This director is vindictive.

Chapter 224 Let's go hiking!
Yang Mi said she wasn't really angry, but she definitely felt envious and jealous.

Especially after this series of video calls, each person seemed so happy to be becoming a parent, which really made her anxious.

What could Chen Mo do? He was just a tool! He could only do his job as a tool.

Time flew by, and several days passed. During these days, Chen Mo had been living the life of a tool, and he began to understand why many men liked it most when they wanted it, but feared it most when he wanted more.

Some things just can't be rushed. Every morning, the first thing Big Secret does after getting up is run to the bathroom to get tested, just like she's getting a nucleic acid test. Unfortunately, the two lines she wanted to see never appeared.

Time flies, and the day of the premiere of "The Hidden Corner" has arrived.

In the past few days, the trailer for "The Hidden Corner" has continued to generate buzz. At this time, many drama fans are staying at home and can't go out, so the discussion is quite enthusiastic.

After all, there's nothing else to do!
Zhao Lei has been very irritable lately, mainly because his brother-in-law is really a handful.

He's been arguing with his wife a lot lately because of his brother-in-law's situation!
That evening, he was waiting for the premiere of "The Hidden Corner," and his wife, unusually, sat down beside him.

However, Zhao Lei couldn't be happy. Of course, he liked watching other dramas with his wife so they could discuss the plot and such.

But he felt this drama was really unsuitable! After all, there was a scene in the drama where the son-in-law killed his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Especially given recent events, he has some issues with his parents-in-law, so he's worried that his wife might overthink things after watching the show.

But there was nothing he could do; his wife had already sat down.
During the break while waiting for the show to air, he naturally started talking about his brother-in-law, who had been causing headaches for both families recently.

"What's going on with your brother? He usually earns more than me, and Mom and Dad always brag about it to me. How come he's suddenly out of work and his income has stopped? Is there something you haven't told me?" Zhao Lei couldn't help but ask.

“He’s used to spending money extravagantly, and no one keeps an eye on him, so it’s normal that he doesn’t have any savings, right?” Zhao Lei’s wife asked somewhat evasively.

“No, if that were all, Mom and Dad wouldn’t have asked us for money. How much could it cost them to support your brother’s family alone at home?” Zhao Lei shook his head, clearly dissatisfied with and disbelieving his wife’s explanation.

“You know our family’s situation. I have a mortgage and a car loan to pay, and I also have to cover household expenses. I won’t even mention how you subsidize your family with your salary, but now you’re even borrowing money. Something must have happened,” Zhao Lei said to his wife.

“I definitely won’t agree to lend you the money until this matter is clarified!” Zhao Lei said again.

"I'm not quite sure either. My parents said it seems he's recently become obsessed with some kind of red envelope grabbing game," the wife said helplessly.

Zhao Lei immediately turned red!

"Red envelope grabbing games? He's addicted to gambling? You know it, your parents-in-law know it, so I'm the only one who doesn't know? That stuff is a bottomless pit! Has he even borrowed money?" Zhao Lei asked, glaring at his wife.

"I... I'm not entirely sure either, but that's my brother. I can't just stand by and watch him die, can I?"

"Huh? Forget it, I don't want to argue with you. Anyway, I will absolutely not lend you this money!" Zhao Lei said resolutely.

“He’s already quit, but if he can’t pay back the money, he’ll be blacklisted. What will he do then?” Zhao Lei’s wife said with tears in her eyes.

“But what will happen to our family if we borrow this money? You only think about your brother, have you thought about what will happen to our own family? What will happen to me? What will happen to our son?” Zhao Lei said angrily.

However, to his surprise, his wife did not argue with him this time as she had before.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Lei calmed himself down.

He suddenly thought that it might be nice to have his wife watch the show with him.

Soon, in silence, the time came for the premiere of "The Hidden Corner".

To Zhao Lei's surprise, on the screen, Zhang Dongsheng and his wife were attending his brother-in-law's full-month celebration, and the scene gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

When Zhao Lei's wife saw the footage, she saw Zhang Dongsheng being ridiculed and humiliated in various ways, while he could only swallow his anger and smile in response.

For some reason, she suddenly looked at Zhao Lei and felt a pang of heartache.

Because Zhao Lei had previously gone back to her parents' home with her, her parents and relatives, just like in the drama, looked down on him in various ways.

Her parents even started to dislike Zhao Lei as their son-in-law because her younger brother's salary in his first month of work was much higher than Zhao Lei's salary after several years of work.

“I’m free tomorrow, I can take my parents hiking!” Zhao Lei was somewhat surprised when Zhang Dongsheng said this.

He had seen the trailer and was somewhat surprised. Could it be that Zhang Dongsheng had already set his sights on something at this point?
Keep reading.

Zhang Dongsheng asked his father-in-law, "Dad, do you think I still have a chance?"

His original intention was to persuade his parents-in-law to convince his wife not to divorce him.

However, the result was that they repeatedly provoked him, saying that he and his wife were not suitable for each other and that he was not good enough for her. They stopped talking about it and continued climbing the mountain.

Of course, the plot has two storylines; the other storyline is the story of the three children.

When Zhang Dongsheng used the excuse of taking photos to push his father-in-law and mother-in-law off the mountain, Zhao Lei was stunned, and so was his wife.

Zhao Lei was stunned because he never expected that his previous guess was true; Zhang Dongsheng had actually killed his father-in-law and mother-in-law to save his marriage.

And so the connection between the three children and Zhang Dongsheng began, and surprisingly, evidence of it was captured on film.

It can be said that the first episode of "The Hidden Corner" was packed with content, and most of the content of the trailer was revealed in the first episode.

Moreover, "The Hidden Corner" is different from other dramas in that each episode has a different length. For example, the first episode is quite long.

An episode is 77 minutes long, which is quite surprising to many people, considering that current online dramas are actually more comparable to traditional TV dramas.

However, TV stations have come up with all sorts of creative ways to make TV dramas. For example, the original "Special Forces: Fire Phoenix" was split into many episodes.

That's not all. The key issue is that there's a high degree of overlap between each episode. Each episode was already cut down to more than half an hour, and then more than ten minutes of the plot were repeated.

In comparison, "The Hidden Corner" is truly a gem among gems.

The key point is that the episodes are available for free on the Tencent Video platform; no membership is required!

Chen Mo was essentially copying the style of the original. The first episode was 77 minutes long, the second 49 minutes, and the third 37 minutes, each episode stopping at a crucial point, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats with constant suspense. This is also the most comfortable narrative pace for the audience.

Getting back to the main point, Zhao Lei's wife, who was watching the show, couldn't help but overthink things! You see, she looked at Zhao Lei with a hint of fear on her face.

After all, she and Zhao Lei had argued quite a bit recently, and her parents had indeed said a lot of things about Zhao Lei that they disliked. Her heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Could it be?
Although it seems impossible, Zhang Dongsheng in the story seems to treat his wife, family, and in-laws better than his own husband treats himself and his in-laws. But what was the result?
Just like Zhang Dongsheng said to his wife, "There's no one in this world who can treat you better than me!"

Moreover, he remained calm throughout, even when faced with ridicule, he simply ignored it with a smile, and anyone could tell that he was not feeling well.

But for his wife's sake, he swallowed his anger.

Moreover, before that, he had obviously never done anything wrong, and could be described as an "honest man"!
But it's often the honest people who are most terrifying when they go crazy.

Zhao Lei didn't think much of it and didn't even notice the inexplicable fear in his wife's eyes.

Otherwise, he would probably cry his eyes out.

The first two episodes were incredibly fast-paced, and the story of the three chicks and the fox unfolded from there.

Unfortunately, only two episodes of the premiere were available, which was a bit disappointing. After finishing the show, Zhao Lei turned to look at his wife and was startled.

He noticed his wife's pale face and asked with concern, "Are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?"

"I, I'm fine, I'm fine! Zhao Lei, let's forget about the money. I was wrong before, I shouldn't have pressured you!" His wife suddenly became understanding.

Zhao Lei, on the contrary, felt a little uncomfortable, mainly because he was completely different from before!

Meanwhile, online discussions about "The Hidden Corner" have surged dramatically.

The memes "Let me take you mountain climbing" and "Do you think I still have a chance?" became the most discussed topics.

"Holy crap, I just finished watching it. As expected of Chen Mo's productions, everything is top-notch. This first episode alone is packed with high-quality content!"

"Nobody noticed that the first episode of this show is a full 77 minutes long! I didn't even realize it when I was watching it!"

"Holy crap, I didn't know that until you told me. I went back to check, and it's true! I was so focused on the plot that I didn't even notice!"

"Want to go hiking together?" "Do you think I still have a chance?" Damn, why do I feel such a chill in my heart?

Don't you think that Qin Hao has successfully replaced Feng Yuanzheng as the new "shadow" in "Don't Talk to Strangers"?

"What's most chilling is that at the beginning, Zhang Dongsheng takes his father-in-law and mother-in-law to Liufeng Mountain for a visit. After reaching the top, he asks the two elders to sit on the rocks at the edge of the cliff. One moment he is 'sincerely' helping them pose, and the next second he suddenly pushes the two elders off the cliff."
Even though it was intentional, he immediately switched to the act of "it was all an accident," lying on the edge of the cliff calling for help and feigning extreme terror.

When I saw it, I was completely stunned; it gave me the creeps!

"I agree. The key point is that he used to give off a very honest, easy-to-bully, gentle and refined vibe, but the change is just too exaggerated. But what's even more chilling is that despite the huge change, it doesn't feel out of place at all!"

"I just want to ask, if I happen to be watching a show with my parents-in-law, will they be scared?"

That evening, "Want to go hiking together?" and "Do you think I still have a chance?" quickly became the hottest topics.

The next day, as word spread, some netizens even joked that "famous mountain scenic spots should ban Teacher Qin Hao from entering."

Moreover, many netizens gave it a thumbs up. Upon seeing the news, Chen Mo immediately called Qin Hao and asked him to cooperate in promoting it.

Qin Hao quickly followed Chen Mo's advice and responded with a pun-filled line from the first episode of the show: "Do I... still have a chance?"

With Qin Hao's response, netizens' enthusiasm was instantly ignited, and the hashtag "Qin Hao takes you mountain climbing" quickly became a trending topic.

However, before this promotional campaign was over, Qin Hao, who always liked to be quirky, posted a photo of himself with a custom-made "Want to go hiking together?" phone case.

As a result, "Qin Hao's phone case" also became a trending topic.

No one expected this surge in traffic to come so suddenly and so intensely.

Some even went viral, with discussions everywhere such as "Do you think I still have a chance?" and "Let's go hiking together."

Fans who were watching the show and keeping an eye on the trending topics online suddenly realized that the phrases "Want to go hiking together?" and "Do I still have a chance?" have evolved from the plot itself into the trendiest jokes right now.

It's being discussed on WeChat Moments and Weibo!
As netizens discussed and shared the story, the web series "The Hidden Corner" instantly became a phenomenon.

Of course, the quality of the show itself has also been praised by many netizens.

Everyone says that the visuals of this movie are so stunning that every screenshot has the quality of an oil painting. They also say that a film director like Chen Mo, who has gathered a bunch of talented actors, is simply a game-changer for other web series!

The related topics "Want to go hiking together?" and "Do I still have a chance?" saw their readership surpass 100 million, 200 million, and 300 million in just a few days.

It can be said that these two memes sparked the curiosity of countless people about the show, which in turn led to an explosive increase in its viewership.

Moreover, once a trend takes hold, its effect is absolutely explosive.

Whether a meme will become popular is anyone's guess, but now that it has become popular and formed a social trend, if you don't understand the topic when others are talking about it, you will seem out of touch. Naturally, people will want to find out where the meme came from and what it is all about.

When a show is of high quality and has explosive promotional effects, the result is naturally that Tencent Video makes a fortune.

After all, this is an exclusive broadcast! In fact, the viewership of "The Hidden Corner" has long surpassed that of "I Am Yu Huanshui," and the popularity of these two memes can be said to have played a significant role in its success!
Chen Mo's reputation as a marketing genius was once again brought up.

After all, this wave of promotion, although it was certainly fueled by the production team and Tencent Video, was incredibly effective.

The publicity for other films and television dramas, which were almost directly impacted, has been completely wiped out.

The key point is that this wave of publicity was almost entirely spontaneous from netizens, and it didn't cost much in terms of advertising expenses.

In other words, this is just a web series; if it were a movie, it would probably have been a box office hit.

However, compared to movies, web series have a much higher conversion rate in this regard. Tencent Video has found that after these two memes dominated the trending searches, the number of new user views for "The Hidden Corner" suddenly exploded, and the number of members also exploded.

Although on the surface it seems that they didn't make money by buying this web series mini-series at a sky-high price, the traffic and paying users brought by this wave of influence have already made them a fortune.

The reason is that courier services are currently suspended in many areas; otherwise, these "meme-inspired" products would probably have sold out long ago.

The effects of this wave have even reached into reality.

Some netizens commented:
"Although I did not suffer the same blows, ridicule, and even my wife wanting to divorce me as Zhang Dongsheng, my status in the family was indeed not high. What I disliked most was going back to my wife's parents' home with her."

But after the show became a hit, I noticed my wife has suddenly become much gentler. Could it be that she's worried I want to take my parents hiking?

"I'm wondering how I can get my parents-in-law to see this show? They always like me to drive them around like they're a servant. Do you think they'll still dare to ride in my car after watching this show?"

"Holy crap, upstairs, your idea is dangerous! It's too extreme!"

"The scene of Zhang Dongsheng's wife secretly slipping him a red envelope at his full-moon celebration was incredibly heartbreaking to watch, because it was all too familiar!"

"Honest people are the scariest when they explode! Zhang Dongsheng seems very honest most of the time, and he really is, but it doesn't seem out of place at all when he does this kind of thing!"

“My father-in-law was joking with me too, but I guess fathers-in-law all over the world are now particularly wary of (mountain climbing).”

In fact, Zhao Lei is the most qualified to speak on this matter.

After watching the show, he suddenly realized that his wife's attitude towards him had completely changed in the past few days.

Moreover, when my parents-in-law called, they actually started to show concern for me.

Even regarding his brother-in-law's affairs, he stopped pressuring his wife and himself as forcefully as before.

So what's the truth? The truth is, Zhao Lei's wife really did recommend that her parents watch "The Hidden Corner," but the two of them were completely dumbfounded after watching just one episode.

For some reason, they had the feeling that their son-in-law was like "Zhang Dongsheng".

These two memes quickly became more than just memes for the general public.

The thing Chen Mo had feared had come true!
(End of this chapter)