Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 336 Ikeno: I am a high-and-mighty movie star

11 month 7 number.

beginning of winter.

Five days have passed since that earthquake that affected the entire Chinese entertainment industry.

Five days.

Although the incident is over, its impact is far-reaching.

After the incident, the four-character contestant, Zhu Yaolin, and others involved voluntarily announced that they would give up their spots and have been "in seclusion" ever since. They have avoided the media and turned down many events, keeping an unusually low profile, hoping that this matter will pass quickly.

On the other hand, Ikeno has also become much more low-key, and his situation is not much better than that of his rivals.

First of all, the major advertising partners and endorsers who had already shown signs of "rebellion" last time have now completely rebelled.

Unlike last time, when Chi Ye's fall was a "fake collapse," this time it was a true fall from grace for a top star. In just five days, Zhu Yaolin and others, along with their teams, lost a significant amount of public goodwill, essentially returning to square one.

Due to its terrifying level of attention, Yue Na has been targeted again. This time, it is unlikely that it can be reincarnated. It can only choose to invest in Yue Na and continue to quietly "survive" in a corner of the Chinese entertainment industry.

As for Ikeno, within five days, he experienced the biggest loss of fans in his career, a truly "spectacular" scene.

The once terrifyingly high traffic has been rapidly dwindling every minute since Ikeno officially announced his relationship.

The number of reposts, likes, and comments on Weibo has dropped from a terrifying peak of over 100 million within ten minutes to one hour, two hours, half a day, and now, some of Chi Ye's posts can no longer even break the 100 million mark.

This is something that anyone can observe.

That's how it is with top idols; for them, dating is tantamount to suicide. Even if a top idol of Ikeno's caliber experiences a reversal in public opinion and an improvement in public perception, his popularity will still decline uncontrollably.

The fans who spend money on him and manipulate his data are not casual observers, nor are they viewers who have developed a better impression of him. Instead, they are fandom members who dedicate their hearts to him day after day and year after year.

They only care about one thing—whether you are in a relationship or not.

that is it.

That's why major advertisers and endorsers "revolted".

Without this large group of loyal fans who are rich, powerful, and whose purchasing power is unmatched in the entire Chinese entertainment industry, is Chi Ye still worth such a high endorsement fee?

Forget about whether it's worth it or not. If this continues, once Ikeno stops relying on popularity, she might gradually become just like any other celebrity.

Their interests will also suffer unprecedented losses, because many endorsement partners have signed long-term contracts with Ikeno because of their perfect cooperation over the past two years.

Besides the subtle drop in endorsement deals (unlike Ji Heming's straightforward drop, since he's not a legally exposed celebrity), on the other hand, the TV stations and online streaming platforms that have maintained cooperation with Chi Ye are also experiencing disagreements and even arguments.

The morning of the 7nd.

Kiwi Fruit Headquarters.

Sheng Ning sat at the conference table once again, but she no longer had the ease and composure she had last time.

"I just don't understand, why? Why did it turn out like this?"

One of the old-school representatives who caused trouble last time, General Manager Li slammed his fist on the table: "Why did this have to happen at this time? How are we supposed to do any more promotions now? The platform has already prepared plans for SVIP and cloud-based private events to increase the spending limit. How are we supposed to break even now that this has happened?"

"Yes, this time just buying the rights to 'Goblin' set a new record high price... Actually, I didn't agree to do it before, it was too expensive, and even if you pay a high price, the problem is that you've been giving away profits to Ikeno's side in terms of advertising revenue sharing..."

Mr. Zhang nodded in agreement: "If nothing had happened, it would have been fine, but now that something has happened, and we've been offering discounts all the time... this time we might really end up losing money just to gain publicity, and it could be a huge loss."

The room fell silent. This time, no one spoke up for Sheng Ning, not even her partner.

Zhang and Li are right.

A large portion of the revenue from online streaming now comes from the actors' fans. This is because things are different from ten years ago. Now, various platforms have launched cloud-based subscription models, which, in short, means that fans pay for their idols' memberships.

Why do platforms now prefer to use traffic?
This income alone can make them a fortune, while also boosting platform user acquisition and other metrics, enabling them to meet the group's performance targets and earn even more money next year.

Money, money, money—it's all about profit.

Like Ikeno's "My Love from the Star" back then, because he hadn't become a huge star yet, his "fighting power" could only be described as average. But even under those circumstances, he still set a record of 20+ people booking screenings online.

Now, Ikeno has a new drama after "My Love from the Star". Kiwi even feels that with Ikeno's current terrifying popularity, it is entirely possible that she could easily have 50 online viewers, or even more.

Breaking all previous records across all platforms and setting a new record for the highest revenue from cloud-based event bookings seems to be within easy reach.

But the result...

Now you're telling me that Ikeno fell off the fault line?
And it happened right before "Goblin" was about to air?

Are you trying to kill us?!
"It's almost certain now that we've completely lost money this time."

One of the shareholders, who had remained neutral, sighed, somewhat speechless: "We definitely won't make any money now. The main problem is that we made such a big fuss with our publicity campaign, and we almost got summoned by the higher-ups... which means our reputation is ruined too."

"Losing both fame and fortune... I don't want to know what happened this week, I just want a solution, what can be done to minimize the damage from this incident?"

Sheng Ning paused, noticing everyone's gaze on her, and finally spoke up, "Well... I also wish I could beat up Chi Ye right now."

Everyone: "?"

"...Ahem."

President Gong coughed twice and glanced at everyone: "So it seems that everyone is aware of the current situation... In that case, let's cut our losses as much as possible. We can't continue with this kind of publicity; we're investing too much. Let's gradually downgrade it."

"Who has an opinion?"

"No comment."

"I don't have any objection either."

"Besides downgrading the publicity and distribution, I think we also need to communicate with Ikeno's side about the contract... Could we make some changes?"

"We also need to discuss the cooperation with Hunan TV. We're on one side now, and we're the ones who suffer losses. I don't believe Hunan TV will be happy about it..."

"..."

The meeting didn't end until the afternoon.

As everyone left the meeting room, the unprecedented publicity campaign for "Goblin" gradually returned to the appearance of an ordinary drama awaiting broadcast. This subtle difference was just beginning, but the Chinese entertainment industry has always been sensitive.

Before long, everyone will probably notice kiwifruit's attitude.

at the same time.

Sheng Ning was the last to leave the meeting room. She walked down the thickly carpeted corridor, looking somewhat absent-minded.

"Lemon."

The partner walked up from behind, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "There will always be bad luck, it's okay."

Sheng Ning was taken aback before realizing that her partner was trying to comfort her.

She twirled her finger before saying, "...I was just thinking about something." "?" Her partner looked at her. "What is it?"

Sheng Ning hesitated for a long time before saying, "This kind of thing happening at a time like this... and he doesn't even post a 'clarification' on Weibo... is he really that brainless?"

Partner: "..."

She sensed the confusion and speechlessness in Sheng Ning's tone, and shook her head, saying, "This kind of thing is only natural... He's a normal man, I think... Sigh, I'll speak up for you later, don't worry, I won't let them kick you out."

Sheng Ning was still puzzled, and remained puzzled.

……

at the same time.

On Hunan TV, the same scene was playing out, but unlike Sheng Ning's situation, because the person in charge of "excessively praising" "Goblin" was one of the influential figures, the atmosphere within Hunan TV at this moment was more one of embarrassment and regret.

The biggest damage to Ikeno's "official announcement" of his relationship, besides himself, is to the two TV stations and platforms that are about to broadcast "Goblin".

Both are completely intertwined with him in this respect, so there's no point in saying which one is better off than the other; they're both equally unbearable.

What's even more unbearable for them is the opportunistic kicking from their own backers.

On the 10th, Tencent suddenly began a large-scale promotion of the new drama starring Xiao Zhan and Ling Han. This drama is an S++ ancient costume political intrigue drama starring the currently popular top idol Xiao Zhan and the rising star Ling Han.

Tencent really promoted Xiao Zhan in this regard, pairing him with a cast and crew of veteran actors and award-winning actors who have excellent public image and reputation both inside and outside the industry.

The production team alone reportedly invested over 5 million yuan, making it a major production that Tencent originally intended to make a splash in the first quarter of the new year.

However, because Chi Ye's popularity has declined, a large number of "unclaimed" traffic opportunities have suddenly flooded the market. In order to make Xiao Zhan a clear leader and replace Chi Ye, Tencent decisively moved up the release date of the drama.

In terms of financial resources, kiwifruit is obviously no match for the behemoth that is Tencent. So, in just over a week, Xiao Zhan and Ling Han's popularity skyrocketed. Everyone can see that Tencent is determined to devour the traffic market that Chi Ye has left behind.

—As everyone knows, Ikeno used to be an artist under Tencent Entertainment, so why let the good stuff go to outsiders... Here you go.

In comparison, although Cool Film was a bit slower, it also launched a suspense drama with a four-character actor and a certain film emperor as co-stars. Although the genres are different, the four-character actor and the film emperor are both big names, and the four-character actor's entry into the drama circle shows his great ambition and precise target.

Suddenly, the kiwifruit craze died down, and the other two major platforms, Kuku, poured money into competing for the market, creating a sense of desolation, as if a major battle was about to break out and things had changed.

They're all aiming for Ikeno's flesh.

Since when did just any Tom, Dick, or Harry become able to come and grab a bite of internet traffic?

Coco was furious, Ikeno's team was furious, and the company was furious.

"It's like monkeys ruling the world; they're all practically blatantly trying to cash in on viewership... Also, is KuYing out of their minds? With the four-character name already in such a mess, why are they still promoting his drama? Do they even dare to market it?"

"I suggest stabbing them in the back and bringing up the old issue again."

"I agree."

"That's how it should be done..."

The studio meeting went on into the evening. After it ended, Chi Ye stood up, glanced at his watch, and asked, "When is Pliers coming?"

"Sister Shi will probably have about an hour left."

"She's so slow, let's not wait for her. Let's meet up with the Xiangnan program crew, we'll go first."

After Ikeno finished speaking, he prepared to go to the airport first.

This pliers person has terrible time management skills; if she waits, she'll probably miss her flight.

"Brother Chi, wait a moment... Sister Shi is here."

The assistant, who had arrived yesterday, was busy holding up her phone. Outside the door, Shi Jinwei, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, walked in and glanced at Chi Ye with her sapphire blue eyes: "Are you leaving early?"

Chi Ye didn't waste any words with her: "I'm about to burn out, I'm a little anxious right now, so don't say anything, or I won't be able to control my temper."

Shi Jinwei: “???”

"Oh right, even if I flop, you still can't surpass my work."

Ikeno added, "I'm a high-class movie star."

Shi Jinwei: "..."

You bastard Chi Ye, you're so mean.

Pliers Sister gritted her teeth.

She's been having a rough time lately, though... not in her career. Her career is as stable as ever; after all, with her competitive edge, few female stars in the Chinese entertainment industry can compete with her.

Putting everything else aside, her face and figure alone are top-tier.

But... she felt she was having psychological and emotional problems, so she had been "healing" recently. She had expected this healing process to last a long time, but then this huge thing happened...

Her injury can only heal passively... It won't work if it doesn't heal properly. She's the female lead in "Goblin," and if we rely solely on Ikeno for publicity, the effect will definitely be greatly reduced... The current Ikeno is not the same Ikeno as before; he might need her.

The competition for the "Goblin" project was fierce and it was incredibly popular back then. Who would have thought it would turn out like this in the blink of an eye?

Sometimes Shi Jinwei would wonder why she, such a snobbish and ambitious person, was no longer concerned about these things this time, but instead felt more uneasy and anxious about the publicity and broadcast results of "Goblin"... how much of a help it would be to Chi Ye.

Good heavens, Ikeno isn't me, why should I care so much about how much "Goblin" boosted his career?
Impossible. Once that incident is exposed, unless there's another "My Love from the Star" series, why would Ikeno have any advantage?

may…

He probably never thought he would continue making TV dramas in the future.

After this, I might really be forced to become a "high and mighty" movie star... Let go of the online traffic and start over.

Shi Jinwei: "It seems you're not in any serious trouble, so let's go."

Chi Ye glanced at the other person: "Time is a bit tight. The drama might only have a few promotional appearances before it goes online. Are your subsequent appearances scheduled?"

Shi Jinwei said casually, "I'm not sure. The schedule is too slow. I'll ask my agent later."

"Ah." Ikeno said thoughtfully, "Then don't go. If you have too many gigs, go do other gigs."

Shi Jin gritted his teeth slightly, turned around, and stopped talking.

The assistant said, "I've already arranged Sister Shi's schedule. Don't worry, Brother Chi, I support you. If she dares to resist, I'll fire her."

Chino sighed, "It's all because of power that you've been ruined."

"Then let's go..."

"Oh right, the weather forecast said it would snow on the 30th, right? God, please be kind and change the premiere time if it doesn't snow."

(End of this chapter)