Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

Gu Zhiyan stayed in Macau for another day, spending time with the older and younger female colleagues, before heading back to the film set.

On the night he returned to the film crew, Sun Qian, Liu Shishi, and Zhao Jinmai rushed over, and together with Gao Ye and Jiang Peiyao, they achieved a five-kill streak in one night.

A few days later, "Ninefold Purple" was exclusively launched on Tencent Video.

The drama easily surpassed 10,000 popularity points within just 27 minutes of its release, and topped the Maoyan drama chart with a popularity score of 11832.44 on its first day of broadcast, thus beginning its journey to dominate the top spot on Weibo's drama influence chart.

"Ninefold Purple" topped the Yunhe Daily Chart on its second day of release, and within just three days of its online release, its popularity on Tencent Video exceeded 30000, officially joining the platform's "Hit Club". It is also the first drama series on Tencent Video to achieve this result in 2025.

The fact that Gu Zhiyan's drama series garnered over 10,000 views is just standard practice; his massive fan base and general public make it easy for him to achieve this number.

The series is also a hit on social media, with the "Zhao Zhao Mo Mo" CP topic trending almost all day long. Meng Jie's gain of over a million followers in a week has also become a hot topic. The exclusive treatment for rising stars, such as digging up old stories and gossip about film and television, has also been quickly arranged.

Aside from Gu Zhiyan's status, which has reached its limit, the main cast of this drama can be said to be all "on the table" (i.e., highly successful).

Unlike most hit dramas, the director of this drama was actually Zeng Qingjie. As early as when the drama premiered, the topic of "a director of a short drama making a long drama" had already become a trending topic on Weibo.

It's no exaggeration to say that director Tseng Ching-chieh was the first to "take the table"; the opening of "Ninefold Purple" was indeed of extremely high quality.

The film features iconic scenes such as Dou Zhao catching the adulterer and getting a divorce, the Crown Prince's suicide, Song Mo's white hair saving the beauty, and the two being reborn from the ashes. It can be said that the film achieves "extreme" success in terms of narrative rhythm, character development, atmosphere, and sense of destiny.

More importantly, it drew public attention to the "skills" of film and television directors, prompting the behind-the-scenes teams to "come to the table" (i.e., be more involved in the production).

From iconic scenes to the explosive popularity of the main couple, from the novelty of the series to the meticulousness of the dialogue, "Ninefold Purple" continuously provides viewers with a sense of novelty and impact from multiple levels. Despite its logical flaws, its merits outweigh its shortcomings, and its popularity even surged again in the later stages.

Liu Jiaxi, who already garnered attention for walking the red carpet with Gu Zhiyan, has become even more popular.

Whether it was the panic and astonishment after her rebirth, or the three parts disdain and seven parts resentment when facing her enemies, she used her eyes to fully portray the "story" of revenge and her precociousness.

Many viewers felt that she not only had a talent for acting, but also possessed a precocious intelligence that allowed her to remain calm despite inner turmoil.

This girl has been calling Gu Zhiyan every few days lately to share her joy. Kids are like that, happiness is so simple.

Of course, the biggest beneficiary was Sister Meng.

After the broadcast of "Ninefold Purple", Meng Jie's acting career achieved a significant leap. It can be said that she went from being "cold" to becoming a "potential stock" favored by the industry. She is a strong rise to stardom with a solid foundation.

The most direct change is that they received so many script offers that they couldn't keep up. They successively won the lead or core role in "The Killing of a Hundred Flowers" and the S+ project "Princess Shang". The trust between the platform and the production company has obviously soared.

His commercial influence is also vastly different now. Not only have his endorsement resources been upgraded, but he's also been inundated with offers, and his film and television fees have increased significantly.

This is the boost that a hit drama brings to an artist.

When Brother Yan makes a move, he never misses.

Netizens have become accustomed to this, but one topic still sparked heated discussion.

In the current state of the Chinese entertainment industry, where a single hit drama is enough to achieve a leap in social class and a meteoric rise in status, Gu Zhiyan has a dozen or so phenomenal hit dramas that have received high scores on Douban and gone viral across the internet. What exactly is the value of this achievement?

As soon as the question was raised, the topic quickly rose to the top of the trending searches, and within just half an hour, the comment section exploded, with all sorts of people, industry insiders, and longtime drama fans arguing amongst themselves.

"For most actors in the Chinese entertainment industry, having two solid hit dramas in their lifetime is already the ceiling. One hit is a breakthrough, three hits are legendary, and a dozen hits are all phenomenal. This is no longer just an actor's resume; it's the hard currency of the film and television industry. When it comes to attracting investment, producers only look at two things: the prestige of their awards and whether they can guarantee the overall popularity on the platform. Gu Zhiyan comes with his own basic viewership ratings. Investors see his name and immediately approve him as an S+ level actor. He doesn't need any IP or big-name director endorsements. He is truly a single person carrying the ceiling of a drama."

"Many hit dramas are popular, but the actors aren't. They rely on the script and production bonuses, and once those bonuses are used up, they quickly fade into obscurity. Gu Zhiyan's hit dramas are all mutually reinforcing. Each drama he stars in increases the popularity of his next one. He has consistently produced hits for ten years without any low points. This kind of stable output ability is something that only one person in the industry can produce in decades."

"Stop using red carpet rankings and high-end magazine appearances to boast about your status. Superficial popularity will depreciate sooner or later. Only national recognition and a series of works that are firmly on the charts have lasting influence. Other artists ride the wave of a drama's popularity, but he achieves mutual success. There are tiers in the industry: A-list, Super A-list, and there's even a separate tier for Gu Zhiyan."

"There's an unwritten hierarchy of contempt within the industry: fleeting popularity, established actors with a few representative works, and seasoned performers with a consistent track record of creating hit shows. A record of over a dozen phenomenal TV series is equivalent to holding over a dozen long-term commercial assets. TV stations and video platforms will reserve prime time slots for him in their annual programming schedules. Platforms are practically begging for his cooperation, and he has complete freedom in choosing resources. He's already transcended the circle of competition among artists; he's at a level where even capital actively seeks to curry favor with him."

"Awards determine the ceiling, while a continuous stream of hit shows determine the floor. Best Actor and Best Television Actor awards determine his reputation in the industry, and a dozen or so national dramas that are repeatedly replayed over the years determine his enduring national foundation. Many artists strive with all their might for just one masterpiece, but he mass-produces them. This achievement will be unparalleled in the Chinese entertainment industry ten years from now."

"Others rise to fame with a single hit drama that falls from the sky, but Gu Zhiyan is like a mass-produced hit drama. It's an understatement to say that God is feeding him. He's practically the ceiling of drama luck in the Chinese entertainment industry. From now on, when we review actors' achievements, we'll just divide them into two columns: other actors, and Gu Zhiyan."

"He has no shortage of awards and achievements, and he's far ahead of the competition. Otherwise, how could my brother Yan be the number one figure in the Chinese entertainment industry?"

……

The drama "Ninefold Purple" is currently airing, and Sister Meng came to visit the set.

On one hand, they wanted to capitalize on the momentum and promote the CP (couple pairing); on the other hand, they obviously missed Xiao Yan Ge (a popular Chinese romance novelist).

It allows you to balance both public and private matters!