Entertainment Industry: I am a top-tier movie star

Chapter 106 aired

On November 15, 2018, at 8:00 PM, the first season of "Joy of Life" premiered on Tencent Video.

Chen Nianbei didn't wait for the premiere alone in his apartment as usual. Nazha had said a few days in advance that she would come over to watch it with him, and he agreed.

At 7:30, Naza appeared at the door carrying two large bags.

The bag contained snacks, fruit, drinks, and a thermos of stew, which she always brought with her when she came.

"Why did you bring so much again?" Chen Nianbei took the bag. "I can't finish it all by myself."

"Take your time eating, it's not like we're only eating today."

Naza changed into her slippers and walked into the living room naturally, starting to set things up on the coffee table. "Go sit down, I'll take care of it."

""

Chen Nianbei felt a surge of warmth as he watched her busy figure.

This woman has been with him for six years, from 2012 to now.

She watched him grow from a student at the Beijing Film Academy into a TV King and a box office draw, and watched his career progress step by step to where it is today.

She never complained about his busy schedule, never put pressure on him, but would occasionally come to keep him company, cook soup, chat, and then leave quietly.

Sometimes he would wonder what he had done to deserve such feelings.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Naza turned around and looked at him. "Come on, it's about to start."

Chen Nianbei walked over and sat down next to her. The coffee table was covered with snacks, and the TV was already switched to Tencent Video, with a countdown of three minutes remaining.

Naza leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "Nianbei, I'm nervous."

Chen Nianbei laughed: "Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm nervous for you." She looked up at him. "I know this film is very important to you."

Chen Nianbei was silent for a moment, then said, "It is important. But no matter the outcome, I will continue to move forward."

Naza looked at him with pride in her eyes, but also with heartache.

The countdown ended, and the opening theme song began.

That night, the entire internet was watching "Joy of Life".

After its first four episodes, the show had already garnered over 200 million views. This was an astonishing number at the time—for a typical hit drama, reaching 100 million views on its first day was already a great achievement, but "Joy of Life" achieved that in less than four hours.

The comments section went completely crazy. The screen was filled with text, making it impossible to see the image. The only way to watch the video was to turn off the comments.

"Here he comes! Fan Xian is here!"

"Chen Daomin! My go-to actor for playing emperors!"

"Chen Nianbei's entrance... I'm dead!"

"The snow of Danzhou, the eyes of a young man—this is Fan Xian in my heart!"

"Wang Qinian! Teacher Tian Yu is amazing!"

"Lin Wan'er is so beautiful! Li Qin is amazing!"

"The plot moves so fast! Four episodes aren't enough!"

"Please add more chapters! Please add more chapters! Please add more chapters!"

The rating on Douban came out faster than expected.

At 1 a.m., the rating was unlocked—9.0 points.

This score shocked the entire industry. It's worth noting that for domestically produced dramas, an 8-point score is considered excellent, and a 9-point score is extremely rare.

"Joy of Life" not only scored 9 points, but also on its first day of airing. This score is almost a signal that it is "predicted to be the best of the year".

In the comments section, the vast majority of reviews are five-star ratings.

"After watching all four episodes, I still want more. As a fan of the original work, I say this is the best adaptation I've ever seen."

It retains the essence of the original work while enhancing the quality of the series.

Chen Nianbei as Fan Xian, Chen Daomin as Emperor Qing, and Wu Gang as Chen Pingping—every casting was superb.

"I had given up hope on male-oriented IP adaptations, but 'Joy of Life' rekindled my expectations. The pacing is fast, the plot is tight, and the characters are well-developed. Chen Nianbei's eyes have the clarity of a young boy and the depth of a wise man. I love them."

"As soon as Mr. Chen Daomin appeared, I knew this drama was going to be a success. That imperial aura wasn't something he acted out; it was something he was born with."

"Wang Qinian provided all my laughs. Tian Yu was absolutely amazing; he perfectly captured that shrewd yet adorable charm."

"Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er's first meeting was so sweet! I watched that eye contact under the table three times."

"The action scenes were so cool! Chen Nianbei's fight scene in the restaurant was clean and crisp, and his eyes were fierce yet calm. This is what a true martial arts master looks like."

Of course, there were also a few scattered one-star reviews, saying things like "too fast-paced," "too many adaptations," and "not as good as the original." But they were quickly drowned out by the massive amount of positive reviews.

The next day, #JoyofLife# dominated half of the trending topics list.

The top trending topic: #JoyofLife#

Second on the trending list: #ChenNianbeiFanXian#

Third on the trending topics list: #Chen Daomin Emperor Qing#

Fourth on the trending list: #WangQinian#

Fifth on the trending list: #FanXianLinWan'er#

Sixth on the trending topics list: #JoyofLifeExtraChapter#

Seventh on the trending topics list: #Chen Nianbei's acting skills#

Eighth on the trending topics list: #Wu Gang and Chen Pingping#

Ninth on the trending list: #JoyofLifeOriginalNovel#

The tenth trending topic: #Zhang Ruo's Yan Bingyun#

Of the top ten trending topics, nine were related to "Joy of Life." This is an unprecedented situation.

Open Weibo, and the homepage is full of discussions about "Joy of Life".

Some people analyzed the plot, some took screenshots of the characters, some shipped the couples, and some made fun of the memes.

Wang Qinian's "May good people live a peaceful life" became a popular saying, Fan Xian's "I'm afraid of death" was turned into various memes, and even Wu Zhu's "————" became the subject of netizens' jokes.

On short video platforms, all kinds of derivative works are everywhere.

Some people cut out Fan Xian's growth storyline, some cut out the father-son relationship between Emperor Qing and Fan Xian, some cut out the romantic relationship between Fan Xian and Lin Wan'er, and some even made a funny compilation of Wang Qinian's scenes.

Each video gets at least a million views.

On Zhihu, the question "How would you rate the first season of the TV series 'Joy of Life'?" received more than 5,000 answers overnight.

Among the highly-rated answers, some analyzed the merits and demerits of the adaptation from the screenwriter's perspective, some analyzed the actors' performances from the acting perspective, some compared the fidelity of the TV series to the original work, and some analyzed the power struggles in the drama from a historical perspective.

The most popular answer is titled "Chen Nianbei's Fan Xian: An Actor's Self-Cultivation." The author, a well-known film critic, analyzes Chen Nianbei's performance frame-by-frame in the drama—

"In the third episode, Fan Xian meets Emperor Qing for the first time. That look up, that gaze, those slightly trembling eyelashes—he perfectly portrayed Fan Xian's complex psychology of 'knowing this person is not to be trifled with, yet unable to resist wanting to look at him.'"

"In the seventh episode, there's a scene where Fan Xian learns the cause of his mother's death. He doesn't cry or make a scene; he just sits there, his eyes shifting from shock to anger to sadness, and finally back to calm. Not every actor has that ability to peel back the layers of emotion."

"Episode 15, Fan Xian's farewell to Chen Pingping. That kneeling, that cry of 'Teacher,' that view of the wheelchair receding into the distance—I dare say, this is the most tear-jerking moment in this year's domestic dramas."

"Chen Nianbei's Fan Xian reminds me of a saying—a truly good actor is not someone who can convincingly portray any role, but rather someone who becomes that role."

The media response was equally enthusiastic.

The Beijing News devoted a full page to reporting on the "Joy of Life" phenomenon: "How did a male-oriented IP conquer female viewers?"

Southern Weekly analyzed from an industry perspective: "The success of 'Joy of Life' signifies that domestic dramas have finally found their IP."

The right way to adapt it.

China Film Report interviewed several industry experts, and all of them gave highly consistent evaluations: "The script is solid, the actors are excellent, and the production is superb. It is a rare quality drama in recent years."

Even the usually serious People's Daily published a short commentary in its culture section: "The popularity of 'Joy of Life' reflects the audience's thirst for high-quality content. Good works will never be buried."

On the fifth day, the number of views exceeded one billion.

This speed set a new record for online dramas at the time. Tencent Video urgently adjusted its scheduling strategy, changing from releasing six episodes per week to eight episodes per week.

But the audience was still not satisfied, and the calls for "more episodes" in the comments section grew louder and louder.

On the tenth day, the number of views exceeded two billion.

On the fifteenth day, it surpassed 3 billion.

By the end of the first season, the total number of views had reached 68 billion.

This number makes "Joy of Life" the undisputed king of dramas in 2018.

Chen Nianbei's Weibo followers surged by 12 million during the airing of "Joy of Life".

From 28 million before the show started to 40 million by the end, this growth rate left everyone in the industry speechless.

His fan page was as lively as during the Chinese New Year.

The three administrators, Wang Churan, Liu Haochun, and Tian Xiwei, worked almost non-stop, organizing fans to vote, participate in ranking activities, promote products, and control online comments.

They compiled all of Chen Nianbei's works, interviews, and activities from 2013 to the present into a timeline to help new fans understand him.

Liu Haochun posted a pinned post: "From 2013 to 2018, it's been five years."

We watched him grow from Xiaoman to Prince Jing, from Mingtai to Yang Xun, from Xiaobei to Fan Xian.

He got to where he is today not by luck, but by hard work.

Thank you to all our new friends, welcome to this big family. Together, we'll accompany him on his journey to the future.

This post was shared 200,000 times and liked one million times.

But what moved Chen Nianbei the most was the recognition from her peers.

When Chen Daomin was interviewed, he was asked about his opinion on Chen Nianbei.

He unusually spoke more: "Nianbei is one of the most talented young actors I've ever met. He doesn't just act; he genuinely loves acting. That kind of reverence and seriousness towards performance is rarely seen in the younger generation."

Wu Gang mentioned Chen Nianbei at an event: "That kid would come to me every day to rehearse lines during filming. Sometimes after we finished work, he would still pull me aside to discuss the next day's scenes."

I told him to take a break, but he said he wasn't tired. He said, "Teacher Wu, it's my blessing to act with you, and I have to live up to that blessing." Tell me, how could an actor like that not be good?

Gao Shuguan went even further: "Nianbei is my godson. I acknowledge him. This kid was especially good to me on set, always thinking of me when there was something good to eat."

He's serious about acting, and he listens to everything I say. Who wouldn't like a young man like that?

Sun Hao posted a long Weibo post, reminiscing about his collaboration with Chen Nianbei. He concluded by writing: "Some people are just born to do this kind of work. But Chen Nianbei is different. He wasn't just born to do this kind of work; he was determined to do it well."

After Fan Xian, I believe he has even more potential. I look forward to it.

When Huang Lei was recording the next episode of "Back to Field", he specifically mentioned Chen Nianbei.

"When Nianbei came to our Mushroom House, I felt that he was different."

He wasn't the kind of famous celebrity he was; he was just an ordinary young man—quiet, polite, and earnest.

We cooked together, chatted together, and looked at the stars together. He told me that he'd been working too hard these past few years, and sometimes he didn't even know who he was anymore.

He paused, looked at the camera, and his gaze was gentle.

"I want to tell Nianbei, you're wonderful. Your acting is superb, and you're a wonderful person. Take a break when you're tired, and come back when you miss us. Mushroom House will always be your home."

The video was widely shared by fans, and the comments section was filled with people saying "tears welling up."

Of course, there are also some dissenting voices.

Some say Chen Nianbei's Fan Xian is "too upright and lacks the roguishness of the original character," others say he "deviates from the original character," and still others say he "is more suited to playing serious roles like Prince Jing, and cannot handle a romantic and talented man like Fan Xian."

But these voices were quickly drowned out by a deluge of positive reviews.

Some fans have created a comparison chart, matching the description of Fan Xian in the original novel with Chen Nianbei's performance in the drama, proving that he is the most suitable candidate.

A fan of the original novel posted a long article titled "As a fan of the original novel, I want to say a few words." He wrote: "I started reading 'Joy of Life' ten years ago, and Fan Xian has lived in my heart for ten years."

I know what he's like; he's smart, but not cunning.

He was charming, but not promiscuous; he was ruthless, but not cruel.

He is lonely, but not indifferent. Chen Nianbei's portrayal of Fan Xian is exactly how I imagined him to be.

Not exactly the same, but the same soul. Thank you, Chen Nianbei, for bringing the Fan Xian in my heart to life.

This long post was shared 500,000 times, and countless fans of the original work left comments such as "+1", "Me too", and "Thank you for speaking up for us".

On the day the series ended, Chen Nianbei posted a Weibo post.

It's a photo—taken on the set of "Joy of Life," where he's wearing Fan Xian's clothes, standing in the snow, and smiling at the camera.

That smile was clean and warm, like a young man who had finally accomplished something.

The caption was just one sentence: "I am fortunate to have met Fan Xian in my lifetime. Thank you for liking him."

Ten minutes after this Weibo post was published, it received over two million likes. In the comments section, countless people were using the same phrase—

"I am fortunate to have met you in my remaining years."

That night, Naza came again.

She still brought the stew, still sat next to him, and still leaned on his shoulder.

"Nianbei," she whispered, "I'm proud of you."

Chen Nianbei was silent for a moment, then said, "Thank you."

Naza looked up at him. His eyes were a little red, but he was smiling.

"You know what," he said, "sometimes I wonder if all of this is real. It's been six years since 2012."

I've played so many roles, filmed so many movies, and met so many people—sometimes I'm afraid, afraid it's all a dream, afraid that when I wake up I'll be back in that world—”

He didn't continue.

Naza gently grasped his hand, very tightly.

"It's not a dream," she said. "It's real. You did it."

Chen Nianbei looked at her, and his eyes finally reddened.

He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

Outside the window, the night in Beijing is gentle.

Inside the house, there was the aroma of stewing soup, the warmth of people, and a night's rest that could finally be enjoyed.