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

On August 16, Xiaoyu sat on the sofa in her rented room with the air conditioner set to 8 degrees Celsius, but her palms were still sweating.

On the television screen, the opening theme song had already begun to play.

She had been waiting for this day for a whole month.

As one of the earliest fans in the "Ink" group, she started following Shen Mo when he starred in "Love is Not Blind". At that time, he was not a billionaire CEO, but just a handsome actor with good acting skills.

Later, he became more and more popular, his influence grew, and more and more new fans joined the group. Some people said, "Shen Mo is a big shot now, he doesn't need us anymore," but she didn't believe it.

On the day Shen Mo had the accident, she stood downstairs at the company for three hours, watching the reporters swarm in and the marketing accounts frantically flooding the screen.

Some people in the group have quit, some have said "I've unfollowed them," and some have posted "I told you long ago that there's no clean entertainment industry."

But she didn't back down.

She changed the group nickname to "Brother Mo is definitely okay" and posted a message in the group every day saying "Checking in today, waiting for Brother Mo to come home".

As expected! The announcement has been made, and the innocent have been proven innocent!

She cried like a fool in her rented room, then went downstairs, bought three bottles of beer, and drank them alone until midnight.

Now, his new drama is about to air.

She had already watched the trailer for "Nirvana in Fire" so many times that she could recite every frame. In the trailer, Shen Mo, who played Mei Changsu, was dressed in white and his eyes were full of emotion.

"He said, 'Since we've survived, we can't live in vain'..." She set this sentence as her WeChat signature.

As the opening theme ended and the main feature began, Xiaoyu couldn't help but exclaim "Ah!" the moment Shen Mo appeared on screen.

However, even faster than her reaction, the live chat exploded.

"Here it comes! Here it comes! Here it comes!!!"

"Mei Changsu!!!"

"Welcome, Jiangzuo Mei Lang!!!"

"Waaaaah, Brother Mo is so thin! Is he really sick or is he just acting?"

"It's an act!! It's all an act!!! He's fine!!!"

"The person upstairs was talking about the character!!!"

Looking at the dense barrage of comments, Xiaoyu's eyes suddenly felt a little hot.

It turns out she wasn't the only one waiting; everyone was still there.

She opened her comment input box and typed rapidly: [Little Fish's Check-in: Day 32, Brother Mo is back!]

Click send.

The comments floated by, only to be instantly drowned out by even more comments, but she didn't care.

At the same time, at the Ink Trace Trainee Apartment.

Zhou Ye sat cross-legged on the sofa, with takeout boxes piled up on the small coffee table in front of him: two servings of pickled fish, one serving of spicy chicken, one serving of stir-fried green beans, and two boxes of rice.

"Ruonan, hurry up! It's starting, it's starting!" she shouted as she picked up a large piece of fish with her chopsticks and stuffed it into her mouth.

Zhang Ruonan rushed out of the bathroom, her hair still dripping wet. She grabbed a hair tie from the coffee table, tied it up haphazardly, and then collapsed onto the sofa.

"Leave some for me!"

"Who told you to take such a long shower!"

The two people squeezed onto the sofa, one holding a bowl of rice and the other a piece of spicy chicken, their four eyes fixed on the TV screen.

When Mei Changsu appeared on the river, Zhou Ye suddenly stopped eating.

"Holy crap..."

"What's wrong?"

"Brother Mo is so handsome."

Zhang Ruonan rolled her eyes: "Can't you be a little more dignified?"

"I'm just ink! That's all I'm good for!"

Zhou Ye pointed at the screen, "Look at his eyes, that feeling of having the world in my grasp, it's amazing!"

Zhang Ruonan didn't speak. She stared at Shen Mo on the screen and slowly chewed the spicy chicken in her mouth.

She recalled the first time she met Shen Mo, at Mohen's job interview. She was so nervous that her palms were sweaty, but she tried to remain calm.

But now, looking at him on the screen, she suddenly felt a little dazed.

This person is her boss.

This person gave her a place to live, arranged acting lessons for her, and gave her the opportunity to star in "Nirvana in Fire".

Although she was just a minor supporting character, Qin Banruo, it was the first time she had ever truly stood in front of the camera.

"Feed." Zhou Ye nudged her with his elbow. "What are you thinking about?"

Zhang Ruonan snapped out of her daze: "N-nothing."

Zhou Ye glanced at her, a mischievous smile playing on his lips: "Thinking about Brother Mo?"

"Zhou Ye!!!"

"Hahaha, you're blushing!!!"

The two of them wrestled together, almost knocking over the takeout boxes on the coffee table. After laughing and joking, they sat back down and continued watching TV.

In the comment section, people are already discussing Qin Banruo's appearance.

"Qin Banruo is so beautiful!!!"

"Is this a newcomer? I've never seen one before."

"She has such a great presence, and her eyes are so expressive."

As Zhang Ruonan watched the comments, her fingers unconsciously clenched the pillow.

Zhou Ye glanced at her, then quietly reached out and patted her back twice.

Zhang Ruonan suddenly felt her eyes welling up. She took a deep breath, grabbed her chopsticks, and stuffed a large mouthful of food into her mouth. "Delicious!"

Zhou Ye burst into laughter, his mouth agape: "Hahaha, you idiot."

In an ordinary residential building in Chongqing, Mr. Zhang and his family of three had just finished dinner. His wife was clearing away the dishes, his son was curled up on the sofa playing on his phone, and Mr. Zhang was randomly changing channels with the remote control.

"Let's find a good TV series!" His wife poked her head out from the kitchen.

"I don't know what's interesting, oh well, I'll just look around."

I pressed a few buttons on the remote and finally stopped at Tomato TV. A refined-looking man in white appeared on the screen.

"Son, do you know what show this is?" Old Zhang turned and asked. "The visuals are pretty good."

Xiao Zhang glanced up at it, then looked down again and continued scrolling through his phone: "Nirvana in Fire, it's really popular lately."

"What are you talking about?"

"I don't know, I didn't see it."

Old Zhang said "Oh," put down the remote control, and leaned back on the sofa to prepare for a nap.

After cleaning up the kitchen, my wife came out with a slice of watermelon and placed it on the coffee table: "Here, have some watermelon."

The family of three started eating watermelon, with the sound from the TV becoming background noise.

"What did the letter say?"

The man on the screen spoke, "The top of the Langya List, the Plum Blossom Gentleman of Jiangzuo, a talent of unparalleled brilliance; to possess him is to possess the world."

Old Zhang took a bite of watermelon and casually remarked, "Quite the boast."

His wife rolled her eyes at him: "It's just a TV drama, why are you taking it so seriously?"

But her eyes involuntarily drifted to the screen, where the man in white appeared again, nodding slightly with a faint smile on his lips.

"This person..." His wife frowned, "He looks kind of familiar."

Without looking up, the son said, "Shen Mo, the one who acted in 'My Love from the Star'."

"Oh, oh, that Professor Do!" My wife exclaimed suddenly, "How come he's gotten so thin?"

"It's necessary for the role." The son finally looked up, glanced at the screen, and said, "I heard he's playing a sickly character in this drama."

"A sickly fellow?" Old Zhang scoffed. "A sickly fellow with such an arrogant tone?"

Before the words were finished, a flute melody came from the television, and several large ships appeared to be anchored in the middle of the water amidst the mist.

As the fog dissipated, Mei Changsu, accompanied by his personal bodyguard Wen Liu, appeared on a small boat.

"In my Jiangzuo region, business is not conducted this way."

He raised his eyes, his gaze both warm and cold, a refined elegance tinged with icy frost.

Old Zhang suddenly realized that he had forgotten to eat the watermelon in his hand.

The scene shifts to the Langya Pavilion, where the host is taking Mei Changsu's pulse. "Do you really insist on going to the capital?"

A slight smile played on his lips: "Tell me how much longer I have."

The person opposite him asked, "Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"What's so scary about death? It's living that's scary."

His words were weak, but his eyes remained calm.

Old Zhang was stunned; it made sense. His wife muttered beside him, "These lyrics are really well written."

My son also put down his phone at some point and stared intently at the screen.

For a long time, the family of three remained silent. The watermelon was still on the coffee table, but no one reached for it.

It wasn't until the end of the first episode and the end credits started playing that Lao Zhang came back to his senses.

"This show..." he paused, "is actually quite good."

My wife nodded: "Shall we watch the second episode?"

My son has already picked up the remote and switched to the Penguin Video page.

"Let me see if I can watch the second episode directly... Holy crap, two episodes have already been released!"

"Then what are we waiting for? Release them now!"

-----------------

Meanwhile, the same scene is playing out in countless homes, dormitories, and rental houses across the country.

Some people were struck by Mei Changsu's gaze when they first met Shen Mo, while others were fans of Li Lin and were captivated by Princess Nihuang's heroic spirit.

Some people simply turn on the TV out of boredom, watch one episode, and then quietly start watching the second.

Some people are spamming the comments section, some are enthusiastically recommending it on their WeChat Moments, and some have already written their "Reflections on 'Nirvana in Fire'" on Weibo.

The ratings for the premiere of "Nirvana in Fire" haven't been released yet, but it's already generating a huge buzz online.

On Weibo's trending topics list, four hashtags simultaneously appeared: #NirvanaInFirePremiere#, #MeiChangsu#, #ShenMoActingSkills#, and #LiLinNihuang#.

Douban page has been overwhelmed. Although the rating has not yet been released, the short review section is already packed with comments.

"Five stars reserved, no explanation needed."

"Shen Mo brought Mei Changsu to life."

"Li Lin's Princess Nihuang is both beautiful and sassy!"

"Mohen's dramas have never disappointed me."

"Those who say Shen Mo is finished, open your eyes and look! Your brother is perfectly fine!"

By the end of the first episode, the number of views on Tencent Video had exceeded 5000 million, and this number is still soaring at a visible rate.

The ratings data was released on time the following morning.

Wang Jin, the director of the film purchasing department at Hunan TV, sat at his desk, staring at the numbers on the computer screen with a slight frown.

The premiere of "Nirvana in Fire" on Tomato TV achieved a CSM50 city rating of 1.89%, while the fourth episode of "Little Seven the Wonder Dog" on Hunan TV achieved a rating of 1.73%, a difference of 0.16%.

The gap isn't huge, but it's not small either.

To put it simply, it's just a fluctuation of a single point, which any TV station can easily recover with any kind of promotion.

To put it more broadly, "Super Dog Xiao Qi" is already in its fourth episode, while "Nirvana in Fire" is only in its first episode.

He took a deep breath, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed the number for Mohen Pictures. "Hello, Mohen Pictures."

"I'm Wang Jin, the purchasing manager at Hunan TV. I'm looking for General Manager Li."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a polite but distant voice from the receptionist: "I'm sorry, Mr. Li is not here today."

"And what about President Chen? President Chen Zhixi."

"Mr. Chen is in a meeting and is not available to answer the phone at the moment."

Wang Jin frowned even more: "Then please pass on a message that Hunan TV would like to discuss a second round of collaboration on 'Nirvana in Fire'."

"Okay, I will pass it on."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Jin held the receiver, stunned for two seconds, and had a bad feeling.

Since yesterday, he has made three calls to Mohen, not just to the front desk today, but also to their work cell phone, but the assistants answered each time and told him that they were "not available," "not here," or "in a meeting."

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he certainly knew what this meant; they were ignoring him.

He sneered and slammed the microphone back onto the landline.

Let it sit there, it's just a drama series. What hasn't Hunan TV seen? What hit show hasn't they aired?

The premiere rating of "Nirvana in Fire" was 1.89%, which is so-so. The data will drop in a few days, and we'll see who's begging whom.

He stood up, straightened his suit, picked up the folder, and strode towards the conference room.

It's time for the morning meeting.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was more serious than usual.

Deputy Director Zhou Jiansheng sat in the main seat, holding a printed data report in his hand, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

Exclusive! This is an exclusive interview, depending on my mood, and behind-the-scenes footage of the creation of "The Shura Field of Chinese Entertainment: All the Young Actresses Want to Rise to the Top," available only to those in need.

The heads of each department took their seats in turn. Some looked down at their phones, some flipped through the documents in front of them, and some whispered to each other.

When Wang Jin pushed the door open, he subconsciously glanced at Zhou Jiansheng's expression, but couldn't discern anything.

He sat down in his seat, opened the folder in his hand, and waited for the meeting to begin.

"Let's begin." Zhou Jiansheng placed the data report on the table. "Let's start by talking about yesterday's viewership."

The specialist in charge of data monitoring stood up and cleared his throat:

"Yesterday morning news, our station's ratings..."

"Yesterday during prime time, the ratings for various satellite TV channels were as follows: Tomato TV's premiere of 'Nirvana in Fire' 1.89%, our channel's 'Little Seven the Wonder Dog' 1.73%, Blueberry TV's..."

When Wang Jin heard the number, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

After the specialist finished his report and sat down, Zhou Jiansheng's gaze swept across the conference room, finally landing on Wang Jin. "Director Wang, please speak."

Wang Jin cleared his throat and put on a confident smile.

"Zhou Tai, colleagues, I think the ratings performance of 'Little Seven the Wonder Dog' yesterday was in line with expectations."

"As an urban pet drama, achieving a 1.73% viewership rating during a non-prime time slot proves that our acquisition team made the right choice."

He paused, glanced at the data report on the table, and spoke with even greater certainty.

"As for 'Nirvana in Fire,' its premiere rating of 1.89% was, to be honest, not particularly impressive."

"Considering that Shen Mo has just gone through a round of public opinion storm, the current popularity is driven by the incident. Once this wave of popularity passes, the data will inevitably drop."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

Zhou Jiansheng's face remained expressionless; he simply asked, "So you mean replacing 'Nirvana in Fire' with 'Super Dog Xiao Qi' was the right decision?"

Wang Jin's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered: "Zhou Tai, you know what happened back then."

"Shen Mo was taken away, and the public was in an uproar. Nobody knew if he would be released. As a top-tier TV station, we had to mitigate the risks."

"I just want to postpone the broadcast for now, until things settle down..."

"Who knew that Li Yitong, who was in charge of Mohen at the time, would directly withdraw from the cooperation."

"You blame Li Yitong today," Zhou Jiansheng's voice suddenly turned cold. "Who can you blame tomorrow?"

Wang Jin opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Zhou Jiansheng threw the data report in his hand onto the table, the papers scattering with a crisp "snap".

Everyone in the conference room straightened their backs.

"Director Wang, I have a few questions for you." Zhou Jiansheng's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was extremely serious.

Why didn't you buy "My Love from the Star" back then?

Wang Jin's expression changed: "Um..."

"They approached you about that drama three times, but you thought it was too risky because it involved a new company, a new team, and new actors. And what happened?"

"You chose Yu Zheng's 'Bounty Hunters'." Zhou Jiansheng stared at him. "As a result, it aired on Tomato TV and became a phenomenal hit."

Wang Jin's forehead began to sweat.

"Later, you also looked down on 'The Journey of Flower,' thinking it was just a period fantasy drama and there were too many similar dramas on the market, so it didn't have the potential to be a hit."

Zhou Jiansheng's voice grew colder and colder. "And the result? Their show aired on Blueberry TV and crushed the ratings of its competitors. Your show, 'Legend of Lu Zhen,' got completely crushed."

Wang Jin's hands trembled slightly.

"Now, if you buy 'Nirvana in Fire,' you don't have to watch it; it's just given to Tomato."

Zhou Jiansheng stood up and looked down at him, "Then use a romantic urban drama to compete."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of barely suppressed anger.

"Once or twice is acceptable, but not a third time."

"The first two times, you could say it was a misjudgment, or that the market changed too quickly."

"But this time, you personally launched a drama series."

Wang Jin's face turned deathly pale. "Zhou Tai, I..."

"If the data for 'Nirvana in Fire' remains at this small gap this time, then so be it."

Zhou Jiansheng interrupted him, his voice as cold as ice, "But if the crushing gap of the first two installments still occurs..."

He stared at Wang Jin and said, word by word, "You can go to the logistics department to guard the warehouse. The film purchasing department doesn't need someone without vision and foresight."

The conference room was completely silent. Wang Jin sat there motionless, his face frozen like a plaster cast.

Zhou Jiansheng didn't look at him again, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then turned to look at the others to start the next topic.

After the meeting, Wang Jin didn't know how he got out of the meeting room.

The five words, "logistics department guarding the warehouse," were like five nails driven into his mind.

He worked at Hunan TV for fifteen years, climbing from a junior employee to the position of acquisition director. He endured countless sleepless nights, drank countless bottles of alcohol, and forced countless smiles.

He dared not think about what would happen if he were really sent to guard the warehouse.

His phone suddenly vibrated. He looked down and saw it was a message from the deputy director's secretary:

[Zhou Tai asked me to remind you that you can market "Shen Quan Xiao Qi," but you are not allowed to smear "Nirvana in Fire." Hunan TV needs Mohen as a partner, not an enemy.]

Wang Jin's fingers froze on the screen. He took a deep breath, turned on his computer, and opened Weibo.

On the trending topics list, #NirvanaInFire# is still in the top ten, and if you click in, the comment section of the popular Weibo post has exploded.

[Watched it twice, the details are amazing! Shen Mo's delivery of lines is superb; you can feel that frail yet resilient feeling even through the screen.]

[Li Lin's Princess Nihuang is so beautiful and cool, I'm going to fall for her!]

Did anyone notice Qin Banruo's eyes in the first episode? What was that newcomer's name again? How come all the newcomers at Mohen are so good at fighting?

[Nonsense, Shen Mo personally trained them, how could they be bad?]

Wang Jin slid down the slides one by one, and with each slide, his heart sank a little lower.

He switched pages and opened Douban. The rating for "Nirvana in Fire" hadn't been released yet, but the short review section was already approaching 10,000.

[After watching two episodes, I'm completely blown away.]

Shen Mo's portrayal of Mei Changsu is even better than I imagined.

Li Lin has finally found a role that suits her.

[Any product from Inkmark is guaranteed to be of the highest quality.]

Wang Jin's phone suddenly vibrated and a pop-up window appeared: "Nirvana in Fire has over 8000 million views on its first day!"

The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a "thud." He bent down, picked it up, and tapped the pop-up window with trembling fingers.

Featured on the homepage: "Nirvana in Fire," with over 8000 million views. Clicking on it reveals a barrage of comments flooding the playback page.

[Checking in for the third time!]

[Just watched episode 2, is there a third episode?]

[Penguin Daddy, please update soon!!!]

I can't wait any longer! I can't wait any longer!

Wang Jin stared at the comments for a long time.

He suddenly covered his eyes, remembering the day Shen Mo was taken away a month ago, when his first thought was to replace "Nirvana in Fire".

At that time, he felt that he had made an absolutely correct decision: to avoid risks and protect the platform, which was the responsibility of the film purchasing manager.

But now...

At the same time, at the headquarters of Tomato TV, Chen Min, the director of film purchasing, was scrolling through her phone, unable to suppress the smile on her face.

The premiere of "Nirvana in Fire" had a 1.89% viewership rating, and the afternoon rerun had a 1.21% rating. The number of views on Tencent Video exceeded 8000 million, which was much better than she had expected.

She picked up the phone, dialed Li Yitong's number, and it rang twice before being answered.

"Mr. Li, congratulations!"

Li Yitong's voice came from the other end of the phone, with a hint of laughter: "Sister Chen, congratulations to you too!"

Chen Min smiled: "President Li, when you first approached me, I hesitated for a moment. Looking back now, I'm glad I didn't hesitate for long."

Li Yitong's laughter grew louder: "Sister Chen, will you still dare to take on any more of Mohen's dramas?"

"Of course I dare! Why wouldn't I dare?"

Chen Min raised an eyebrow, "As long as it's a drama by Mohen, you send me one, and I'll take it."

"Alright, I'll remember what you said, Sister Chen." Li Yitong paused.

Chen Min smiled and said, "I remember there's another variety show called 'Go Fighting!' airing on our channel this weekend, and I think it's also a collaboration with your Mohen."

Li Yitong was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Sister Chen, you actually remember?"

Chen Min shook her head and sighed, "You guys are now a strategic partner of our Tomato TV, broadcasting only high-quality content. How can we not pay attention!"

She paused, then said, "But are you trying to turn Tomato TV into a platform of ink stains?"

"I wouldn't dare," Li Yitong said with a hint of slyness. "I just want Sister Chen and the others to earn more viewership ratings."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Min leaned back in her chair, looked out the window, and suddenly burst out laughing.

At 4 p.m., news that the rebroadcast on Tomato TV the following afternoon had a rating of 1.21% reached Zhou Jiansheng's mobile phone.

This number is higher than the number of TV dramas during their first run.

He sat at his desk, looking at the data on the computer screen, and finally a change appeared in his expression.

It's not anger, it's helplessness.

The premiere rating was 1.89%, the rebroadcast the following afternoon was 1.21%, and Tencent Video had 8000 million views on the first day. These three numbers are like three slaps to Wang Jin's face, and also to Hunan TV's face.

He picked up the phone and dialed Li Yitong's number.

"Mr. Li, it's me, Zhou Jiansheng from Hunan TV."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Li Yitong's polite but distant voice came through, "Director Zhou, hello."

Zhou Jiansheng gave a wry smile: "President Li, I won't beat around the bush. The matter of 'Nirvana in Fire' was something Hunan TV did wrong. I've already criticized Wang Jin."

Li Yitong remained silent, and Zhou Jiansheng continued, "But I still want to ask, will you consider Hunan TV for any of Mohen's future dramas?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Li Yitong's voice came through, carrying a faint hint of laughter.

"Director Zhou, what you're saying is unacceptable. How could our small production company, Mohen, dare to refuse a platform like Hunan TV?"

Zhou Jiansheng's heart sank. The words were polite, but the meaning was clear: he dared not refuse, but he also did not want to cooperate.

He sighed, "Mr. Li, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, he leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

Wang Jin, oh Wang Jin, it's up to fate what you have now.

If you win, you'll have saved face for Mango; if you lose, you'll have to apologize and make amends.

At the same time, Wang Jin's hand remained motionless on the mouse as he sat in front of the computer, staring intently at the screen.

The Douban rating is out.

9.2 points!

This score surpasses all domestic dramas this year, and also surpasses all dramas broadcast by Hunan TV this year.

He slowly released the mouse, leaned back in his chair, and Zhou Jiansheng's words suddenly echoed in his mind: "Once or twice is acceptable, but not a third time."

For the first time, he missed "My Love from the Star".

The second time, he missed "The Journey of Flower".

The third time, he personally gave "Nirvana in Fire" to someone else.

He missed all three opportunities.

His phone vibrated again. It was a message from his wife: "Honey, are you done with work over there? Come home early tonight. I bought groceries and will make your favorite braised pork."

He stared at the message for a long time, then typed a reply: "I might have to work overtime tonight. You guys eat first."

After sending the message, he threw his phone on the table.

The sky outside the window slowly darkened, and he sat there, motionless.

If they want to win, why should "Little Seven the Wonder Dog" be allowed to challenge "Nirvana in Fire"?

The male lead is Jin Shijia vs. Shen Mo; the female lead is Guo Biting vs. Li Lin; the production teams are Perfect World Pictures and Inkhen Pictures...

Even in terms of publicity and promotion, Mohen is one of the top marketing teams in the entertainment industry in recent years. Their numerous marketing campaigns have been regarded as textbook examples by the industry, and are being analyzed and studied step by step.

If he couldn't resort to methods that would offend Mohen, he couldn't think of any hope of turning the tide.

So the most likely outcome is that he'll end up guarding the warehouse himself.

Then what right do I have to go back and eat braised pork?