Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

Office of Tangren Film & Television Hengdian Branch.

Cai Yinong sat behind her desk, holding a data report for the first week of "Ban Shu Legend" that had just been released this morning.

She flipped through two pages, her expression shifting from indifference to a cold snort, before finally slamming the report on the table and picking up her teacup.

"That old fox Yu Zheng, he's quick on his feet." She took a sip of tea, her tone filled with undisguised disdain.

"As soon as he saw Chen Li become popular, he moved the schedule forward by three months overnight—and rushed to release it in mid-March. I could smell his scheming even from Hengdian."

She put down her teacup, leaned back in her chair, and a cold smile played on her lips.

Cai Yinong's evaluation of Zheng has never needed to be concealed.

To trace the feud between Cai Yinong and Yu Zheng, these two old rivals, we have to go back five years.

Founded by Cai Yinong, Tangren Media has been the leading domestic costume drama company since around 2005, thanks to its costume idol dramas such as "Chinese Paladin", "The Little Fairy", and "Chinese Paladin 3".

Yu Zheng started his career relatively late, and it wasn't until 2010's "Beauty's Rival in Palace" that he truly became a big star.

But what truly forged a deep-seated feud between the two was the plagiarism scandal that rocked the entertainment industry in 2010.

Cai Yinong has purchased the television adaptation rights to Tong Hua's novel "Scarlet Heart" and is currently preparing for filming.

Yu Zheng, however, preemptively released "Palace: The Lock Heart Jade". Both dramas are Qing Dynasty time-travel dramas and both tell the story of the struggle for the throne among the nine princes.

Netizens have questioned whether "Palace" plagiarized "Scarlet Heart," and Cai Yinong responded publicly with four words: "The difference between the original and the pirated version."

These four words were like a knife stabbing directly into Yu Zheng's lungs. He cursed on Weibo, and Cai Yinong was not to be outdone. She wrote a long article titled "Bitten by a Dog Today," in which the line "Your cultivation will determine how far you go" is still talked about by people in the industry.

Later, Yu Zheng was embroiled in the plagiarism case of Qiong Yao's "Plum Blossom Mark," and in late 2014, the court ruled in the first instance that he had committed infringement.

Cai Yinong also said to her assistant at the time:

"After copying Tangren, he copied Qiong Yao. He's really not afraid of offending the entire industry."

So when Cai Yinong saw that Yu Zheng was using the popularity of his second male lead to release "Ban Shu Legend" ahead of schedule, she was not surprised.

This is just Yu Zheng's usual tactic.

They accurately target their audience, engage in extensive marketing and hype, and leverage every available opportunity, even actors from competing camps, as long as they have buzz.

Yu Zheng is a seasoned expert at leveraging public opinion and riding the wave of trending topics. He never hesitates to use any means to increase the exposure of his dramas.

"However..." Cai Yinong flipped the report to the page on the bullet screen data analysis, and lightly tapped the frequency of the name "Chen Li" on the report.

"The entertainment industry is all about everyone trying to ride on each other's coattails. If you can ride on Chen Li's popularity, why can't I ride on yours?"

The deputy stood in front of the desk, waiting attentively for her to continue.

"The filming of 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer' wrapped up on February 17th, and Sohu Video has scheduled it to air on July 6th."

Cai Yinong pushed the report for "Ban Shu Legend" aside and pulled out the promotional schedule for "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" from the drawer, spreading it out on the table.

"We timed our broadcast perfectly to coincide with the peak of the popularity of 'Ban Shu Legend'—it aired in March, and according to the popular broadcast cycle of web dramas, April and May are the peak of the buzz. We followed up in July, a perfect fit."

The deputy nodded and had already taken out his notebook to take notes.

"The publicity focus should be on just one card—Chen Li. Have the legal team and Sohu confirm that Zhang Xianzong's billing order in all promotional materials has been moved forward and included in the formal contract appendix. All trailers, posters, and promotional copy should emphasize the romantic storyline between Zhang Xianzong and Yue Qiluo."

"Chen Li's military uniform stills will be prioritized as the homepage's featured image. In addition, a separate trailer will be made featuring him, Zhang Ruoyun, and Han Dongjun as the male gods of the Republic of China era, and it will be simultaneously pushed on Weibo and Sohu Video."

She paused, then added,

"In addition, we can add a sentence in the copy: 'Chen Li's role in 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer' far exceeds that of his previous similar works.'"

The deputy paused, pen in hand: "President Cai, are you trying to compete with Yu Zheng's dramas?"

"Yes. We want the audience to know that Chen Li is the second male lead in our drama, with more screen time, a more important role, and a complete romantic storyline. In his drama, Chen Li was just a supporting character, but in our drama, he is the real core character. Even though it's the same Chen Li, watching 'Ban Shu Legend' is not as good as watching 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer'."

After Cai Yinong finished speaking, she picked up her teacup and took another sip. Suddenly, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile.

"Oh, and don't forget to add some spice to 'Ban Shu Legend.' Have the operations team guide the discussion in a few film and television forums, bringing up the old topic of Jing Tian's acting skills again—it doesn't need to be too intense, just natural."

"After watching Jing Tian's scenes, viewers will naturally search for Chen Li's cuts; after searching for Chen Li's cuts, they will know that our 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer' is about to be released."

The deputy noted everything down, then turned and strode out of the office.

Cai Yinong leaned back in her chair, picked up her teacup, and slowly turned it around.

The sunlight outside the window was warm in Hengdian, and so was her mood.

The real show has only just begun in this battle for traffic.

Meanwhile, Yu Zheng's studio.

Yu Zheng was sitting in front of his computer, with the real-time data backend of "Ban Shu Legend" running on the screen.

The show garnered over 200 million views in its first week, with the peak of bullet comments occurring in the third episode featuring Chen Li. The Douban rating steadily climbed, and the hashtag #KouFengAnxin# remained a popular pairing on Weibo.

Yu Zheng was increasingly amused as he watched, crossing his legs and swinging his toes, grinning from ear to ear.

"It's done! It really is done!" He slammed the data report on the table and proudly wagged his finger at his assistant.

"What did I tell you? You give the market what it wants! Chen Li is now a walking trending topics generator. His action scenes, his looks, even the supporting role he played—audiences love to watch, the comments section is flooded with them, and the platform loves to promote them. I just aired the show three months early, and the data exploded like this. If you're talking about foresight, I'm the best!"

He stood up and walked to the whiteboard, looking at the schedule he had personally prepared three months in advance, becoming increasingly smug with each glance:

"Kong Sheng, Kong Sheng, the post-production of your 'Nirvana in Fire' wrapped up last June, but you insisted on waiting until September to air it, saying you wanted to wait for the best release date—the best release date? The market doesn't wait for anyone, and neither does viewership. I was able to capitalize on Chen Li's popularity, but you didn't, and you deserve it. If you ask me, in the film and television industry, it's not about who has the better script, but who reacts the fastest! You stick to the rules, while I adapt to changing circumstances—that's the difference!"

The assistant's lips twitched, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Yu Zheng sat back down at his computer, just about to pour himself a cup of tea to celebrate, when there was a sudden, urgent knock on the office door.

The assistant jogged in, carrying a tablet whose screen was still glaringly bright, and his expression was several levels worse than when he left.

"Teacher Yu, something's happened." The assistant placed a tablet in front of him, his tone urgent.

"Tangren Media's team—Cai Yinong's team is promoting the trailer for 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer' on a large scale. All the copywriting emphasizes that Chen Li is their second male lead, saying that Chen Li has a more important role and a more outstanding character in 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer'."

"What's even more outrageous is that a huge wave of trolls has suddenly appeared on various film and television forums, Douban groups, and Weibo, all of them criticizing our 'Ban Shu Legend'—some say 'Jing Tian's acting is not as good as Chen Yao', some say 'Kou Feng is just a supporting character and not worth watching', and some are even directly trying to get viewers to abandon the show and wait for 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer'."

"Our own promotional posts are being maliciously flooded with negative comments, and several trending topics have also been inundated with a large amount of negative content. The operations team can't handle it anymore!"

Yu Zheng's smile froze on his face. He snatched the tablet and quickly swiped through several pages.

In the Douban group, the comments under the newly released promotional materials for "Ban Shu Legend" are all saying "Jing Tian's acting is awkward".

"I watched it because of Chen Li, but his role was too small to be worth it."

"Waiting for Chen Li, the second male lead in 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer,' to be even more appealing."

On Weibo, a comment that was clearly manipulated by online trolls was pushed to the top:

"After watching the Kou Feng cut of 'Ban Shu Legend', I went straight to search for Chen Li and found that he also has another drama, 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer,' which is about to be broadcast. He plays the second male lead, Zhang Xianzong. His military uniform look is so handsome. Sorry, Yu Zheng, I'm switching my allegiance to him now."

This comment received over two thousand likes in just half an hour.

"That old woman!" Yu Zheng slammed his hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump and spill tea onto the data report for "Ban Shu Legend," blurring the number "over 200 million views" into a blotchy mess.

"She's ruthless! I just got my drama airing because of Chen Li's popularity, and the next thing I knew, she sent people to sabotage me—using my 'Ban Shu' to pave the way for her own 'Wu Xin'! How disgusting is this kind of opportunism?!"

The assistant silently straightened the teacup in the corner, moved the splashed report aside, and thought expressionlessly:

Aren't you just trying to ride on Chen Li's popularity?