I'm not mentally ill, I'm a master of a thousand faces!

Chapter 377, The Invisible Guardian

At this moment.

Regarding the current potential viewership ratings.

Jiang Wei was quite satisfied.

3.7.

It was slightly less popular than "Ming Dynasty," which had a similar audience.

But the results on the first day were indeed quite good.

"You're really smart," Zhang the Bearded Man chuckled. "You actually came up with the idea of attracting young viewers."

Currently, Zhang Dahuzi is thinking of adding a romance storyline that appeals to young people.

Young women, in particular, are almost completely detached from the spy drama genre.

But what about now?

According to statistics from online channels, a significant number of young female viewers have been attracted, which would not normally be considered part of the potential audience.

At this moment, Jiang Wei hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

After a moment's thought, he said.

"I really wanted to take credit for this, but I probably can't. This scene was entirely due to the two actors' excellent performances, especially Zuo Lan. He perfectly captured Yu Zecheng's emotions, it was so good it was like he was just playing himself."

"That's one of the advantages. I feel that Station Chief Wu also acted very well. Isn't he always the type to dominate other actors' scenes? I didn't feel that way here."

"Perhaps he was completely drawn into that world by Li Yun, and his immersion made his natural performance so natural that his frighteningly excellent filming techniques couldn't be fully utilized."

It's Li Yun again?

Zhang Da Huzi was somewhat taken aback.

Jiang Wei has one great strength, which is also his biggest weakness: he is stubborn, inflexible, and obstinate.

He felt that his scripts were only worthy of great directors, and that great directors were only worthy of being his assistant directors.

He genuinely believed this.

Therefore, such a person is not very popular, and I am one of his few friends.

However, he wouldn't pretend to be confused.

I don't lie.

He will readily acknowledge whose credit it is.

Jiang Wei currently feels that...

He had to admit that it was all thanks to the young people.

At this moment, Zhang Da Huzi suddenly realized what was happening.

It seems to be in this spy drama.

Li Yun's influence is not insignificant.

"Isn't this a tactic we've used before? This ex-husband's production team is really cunning." Ouyang Ling was quite satisfied with the current ratings.

Whether it's the imposing grandeur of "The Ming Dynasty" today.

He firmly grasped the target audience of middle-aged men in their 40s.

Whether it's the biting satire or the portrayal of a grand historical period, these are the things this TV series emphasizes.

However, Ouyang Lin did not intend to use the "just like young students" approach to make "The Ming Dynasty," and this historical drama completely abandoned young people.

The main characters in "Just Like Our Youth" are young people, while the main characters in "The Ming Dynasty" are all middle-aged people.

There is nothing in this group of actors that can attract young people.

Or rather, historical dramas, from their inception, have never intended to appeal to young audiences.

It was designed from the very beginning to cater to middle-aged audiences.

In his eyes, spy dramas were just that kind of thing, and young people naturally lacked a sense of identification with them.

Modern and contemporary themes have this inherent disadvantage.

Unlike ancient times, it's quite far away.

It wasn't as close as it is now.

Young people are the rising sun of the future, and everyone wants to capture the young audience, but the subject matter itself has its limitations.

Especially spy dramas.

Amidst the backdrop of constant warfare and chaos, every step could lead to death. How could people who grew up in peacetime truly understand this?

But at this very moment.

Li Yun did this.

The infiltration team accomplished this.

Amidst the backdrop of endless war and chaos.

That touch of romance and beauty that resonates with the soul.

This makes it all the more precious.

Ouyang Lin doesn't dislike this kind of unconventional spy drama; after all, his previous work, "The Young Students," was also unconventional.

He was just curious.

Can every act of going against tradition be successful?

Maybe not.

At least so far, the most important element in the spy drama genre is a sense of faith.

He didn't see it.

"But at least we saw the acting skills of the lead actors, which were truly excellent." At this moment, Gao Xinxin stared at Li Yun.

so far.

He never thought Li Yun's acting skills were excellent.

However, by the time he realized it, he had completely immersed himself in "Lurking" and into the very soul of the spy Yu Zecheng.

He was very natural.

Nature eventually makes people forget his name.

He is Yu Zecheng.

Such natural acting skills.

It cannot be said that it is not strong.

It was almost unbelievable for a young person to behave like that.

I've wanted to immerse myself in the role for many years.

Only then can one express a natural feeling.

There wasn't a single trace of acting on it.

But the downside of acting is probably that it's not easy for people to remember his name.

It's not easy for people to remember his name as an actor.

But for a director, this is definitely a formidable asset.

An absolutely fierce general.

The script itself has a feel for unspoken rules in the workplace, incorporating elements of modern workplace dramas.

This increases the sense of identification for young people.

After all, unspoken rules in the workplace are something that have remained unchanged since ancient times; the officialdom and the arena of fame and fortune have always been the same.

As the plot unfolds...

Gao Xinxin also discovered something.

The tension in the scene where Manager Wang bites his tongue and commits suicide, along with the subtle and natural change in Yu Zecheng's mindset, creates a powerful impact.

All of this made him realize one thing.

This installment of the "Lurking" series doesn't seem to be trying to pander to young people in an extreme way.

He still hasn't forgotten his core audience.

They haven't forgotten the core of spy dramas.

What kind of belief would a person have to be able to infiltrate a headquarters behind enemy lines amidst numerous crises?

That is faith.

Yu Zecheng initially had no faith.

He only had one principle: resisting Japan. As long as you resisted Japan, you were either a traitor or a comrade-in-arms.

Regarding the attitude towards internal strife, he has always advocated that it is best to sit down and have a proper talk.

He's just a bit naive in this respect.

The two sides' ideologies are absolutely incompatible, and they are mutually contradictory, both for the sake of the country and for themselves.

His principles were first shaken when Boss Dai and Xiao Riziren had an affair.

This allowed him to focus on being his Mount Emei.

A spy who was seduced by a honey trap.

He first felt a sense of faith when his operator calmly faced death.

I will not betray my warriors.

Give up.

Biting one's tongue to commit suicide is a cruel way to die; it's not simply a matter of the tongue bleeding.

Instead, he used the entire piece of his tongue that he bit off to block his trachea, suffocating to death.

Pain and courage.

Fearlessness and sacrifice.

Just like that Boss Dai who had an affair with Xiao Rizi.

It has an absolutely strong contrast and impact.

This was the first time Yu Zecheng had developed a faith.

The second shock came when Zuo Lan died.

The reason Yu Zecheng had been fighting for was dead. He had no reason to remain the Emei Peak and no need to continue this clandestine life of infiltration.

There's no need to follow rules even when it's time to sleep.

Zuo Lan's death was something the audience expected.

There was no surprise in this matter; she just looked like she was about to die.

A perfect woman.

First love, faith, belief.

Her sacrifice was peaceful. Before she died, she even endured the pain of her gunshot wound to let her comrades leave so as not to upset them.

no need to worry.

Her death was not dramatic at all; in fact, it was quite peaceful. Her body lay in the morgue.

When Yu Zecheng went to identify her body.

It only revealed a just-right amount of sadness.

Not a penny more, not a penny less.

It aligns with his feelings about his ex-lover, and it aligns with people's feelings about their ex-lover.

Even Station Chief Wu said, "Isn't your behavior a bit too cold-blooded?"

Yu Zecheng just smiled, a sad smile. There were feelings, but that was all a long time ago. Now I'm married and have a family. Although it's hard to forget, I can only accept it.

Yu Zecheng said so.

Watertight.

Even her sadness was portrayed flawlessly.

Once back at his post, he continued with his tasks.

They were carrying out a covert mission.

Zuo Lan's death.

He died as a result of the enemy's revenge.

There was no grand, heroic sacrifice for the organization as one might imagine; it was merely the revenge of a petty person.

Zuo Lan was not given any grand sentiments.

Even her actions were all to protect her lover's fake wife; there was no selfishness whatsoever, it was just that it made people feel a little sorry for her.

It causes a dull ache in one's heart.

At this moment, Liu Qianqian watched as Zuo Lan logged off.

"She was a soldier." Jiang Wen, who was standing next to her, also felt a deep respect for her.

He is not a man who likes nagging; on the contrary, he is a bit of a chauvinist.

Whether it's the sunrise or the arrival of the Japanese invaders.

He never went on to depict delicate personal emotions.

It seems that Jiang Wen also felt that, against the backdrop of national sentiment, personal feelings seemed somewhat insignificant.

While Zuo Lan calmly faced death, and while Yu Zecheng secretly grieved and wept silently at home...

He will be able to sense it.

I used to think of mother-in-law's feelings as trivial.

He was also such a great thing.

It's not that he's not sad, but that if he gets sad and breaks the rules, many people will suffer because of him.

Therefore, this spy didn't even have the right to be sad.

The only right he had was to weep alone in the dead of night when no one was around.

Then, the next day, he devoted himself to the collection and transmission of intelligence as usual.

He did indeed betray us because of Zuo Lan.

It will become Yan'an's Mount Emei.

But at this moment, he was not persisting for Zuo Lan's sake.

What he persisted in became his faith.

He became a true fighter in Yan'an, not because of a woman.

His motivation and initial reason was the pursuit of love, but through repeated contact with Yan'an, he came to understand that kind of faith.

He has now completely become a spy in Yan'an.

The code name after its transformation is Crab.

That side.

At this moment, Liu Shanhe, a member of the August First Film Studio's viewing group, was somewhat incredulous as he looked at the viewership ratings before him.

3.9.

"How is this possible?"

Liu Shanhe was somewhat taken aback. He had originally thought that the young people who were attracted by the love story would decisively abandon the show and run away when Zuo Lan died.

He felt that the reason why superficial young people would choose to watch "Lurking" was because of the romance between Zuo Lan and Yu Zecheng, a handsome couple.

The audience stayed because of this superficial and vulgar reason.

They have absolutely no reason to continue watching.

But now the ratings have risen instead of fallen, which is quite unbelievable.

They didn't run away!

"You really underestimate today's young people." At this moment, Lu Zhengguang was not much surprised.

Regarding current viewership ratings.

None of the young people left.

They followed Yu Zecheng together, choosing their side because of love, and because of the reason that even a hero cannot resist the charms of a beautiful woman.

But when he later truly developed faith.

The audience still chose to continue watching.

Go watch this spy drama; it's now a truly orthodox production.

Deceit and treachery abound, a den of dragons and tigers.

To rise and fall in this process.

It's about espionage.

Crabs are lurking, waiting to molt.

This means the plot has entered its most intense phase, with people constantly dying, sacrificing themselves, and joining the fray.

Yu Zecheng, a secret agent, is the biggest adversary.

It wasn't the cunning Station Chief Wu, but a Kuomintang agent codenamed "Buddha Niche."

There were many times when he came close to the truth, almost losing his life.

Yu Zecheng survived because of a bit of luck.

Several times, the audience thought he was doomed.

But he survived.

Continue to navigate this treacherous world and contend with the enemy.

His enemies were no novices; whether it was Li Ya from the Buddhist shrine or the cunning Station Chief Wu, they all possessed keen insight.

Especially Buddhist shrines.

As a Kuomintang agent, he also had his own beliefs, and his beliefs were absolute loyalty.

He was just unlucky, a reflection of Yu Zecheng.

He never considered betraying the party and the country. Even when Chiang Kai-shek's regime was on the verge of collapse, he still chose to loyally lay his groundwork.

If he successfully planted his pawns, he will inevitably inflict a heavy blow on Yan'an in the future.

This was the last confrontation between Yu Zecheng and Li Ya.

Although Yu Zecheng ultimately triumphed, he paid a heavy price, with many close comrades dying in the line of duty.

Fortunately, dawn and victory are just around the corner.

The overall atmosphere of the entire series is tense. Although it is not oppressive, the tension is enough to make the audience tremble with fear.

Fortunately, though.

Everything is coming to an end.

Tianjing is about to be liberated.

Victory is just around the corner.

As good news kept coming in, Jiang Wen and his team were filled with high spirits.

It's all coming to an end.

"Yu Zecheng can finally live the life he wanted with Wang Cuiping." At this moment, Jiang Chenggang said with some emotion, "He suffered so much."

Looking back on Yu Zecheng's journey.

What did he get?

Because his lover was his only faith, he chose to infiltrate behind enemy lines because of his lover.

This is the choice he made.

It was a wish he had carried on for half his life. Although the initial pillar, Zuo Lan, collapsed later, he still chose to carry it on and fulfill his responsibility.

He remains as majestic as Mount Emei.

He remained a spy in Yan'an, an undercover agent.

Three women appeared in his life.

One is faith, and the other is Zuo Lan.

She is perfect, possessing both the beauty of late autumn's romance and the faith and resilience of Wang Cuiping as a warrior.

In late autumn, she understood romance and was able to resonate with Yu Zecheng's soul.

Wang Cuiping, a rough and uncouth soldier, had hands that were not those of a normal woman when she held a gun; they were covered in calluses that would shock even men.

Zuo Lan is dead.

She left in late autumn; her innocence did not belong to this cruel era.

Wang Cuiping appears to have become Yu Zecheng's final companion.

Husband and wife, comrades-in-arms.

Wang Cuiping, this uncouth woman, said to Yu Zecheng, "Once Tianjing is liberated, we'll find a farmhouse, farm, and raise chickens."

Hehehehehehe.

Every day, all I hear is the clucking of roosters; I work at sunrise and rest at sunset.

May I?

Yes.

Yu Zecheng longed for this kind of life.

Or perhaps this is the perfect posture of his life.

His goal and his wish are achievable, as long as he doesn't sacrifice himself in the end.

There shouldn't be any plot twists here. According to the actual history, once Tianjing was liberated, it was truly liberated.

The entire national and social landscape has undergone a complete transformation.

He lived a life of farming in the fields.

The day I've been longing for seems to be just around the corner.

"He deserves it. After serving as a soldier for so long, it's not unacceptable for him to retire as a farmer," Jiang Wen sighed at this moment. "He has suffered too much. He deserves a better ending after all he's been through."

At this moment, everyone was looking at Li Yun and Gao Yuanyuan.

Everyone seems to be waiting for spoilers from these two.

The two simply looked at each other and shook their heads.

"No spoilers allowed. All you need to know is that for Yu Zecheng, this is the best ending. I really can't guarantee anything else."

"That's good."

Jiang Wen and Jiang Chenggang beamed with joy.

That's good.

A good production team is one that respects history.

But when that beautiful vision is right before our eyes.

News of Wang Cuiping's death arrived.

Yu Zecheng was heartbroken. How could fate possibly torment him like this? Just when he fell in love with Wang Cuiping, this was the ending.

This was the case before liberation.

after that.

Station Chief Wu presented Yu Zecheng with a choice.

Do you want to come to Taiwan with me? We can start a business together.

Yu Zecheng stood blankly in front of the plane, facing a difficult choice.

Yu Zecheng could have lived a life of dignity and honor once Tianjing was liberated.

And when he saw that Wang Cuiping was not dead.

When the couple stood at opposite ends of the road, Yu Zecheng only needed to take one step forward to touch the light in his heart and the softest part of his heart.

Go live the life he wants.

That's how it should be.

Then he made a very childish gesture, spreading his arms out like a mother hen.

It makes a funny clucking sound.

Yu Zecheng is an utterly ridiculous character.

This scene has no dialogue; it's just a comical imitation of a chicken's crow.

This seemed to be sending a signal to Wang Cuiping, who then laughed and cried.

She was laughing while crying.

They did not recognize each other.

Yu Zecheng turned around and boarded a plane to Taiwan.

He did not forget his promise.

There are still dreams.

Knowing that you are still alive brings me comfort.