Chapter 124: Bright Future, But Keep Moving Forward

To be honest, the premiere viewership of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" on Dongfang TV wasn't much higher than that of "Yun Zhi Fan."

A viewership of just over 0.7% can only be called average.

It certainly wasn't a massive hit, not even close to trending.

But Guo Jingyu breathed a sigh of relief—he actually thought it was decent, pretty good!

This drama was shot with an entirely new cast, and the risks involved were enormous.

During filming, the project was virtually ignored by the market.

This was a Jin Yong drama!

If Bai Liang hadn't suddenly become popular right before airing, giving Guo Jingyu just enough reassurance, he'd have thought the drama was doomed before it even aired.

TV viewership data still showed nothing conclusive, but once it launched on online platforms with danmu, it became clear why audiences tuned in.

Over half the danmu asked when Bai Liang, Zhang Xianzong, Da Xian, and Lü Buxi would appear.

Of course, all these names referred to the same person.

Guo Jingyu: Holy shit, this kid's got real clout! So many people came just for him?

The evidence proved it was true.

Yang Xuwén, the male lead, was reasonably cast as Guo Jing, but his lack of fame, combined with the character's inherent stoicism, made him far from compelling to viewers.

As for Bai Liang, he didn't win audience approval through any acting tricks.

Just one move.

Handsome. Ridiculously handsome.

When Bai Liang stood there, he didn't even need subtitles to identify him—viewers instantly guessed he must be Yang Kang.

After all, he's Yang Guo's father—how could he possibly look anything else and produce a son who'd say, "At Fengling Ferry, I first met Yang Guo, and from then on, my life was ruined"?

Totally freaking reasonable!

Meanwhile, ratings hovered just below 1, but finally broke past 1 a few days later.

At this point, the drama could no longer be called a failure!

It entered the trending list.

A lovable and charming villain has always been a major draw in film and television.

Especially one with tragedy and fragmentation.

Yang Kang's tragedy lies in identity: he is Han Chinese, he does serve the enemy, and Wanyan Honglie truly raised him with kindness.

After learning his true origins, Yang Kang plunged into inner turmoil, vacillating for months before forcing himself to accept his Jurchen identity—but even until death, neither identity ever reconciled.

Such a dramatically rich character arc has proven timeless, from Shakespeare to George R. R. Martin.

Yang Kang's inner pride was inherited directly by Yang Guo.

But the aristocratic charm of a dashing nobleman is extremely hard to portray.

Miao Qiaowei's Yang Kang in the 1983 version had that vibe.

Zhou Jie's performance in the 2003 version was solid, but he always looked like he'd just had a fight—no noble grace at all.

Yuan Hong in the 2008 version had noble looks, but his acting couldn't carry it.

And all of them were at least a full tier less handsome than Bai Liang.

He was the most handsome, and viewers couldn't deny it—this instantly skyrocketed his buzz.

Many Jin Yong characters spark such debates—most handsome Yang Guo, most handsome Murong Fu, etc.

Bai Liang now earned himself the title of "Most Handsome Yang Kang."

Normally, lack of controversy isn't necessarily good—usually, heated debates drive popularity higher.

Fortunately, Bai Liang's lack of controversy was compensated for by the two female leads.

Li Yitong as Huang Rong, Meng Ziyi as Mu Nianci.

Especially Meng Ziyi.

In the novel, Mu Nianci has the least screen time among the four main characters, but in this version, her tangled love-hate with Yang Kang led her to throw herself into water, leap off cliffs, and swallow poison—yet she never died, making her screen time "redeem herself."

Unfortunately, praise was scarce: partly because of her prior poor reputation, and partly because viewers felt her lips were too sensual, her eyes constantly flashing at Yang Kang—she seemed too improper.

Furious, Meng Ziyi bombarded Bai Liang with photos—all pouting poses—asking, "Is being sexy my fault?"

Is being beautiful a crime?!

After admiring the photos, Bai Liang stayed silent.

Because he thought the netizens had a point—Meng Jie truly belonged to the ravishing, seductive type; she'd be perfect for playing villains, definitely magnetic.

Yet Bai Liang's buzz alone couldn't single-handedly lift this "Condor Heroes" to true success.

He wasn't even the male lead—what he achieved was already the limit.

Originally meant to just coast through, he ended up being forced to carry the whole show, making the other creators feel a bit embarrassed.

Guo Jingyu sent Bai Liang a barrage of voice messages, promising a huge bonus later and vowing to work together again.

He was genuinely moved—if Bai Liang hadn't been cast as Yang Kang, who knew if the film would have sunk without a trace?

Ratings were high, but take "Wushen Zhao Zilong" as an example—its scores plummeted to the bottom, yet viewership soared.

As always, ratings affect reputation, but producers want to make money.

Of course, fame and fortune together are ideal—but if forced to choose, nearly everyone picks money. Afterward, viewership stabilized around 1.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at this outcome.

Bai Liang had now achieved a milestone: three consecutive successful supporting male roles.

In three straight dramas, his supporting roles broke through the noise, leaving deep impressions on viewers—and even driving traffic and buzz.

More industry capital began turning its gaze toward him, calculating the potential benefits he could bring.

The "Chu Qiao Zhuan" crew felt they'd hit the jackpot—they thought this guy carried luck with him!

As long as it's an important male supporting role, it must serve a purpose, right?

"Cloud of the Ordinary" only had a bit part, so that thing flopped~

Very reasonable!

So Sister Yanzi quoted six million, even higher than the male lead's pay in "Weiwei," and somehow actually closed the deal.

At the same time, a phone call from the company Jiaxing went to the director of "Weiwei," Lin Yufen.

Although Lin Yufen had put pressure on Dilireba in the crew over her running to schedules, one thing at a time.

Lin Yufen still had to direct the Jiaxing big gift pack later; the relationship between the two sides couldn't really turn hostile.

Pl... ease.... bookmark 6... 9.... b... o... o... k....! (please bookmark 69shuba!)

"Director Lin, do you think 'Weiwei' has the potential to be a hit?"

Hearing this question, Lin Yufen immediately knew what the other side wanted to know.

She only said one seemingly irrelevant sentence: "After 'Weiwei' airs, Dou Xiao Bai probably won't be able to play male supporting roles in TV dramas anymore."

"Thank you, Director Lin."

——

"I'm wrapping up~ Will you miss me?"

"Mao Xiaotong, what you said is quite ambiguous—don't start a scandal later."

"Scandal? You're afraid of scandals?"

Mao Xiaotong felt like laughing to death—how long had Bai Liang even debuted, and how many CP pairings had he already done?

From the very beginning with Nazha to now, it's hard to say who exactly.

Because Bai Liang really is impressive—he's now simultaneously paired up with two girls.

One of them is, of course, Meng Ziyi. "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is still airing, and the two of them actually have quite a bit of buzz. Meng Jie is happily carried to new heights by Bai Liang, happy even when getting scolded.

The other one—Dilireba.

No idea what Jiaxing is thinking—maybe they're in a rush to push Dilireba up the ranks, they keep buying her trending searches.

All kinds of paparazzi shots from the "Weiwei" crew are extremely popular online, and the original novel fans are over the moon.

But the consequence is—the CP binding between the two is getting deeper and deeper; once "Weiwei" actually airs, whether it can be untangled is anyone's guess.

But Jiaxing just did it anyway, leaving people a bit baffled.

Soon, the "Weiwei" crew officially wrapped up filming.

Bai Liang smiled and held the flowers, but when he turned his head, he noticed Dilireba beside him seemed distracted, her expression somewhat complicated.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing~ Happy wrap!"

The other gave him a big smile, plus a big hug.

Pretty solid—charging with the ball.

Only, Bai Liang never expected Jiaxing to be so ruthless—Dilireba couldn't even attend the wrap party, she had to leave in a bit.

The reason was simple and blunt: the next schedule was already waiting for her.

This kind of life had been going on ever since she blew up with the role of "Gao Wen."

"Dou Xiao Bai, fate brought us together—go see her off~"

One moment Dilireba was still holding Bai Liang's arm, chatting and laughing; a few minutes later she had to rush off.

And Bai Liang just smiled as he watched her busy back as she prepared to leave, not knowing what he was thinking.

This scene left the rest of the crew feeling emo.

The drama was filmed so sweetly, why did reality have to hit so hard?

Hearing this, Bai Liang glanced at Lin Yufen, his tone quite calm yet tinged with a bit of admiration: "Fen-jie, she's very clear-headed~ A bright future ahead, gotta keep moving."

Calling her 'Director' while filming, switching to 'Jie' the moment you wrap—is that how it works?

Lin Yufen shook her head helplessly and said with a smile: "I'm suddenly looking forward to the day you two meet at the top."

Gu Man also chimed in, "Wait till I write another work and have you two team up again~"

"Then you'll have to write me a better character setting, or I won't act, alright?"

"You're getting picky now."

At this moment, Dilireba was also about to get in the car and leave, waving goodbye to everyone.

Only, just before getting in the car, she suddenly stopped.

She turned back, gave a brilliant smile, raised her hand and spun around on the spot, and bowed slightly.

——

Basic three updates, ten thousand characters.

No missing updates, just hard to split into chapters.

(End of chapter)