Truthful words are often uncomfortable.
Just moments ago, Producer Xu managed to maintain a polite smile, but it vanished instantly.
“Young man, do you often speak this way just to grab people’s attention?”
Producer Xu was still quite refined, refraining from accusing Xie Qian of grandstanding.
Faced with Producer Xu’s reproach, Xie Qian remained unfazed, “I only spoke the truth, which you might not want to hear, but that’s how it is. I don’t know how *Love Cruise* was made, but I do know it will premiere on Hunan Satellite TV, a platform with a vast audience base. The male lead, Yu Tianlin, has been in the spotlight recently, so tonight, many viewers will choose to watch *Love Cruise*. Of course, I’m only saying it will win the premiere ratings, not that it will consistently outperform *Galaxy and You*. As Producer Xu said, high-quality dramas are what your station craves, what Jiaxin aims for, and what audiences will ultimately choose. *Galaxy and You* may lose the premiere ratings, but as more episodes air, its ratings will climb higher, eventually surpassing *Love Cruise* and even completely overshadowing it. The pursuit of quality dramas may come with bumps along the way, but that’s just part of the process, not a reason to abandon our goal of creating excellent shows. Don’t you agree?”
Peng Guoqing looked surprised.
Honestly, knowing Xie Qian for so many years, he rarely saw Xie Qian speak at such length.
Back in kindergarten, Xie Qian was a quiet kid, often keeping a straight face and saying little. He was cute, no doubt, but some wondered if Xie Jinghu had fathered a dim-witted son.
Later, in primary school, Xie Qian started taking exams and never ranked below first, dispelling the rumours of being a fool.
Then, Beijing’s gossip circles updated their knowledge, speculating that Xie Qian might have high-functioning autism. Of course, Xie Qian wasn’t autistic; he just found most people and matters not worth his words.
In that sense, Xie Qian must think highly of Producer Xu to spend so many words on him!
Peng Guoqing thought this, and Producer Xu, after a brief pause, pointed at Gong Sheng and laughed, “Brother Gong, you’re not being fair, letting a young man say the things you didn’t want to say!”
Xie Qian’s speech was a classic case of building up then tearing down. It seemed to discuss the ratings of *Love Cruise* and *Galaxy and You*, but it was really about the collaboration between Jiaxin and Eastern TV.
Pursuing quality, enduring setbacks—these words were vivid and inspiring. Producer Xu’s anger melted like snow, and the earlier stalemate with Gong Sheng was broken.
Gong Sheng thought to himself that he could hardly dictate what his boss said.
But if Xie Qian wasn’t sharp, why would he be Gong Sheng’s boss?
Many wanted to hire Gong Sheng, but he saw a bright future with Xie Qian.
Seizing the opportunity Xie Qian created, Gong Sheng pressed on, engaging Producer Xu in lively conversation.
Peng Guoqing quietly gave Xie Qian a thumbs-up, “That was brilliantly said, deliberately downplaying *Galaxy and You* to break the deadlock!”
Peng Guoqing swore he’d keep Xie Qian’s words confidential and not tell Wen Ying.
Xie Qian looked at the overly confident Peng Guoqing, feeling worried for the Peng family.
Mr. Peng, isn’t it time to start looking for a competent professional manager?
Relying on Peng Guoqing to take over the company seemed far too unrealistic.
For a moment, Xie Qian couldn’t decide who was more foolish, Peng Guoqing or Wang Shuang, or who was more pitiable, Mr. Peng or Wang Jun!
“You think Wen Ying doesn’t know?”
On the first day *Galaxy and You* airs, its ratings will surely be outdone by *Love Cruise*. That’s the advantage of Hunan Satellite TV’s platform and Yu Tianlin sacrificing commercial value for a lead!
So Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui are holding back a trump card, keeping it under wraps.
High ratings on the premiere day?
Let them have it!
Whether a drama is good or not becomes clear after a few episodes.
The buzz from Yu Tianlin’s public relationship announcement will only last three or four days into *Love Cruise*’s run. Once audiences realize the show isn’t good, they’ll criticize it harshly.
Abandoning *Love Cruise*, they’ll naturally turn to *Galaxy and You*.
Lose first, win later, overtake, and dominate—that’s the consensus of Wen Ying, Yuan Fenghui, and Xie Qian.
Peng Guoqing was dumbfounded, “It’s just two dramas airing. Is it that complicated?”
His head was spinning!
This wasn’t just a battle of ratings; ratings were just the surface. It involved far greater stakes: competition between TV stations, influence in the mainland drama market, whether Wen Ying could solidify her reputation as a screenwriter, and even a “revenge” against Yu Tianlin. But explaining all this to a academic slacker like Peng Guoqing was too much to process at once.
Xie Qian checked his watch again.
Eight o’clock sharp.
*Love Cruise* and *Galaxy and You* premiered simultaneously!
He took out his phone to reply to Wen Ying’s message, “That’s great. Looks like Teacher Zhang can keep criticizing for a few more days. Tell Teacher Zhang to hold on. The harsher the criticism now, the greater the ‘reward’ later!”
It wasn’t just Gong Sheng who recognized Zhang Guangzhen’s value.
Those people haven’t caught on yet, but once *Love Cruise*’s ratings falter, domestic film companies and investors will see Zhang Guangzhen’s professionalism.
Everyone will be curious about the original plot of *Love Cruise*.
With the success of *The Princess’s New Clothes* as a reference, Zhang Guangzhen will surely land many new projects!
For some reason, Wen Ying didn’t reply to Xie Qian’s message promptly.
Xie Qian checked his phone several times before finally putting it in his pocket.
Gong Sheng and Producer Xu’s negotiations found a new breakthrough, and the room was filled with laughter. Despite Xie Qian’s blunt truth, he still achieved a harmonious outcome.
By all accounts, Xie Qian should be pleased.
But for the rest of the time, he was preoccupied, waiting for a certain someone’s reply, appearing somewhat distracted.
Speaking of which, wasn’t the school taking too long to mark the final exam papers? It’s been days since the exams, and the final exam rankings still aren’t out?!
That little hamster, after finishing her exams, was practically living at Tianjiao, busy plotting how to compete with *Love Cruise*, probably forgetting her goal of ranking in the top 100 of her grade.
…
One hour earlier.
Rongcheng, Wen family.
At 7:58 p.m., Wen Dongrong plopped onto the sofa, casually switching the TV to Eastern TV, “Your drama’s airing tonight, right?”
Wen Dongrong convinced himself mentally.
He had no interest in the drama written by his black-hearted daughter. He was only concerned about the 1,000 yuan bet with Old Li!
Thinking of winning 1,000 yuan from Old Li, Wen Dongrong felt his daughter’s drama was worth a watch.
Old Li had a son who needed family support to buy a house and car, so his financial strain was no small matter. Losing 1,000 yuan would hurt him too.
Old Li’s pain was Wen Dongrong’s joy!
Wen Ying didn’t know about her father’s bet with Old Li but found Old Wen’s behavior odd these past few days.
So concerned about her and *Galaxy and You*’s ratings—did he want to increase her filial contributions again?
Wen Ying was wary, “It’s about to air. You want to watch?”
Wen Dongrong countered, “I’m an audience member too. Why can’t I watch?”
“You can, of course, it’s just—”
It felt a bit strange.
*Galaxy and You* was somewhat different from *The Princess’s New Clothes*. The latter had a simple setting and an uplifting tone. Wen Ying tried to make *The Princess’s New Clothes* relatable, but its premise—a wealthy grandfather seeking his granddaughter, a Cinderella turning into a princess overnight—was inevitably detached from reality.
*Galaxy and You* had an idol drama title but was deeper than *The Princess’s New Clothes*, touching on the realities of the entertainment industry. The plot wasn’t all about truth, goodness, and beauty.
Wen Ying didn’t feel anything wrong while writing the script, but watching the finished product with Old Wen… well, it just felt off.
As the father and daughter bickered, the opening theme of *Galaxy and You* began.
Chen Ru, unnoticed until now, emerged from her room, arms crossed, listening for a bit before giving a fair comment, “This song’s quite nice. Who sings it?”
“Zhang Yangning, a Tianjiao-signed artist, debuted in the same talent show as Li Mengjiao. Li Mengjiao was runner-up, she was third. This is Zhang Yangning’s original song.”
Wen Ying thought Chen Ru didn’t listen to music.
Since Wen Ying could remember, Chen Ru was strict and dull.
No star-chasing, no buying cassette tapes, no posting celebrity posters in the house.
Chen Ru wasn’t hypocritical—she genuinely wasn’t interested. The bank gave employees movie tickets annually, but Chen Ru’s tickets would sit at home until they expired. Sometimes Chen Li, feeling it was a waste, would take them and sneak Wen Ying to the cinema.
Under Wen Ying’s surprised gaze, Chen Ru not only listened to Zhang Yangning’s theme song but also sat on the sofa, ready to watch the first episode of *Galaxy and You* with Wen Ying and her father.
Wen Dongrong sneaked a glance, and Chen Ru glared, “What are you looking at? You can skip studying, but I can’t watch TV to relax?”
“Of course, of course, watch, please sit, please sit.”
Wen Dongrong cheerfully shifted to give Chen Ru the most comfortable spot on the sofa.
The family of three sat on the sofa, watching *Galaxy and You*.
During the show, Wen Ying felt her phone vibrate and saw Xie Qian’s message. She was about to reply when Chen Ru’s gaze drifted over, making Wen Ying inexplicably guilty, so she put the phone down.
The first episode ended.
The second episode ended.
Chen Ru didn’t say anything, but Wen Dongrong found the show intriguing.
A story about the entertainment industry—wasn’t it just another kind of workplace?
“What’s that *Love Cruise* about?”
Wen Ying hadn’t watched *Love Cruise*, but given how harshly Zhang Guangzhen criticized it, it must be pretty bad.
Wen Ying told the truth, and Wen Dongrong felt relieved, already planning how to spend the 1,000 yuan from Old Li. This was income unknown to his wife Chen Ru or his black-hearted daughter, entirely his to spend freely, with no one to check his accounts!
After the show, Wen Ying returned to her room, opened her computer, and browsed online reviews of the two dramas.
*Galaxy and You* received unanimous praise, with discussions about the plot and how handsome Yun Chen was. Many comments also praised the theme and ending songs.
*Love Cruise* had Yu Tianlin’s fans controlling the narrative, with generally positive reviews. The few honest netizens were quickly attacked and silenced by Yu Tianlin’s fans, just like Zhang Guangzhen.
On July 4, *Love Cruise* aired its third episode on Hunan Satellite TV, while *Galaxy and You* continued with two episodes on Eastern TV.
On the morning of July 5, the premiere ratings for both dramas were finally tallied. Sensationalist media compared the two, from writers to casts, pre-broadcast buzz to current ratings, hastily concluding that *Galaxy and You* lost to *Love Cruise*.
Wen Dongrong didn’t care about those analyses; he was just stunned.
—*Galaxy and You*’s premiere ratings actually lost?!
