Huayu: Traffic is king

Chapter 212: "Ashes of Love" became a huge hit upon its premiere.

The day before its release, Gu Jingyi and Yang Zi did a joint live stream on Douyin to give "Ashes of Love" a final boost.

After the joint promotional live stream ended, Yang Zi didn't rush to leave. Instead, she paused for a moment, then asked Gu Jingyi somewhat uneasily:
"Jingyi, do you think our 'Ashes of Love' will be as hugely popular as 'Story of Yanxi Palace'?"

As a hugely popular drama in 2018, "Story of Yanxi Palace" dominated various charts from the moment it premiered. The cast and crew of "Story of Yanxi Palace," including Datawin, Aiman, and Lighthouse, were all featured on these charts.

Despite criticisms of its "female-centric wish-fulfillment" formula, "Story of Yanxi Palace" remained incredibly popular. Its overseas rights were sold long ago, catapulting newcomers Xu Kai and Wu Jinyan to overnight fame. Qin Lan, whose career had previously faded as Nie Yuan, experienced a career resurgence, especially after shedding her "Qiong Yao Girl" label. Her portrayal of Empress Fucha earned her the "eternal white moonlight" filter.

A good role can sustain an actor for years and make them "well-off".

Regardless of what their subsequent works are like in the next few years, the actors will receive countless invitations to variety shows and scripts for similar roles based on their representative characters.

With the success of "Story of Yanxi Palace" as a precedent, it's no wonder that Yang Zi had high expectations.

"Of course you can, what are you thinking, Sister Zi? So when you were asked in the interview whether you were confident, you were just bluffing?"

Gu Jingyi couldn't help but chuckle; of course, he wasn't worried about the ratings of "Ashes of Love."

Even when the original timeline of "Ashes of Love" was dominating the charts, it still managed to break 1 on the relatively unknown Jiangsu TV channel when it premiered.

The TV ratings exceeded 1.3%, and the online viewership surpassed 100 million within just 15 minutes of airing.

This is remarkable considering that Yang Zi is the only child star with high national recognition who has achieved such good results.

Moreover, at the beginning of 2019, "Ashes of Love" has no strong competitors. With Gu Jingyi, a top-tier idol with extremely high appeal, "Ashes of Love" is destined to be a huge hit.

"No way, I'm actually a little nervous. It's going to premiere tomorrow, aren't you nervous? Sister Zi has brought in almost half of the entertainment industry, this is my breakthrough role."

Yang Zi raised her hand and slapped Gu Jingyi, speaking with a hint of reproach.

“It’s a good thing to get people to promote your product or service. But you also have to consider who you’re getting people to promote. There’s no need to bring up people who have had unpleasant experiences before.”

Gu Jingyi was referring to the "gentle male singer," whom Yang Zi had asked to campaign for her during the Golden Eagle Awards. The "gentle male singer" then publicly shared their entire chat history, embarrassing Yang Zi.

She also tagged the official account, saying, "@GoldenEagleAwardsOfficial, give her a goddess title. After all, even popular female stars are personally campaigning for votes (laughs) (picking nose)"

This is really hard to judge; calling it a backstabbing wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?
Most importantly, Yang Zi wanted the Best Actress award at the time, not the most popular "Golden Eagle Goddess" award.

The Golden Eagle Goddess is not an award, but rather a person or mascot, similar to a spokesperson.

The actress award has two rounds of voting: one by the audience and one by the judges. While it's true that audience votes can be lobbied, Ma didn't clarify this and simply said "goddess." This caused Yang Zi to immediately trend on social media, and years later, marketing accounts have been reposting this claim, saying she was vying for the "goddess" award.

He's been criticized for many years...

If this had happened before, Gu Jingyi wouldn't have been able to handle it, since he had worked with Yang Zi on two dramas. Although their relationship wasn't particularly close, they were still fairly familiar colleagues.

In this kind of place, Gu Jingyi couldn't help but remind Yang Zi to pay attention to interpersonal relationships.

It's true that the gentle male singer from the original timeline helped promote Yang Zi's drama "Ashes of Love" before its premiere, but after the drama became a huge hit, viewers complained about "padded plot" due to the increased screen time given to the second male lead during the middle of the series.

At this time, he posted again, "Help my sister @YangZi promote her, after all, if she becomes popular, she can help me out~ Also, there are rumors online that #AshesofLoveIsWatered Down#? Don't blame the actors, how the script is filmed is the screenwriter's business!"

These words sparked another major battle between Shufen, Xufeng fans, and Runyu fans.

In the end, it was Yang Zi who went to put out the fire.

Tsk, that's hard to judge.

But for now, at most, we can only let him ride the wave of popularity.

After all, Gu Jingyi's version of "Ashes of Love" features "Max Xu Feng".

All the spotlight was given back to Xu Feng, showcasing the demeanor of the "Number One War God of the Six Realms" from the original work.

Even the attempt to clear Runyu's name has been cut, no wonder Rossi didn't even bother to participate in the house-sweeping event...

This version of him will not be served at the table the same way as before.

After saying goodbye to Yang Zi, Gu Jingyi went to attend to other events.

After shooting another cover for the top women's magazine "Marie Claire", Gu Jingyi went back to the company to discuss the preparations for the drama's broadcast with the boss, Zhao Qinghuan.

Things like public relations and publicity require staff to be on duty 24 hours a day during the show's broadcast time.

After everything was explained, February 19th arrived, the day of the premiere of "Ashes of Love".

The highly anticipated drama "Ashes of Love" finally premiered on Jiangsu TV on this day, and was simultaneously broadcast on Tencent Video and iQiyi.

As eight o'clock approached, countless viewers glued to their televisions, computers, or mobile phones and tablets focused their attention. They kept refreshing the page, waiting for the show to begin.

Gu Jingyi's fan group had already organized a "data-boosting team" well in advance, with fans using multiple devices such as TVs, mobile phones, and tablets to create a dazzling first-day result for Gu Jingyi, a remarkable report card.

In the girls' dormitory of Beijing Film Academy, Zhou Ye, Yang Shiqing, and their roommates squeezed together in front of a computer.

"Hey, have you guys noticed that Chinese dramas have been getting better and better lately? Half a year ago, 'Story of Yanxi Palace' was a huge hit, and my WeChat Moments were flooded with it every day. Yu Zheng has really pulled off a great comeback this time, making two of his new signings into near-top stars."

One of my roommates was scrolling through his phone, speaking with great interest.

"It's quite popular, but it hasn't reached the second-highest level yet. Xu Kai's status has been elevated to around the third tier, but the best at promoting people is still the male lead in ancient costume dramas! 'Story of Yanxi Palace' is a female lead drama, and Wu Jinyan, who was signed by Yu Zheng, is the real star. Her data has been consistently among the top female stars recently, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a female traffic star."

Another roommate was also launched into a long-winded discussion, speaking eloquently. Suddenly, she cued Yang Shiqing, who had become unusually serious.

"Shiqing, what about you?"

"I didn't finish watching 'Story of Yanxi Palace,' I still prefer fantasy dramas. The costumes and props are exquisite, the special effects are gorgeous, and even the romance has an ethereal quality! They're so stylish!"

Yang Shiqing is a staunch fan of fantasy dramas, and has watched the "Chinese Paladin" series countless times.

"Even fantasy dramas depend on who's in it! Take 'The Journey of Flower,' for example; its special effects were criticized after it aired, and the male lead's demeanor was also criticized. But 'Ashes of Love' stars Gu Jingyi! He was incredibly handsome as Jiang Chen in 'A Love So Beautiful' and in 'The Fast and the Furious.' Yang Zi's popularity is undeniable! This drama is definitely a sure thing!"

Zhou Ye always had a very positive view of Gu Jingyi and had great confidence in him.

"Indeed, Gu Jingyi's face is the pinnacle of period drama looks. As long as the plot doesn't fall apart, I could watch the whole series just for his good looks!"

"Are you kidding me, the number one Apop artist? Gu Jingyi only goes to Peninsula for two or three days for events. Have you forgotten the news about the fans who brought him to Incheon Airport and brought it to a standstill? That scene, wow."

Another roommate added.

"Stop talking! Stop talking! It's eight o'clock! Refresh, refresh!"

When the clock struck eight, the group quickly clicked refresh and decisively opened the first episode that had just been released.

After the one-minute commercial break, the melodious theme song "Undyed" began to play:

"A pot of clear wine, a body covered in dust, a single thought to live out the rest of my life without regret."

As the scenes shift, the magnificent landscapes of the Celestial Realm, the Flower Realm, and the Demon Realm unfold in succession, and the main characters make their appearance one by one:

The Fire God Xu Feng, clad in a golden battle robe, with exquisite features yet exuding an aloof aura; the Flower Goddess Jin Mi, innocent and carefree, frolicking under the grapevines; and the Night God Run Yu, gentle and refined yet with a profound mind.

After the story outline was given, the scene shifted directly to the rebirth of the god of fire.

Gu Jingyi's gaze grew even more resolute in the high temperature, large beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. As time passed, the wing pattern on Gu Jingyi's back became increasingly clear.

Suddenly, he raised his head and looked ahead with confidence. The phoenix wing pattern on his back suddenly became hot, and he looked up at the sky.

The patterns on his wings unfolded behind him, forming phoenix wings. He transformed into a phoenix, bursting out of the roof and soaring into the sky.

The moment the incredibly handsome Xu Feng appeared, the live chat exploded with comments:
[I'm here for Gu Jingyi!]

Gu Jingyi looks amazing in period costume! That battle robe is so handsome it makes me cry!

Gu Jingyi's muscles are so firm. I want to touch them!

Yang Zi's Jinmi is so adorable! She's the epitome of a grape spirit!

[The God of Fire has descended to the mortal realm to undergo tribulation! Sisters, welcome him!]

[Emperor Jing's aura is truly that of the God of War of the Six Realms!]

[Ahhh! Gu Jingyi's gaze is killing me! That domineering aura!]

"So? Isn't Gu Jingyi devastatingly handsome?"

Zhou Ye hugged a pillow, her eyes glued to the close-up shot of Gu Jingyi on the screen.

"Gu Jingyi's period drama look is truly unique in the Chinese entertainment industry. His figure and temperament are exactly like Xu Feng who stepped out of the book."

My roommate sincerely praised it and wholeheartedly agreed.

Xu Feng possesses both the majestic and noble air of a celestial war god and a pure heart untainted by love.

This role is completely different from the sunny school heartthrob or roguish older brother roles Gu Jingyi has played before, yet it is equally stunning.

"Don't forget that Gu Jingyi's Xu Feng costume photos are all over social media, like Twitter and SNS! People on the international internet are calling him 'Asia's most handsome guy'!"

Zhou Ye added proudly.

"Alright, alright! I know your Gu Jingyi is the most handsome man in the universe! Focus on watching the drama! Stop discussing it!"

When Xu Feng, who was undergoing rebirth, was ambushed, he fell directly into the Flower Realm and was picked up by Jin Mi.

Jinmi planted Xufeng in the soil, watered it, and left. Back in her room, Jinmi thought about how this "crow" could break through the Water Mirror, indicating it was an enlightened "crow." She decided to take it back and stew it to increase her spiritual power.

When she finished preparing the utensils in the house, she discovered that the "crow" had turned into a person.

Seeing that the man was still unconscious, Jinmi came up with another plan. She thought that she might as well eat his inner core to help her spiritual power increase greatly. Just as she was raising her knife to make her move, Xu Feng suddenly woke up and shouted, "Who is it?"

Jinmi was startled and dropped the knife, while Xufeng was so frightened that he stood bolt upright. That dagger had almost hurt his younger brother.

The barrage scrolls crazily:

[Is this the scene that the director of Ashes of Love mentioned in an interview as the most troublesome for Gu Jingyi? Haha! Jingyi really went all out; I wonder how much psychological trauma he suffered!]

[These two are so funny together! Jinmi, you're already plotting to kill your husband on the very first day you met him.] [Holy crap! Am I the only one shocked by the scenery of the Flower Realm? This scene, these special effects! The budget is burning!]

These two are so sweet and a perfect match!

[Those who have read the original novel, let me tell you: the sweeter it is now, the more heartbreaking it will be later. Enjoy it while it lasts.]

Next, Xu Feng drank the flower juice brewed by Jin Mi in the Flower Realm and rested for a few days before recovering.

They flew directly to the Heavenly Realm, and Jinmi begged Xu Feng to take her out with him as well.

At the border between Heaven and Demon, tens of thousands of demon warriors gathered on the banks of the River of Oblivion, preparing for a major attack on Heaven.

Clad in crimson golden armor and wielding a divine bow, Xu Feng charged into battle amidst a vast army, his eyes sharp as lightning. His movements were fluid and graceful, each strike displaying the demeanor of a war god.

The magnificent special effects, combined with the stirring background music, instantly draw the audience into that beautiful world where immortals and demons are in conflict.

Xu Feng looked down at the demon generals and asked who else dared to come.

The comments section went wild again:

Holy crap! The action scenes! The special effects! The budget is burning!

Gu Jingyi's aura is amazing! He's incredibly cool!

[Xu Feng shoots an arrow! I'm dead!]

This is what a fantasy drama should be! This is what a war god should be!

[The original voice acting is fantastic! Gu Jingyi's voice is so soothing!]

The plot then shifts to a lighthearted and humorous take on the Heavenly Realm. Jinmi accidentally wanders into the Heavenly Realm and, due to her gluttony for spiritual energy, is trapped in Xu Feng's Qiwu Palace. The innocent and naive grape spirit and the cold and arrogant Fire God's first encounter sparks a lively interaction.

Yang Zi perfectly portrayed Jinmi's innocent and naive nature, as well as her love of food, while Gu Jingyi perfectly captured Xu Feng's outwardly cold demeanor, yet inwardly curious and indulgently indulgent nature.

One is passionate and fiery (Jinmi asking for spiritual power), while the other is cold and aloof (Xu Feng towards Jinmi). The contrast is incredibly endearing, instantly creating a strong sense of chemistry between them.

Haha, Little Grape is so cute!

[Little Grape, stop flirting! Xu Feng thinks you have a crush on him, you innocent phoenix!]

[Lord Vulcan: Where did this silly grape come from?]

[Even though Xu Feng complained, he still helped out every time!]

[The fruit and bird pairing is a done deal! Grapes and phoenixes are the ultimate match!]

[I could watch this interaction for a hundred episodes! I love it, please stream it more!]

The plot is fast-paced, and the two episodes were over in the blink of an eye.

As the plot unfolds, it gradually reveals that Jinmi took the Meteorite Pill to sever her emotions and love, the brotherly relationship between Xu Feng and Runyu, and the basic structure of the Heavenly Realm.

Although the pacing wasn't particularly fast, the exquisite costumes, props, and sets, excellent special effects, and the chemistry between the two main characters firmly captivated the audience.

Gu Jingyi's heroic demeanor as a war god in the opening scene and his first encounter with Jinmi made countless female viewers' hearts race. It's true that real handsome men should be cast in period dramas; even "plastic surgery acting skills" can't save an average-looking man from playing the "number one male god of the entire realm."

The Chinese entertainment industry has long suffered from unattractive male actors, especially in historical romance dramas.

When Gu Jingyi, a true visual icon, was filming an ancient costume drama, the comments section was filled with all sorts of vulgar and provocative phrases like "drooling over the screen," "husband," and "I'm done for."

"Ugh! Can these comments be a little more restrained?!" Zhou Ye was both angry and anxious as she looked at the screen full of "husband" and "want to sleep".

"Calm down, this just means he's very charming!" Yang Shiqing joked.

……

Having just finished filming "Happy Camp" with Yang Zi, Gu Jingyi came out of Wenheyou. Reeking of alcohol, he got into the car, and his assistant, Xiao Pang, handed him a glass of hangover soup.

"Boss, do you want to guess the premiere ratings of 'Ashes of Love'?"

"I don't need to guess. How bad could the drama I star in be? Let alone a top-tier S+ ancient costume drama, even if it's a terrible drama, my fans will still help me boost the data. That's the appeal of a top-tier idol."

Gu Jingyi leaned back against the cushion and spoke with a hint of smugness.

"Ashes of Love" also caught a good time, as Gu Jingyi's first drama, "A Love So Beautiful," was essentially a promotional event and a door-to-door sales event.

When it came to "Ashes of Love," it was all about the two of them collaborating on advertisements, live streams, building visits, and magazine shoots.

For a long time to come, fans of "Ashes of Love" will be overwhelmed by a deluge of content. They'll be happily creating all sorts of content on fan fiction platforms like Lofter and AO3.

It would be a disservice to Gu Jingyi's efforts not to make things even more explosive.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Lin Ze turned around, holding a series of documents in his hands. These were the compiled data on "Ashes of Love," all gathered into the documents.

Lin Ze flipped through the documents, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement: "Jingyi! It's a hit! 'Ashes of Love' was a hit right from its premiere!"

"Hmm, how's the data?"

Gu Jingyi rubbed his temples, his voice tinged with weariness.

"Penguin Video's first-day viewership exceeded 1.5 million! iQiyi's also surpassed 1.2 million! The combined viewership across both platforms is nearly 2.7 million!"

Lin Ze excitedly announced the numbers, "The key is the ratings! The premiere ratings were 1.2%! This is a small satellite TV station! Breaking the 1% mark right from the start, all the major platforms and TV stations are ecstatic!"

This data made Gu Jingyi raise an eyebrow slightly, revealing a hint of surprise.

Despite knowing that "Ashes of Love" was a well-made production and that he and Yang Zi had strong fan bases, the premiere still achieved such outstanding results, especially with its TV ratings exceeding 1%.

This data is indeed impressive. In an era of online streaming fragmentation, achieving this level of success, even for a premiere on Hunan TV, is extremely rare.

Moreover, this is just the beginning.

"What about the word-of-mouth? Have the ratings been released yet? What's the trend in the comments and bullet screen messages?"

The results were good, but Gu Jingyi was more concerned about the audience's real feedback.

"It's all praise, the reputation is amazing!" Lin Ze took out the document. When he was doing the data statistics, he naturally took screenshots of some representative bullet comments and printed them out.

"The comments are all praising your and Yang Zi's natural acting and amazing chemistry! The special effects and sets are also being lauded as top-notch! Although the Douban rating hasn't been released yet, the short reviews are mostly four or five stars! 'It's really good,' 'It exceeded expectations,' and 'Gu Jingyi is a perfect match for the fantasy genre' are the mainstream sentiments! The 'Fruit Spirit and Bird' CP hashtag for you and Yang Zi has already climbed into the top three of the CP rankings!"

"The netizens' choice of names is really..."

Gu Jingyi's lips twitched slightly, unable to utter a word.

The plot hasn't reached the "spiritual cultivation" point yet, and the couple's name hasn't been decided.

However, given the impressive daily viewership figures, Gu Jingyi didn't care about these minor details. Although the total daily online viewership still fell short of the staggering 7 million views achieved by "Story of Yanxi Palace" at its peak, "Ashes of Love," as a traditional fantasy drama requiring meticulous crafting of its plot and emotional arcs, had already achieved a phenomenal start and continued upward trend!

"Ashes of Love" has only just started airing, so who can say it can't break the record set by "Story of Yanxi Palace"?
Besides, "Story of Yanxi Palace" wasn't broadcast on a major television network when it aired.

On this point alone, "Ashes of Love" has already won big.

The huge success on the first day is a signal. As we all know, the continued popularity of a drama is often related to the quality of its plot.

But the first day's results were entirely driven by the actors.

Given its broadcast on Jiangsu TV, the fact that "Ashes of Love" still achieved such high online viewership is enough to prove that Gu Jingyi is a top-tier celebrity standing at the very pinnacle.

Two flowers bloom, each telling its own story. His appeal is not only evident in modern dramas, but also in the genre of ancient costume fantasy dramas.

The success of "Ashes of Love" proved Gu Jingyi's strong ability to carry a drama and the versatility of his character portrayal. For a time, various topics related to "Ashes of Love" dominated the trending searches.

#Gu Jingyi, the God of War, Xu Feng#
#The Greatest War God of the Six Realms and the Most Handsome Man of the Six Realms#
#Gu Jingyi's original voice lines are so sweet#
#Yang Ziling Jinmi#
#AshesofLove premiere ratings#
#The Fruit Fairy and the Bird Have a Perfect Couple Vibe#
#The special effects in Ashes of Love are truly excellent#
#Gu Jingyi: The Pinnacle of Historical Drama#
#FengXufengArcheryScene#
Gu Jingyi's friends in the industry posted their support on Weibo, and countless celebrities and internet influencers jumped on the bandwagon, saying they were "following" and "it's really good."

With this favorable situation, both the production team and the actors will launch their pre-prepared marketing campaigns.

For example, Gu Jingyi's action scenes and original voice acting, and Yang Zi's lively acting skills.

The meticulous attention to detail in costumes, props, and sets, as well as the use of a Hollywood team for special effects, have been spontaneously recommended by audiences on social media platforms.

Ashes of Love isn't just a hit, it's a massive success!

Despite only two episodes being released so far, its potential as a drama series of the year and its viewership are already beginning to take shape.

The series has only aired two episodes, but it has already been trending on social media.

Discussions ranged from the actors' appearances to the costumes, props, and acting skills of the production team.

After the third and fourth episodes aired the following day, the previously silent Weibo account for Ashes of Love suddenly posted:

@Ashes of Love Official Weibo: #AshesofLove# has surpassed 4.5 million views in just 48 hours since its release! [Heart] The sweet and heart-wrenching romance is about to reach new heights, stay tuned for Ashes of Love!

"I came for Gu Jingyi!"

"His Highness the God of Fire is so cool!"

"Gu Jingyi! My destined husband!"

"Do you know that Emperor Jing's reputation is not undeserved? Gu Jingyi is the current top-tier ancient costume drama, he is the answer. Please, all the production teams that are adapting the original novels and casting male leads, use Gu Jingyi as the standard when choosing actors, okay? After the actresses who played Xu Feng in 'Ashes of Love' were replaced by Gu Jingyi, they have been bragging about it a lot on the 'Little Pinks' (Green River Forum) forum. Since the show started airing, there has only been one voice. That is, Gu Jingyi is the 'Green River's runaway male lead,' and all the actresses whose copyrights have been acquired are taking on the role of Gu Jingyi."

"Xu Feng is the most handsome! I can't wait for him to go online today!"

"Jinmi, go for it! Xufeng, go for it!"

These were even the battlegrounds before Gu Jingyi's fans took to control the comments; they were all comments from drama fans and casual viewers.

When the army of "Consort Jing" arrived at the battlefield, they were all somewhat incredulous.

There was absolutely no need for them to display Gu Jingyi's posters or screenshots; the drama fans had already done all of that themselves.

Wow, I've never fought such an easy battle before!
(End of this chapter)