Chinese Entertainment: Top-Tier Boyfriends of Young Actresses

According to the backend data compiled by the drama's studio after its first week of broadcast, "A Love So Beautiful" had a real viewership of just over 80 million in its first week, averaging around 20 million per episode.

However, the publicly released figure was 160 million, which is only half of the total amount injected, so it's not considered too drastic.

After all, inflated viewership numbers are practically the norm in the Chinese entertainment industry these days; it would be rare for someone not to inflate their numbers.

In early 2017, a certain online drama had a front-end click count of 15.3 billion, but the actual click count was only 1.7 billion, with nearly 90% being inflated. A sample survey of 20 dramas launched in January and February of the same year found that the overall inflated click count was as high as 60%.

Studios like Jukeai Studio, which only registers half of the content, is already considered to be very conscientious.

Of course, another reason is that the audience for this kind of sweet and romantic campus drama is limited, and if it's padded out too much, people can tell at a glance.

In the second week, the number of views for "A Love So Beautiful" dropped.

The previous intensive marketing campaign attracted many curious casual viewers, but after watching a few episodes, those who weren't interested in sweet romance dramas naturally left.

However, this group is not very large. Most viewers were attracted by the high-quality storyline and stayed, and their enthusiasm for following the series was more stable than in the first week.

With the recent popularity of "A Love So Beautiful," there has been a surge in online discussions about the show.

Huo Xiaolan wasn't idle either. Her marketing department had prepared a complete plan before the series even aired, just waiting for the hype to build up before they could unleash their full potential.

Her strategy was clear: first, solidify Su Yu's "academic heartthrob" persona with an in-depth profile article, and then expand the topic by engaging with fans and placing ads on trending searches.

The first thing to ignite the controversy was a long article posted by "@娱八婆", a well-known entertainment blogger.

This account started by exposing the privacy and behind-the-scenes stories of celebrities. It has more than 2.9 million followers and was selected by Sina Weibo as one of the "Top Ten Entertainment Commentators of 2016". Its influence in the gossip circle is not to be underestimated.

She wrote an article titled "Unveiling the Secret: Is it a 'God-Making' or a Real 'Academic Star' in the Entertainment Industry?"

The article attracted a lot of attention as soon as it was published.

The article first traces Su Yu's career path, from his unexpected rise to fame as the "campus heartthrob of Sichuan University" on Baidu Tieba, to being signed by Daylight Entertainment, playing Lin Tao in "Medical Examiner Qin Ming", taking on Hu Qing in "Oh My General", and then auditioning for Jiang Chen in "A Love So Beautiful".

It was later mentioned that Su Yu was not formally trained in the field, but was a senior student majoring in bioengineering at Xichuan University.

The song "Want to See You, Want to See You, Want to See You" that went viral online some time ago was written and composed entirely by Su Yu, including the music video script. Before entering the entertainment industry, Su Yu had not studied any music theory; he learned all of this from scratch after entering the industry.

The article concludes by emphasizing one key point: Su Yu comes from a rural area in southern Sichuan and is a true example of someone from a poor family.

Everything he has now is the result of his own hard work.

At the end of the article, the influential blogger thoughtfully posted a screenshot of Su Yu's college entrance examination score sheet.

In the science stream, the total score in the college entrance examination was 623 points, and the scores for each subject were clearly recorded.

This screenshot is more convincing than any rendering, and the comment section exploded.

With a total score of 623, he exceeded the first-tier university admission line in SC province by several tens of points, ranking among the top in the province for science.

This score would definitely place it among the top tier for art students, and it would also be considered very excellent among ordinary students.

Moreover, there were no extra points; the results were all based on solid, unadulterated performance.

This article quickly garnered over a million views after its release.

Subsequently, Huo Xiaolan's marketing team began to follow up, and according to the schedule she had set in advance, they first pushed the article on Weibo simultaneously, and then coordinated with several top entertainment accounts to forward and spread it.

At the same time, the fan club organized unified "comment control" in the comment section, that is, by systematically occupying the top of the comment section and focusing on replying with content that is favorable to the artist, thus guiding the direction of public opinion.

When passersby clicked on the comments section, they saw almost all positive information about him as a "top student," "school heartthrob," and "rags-to-riches story," and the discussion was precisely guided in a direction most favorable to Su Yu.

As the marketing team increased its investment, public opinion began to ferment, and the popularity of the topic about Su Yu continued to rise.

As the buzz grew, hashtags such as #TrueAcademicAceInChineseEntertainment#, #SuYu:ANovelProtagonistInRealLife#, and #SuYuCollegeEntranceExamScore# successively climbed to the top of Weibo's trending topics list.

Even the hashtag #SichuanUniversityHunk# was dug up by old fans and reappeared on the trending topics list after more than a year.

In the comments section, fans expressed their admiration in various ways: "No wonder Jiang Chen acted so well, it turns out he was just playing himself! Su Yu really has no acting skills (doge)."

"What kind of novel protagonist comes to life—academically gifted, handsome, and talented? Does that leave no room for anyone else?"

"Su Su is amazing, I definitely made the right choice in becoming a fan. It started with her looks, I was captivated by her talent, and I'm loyal to her character."

"As long as he doesn't collapse, I'll be a fan of Su Su forever! Just kidding, even if he collapses, I'll still be a fan forever!"

"Is the person upstairs sent by the rival? They're cursing Su Su's career to collapse right after she became famous? Disgusting!"

.........

Many passersby said they became fans after seeing it:

"That's truly inspiring. From a rural boy to where he is now, I really admire him."

"I laugh when other people market themselves as academic heartthrobs, but I'm truly impressed by Su Yu."

"To be honest, I don't feel comfortable with other popular celebrities, but I find Su Yu more pleasing to the eye. Maybe that's the difference between a highly educated person and an illiterate person."

.........

As public opinion erupted, Su Yu's Weibo followers quickly surpassed ten million.

Throughout September, Su Yu was the most talked-about celebrity, without a doubt.

Su Yu leaned back on the newly rented sofa in his studio, scrolling through comments from his fans on Weibo.

The overwhelming praise in the comments section made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Sister Huo, isn't this marketing a bit too much? My fans are practically praising me to the skies." He flipped his phone over and placed it face down on the coffee table, his tone tinged with helplessness. "I'm getting so frustrated watching this that I'm practically digging my toes through my shoes."

Huo Xiaolan looked up from behind her laptop, glanced at him, and smiled slightly: "What, are you embarrassed to be praised?"

"It's not that I'm embarrassed, it's that I feel awkward. I know myself very well, but these people are praising me to the skies."

"It's very common to create a persona within the industry." Huo Xiaolan closed her notebook and took a sip of water from the glass on the table.

"Some people solve a quadratic equation and dare to portray themselves as academic geniuses, while others write a couple of lines of doggerel and dare to call themselves creative talents. You're a genuine top student from a 985 university, so what's wrong with portraying yourself as an academic genius?"

She paused, then added, "As for other aspects, such as your romantic minefield, we haven't dared to touch it at all. The persona we've created for you can withstand scrutiny; it's impossible for it to collapse in that area."

Su Yu thought about it and agreed.

Although Huo Xiaolan's marketing campaign was high-profile, all the points she promoted were real: her academic achievements were real, the songwriting process was real, and her humble origins were real.

As for her romantic relationship persona, she didn't mention it at all.

"But Sister Huo, I think that's enough. Any more marketing would be counterproductive." Su Yu sat up straight, his tone becoming more serious. "There are press releases about me everywhere online right now. If we keep going like this, it will only damage my public image."

"I understand that." Huo Xiaolan nodded, put down her water glass, and said, "I've already informed the marketing department that we'll start cooling things down today and won't be adding any new advertising. This wave of hype is enough; pushing it any further will definitely backfire."

She paused, then changed the subject, her tone turning serious: "But we need to be careful from now on. Our rivals in the industry won't stand to see you doing well. If you're the only one getting the meat, everyone else will only get the soup. There will definitely be a lot of smear articles coming out in the next few days, and we'll be very busy then."