Hollywood, I became a legend with special effects.

Chapter 175 The Revolution of Light and Shadow: The Swan Myth

Rewind to October 1st. While everyone's attention was focused on the box office battle of "Black Swan," another war without gunpowder was quietly raging in the internet world.

At 8:00 AM sharp, the official website and client of Guangying Video were simultaneously updated and launched.

The opening screen features a lightning bolt that pierces the darkness, eventually converging into four radiant characters: "Light and Shadow Video," accompanied by the simple yet powerful slogan: "See a different world of light and shadow."

Wang Xin stood in the technical monitoring center on the second floor of the Shenzhen Light and Shadow Digital Building, her palms slightly sweaty.

Although it has weathered many storms, this time is different. This is the first major product launch after Kuaibo's acquisition and revamp.

"Mr. Wang, all servers are running normally, and the bandwidth reserve is sufficient to cope with the estimated three times the traffic surge," the technical director reported, staring at the monitoring screen.

"Where is the user registration channel?"

"It's now open, and the coupon system is also online."

"Content library loading status?"

"The complete series of 'The Swindler,' six episodes of 'The Ferryman,' and twelve episodes of the first season of 'Men's Diary' are all available. 'Chinese Paladin 3' and 'My Sunshine' will be updated with two episodes daily as planned. Our film library—our copyrighted film library is currently the most comprehensive on the entire internet."

Wang Xin nodded, took a deep breath, and looked at the digital clock on the wall: 08:59:50.

the final Countdown.

Ten, nine, eight — three, two, one.

"start up."

At the command, the technical team pressed the Enter key simultaneously.

The background data started fluctuating.

In the first minute, the number of registered users was 5321.

At the fifth minute, the number of registered users was 28147.

Half an hour later, the number of registered users exceeded 10.

An hour later, the number jumped to 32.

"User growth is 30% faster than expected!" the operations director exclaimed excitedly.

Wang Xin stared at the ever-rising curve, and a slight smile finally appeared on her tense lips.

He knew this was just the beginning.

Meanwhile, in Beijing early in the morning, sunlight cast sharp shadows on Jiang Yu's desk.

Three 27-inch monitors were placed side by side in front of him, each displaying different colored data and curves, like three unfolding battle maps.

The screen on the left: Real-time box office monitoring system for "Black Swan".

The pale blue curve climbed from zero, and the number 238 million flashed red in the center of the screen, with the small print below stating "Setting a record for midnight screenings of domestic films".

On the right, real-time feedback from cinema managers across the country scrolls: "BJUME Huaxing Cinema, midnight screening sold out, additional screening added at 2 AM."

"At Shanghai Yonghua Cinema, the queue of moviegoers stretched halfway around the mall, and security has been reinforced."

"At Guangzhou Feiyang Cinema, some viewers bought tickets on-site to see the film a second time after watching the first screening —"

Central screen: Light and shadow video background data display dial.

The green numbers are jumping wildly: registered users, online users, video uploads, content views — every metric has exceeded expectations.

The most noticeable indicator is the "Server Load" bar in the lower right corner, which is currently stable at 65% in the green safe zone. The Light and Shadow Cloud and Light and Shadow Video technology teams are ready to welcome the traffic surge.

The screen on the right: Monitoring public opinion across the entire network.

It captures real-time discussions about "Black Swan" and its video content from Weibo, Douban, Tieba, and various forums.

In the keyword cloud map, "Liu Yifei's acting skills are amazing" and "Guangying Video registration gives you a free membership" flash alternately.

The negative public opinion monitoring area is blank, with no large-scale negative reviews at the moment.

Jiang Yu leaned back in his high-backed chair, holding a black coffee in his left hand and scrolling through his computer screen with his right, processing messages from three different work lines simultaneously.

My phone vibrated; the first call came in.

"Mr. Jiang, this is Ye Ning from Wanda." The voice on the other end of the phone was excited. "We've given 'Black Swan' a 38% screening rate today, with 45% for prime-time screenings. If the attendance rate stays up, we can add more tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mr. Ye. Has the Avatar trailer been scheduled for the IMAX theater?"

"Don't worry, we'll play the one-minute version before every performance of 'Black Swan,' and the effect will be amazing."

I just hung up when the second call came in.

"Boss, this is Wang Xin." The background noise at the Light and Shadow Video Technology Center was deafening. "We've registered over 5,000 people in five minutes, and the traffic growth curve is 20% steeper than our best-case scenario. The backup server has been warm-started."

"User feedback?"

"Currently, there are two main concerns: firstly, the picture quality is amazing, and secondly, why isn't there any interruption?" Our standard customer service answer is now available: "For a better viewing experience, Guangying Video operates on a membership basis and will not be interrupting with interruptions for the time being."

"Very good. That use of 'temporarily' is brilliant."

Jiang Yu put down his phone, looked at the data flashing on the screen, and a smile appeared on his lips.

The war has begun.

His army is making breakthroughs on two fronts simultaneously.

At 9:00 a.m. sharp, the offensive of light and shadow videos was fully launched.

The planning for this launch campaign was meticulous, down to the minute:

From 9:00 to 9:05, the Weibo splash screen GG+ topic #LightandShadowVideoOnline# suddenly appeared in the top three of the trending searches.

9：05—9：15，腾讯QQ弹窗推送覆盖全国8000万在线用户。

From 9:15 to 9:30, Sina, NetEase, and Tencent, the three major portals, simultaneously released in-depth reviews on their technology/entertainment sections.

Starting at 9:30, subway and bus station grates in fifteen cities across the country were simultaneously upgraded.

What truly shocked the industry was not the promotional campaign, but the product itself.

At Youku's Beijing headquarters, Product Director Zhang Ming downloaded the Guangying Video APP at 9:05 AM.

He clicked on it with a critical mindset, wondering what kind of success a new platform could achieve.

Then he froze.

It starts up 1.5 seconds faster than Youku.

The splash screen doesn't show any "GG" message; it takes you directly to the homepage.

The interface is so simple it's almost "cold-blooded": dark gray background, white text, and clear and concise categories.

The featured section displays a large poster for "My Sunshine," click to play ————

"The picture quality—" Zhang Ming squinted.

The 720P resolution option is prominently listed, and the loading speed is extremely fast.

He switched to his own Wi-Fi monitoring software, and the video feed even used a hybrid P2P acceleration + CDN distribution technology, an architecture that is considered cutting-edge at present.

What shocked him even more was the content library.

Click on the "Movies" category, and the newly released "Black Swan" is listed first, marked "VIP Available".

Scroll down, and you'll find high-quality films like "Kung Fu Hustle," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," and "Infernal Affairs."

Looking at the "TV series" section, exclusive titles like "Chinese Paladin 3" and "My Sunshine" are available, along with classic dramas such as "Bright Sword" and "Soldiers Sortie".

"Where did they get their copyrights?" Zhang Ming turned to ask his colleague in the copyright department.

"Light Chaser Pictures owns the copyrights, plus a film library they've quietly acquired over the past three years." My colleague's face was grim. "When we were discussing renewing the contract for 'Bright Sword,' the production company said they'd already bought it outright." So, it turns out the buyer was them.

"A buyout package? How much would that cost?"

"It is said that 300 million yuan was used to buy out the exclusive online rights to more than 1,000 TV series for 50 years."

Zhang Ming gasped.

Three hundred million, just to buy a "content moat"?

He continued testing.

Register an account and the system will automatically give you a 10 yuan movie ticket, which can be used to directly activate a one-month membership.

The payment process is extremely smooth, supporting Alipay, Tenpay, online banking, and even mobile phone top-ups.

The most amazing feature is the "upload" function.

Zhang Ming casually uploaded a video he had taken with his phone. It was approved three minutes later, and five minutes after that, "smart tags" appeared on the video page: pets, funny, daily life.

The system also recommended three popular videos on similar topics.

"They've even put together a labeling system—" Zhang Ming murmured.

At that moment, a colleague from the operations department rushed into the conference room: "Mr. Zhang! Our real-time monitoring shows that Youku's daily active users have dropped by 3 percentage points in the past half hour!"

"What's the reason?"

"The user churn curve and the growth curve of Light and Shadow Video are almost perfectly matched."

The conference room was deathly silent.

If the basic functions of light and shadow video shocked the industry, then the announcement of the "First Light and Shadow Short Film Competition" was like throwing a nuclear bomb into the deep waters of the industry.

At 10:00 AM, the competition page officially went live.

The gold banner with black lettering and the number 5000 million presented with flame effects animation creates a visually striking effect.

At the bottom of the page are the real-time updated "List of Entries" and "List of Popular Creators". Next to the avatars of those on the list are labels such as "Weekly Prize Money Received" and "Total Prize Money Accumulated", which is a blatant incentive for money.

In the graduate dormitory of the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy, Wang Lei is editing his graduation film, "Springtime".

My roommate suddenly kicked open the door: "Lei Zi! Look at this!"

"What are you looking at? My film is due tomorrow—"

"5000 million! Light and Shadow Video is investing 5000 million in a short film competition! First prize is 100 million!"

In the CapCut software, Wang Lei's hand trembled, and he almost deleted the timeline.

He rushed to his roommate's computer, his eyes glued to the rules on the screen.

"Top 10 every week, 10,000 yuan each — Grand Final in three months — Top 100 of the year —"

He quickly calculated in his mind: even if he only got on the weekly charts, he would still have 10,000 yuan, enough to cover the cost of making another short film.

"Register! Register now!" Wang Lei returned to his computer without saying another word.

"Have you already registered?"

"Of course! I just finished filming this and I was worried about where to post it!"

At the same time, similar scenes were unfolding in film and television-related majors at universities across the country, among independent creators in society, and even among low-level employees of some traditional film and television companies.

In Shanghai, "Old Tomato," a content creator who has been making game video commentary for five years but has never really become famous, stares at his screen in his rented room, his fingers trembling slightly.

He has uploaded more than 30 videos to Youku, with the best one getting 20,000 views. His monthly income is barely enough to cover his rent.

"Light and Shadow Videos — Weekly Awards —" He read the rules repeatedly. "As long as the content is good, there's a chance to win money?"

He opened the competition page and uploaded his best Assassin's Creed story commentary video.

Two hours later, the video was approved.

Three hours later, the number of views exceeded 10,000.

Five hours later, the video appeared at number three on the "Newcomer Ranking in the Gaming Section".

My phone vibrated; it was a private message from the official Light and Shadow Video team: "Dear creator Old Tomato, your video 'Assassin's Creed:

"The Shadow of the Renaissance" has been included in this week's pool of potential works. If it is ultimately selected as one of the top ten works of the week, it will receive a prize of 1 yuan and a homepage feature. Please maintain your writing frequency and quality.

Old Tomato stared at his phone, his eyes suddenly reddening.

Lin Yu, a girl working as an editor at a certain GG company, saw the competition news while habitually browsing Weibo after get off work.

A thought flashed through her mind: Why not edit the photos I took of my grandma into a series?

She stayed up for two nights in a row to edit the first episode, "87-year-old grandma eats a popular cake for the first time."

When uploading, she wrote in the description: "I just wanted to record my grandma's cuteness, I never thought about entering a competition."

The video went viral.

The video garnered over 50 views in 24 hours, with comments like "I miss my grandma," "Grandma is so cute," and "Please update more, UP!"

On the third day, the video topped the charts in the residential area.

On Friday, she was notified that she had been selected for the weekly rankings and would receive a prize of 1 yuan.

Lin Yu stared blankly at her workstation, holding the bank's notification that the money had been deposited into her account.

My colleague next to me leaned over and asked, "Xiaoyu, you really got it?"

"Um----"

"My God—will you still go to work in the future?"

'

Looking at her grandmother's smiling face eating cake on the screen, Lin Xiaoyu suddenly laughed: "Okay. From now on, I'm going to seriously film videos after get off work."

This is the most terrifying aspect of the 5000 million yuan competition: it's not just about throwing money around, but also about opening a door to professional creation for countless talented but unopportunistic ordinary people.

Twenty-four hours after the launch of the video platform, CEOs of the domestic video industry collectively suffered from insomnia.

Youku held an emergency board meeting at 10 PM.

Gu Yongqiang slammed a data report on the table: "Registered users have exceeded one million, daily active users have reached six hundred thousand, and paid members have reached twenty thousand."

This is only the first day! Where did they get their users?

"Sina and Tencent account for 40% of the traffic, content appeal accounts for 35%, and the rest—" the marketing director's voice trailed off, "is drawn away from us."

"What's our response plan?"

"The tech department has been working overnight to optimize the client, and the new version will be released next week. The copyright department is contacting production companies to try and secure a few exclusive broadcast slots. Also—" the product director hesitated for a moment, "Should we also implement a creator incentive program?"

"Get it done! A plan by tomorrow! Budget—approve ten million first!"

"Ten million? They have fifty million—"

"Then twenty million!" Gu Yongqiang gritted his teeth. "We can't let them snatch all the creators away!"

In Potato's office, Wang Wei's thoughts were clearer.

"We can't compete with Youku in terms of money. We can't compete with Guangying in terms of content either, in the short term." He drew a triangle on the whiteboard. "But we have our advantages: community atmosphere, UGC foundation, and — live streaming."

"live streaming?"

"Yes. Our live streaming feature, which we tested last year, was still immature, but user feedback was positive. Currently, all of our video content is on-demand, not live. We can quickly iterate our live streaming product to differentiate ourselves from other competitors."

"That content acquisition—"

"Reduce the budget for film and television drama acquisitions and invest the money in live streaming technology and influencer signings." Wang Wei's eyes were sharp. "They're taking the path of 'high-quality content + creator ecosystem,' while we're taking the path of 'live streaming interaction + community social interaction.' We'll each go our own way."

Second-tier platforms such as Ku6.com, Popcorn, and Baofeng Video are in a state of genuine panic.

They don't have the scale of Youku Tudou, nor the funding and content of Guangying Video, so Yanci will be squeezed out of the game.

Feng Xin, founder of Baofeng.com, bluntly stated at a team meeting: "The next three months will be a matter of life and death. We will either find a differentiated niche to survive, or we will be acquired or go bankrupt."

The industry upheaval has even spread to content production.

At a meeting of producers at Huace Media, someone suggested a new idea: "In the future, when we make dramas, could we prioritize Guangying Video? They offer higher prices than TV stations and can guarantee exclusive online broadcasting."

"TV exposure —"

"The number of views for 'Xi Yisheng Xiaomo' on Guangying Video has exceeded 10 million, which is higher than that of second-tier satellite TV channels."

Moreover, their membership payment model is clear, and their revenue sharing is more stable than GG's model.

One financial media commentator remarked, "The emergence of Light Chaser Video may mark the transition of China's video industry from a period of fierce competition to an era of multiple strong players. Light Chaser Pictures, the company behind it, is building a complete ecosystem encompassing content production, theatrical distribution, and online streaming. If this model proves successful, it will fundamentally change the landscape of China's entertainment industry."

Yiguo said that the short film competition is the "bait" to attract creators, while the platform's own drama content is the "hook" to retain ordinary users.

"The Swindlers" was the first web series produced by Light Chaser Pictures. The production cost was pitifully low, but thanks to its ingenious plot twists and down-to-earth performances, the number of views for "The Swindlers" exceeded 500 million.

It opened with a score of 8.5 on Douban, and the review section was full of positive feedback: "I initially thought it was some poorly made web series, but once I started watching, I couldn't stop!"

"This script is amazing! Every scam is so cleverly designed!"

"Although the actors weren't big names, their performances were incredibly good!"

"The Ferryman" takes a heartwarming fantasy approach, with each episode telling a story about life and death, regret, and reconciliation, making it incredibly tear-jerking.

Many viewers were crying their eyes out in the comments: "I'm running out of tissues!" "This drama is so tear-jerking!" "The screenwriter deserves a kiss!"

"Diaosi Men" has a completely different style.

Dapeng Pi Zhang's highly recognizable face, paired with Wu's various nonsensical "loser" daily life, has become a must-watch TV series for countless college students.

After the twelfth episode of the first season aired, the hashtag "#DiaosiMenIsSoFunny#" on Weibo immediately rose to fifth place on the trending topics list.

Fu Zheng's trump card is "Silent Separation".

This urban romance drama, starring Fan Binbin and Wallace Chung, and featuring Jing Tian and Zhu Yipan as a sweet couple, achieved a viewership rating of over 2 on the very first day of its simultaneous premiere on Hunan TV and Dragon TV.

The exquisite costumes and props, the high-profile actors, and the classic "waiting for the broken mirror to be mended" setting accurately hit the pain points of female viewers of all ages.

Fan Binbin's portrayal of Zhao Mosheng captures both the vivacity and liveliness of her youth and the restraint and maturity of her later years, demonstrating a nuanced and layered acting style.

Wallace Chung's portrayal of Xi Yichen has been hailed as "giving all novel male protagonists a face now." A smartly dressed elite lawyer, seemingly cold and aloof but deeply affectionate, countless viewers screamed in front of their televisions, "The country owes me a Xi Yichen!"

Even more impressively, Guangying Video secured the exclusive online broadcasting rights.

The TV station updates two episodes per week, and members can watch them in advance without having to wait for the second round of broadcasts. Non-members can also watch them for free after a week, but the long wait in between is enough to make many people willingly pay 9.9 yuan to become members.

"I need a membership! I have to! I can't wait for the courtyard!"

"You won't lose out or be cheated if you buy it for 9.9, but you can buy He Yichen's early appearance!"

"I'll spend this money for Fan Bingbing's looks!"

In its first week on the streaming platform, "Xi Yi Sheng Xiao Mo" surpassed 8000 million views on Guangying Video, with an average of over 1000 million views per episode. Even more astonishingly, nearly 30% of viewers opted to subscribe to a paid membership, a figure that left all competitors speechless.

Caught off guard by competitors

The rapid rise of video streaming services has caught established video websites such as Youku, Tudou, Ku6, and Baofeng Video off guard.

At Youku's Beijing headquarters, an emergency high-level meeting lasted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"Can anyone tell me what this video with light and shadow is all about? How did it suddenly appear overnight?" The CEO pounded on the table, his face grim.

The marketing director, forcing a smile, reported: "It's a video platform under Light Chaser Pictures, and Jiang Yu is the actual controller. They have a large amount of exclusive copyrighted content, including popular dramas like 'Chinese Paladin 3' and 'Silent Separation,' as well as exclusive online versions of movies like 'Black Well Goose.' Moreover, their self-produced content is of very high quality, and user engagement is very strong."

"The most devastating thing is that the 5000 million yuan competition," the product director added, "it directly disrupted the content creator ecosystem. Many bloggers have flocked to Pibianwu to upload videos."

"What about their technology? What about using corpses for experience?"

"Very fast," the technical director said succinctly. "The page loads 30% faster than ours, the image quality is much better, and—there's practically no GG."

"No GG?!" The CEO's eyes widened. "How do they make a profit? A membership fee of 9.9 yuan? What can that little bit of money do?"

"I don't know," the marketing director shook his head, "but Jiang Yu is a man—you know he can't be judged by common sense."

Silence fell over the meeting room.

The same situation occurred at companies like Tudou and Ku6.

Everyone was developing in a step-by-step manner, with occasional minor competition, but the overall situation was stable.

Now, a "barbarian" has suddenly emerged, defying the rules, with top-tier content, massive funding, and unbelievable subsidy strategies, completely overturning the table.

"Follow suit! We must follow suit!" Almost every company reached the same conclusion. "We'll also implement creator incentive programs! Increase copyright acquisition efforts! Accelerate technology optimization!"

But following up takes time and, more importantly, money. Meanwhile, Light and Shadow Video has already seized the initiative.

The "Light and Shadow Carnival" is trending on Weibo.

In Sina Weibo's offices, the content operations team was working in a frenzy.

"My Sunshine is trending again, and Imai is the third one!"

"The hilarious clip from 'Diaosi Men' has been shared 20,000 times!"

"A user's pet video climbed to sixth place on the real-time charts. This video competition is so popular, it's impossible to create a meme like this!"

Because Sina is one of the shareholders of Guangying Video, Weibo naturally gave it a huge boost in traffic.

The list of popular topics almost always includes three to five topics related to light and shadow.

Tencent was not to be outdone.

QQ pop-ups, Tencent's homepage, QQ Zone—various channels are promoting light and shadow videos.

After all, Tencent is also a shareholder, and if Guangying Video develops well, their investment will yield a substantial return.

This comprehensive, shareholder-level user acquisition is an advantage that other video websites can hardly match.

Whether the user opens Weibo to browse trending topics or logs into QQ to chat, they can always see recommendations for video content.

This ubiquitous exposure has resulted in alarmingly high conversion rates.

A week after the U-line, Light and Shadow Video held its first data release conference.

Wang Xin stood on the stage, with key data displayed on the large screen behind her:

Number of users of Zhulan: 512 million.

Daily active users: 287.

Number of paid members: 86.

Average daily usage time per user: 42 minutes.

Total number of videos on the platform: 15 (including user-generated content).

Weekly viewership champion: "Xi Yi Sheng Xiao Mo" achieved a peak single-episode viewership of 2100 million.

The media in the audience were in an uproar. In just one week, this new platform had achieved the data that many established websites took six months to accomplish.

"Mr. Wang, what is the profit model of Guangying Video? The 9.9 yuan membership fee obviously cannot cover the costs," a reporter asked sharply.

Wang Xin pushed up his glasses and gave a meaningful smile: "At this stage, we're not considering profits, only user growth and content ecosystem development. As President Jiang said, as long as users are willing to stay with Guangying, the money will be earned back sooner or later."

Will the "Philippe 5000 Million Competition" continue?

"Yes. The first one was 50 million, the second one might be 80 million, and the third one—100 million is not impossible."

Wang Xin paused for a moment, then said, "We want all talented content creators to know that by coming to Guangying, they can not only be discovered, but also earn money."

These remarks, after being reported by the media, caused another stir in the industry.

"They've gone mad, completely mad." An executive from a traditional video website privately complained, "How long can they keep burning through money like this?"

He knew in his heart that if the hype surrounding the video industry continued to burn like this, the rules of the game for the entire industry would be changed.

Just as the industry was shocked by the light and shadow videos, "Xi Yi Sheng Xiao Mo" proved with solid data what "content is king" really means.

The show's popularity exceeded everyone's expectations, including those of the production company, Light Chaser Animation.

On its third episode, it occupied four of the top ten trending topics on Weibo:

#Xi Yichen's Ideal of Humanity#

#Zhao Mosheng's Seven-Year Changes#

#钟汉梁acting#

#Fan Binbin's Status#

The Douban rating has remained stable at 8.4, and the short review section is dominated by two kinds of voices: one is "So sweet, so sweet", and the other is "So heartbreaking, so heartbreaking".

But what truly astonished the industry was the boost this drama gave to the Guangying Video membership business.

First week's data for the Ukrainian line:

Total views: 1 million.

Highest single-episode viewership (episode 6): 1800 million.

The day-two retention rate for users who watch TV series is 94%.

Viewer conversion rate to paid subscriptions: 35%.

Membership revenue, driven by the drama "Xi Jinping: The New Era" alone, exceeded 800 million yuan in its first week.

"A 35% paid conversion rate—" A Youku Video executive, his hands trembling as he looked at the data shared by a competitor, exclaimed, "Our best dramas only have a paid conversion rate of around 15%. How did they achieve that?"

"Three reasons," the data analyst pulled up the report. "First, exclusive content. If you want to watch 'Xi Jinping's Thoughts,' you can only watch it on Guangying. Second, the scheduling strategy: the TV station airs two episodes, and VIP members can watch two more; this 'early access' model is extremely attractive to young users. Third, user experience: no glitches, good picture quality, and timely updates."

"Can we copy it?"

"Exclusive content requires money, a lot of money. Providing a superior user experience requires technological development and time. As for scheduling strategies—"

The analyst smiled wryly, "Currently, the cooperation model between TV stations and video websites puts the initiative in the hands of the TV stations. However, the cooperation between Light Chaser Pictures and Hunan TV and Dragon TV is the result of overall business negotiations by Light Chaser Pictures. The online priority for 'Xi Yi Sheng Xiao Mo' is in the hands of Light Chaser itself."

In other words, this is a success story that cannot be replicated.

The immense popularity of "Silent Separation" has also brought about unexpected spillover effects.

The outfits worn by Zhao Mosheng (played by Fan Binbin) and the suits worn by Xi Yichen (played by Wallace Chung) in the drama became best-selling items on Taobao.

Some merchants have opened stores specializing in "Xi Yisheng Xiaomo" style items, and sales of these items exceeded 10,000 units in a week.

Ren Jingdi, a character in the drama, has made a coffee shop on the Bund in Wuhai and a studio in the BJ798 Art District popular spots for fans to take photos, forcing the owners to implement a reservation system.

The actors are the biggest beneficiaries, of course.

With this drama, Fan Binbin completely broke free from his long-standing "pretty face" image and gained widespread recognition for his acting skills.

Commercial endorsements are hard to come by, including many international brands.

Wallace Chung solidified his status as the "leading man of romance dramas," and his salary doubled.

The secondary couple storyline involving Jing Tian and Zhu Yipan unexpectedly became popular, with each of them gaining 20 new followers on Weibo in a week.

During a live-streamed interaction with the cast and crew, the host asked Fan Binbin, "What do you think is the most crucial factor in the success of this drama?"

Fan Binbin thought for a moment and answered sincerely: "First, the script is solid, and the characters are moving. Second, the production team is professional; from the director to the cinematographer to the costume and prop team, everything is meticulous. Then, all of our actors were deeply invested in the roles. Finally—"

She smiled and said, "I want to thank Light Chaser Pictures for providing this platform, which has allowed so many viewers to discover our work."

While peers were studying the content strategy of Light and Shadow Video, few people noticed that the platform's true moat was technology.

Wang Xin's technical team achieved three key breakthroughs in the field of light and shadow video:

First, a self-developed P2P-CDN hybrid distribution system. This system can automatically schedule the nearest CDN node when a user is watching a video, while simultaneously utilizing the idle bandwidth of other users watching the same video for P2P acceleration.

The result is that, with the same bandwidth cost, the playback smoothness of the video is 30% higher than that of the competitors, and the buffering time is 50% shorter.

Second, the video understanding engine.

It can not only automatically generate long-term signatures and create summaries, but also identify video quality issues (such as shaky footage, blurry focus, and exposure problems), providing optimization suggestions for video creators.

Even more frightening is the content moderation. Traditional moderation relies on manpower, with each person reviewing hundreds of items. The Guangying Video system can pre-screen 95% of the content, and people only need to review the remaining 5%, increasing efficiency by 20 times.

Third, personalized recommendation algorithms.

It's not a simple "this one is shallow, that one is shallow" approach, but rather a multi-dimensional recommendation based on deep learning: user viewing time, completion rate, interaction behavior, and time period preferences—the model is updated every 24 hours, becoming more accurate the more it's used.

These technical details may not be easily perceived by ordinary users, but the resulting improvement in user experience is real.

On a certain tech forum, a programmer posted an analysis: "I analyzed the data stream of the video and found that they used a self-developed transmission protocol, which outperformed all competitors in weak network conditions. In the same subway tunnel, other apps were lagging like a slideshow, while the video could play smoothly at 720p."

One commenter added, "Their adaptive bitrate switching is also incredibly smooth, with almost seamless buffering when switching from 3G to Wi-Fi. In my shallow test, from clicking play to the screen appearing, the average time was 8.2 seconds, compared to 22.8 seconds for Youku and 33.1 seconds for Tudou."

Second."

"There's also a smart preloading feature," the third person wrote. "If you download a whole episode of a TV series in a row, the system will cache the next episode in the background in advance, and only the first 5 minutes. This is because statistics show that 90% of users will download the whole episode if they only download the first 5 minutes. This kind of detailed optimization is definitely the result of deep collaboration between the product manager and the technical team."

These comments were quickly transferred to the internal group of the Light and Shadow Video Technology Team.

Wang Xin took a screenshot and sent a red envelope: "Brothers, the outside world is starting to notice our skills. Keep a low profile, but when it's time to flex our muscles, don't be too timid."

In the third week of October, while the industry was still digesting the impact of the online video industry, Jiang Yu and Wang Xin were already setting up their offline battleground.

The opening of the LightSpaceBJ flagship store was low-key, with no media launch event and only invitations extended to top creators and partners on the platform.

On the day of its opening, the 798 Art District still attracted a lot of fans and industry professionals who came after hearing the news.

The space was designed by a renowned designer: the high-ceilinged factory structure retains the original concrete walls, paired with warm lighting and wooden furniture, creating an industrial feel without sacrificing warmth.

The first floor features an open-plan workspace equipped with iMacs, graphics tablets, and recording equipment; the second floor houses three professional shooting studios, all equipped to television station standards; and the third floor is a lounge area and a display wall showcasing the works of outstanding creators.

At the opening ceremony, Jiang Yu's speech was brief: "This is not an office, not a studio, but a home. A home for everyone who wants to tell stories through images. Equipment is free to use, space is free to use, and there are professional mentors on-site regularly to provide guidance. We have only one requirement: to create good content."

There was thunderous applause.

The creators' eyes lit up, which meant they no longer needed to save money to rent equipment or ask others to lend them space, and could create without any distractions.

Among the first batch of creators to join, there is Lin Yu, who just won a prize of 10,000 yuan, Lao Fanqie, a rising star in the gaming section, and Wang Lei, a graduate student at Beijing Film Academy.

They were assigned fixed workstations and could create at any time.

In his diary, Wang Lei wrote: "Imai is editing videos at LightSpace, the person next to him is shooting food videos about yams," and across from him is someone doing science popularization about fangchui tafu. They occasionally exchange ideas and offer suggestions. This atmosphere is even better than in a school studio. Most importantly, coffee is free, and snacks are plentiful."

Even bigger news is coming: Guangying Video announced the establishment of a "Creator Fund" with an initial size of 1 million yuan, which will be used to invest in outstanding creative teams emerging on the platform.

The first to receive investment was "Canned Video," a team of three graduates from a media university who created ten creative short videos on Guangying Video, averaging over a million views per video.

The fund invested 200 million yuan, taking a 20% stake, on the condition that the team work full-time at LightSpace and promise to produce at least four high-quality videos per month.

The news caused a sensation in the entire creative community.

This means that creators can not only earn money through bonuses and traffic sharing, but also have the opportunity to receive formal equity investment and transform from "sole proprietors" into "entrepreneurs"!

Youku's content cooperation director sighed during an internal meeting: "This move is too ruthless. We're still figuring out how to subsidize content creators, and they've already started doing venture capital. This is trying to lock high-quality creators into their own ecosystem from the very beginning."

Wang Wei of Tudou (a Chinese video-sharing platform) explained it even more clearly: "They are replicating YouTube's MCN model, but they are more aggressive and willing to spend more money. Moreover, with offline space as support, creator stickiness will be extremely high. Once this closed ecosystem is formed, it will be very difficult for other platforms to poach their creators."

While the film and television industry is booming, the box office miracle of "Blackie's Goose" continues.

After the National Day holiday, box office revenue naturally declined.

Weekday box office revenue has dropped from a peak of nearly 2500 million to the range of 400-800 million.

Even so, this figure still leaves all other films released during the same period far behind.

On October 18, the domestic box office of "Blackie's Goose" exceeded 180 million yuan.

On October 28, it surpassed the 220 million mark.

The celebration banquet was held in the ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This time, it was even larger in scale, with invitations extended to almost half of the entertainment industry.

As dusk fell, the red carpet began.

The media area was filled with cameras and flashes.

The first to arrive was Zhang Huijun, the president of Beijing Film Academy, accompanied by teachers including Wang Jinsong.

Principal Zhang smiled broadly at the camera: "Yifei is the pride of Beijing Film Academy. Her success proves the achievements of Chinese film education. We are currently preparing the 'Liu Yifei Scholarship' to reward students with outstanding potential in acting."

Next came the directors' group: Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, and Tian Zhuangzhuang walked in side by side.

Zhang Yimou succinctly stated: "Good actors need good roles, and good roles need good scripts. 'Black Well Goose' is a prime example."

Chen Kaige added poetically: "Yi Fei's performance made me realize the infinite possibilities of young Chinese actors."

The cast is star-studded, including Zhang Ziyi, Zhou Xun, Li Binbin, Fan Binbin, Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, and Tong Dawei.

The most attention-grabbing couples are undoubtedly Liu Yifei and Jiang Yu.

The density of camera flashes reached its peak as the two walked hand in hand down the red carpet.

Liu Yifei wore a champagne-colored dress, simple and elegant; Jiang Yu wore a dark gray suit, calm and low-key.

Reporters bombarded her with questions: "Yifei, how do you feel about surpassing 2 million?"

"I'm happy, but I'm even happier that the audience likes this movie."

"Mr. Jiang, what are the plans for the future?"

"Focus on creating quality content. Our video project just finished airing, and 'Lucy' will be released next summer. There's still a lot to do."

When are you two getting married?

Jiang Yu glanced at Liu Yifei and smiled: "When she's willing."

Inside the banquet hall, amidst the clinking of glasses and the exchange of toasts, undercurrents were stirring.

Wang Zhonglei of Huayi proactively approached Jiang Yu: "President Jiang, the light and shadow video concept is quite unique. Can we collaborate? Huayi has the content, and we have the platform—"

"Of course." Jiang Yu raised his glass. "You can talk to Wang Xin about the details. We're open to collaboration on content."

Bona's Yu Dong was even more direct: "Bona wants to participate in the distribution of 'Lucy.' Our theater resources in second- and third-tier cities can help us."

"If Mr. Yu is interested, we certainly welcome it."

On the other side, Liu Yifei was surrounded by her seniors.

Zhang Ziyi leaned closer and said, "When will 'Lucy' be released? I'll go support it."

"It would be so great if Sister Ziyi could come next summer."

Zhou Xun blinked: "Remember to share any good scripts you have. I'd also like to collaborate with Light Chaser Animation."

The young actors were whispering amongst themselves in another corner.

Yang Mi said to Liu Shishi, "Qi Ci Yi Fei completely turned her career around with just one drama. Shouldn't we also consider changing our image?"

"There aren't many scripts like 'Black Well Goose' —" Liu Shishi said softly.

"So you have to follow the right people." Yang Mici said to Jiang Yu in the distance, "Light Chaser Pictures is on a roll right now. The movie I signed, 'Palace,' is still a period drama, but the characters are very different. I hope it will be a breakthrough."

Halfway through the banquet, a video clip suddenly started playing on the big screen.

It was a congratulatory message from Luc Besson in Paris: "Liu, congratulations on the success of 'Black Goose'. As the director of 'Lucy', I must say that Qi's performance in Pi's film will also shock the world. Looking forward to next summer, let's embark on a new journey together."

Exclamations erupted from the crowd.

Although "Lucy" has not yet been released, Luc Besson's personal endorsement already foreshadows its significance.

The highlight of the celebration banquet was the cake-cutting ceremony. When the three-tiered goose-shaped cake was brought out, the whole room applauded.

During the gathering, Han Sanping also arrived and brought news: "The screening of 'Black Well Goose' has been extended by one month."

China Film Construction could try to reach 2.5 million yuan.

"2.5 million —" Liu Yifei murmured repeatedly.

A month ago, she never dared to dream of this number.

"Not just domestically," Jiang Yu added, "but in North America, the box office has already surpassed $1.5 million. David said, ultimately..."

The estimated value is around 1.8 million.

"What about globally?" someone asked.

"Globally, it's currently at $2.9 million, and it should break $3 million by the end of this week."

A collective gasp filled the dining table.

$3 million, which is more than 20 billion RMB.

For a film with a budget of $1500 million, this return on investment is beyond success; it's simply miraculous.

Teacher Wang Jinsong had drunk a bit too much, and he held Liu Yifei's hand, rambling on and on: "Yifei, I'm so proud of Qi Gong—I knew he was a bright kid when he first enrolled, but I never imagined he would go this far—keep going, keep going steadily—"

Liu Yifei's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded vigorously.

After the celebration banquet, Jiang Yu drove her home.

As night deepened, the lights along Chang'an Avenue formed a flowing galaxy.

"Tired?" Jiang Yuci leaned back in the passenger seat, closing her eyes to rest.

"Mmm." Liu Yifei opened her eyes, turned her head to look at him, "Jiang Yu, thank you, Qi."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Everything," she said softly, "the script, the opportunity, the trust—and, the push I received when I was at my most insecure."

Jiang Yu laughed, freeing one hand to ruffle her hair: "Silly girl. It was Qi who seized the opportunity, it was Qi's performance that won over the audience. At most, I was just someone applauding Qi from the audience."

"Phi Qi should keep clapping."

"Okay, keep drumming."

The car drove into the underground parking garage of the residential complex.

After parking the car, neither of them rushed to get out.

In the quiet carriage, only the sound of each other's breathing could be heard.

Liu Yifei remained silent for a moment before saying, "I'm a little scared."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid—I can't live up to these expectations." She said frankly, "The success of 'Black Well Goose' has made me very popular."

What if *Lucy* doesn't succeed? What if my next work doesn't reach that level?

Jiang Yu unbuckled his seatbelt, turned to face her, and said earnestly, "Yifei, listen. No actor can guarantee success in every project. Even Meryl Streep has her off days. The important thing is that you've given your all in every role, and you've done right by yourself and the audience. That's enough."

He reached out and gently stroked the corner of her eye with his thumb: "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. The road ahead is long, let's take it one step at a time."

Liu Yifei gazed into his deep eyes, and the slight unease in her heart gradually subsided.

She nodded, giving a relaxed, unhurried smile.

"Okay, let's take it one step at a time."

With the global box office of "Blackie's Goose" surpassing $3 million, Hollywood's attention to Liu Yifei has reached an unprecedented level.

The three major brokerage firms, CAA, WME, and UTA, all sent their Asia-Pacific regional heads to try and sign her to an overseas brokerage contract.

The terms offered were increasingly generous: guaranteeing at least one A-list production and starring her every year, top Hollywood resources, and even a promise to create a series of films tailored specifically for her.

Sister Li's phone was ringing off the hook, so she had to hire two more assistants to handle overseas cooperation matters.

"Sister Li, Disney has sent us a voice acting offer for an animated film, a big production."

"Sister Li, Paramount has an action movie project and they'd like to invite Yifei to audition for the second female lead."

"Sister Li, an independent film director named Tong Qianda Lun has contacted you. The script has been sent to your email."

Looking at the briefing compiled by Sister Li, Liu Yifei felt a sense of unreality.

Just a few months ago, she was a young actress who was being questioned as a "pretty face."

Now, it seems that the doors of Hollywood have opened for her.

"No rush," Jiang Yu said. "After 'Lucy' is released, you'll have more leverage. At that time, it won't be them choosing Qi, it will be Qi Ji and his group."

Besides Hollywood, the changes in China have been even more dramatic.

The media began to use the term "Liu Yifei phenomenon" to describe her rise this year: from winning the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival to becoming a box office dark horse, and then to a leap in international influence, she has single-handedly redefined the image of "Chinese actresses".

The cover invitation for Shih-Yoo magazine is booked until March of next year.

She used to be the one vying for the cover of Utah, but now the editor-in-chief is personally calling to schedule a time: "Yifei, there's still a free cover for next month. When do you have time to shoot?"

Appearance fees for brand events have tripled.

Previously, when she went to endorse products, her fee was the industry standard rate; now, the brand proactively offers: "You name the price, we just hope you can come."

The most interesting thing is the attitude within the industry.

Previously, some colleagues spoke of her with a hint of disdain, saying she "made a living off her looks." Now, everyone who mentions Liu Yifei speaks with genuine respect and a touch of admiration.

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