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Feng Zheng knew how terrifying the popularity of "Meteor Garden" was back then, after all, he had read related reports, but being actually there in person, the scale of it truly shocked him.

On the day of its premiere, "Meteor Garden" achieved a viewership rating of 1.99%, which was already twice the usual rating for a late-night show. After CTS, the broadcaster, noticed this, they added a "rebroadcast of the premiere episode" on Sunday at noon the following day.

And then, unsurprisingly, it exploded again!

The rebroadcast ratings jumped to 1.87%!

It's important to know that back then, the average Sunday afternoon viewership in Taiwan was only 0.3%-0.5%!

The rebroadcast viewership barely dropped, which means that in addition to those who watched the premiere, there were twice as many people watching the show during the day!

With both sides working together, they pushed the ratings of "Meteor Garden" to 3% in the second week!

3%!

It's already absurd if a late-night drama has an average viewership of 1%!

Meteor Garden has already tripled in value!

As the ratings soared, the resulting "trend" was also quite exaggerated. Many office workers and students gradually joined the ranks of "following the latest episodes." The "F4's good looks" and "Shan Cai's stubborn character" gradually became topics of conversation during breaks and in the office. Dao Ming Si's line "Be my woman" even became a "popular phrase" at the time.

On the streets, stickers and posters featuring F4 merchandise began to appear, boys started imitating their hairstyles, and barbershops began to use their hairstyles instead of the popular Korean wave of recent years.

"Keep up the good work, everyone!"

Do you have to strain to poop?

How about I find you a husband next year?

Chai Zhiping has been beaming these past few days, and she's been buying a lot of things to treat the actors and crew on set.

According to her, she has applied to CTS to have "Meteor Garden" aired during prime time, and the ratings might even rise further.

However, CTS is still hesitant, since it's difficult to reschedule any of their prime-time dramas.

When Feng Zheng heard this, he wanted to shout. He thought to himself that if CTS didn't make preparations, they would be forced to temporarily move all the prime-time dramas next week to make way for "Meteor Garden"!

Feng Zheng is not exaggerating. You'll see.

As the third week of the show aired, the data came out after the third episode, and even Chai Zhiping and her team, who had high expectations for "Meteor Garden," were collectively shocked!

The viewership rating for the third episode of "Meteor Garden" was 6.43%!

The second episode had a 3% viewership rating, but the third episode more than doubled!

At that time, the average ratings of prime-time dramas on CTS were only 4%-6%, which means that "Meteor Garden" surpassed the prime-time ratings in the least popular late-night slot!

Not only did the ratings skyrocket, but the "trend" that Meteor Garden sparked in the local area also grew larger and larger!

Besides being a hot topic across Taiwan, there have been instances of students faking illness to watch the show and office workers taking time off to watch it. Dao Ming Si's line from the show, "If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for?" has gone viral, with imitations of the scene becoming a trend on campuses across the country!

CTS initially refused to broadcast it during prime time, right?

Sure!

After the third episode aired, a large number of viewers called CTS (China Television System) directly, requesting that "Meteor Garden" be moved to the prime time slot!

CTS was completely stunned; they had never seen anything like this before!

From that day on, various media outlets, magazines, and newspapers began to vie for coverage of "F4," and their names started appearing on the headlines of entertainment sections.

On the production team's side, merchants started actively seeking sponsorships in large numbers, and the sponsorship fee for the series doubled again within a week!

Feng Zheng and his colleagues could clearly feel the improvement in their "treatment" during the week following the airing of the third episode.

For example, they used to eat the worst boxed lunches, but now the main actors have three to five dishes for every meal, and meat at every meal;

For example, the number of staff members in the crew has increased, and Feng Zheng even has his own personal "stylist".

It's worth mentioning that when they first started filming, the area around the set was deserted, with only their crew members present; there were practically no onlookers...

Since the popularity of "Meteor Garden", more and more people have been gathering around to watch it. It's just that these days, there are no smartphones to take pictures all the time, otherwise, the whole plot would be spoiled before it even airs.

Feng Zheng and his friends have had some trouble going out these past few days. Damn it, no matter where they go, they get recognized. If some girl on the street shouts "F4," they immediately attract a large crowd to watch them.

Like monkeys in a zoo.

Feng Zheng and Wu Jianhao are actually fine, but Yan Chengxu, who plays "Dao Ming Si," and Zhou Yumin, who plays "Hua Ze Lei," have to wear masks when they go out these past few days and dare not show their faces.

Don't exaggerate, when Feng Zheng finished work and was resting at the hotel that day, he found that Zhou Yumin, who had gone out to buy things, had his shirt torn into a "Syrian war-damaged" style, and was filthy and smelly. When Feng Zheng asked what happened, he helplessly said that he had been chased into a shabby alley by five, six, seven or eight girls and almost couldn't get back...

"So how did you finally get back?" Feng Zheng asked.

"There's a sewer there," Zhou Yumin replied blankly, "I might have fallen in."

Feng Zheng suppressed a laugh: "You must have fallen in there, hahaha..."

You crawled out of the sewer, Zhou Yumin, that's really something!

Wu Jianhao was also there that day. When Zhou Yumin went into the room to wash up and change, Wu Jianhao secretly nudged Feng Zheng and said, "Hey, aren't you envious of Yan Chengxu and Zhou Yumin?"

"What do you mean?" Feng Zheng asked.

"Those two seem to be a bit more popular than us," Wu Jianhao said.

It's not surprising that Wu Jianhao was sour. F4 consists of four people, but Yan Chengxu and Zhou Yumin are clearly more popular.

"Isn't this normal?" Feng Zheng said helplessly. In the first few episodes, they had more screen time, so it's normal for fans to have a higher opinion of them.

Besides, Wu Jianhao, do you dare to say you're more handsome than Yan Chengxu, or Zhou Yumin?

I wouldn't even dare to say I'm a clear winner against him!

"Little jailer, don't worry," Feng Zheng said with a laugh, "You'll be famous someday!"

The phenomenal success of F4 brought enormous benefits, and Wu Jianhao's career is arguably the smoothest among the F4 members. He shouldn't be in a hurry, no matter who else is.

"It's not that I'm in a hurry, I don't even feel that anxious anymore," Wu Jianhao looked at Feng Zheng speechlessly, "But why do I feel like you're even calmer than me?"

He felt that Feng Zheng, like himself, wasn't as popular as Yan Chengxu and Zhou Yumin, which is why he said that to Feng Zheng. Feng Zheng doesn't seem like the type to just give up, so why isn't he worried at all?

"What's the rush...?"

Feng Zheng feigned magnanimity and said, "We should congratulate them on their success, instead of being so sour all the time. You won't go far like this!"

Feng Zheng, that old devil, is truly a devil incarnate...

If it weren't for the fact that he's about to release his own new album, he'd probably be even more anxious than Wu Jianhao!

……