Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

What were the ratings?

As soon as the Spring Festival Gala started, Xu Zhen went to the control room to check the real-time data. This was his livelihood, and he had to pay attention to it.

"Currently 34.63%."

"Beautiful, keep it up!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhen couldn't help but show a delighted expression. If he remembered correctly, the initial buzz last year was only around 30%, but this year's results were remarkable.

Don't underestimate this 4%. The viewership rating is the proportion of a program's audience to the total population. 4% is tens of millions of people, which is a huge improvement.

Moreover, this is just the beginning. If a few more hit shows follow, it's possible that the station's records will be broken in one go.

It seems that Yu Wei's so-called self-made Spring Festival Gala has had absolutely no impact on them.

The data for the Spring Festival Gala has increased, indicating that there are actually more viewers than usual. If the Spring Festival Gala had any effect, this situation wouldn't have occurred.

Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot or an ant trying to shake a tree, small workshops, no matter how hard they try, will ultimately be crushed in the face of overwhelming size.

On stage, five singers gathered in the center, and the opening performance, "May All Things Prosper," came to an end.

The two hosts seamlessly transitioned between the previous and upcoming segments, summarizing the previous program and introducing the auspicious dance steps.

The Spring Festival Gala was proceeding smoothly, and Xu Zhen was watching with great interest, arms crossed, when she was suddenly drawn to a staff member's "hmm".

"What's wrong?"

"The real-time data seems to have dropped a bit, to 33%."

It dropped by one percent?

Normally, it's normal for ratings to fluctuate when switching programs, but the fluctuations are not particularly large, and a drop of one percent all at once is very rare.

Besides, the show hasn't been going on for very long, so don't tell him that everyone's already tired of the same thing after the first performance...

"what happened?"

Xu Zhen strode forward and immediately noticed the conspicuously changed broken line. The data, which had been steadily rising, seemed to have been broken, creating a cliff on the chart.

What's even more alarming is that the decline is continuing; in the short time he was observing, it dropped another 0.6%.

"what happened?"

Xu Zhen asked twice, his voice clearly urgent, but no one could answer him, and the staff didn't know where these people had gone.

……

Yu Wei's live-stream of novels is called "soft spoilers" because he doesn't force spoilers and it won't affect the current program.

Many people even become interested in the Spring Festival Gala programs after reading the novel's descriptions and make a special trip to watch it.

Those already watching the show won't rush to quit even if they're given spoilers; instead, they'll choose to finish watching while following the novel's plot.

Soft spoilers don't weaken the current show, but the next one...

"Auspicious Dance Steps," you're not in the novel?

Once readers start watching the Spring Festival Gala along with the novel, they will subconsciously follow the order of the viewing to match the plot.

After watching "May All Things Prosper," the next thing to watch should be "Wishing You Prosperity," not the so-called "Auspicious Dance Steps."

Watching the program via text-based live streaming offers a unique experience.

The Spring Festival Gala in Yu Wei's novel is like a fusion of the real and the fake Spring Festival Gala. You can pick one from one side and the other from the other. Once you get into it, you'll start to follow the rhythm of the plot.

This thing is practically a Spring Festival Gala guide; the melancholy mushroom will tell them what they should and shouldn't watch...

After the CCTV Spring Festival Gala performance of "Everything Prospers," many viewers who were reading novels at the same time chose to check out "Congratulations on Getting Rich."

I don't know, that's how the host introduced it.

Yu Wei is like a tour guide; the program is just a map. To actually visit the attractions, you have to follow the tour guide. Next stop: the Spring Festival Gala.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai" is undeniably catchy and addictive, and in the simplest and most straightforward language, it touches upon everyone's most fundamental yearning for a better life.

Many viewers watched it together at the New Year's Eve dinner table. It was no longer a high-class performance, but a warm ritual that the whole family could participate in.

With Yu Wei's singing and songwriting abilities, he could have easily opened the show with a more spectacular program, but he didn't; he chose something simple.

The entire novel follows this path, like a warm current. It doesn't use grand narratives to shock the audience, but rather warms people's hearts with its intimacy, even somewhat vulgar sincerity.

"My parents really like this song."

"Thank you, Yu Wei. I just heard 'Wishing you prosperity' and then I grabbed a 200 yuan red envelope."

"To you who are reading this message, congratulations on your fortune and your wonderful life!"

The novel's comment section on the Spring Festival Gala was full of praise. Many families watch the Spring Festival Gala for the atmosphere, but the novel's Spring Festival Gala actually created a stronger festive atmosphere. What difference does it make who you watch it with?
On short video platforms, many people have even filmed their whole family watching Yu Wei's novel on the Spring Festival Gala. In the video, the clumsy old father sits upright, but his fingers are gently tapping the rhythm on the sofa armrest.

There are many such recorded videos, which have also spread the popularity of the novel's Spring Festival Gala. Although it is still not as good as the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, it is a good start.

Something has quietly changed...

Just as netizens were about to strike while the iron was hot and continue reading the novel, the second chapter of Yu Wei's novel was updated.

The netizens who just watched the show with the group almost immediately clicked on the novel. The third program in the story was none other than the skit "To Help or Not to Help".

As everyone knows, this program was already on the program list, and since it was produced by Yu Wei, it attracted a great deal of attention even before the Spring Festival Gala started.

They almost forgot about this thing. Following Yu Wei's novel, they returned to CCTV's live broadcast studio.

Follow the novel, and you'll see exactly where you point.

They just went to listen to the kung fu performance of "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing You Prosperity), and the second program, "Auspicious Dance Steps," had already ended. They caught up with the third skit.

Was the timing really that precise? Seeing the Spring Festival Gala ratings start to rise again, Xu Zhen and his team finally breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't know what had caused the ratings to drop below 30% earlier.

He felt like the sky was falling the moment the data dropped to 29%, but thankfully it has rebounded. This skit brought in a lot of viewers and successfully gave him a second chance.

"Was my second show really that bad?"

Just as Xu Zhen was falling into self-doubt, the skit "To Help or Not to Help" officially began on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

Su Jian, who plays Hao Jian, enters the scene pushing a bicycle with its front wheel bent into a semi-circle, looking distressed and muttering, "My biggest flaw is that I'm too nosy..."

He chased after a car with its trunk open, rear-ended it, paid 200 yuan in damages, and vowed never to meddle in other people's business again, or else he would be called extremely despicable.

This opening remark brought a knowing smile to the audience's faces; Yu Wei's skit was indeed refreshing and unconventional.

Immediately afterwards, Tong Yulu, playing an elderly woman with silver hair, swayed onto the stage and, without warning, fell to the ground with a thud.

Hao Jian initially wanted to ignore it, but the old lady's repeated "Oh dear"s, along with his own guilty "Oh dear"s, eventually made him give in and turn around to help her up.

This series of onomatopoeic exchanges, full of tacit understanding, and Hao Jian's conceding "You win," elicited the first burst of enthusiastic laughter from the audience.

"I thought the audience members were fake, but I didn't expect them to actually laugh."

“It didn’t seem like acting; they were genuinely laughing.”

"I laughed too. It was kind of funny, at least much funnier than last year's skit."

The skit "To Help or Not to Help" has opened the eyes of netizens. The smoothness of the performance is completely different from the stumbling and awkward feeling that a novice would give.

Yu Wei wasn't lying; he really understands comedy sketches.

However, trouble soon followed.

The old woman insisted that Hao Jian had hit her, arguing with perfect reasoning: "If no one hit me, how could I have flown ten meters?"

Hao Jian was eager to explain, but discovered that the crucial camera was broken. He was so anxious that he jumped up and down, saying, "I can't clear my name even if I jump into the Yellow River!"

At this moment, Fei Hong, playing the role of a passerby, appears. When he sees an elderly person fall, instead of helping them up, he takes out his phone to take a picture and righteously declares that he will post on Weibo to condemn this bad phenomenon, and even tells his family to "remember to like my post."

This image of a "giant in words, dwarf in deeds" is both absurd and real, making the audience laugh while also prompting some reflection.

What's even more hilarious is the appearance of the second passerby, "Brother Big Ben".

He whispered to Hao Jian, "Run! I've helped three people." Then, with a sob in his voice, he added, "Let me tell you this, I used to drive a Mercedes!"

This sentence instantly ignited the entire audience, with laughter and applause lasting for a long time. It expressed the unspeakable concerns in many people's hearts in the most playful way: Yu Wei's book is something special.

In order to prove his innocence, Hao Jian tried every possible means.

He told the old lady fables, such as "Mr. Dongguo and the Wolf" and "Hao Jian and the Old Lady," leaving her completely confused.

The plot takes a turn after the police arrive.

Unable to defend himself, Hao Jian had a sudden inspiration. He imitated the old lady's actions, "thumping" down on the ground, groaning while clutching his elbow and breast, and stealing all of the old lady's lines.

Tong Yulu and Su Jian's comedic talents were on full display at this moment. They were a little nervous at first, but when they thought that their mistakes could actually help the novel's Spring Festival Gala performance, they simply let loose completely.

The audience almost burst into tears of laughter when they saw the middle-aged woman exclaiming with a bewildered look, "He was saying all my lines!"

Fortunately, this police officer was the same one who handled Hao Jian's previous rear-end collision. He came forward to testify and cleared up the misunderstanding.

The woman finally remembered that she had missed a step and fallen, and apologized to Hao Jian.

Although it was somewhat dramatic, the fact that the older woman wasn't really trying to extort money relieved many viewers. It's best not to have such sharp conflicts during the Lunar New Year.

“Auntie, if we don’t help someone who has fallen, then people’s hearts will fall too. If people’s hearts fall, we won’t be able to help them up even if we want to.”

This line was undoubtedly the highlight of the skit, and the applause erupted once again.

"To Help or Not to Help" is full of laughs and has a certain educational value. It is profound but not preachy, and it is considered a top-notch work on the Spring Festival Gala stage in recent years.

Those netizens who previously questioned Yu Wei's lack of focus on his work now feel a little embarrassed. If this is considered a lack of focus on his work, then all the other sketches performed on the Spring Festival Gala might as well not exist.

It really is……

"Although some of the jokes were a bit forced, I think it's acceptable considering it's a new work by a newcomer."

"It was alright, but in the end we still had to make dumplings. Thumbs down."

"Making dumplings is a problem for the Spring Festival Gala, not for Yu Wei."

"It seems that Yu Wei is well aware of the quality of the script, and gave himself a score of 8.5."

Giving "To Help or Not to Help" an eight-point rating is indeed reasonable. It's like a perfect essay written under the template of the Spring Festival Gala, with all the positive values ​​and positive energy, but also enough laughs.

Due to the limitations of the template, it is also difficult to go further.

Thinking about this, netizens couldn't help but wonder what kind of sketches Yu Wei would write if he weren't given any limitations.
No, it seems there is.

His novel also has six skits included in the Spring Festival Gala. Without the constraints of the Gala, there should be even more laughs.

Netizens have noticed that the next program in the new chapter of the novel is also a skit, titled "The Protagonist and the Supporting Role."

Isn't this the same 9.7 that appeared alongside "To Help or Not to Help"?

8.5 is a bit of a letdown, so wouldn't 9.7 be...?

They've developed the habit of watching the Spring Festival Gala by following Yu Wei's "text live stream." This program must be from the novel's Spring Festival Gala, a shift in focus!

The ratings plummeted again at a visible rate, leaving Xu Zhen completely bewildered.

What the heck? It just disappeared while I was looking at it.

Where did my audience go? (End of Chapter)