This top celebrity got drunk and acted crazy, and everyone in the Chinese entertainment industry bur

[Holy crap! It's really finished filming?]

[Hehe, just thinking about seeing this obscure actor's new drama soon makes me secretly excited!]

[After waiting so long, you're finally going to serve it!]

I can't wait to see this new drama! It's the first time this relatively unknown actor has played the male lead in a TV series!

[Exactly! Although that unknown actor performed very well in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," he was only a supporting role, which was such a waste of his talent!]

Don't talk nonsense. This isn't the first time this obscure actor has played a leading role. He did appear in one before.

[Shut up, don't mention that show again!]

[Filming is all done, it should be quick now, right? Looks like I need to subscribe to Tencent Video first!]

[I subscribed a long time ago; I've had a year's membership just for this obscure actor's new drama!]

[Holy crap, rich woman, *kiss*]

[Hurry up, when is it going to air?]

Just as Kiwi and Tencent Video had predicted, they didn't even need to arrange much publicity. They simply announced the completion of filming online, which immediately set off a huge online sensation, dominating Weibo's trending topics and making a certain young actor who had just tried to grab some trending topics through a scandal turn pale.

Lü Ming's popularity is truly terrifying. As the most watched and most popular male artist in mainland China this year, Lü Ming has been at the center of public opinion for almost the entire year.

This series, "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City," is also one of the most anticipated new dramas of the second half of this year.

In the past, especially before the broadcast of "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer", people might not have had much expectation for Lü Ming's TV series. After all, at that time, Lü Ming was perceived as someone who couldn't act at all, so no one would have had any expectations.

Even when these netizens watched "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" back then, they did so with a critical and fault-finding attitude.

However, Lü Ming's performance in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" was a pleasant surprise. People were completely surprised that Lü Ming's acting skills were so good, and they were not inferior to some veteran actors in the entertainment industry.

It can be said that it was Lü Ming's outstanding performance in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" that made the previously unremarkable show suddenly become a hit and a blockbuster of the year.

However, what disappointed everyone was that Lü Ming only played a supporting role in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" and didn't have many scenes, leaving everyone feeling a little unsatisfied.

After the broadcast of "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer", many of Lü Ming's fans and netizens called online for him to make more movies and TV series, wanting to see his performances again.

According to Lü Ming's TV drama fans, it's a complete waste of his acting talent for him to participate in variety shows; he should be making movies and TV dramas instead.

Fortunately, their expectations didn't last long. Just after "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" had been airing for a while, iQiyi and Tencent Video officially announced that they would be collaborating with Lü Ming to film a new drama.

When netizens saw this news, they were overjoyed.

Excited fans immediately started a huge online celebration, and even began to help Lü Ming choose the female lead for his new drama.

Although they were somewhat surprised that Lü Ming ultimately chose Nazha as the lead actress in such a high-budget drama, it was quite unexpected. However, considering Lü Ming's remarkable qualities, everyone accepted it.

After all, before Dilraba starred in Lu Ming's "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," she was just an unknown actress in the entertainment industry. But after starring in "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," she became an overnight sensation and a top-tier actress.

Since the start of filming for "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City", the enthusiasm of Lü Ming's fans and netizens has not diminished much. Whether it's gossip from the crew or behind-the-scenes footage, it will spark a discussion online.

Even before the TV series "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" was released, the popularity of actors like Zhang Songwen and Meng Ziyi had already increased significantly based on some behind-the-scenes footage, and Gulnazar's popularity was approaching that of top-tier actresses.

However, during this period, because Lü Ming participated in the latest season of "Running Man" and various variety shows such as the Hunan TV Golden Eagle Awards, the public's attention to "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" has decreased slightly.

Just when everyone thought it would take some time and probably wouldn't be finished until next year, news suddenly came that "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" had already finished filming and was now preparing for post-production, which excited netizens.

Despite the much-anticipated launch date, neither Macaque nor Tencent Video has made an announcement yet.

On the one hand, it's because this "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" is only filmed; the subsequent editing and special effects production will take at least half a month.

As the most anticipated work of Kiwi and Penguin Video this year and even next year, Gangzi and Hu Tao naturally hope to make it as perfect as possible, especially given how excellent the sample footage that Lü Ming had shown them before.

Secondly, the promotional efforts of Kiwi and Tencent Video are still ongoing. In the past few days, Kiwi and Tencent Video have leveraged their connections with industry leaders to secure a number of top-tier promotional resources, including their official websites and apps. Tencent Video has even contacted its parent company, a giant in the industry, for help with promotion.

Besides these simple online promotions, after communicating with Lü Ming, they obtained some behind-the-scenes footage and photos from the filming of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City". They then directly purchased underground billboards in several major first-tier cities in China, and even had Tencent Video sponsor a subway train in Shanghai for promotion.

As the promotional plans of kiwifruit and Tencent Video continue, the popularity of the entire "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" series is also rising steadily.

Even the brief teaser released by Kiwi and Tencent Video immediately topped the popularity charts on both platforms.

Seeing the discussion outside, Gangzi and Hu Tao couldn't stop smiling.

Initially, the two of them were somewhat hesitant about co-investing in Lü Ming's new drama, but now, even before the drama "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" has been released, the returns have already allowed them to recoup their initial investment.

In less than a week, the number of active users on both platforms began to grow explosively, especially the number of members, which is the core of online video platforms.

After several days of promotion, both companies gained millions of new members. Not to mention, the novel *Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Ancient City of Jingjue* caused many users who had planned to cancel their subscriptions to renew. Keep in mind that this was before *Ghost Blows Out the Light: The Ancient City of Jingjue* was even released. If the novel maintains a good quality after its release, its performance is expected to continue to rise.

Hu Tao and Gangzi had no doubts about this, not only because they trusted Lü Ming, but more importantly because they had already seen some edited sample footage, which was of top quality.

Besides that, there's some additional advertising revenue.

Lü Ming's "Ghost Blows Out the Light - The Ancient City of Jingjue" had already received some advertising sponsorships and insertions when it was first proposed and prepared, and some of the costs were recovered at that time.

Recently, with the completion of filming for Lü Ming's "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City," it will soon be available on Kiwi and Tencent Video.

After seeing the online buzz, and especially recalling the returns of those who sponsored and invested in Lü Ming's "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," many advertising sponsors approached Tencent Video and kiwifruit, hoping to secure some key advertising resources.

The advertisements at the beginning of the show and during breaks are especially popular, with prices increasing four or five times compared to similar TV series.

Even so, there are still many advertisers who want to spend money but don't have the opportunity.

According to Gangzi and Hu Tao's calculations, the money they received from these advertisers alone had already covered all their initial costs.

It's worth noting that the production of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" involved a significant investment. Although iQiyi and Tencent Video each only participated in one-third of the project, the two companies still invested tens of millions of yuan, totaling nearly 100 million yuan.

And now, they've recouped their entire small investment simply through advertising.

Not to mention the other subsequent income, it's safe to say that investing in Lü Ming's "Ghost Blows Out the Light - The Ancient City of Jingjue" is definitely a highly profitable business.

Seeing the current state of Kiwi and Penguin Video has made other online video companies extremely envious and worried.

Even before the release of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City," the show has already caused them to lose a significant number of active users. Many of their users have even abandoned their platform and opted for iQiyi and Tencent Video, resulting in a decline in their market share.

If we wait until "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" is released, I'm afraid their market share will be completely taken over by iQiyi and Tencent Video.

Especially now that Tudou Video is the third largest video platform in China, it feels like a giant is coming.

Since he had little connection with Lü Ming, Tudou never benefited from Lü Ming's rise to power.

After Lü Ming became a sensation with "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," Tudou Video was being acquired by another giant at the time, which prevented them from investing in Lü Ming's "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City."

However, Tudou Video, which had just been acquired and was flush with cash, didn't seem to care much about the investment in "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" and didn't think it would have much of an impact on them.

But now they realize they were wrong.

This has a huge impact!
As the third largest online video platform after iQiyi and Tencent Video, they had just joined the arms of a major investor and were flush with cash when they discovered that their market share was declining rapidly.

One can only hope that the final quality of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" isn't too bad!

If the final quality of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" can maintain the same level as Lü Ming's previous work, "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer," then they might have to experience the same situation that Tencent Video faced when confronted by the formidable iQiyi.

However, Hu Tao and Gangzi were unaware of the concerns of their competitors, such as Tudou Video. Even if they were aware, they wouldn't care at all, and might even take drastic measures. After all, their initial investment in Lü Ming's "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" was precisely to try and take away the market share of their later competitors.

After inquiring about the editing progress on Lü Ming's end and having a chat with him, it was finally decided that the release date for "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" would be the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The reason it was scheduled for one of the major Chinese New Years is mainly because their publicity campaign was almost complete, and they had built up enough anticipation.

As business people, Hu Tao and Gangzi clearly understand that too much of a good thing can be bad.

No matter how good the product or how well it's promoted, if people don't see it for too long, it will only make them more and more resentful.

Given the current level of interest, if this trend continues for a while, the final result may not be the continued popularity they envision, and it could even backfire and cause dissatisfaction among netizens.

Placing it on the first day of the Lunar New Year strikes a perfect balance between maintaining popularity and whetting the appetite of viewers and netizens.

On the other hand, Gangzi and Hu Tao also learned that Lü Ming would be participating in the Spring Festival Gala, and they knew that Lü Ming's participation in the Spring Festival Gala was also a very good thing for their "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City".

Everyone knows the influence of the Spring Festival Gala!
Taking advantage of Lü Ming's popularity after the Spring Festival Gala, the release of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" brought Lü Ming to the attention of some people who might not have known him before, further increasing the popularity of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City".

Lu Ming naturally had no objection to the launch date set by Gangzi and Hu Tao.

Because he already had the complete "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" in mind, Lü Ming edited very quickly. Some useless and dragging shots were directly deleted or discarded by Lü Ming, so Lü Ming's editing efficiency was very fast.

In just about a week, the editing of "Candle in the Tomb: The Lost City" has been mostly completed, and the subsequent simple special effects work is also proceeding in an orderly manner. It is estimated that the complete film will be available by the end of the year.

Besides, launching it sooner would be a good thing for Lü Ming as well.

Going online early means you can start making money sooner and recoup your costs sooner.

It's worth noting that Lü Ming would have to shell out a considerable sum of money to film the upcoming "Detective Chinatown" movie. (End of Chapter)