The next day.
After a night of letting things simmer, all news pertaining to the three major television series had intensified.
Countless titles began pouring in an endless stream.
âRelentless Swordsmanâs new take on ancient costumes brings them to new heights!â
âRave reviews for Best Time!â
âZhang Tao and Huang Xingâs acting have exploded!â
âBig predictions for these ratings. Who will end up victorious?â
Members of the entertainment media were waiting for the ratings.
Many viewers were waiting for the ratings.
Major celebrity studios were also waiting for ratings.
Ratings were not the be all and end all for a television series because word-of-mouth and influence were equally as important. For many people however, ratings were the clearest and most comprehensive indicator for evaluating a show, as it was a reflection of the showâs popularity.
...
China Central TV.
Director Liu paced left and right. His thoughts seemed occupied as his brows belied his frustration.
âHow are things? Have the ratings been released?â
âNot yet.â
âWhy is it so slow?â Director Liu was incredibly anxious. âThat damn Old Qin has ruined me big time. I just hope we wonât lose too horribly. This is our China Central TV after all.â
âUm...Director Liu, I took the time to watch Drawing Sword yesterday. It was actually quite good. Very exciting.â
âReally?â
âYeah. The response on the internet has been good too. The ratings probably wonât be too bad.â
âI hope so. I donât have high hopes. Letâs not even talk about achieving better than those little fresh meats. It wonât be too embarrassing if we can get at least 1% of the ratings.â
...
Zhang Taoâs recording studio.
âHavenât they counted it yet?â
âSoon, I believe.â
âHas there been any response from Huang Xingâs TV series?â
âThe reviews seem to be quite good.â
âKeep a close watch and donât let them overtake us.â
âWhat about Drawing Sword? Do we have toââ
âNo need to worry about them. Thereâs nothing to be scared about.â
âBut I saw plenty of good reviews online.â
âAre those reviews of any use? Military dramas are always well-received, but being well-received isnât the same thing as the ratings.â
âOh yeah, makes sense.â
...
Huang Xingâs recording studio.
âHow inefficient can they be that they havenât even counted it yet?â
âThey only went to work during the day, but Iâm sure itâll be out soon.â
âThis is making me anxious. We have to surpass Relentless Swordsman.â
âDonât worry, our viewership is quite high and the popularity has exploded.â
...
The comments on major microblog platforms.
[The ratings are coming out soon. Any guesses?]
[Relentless Swordsman will definitely be No. 1. It was such an awesome show!]
[Best Time is better. I suggest you compare the two.]
[No one watched Drawing Sword? I think it wasnât too bad.]
[Tch, whatâs so good about military dramas? Iâm sick of watching all their plots.]
[Exactly. Donât be idiots. How can that kind of drama compete with dramas that have amazing costumes and handsome idols? Theyâre lucky not to end up dead.]
[I watched Drawing Sword too, and I have to say it really was an interesting show. I canât believe that it took only one and a half months for them to film it. Actor Y has a well-deserved reputation, but the audience for this kind of TV series is too small. It might not be able to compare with these two series, especially when little fresh meats star in the other two. This is difficult!]
[Hahaha, it really is difficult.]
[Canât say for sure. Iâm looking forward to crushing those little fresh meats. Theyâve already been crushed by Singer Y, so Actor Y has to keep up.]
...
Time passed bit by bit.
Miracle Island.
Everyone woke up early that day without feeling the slightest bit of sleepiness despite going to bed late the previous night. Instead, they were nervous and excited.
âAhhhh, Iâm so nervous I feel like Iâm shaking.â
âCan the results be released any quicker? Itâs agonizing to wait.â
âOur opponents are very strong this time. Netizens are very optimistic about Relentless Swordsman and Best Time.â
Unlike them, Ye Lingchen was training Little White and Little Foxie not far away.
âYouâre such a dumb pussycat, Little White. Youâre a feline yet you canât climb trees!â
âLittle Foxie, what are you afraid of? Hurry up and jump into the water. No food for you today if you donât catch any fish!â
âLittle Green, Little Gray, divide your pack into two teams and listen to my command!â
Ye Lingchen held dozens of frisbees in his hand and tossed one quickly, âHurry up and get it. Go, go, go!â
Frisbees soon soared across the sky, with the wolves running happily on the ground and jumping non-stop, leaving everyone speechless.
Xiao Feifei did not know whether to laugh or cry. âLing Chen, donât you care at all? Thereâs so much noise on the internet and many people are saying that our TV series is going to be a flop.â
âInternet reviews are best taken with a grain of salt. When the ratings are finally revealed, theyâll probably be so shocked that they feel as though theyâve been given a slap on the face,â Ye Lingchen remarked casually.
âNarcissist!â Hao Yun and Dong Miaomiaoâs lips twitched.
...
âAh! Theyâre out! The ratings are out!â
Li Tai suddenly screamed from the program crew and his voice was trembling.
Xiao Feifei hurried over. âHow is it? How are the results?â
Everyone looked at the result nervously.
Li Tai took a breath and said, âF*ck me. Young Master Ye is too awesome!â
âF*ck! Seriously?â
âThe statistics canât be wrong, right? This is unimaginable.â
Xiao Feifei could not wait any longer. She rushed over and asked, âHow much are the ratings?â
Li Tai turned the computer screen and faced it toward her. âLook at it yourself.â
Xiao Feifei stared intently, while Hao Yun and Dong Miaomiao looked at it too.
One glance alone left all three of them palpitating with their mouths agape.
It was like an explosion in their heads and they were immediately stunned.
Xiao Feifei stared blankly for a long time. âHow is that possible?â
Hao Yun exclaimed, âDAMN!â
...
The crew of Relentless Swordsman.
âThe result is out!â
âLook!â
âRelentless Swordsman... the ratings of the two episodes are 1.46!â
âNot bad. Slightly lesser than our estimate.â
âSigh, I thought the ratings would reach 1.8.â
âItâs a bit surprising.â
âIs it because we had to share the ratings with Best Time?â
âI donât know, but donât we have good word-of-mouth?â
âItâs normal for the ratings to be shared. Since we premiered together, itâs only natural that they snatched away some of our ratings. Thereâs nothing we can do about it. By the way, what are Best Timeâs ratings?â
âLet me see. Ah, 1.44. Haha, theyâre lower than us.â
âAs long as weâre better than Best Time and get number one.â
âWait! F*CK! What the hell!â
âWhat the flying f*ck is this?!â
âOur ratings arenât number one?!â
...
Huang Xingâs recording studio.
âThe ratings are announced!â
âWe only got 1.44!ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
âF*ck it, Relentless Swordsman topped us!â
âItâs okay, theyâre only better than us by 0.02. It wonât be difficult to overtake them.â
âYeah, the story behind our TV series will be more exciting and there are still many chances.â
âSigh, weâre behind them by just that tiny little fraction. What a pity.â
âDamn it, my eyes are going blind!â
âOld Ho, whatâs the matter?â
âRelentless Swordsman isnât the first in ratings!â
âWhat did you say now?â
âImpossible!â
âOh my God! Look at Drawing Swordâs ratings!â
...