I'm really good at this.

Evening, 7 PM —

Su Xiaoyue and Gu Yan were in the living room wearing silk pajamas, chatting to pass the time while waiting for the release of "Bloody Youth".

On the table, cherries, strawberries, grapes, potato chips, and orange juice were all poised and ready to enter the two girls' bodies.

Gu Yan usually lives alone at home.

She and Su Xiaoyue are childhood friends. Their parents are colleagues at the same mining company and are currently on long-term business trips to Africa.

"Hehe, this is really interesting."

Seeing her best friend grinning from ear to ear while glued to her phone, Su Xiaoyue took a sip of orange juice and asked, "What's making you so happy?"

"I was looking at that analysis post about 'Clouds Falling into the Mortal World,' and someone has already dug up the cast and crew members."

Gu Yan waved her phone proudly: "I used to be an assistant director who did odd jobs on other film sets, a cinematographer who shot erotic movies, an action director who drew 18+ comics, a prop master who raised pandas at the zoo, and a makeup artist who did makeup for the dead at the funeral home. Hehe, this film crew is really interesting~"

Contrary to the online criticism, Gu Yan, who was in a phase of curiosity about new things, was actually curious about what kind of drama these people could make together.

Is this really a vulgar and sensationalist TV series?

That website probably won't allow it.

The girl even had a wild idea: were these people actually some kind of mysterious organization hidden among the people? Was the film crew just a disguise they used to conceal themselves?

During the day, they are a film crew shooting a TV series.

At night, they transform into demon hunters who exorcise demons and monsters in places like hospitals and schools!

There's no way around it; the past professions of these people really make it easy for people to make connections.

Su Xiaoyue, being a meticulous and attentive person, keenly noticed something: "Yan Yan, have you noticed something?"

"What? What?"

"This digging post doesn't seem to mention who the director is, does it?"

Gu Yan was taken aback and started looking at her phone.

Five minutes later, she exclaimed in surprise, "Yeah! The whole thing didn't mention who the director was!"

Su Xiaoyue pursed her lips, unlocked her phone, and started browsing the news.

A few minutes later, she put down her phone, looked up and said, "I've read a lot of marketing accounts and advertisements, and none of the news articles... mention who the director is, not even their name. They just say that the director is a young man making his first film."

Gu Yan scratched the back of her head: "Could it be... really some kind of secret organization?"

At this moment, the girl's imagination ran wild!

A young director? And so mysterious?

She patted her flat chest and declared, "I declare! From this day forward, I'm a fan of the director of 'Clouds Falling into the Mortal World'! A complete fan!"

Su Xiaoyue's forehead creased with annoyance: "You're already a fan without even watching the drama? Besides, a director in his thirties is still young. What if he's a bald, slovenly old man?"

"Impossible! He's definitely a handsome young, mysterious, and melancholic man!"

Gu Yan pounced on Su Xiaoyue, knocking her to the carpet, and then groped her all over, exclaiming, "He's handsome! He's handsome!"

"Alright, alright! It's a handsome guy, okay? 'Bloody Youth' has started! Watch it with me first, then you can fool around!"

The two then sat down, cherry in their left hand and strawberry in their right, ready to relax and watch their show.

First, the opening theme song.

The rousing music was exhilarating, but neither of the girls felt anything.

However, halfway through the music, it suddenly turned melodious.

At this moment, a man appeared on the screen.

Under the only streetlamp in the darkness, the man in the khaki trench coat glanced at the dark sky, his hand half-covering his face, a burning cigarette between his index and middle fingers.

He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

What a handsome and charismatic young man!

Gu Yan's eyes lit up immediately: "Who is this? I didn't see him listed as a main actor in the cast!"

Her best friend next to her remained silent.

Gu Yan turned around and saw the usually calm Su Xiaoyue staring blankly at the man on the TV.

After the scene ended, Su Xiaoyue murmured, "Yan Yan, I think... I'm going to start following celebrities."

A faint blush appeared on the girl's youthful and pretty face.

............

As the four large characters "Blood-Red Youth" appeared on the screen after the opening theme ended, Director Bi wrote a comment on the tablet on the small coffee table:

Theme song: 8/10

He is a film critic.

No, that's an overstatement.

In reality, he is a resident film and television critic on Douya.com who gets paid to rate TV dramas.

Douya.com is a professional film and television review and rating website.

You can rate both domestic and international films and television shows here.

The website's rating system is divided into amateur and professional groups.

The amateur group is open to anyone, even ordinary netizens can rate movies and TV series before they are released.

The professional group consists of professional film and television critics like him, who are hired by the website to give scores.

The original purpose of the website launching the amateur group was to increase user engagement and make it more accessible to the general public.

After all, films and television shows are meant for everyone, and rating them by a few people would make them seem highbrow and out of touch with reality.

However, despite the good intentions, after so many years of development, the scoring of this amateur group has gradually changed its nature.

Anyone can give a score arbitrarily, which means anyone can give a score randomly.

Moreover, fans of various films and television dramas and actors, as well as online trolls hired by the production crews and black trolls from opposing channels and dramas, can cause trouble at will, with a particularly large number of mindless trolls scoring one point or ten points.

So gradually, the scores given by the professional group became the scores that were more widely accepted by the public.

As Liu Yishou's "Blood-Red Youth" is a recent hit drama, it is naturally not immune to their "poisoning".

"It started off fairly standardly, but the story was told quite clearly, without any of those mysterious or obscure elements."

Bi Dao was taking notes on the tablet.

This is a spy drama, but not a "miracle drama"; it's more of a realistic one.

However, director Liu Yishou is indeed a veteran at making revolutionary dramas; he can even bring something new to the commonplace spy drama genre.

This time, he boldly cast a woman as the lead in a spy drama, while the male lead became a decorative supporting character.

It's truly eye-catching.

Moreover, the female lead is a well-regarded up-and-coming actress with excellent acting skills, and is known as one of the "Four Little Flowers" of film and television.

Judging from the first episode alone, she certainly carried the show.

The pacing is tight, there isn't much romance, the makeup and props are all in line with the times, and there's no obvious filter effect; even when you need to look disheveled, you can still pull off a "rustic" look.

Judging solely from the first episode, Bi Dao deserves an 8 out of 10.

However, this drama still has its flaws.

The flaw lies in the second male lead.

With her delicate and pale face, does she look like an underground worker?

And what kind of acting is this? No matter what mood he's in, he only has one frowning expression. Is he acting or just putting on a show of frowning?

Director Bi ultimately gave the first episode a score of 7.5.

An 8-point rating is in line with director Liu Yishou's skill level.

The 0.5 points deducted are for the second male lead, Wang Chen.

The ending theme song of the first two episodes was also a rather sad tune.

It doesn't sound bad, but it's not memorable.

Overall, judging from the first two episodes alone, it's a spy drama that meets Liu Yishou's standards.

After taking a sip of tea, Bi Dao suddenly remembered something.

That second male lead, Wang Chen... isn't he the protagonist in that previous casting controversy?

I heard that he was originally the male lead in "Cloud Falls into the Mortal World," a drama that has recently been promoted so much by online trolls that it's become annoying. However, he was replaced because of a dispute with the director. I also heard that he angered the assistant director of that drama, Sun Zheng, so much that he ended up in the hospital.

Sun Zheng is known in the industry as a kind-hearted person, yet someone still managed to make him so angry that he was hospitalized...

Moreover, judging from Wang Chen's acting skills, Director Bi even wanted to give a shout-out to the crew of "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World".

For some reason, he didn't dislike "Clouds Falling into the Mortal World" as much anymore.

I glanced at the clock on the wall; it was already nine o'clock after the two episodes aired back-to-back.

It seems that "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World" premiered on Jixing Video at 9 PM?

After all, he's bombarded with all sorts of online trolls, marketing accounts, and video websites every day, so it's hard for him not to remember them!

Since I have nothing to do right now, I might as well watch the beginning.

Connect your phone to the TV and open Jixing Video.

The main banner on the video's homepage features the poster for "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World".

In the poster, Luo Yun, dressed in ancient costume, and Bai Xueye gaze at each other across the distance.

Bi Dao clicked on it casually.

The long one minute and fifty-nine seconds of game over time was enough for him to go to the bathroom.

When he came back from the bathroom, GG had just finished and the theme song was starting.

They say life is a journey.

Always traversing one's own heart...

Following the usual pattern, Bi Dao would casually give it a score of 6 on the tablet.

Six points, passing grade, neither good nor bad.

It's not unpleasant to listen to, nor is it catchy.

Similar to catchy pop songs.

This female singer has a very deep and resonant voice.

But he paused as soon as his hand touched the Bluetooth keyboard: "Huh?"

"It was just a scenic view after all..."

Do not listen to the sound of rain pattering through the trees; why not chant and stroll leisurely?

With bamboo staff and straw sandals, I travel lighter than on horseback; a straw raincoat and misty rain, I let life take its course...

Director Bi's brain was completely blown away by this song.

He graduated from the Beijing Conservatory of Music, but that was a bachelor's degree.

Instead, he went to the Beijing Film Academy for his postgraduate studies.

Therefore, his musical talent is also quite high.

He'd give the melody a 7 out of 10 at most, but with these lyrics...

"Looking back at the desolate place I came from, there was neither wind nor rain, neither sunshine nor gloom..."

Without hesitation, Bi Dao gave the theme song a perfect score of 10 on the tablet!

The reason it's 10 points is because the maximum score is only 10 points!

This 10 is not for the song itself, but for the lyrics.

"What a wonderful song! I wonder who wrote it." Director Bi took a sip of tea to suppress his shock. "I just don't know if this drama is worthy of this song."

An hour later, Director Bi frowned: "That's it? Damn you, you short-circuit dog!"

Yes, he was completely engrossed in watching it.

He did initially watch it with a critical eye.

The beginning is fairly standard. The first episode tells the story of a young empress from an ancient women's kingdom who secretly runs away from home and then finds a naive celestial emperor who has descended to earth.

Although the male and female leads were perfect in appearance, costumes, and props, the clichéd plot offered no novelty, and he felt no emotional response.

Even when he saw the elderly couple playing the victim, pretending to be dead but not dying for five minutes, his face turned completely black.

That's it?

This garbage is a complete waste of the theme song!

But the next moment, he burst out laughing.

The moment the naive Heavenly Emperor handed the money to the old man, the elderly couple who had been half-dead just moments before stood up, turned around, and ran away, leaving the Heavenly Emperor, who had descended to earth, standing there bewildered in the wind.

"Yes, it's surprisingly interesting."

Then, the story came to the end of the first episode.

Having witnessed the entire event from afar, the Empress sighed softly, "I've found you..."

Then he walked up with a smile.

Episode 1, End.

Bi Daoyin quickly clicked on the second episode.

Another hour later—

"Damn it! That damn short-form dog!"

He clicked on the third episode at lightning speed.

But I can't watch the third episode because it requires a VIP membership.

Bi Dao quickly subscribed to a one-month membership and then eagerly clicked on the third episode.

[Sorry, please purchase a Jixing Video TV version membership to watch.]

Director Bi frowned, barely suppressing the urge to curse, and subscribed to another month's worth of video website TV membership.

This is a total rip-off!

You should have told me earlier that mobile membership subscriptions can't be shown on TV! You wasted my twenty yuan!

Why is the TV membership twice as expensive as the mobile version?!

But it's okay! He can finally watch the rest of the story on a 65-inch high-definition LCD TV!

And it's in 4K quality!

However......

[Advanced viewing available upon request; please purchase a ticket.]

Director Bi: "..."

"Fuck your lucky star!"

P.S.: Daily request for votes 2/2!

Another 6000+ words today!

The theme song of "Clouds Fall into the Mortal World" is "Ding Feng Bo" sung by Huang Qishan on CCTV's "Classic Recitations", with lyrics by Su Shi (laughs).

(* ^ ▽ ^ *)