Accidental Mark

Chapter 69

On July 10th, the poster ‘Warm and healing school drama Folding Paper will be aired exclusively every night at 8 p.m. from July 10th onward’ appeared on the best traffic position on the home page of Linghu TV.

This poster was done by the publicity department in accordance with Pei Shaoze’s requirements and it was finalized after being shown to President Pei.

In the photo, the young man stood in the snow with his school bag on his back and reached out his right hand to grab the snowflake falling from the sky. The vast white snow-covered all the buildings around him and it looked just like a fairy tale world of ice and snow. The young man on the poster had a bright smile and the snow on his palm hadn’t melted. The scene captured by the camera was used by the members of the publicity department and later produced into a huge poster.

Cheng Xia’s facial features were exquisite and his slender fingers looked especially good. This scene captured his hands and face in a close-up manner that impressed passersby at first glance. The heavy snow around him was falling and in the cold winter, the bright smile of the young man as he reached for the snow seemed to make the entire picture instantly warm.

Pei Shaoze was very satisfied with the poster and praised the staff of the publicity department. “Very good. Choose the beautiful scenes in the drama and make more posters. There should be single posters of Cheng Xia and Shen Kai and the two of them appearing at the same time. After that, show them to me.”

The sisters of the publicity department immediately started to work overtime. One poster after another was sent to Pei Shaoze’s inbox. He carefully screened out several posters and handed them over to Mr Liu who was in charge of this drama on Linghu TV. [Mr Liu, please change the poster on the front page every day according to my order.]

Mr Liu wondered, [Change it every day?]

[Yes, the same photo will make the audience aesthetically fatigued. Change it every day and the probability of the passersby being curious will increase.]

Mr Liu sent a row of thumbs up. [You’re really attentive. I hope the drama has a lot of strength as you said!]

Linghu TV’s official website sent Cheng Xia’s snowflake photo and the Folding Paper official crew also posted it on Weibo.

Under Cheng Xia’s Weibo, countless fans were screaming excitedly. [My little brother is so handsome!]

[Against the backdrop of the snow, his skin is really good without any flaws.]

[This is the best hand I’ve ever seen. The hand control is satisfied.]

After the poster was forwarded by the author Lemongrass the comments from the fans of the original novel gradually improved. [I think he is quite in line with the image of Qin Nian?]

[This veteran book fan says I can accept such a Qin Nian!]

[The face value is excellent and the hands look really good!]

For a while, the #Cheng Xia’s hand# topic was created.

Pei Shaoze’s publicity goal was achieved. This young man’s hands were really beautiful. Sometimes he couldn’t help wanting to kiss every one of Cheng Xia’s fingers. However, for Pei Shaoze who had always been rational and calm, this type of intimate action was a bit out of the ordinary.

Shen Kai’s fans weren’t happy. Folding Paper was about to be aired and there was only the solo poster of Cheng Xia. His fans expressed doubts under the Weibo post and some passerbys deliberately posed as fans to stir things up, saying that the crew just wanted to promote Cheng Xia and deliberately let Cheng Xia use Shen Kai as a stepping stone.

These questions from the water army were soon slapped in the face by another poster released by the crew.

The official Weibo put out the solo poster of Shen Kai. The Lu Fengyang he played had chestnut-colored hair and a handsome smile. He was a bad boy at first sight. However, his excellent appearance made such a bad boy attractive.

The book fans started to scream like crazy. [This is Lu Fengyang and Qin Nian who came out of the book.]

[Brother Lu is really a good match for Nian Nian!]

[This is Lu Fengyang who hasn’t recovered from his chuuni disease. Hahaha.]

After all, this drama had double protagonists and Pei Shaoze couldn’t be too shameless. Only promoting Cheng Xia would make the audience disgusted. On the first day, the poster on Linghu TV was Cheng Xia’s solo poster while the official Weibo released Shen Kai’s solo poster. The next day, it would be reversed. Every day, they would change posters to try and make sure that the two people were the same.

Pei Shaoze found a big V in advance to forward another round of posters. On Linghu TV, the follows for Folding Paper doubled from 100,000 to 200,000. It might be far from recovering the cost but the publicity effect was immediate.

At the same time, Pei Shaoyan was promoting it in the drama group. [The new drama of my Brother Xie is going to air tonight on Linghu TV. Remember to watch it!]

[Sister, do you want to eat snacks? Help forward it to your Moments!]

[Brother, would you like melon seeds? Help send it to your Moments, thank you!]

Pei Shaoyan added all of the crew members as WeChat friends and helped them send it to their moments for publicity. Cheng Xia was actively touched by his younger brother’s enthusiasm and sent a message to Pei Shaoyan. [Xiao Yan, it’s hard on you. You don’t have to work so hard to help me…]

Pei Shaoyan smiled. [I’m not as capable as my brother so I can only forward it to my friends. One more audience member is one more click. A bit makes a lot of difference!]

Cheng Xia’s heart warmed. He thought this younger brother was really sensible and sent a big red envelope worth 888 yuan. [If the effect of this drama is good then I will give you a bigger one.]

Pei Shaoyan’s eyes lit up. [Thank you, Brother Xia!] His stingy brother didn’t give him any money at all while Cheng Xia gave a red envelope worth 888 yuan. This was a sharp contrast. It was clear with one glance who he would be following!

At 8 o’clock, many people held their mobile phones, iPads or opened the Linghu TV app on the TV to watch Folding Paper. Cheng Xia’s parents had a table full of seeds and their hands were shaking with excitement.

Pei Shaoze sat alone in front of the laptop, followed the recommendation poster on the homepage, and clicked into the room to play it. The current number of follows was 250,000 and the activity level in the room wasn’t bad. Many book fans came to leave messages to watch the drama.

The first and second episodes were released at 8 o’clock.

Pei Shaoze had watched this drama many times as he modified it for review and he had memorized the plot. Even so, today he was sitting in front of the computer and watching the drama. This was the first time he had followed a drama in his life. His Cheng Xia’s first drama was of great significance. He was willing to be an audience member and contribute a view to Cheng Xia.

Cheng Xia was excited and worried. He had seen the first episode in President Pei’s room but now he was watching it with countless netizens. It felt very different because there was a ‘barrage’ and he could see the netizens’ real-time evaluation.

The barrage area gradually filled with a lot of words, most of which were from book fans. Some of the viewers were those who hadn’t read the original and only came to watch a school drama.

As the camera moved, the heavy snow made the world white. Cheng Xia appeared on the screen with his bag on his back. The snow was too thick so he walked slowly toward the school gates. Due to his thin clothes, he was a bit cold. He rubbed his hands at the school gate, his hands were red from the cold. His shoes were soaked with snow and his school uniform was a bit shabby, but there was a bright smile on his face. He might be from a poor family but he was trying hard to make progress. The sunny and optimistic Qin Nian had really come out of the novel!

The barrage area suddenly exploded and many people said, [Qin Nian is so handsome!]

[Is this newcomer called Cheng Xia? He looks good when smiling!]

[Our Qin Nian wu wu wu. The paper man has become real. He is in line with my imagination!]

Others were discussing the scenery. [Where is this snow scene short? this southerner says it’s really beautiful.]

[I want to see the snow. Does anyone want to organize a group to go see the snow?!]

The first episode introduced some key characters and Qin Nian’s life experience. It introduced Qin Nian’s personality and there were no twists and turns in the plot. Everyone in the barrage area was filling the screen and the people who formed a group to watch the snow became a long line. Cheng Xia was amused by the netizens and used his side account to send a barrage. [Form a group to watch the snow +1!]

At the end of the first episode, Lu Fengyang appeared. He suddenly transferred to the high school after school had already started for a period of time. There were many legends about the transferred student. They just knew that his family background was mysterious.

Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang met for the first time. The moment they looked at each other, the first episode was over. The audience couldn’t get enough and continued to the second episode.

In the second episode, Lu Fengyang and Qin Nian didn’t have many intersections. The school’s monthly examination began. Qin Nian looked serious in the exam room as he quickly solved the problems. Occasionally, he tapped his pen against his forehead to think about it before writing down the answers. In order to shoot this scene, Cheng Xia practiced his handwriting and the writing on the paper was correct. He wrote all the mathematical formulas himself. How many times did he write it due to NGs?

The camera shot the mathematical formulas close-up as he wrote it and this scene was well-received. [They aren’t doodles. He really is solving the problem!]

[A senior student here. The questions on this paper are a bit difficult but the steps he took to solve the questions are completely correct.]

[Am I the only one to pause here?]

[Thanks to this best student, I won’t fail in every subject next year!]

[His handwriting is correct and looks good!]

The details did make the audience more immersed.

The details of Folding Paper were done to the extreme. Eating was really eating, writing questions in the examination hall was really writing questions and falling was really falling. This sense of authenticity immediately reminded the audience of the high school era. This was even more significant from the second episode.

Cheng Xia’s own academic performance wasn’t bad. In order to play Qin Nian well, he did a lot of high school papers on the set. It wasn’t difficult to answer the questions when filming. In sharp contrast to the serious Qin Nian when writing the mathematics paper—

Lu Fengyang was sleeping in the exam. The invigilator woke him up with a frown and he started to play with his pen. Sometimes he scratched his head to think about it, sometimes he was in a daze at a question, and sometimes he wrote ABCD on the four sides of his eraser and threw the eraser to decide the answer to the multiple-choice question.

This scene was done very skillfully. Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang appeared alternately and the tension in the examination room was destroyed by Lu Fengyang. The contrast between the top student and a learning scumbag was really sharp and countless people in the barrage worshipped it. At the same time, some people couldn’t help saying, [Lu Fengyang is me in the examination room!]

[Throwing the eraser will never give me the wrong answer haha!]

[I remember that he got 5 points in this mathematics exam while Qin Nian got 150 points!]

The barrage area was very happy.

Shortly after the monthly examination was over, the results came out. Qin Nian got first in the entire year while Lu Fengyang was last. On this day, the English teacher had Lu Fengyang stay behind to recite words while Qin Nian was on duty.

It was after dark when Lu Fengyang walked out of the school gate and was surrounded by a few gangsters in the alley. The other party wanted to settle old accounts with him and five people gradually surrounded Lu Fengyang. Lu Fengyang narrowed his eyes and slammed his bag backward. A sharp sweep of his leg brought down a gangster to the side. At the same time, his right hand shot out like the wind and he punched the man in front of him.

This scene was very wonderful! Punches hit flesh and it didn’t lose to martial arts movies! Just as the battle was falling to a disadvantage and Lu Fengyang was gradually surrounded by people, a slender figure appeared in the light and shadows at the end of the alley. Lu Fengyang recognized this person as his classmate and sneered coldly, “Don’t fucking meddle in my business!”

Qin Nian nodded and turned to leave.

The viewers who hadn’t read the original novel had question marks. [???]

[Just leaving?!!]

[Don’t you care about your alpha?]

A moment later, Qin Nian unexpectedly appeared at the end of the alley again. He had taken off his school uniform and had a stick in his hand. Before the gangsters could react, his stick hit the opponent’s calf and knocked the person to the ground! Immediately after, he grabbed the weapon from the man in glasses and threw it at Lu Fengyang. “Next.”

The audience, [Fuck, the top student’s fighting ability is so fierce!]

[Ahh, this is a very handsome move!]

[Cheng Xia is too handsome. I praise him. I want to be a Cheng Xia fan. Don’t stop me!]

[An omega saving an A? It really doesn’t follow the usual rules!]

An intense battle in the alley started. Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang teamed up 2V5. Just as they got the upper hand, a supporting actor suddenly took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed at Lu Fengyang.

The second episode came to an abrupt end here.

The audience, [Damn, can’t you air another episode?]

[Why is it stuck here? Crazy. A bad review for the screenwriter!]

[Why is it stuck here?!!]

It was tense only for the episode to end. This unfulfilled feeling made them feel like their hearts were being scratched by a cat’s paw. Many viewers pressed the ‘follow’ and ‘reminder’ buttons one after another. In the backend, the attention on Folding Paper started to rise.

At the same time, the barrage area of Flowers in a Mirror and the Moon Reflected in the Lake next door at Little Bear TV. Fans of the alpha brother Zhao Xinghe and omega goddess Lin Ruoxi were all frantically filling the barrage with praise. The first two episodes alone received millions of barrage messages.

At midnight, the platform dedicated to data in the circle published the ‘Today’s TV Series Viewing Ranking.’

The modern workplace drama Investment Elite occupied first place. Tonight was the finale and tomorrow would still be a big IP workplace struggle starring first-tier artists. Little Bear TV just aired the xianxia drama Flowers in a Mirror and the Moon Reflected in the Lake and it rushed to second place with 200 million views.

The big IP interstellar science fiction drama Gene Project ranked third with 80 million views.

……

The first few were all big IP dramas starring celebrities with a lot of fans in the circle. Pei Shaoze scrolled down for a long time before finding the pitiful Folding Paper in the 11th spot.

Mr Liu sent a message with a crying face. [[Screenshot] President Pei, do you see the traffic statistics today? Out of the dramas that our Linghu pushed during the summer vacation, Folding Paper had the worst performance. The number of views didn’t even break one million.]

The premiere couldn’t even break one million. This absolutely wasn’t good.

Pei Shaoze was very calm. [The first few obviously had their data increased and there is a lot of fake data. I didn’t spend money on this so our data of 300,000 views is real.]

He had been in the circle for many years and could instantly see if the data was real or false. The competition was fierce in summer and it was very normal for the top dramas to increase the data. It didn’t matter. Folding Paper was a dark horse that would develop secretly and come out to control the field in the later stages. There was no need to rush to join the fighting.

At the very least, the two episodes aired today were highly rated. Cheng Xia’s performance in the drama was very good and Shen Kai also didn’t drop the ball. Pei Shaoze said, [Mr Liu, when the third and fourth episodes are finished tomorrow, give me the retention rate.]

At 8 o’clock the next day, countless viewers opened the third episode of Folding Paper one after another.

Qin Nian was actually hurt! After Cheng Xia was stabbed, this scene was reshot and finally, the scene of Cheng Xia’s arm being scratched was filmed according to the script.

The incident might’ve been over for a long time but Pei Shaoze still felt his heart tingling when he remembered the thrilling scene. He quickly skipped the third episode when Cheng Xia was injured and taken home by Lu Fengyang to be looked after and clicked on the fourth episode.

At midnight, Mr Liu sent a message on time. [President Pei, the retention rate of the Folding Paper audience has reached 80%. This is amazing!]

Pei Shaoze’s lips raised in a smile.

The retention rate was the key to evaluating the ‘stickiness’ of a drama.

Many dramas might be famous but the audience clicked into the first episode, glanced at it, and found it unsightly. Thus, they directly abandoned the drama. Yesterday, the first two episodes of Folding Paper were aired. Viewers who found it unsightly naturally wouldn’t wait for today to click onto the third episode. The backend data showed that as many as 80% of the viewers watched the third episode.

There were some variables that weren’t included in the retention rate so the real audience retention rate was likely to be close to 90%. 100 people entered and 90 people wanted to keep watching… what did this mean?

Mr Liu was so excited that his fingers were shaking as he typed. [Assuming that our drama is popular in the future if the audience who clicks on it’s 100 million then an 80% retention rate means 80 million people will watch it! They will pay to see it! Even if it’s calculated by half, that should be at least 40 million people, right?]

[Yes.] Pei Shaoze was very calm compared with Mr Liu’s excitement. [From my point of view, there is no need to worry. The good show has yet to come.]

Such a high retention rate exceeded even Pei Shaoze’s expectations. According to Pei Shaoze’s speculation, this drama didn’t only have a lot of momentum behind it but it was likely to soar after it finished, becoming the strongest dark horse of the summer holidays!

Proofreader: Cat