Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Friday evening, May 6, 2011.

In a private room at the Formosa Hotel, Zheng Nan hosted a dinner party.

"Wow, Lao Zheng, no wonder you're a man who's been on the Shanghai Theatre Academy's official website. You're even turning your dinner party into a private room instead of a casual one outside," Lin Wenruo teased.

"I'm too famous. Sitting outside will attract a crowd. I'm afraid a bunch of pretty girls will surround me and ask for my autograph. You, Lin Wenruo, are just jealous," Zheng Nan immediately retorted.

"Why would I be jealous of you? You were starving and mooching off me the other day!" Lin Wenruo retorted. "Did you have the money to pay the bill for your treat today? Don't end up washing dishes to pay for it."

"Old Zheng washes dishes, and he can break three out of five. The boss can't agree to that," Ren Yi added from the side.

"Don't worry, my May allowance has arrived, my wallet is full!" Zheng Nan patted his pocket forcefully.

It's laughable to hear that Zheng Nan, who has already gained some fame, still lives on a living allowance from her family.

Last month, Zheng Nan spent a lot of money on things like the release of "Hilarious Men," which left him without money for food at the end of the month. He even had Dilraba eat with him several times.

"Didn't your uncle ask for your autograph when he gave you your living expenses?" Lin Wenruo teased.

"No, 'Hilarious Men' is only popular among a specific group of people. I doubt my father's generation has even heard of it." Zheng Nan shook his head.

Zheng Nan's mother, Ding Yanqiu, is a police officer at a local police station. She is usually busy with work and doesn't pay much attention to things in the entertainment industry.

Zheng Nan's father, Zheng Xun, is a middle school teacher who doesn't follow celebrities. Even if his students have watched "Men's Laughter," they don't know that Zheng Nan is Zheng Xun's son.

"You didn't tell them?" Lin Wenruo was a little puzzled. If he had achieved something, he would have told his father and asked for a reward of several hundred thousand yuan.

"I can't say, the money for filming 'Hilarious Men' was a dating allowance given to me by my mom." Zheng Nan looked up at the sky.

"A man with nearly 100,000 Weibo followers, how could he be afraid of not finding a girlfriend? Let me recommend one to you!" Lin Wenruo pointed to Yuan Bingyan, who looked somewhat listless.

Yuan Bingyan is usually very energetic, but today she seemed listless all day and wasn't in the right state of mind during class.

"Hungry? Give me a Snickers bar!" Zheng Nan tossed a chopstick over, which hit Yuan Bingyan right on the head.

Yuan Bingyan looked up and saw that it was Zheng Nan. She immediately stood up and charged like a bull!

"Did you make up this GG line yourself?" Lin Wenruo glanced at Yuan Bingyan, who had regained her energy and was now dominating Zheng Nan.

It seems like nothing's wrong. The fact that you've been listless during the day is probably because your period is coming to visit.

"I didn't make it up, it's just the 'GG' word from Snickers," Zheng Nan replied seriously.

The Snickers logo was first launched in the three northeastern provinces in May 11.

"I'm tired of playing, I want to eat Angus steak!" Yuan Bingyan said loudly.

Angus steak is probably the most expensive dish at Formosa Boulevard; Yuan Bingyan is ripping off big spenders here.

"Order, two servings." With ample living expenses at the beginning of the month, Zheng Nan spoke with confidence: "But what's wrong with you during the day? You wouldn't talk to me, and you seemed confused when I asked you to have dinner with me tonight."

"Dilraba is gone." It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned it, because Yuan Bingyan pouted and looked unhappy as soon as it was brought up.

As best friends, the two were almost inseparable at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Even when we're apart, we keep in touch via QQ or phone.

This time, Dilraba's trip to experience life required her to collect her phone, which meant she was essentially out of contact for half a month.

"They're going there to work, and you'll have to work after you graduate too." Zheng Nan's first words were good, meant to comfort her, but considering that the person opposite her was Yuan Bingyan, Zheng Nan changed the subject: "I'm overthinking it. You probably won't get a lead role after you graduate."

"Just kidding, with my looks, I'm sure I can make it in the entertainment industry!" Yuan Bingyan said confidently.

"Is that so? Second to last." Zheng Nan's words were fatal, successfully ending the match.

"You scoundrel! Prepare to die!" The bull charged again!

Amidst their playful banter, a waiter came in to serve the dishes, and Yuan Bingyan quickly reverted to her ladylike demeanor.

"Holy crap, The Flash!" Duan Xingye exclaimed in amazement.

"It's normal for women. I once saw a girl change her expression three times in three seconds," Lin Wenruo said, indicating that she had seen it all.

That time it was in a bar.

A girl selling drinks brushed past an unremarkable middle-aged man.

The girl pushed the cart towards the middle-aged man with a forced, formulaic smile on her face.

When she heard that the man wanted to buy alcohol, she gave him a genuine smile that was both forced and insincere.

The man only bought the cheapest beer, making a small profit, but not a huge one. He didn't want to show his displeasure directly, so the girl gave him a forced, insincere smile.

Lin Wenruo, who witnessed everything firsthand, was stunned!

What is acting?

That's what you call acting!

The micro-expression transitions were incredibly smooth.

Those three seconds of acting are enough for students at the Shanghai Theatre Academy to study for a lifetime.

"Everyone, start eating! Eat and drink to your heart's content," Zheng Nan said, as all the dishes were served.

"It's almost eight o'clock, Lao Zheng, don't you need to rush back to upload 'Hilarious Men'?" Duan Xingye glanced at the time and reminded him.

"I used to use it, but now that 'Hilarious Men' is gaining popularity, all the platforms have given me permission. I upload it in the afternoon and release it at 8 pm."

When Zheng Nan first started uploading manually, the platforms were in a specific order, with the earliest and latest platforms differing by more than half an hour.

Later, "Hilarious Men" became popular, and more people watched the show, so everyone went to the platform where it was first updated.

This prompted other platforms to take action, enabling Zheng Nan to schedule postings.

Later, all platforms added the function of scheduled publishing.

"This feature is great and convenient," Duan Xingye praised.

"That's not good either. I uploaded it in advance. These platforms won't publish it on time. They'll all release it a few minutes early."

The platform isn't honest; they all know that fans want to see the latest episode of "Hilarious Men" as soon as possible. If you set the time to 8 PM, the platform will secretly release it a few minutes earlier.

If you ask, the platform will give you an explanation, like "different time zones," or "the intern programmer was too fast," and they'll always have an excuse.

Therefore, even with the scheduled release function, Zheng Nan would not upload too far in advance.

In fact, it's not just online dramas that have this problem of being released on multiple platforms without prior notice; even TV dramas broadcast on satellite channels are no exception.

When classic TV series like "My Chief and My Regiment" and "New Three Kingdoms" are broadcast simultaneously on multiple satellite TV channels, it is common to have practices such as starting the broadcast 1-5 minutes earlier, cutting off the beginning and end, and broadcasting without interruption.

Platforms "leaking" content is a common competitive tactic in the industry.

"There's so much to say here!" Everyone said they had learned something.

"So if you have the means, it's best to sign an exclusive deal, then you won't have to deal with all this trouble!" Zheng Nan opened her phone and complained bitterly: "Look, it's only 7:50, and several platforms have already updated the latest episode of 'Hilarious Men'."