Chapter 79: Popularity Surge

Shao Yao had imagined that he might become famous after Voice of the Dead went online.

When he first took on the role of Su Yang, his agent had seriously analyzed this possibility with him.

After all, he was collaborating with Lu Xu, and the drama featured a dual-male-lead setup.

However, what he hadn’t expected was this: the character didn’t blow up, but he did.

Watching the imitation videos uploaded by various creators on the video platform and the circulating dancing GIFs online, Shao Yao felt his vision go dark.

Honestly, he was quite satisfied with his cold and aloof persona; it didn’t require much change. But… there was no way he could keep up the “cold and aloof” act now. People were calling him the “clumsy cool guy.”

Shao Yao: “…”

Thankfully, things weren’t as bad as he had imagined. “At least I’m not the only one turned into a meme.”

Lu Xu: “…What do you mean by that?”

Lu Xu spammed the group chat with over a dozen Shao Yao reaction memes and even sent several voice clips. Unfortunately for Director Xu Yan and screenwriter Zhao Jincheng, they clicked on the voice clips, only to wish they could throw their phones eight meters away.

Xu Yan: “…Do you two have to go this far?”

Lu Xu and Shao Yao thought otherwise—they believed it was only fair that the entire Voice of the Dead crew shared the burden of embarrassment.

Thanks to the reputation built by the first case, the popularity of Voice of the Dead continued to grow after the second case aired.

The second case had a slightly longer runtime than the first, lasting about six episodes. The average popularity score of the first few episodes exceeded 13,000. For the case’s conclusion, due to the preview released earlier, many viewers had saved up their anticipation to watch it all in one go.

[This episode’s popularity should break 14,000, right?]

[Dream big—maybe it’ll hit 15,000.]

Although Voice of the Dead was currently the show closest to reaching a popularity score of 15,000, neither industry insiders nor the loyal viewers of the series dared to predict such a number.

After all, the 15,000 benchmark was incredibly difficult to break.

From a certain perspective, the 14,000+ achieved by The Path of Bones was already exceedingly rare.

The pool of drama followers wasn’t infinite—unless the majority of viewers switched to watching Voice of the Dead, its popularity score surpassing 15,000 seemed highly unlikely.

But was it truly impossible?

[Why not? I think the second case is really interesting] Tan Qi remarked while venting her thoughts to a friend. She took screenshots of online comments mocking Voice of the Dead and paused. [Why do these avatars look so familiar?]

She quietly compared them and, sure enough, realized they were the same avatars that had previously mocked The Path of Bones and, before that, claimed that Lu Xu’s nomination for the Stellar Awards was rigged.

[Just hardcore rival fans.]

The individuals in question were die-hard fans of Zhang Che. When Lu Xu was first nominated for the Stellar Awards, they had already treated him as an imaginary enemy.

[…This curse is pretty strong. If she mocks Puppy a few more times, he might actually win the Stellar Awards]

During the airing of The Path of Bones, this Zhang Che fan had repeatedly predicted that the drama’s popularity wouldn’t surpass The Empress, wouldn’t break 12,000, and wouldn’t exceed 13,000—all of which The Path of Bones surpassed with ease.

Now, with Voice of the Dead, the pattern repeated. The fan first predicted that its premiere wouldn’t reach 10,000, then claimed the first case wouldn’t surpass 12,000. Even when many in the industry believed the second case would undoubtedly exceed 14,000, the fan remained steadfast in insisting it wouldn’t.

In a way, their dedication rivaled that of actual fans.

As a fan of Lu Xu, Tan Qi found that her attention to Lu Xu was far less than this rival fan.

One could only say that when hatred runs deep enough…

Consistently picking the wrong answer might just be a peculiar talent of its own.

The second case in Voice of the Dead was actually a classic “snowed-in mansion” type of story. While countless detective masters had explored this genre, Voice of the Dead managed to infuse it with originality by introducing living elements such as rats and insects.

A sealed room, accessible only to small animals—how did the culprit commit the crime?

The killer believed that introducing live creatures could mislead investigators while inflicting the harshest punishment on the victim. However, their cleverness became their downfall—a double-edged sword. All living things have spirits and emit unique sounds, and it was precisely through this detail that Jiang Lin found the breakthrough to solve the case.

The second case’s resolution not only maintained the fast pace established in the first case but also felt like an animal science lesson. Watching it left Tan Qi utterly amazed.

To be honest, if she hadn’t followed Jiang Lin’s train of thought, she wouldn’t have detected the clues in this case at all.

Having been engrossed in Voice of the Dead for the past few days, she even joined a discussion group dedicated to solving mysteries. Listening to the experts in the group analyze the show’s clues every day, Tan Qi often felt utterly lost, reduced to simply exclaiming, “It works like that?” as her only contribution.

As Voice of the Dead progressed, Tan Qi couldn’t help but admire Lu Xu’s ability to pick scripts even more.

Voice of the Dead wasn’t the kind of show that left viewers scratching their heads after ten episodes. It was concise, fast-paced, and packed with information. The first and second cases followed completely different formats, yet every shot was brimming with details, with no superfluous scenes.

For most other actors, Voice of the Dead likely wouldn’t have been their first choice—the script didn’t offer many standout moments for the leads, as the focus was firmly on the investigation.

Even so, Jiang Lin and Su Yang’s characters left an indelible impression on viewers.

The two characters tied together the investigative process of the two cases in Voice of the Dead—Jiang Lin, with his lazy and laid-back demeanor, concealed a meticulous nature, while Su Yang, who appeared cold and aloof, was actually fiery and passionate. Their shared pursuit of truth allowed them to complement each other perfectly.

In Tan Qi’s view, Voice of the Dead was a show where it was hard to judge Lu Xu’s acting ability. Unlike The Path of Bones, where Yu Yi’s character underwent dramatic changes, juxtaposing cruelty and innocence in a single person, Lu Xu’s performance there naturally drew attention.

However, as Voice of the Dead unfolded, Lu Xu’s portrayal was so natural that it never felt awkward or out of place.

It was as if there really was an S City in this fictional world, and in that city, there truly existed a carefree young man wandering around aimlessly.

Lu Xu was truly remarkable.

A few days ago, Tan Qi had come across a review of Lu Xu’s acting from a well-known drama critic. The critic remarked that a truly skilled actor should be able to play any role. For characters with extreme personalities, it’s easier for actors to deliver an impactful performance, as the role itself draws attention. In such cases, the audience naturally finds the actor impressive. However, this type of performance often benefits from the character’s inherent dramatic qualities.

Conversely, some characters remain ordinary and unremarkable throughout the story, lacking standout traits. These roles might seem easy to play, but the reality is quite the opposite.

Extreme characters offer plenty of opportunities to showcase dramatic flair, while ordinary characters require precise balance. If an actor adds too much intensity or too many standout traits, it undermines the “ordinary” essence of the character. But if the performance is too restrained, the character risks fading into the background.

Jiang Lin and Yu Yi were entirely different types of characters. Yu Yi belonged to the former category, while Jiang Lin to the latter. Yet, Lu Xu excelled at portraying both.

Tan Qi quietly gave a like to the review.

To her, whatever role Lu Xu played, he simply became that character.

The highlight of The Path of Bones lay in Yu Yi’s character, making him the sole standout of the show. In contrast, Voice of the Dead focused on the plot, with Jiang Lin guiding the audience deeper into the truth.

Lu Xu perfectly fulfilled his responsibility as an actor.

The day of the second case’s finale was an ordinary Wednesday—not one of the high-traffic days like Friday or Saturday. However, for the entire television industry, this Wednesday was anything but ordinary.

The popularity score for Voice of the Dead on this day was—15,066!

[!!!!!]

[Lu Xu is absolutely A-list now, right?!!!!!]

[Breaking 15,000!! I just looked it up—the last drama to exceed 15,000 was Ballad of the Cloudy Sea in the summer three years ago. That one also aired on Grape Film, but I bet Ballad of the Cloudy Sea cost way more than Voice of the Dead.]

[Grape Film must be over the moon right now! Voice of the Dead already had tons of sponsors, and they even added a fresh milk ad last night.]

[Lu Xu’s luck with roles… terrifying.]

[I absolutely love Jiang Lin and Su Yang! There’ve been so many fan edits of them lately—every day is a feast, hehe.]

Fans following Voice of the Dead knew that in recent days, Jiang Lin and Su Yang had consistently ranked high on the CP charts across several platforms.

Even during the preview phase, many fans had already geared up to ship the two characters as a pair.

However, Yan Qichen’s fans mocked Shao Yao for “clinging to Lu Xu’s thighs,” accusing him of using Voice of the Dead to hype up a Lu Xu-Shao Yao pairing.

Yet… that didn’t happen.

Not only did Shao Yao himself remain as quiet as a mouse, but his agency, Mingniao, also stayed completely motionless.

In fact, the so-called “Lu Xu-Shao Yao CP” didn’t gain as much traction as the “dancers” meme that had gone viral.

After Voice of the Dead aired, the two actors’ social media activity mostly consisted of reposting the official content from the production team.

The actors didn’t push any romantic pairings, and as for the character pairings… the “male-male” ship that fans anticipated wasn’t quite what they expected.

To be precise, the relationship between Jiang Lin and Su Yang wasn’t about romance—it was about a kind of trust where one was willing to entrust their life to the other, believing that the other would protect them. It was more akin to genuine friendship, a deep connection between souls.

[This is the real ship!]

[The way they look at each other isn’t romantic, but the kind of unspoken understanding where they know exactly what the other is thinking—I’m hooked!]

[+1 +1 +1, Jiang Lin is my favorite character. He’s the type to become brave for the truth, while Su Yang is the type to show his anger for the truth. They’re such a good match.]

[Check out a certain site’s edits—the most liked ‘What If’ video. It’s about how after Yu Yi’s revenge, he meets Jiang Lin, who covers for him. Even though it goes against Jiang Lin’s sense of justice, it’s so addictive!]

[No, no, no, I think this is Jiang Lin’s sense of justice. If he knew what happened to Team 01, he might eventually point out Yu Yi as the culprit, but he would never stop him in the middle.]

When the ‘What If’ video became a hit, it quickly drove a wave of The Path of Bones fans to start watching Voice of the Dead.

In addition to fan-made content imagining what might happen if Yu Yi and Jiang Lin knew each other, fans also speculated that if Yu Yi hadn’t gone through his tragic experiences, he might have been just an ordinary person like Jiang Lin—wandering the streets, using his physical strength to help solve cases.

It was precisely because there was no “what if” that Yu Yi’s backstory felt so heartbreaking.

In summary—Voice of the Dead had indeed become a huge hit.

After breaking 15,000 in popularity, Voice of the Dead had clearly become the most highly anticipated drama of the year.

The third case of Voice of the Dead didn’t manage to surpass the 16,000 mark—a near-impossible feat—but consistently maintained an average popularity score above 14,000.

During this release period, the drama market’s attention was almost entirely dominated by Voice of the Dead.

By the second half of the year, the number of dramas that broke 10,000 in popularity was only half of what it had been the previous year. Industry professionals expressed widespread concern. Although The Path of Bones had sparked a wave of similar themed dramas, many in the industry still hoped for a more diverse and flourishing landscape.

In this context, Voice of the Dead emerged like a bolt from the blue.

The greatest concern among insiders was that, influenced by various factors, audiences might have abandoned television dramas altogether.

However, Voice of the Dead breaking through 15,000 in popularity proved otherwise.

This achievement showed that the problem wasn’t a lack of viewers—it was that audiences were simply gravitating toward high-quality productions.

Not only did Voice of the Dead attract viewers, but it also shattered the year’s playback records.

For the industry as a whole, the success of both The Path of Bones and Voice of the Dead was like a shot of adrenaline.

The popularity of Lu Xu and Shao Yao surged alongside the drama’s success. Lu Xu’s growing stack of drama scripts and variety show invitations was several times larger than during the airing of The Path of Bones. Meanwhile, Shao Yao became so busy that Mingniao Entertainment had to hire additional staff temporarily.

Xu Wen, unwilling to overwork Lu Xu like a beast of burden, carefully sifted through opportunities to reduce his workload. However, some invitations were simply too significant to decline.

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