This producer has no bottom line.

On the first day of filming, Luo Hongming ran into trouble.

It's not a problem with acting skills, it's a problem with appearance.

Ren Pingsheng sat behind the monitor, looking at Luo Hongming on the screen, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

When Da Peng played Wang Duoyu, his round face was naturally funny, and even when he was expressionless, he could still make people laugh.

But Luo Hongming is different. His features are too upright. When he is expressionless, he doesn't look like he's lost, but rather like he's cold. Cold and lost are worlds apart.

Loss is heartbreaking, while coldness is alienating.

"Cut," Ren Pingsheng called for the fourth time.

Luo Hongming stood there, sweat dripping down his glasses. He knew something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

Dapeng squatted down beside him, munching on a cucumber. After watching for a while, he suddenly spoke.

"Don't hold it in, open your mouth."

Luo Hongming looked at him.

"Like that, with your mouth slightly open, like you've just woken up and haven't quite come to your senses yet."

Da Peng gestured, "When you close your mouth, your jawline tightens, making you look too energetic. You're playing a good-for-nothing who's been lying down for three years; a good-for-nothing doesn't have energy."

Luo Hongming tried to open his mouth slightly, and as soon as he relaxed his jaw, his entire demeanor collapsed.

Ren Pingsheng stared at the monitor, his eyes lighting up.

"Stay where you are, don't move."

This one has passed.

Dapeng threw the cucumber's tail into the trash can, patted the water off his hands, and said, "See, I did a good deed."

"Brother Peng, you've been acting in comedy shows for two years, so you're really professional at teaching people how to play dumb," Ren Pingsheng said without turning his head.

Are you praising me or scolding me?

"Yes, all of them."

Da Peng scoffed and said nothing more. But he knew in his heart that once this kid named Luo Hongming found that rhythm, he wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

Some people don't need to be taught, they need a little guidance.

Filming accelerated on the third day.

Luo Hongming picked it up very quickly. For the first two days, Ren Pingsheng had to explain the play line by line, but by the third day, he was already able to add things on his own.

There's a scene where Wang Dachui is fishing by the well in the beginner village. He hasn't caught anything in three years, but he still sits there every day on time. Wang Duoyu passes by and asks him what he's doing.

Wang Dachui's line in the script is: "Waiting for the fish."

When Luo Hongming was filming, he added half a sentence himself.

"Waiting for fish, even though there's no water in this well."

Xiao Lin chuckled beside him, and Liu Hao, wearing headphones, even looked up.

Ren Pingsheng did not call a halt.

Luo Hongming's lips twitched slightly, but he quickly withdrew them, maintaining that useless, slightly open-mouthed state.

Da Peng watched from the side, his feelings a bit complicated.

This kid is really talented, and it's the kind of talent that's most annoying—he can quietly perform the funniest things.

It took me a whole day to get into the swing of things, but he started adding scenes after only three days.

"Brother Peng, it's your turn," Ren Pingsheng called out to him.

Da Peng put his mind at ease, stepped into the frame, glanced at Luo Hongming opposite him, and the two stared at each other for half a second.

Luo Hongming's eyes were empty, devoid of anything.

Da Peng took a deep breath and adjusted his gaze to the same level.

Two useless people are facing off in the picture.

Ren Pingsheng looked at the monitor, a barely perceptible smirk playing on his lips.

A chemical reaction has occurred.

Filming has entered its second week, and the progress is two days ahead of schedule.

Luo Hong filmed during the day and went back to the shared apartment at night to edit the footage. Liu Hao was in charge of rough editing, while Luo Hong did fine editing and audio editing. The two of them worked on the timeline frame by frame on QQ.

Song Ming's jokes are also getting better in quality. He has figured out the pattern - Ren Pingsheng doesn't want jokes in the traditional sense, but rather the kind of unexpected truths.

The more real it is, the funnier it is; the funnier it is, the more it touches the heart.

Qiao Shan practically lived on set. He signed a contract for the entire season, and his pay rose to 500 yuan a day, which was considered high income among extras of his age.

He arrives on time every day and leaves on time, squeezing in seven or eight roles in between, from extras to the final boss.

Sister Zhao was in charge of everyone's food, drink, toileting, and venue coordination. Her 42-year-old back had protested several times, but looking at the daily increase in the first quarter's long-tail data in the backend, she silently swallowed the painkillers again.

The viewership for the first season is still rising.

There was no promotion, no paid advertising; it spread purely through word of mouth on Baidu Tieba, QQ groups, and forums.

By the end of July, the total number of views across the entire network had exceeded 30 million.

Mr. Wang, the owner of Changyou, was overjoyed, as the Baidu Index for Tian Long Ba Bu doubled from the beginning to the end of the month.

He included the case of "Unexpected" in his PPT during an internal meeting, titled "A New Paradigm for Low-Cost, High-Return Content Marketing".

Ren Pingsheng had heard the term "new paradigm" from Xiaolin. He smiled but didn't say anything.

What new paradigm? It's just a premature transplant of a formula that's been overused in later generations.

But there was one statistic that didn't make him laugh.

According to data from Sohu Video, the user profile of "Unexpectedly" shows that 71% of users are male and between the ages of 18 and 25.

This group of people later became known as the "losers".

They didn't know their own name yet, but they already saw themselves in Wang Duoyu.

By mid-August, filming for the first six episodes of the second season had been completed.

Ren Pingsheng sent a copy of the finished product to Changyou and Guo Weiwei, along with a brief explanation: the first six episodes of the Tianlong version are finalized, and the last six episodes of the Jianwang 3 version are in production.

Guo Weiwei replied only forty minutes later.

"We received the final product, and the entire operations team watched it. They only had one piece of feedback—it wasn't enough."

"What's not enough?"

"Not enough, can you add a few more episodes? I'll cover the budget."

Ren Pingsheng replied with two words: "No."

Twelve episodes is twelve episodes; hunger is more valuable than satiety.

Filming for the last six episodes was completed in late August, three days ahead of the time promised to Guo Weiwei.

The day filming wrapped up was a Saturday, and the entire crew had a meal of skewers at a food stall next to the Huairou Film and Television Base.

After drinking three bottles of Yanjing beer, Dapeng started talking more.

"Ping Sheng, I have something to tell you."

"explain."

"The talk show 'Debade' will be discontinued next month."

Ren Pingsheng paused the lamb kidney in his hand, which was near his mouth.

"What does the company mean?"

"Yeah, they said they're going to focus resources on high-definition movie and TV channels, and there's not enough viewership for talk shows."

Da Peng said he didn't care, but he gripped the glass too tightly, and some beer spilled out.

"And what about you?"

"My contract expires next March, so I'll probably be sitting on the sidelines for the next six months," Da Peng said, taking a swig of his drink and looking at Ren Pingsheng. "So I want to ask you a question."

"ask."

"What exactly do you want to make 'Unexpected' into?"

Ren Pingsheng put down the divination stick and wiped his hands.

"A brand."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not just a web series, not just a program, it's a brand. Wang Duoyu and Wang Dachui don't just live in Sohu Video, they will appear on all screens."

Dapeng stared at him for a few seconds.

"You mean all screens, including movies?"

Ren Pingsheng didn't answer, but picked up a skewer of grilled eggplant and took a bite.

Da Peng took another swig of wine and stopped asking. But his legs were shaking even more violently under the table.

On the other end, Luo Hongming and Qiao Shan were playing rock-paper-scissors. The loser would drink a glass of baijiu (Chinese liquor). Luo Hongming lost three rounds in a row, his face was already red, and his glasses were askew.

"Big Hammer, you're no good," Qiao Shan chuckled, "just as useless as the character you play."

"Again." Luo Hongming wiped his face, a stubbornness in his eyes that was completely different from usual.

"He's had too much to drink, hasn't he?" Sister Zhao asked worriedly.

"It's alright, let him drink," Ren Pingsheng said.

We ate our wrap party at 11 p.m., and half the lights at the food stall went out.

Ren Pingsheng was standing by the roadside smoking when his phone screen lit up.

New notification from the OA system.

"Notice of personnel changes in the Group: As resolved by the Group's Board of Directors, former COO Mr. Gong Yu will leave the company on September 30, and Ms. Deng Ye will officially take over. The position of CEO of Sohu Video will be vacant."