 8 o’clock p.m.
The other platforms, “……”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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It actually firmly occupied the throne!
This was too terrible. Many netizens followed the trend. They saw it was number one on the ranking and couldn’t help clicking in out of curiosity. As long as Folding Paper could keep some of those who entered, these viewers would be converted to paying users and even long-term members of Linghu TV…
Several major platforms felt a serious threat.
Meanwhile, Cui Jue’s expression was extremely ugly. Since its premiere on July 10th and 20 days of fighting, their Flowers in a Mirror and the Moon Reflected in the Lake might be a bit ugly but it had steadily occupied first place among the summer vacation dramas. Unexpectedly, Folding Paper actually surpassed them on August 6th which was five days after Folding Paper finished airing.
A school drama with an investment of 10 million yuan surpassed the xianxia drama with an investment of several million yuan? The recent attention for two 18th tier newcomers actually surpassed the first-tier actors and actresses in the circle? The user retention rate was 80% and the payment rate was 70%. This dazzling data was like a slap on the face!
Obviously, the drama hit good luck and met a large number of netizens who helped promote it. Similar dark horse explosions had appeared in previous years. Once word of mouth rose then even God couldn’t stop it!
Cui Jue gritted his teeth angrily. His eyes flashed fiercely and he made a phone call. “You must stop the momentum of Folding Paper. I can’t sit back and let Pei Shaoze take advantage of this. Go and find me any black materials on the actors!”
***
At the same time, Pei Shaoze was looking at the data analysis table sent by Linghu TV. The payment rate was 70% which was really superior to others with the advance-on-demand model. Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Cheng Xia requesting a video call.
Pei Shaoze closed the laptop and picked up the call. As expected, the young man whom he really missed appeared in front of him. Cheng Xia was very happy and there was a brilliant smile on his face. “Brother Pei, I just reposted a poster from Linghu TV. The purchase amount of our drama has reached 35 million. Doesn’t it mean you have recovered the investment cost?” He wasn’t concerned about his popularity. He was more concerned over whether his Brother Pei lost money or not.
Pei Shaoze’s heart was warm and he couldn’t help smiling slightly. “35 million is just the beginning. For the next six months, there will be continuous income. The drama will have the long-term word of mouth. The final profit will definitely exceed your imagination.”
“It’s great. All of us in Group C can follow the boss!” Cheng Xia asked with a smile, “By the way, have you been so busy lately?”
“Yes. I want to take advantage of the word of mouth now to do some follow-up publicity… what’s the matter?”
Cheng Xia whispered, “Nothing, I just miss you a bit.”
Pei Shaoze’s heart trembled slightly. This type of straightforwardness from the young man really poked at the softness in his heart.
“From the time you returned to Rong City on June 8th to today, August 7th, we haven’t seen each other for 62 days.” Cheng Xia seriously told the man on the screen. “I dream about you every day…” He seemed embarrassed when he said this and his cheeks were slightly red.
“I will come to the crew tomorrow.” Pei Shaoze’s voice was low. “I miss you too.”
“……” The four words spoken in the alpha’s deep, sexy voice almost made his ears pregnant. He thought of his dramas and Cheng Xia’s face was extremely hot. He hurriedly changed the subject, “Will it delay your work if you suddenly go to Ya’an?”
“There is no delay. I will contact the media reporters over there and do interviews with you for publicity.” Pei Shaoze had a gentle expression. “It’s late. Go to bed first and you can see me during the day.”
“Yes. Good night, Brother Pei.” Cheng Xia reluctantly agreed to hang up. He wanted to wait for Pei Shaoze to press it first but Pei Shaoze was waiting for Cheng Xia to press it. After the two people said goodbye, they didn’t press the button to end the call and instead stared at each other.
It wasn’t known how much time passed before Pei Shaoze gave a low chuckle. “You hang up first.”
Cheng Xia blushed a bit. “Okay!” He quickly turned off the call and got into bed. He thought about how Brother Pei would come to see him tomorrow and his heart was sweet. It took him a long time to fall asleep after closing his eyes.
Pei Shaoze booked a flight at 10:30 a.m. so he went to bed early. In his dream, a large number of round oranges drilled into his arms and he was surrounded by the sweet smell of oranges. Pei Shaoze was in a very good mood when he woke up the next day. He shaved his beard in the mirror, tidied himself up, and had Uncle Zhong send him to the airport.
Director Zhu was filming a scene when he arrived at the studio. In the scene, Xu Ziyang and Professor Lin finally found a clue from a cat. Cheng Xia was holding a cat and looking very happy. The first one to spot Pei Shaoze was Pei Shaoyan. He immediately stood up and exclaimed, “President Pei is here!”
The people around Pei Shaoze greeted him. “President Pei!”
“It has been a long time!”
Pei Shaoze nodded at them and walked toward Cheng Xia. Cheng Xia raised his head to meet the man’s eyes and they stared at each other across the crowd. They had only been separated for two months but the deep-seated longing made them feel like they had been separated for a long, long time.
Cheng Xia wanted to immediately rush into the man’s arms and hug him tightly. However, there were too many people around them so he could only call out politely, “President Pei…”
Pei Shaoze walked up to this young man. He wanted to reach out and rub the other person’s head but in the end, he gently touched the cat’s head and asked Cheng Xia, “Where did this cat come from? It’s cute.” ‘As cute as you are.’
Cheng Xia smiled. “It’s Director Zhu’s cat. He brought it for the filming and the cat is now the pet of the entire crew.”
The small cat was comfortably touched by Pei Shaoze and meowed from within Cheng Xia’s arms.
Pei Shaoze asked Director Zhu, “Director Zhu’s cat?”
Director Zhu explained, “Many clues in this drama are related to a cat. I was worried that I couldn’t find a cat to cooperate with filming so I brought my family’s Spots.”
The people around him laughed. “Spots’ acting is really good. Hahaha, the cat is the movie emperor!”
”Once Director Zhu instructs him, he is obedient and will take the initiative to look at the camera!”
Cheng Xia also smiled. “Yes, you have a good sense of the camera, right?”
The cat in his arms seemed to agree and meowed. The scene of Cheng Xia holding the cat was particularly warm. This young man was a very caring person.
The atmosphere of the crew was harmonious and Pei Shaoze was really relieved. During the time when he was away, at least Cheng Xia got along well with the crew and there was a cute pet to accompany Cheng Xia. He asked Pei Shaoyan, “How about what you’ve learned from Director Zhu and Producer Xu?”
Pei Shaoyan hurriedly stood at attention. “I learned a lot of knowledge and I know what the producer of a drama should do. Director Zhu and Sister Xu have taken good care of me!”
Sister Xu from Linhua Films said, “President Pei, your assistant is very clever and learns well.”
Pei Shaoze nodded with satisfaction. “That’s good. Everyone has worked hard while I wasn’t here. I will invite you to dinner tonight.”
Cheers were heard from all around them.
Pei Shaoze booked the buffet hall at Ya’an International Hotel and the crew could eat whatever they wanted. At dinner, Director Zhu took the initiative to say, “President Pei, I have seen Folding Paper Cheng Xia’s performance in the drama is indeed very good and the drama is excellent. It can be called the dark horse of the year. You chose Linghu TV and there is the unprecedented profit share model for an online drama. You’re really far-sighted.”
Producer Xu also praised him. “I also saw this drama. It’s indeed the most exquisite one among all the summer vacation dramas. It’s 20 episodes with no procrastination and it has a very comfortable rhythm. President Pei, it was your first time producing and you can produce such a sophisticated drama. I have been a producer for so many years and I’m not as good. I am ashamed.”
Pei Shaoze thought, ‘It’s because I had many years of experience in another world.’
Whether it was out of sincerity or flattery, the people around him were boasting that President Pei had the foresight and Folding Paper was shot well. Cheng Xia felt proud in his heart. The alpha he liked was really too good…
Pei Shaoze turned his head, met Cheng Xia’s soft eyes that were like a ‘little fanboy’ and his heart couldn’t help softening.
They hadn’t seen each other in a long time and Cheng Xia had lost a bit of weight. He must’ve worked very hard to film this drama. The filming of a short 12 episode drama actually took so long. This showed how strict Director Zhu was. Many scenes were shot multiple times. Cheng Xia had so many scenes in the drama and he must be very tired.
It was time to give him a good treat. Pei Shaoze glanced at Zhu Zheng. “Director Zhu, I want to borrow Cheng Xia tomorrow. Tomorrow I have arranged for some media interviews to promote Folding Paper. Can you please change the schedule of the crew and give Cheng Xia a day off?”
Director Zhu thought about it. “No problem. Tomorrow we can finish filming the confrontation between the villain and Professor Lin and Cheng Xia’s parts can be filmed the day after tomorrow. The drama is about to be finished and I’m not in a hurry.”
Pei Shaoze politely said, “Thank you, Director Zhu.”
He told Cheng Xia in an official tone, “Cheng Xia, follow me tomorrow to meet the media reporters.”
Cheng Xia nodded seriously. “Yes, President Pei!”
Pei Shaoyan, “……”
He was once again fed dog food by his older brother and Cheng Xia.