Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 25: The Journey of Flower

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"Hua Qiangu?"

Gu Qing's fingers suddenly stopped, and her pupils contracted slightly.

If he remembers correctly, this show was the most phenomenal hit of 15!
It not only pioneered the "fantasy romance" genre, but was also hailed as the last fantasy drama with the mission of "immortals saving the world".

After that,

Most fantasy romance dramas have become filled with outrageous plots like, "I'll kill all living beings in the three realms to accompany you in death!"

Holy crap, what did the beings of the three realms do to deserve this?

Why do they have to kill us just because we're immortals?
As a result, he has been criticized by netizens for being intellectually deficient.

"Sister Li, I want to take this role!"

Among a plethora of incredible scripts, Gu Qing chose the only one that she could understand.

"Hua Qiangu?"

Li Li leaned over and glanced at it, her face showing disgust. "This drama is no good. They gave you the role of the second male lead: Sha Qianmo. But even though it's called the second male lead, your screen time is no different from that of the third male lead."

"And not only is the screen time minimal, but the price they're offering is the lowest of all the scripts out there—only 30,000 yuan per episode. They're just trying to freeload off your viewership!"

Of all the scripts submitted, this is the only one with a second male lead role.

If it weren't for the investor's impressive reputation and the fact that the show was confirmed to air on Hunan TV, Li Li wouldn't have wanted to take it over at all.

"Sister Li, the second male lead is not bad. Even if I were to play the male lead, I wouldn't be able to."

Gu Qing was quite content; he had a clear understanding of his own abilities.

Since I transmigrated here, I've only attended three of Teacher Zhang's classes.

Whether he can act in front of the camera is another matter entirely.

and,

If Gu Qing remembers correctly, the character Sha Qianmo garnered a lot of attention back then.

After the TV series "The Journey of Flower" finished airing, the actor who played Sha Qianmo, Ma Ke, also filmed a modern urban version of "The Journey of Flower" in 2015.

Of course, the show is really bad; it's clearly a money-grabbing production, but the ratings are quite good.

This clearly demonstrates just how popular the show was back then.

"Baby, do you want to reconsider?"

Li Li doesn't believe this drama has any chance of becoming a hit.

The male lead, Huo Jianhua, gained some fans in his early years with his role as "Bai Tofu" in the TV series "Chinese Paladin 3".

But Bai Doufu's role is only the second male lead, which doesn't prove his ability to carry a drama.

His performance in "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" last year drew a lot of criticism, as the adaptation was so drastically altered that it was practically perverse.

Not only was Dongfang Bubai transformed into a woman from the very beginning,

Huo Jianhua, the male lead, didn't perform as well as the female lead; he was completely overshadowed.

This includes the cringe-worthy cross-dressing by men, which has been heavily criticized by netizens.

The actress who played the female lead "Zhao Xiaodao" in "The Journey of Flower" experienced the lowest point in her career.

She was betrayed in public by her own agent, who spread rumors that she "begged for roles by crying" and implied that she had done "low-level work" before she became famous.

After this public opinion fermented,
This has led to Zhao Xiaodao being attacked on a large scale by anti-fans, who have even called for her to "get out of the entertainment industry!"
Both are considered useless and unlucky, and their public image is extremely poor.
Tell Li Li, what makes this show a hit?

"Sister Li, even if the show is a flop, the audience will only criticize them."
If I act well, even their haters will praise me, so I won't lose out either way.

Gu Qing knew that conventional arguments would be difficult to persuade Li Li, so he said, "Besides, this drama will be scheduled to air on Hunan TV, so it won't lack viewership."

"this…"

Huang Guotai's power is still great. Li Li hesitated, but was somewhat tempted. "Since that's the case... then I'll listen to you. But we still need to raise the price!"

"Thirty thousand yuan a episode? Are you saving that to feed beggars?"

As long as the momentum of Running Man doesn't falter in the following episodes, it will maintain its position in the top 2 in viewership ratings.

Li Li was confident that she could double Gu Qing's pay after a few episodes.

however,
Li Li probably never dreamed that...
The momentum of Running Man will not only not decline, but will soar to new heights.

In the last two episodes after the first season of Running Man ended, the ratings incredibly broke 4.0!

It's simply a miracle in the history of variety shows.

This caused all the members' status to skyrocket, and the previously unknown Angelababy even rose to become one of the top female celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry!

At that time, let alone tens of thousands per level,
I bet even at 100 million per episode, production teams would be scrambling to get him!
……

"Baby, let's leave it at that for now. If you're sleepy, you can go back to sleep."

Li Li was preparing to leave, saying, "I still have filming to do this afternoon."

"Sister Li, wait a minute."

Gu Qing stood up and tried to persuade him to stay.

"You don't want me to leave?"

Li Li turned around in surprise.

"No, I just wrote... I wrote a song and I wanted you to hear it."

Gu Qing awkwardly raised her phone.

"A song?" Li Li asked, puzzled. "Why are you writing songs?"

She also didn't think that a child who wasn't even 20 years old could write any good songs.

"Sister Li, I said when I signed the contract that being a singer has always been my dream."

Gu Qing said earnestly.

He's just like the original owner of this body!
"Okay, okay, I'll listen, I'll listen, alright?"

Li Li treated it as if she were coaxing a child.

She sat back down on the sofa, naturally taking Gu Qing's arm, and casually crossed her black-stockinged left leg over her right. "Let it go."

No matter how bad a song is, she'll still praise it against her conscience.

of course,

It's definitely impossible for the company to fund the release of an album.

Gu Qing, unaware of Li Li's thoughts, clicked on the demo she had recorded the night before:

The soothing guitar intro, like a gentle stream, entered Li Li's ears.

"not bad."

Li Li looked slightly surprised.

She thought Gu Qing's songs would be rock music that young people liked, the kind of strong drumbeats and restless shouts that she hated the most.

I never expected it to be so peaceful and serene.

We cried…

We were laughing…

"We look up at the sky,"

"How many stars are still shining?"

Her voice was clean and warm, yet tinged with sadness, as if she were reminiscing about the passing of time.

But how could a young person understand the passage of time?
They were in the prime of their youth.

But for some reason...

The boy's youthful, innocent voice was far more moving than the weathered singing of an adult.

Is this... a love song?

Li Li's eyes were unfocused, as if a vivid scene from her memory was suddenly appearing.

"We sang..."

"The Song of Time..."

"Only then do we learn to embrace each other,"

"What was it all for?"

Love during student days is hazy and beautiful in retrospect, but when you're actually in it, it's so bittersweet and painful.

Why until they parted,
Only now do we understand the importance of a hug?

time…

Where has time gone?
"Because I just happened to meet you,"

"It is the footprints that make things beautiful."

"The wind blows, flowers fall, tears fall like rain~"

"Because... I don't want to be separated!"

The high-pitched and flowing opera singing was like a heavy drumbeat, striking Li Li's heart.

The song's sense of regret seems to have reached its peak at this moment.

The word 'just right' is also the core of this song.

It emphasizes the chance encounter, yet it also implies the inevitability of fate!
This sense of contradiction runs throughout the entire piece.

It is both a lament about the unpredictability of fate and an understanding of the beauty of every encounter.

"Because I just happened to meet you,"

"Leaving behind a ten-year expectation."

"If we meet again..."

I think I'll remember you.

If the previous paragraph was about emotional regret,
The next paragraph is about letting go of emotions.

Even if we meet again ten years later

I will never forget the 'footprints' and expectations I left behind.

"I think I'll remember you..."

Before we knew it, the song was coming to an end.

The entire room fell into an eerie silence…

……

……

(End of this chapter)