The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

While Meng Ziyi tossed and turned in her dormitory bed, a storm about her was quietly brewing on the internet.

Several high-resolution photos from the scene, accompanied by eye-catching headlines such as "A pure goddess appears at the Beijing Film Academy's re-examination site" and "The strongest beauty candidate of 2013?", were first released by several entertainment gossip accounts during the peak traffic period of 7 or 8 pm.

A photo of Meng Ziyi walking confidently and calmly towards the school gate, alone, bathed in the morning light and amidst countless scrutinizing gazes.

Her appearance was pure and refined, her figure was tall and elegant, and her face showed the longing and determination of a young girl for her dream palace.

It was captured precisely by more than one camera.

The girl in the photo is wearing a white shirt and jeans, with a neat ponytail. Her face, without heavy makeup, is full of collagen and youthful energy.

She stands out in the crowd. At this stage, she doesn't have that aggressive kind of glamorousness, but her beauty is still enough to make people remember her at a glance.

Clean, bright, and extremely approachable, she perfectly captures the current internet's image of a "campus goddess."

"Holy crap! Who is this girl? She looks amazing even without makeup?"

"I need all of this girl's information in three minutes!"

"This is what a real campus beauty looks like! She's much more authentic than those 'most beautiful examinees' that were all over the internet before!"

"She has such a great presence, walks with such confidence, and is both sweet and cool!"

Has anyone uncovered it?

Following these questions, whether asked proactively or passively, the name was "inadvertently" discovered.

"I think her name is... Meng Ziyi?"

"The name sounds nice."

Under the online principle that "beauty is justice," these unedited photos began to spread at an astonishing speed.

Soon, some "helpful netizens" uncovered more information.

"Meng Ziyi, a native of Kunming, is 18 years old and an artist signed with Mohen Media. She previously had cameo roles in 'My Love from the Star' and 'A Little Reunion'..."

"I know her! She's the pretty little girl who played Fang Duoduo in 'A Little Reunion.' She didn't have many scenes, but she was very charming!"

"It seems he also starred in a TV series called 'A Little Reunion'."

"Inkmark? Isn't that Shen Mo's company? No wonder they have such a refined air!"

"I heard that Shen Mo personally went to Chuncheng to sign her; he has a sharp eye!"

"So you're already an actor?"

"Are you here to audition for the Beijing Film Academy to improve your acting skills? That's very ambitious!"

The addition of information caused the popularity to surge again.

The labels "Mohen Media", "under Shen Mo", and "existing works" add more talking points and credibility to the discussion of "the most beautiful new student".

Traffic began to spread to larger platforms.

On Weibo, the related topics #BeijingFilmAcademyEntranceExamPureGoddess# and #MengZiyi# began to see hundreds of thousands of views per hour.

[A closer look at the most beautiful girls at Beijing Film Academy: How many have achieved great success?]

A Roundup of the Most Beautiful Freshmen of 2013 from Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, and Shanghai Theatre Academy

[The top 10 "campus beauties" of Beijing Film Academy are all stunningly beautiful. Which one is your goddess?]

[Rational discussion: What's the level of attractiveness for Meng Ziyi, a freshman at the Beijing Film Academy this year?]

The replies to the post were varied, ranging from pure admiration for her looks to accusations of hype and expressions of anticipation for her future development.

Regardless, Meng Ziyi's name, along with the title of "the most beautiful freshman of Beijing Film Academy in 2013," gained widespread recognition online on this night after the re-examination.

After monitoring the topic's popularity to its expected peak, Yang Tianzhen decisively launched the next step of the plan.

First, there's "official certification" and "character binding".

The official Weibo account of Mohen Media posted a carefully edited message the following afternoon.

The copywriting is concise and powerful:

[Congratulations to our actress @MengZiyi on successfully passing the Beijing Film Academy's second-round audition! Every step she takes on her journey to pursue her dreams counts.]

The exciting chapter "Chapter 155: The Most Beautiful Freshman at Beijing Film Academy" is now available online. Click to read it now!

Don't forget to check out "A Little Reunion," currently airing on Hunan TV and Blueberry Channel. Meng Ziyi plays Huang Zhitao, who is going through her coming-of-age story. Tune in every night at 8 PM! [heart]

Below the text was a nine-grid image.

The central position features today's classic "confidently taking the exam" photo, cleverly surrounded by stills of "Huang Zhitao" from the TV series "A Little Reunion".

There are profile shots of her attentively listening to lectures in her school uniform, close-ups of her tearful, aggrieved moments during arguments with her co-stars, and radiant smiles during playtime.

Instantly, the identities of "most beautiful freshman" and "actress Meng Ziyi" are closely linked.

Once this Weibo post was published, it was immediately reposted by the official Weibo account of "A Little Reunion", Blueberry TV, director Wang Jun, and Bai Lu and other main actors.

Bai Lu, in particular, added a special note when reposting: "Good luck on your exam, Zhi Tao! Wishing you all the best!"

The interaction between the sisters added a touch of warmth and authenticity.

With official involvement, the focus of discussion shifted from simply "appreciating her looks" to recognizing and being curious about her identity as an actress.

At almost the same time, several film and television self-media and entertainment accounts that had good cooperative relationships with Mohen successively published articles with "in-depth analysis".

[Meng Ziyi, the "Most Beautiful Freshman": More Than Just Looks, "Huang Zhitao" in "A Little Reunion" Has a Story to Tell]

From a cameo in "A Little Reunion" to starring in "A Little Joy," witness Meng Ziyi's journey in acting.

[Another side of Beijing Film Academy outside the exam hall: Visiting the set of "A Little Reunion" and revealing Meng Ziyi's "drama-transformation" seriousness]

The content focuses on portraying her efforts, focus, and talent as a newcomer, solidly grounding her "good looks" advantage on the foundation of "professional skills" and "professional attitude".

One of the articles also "inadvertently" mentioned some content.

"It is reported that in order to prepare for this year's college entrance examination, Meng Ziyi not only sought advice from senior members of the crew on acting courses during breaks in filming 'A Little Reunion,' but also often stayed up late into the night in her trailer doing practice questions for her academic subjects. This dedication to her studies and love for acting are reflected in her performances, which may be the key to her popularity."

#Meng Ziyi Huang Zhitao#

#Watching "A Little Reunion" helps you get started at Beijing Film Academy#

#So Huang Zhitao went to take an exam#

These topics cleverly link the series, characters, and actors' real-life activities together.

In particular, the hashtag #WatchALittleReunionGetBeijingFilmFreshmen# directly guides viewers to focus on Meng Ziyi's performance from the interesting perspective of "finding future stars" while watching the show, which invisibly enhances the interactivity and engagement of the viewing experience.

Fans of "A Little Reunion" were also fully engaged.

They spontaneously posted classic clips and touching lines from "Huang Zhitao" in related topics.

Comparing the pressure of the college entrance examination faced by "Huang Zhitao" in the drama with Meng Ziyi's experience of taking the art exam in real life, one can't help but sigh that "both on and off screen are striving hard."

This genuine feedback and emotional resonance from the audience is the most persuasive form of publicity.

The viewership data monitoring department of Blueberry TV quickly noticed that during the time slots when Meng Ziyi's scenes were concentrated in the broadcast of "A Little Reunion" that night, the viewership curve showed a slight upward trend, and the amount of real-time online discussion also increased significantly.

Yang Tianzhen didn't let the hype die out all at once.

She instructed her team to release some "lightweight" but interesting content over the next few days.

For example, there are funny behind-the-scenes clips of Meng Ziyi and Sha Yi acting together on the set of "A Little Reunion"; she imitates Tao Hong's tone of voice; she speaks without thinking and unintentionally "offends" Wang Yaoqing, who calls her a "stupid beauty"; she even "reveals" a corner of her densely packed notes from her exam preparation...

In just one night and one day, the trending topic "Most Beautiful Freshman at Beijing Film Academy" has successfully transformed into a perfect debut for Meng Ziyi.

The next day at noon, Meng Ziyi, with slightly swollen eyes, opened her phone and was overwhelmed by countless congratulatory messages and mentions.

She belatedly realized that she seemed to have become "famous".

And the driving force behind all of this...

She looked at Shen Mo's silent profile picture in her WeChat list, her feelings a complex mix of emotions.