Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

"Brother Chen Li, thank you." Xiao Tian looked up, her cheeks slightly flushed, and said sincerely.

Having gone through all these ups and downs, she saw Chen Li's concern for her.

If it weren't for Brother Chen Li, she really wouldn't know what to do...

"No need to thank me, you're going to be the pillar of my company in the future, it's only right that I thank you."

"But don't secretly fall in love with me, okay..."

Chen Li joked, and the atmosphere immediately became more relaxed.

Xiao Tian was initially quite touched, but after Chen Li's words, she immediately blushed and gently punched Chen Li's chest.

"What the heck?! That's so cheesy!"

After the two playfully wrestled for a while, Chen Li took out her phone and glanced at the time:

"It's getting late, almost midnight. The wind by the lake is getting colder and colder. If you stay any longer, you'll catch a cold. I'll take you back to your dorm to sleep."

Xiaotian was a little disappointed upon hearing this, but she still nodded obediently.

She was about to get up when suddenly her eyes darted around, and then she said with a pained expression:

"Ugh, my legs are so sore! I walked too much today, I can't walk anymore!"

Then, clutching her ankle, she looked pitifully at Chen Li and made a gesture as if asking to be carried.

"Then I'll carry you on my back?" The seasoned veteran Chen Li immediately understood, and the corners of his mouth turned up.

Anyway, the hotel isn't far from the lake.

"good!"

When Tian Xiwei saw that he had agreed, she immediately nodded with a big smile, almost jumping for joy.

However, seeing Chen Li's teasing look, she held back.

"That was close, I almost gave myself away..."

Tian Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then happily wrapped her arms around Chen Li's neck.

When Xiaotian put his body to work, he felt as light as if he were nothing.

No wonder she's a girl who practices dance every day.

Standing at least 1.68 meters tall, she has no excess fat on her body.

Chen Li felt the soft touch on his back, and even through his pants, he could feel his fingers sinking into a sponge.

"Brother Chen Li, actually I'm very strong. I can handle this even without you."

"Yes, yes, our Xiaotian is the strongest!"

"Brother Chen Li, will there be a clause in the contracts I sign that forbids me from dating?"

"You've reminded me! I'll add it for you later!"

"Ah? No, no! If you dare add me, I'll quit..."

The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow, and the night breeze was slightly cool.

A young girl, just beginning to experience romantic feelings, was carrying a boy on her back, chatting happily.

With a heart full of longing, Chen Li carried Xiao Tian on his back, chatting with her about all sorts of things as he slowly escorted her home.

He always felt an itch on his neck, and a cool sensation when the wind blew by.

Maybe it's because I'm sweating? Carrying Xiaotian is a bit tiring...

Thinking this, he didn't pay attention and even turned back to Xiaotian and said, "You should lose weight."

Little did he know that the girl's gentle kiss, like her heartfelt sentiment, was delivered silently.

......

August 1, Hengdian.

Chen Li had just thrown her luggage into the actors' apartment arranged by the "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" crew when her phone started vibrating incessantly.

He took it out and looked at it.

Bai Mengyan had seventeen missed calls.

The latest WeChat message clearly states:

"Boss!! The video has surpassed 700 million views!!!"

Before he could reply, Tian Xiwei's WeChat message arrived:

"Brother Chen Li! My Weibo followers increased by 500,000 overnight! 500,000!"

"I've finally made it big! Hahahaha!!"

Chen Li opened her mouth, but before she could reply, another message popped up.

It's Bai Mengyan:

"Boss, thirteen media outlets have requested exclusive interviews, we've occupied five of the top ten trending topics on Weibo, and our Douban rating has risen from 8.0 to 8.4!"

"Tencent says the sheer volume of comments crashed one of their servers!"

He stepped barefoot onto the apartment floor, the cold touch bringing him back to his senses.

On the homepage of Tencent Video, the poster for "So Cute Us" is framed in gold and occupies the most prominent recommendation position.

Even with the barrage density set to the lowest level, the latest episode still completely obscures the screen when viewed on screen.

"Reporting in for my third viewing!"

"Mommy loves you, Orange!"

"Tan Song, you're too good at flirting."

"I copied half a notebook full of the last line of each episode."

A flood of colorful bullet comments swept across the screen, blurring the old corridors of the old residential building so much that the faces of the main characters were obscured by "famous scene check-in" and "sweet moments ahead".

In the Tencent Video technology department, the on-duty engineer stared at the suddenly soaring curve and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"The scene at the end of episode four where they're handing out headphones on the rooftop—the number of comments instantly surpassed 800,000! Old Zhou, why hasn't your server switched over yet?!"

On the monitoring screen, the red curve representing server load is jumping wildly in the danger zone.

"Distribute the live chat to the third server room! Add two more backup servers! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

Wang Yi personally stood guard in the corridor of their technical department, watching the almost vertical curve of play counts on the real-time data screen. He wiped the sweat from his brow, turned to Director Zhao, who was also standing there in a daze, and said:

"Back when Chen Li said in the meeting room, 'I can't guarantee how high it will go in the first week,' who could have imagined things would turn out like this?"

Director Zhao remained silent for several seconds before replying:

"The biggest dark horse of the year. No—it's the biggest surprise for our platform this year."

The homepage of the Douban group "Gossip is Here".

Yesterday, posts titled "Let's talk about how that low-budget youth drama became a hit entirely by luck" were circulating online, but this morning they have been replaced by "In-depth analysis of the innovative narrative structure of 'So Cute Us'".

The original poster, a "film school student," used 4,000 words to argue for the "temporal and spatial metaphor of the old locust tree image," which garnered 15897 likes.

The top-rated comment reads: "It turns out that tree is more than just a tree—I only realized this on my third viewing; it appears in close-ups at every plot twist."

On Weibo, well-known drama critic "Dan Guang" posted a long article:

From Niche to Hit: How Did We, So Adorable, Defeat Capital with Sincerity?

The most popular comment in the comment section is:

"Wasn't it you who criticized those poor youth dramas back then?" received 6.7 likes.

The show's explosive popularity has sparked intense discussion both within and outside the industry.

The China Film News published a commentary on its front page, stating that "it leveraged a budget of 300 million yuan to generate 7 million views, providing a brand-new model for the online drama market to achieve big results with small investments."

The article affirms the "deep exploration of youth themes through modular structure and philosophical narration".

He also stated frankly that "the bold use of pure location shooting and non-professional actors, while resulting in a certain degree of production roughness, also becomes its biggest differentiating advantage due to its realistic texture."

The magazine *Film and Television Industry Observer* focuses on its communication logic:

"From being questioned to becoming a nationwide hit, 'So Cute Us' has hit the mark in online dissemination. Poetic shots are naturally suitable for wallpapers, memorable quotes at the end of the episodes are easy to spread on social media, and the catchy melody of 'The Wind Rises' hits the ears and hits the nostalgia of youth. This inherent ability to attract attention has allowed it to break out of the traditional promotional path for online dramas."

Southern Metropolis Entertainment Weekly: "Views Surpass 7 Million! Web Series 'So Cute Us' Dominates Social Media During Its Run"

Sina Entertainment: From skepticism to clamor for more updates, viewers say: "The updates are too slow, we don't have enough!"

The entertainment section of the *Yanjing Youth Daily* published an article titled, "Watching it during commutes, chatting during lunch breaks, and watching it three times straight—why did this adorable web series become the year's most popular online drama?"

Everything has changed.

The doubts of the past were completely overshadowed by a deluge of flowers and applause.

Those episodic narratives that were criticized as "too slow and too peaceful" when they first aired are now being given the academic title of "slow narrative youth aesthetics" by drama critics.

Even though the production team admitted that they used the actors' old school uniforms to save money, some people wrote articles analyzing their "ultimate pursuit of the true texture of youth".

Chen Li sat on the edge of her bed in her apartment in Hengdian, going through each of the data screenshots Bai Mengyan had sent her. She was filled with mixed emotions, but not at all surprised.

He knew all along that once the drama became a hit, great scholars would come to debate the classics for him!

So he wasn't really worried about the rumors and gossip that might circulate during the process.

As long as the result is good, everything is fine!

Chen Li was not blinded by success.

His biggest concern right now is: how much money will he get?