Chapter 11: What Are You Pinching?
“How is this possible?”
Gu Sinian didn’t want to believe it. However, on the trending charts, My Baby Prince, which was still ranked seventh or eighth yesterday, had climbed to fifth place. Among the prime-time dramas with significant production budgets, My Baby Prince stood out conspicuously, from its title to the platform on which it aired.
It was important to note that Chenxi Film was merely a second-tier platform spun off from Deyi Film. Even for dramas heavily promoted by Chenxi, breaking the 7,000 popularity score threshold was far from guaranteed.
With a quick glance, Gu Sinian noticed that the rankings of My Baby Prince and The Watchers were getting increasingly close.
“Why?”
Frowning, Gu Sinian searched for feedback on The Watchers.
On Weibo, film and television forums, and through reviews from critics, The Watchers had consistently received high praise. Additionally, both Grape Film and Lin Ge Entertainment were making every effort to promote it, and the drama still appeared frequently on trending topics.
Before starring in The Watchers, Gu Sinian had been confident about the show’s potential.
The director and screenwriter were both top-tier in the industry, and the reputations of Yue Hui and Ren Ningyi were beyond reproach. In Gu Sinian’s eyes, this drama was destined to be a hit, with no chance of failure.
And yet, the current popularity score of 9,800+, while decent, fell short of his expectations.
Based on past experience, an average popularity score exceeding 10,000 was characteristic of a true breakout hit.
The drop below 10,000 left Gu Sinian somewhat disappointed, but what puzzled him even more was that My Baby Prince had managed to surpass the 7,000 mark.
“Serious dramas always lose out to these unconventional ones,” his manager comforted him. “The Watchers relies on word-of-mouth and will perform well over time. My Baby Prince is just riding on hype right now, attracting viewers out of curiosity.”
“That makes sense.” Gu Sinian pondered for a moment and accepted the explanation.
He couldn’t help but feel a tinge of curiosity about My Baby Prince. After searching, he found that, just as his manager had said, the nickname “Horse-racing Prince” and a few GIFs of Lu Xu had indeed drawn in some viewers. However, hardly anyone seemed to care about My Baby Prince’s plot. All he saw were people raving about how handsome Lu Xu was.
Superficial.
The Watchers, on the other hand, had audiences primarily focused on discussing the storyline.
“Just be patient,” his manager advised. “Some posts online are criticizing your acting skills. I’m pretty sure they’re planted by competitors. I’ll have those posts taken down.”
Gu Sinian nodded lightly.
His decision to star in The Watchers wasn’t just about successfully transitioning from an idol to an actor. He also aimed to win an award for his role in the series.
Since The Watchers aired, Lin Ge Entertainment had been actively building momentum for it.
Gu Sinian had no intention of letting a few critical voices jeopardize the award that was practically within reach.
He remained optimistic. To him, The Watchers dropping below a popularity score of 10,000 was merely temporary. After all, The Watchers had a stronger narrative. It might be difficult for viewers to fully immerse themselves in the plot at the beginning, but as long as they stuck with it, they would naturally come to appreciate the drama’s quality.
However, on the third day of The Watchers’ broadcast, its popularity score had unexpectedly dropped to just 9,200+.
In contrast, My Baby Prince’s popularity continued to climb, reaching apopularity score of 7,600+ that same day.
While The Watchers still held the top spot on the trending charts, My Baby Prince had already climbed to third place!
Gu Sinian simply couldn’t understand it.
Had the audience’s taste fallen to such a low? How could they ignore a high-quality production like The Watchers and instead chase after a lousy drama like My Baby Prince?
…
On the fourth day of My Baby Prince’s broadcast, Tan Qi realized that she wasn’t alone in her fandom anymore.
The barrage of comments made it obvious—at midnight, as soon as she clicked on the latest episode of My Baby Prince, her screen was flooded with “I’m here!” messages. Meanwhile, the popularity scoredisplayed above the video steadily climbed.
Despite its low-budget production and occasionally cringe-worthy moments, My Baby Prince had managed to establish a smooth narrative flow, and the melodramatic twists were starting to unfold—like Pan Lingfeng being suspected of being Zhong Baobei’s long-lost brother.
[So, it’s a lovers-to-siblings trope, huh? You really went there? Thought I wouldn’t catch on, didn’t you?]
[For some reason, I have a feeling that Yu Wei is actually Zhong Baobei’s brother. Isn’t he the same age as Pan Lingfeng?]
[They’re all the same age. I can’t handle how ridiculous this setup is. And yet, somehow, I’ve watched My Baby Prince from start to finish and am now waiting for each new episode every day.]
[Same here… If I don’t watch it, I can’t sleep, but when I do watch it, I sleep even worse.]
[Yu Wei makes me squirm on my bed like a worm!! He’s so handsome!!]
Tan Qi quietly liked every comment praising Yu Wei.
Although Lu Xu was being harshly criticized on Weibo, Tan Qi genuinely felt he had captured Yu Wei’s character—restrained, deeply emotional, and awkwardly tender—perfectly.
Unlike Pan Lingfeng, who was outward and straightforward, Yu Wei hid everything inside.
Over the past few years, Tan Qi had watched other dramas with characters similar to Yu Wei, but whether due to a lack of understanding of the character or insufficient acting skills, those portrayals often only conveyed suppression. In other words, they were so good at hiding their emotions that the audience couldn’t sense their feelings for the female lead.
As a result, their emotional outbursts later in the story felt abrupt and unconvincing.
But Yu Wei was different.
Outwardly, he appeared fragile, and with Lu Xu’s melancholic face, even his silence naturally carried an air of sadness.
The atmosphere was perfectly set, and Yu Wei used his eyes to convey his emotions further.
He would stand in a corner by the student council window, silently watching Zhong Baobei smile at Pan Lingfeng. His knuckles turned white as his fingers tightened. His eyes appeared devoid of emotion, yet they carried an unmistakable hint of tears welling up within.
He wanted to step forward bravely, but the weight of his family’s expectations held him back, stopping him from taking even a single step forward.
For an idol drama to become a hit, it was simple: a character capable of moving the audience was all it needed. If the emotions were authentic, even a weak plot could be forgiven.
Tan Qi understood all too well that in this story, Zhong Baobei was destined to end up with Pan Lingfeng.
But she couldn’t forget the way Yu Wei looked at Zhong Baobei.
Even though My Baby Prince was mediocre in terms of production, she was certain of one thing—Lu Xu must have meticulously studied Yu Wei’s character. His performance didn’t feel like an attempt to gain something through Yu Wei but rather an effort to dissect Yu Wei’s emotions and lay them bare for the audience.
She couldn’t take her eyes off Yu Wei.
From the first episode of My Baby Prince, Tan Qi had been following it faithfully. She had practically witnessed its popularity grow from 5,000+ to 7,000+. And now, when she glanced at the screen, she saw that the latest popularity score for My Baby Prince had exceeded 8,000.
[8,000! Wow!]
[Yu Wei deserves it! Anyone who’s watched My Baby Prince should love Yu Wei!]
[I was originally watching The Watchers and My Baby Prince at the same time, but now The Watchers’ plot has become completely illogical. Gu Sinian’s screen time keeps increasing, and he’s practically matching Yue Hui now.]
[+1, I’ve dropped it already.]
[And another thing that annoys me—Gu Sinian’s acting is terrible, but his fans keep dissing Lu Xu. At least for me, Yu Wei’s character is solidly portrayed.]
[Super in love with Yu Wei! +1 +1 +1.]
…
Meanwhile, Lu Xu had been binge-watching The Watchers for several days.
It wasn’t to boost Gu Sinian’s popularity score, of course—watching dramas just happened to be one of his habits.
Regarding the drama, Lu Xu could only say that by the sixth episode, the issues that had started to surface in the second episode had become increasingly glaring.
Gu Sinian’s screen time had encroached on what should have been a fair share for Ren Ningyi, one of the co-leads. Lu Xu suspected that the entire project had been designed to prop up Gu Sinian. Not only was his role given a disproportionate amount of screen time, but it was also loaded with a variety of character traits.
The problem was that Gu Sinian couldn’t carry all these traits effectively.
Initially, he was portrayed as a passionate young man, but now he had morphed into a heartthrob, with multiple female characters entangled in romantic subplots with him. Yet, his performances fluctuated between a blank expression and overly exaggerated facial movements, creating a near-zero sense of chemistry with his female co-stars.
While Ren Ningyi had much of his screen time stolen, Yue Hui’s scenes remained intact, largely because Yue Hui shared many scenes with Gu Sinian.
Whenever Yue Hui appeared, Gu Sinian was almost always present as well.
From the audience’s perspective, though, Gu Sinian’s acting was so outclassed by Yue Hui’s that it often became a source of unintended comedy. And then there was Ren Ningyi.
Scenes between Yue Hui and Ren Ningyi were seamless, filled with palpable tension and subtle, expressive acting that made every glance and gesture meaningful.
But whenever it switched to Yue Hui and Gu Sinian, the overall quality of the scenes dropped noticeably.
The audience, just fired up by the electrifying dynamic between Yue Hui and Ren Ningyi, would instantly feel deflated the moment Gu Sinian appeared. The repeated highs and lows—excitement, disappointment, excitement, disappointment—became exhausting for anyone watching.
In Lu Xu’s opinion, the character design for Gu Sinian’s role had potential, provided he only occupied a small but memorable part of the story.
Instead, he dominated the screen, hoarding all the “highlight moments” for himself.
Was he charismatic enough to be a heartthrob? No.
Did his acting have the range to carry such a multifaceted character? Clearly not.
As a result, the plot inevitably fell apart.
If Gu Sinian’s storyline were either cut down or reduced to a minor arc, The Watchers would undoubtedly be far more compelling than it was now.
With his chin resting on his hand, Lu Xu snapped a screenshot of that day’s trending charts and posted it on his Weibo profile.
Lu Xu: [Witnessing the moment Verse gets closer—1589. Will the day of surpassing come? 🎵😭]
Afraid no one would notice the mere 1500+ difference in popularity score between The Watchers and My Baby Prince, Lu Xu deliberately circled the two dramas on the chart in his post.
Gu Sinian: ?
Gu Sinian’s fans: ?
Lu Xu’s actions were practically a provocation.
Within seconds, his comment section was flooded with a barrage of curses.
[??? Shameless much? Don’t act like your trash drama’s popularity score is anywhere close to surpassing The Watchers, okay?]
[… The Watchers isn’t something you’re qualified to comment on. You’ll never be cast in a drama with that kind of lineup in your life.]
[How do you even have the nerve to associate yourself with Verse?]
In response, Lu Xu calmly stated:
[No matter how much you deny me, I was indeed once a part of Verse. Seeing dramas starring both me and Gu Sinian on the same chart genuinely fills me with joy.]
Some people flaunted their camaraderie from their Verse days; Lu Xu figured this was his way of doing the same.
If others could show off, why couldn’t he?
As for comments like ‘You’ll never reach The Watchers’ level of popularity score in your life’, Lu Xu dryly replied,
[The speed at which its popularity score drops—I definitely can’t catch up with that.]
To the accusation, ‘Are you so jealous of Gu Sinian’s drama’s popularity?’, he retorted,
[I’m even more jealous that any negative comments about him get deleted so quickly, while no one bothers moderating the insults directed at me.]
[Hahaha, let the fight begin!]
[I just realized Lu Xu is incredibly petty! I’m not a fan of anyone here, but— I only mentioned that Gu Sinian’s acting in The Watchers was a bit stiff, and that post has had zero views ever since.]
[Upstairs +1. Later, I changed my comment to praise Gu Sinian instead, and the view count broke 10,000 in a minute. His fans even complimented me on my taste.]
[Why say Lu Xu is holding a grudge? He’s just repeating what Gu Sinian and his fans did to him.]
[I’m following both The Watchers and My Baby Prince. Honestly, the plot of My Baby Prince feels a bit more convincing. Don’t you think Gu Sinian’s character in The Watchers has a pretty unbalanced setup?]
[They’re not wrong, though—it really is the first time members of Verse have appeared on the same chart after the group disbanded.]
[Could Gu Sinian’s fans chill for a bit and stop mocking My Baby Prince? Considering The Watchers’ resources, it only has a 1,600 lead over My Baby Prince. If I were Gu Sinian, I’d be crying.]
[… By the way, it’s only a 300-point difference now. My Baby Prince is second on the chart!]
[!!!!]
While the arguments raged on in Lu Xu’s comment section, the latest popularity score was released.
The Watchers still held the top spot, but its lead over the second-ranked drama had shrunk to just 319 points. More importantly, the drama now in second place was none other than the much-dismissed My Baby Prince.
Lu Xu wasted no time updating his post with a new screenshot: [This is the closest I’ve ever been to a Verse member. So moved.]
#WhatAreYouPinching#
godhfjfkfbdls Lu Xu 😂😂😂
He’s crazy, lol