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

On May 7th, "The Journey of Flower" will premiere on Tomato TV's prime-time slot, and at the same time, Kiwi and Tencent Video will also update simultaneously.

"All of Huayi's publicity channels started promoting us two weeks ago," Chen Zhixi reported from Shen Mo's office.

Thanks to Huayi Brothers' "benevolent compensation," the promotional resources for "The Journey of Flower" were pushed to an almost overflowing level.

Online, it remained in the top ten of Weibo's trending topics for two weeks, topped the recommended list for discussion topics about the series, was featured on the homepages of four major portals, and was published in press releases by more than forty media outlets.

Offline, large outdoor screens in shopping malls in more than 20 cities were used for two weeks, and subway and bus screens were also fully covered.

The sheer scale of the conflict led those not involved in the infighting to believe that Mohen had suddenly gained a new "sugar daddy."

Shen Mo glanced at the data and remained noncommittal, "Hua Yi knows how to handle people this way."

The "reconciliation" with Huayi was never the end, but rather the beginning of temporarily "incorporating" the other party's vast traditional resources for its own use.

The Wang brothers may still be hoping to take advantage of the situation and cooperate with each other, waiting for an opportunity to catch up with Mohen's car, but what Shen Mo wants is to squeeze every last bit of profit from this "reconciliation" during this honeymoon period.

And then... hehe!

"Yu Zheng's 'Legend of Lu Zhen' premiered on May 5th and is doing well. The first day's viewership rating exceeded 1.2%, and there is also a lot of online discussion."

Shen Mo turned around, a cold smile curling at the corner of his lips, a smile that held a calm calculation and a hint of amusement.

"Yeah?"

"Last time, he challenged us to war, and we turned the tables and won."

"I chose this release date to test whether they could win if I challenged them to a war."

Over the past month, Hunan TV has witnessed Shen Mo manipulating public opinion.

They usually love to create conflict and stir up hype for upcoming TV dramas.

This time, however, they did it quietly, not even daring to push the trending topic "Hua Qiangu vs. Lu Zhen" to the top.

It's obvious: this time, they chickened out.

Chen Zhixi spoke up at the right moment, "Yu Zheng's team originally wanted to ride the coattails of Hua Qiangu to generate buzz, but Hunan TV stopped them, saying that the current industry environment is not suitable for 'inciting conflict'."

"This is a message I received from Hunan TV; they don't really want to offend us."

Hunan TV isn't just afraid of Shen Mo, this "actor," but of the capital, the internet, alliances, traffic, and public opinion behind him...

This entire system is designed to completely dominate your opponent.

No TV station wants to become cannon fodder.

"Then you should also send a message over there: the timing of the release is just coincidental, and it's not intentionally targeting Mango TV."

[I was only targeting Zheng.]

"I don't have the habit of letting people provoke me and then getting away with it. If Hua Yi hadn't stepped in and taken over Yu Zheng's job last time, I would have taken him down by now."

Even without suppressing Yu Zheng, Mohen had already launched a full-scale online promotional campaign a month ago for this drama, which was Shen Mo's second collaboration with Li Yitong.

"Damn, it's 'The Journey of Flower' again."

"You're being bombarded with posts too?"

"I just finished scrolling through the news, and as I swiped down—snap, it's her again."

In an office building in Beijing, a programmer casually vented in his colleagues' group chat.

[Screenshot] — "Today's Recommendation: The Journey of Flower will premiere tonight. A fantasy romance you can't miss."

Someone in the group immediately replied, "To be fair, this push notification was pretty well done."

"This kind of copywriting is obviously written by a professional team, not that kind of corny, old-fashioned fantasy novel."

Another colleague sent a dog emoji: "I saw the trailer, the special effects aren't bad, but Shen Mo's Bai Zihua outfit... tsk."

"I don't believe in good or evil, I only believe he's good-looking."

On the other side, at the entrance of a Magnesium Group station, Li Shan, who was squatting on the ground eating takeout, was holding a Xiaomi phone and complaining to a brother next to her who was also wearing a yellow Magnesium Group uniform.

"How much marketing money did 'The Journey of Flower' spend? Lei Jun is working so hard to push trailers to our phones."

The brother continued eating without stopping, saying, "The Journey of Flower was produced by Mohen, and Mohen is a shareholder of Xiaomi, brother."

"We're all family, isn't it normal to help each other out?"

"Yeah, this is nothing!" Another guy in a yellow uniform chimed in as he walked over.

"Didn't you notice that the guys on the cover of our food delivery ads are all from 'The Journey of Flower'?"

"And I noticed that Bilibili, a platform for anime and manga fans, is specifically pushing trailers for 'The Journey of Flower' on its cover."

"What's so bad about that? Yours is at least a video streaming website. I get recommendations for 'The Journey of Flower' even when I'm just browsing jokes, and even the headlines of serious news articles feature 'The Journey of Flower'."

"Are these TV drama producers that rich? They're investing everywhere."

"It's making me a little tempted. What kind of thing is so confident in its product recommendations? And the photos are just that good?"

"If it doesn't look good, I'll yell at you."

"Tch... I know you too well. You'd back up to take a look at any pretty girl passing by before delivering takeout. This TV series trailer features at least five or six beautiful women. You think it's not good?"

"Hehehe... Wow... there really are so many beautiful women! Where's the trailer? Send it to me so I can take a look."

"Hehehe... Wow... there really are so many beautiful women! Where's the trailer? Send it to me so I can take a look."

……

Meanwhile, in-depth articles were published on various platforms, accompanied by stills, posters, character posters, and several retouched photos of Shen Mo and Li Yitong together.

[The Path of Hua Qiangu's "Degeneration": On Xiao Gu's Past and Present Lives]

What is right and wrong? What is good and evil? The love tribulations in "The Journey of Flower" ask all the devoted lovers in the world.

From the innocent "Little Bone" to the descending demon god, the acting is explosive and high-energy throughout.

["I don't believe in good, I don't believe in evil, I only believe in you!" The most heart-wrenching fantasy romance epic of the year is coming!]

These headlines, captured by Toutiao's algorithm, are bombarded into the phones of everyone who "follows entertainment," "binge-watches dramas," "fantasy dramas," and "historical dramas."

In the conference room of Mohen Media at 5 p.m., various data curves were scrolling in real time on the large screen.

Baidu Index, number of reservation reminders, Weibo topic popularity, Toutiao readership, Bilibili trailer views...

Chen Zhixi flipped through the latest data, speaking rapidly.

"As of 5 p.m., the total number of views for topics related to 'The Journey of Flower' across the entire network has exceeded 3 billion, and the total number of views for trailers across the entire network has exceeded 88 million."

"The official Weibo account of Tomato TV posted the release date announcement and trailer, which was retweeted 280,000 times and received 80,000 comments."

"The online public opinion was relatively calm this time; no one compared us to Yu Zheng's 'Legend of Lu Zhen'."

Shen Mo sat in the main seat, twirling a pen in his hand, his gaze sweeping lightly over the data.

"What about Lu Zhen?"

"Legend of Lu Zhen's viewership rating was 1.2% on its first day and rose to 1.3% on its second day, with generally positive public opinion online."

[Yu Zheng, are you ready?]

Shen Mo looked up at a blank area on the screen, his tone calm.

"Since no one's doing the comparison, let's do it ourselves. Are your comparison and disparagement articles ready?"

Chen Zhixi nodded. "Ready!"

"Then—" He glanced at his watch, "let it air overnight after tonight's screening, and release it online tomorrow morning!"

At 19:59 PM, in a room in Beijing, a man and a woman were crammed onto the living room sofa, complaining while holding takeout food.

"Quick, quick, change the channel! I want to see Shen Mo!"

"Aren't you a fan of Lu Zhen? Aren't you going to watch your Zhao Liying on Hunan TV tonight?"

"Can't I have a more complex persona?"

"Besides, Yingbao is no match for handsome guys! I want to see Shen Mo first, and you can also take a look at Li Yitong while you're at it. See how good I am to you? I don't mind you looking at other beauties at all."

At the same time, the drama series entrances for kiwifruit and penguins also quietly lit up - [The Journey of Flower: Episode 1 is now available].

The opening credits slowly roll, reaching viewers on Hunan TV, online platforms, and casual viewers who were "lured" in by the push notifications—

At the same time, everyone's gaze was fixed on that figure in white.

#The Journey of Flower Premiere#

#What should I do if Bai Zihua is so handsome?#

#Hua Qiangu is so well-behaved, cute and adorable#

All three topics simultaneously trended on social media.

The comments section was filled with enthusiastic supporters.

"I'm impressed, this special effects aren't just worth 50 cents, they're worth 50 yuan."

"To be honest, I had already lost faith in domestic fantasy films, but this one has a bit of that vibe."

"Li Yitong's portrayal of Xiao Gu is so adorable! Baby Yitong, Mommy loves you!"

"I'm taking Yitong baby with me! She's so soft, cute, and well-behaved, how could anyone act like this?!"

"Innocent Little Bone, she's going to become a demon god later? I feel like my heart is already aching."

"Bai Zihua, stop hiding it! Admit you love her!"

"I fell in love at first sight, how could you, a perpetual single dog, not love me back!"

The happiest of all are the former "Beichen Jinyue" couple and the current "Xuehua Mohen" couple.

"Do you know how long we've waited? It's been a year! But heaven rewards those who persevere. Mom and Dad, I've seen my beloved couple team up again."

"Seriously, was Shen Mo's look in his eyes acting or was he in love?! I know, I really know!"

"Shen Mo! If you don't clarify your feelings for Yi Tong tonight, I'm going to camp out at your office door!!!"

"My mom just came out of her room and said she heard me scream and thought I was in love. Sorry, Mom, I was just watching a TV series."

"Bai Zihua is an immortal, Xiao Gu is life, and I am a dog. The end."

The kiwifruit back-end group was overwhelmed. In 2013, before the full-scale explosion of online streaming time, the unexpanded servers were obviously under tremendous pressure.

"Tonight's peak traffic is even higher than that of 'My Love from the Star'! The servers are under immense pressure!"

"Add a few more sets! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"President Shen is going to make us the recipients of the year-end bonus again!"

On the other hand, the Tencent Video operations team, which had just added a few groups, couldn't help but sigh in their internal complaint group.

"I'm speechless. How can a period drama be played at this speed?"

"The popularity of the Shen Mo and Li Yitong couple is terrifying! I just asked around on iQiyi, and they're getting almost the same amount of attention as us."

"This is equivalent to supporting two platforms and a TV station all at once."