Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 113 New Achievements

On the night the finale of "The Silent Truth" aired, several numbers on iQiyi's internal data dashboard simultaneously jumped to their all-time highs.

The peak popularity score on the site exceeded 8500, which is nearly 600 higher than the 7964 score of "The Hidden Corner".

The number of users who paid in advance exceeded four million within 48 hours of the finale being released, which is more than double the number of users who paid in advance for "The Hidden Corner" during the same period.

The Douban rating surged to 9.2 three days after the finale and then remained stable above 9.0. The number of ratings surpassed 500,000 a week after the finale, 700,000 two weeks later, and nearly one million a month later, making it the most-rated work in the history of the Mist Theater.

Wang He saw these numbers the morning after the finale.

He sat in his office, a data backend running on his computer screen, a cup of coffee that had gone cold in his hand, which he hadn't drunk.

He stared at those curves for a long time: the peak of the popularity curve, the stability of the rating curve, the explosive growth of the number of bullet comments. Every data point pointed to the same conclusion: this show was a hit.

The initial marketing and trending topics created a buzz that led to viewers actively discussing, recommending, and paying for the show. After the broadcast ended, the show's popularity not only didn't decrease but continued to rise for a full month, spreading outwards with great enthusiasm.

He picked up his phone, scrolled to the group chat for Early Spring Culture, found Director Qin's name, and sent a message: "Congratulations, Lao Qin." Director Qin replied with a fist-and-palm emoji, then added: "The next one is already in writing." Wang He looked at that line of text but didn't reply immediately. He was thinking about something. From its first season to now, Mist Theater has produced both excellent and mediocre works.

But the two truly trump cards, "The Hidden Corner" and "The Silent Truth," were both produced by Early Spring Culture.

This partner is no longer just "worth cooperating with," but "cannot be lost."

In other words, they're practically begging for kiwifruit now.

At the afternoon's routine meeting, Dai Ying, head of the self-produced drama department, projected the broadcast data of "The Silent Truth" onto the large screen in the conference room. There were more than a dozen people in the conference room, including heads of content, publicity, and commercialization departments. Dai Ying didn't use PowerPoint; instead, she opened the backend page, clicking on each curve one by one, with bold numbers below each item.

"Peak popularity on the site. Highest ever."

"Advanced on-demand conversion rate: highest ever."

"Douban rating: The Mist Theater has the highest rating."

"Number of bullet comments, number of discussions, and number of fan-made videos. All are number one."

She closed the page and turned to look at the people in the conference room. "At the time, 'The Hidden Corner' was already our best project of the year. This show's performance more than doubled that. The brand awareness of the entire platform was raised by more than one level because of this show."

The marketing director asked, "When is the next season's investment promotion conference?"

"It was originally scheduled for next month," Dai Ying said, "but now it's been moved up to the end of this month. We've already received inquiries from GG suppliers; four companies have proactively asked about prices. We don't need to actively push anymore; we can just wait for them to come to us."

The head of commercialization added, "I've calculated the revenue sharing data, and we've currently exceeded our target by 40%, with a long tail to follow. At this rate, the final revenue sharing for 'The Silent Truth' will be the highest since the Mist Theater was established."

Someone asked, "So, does the price quoted by Early Spring Culture need to be renegotiated?"

Dai Ying shook her head. "They're not raising prices. Director Qin said they'd give us priority for a third season at the same price. We need to decide today whether we want that priority." The meeting room was silent for a few seconds, then Dai Ying said, "Sign it. Securing them the top content for the next season of Mist Theater is more worthwhile than spending a little more money on ten uncertain projects."

The impact of "The Silent Truth" on the Mist Theater is not only reflected in the data.

Before its broadcast, the Mist Theater, though already established with "The Hidden Corner," was still just a collection of "pretty good suspense dramas." After its broadcast, the Mist Theater transformed into a brand with "standards, style, and a high barrier to entry." Audiences began to trust the words "produced by the Mist Theater," a trust unrelated to actors, subject matter, or the scale of promotion, but solely related to the content produced by this theater.

This brand effect has been reflected in every subsequent work.

As long as a show is labeled "Mist Theater," viewers will watch for an extra two minutes before deciding whether to turn it off. Those two minutes are a critical window of opportunity for a new drama. If it can retain viewers within that window, it wins; if not, it fails. And Mist Theater, thanks to shows like "The Hidden Corner" and "The Silent Truth," has secured an even longer window than other theaters.

A month later, Kiwifruit conducted an internal review report. One passage in the report was highlighted in bold: "Early Spring Culture, as the main content supplier for the Mist Theater, has consecutively contributed two works with a Douban rating of 9 or higher, laying an irreplaceable foundation of trust for the theater brand. It is recommended that they be locked into a long-term strategic partnership to ensure stable output of high-quality theater content."

This conversation was later screenshotted and shared in the Early Spring Culture group. Director Qin sent a [smiling] emoji. Director Mo followed with a thumbs-up emoji. Zhao Bo asked below, "So what level am I?" Director Qin replied, "You're the next level." Zhao Bo sent a string of question marks.

Luo Jinnian was having dinner in his rented apartment when he saw the group message. He picked up his phone and glanced at it. When he saw the phrase "contributing two works with a Douban score of 9 or higher in a row," his chopsticks paused. He wasn't thinking about the success of "The Silent Truth," but about the next one. The brand premium that the two 9-point works brought to the Mist Theater would be fully realized when the next work aired—the audience's expectations had been raised to an extremely high level.

He did the math in his head. The next season of the Mist Theater has five productions, one of which is from Early Spring Culture. If that show's quality matches the previous two, the Mist Theater brand will be firmly established. If it falls short, the trust built up will begin to crumble. Relying solely on the past isn't enough. The previous meals are finished, but the next dishes are still on the stove; you have to hold them steady to avoid them tipping over.

He put down his chopsticks and typed a line in his phone's notes app: "What should I write for the next Mist Theater?" He stared at the line for a few seconds, then deleted it. Now wasn't the time to think about the next one. The Saw script was still being polished, the Seven Deadly Sins preparations were still underway, and the Duku serialization had to continue. These things were lined up waiting for him to do; he had to finish one before thinking about the next. One must take things one step at a time.

The night outside the window had deepened. Luo Jinnian cleared away the dishes, washed his hands, and returned to his desk. His phone vibrated on the table; it was a message from Gu Yanxi: "Some people on Douban say 'The Silent Truth' is the best domestic drama of the year. Have you watched it?" Luo Jinnian replied with only one word: "Yes."

Gu Yanxi did not reply. Luo Jinnian then flipped his phone face down on the table and turned on his computer.

The September issue of Story Club is still waiting for his revisions for the headline, the set construction progress of Seven in Cleveland needs his confirmation, and the first draft of the Saw script is still waiting for Zhao Bo's feedback.

These things are lined up, one after another.