Top Chinese celebrity: Debuted from Running Man

Chapter 341 A Sweet Romance? (4.3k)
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As a newly minted drama critic and a loyal member of the "Gu family," Xiao Tong naturally keeps a close eye on the developments of "The Imperial Doctress."

From the very first day of the show's premiere, she wrote a lengthy article of several thousand words, praising the show's many merits.

As for the shortcomings? She naturally didn't mention a word about them.

What fan would praise someone for their flaws?

But soon,
Xiaotong experienced the pain of the boomerang.

Due to the controversy surrounding the pacing of the early episodes of "The Imperial Doctress," she also faced a lot of criticism, lost many fans, and was depressed for a long time.

Until her dearest "younger brother" Gu Qing, with his amazing performance on "Chinese Poetry Competition," single-handedly turned the tide, transforming the situation from rotten to miraculous, and not only saving the series' reputation,
This also indirectly saved Xiaotong's career and relieved her emotional distress. Instead of decreasing, her fan base grew, and her loyalty increased. Everyone praised her for her foresight.

Returning from hell to heaven undoubtedly deepened Xiaotong's love and support for Gu Qing, turning her into a die-hard fan.

"I hope the younger brother's character will have a happy ending today... otherwise I really won't be able to keep watching."

Xiaotong muttered to herself, swiped her finger to check the time on her tablet, and promptly entered the Penguin Video interface.

Since the exclusive online broadcasting rights for "The Imperial Doctress" were acquired by the deep-pocketed Tencent Penguin platform, more and more young people have gotten into the habit of watching it every Friday at 7 pm, enjoying the show with bullet comments for an even better experience.

"Check-in! It's seven o'clock! It's seven o'clock!"

"Your Highness Qi Yu, Mommy's here!!"

"Hello, Mommy, I am the newly chosen concubine of His Highness Qi Yu~"

"Haha, me too! Me too!"

As soon as the show started, the enthusiastic comments from the "Gu family" members flooded the screen, beginning their routine real-time team building activity.

Incidentally, this also surprised the platform that was closely monitoring the situation, as it truly witnessed the influence of top-tier fans.

The sheer volume of spontaneous commentary control is something that those cats and dogs can't compare to.

"Hum hum."

Xiaotong enjoyed the lively atmosphere, which seemed to dispel the loneliness of watching the show alone.

She also chimed in with a comment: "The First Wife has arrived, all you concubines get out of the way!"

The original version of this sentence comes from a blog post by Gu Qing yesterday about a certain game, celebrating that he has won the title of "Shanghai's No. 1 Sun Shangxiang".

Although Xiaotong didn't know much about games, she thought her younger brother was amazing, so she praised him profusely and tried to apply what she had learned.

The opening credits had just finished when

The scene shifts to a magnificent palace bedroom.

Ambergris burned quietly in the brazier, releasing a somber yet luxurious aroma.

On the bright yellow brocade bed, Zhu Qiyu, played by Gu Qing, lay quietly.

His handsome face had lost all color, turning an almost fragile, jade-white. His eyes were tightly closed, and his long, slender eyebrows were furrowed with pain from the disease raging within him, giving him a heartbreakingly vulnerable look.

A few strands of jet-black hair broke free from the jade crown and fell loosely beside his pale, paper-like face, adding to his withered and desolate appearance.

"Waaaaah, my little prince Qi Yu!!"

"This little brother's fragile beauty is just amazing! So delicate and beautiful, it breaks my heart, I want to hug him!"

"I'm going to cry so much, my little angel Qi Yu!"

Why did you do this to him?!

Upon seeing this close-up of Gu Qing, fans went "crazy" and wailed in the comments.

Xiaotong couldn't help but cover her slightly flushed cheeks.

The reason she was so obsessed with Gu Qing was largely because her younger brother possessed a unique aloofness and fragility among male celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, which was just right for her!
At this moment, Liu Shishi, dressed in a magnificent blue robe and wrapped in a snow-white sable fur coat, walked slowly but heavily to the bedside.

In the drama, she had been staying by his side every day without leaving his side. Now, seeing her beloved being ravaged by illness, emaciated and devoid of his former vitality, her heart was breaking.

She reached out her trembling hand and gently brushed away a stray strand of hair from his cheek, her movements careful as if touching a fragile dream.

Those eyes, as clear as autumn water, were already brimming with tears, as if they were about to burst open at any moment.

"Who says my little lion doesn't have any emotion when he acts? The emotion in his eyes is practically overflowing!"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but every time I'm paired with Gu Qing, Little Lion is in great form and never breaks character."

"The siblings at the anime convention racked up huge scores!!"

Liu Shishi's "Lion Army" fans also sent messages of relief.

"By the way, I've noticed something strange: actresses who co-star with their younger brothers tend to have exceptionally good acting skills, while actresses who don't have their brothers tend to have terrible drama ratings."

"Sisters, don't stir up trouble for my Yingbao."

"Haha, Sister Zhao's new drama is really not good. The Legend of Zu is really hard to watch. It's not as good as The Journey of Flower or The Mystic Nine."

"My brother's ability to bring good fortune to his wife is truly remarkable; I'm afraid all the female celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry must be envious."

however,
As Gu Qing and Liu Shishi gave their extremely engaging performance, the cheerful atmosphere in the comment section gradually froze.

Viewers were completely drawn into the sad scenes in the drama and gradually became immersed in the story.

Liu Shishi, who plays Yunxian, gently brushed aside a strand of hair, as if disturbing the person sleeping soundly in pain on the bed.

"Yunxian... Yunxian..." Zhu Qiyu opened his eyes suddenly in fear and anxiety, his hands weakly reaching for the air, his eyes unfocused and anxious.

"Qi Yu! I'm here! I'm right here!"

Yunxian's beautiful eyes reddened, her heart aching. She immediately bent down and tightly grasped his cold hand, her voice trembling with suppressed sobs as she urgently comforted him, "Don't be afraid, you'll be alright, I will definitely heal you! I definitely can..."

“Yunxian…”

Upon seeing the person before him, Zhu Qiyu's tense and fearful expression relaxed slightly. He tried to force a reassuring smile, but it only produced a bleak and heartbreaking curve.

"This illness... is beyond the help of any medicine."

He breathed heavily, his gaze fixed on Yunxian's delicate, thin face, filled with endless reluctance and deep worry. "I... am the Son of Heaven, possessing the whole world, with the power of life and death... cough... cough cough... but in the end, I can't even keep my own life... this is all fate..."

"But...Yunxian, the one I worry about most...is you. The Empress Dowager has always disliked you, and if I were to leave...you would surely..."

……

"It's so painful. Even now, Zhu Qiyu is still worried about Yunxian."

"I suddenly feel that Yunxian is a bit bad, a bit like Bai Zihua, always having an ambiguous relationship with Zhu Qizhen, I hate her!"

"What's wrong with Yunxian? She has clearly rejected Zhu Qizhen more than once, okay? The entanglement only happened because of a misunderstanding."

"In my opinion, it's the screenwriter's fault!"

"That's right! It's because the screenwriter is full of evil intentions that this is so heartbreaking! I'm going to send her razor blades!!"

While fans were united in their condemnation of the screenwriter, they were also gripped by the plot.

When Zhu Qiyu, overwhelmed with worry for Yunxian's safety, became so agitated that a mouthful of scalding blood, like a glistening cinnabar, gushed from his mouth, splattering onto his snow-white face and the bright yellow brocade quilt...

The glaring crimson, the limp hand hanging from the edge of the bed, the young man on the bed barely breathing, and the woman crying her heart out beside the bed... this scene completely took everyone's breath away.

"Qi Yu...is he dead?"

"Really... he's dead?"

Xiaotong's voice trembled, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. Although she had been mentally prepared, witnessing this scene still caused a wave of heartache that suffocated her.

"Screenwriter, you have no heart!"

"Give me back my Prince Qi Yu!!" The barrage of comments was already filled with wailing and heartbroken words, which filled the entire screen.

……

Just when all the drama fans and viewers were heartbroken,

The production team of "The Imperial Doctress" and the backstage of Huangguo TV present a completely different picture.

"Higher! Higher!"

"It broke 3! It broke 3!!"

"Hahaha! Everyone gets a raise! Good riddance, good riddance!"

"Pah, pah, pah! No, no! It's because my brother acted so well! He acted so well!"

As the final episode featuring Zhu Qiyu, played by Gu Qing, aired, the real-time viewership ratings surged past 3.0, prompting cheers and celebrations from the production team and staff of Huangguo TV.

Although the highest ratings of "The Imperial Doctress" may not be as high as the average ratings of "The Journey of Flower", the influence of "The Journey of Flower" is just as exaggerated.

If it can barely reach the level of its individual episodes, it's already a sure win for Huangguo TV, which spent a lot of money to import this series.

"We can start preparing for the victory celebration!" the person in charge announced excitedly.

at the same time,

Inside a hotel room.

"Okay, okay, stop crying."

Gu Qing's voice carried a hint of helpless gentleness.

"Qi Yu...I don't want you to die...Waaaaah~~"

As Liu Shishi watched the character 'Yunxian' in the TV series, the deep pain she felt while immersed in the role and the intertwining of her real-life emotions made her feel like a tabby cat, unable to control herself.

"I'm not dead. I'm right here, perfectly fine."

Gu Qing gently comforted her, trying to bring her back to reality.

Liu Shishi, however, seemed to still be immersed in the emotional vortex brought about by the plot, sobbing incessantly, her cheeks wet with tears.

Seeing her like this, Gu Qing was also at a loss and could only gently pat her back to comfort her.

He felt somewhat depressed, but having honed his skills through previous roles, he had gradually developed some resilience in getting into and out of character.
Unlike before, I no longer have trouble sleeping after filming.

But he didn't expect that Liu Shishi would be so deeply immersed in the role this time, and that the pain she was experiencing seemed to be much more intense than he had anticipated.

"I don't care... you have to make it up to me..."

Liu Shishi raised her head, choking back tears, rubbing her eyes with a mixture of crying and laughing, her expression a mix of coquettishness and grievance.

"How to fix it..."

Before Gu Qing could finish speaking, his vision suddenly went black—it turned out that the little lion had suddenly covered him with the blanket and instantly started "hunting" mode.

"Meat is the best way to nourish yourself, of course! Hmm..."

As the series nears its end.

Liu Shishi knew that due to their respective work arrangements, the two would soon go their separate ways and it would be difficult to spend time together like they did now.

She was determined to eat her fill "fiercely" and leave Gu Qing with a "profound" lesson!

To prevent him from having too much yang energy and attracting the attention of other passing demons!

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The following day, "The Imperial Doctress" aired its official finale.

However, with the departure of Zhu Qiyu, played by Gu Qing, the ratings plummeted, dropping from a peak of 3.13 to 2.1.

Especially when the plot reached the point where Zhu Qizhen forcibly imprisoned Yunxian and locked her in the deep palace, many viewers completely lost their composure and turned off the TV, abandoning the show.

The ratings plummeted to a dismal 1.8 until the final episode, when Yun-hyun chose to commit suicide with a white silk ribbon to preserve her innocence, which barely managed to bring the ratings back up to 2.3.

After the finale aired, the production team held a celebratory banquet as usual.

Almost all the actors had smiles on their faces, except for Huo Jianhua, who looked somewhat sullen.

His performance in the last few episodes led to him being heavily criticized by the audience, further damaging Zhu Qizhen's already plummeting reputation.

However, from a certain perspective, this might also be a unique affirmation of his acting skills?
Backstage, Gu Qing patiently comforted and reassured Huo Jianhua.

Comments such as, "Brother Hua, you actually acted very well. The historical Zhu Qizhen was extremely controversial. The more fiercely the audience criticizes him, the more it proves that you have portrayed the character successfully and fit the role."

After several rounds of "brainwashing," Huo Jianhua finally managed to clear his mind and even secretly resolved that he would definitely take on another period drama as an emperor in the future, and use his superb acting skills to prove himself!
Little did he know that the actor he would co-star in that future drama would become a nightmare he would never want to relive for the rest of his life...

At the celebration banquet, Gu Qing naturally became the focus of media attention.

Most reporters expressed regret and heartache over the character's fate, saying many kind words—which naturally owes much to the red envelopes (cash gifts).

But one of the female reporters, who looked familiar, asked a question that seemed particularly sincere, because she herself was a member of the "Gu family".

"Gu Qing, my younger brother,"

The female reporter blinked, her voice filled with genuine heartache, "Now, the fans online are heartbroken to see the moment you left the stage."

From Sha Qianmo in *The Journey of Flower*, Jin Yichuan in *Brotherhood of Blades*, Er Yuehong in *The Mystic Nine*, Xu Yi in *The Left Ear*, to Zhu Qiyu in *The Imperial Doctress*, it seems none of the characters you've played have a happy ending.

She paused for a moment, then continued, "Many fans hope that you can act in a sweet romance drama, little brother?"

For your mental and physical well-being, and for the mental and physical well-being of us fans, please stop taking on such heart-wrenching roles, okay?

"Are all the characters I play this tragic?"

Gu Qing was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. After thinking about it carefully, she couldn't help but show a helpless yet somewhat amused expression. "Hmm... sure. If there's a suitable opportunity, I'll try to take on a sweeter role in my next project, so you won't have to cry anymore."

He smiled and made a promise, emphasizing that his main focus would be on spoiling his fans.

"Who are you going to answer?"

Liu Shishi, who was standing to the side, twitched her ears slightly and suddenly turned her head, interrupting abruptly with a tone that was half joking and half serious, looking at Gu Qing with her beautiful eyes.

“Ahhhh——!!”

In an instant, the scene erupted in excited screams from the CP fans, and all eyes were focused on the two of them.

"I……"

Gu Qing paused slightly, then turned to look at Liu Shishi, confronting her, "I want to answer your call."

Next second,
His ears are 'deaf'.

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With the complete end of her journey in "The Imperial Doctress", Gu Qing's work did not become less busy; on the contrary, it became even busier as the New Year approached.

Putting aside the fact that he needed to rehearse frequently to prepare that "children's song" for the Spring Festival Gala, he could hardly miss any of the various award ceremonies at the end of the year.

Harvest season is the time to reap the fruits of one's labor.

Sure enough, the invitation to his first major awards ceremony has already been delivered to him.

From: Tencent Music's Annual Gala!
At that time, numerous music superstars, popular idols, powerful singers and pop groups will gather together to celebrate the event.

Gu Qing will undoubtedly be the most dazzling presence at this awards ceremony...

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(End of this chapter)