Chapter 43: Crazy! Shengzai Goes Viral Overnight!

With his current physical condition, Yu Shengzai could easily break free from Yuki’s embrace.

But now he had to act like a child, and the distressed Yu Shengzai had clearly touched Yuki’s fragile emotional defenses, inevitably reminding her of the day her sister was attacked.

She herself was only a half-grown child in her early twenties, and on that day she had lost all her support.

Now Yuki had to pay for her sister’s ongoing medical expenses and care for five-year-old Yu Shengzai.

To others, Yuki probably seemed like a very strong girl?

But Yu Shengzai knew that this seemingly strong girl often cried secretly in the dead of night.

After all, despite pretending to be strong, Yuki was still just an ungraduated college student; under such immense pressure, her ability to hold on this long was already exhausting.

Sensing Yuki’s vulnerability, Yu Shengzai stopped struggling and let himself be held in her arms, enjoying the plush cushion of her thighs and the soft pillow of her chest, watching the entire movie.

Sitting in Yuki’s lap to watch a movie was probably one of the privileges of childhood.

“The young Soya’s performance was incredibly stunning—let’s watch the next one!”

“I wonder where this production crew found this actor—that kid is insane.”

“Man, young Soya perfectly replicated the anime character; Xiangbizhixia , adult Soya was just disappointing.”

“True, young Soya’s performance made me actually look forward to the later plot—after all, adult Soya was supposed to be even stronger.”

“But the later plot turned out to be a huge letdown: iconic anime scenes were cut, and adult Soya felt like nothing but a pretty boy.”

“Besides being good-looking, he was practically useless—no trace of young Soya’s vigor, not even his swordsmanship looked decent.”

As Yu Shengzai and Yuki walked out of the theater, they overheard many viewers’ comments.

Overall, due to Yu Shengzai’s performance, this anime adaptation film’s quality and faithfulness had risen significantly above the original.

But conversely, Yu Shengzai’s performance had also affected the film itself.

Most anime adaptations tend to be romance-focused, even though action-packed battle anime have a larger fanbase.

Yet when adapting anime into films, most investors and directors choose slice-of-life or romance titles.

The reason is simple: while action and Rexue anime are more thrilling, they’re far harder to reproduce faithfully.

Intense battle scenes might be achievable with advanced special effects—if you’re willing to spend money.

But actors’ physical techniques depend entirely on their own skill, especially the male leads in Rexue anime, who are usually young and handsome.

But in the real entertainment industry, where do you find actors like that?

Action actors require years of training; fresh-faced idols can’t handle it, and seasoned actors with real skill can’t portray Rexue teenagers—so it became a dead end, making no one dare to shoot Rexue anime adaptations.

The film Yu Shengzai starred in, “Protect You From This Moment On,” did have some fight scenes in the original anime, but they weren’t numerous.

So when adapted into a film, its main genre remained romance-focused.

But because Yu Shengzai’s portrayal of “young Soya” was so faithful, viewers instantly felt a massive disparity when they saw adult Soya.

In films, comics, or novels, a “first suppress, then elevate” structure is fine—as long as the later part delivers satisfaction.

But a “first elevate, then suppress” structure? Who the hell can take that? I was already riding high, pants already down, and then you tell me you’re actually a guy?

The male lead falls off a cliff and returns as a dragon-like overpowered hero, but then in the later plot he becomes nothing but a loudmouth and a flirtatious loser—who the hell can take that?

He was supposed to be stronger after his training, but instead he felt weaker than in his youth—so of course the audience couldn’t accept it.

Several days have passed since the film’s premiere, but the topic of “Protect You From This Moment On” is still fermenting.

Normally, this low-budget romance film wouldn’t generate such buzz—but Yu Shengzai’s performance was just too stunning.

Everyone who watched the film says, “Young Soya is amazing!”

Hearing this, those who originally had no interest in the film naturally grew curious and wanted to see how this “young Soya” was so amazing.

Then, after leaving the theater, they quickly joined the chorus with the same line: “Young Soya is amazing!”

The internet is now highly developed; as this meme gained popularity, within just a few days, major YouTube channels and UP hosts kept posting this line, causing “Young Soya” to explode in popularity across the entire web!

In contrast to “Young Soya”’s outstanding performance, the rating for “Protect You From This Moment On” kept dropping, becoming one of the worst films of the year.

The main reason audiences disliked the film was that “adult Soya” was far worse than “young Soya”—in fact, he was garbage.

A big part of the complaint was that the director and producers didn’t give more screen time to the young male and female leads.

Anyone could see that the two children in the film, in both acting and presence, were vastly superior to their adult versions.

Compared to those two children, the adult male and female leads had no traits at all beyond good looks—they looked like they’d been forcibly shoved into the cast.

That’s right: since the film’s release, nearly every character and crew member had been criticized by viewers; Ma Jianai was one of the few, besides Yu Shengzai, who wasn’t criticized and was even praised.

After all, in the film, Jianai and Yu Shengzai were a couple, and audiences naturally show more leniency toward children.

Honestly, for a six-year-old like Ma Jianai to deliver such a performance is already exceptional.

Compared to her, the acting of the two adult leads was simply unbearable!

Seeing the uniform praise online for “Young Soya”’s acting and performance, Yuki wore a proud, honored expression.

But Yu Shengzai, seeing this, felt no joy at all.

He was glad his performance was recognized, but as a complete newcomer who’d barely stepped into the entertainment industry, he’d already ruined his first film—would anyone still hire him to act?

(End of chapter)