Chapter 21: Gossip Queen (21)
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ming Shu and Jinyu both arranged their TV dramas to air on the prime time slot of the winter holiday. Jinyu started advertising long ago, and with its hot IP name and well known stars, their show had attracted lots of attention before its TV premiere.
While Ming Shu’s show, from the first shooting to approaching its first broadcasting, was kept low all the time. The employees became anxious in private, wondering what their boss was going to do.
Just as they were worrying, the official microblog of Ethereal Heightssurprisingly reposted a trailer, noting in particular that it was the first screen show by the same leading actress of Ethereal Heights .
Initially, when the newbie was selected as Ethereal Heights’ leading actress, it made many people drop their jaws in surprise. How could a newbie without any prior works be chosen to play the leading role?
And now a trailer suddenly came out, saying she had finished a drama?
Numerous netizens poured into the original blogger’s page—the official microblog of TV drama Records of the Royal Queen .
Most people were confused. Was there a TV drama called Records of the Royal Queen ?
How could it never have been divulged?
They sought information from the official microblog one after another.
Then the introduction came soon after those netizens watched the trailer.
A Famous Netizen: Records of the Royal Queen is adapted from Qing Shui Wu Yuan’s long novel, The Supreme Royalty , from some literature site. Because of its updating problem, the novel didn’t make a big impression in the site, not even showing up on the ranking list.
Born Stunner: Watched the trailer, seems good. I’m look forward to the drama.
The Wind Is Coming: I heard about Qing Shui Wu Yuan before. She once wrote a short story, suspense type though, and it was a super great story. The Supreme Royalty was about harem fighting, so I didn’t read it. But for the adaption of her novel, I will take a look. Antic.i.p.ating!
After a heated discussion, most netizens had been informed of the basic information of this drama.
Harem fighting, adapted from novel, produced by Starlight Entertainment, and with a famous director. The author of the original work was not well known but her style was great, and the scriptwriter was XX. The leading actress was also the same as in Ethereal Heights , and the leading actor was from Starlight Entertainment.
All the entertainment companies were chasing after widely known IPs, wishing to grab almost every heated one.
Thus people in the industry didn’t hold a positive view on Starlight Entertainment, for it chose a cold IP.
But Ming Shu thought these people were superficial.
How did the TV series catch fire when the novels weren’t so popular?
It was because of the scenario and story, not because of the fame brought by novel IPs and stars.
A good TV drama was going to be known in the end.
The diamonds always shine wherever they are.
Compared with other harem fighting series, the trailer of Records of the Royal Queen made an impression on the audience no matter its scene or the actors’ makeup. At a perfectly appropriate degree, it was not too bright to the point of dazzling.
And the director of Ethereal Heights ?
This was a real artist who focused on creating quality works and who would never fear a strong power.
The official blogger must seek permission from the director to repost such a trailer, which meant the director accepted this drama, thus most netizens began to look forward to it.
As soon as the trailer was published, Ming Shu gave orders to mobilize official advertising.
With the Ethereal Heights group’s publicity beforehand, it became much easier for further advertis.e.m.e.nt at this time. But Ming Shu was almost suppressing the advertising, trying to keep the drama mysterious to arouse interest in the audience.
When the broadcasting day came, Records of the Royal Queen had gained as much popularity as the drama on Jinyu’s side. Differently, Jinyu had disclosed almost all the relevant information, but Ming Shu maintained that their publicized information was only the tip of the iceberg.
Their series started on the same day and at the same eight o’clock prime time slot.
On Ming Shu’s side, the television channel was actually not as good as Jinyu’s and it was at a disadvantage in the beginning. But twenty minutes later, its ratings began to rise, matching that of Jinyu when the first episode ended.
However, as the second episode began, the ratings soared all the way, with Jinyu lagging far behind.
Records of the Royal Queen , whether for its plot or the actors’ acting, though not perfect, was much better than those dramas with only good-looking young stars or where the acting was too exaggerated.
Decorated with unique drama scenes, Records of the Royal Queen really impressed the audience. The director had adopted clever shooting techniques to cover up the shortcomings of the actors and actresses, making the whole scenario seem reasonable.
Just as Ming Shu said, this drama had become the dark horse.
…
For the next few days, Records of the Royal Queen had been overwhelmingly pressuring Jinyu, creating new records constantly.
Praise was also coming like a flowing tide. Those who were bad-mouthing the show now started to blatantly acclaim it, deleting large numbers of former comments.
The leading actress of Records of the Royal Queen exploded in popularity all at once. Ethereal Heights took this opportunity to release promotional photos. As the eye-catching leading actress of Ethereal Heights , the young girl in the picture was fresh and juicy, with a quick-witted appearance in complete conformity with the female character in the film.
Jinyu suffered a great loss with their drama, so they wanted to make a comeback with the movie at the Lunar New Year slot. However, there was no movie by Starlight Entertainment that would be released at that time.
You wanted to start a race, yet your opponent didn’t care to respond. How did you feel about that?
Ming Shu won the battle in a beautiful way, so people in the circle didn’t look down on her anymore. She could bear the pressure of Li Shaonan and found a way out from under the water; that endurance was totally beyond the average.
“Niannian, congratulations.”
Ming Shu saw Jiang Xun sitting alone in the living room when she came downstairs. Turning her gaze to the empty dining room, was Mother Jiang not at home?
“Mom and Dad went abroad,” Jiang Xun explained before Ming Shu asked.
About that day’s confession, he seemed to have forgotten. He didn’t show any embarra.s.sment when they met each other at home.
If Jiang Xun wasn’t embarra.s.sed, then Ming Shu as an outsider couldn’t be any cooler. She stepped down, holding the banister. “Where’s Aunt Zhou?”
Mother Jiang didn’t take Aunt Zhou with her, right? She had to do her cooking job.
“Aunt Zhou took some days off for family affairs.”
“How long?” Ming Shu picked up an apple on the table and took a bite out of it. “Who will cook for us if she’s not here?”
“It should be only a few days. I’m not busy these days, so just tell me if you want to eat something.”
“What’s this?” Pointing to the burning incense on the table, Ming Shu suddenly asked this.
“Just for pacifying the mood.” Jiang Xun tried to act normally. “I’ve been feeling a little anxious recently so I let the servant buy it.”
Ming Shu stepped back with the apple in hand, glancing at the door, then swiftly ran to it.
It was locked.
Turning around, Ming Shu saw Jiang Xun standing up from the sofa and looking at her with shadowed eyes. A hidden madness was emerging in his gaze.
s.h.i.t!
I knew this guy would go crazy.
Abandoning the thought of opening the door, Ming Shu took two bites of the apple, leaning against it, and said, “Brother, what do you want? To imprison me?”
“Niannian…” Jiang Xun’s face looked pained and his voice sounded bitter. “Why… why don’t you like me? Tell me which part you don’t like, I’ll change for you.”
“I don’t like that you like me, can you change that?” As an outsider, Ming Shu couldn’t afford this “like” thing.
“Niannian, don’t torture me.” Jiang Xun seemed to be restraining his emotions.
Ming Shu rested her eyes on the burning incense, which had almost burned out, and with a smile faintly discernible on her face, she provoked, “So what?”