Chapter 285: Luo Mo's Costume Trilogy

The next day, the relevant data for *Celestial Sword 5* and *Lost Sin* were fresh off the press.

Among the viewership ratings released by the Television Network, *Celestial Sword 5* did not fall but rose, with its average viewership rating reaching 0.88.

It was very clear that word-of-mouth was having an effect.

However, the fermentation of word-of-mouth is a continuous process, especially for something as time-consuming as a television drama.

It is unrealistic to expect a massive surge in viewership ratings based on word-of-mouth fermentation in just a day or two.

*Nirvana in Fire* on Earth is a very good example of this.

Data will continue to climb, but it is unlikely to suddenly skyrocket.

Since *Lost Sin* is a web drama, there will be no data for it on the Television Network.

On the contrary, Changhu TV's *Thirty Only*, by virtue of its advantage in peddling anxiety, remained stable in viewership, still breaking 1.

It's just that the data was quite subtle, at exactly 1.01.

But in terms of online streaming volume, the single-day streaming volume of *Thirty Only* was completely incomparable to *Celestial Sword 5*.

The total streaming volume of *Celestial Sword 5* on its second day reached over 200 million, directly breaking the 200 million mark.

Meanwhile, *Thirty Only* remained stable at just over 100 million, sometimes even dropping below 100 million.

As for *Lost Sin*, its first-day streaming volume was 110 million.

This was significantly lower than the 150 million they had initially expected, and the word-of-mouth was also worse than anticipated.

Where did that group of crazy fans go!?

What happened to the promise that same-sex love is the only true love?

Why did you all run off to *Celestial Sword 5* to fret over the romance between a man and a woman!?

Therefore, looking at the overall comprehensive data, *Celestial Sword 5* is truly killing it!

This caused Wang Shisong of Pineapple to call both of his secretaries to his home that very night.

One secretary could not calm the anger in his heart.

One must know that Pineapple's focus is in the film and television sector.

And the scene before him looked exactly like when Luo Mo first emerged in the music scene, cutting through thorns and thistles, killing gods if gods blocked him, and killing Buddhas if Buddhas blocked him!

"This familiar feeling... this familiar feeling..." Wang Shisong's right eyelid also began to twitch wildly.

Everyone could only pray that *Celestial Sword 5* would start to collapse later on.

Time passed, and the happy weekend just went by like that.

The official Weibo of *Celestial Sword 5 Qixia Zhuan* released a celebration poster.

Inside the poster was the sword of Jiu Jianxian, and next to the sword were written a few large characters: "Total streaming volume breaks 700 million!"

With the increase in the number of episodes, the growth of *Celestial Sword 5*'s daily streaming volume was gradually increasing, breaking 700 million in just three short days!

Looking at *Lost Sin* in contrast, its second-day streaming volume fell below 100 million...

The word-of-mouth did warm up a bit, because it restored a certain famous scene from the original work, crazily skirting the edges of censorship to satisfy the fantasies of a group of people.

And as everyone knows, the fans of adapted boys' love dramas have always been fierce in their fighting power.

So, like mad dogs, they crazily bit at *Celestial Sword 5* and *Thirty Only*.

After biting for a long time, they discovered that *Celestial Sword 5* was a bit hard to bite, because there was no overlap in subject matter, and they couldn't bite any flesh off *Celestial Sword 5* at all.

On the contrary, a drama like *Thirty Only* that peddles marital anxiety could be bitten a few times.

By Monday, Luo Mo had uploaded the three songs "Xiaoyao Sigh", "June Rain", and "Always Very Quiet" to Penguin Music.

Once the three songs were released, they directly air-dropped onto the New Song Chart.

Among them, "Always Very Quiet" was a reward for Shen Yinuo.

She had been trained by Luo Mo for several months, and the training effect was very significant; she had already been molded into Luo Mo's shape, so naturally, she should be given some reward, shouldn't she?

Luo Mo hadn't released a single for anyone in Aurora Girls yet, and this song "Always Very Quiet", which sings of Lin Yueru, was indeed a good choice.

After the three insert songs were released, the drama fans instantly fell into a carnival.

"Finally waited for these three songs, ah ah ah!"

"The one I like most in this drama is 'Always Very Quiet'!"

"Ah! 'Xiaoyao Sigh', Chinese Style!"

"The Grandmaster has struck again! It sounds great!"

"My youth is back; I feel like this song reminds me of the previous 'East Wind Breaks'."

Good dramas and good songs thus achieved each other.

As for Luo Mo, he had to attend a dinner party today.

This was because Cheng Wen, the Vice President of Penguin Video, had specifically flown to Shanghai to invite Luo Mo and Shen Shaoqiu to dinner together.

Back during the *Creating Idols* grand finale, Cheng Wen was also in the VIP room, but unlike Wang Shisong, his attitude toward Shen Shaoqiu was still quite friendly, so the two did not harbor any grudges and instead would occasionally keep in touch privately.

Cheng Wen specifically ran to Shanghai for no other reason than that *Celestial Sword 5*'s results were unexpected, making him want to bind Luo Mo and Penguin Video together even more.

And looking at it now, Luo Mo seemed quite free.

He hadn't started preparing his second album yet, nor did he have a new drama to film, and he was just slacking off every day.

The contract signed between Penguin Video and Luo Mo Studio was a long-term one, and both sides were to cooperate three times in one go.

Cheng Wen came with sincerity this time; he wanted to invite Luo Mo to participate in a big production, a big IP!

This was a television drama adapted from the most popular web novel from a few years ago.

Adding up the legitimate and pirated readers, the base was terrifyingly huge!

This meant that the basic foundation of this drama was very large, and fans of the original work would all be unable to resist coming to take a look.

If we add Luo Mo, this Top Traffic, to play the male lead, it will definitely be a massive hit!

This project is the one Cheng Wen values most this year; he plans to handle it well and strive to set a standard for future IP adaptation dramas!

After the three of them arrived at the agreed-upon high-end restaurant, they exchanged pleasantries as soon as they met.

Although it was agreed that Cheng Wen would treat them to this meal, Shen Shaoqiu still brought a bottle of fine wine from home.

After three rounds of drinks, Cheng Wen began to recommend the project.

"Under the Firmament?" Luo Mo was slightly stunned.

He had read a little of this web novel, but not too much.

If one were to ask which book is the most popular among formulaic novels, on Blue Star, it would have to be Under the Firmament.

But regarding this project, Luo Mo had little interest, or rather, he had absolutely no interest.

In his view, the feasibility of adapting this web novel into a comic or anime was very high.

But if it were to be adapted into a TV drama, unless they let go of all constraints to film it and made it long enough, there would be nothing to gain.

For a formulaic, power-fantasy, leveling-up novel like Under the Firmament, the core is relatively singular; although the characters cannot be called stereotypical, they don't reach the standard of a Group Portrait novel either.

Adapting this type of web novel into a TV drama is quite strenuous and difficult to make effective.

It's not that it's impossible, it's just that it really tests the screenwriter's ability!

And domestic screenwriters... there are a few too many who like to feed the audience shit.

The weirdest thing is, these screenwriters, if they know how to use the internet, should know that audiences openly mock some of these melodramatic tropes online.

Yet these screenwriters insist on writing them, just stubbornly writing them!

After finishing his recommendation of the project, Cheng Wen looked at Luo Mo and Shen Shaoqiu with eyes full of anticipation.

This expression was just like when you've just shared a joke with a companion, and your eyes are full of: "Laugh! Hurry up and laugh!"

Hearing about this project, Shen Shaoqiu actually showed curiosity and wanted to understand it in more depth.

Luo Mo, however, put on a troubled expression.

"In terms of time... it might be a bit difficult to arrange."

"Oh?" Cheng Wen was a bit puzzled.

Luo Mo looked at him and said, "Director Cheng, I have already negotiated with the National Theatre of China; they have agreed to let me join the actors to participate in this year's stage play tour."

"Hey! That's a good thing!" Cheng Wen was no fool, and he immediately looked at Luo Mo with appreciative eyes.

In this day and age, people's hearts are restless; many people think about cashing in while they are popular rather than settling down to refine their craft.

That Luo Mo was willing to follow the people from the National Theatre of China to polish his acting skills showed that this young man knew very well what he wanted.

At the same time, this was equivalent to rejecting Cheng Wen's invitation.

—I want to be a powerhouse Actor; I am not considering those purely traffic-driven dramas.

Traffic alone could no longer move Luo Mo, unless there was some other quality to it.

Cheng Wen felt some regret, but it wasn't easy to say much more.

Luo Mo looked like someone with his own ideas, and he wasn't someone Cheng Wen could sway.

Look at President Wang from Pineapple; he just wanted to sway Luo Mo and control Luo Mo.

And then what happened?

Luo Mo looked at Cheng Wen and smiled, "Director Cheng, since we still have future collaborations, I will be honest with you."

"Go ahead," Cheng Wen said.

"Two things." Luo Mo held up two fingers.

"First, if the results of Celestial Sword 5 reach my expectations when it concludes, I will release another one," Luo Mo said.

"Really!? This drama has a sequel?" Cheng Wen said.

Luo Mo shook his head and said, "It can't be called a sequel; it's basically a brand-new story."

Cheng Wen nodded, understanding this as well.

Sometimes forcing a sequel is actually bad; as long as it takes place within the same grand worldview, that is enough.

"That's a good thing. If there is anything you need help with from Penguin Video, just ask," Cheng Wen said.

He even wanted to join the ranks of the investors, but it wasn't appropriate to discuss that today.

Luo Mo nodded and said, "I won't stand on ceremony with you then, Director Cheng."

After saying this, he began to talk about the second thing.

"If the next work in the Celestial Sword 5 series also meets expectations, and I feel that my personal acting skills have improved, then I will launch a new Ancient Costume project," Luo Mo said. "After filming this drama, I probably won't act in ancient costume dramas for a long time."

"Is that why you are going to act in stage plays, for this third drama?" Cheng Wen asked.

Luo Mo gave an affirmative answer and said, "For this drama, I will definitely use every means to find a group of veteran actors with solid acting skills. To avoid being crushed by them, I definitely need to pursue further studies, haha."

Luo Mo said it lightly, but in reality, he had no confidence in his heart.

Acting is like Singing; there is no fixed rule to it.

It's not like you can achieve a leap just by polishing for a fixed number of days; there is no accurate timeframe.

It requires constant practice and constant accumulation, and then perhaps one day, a qualitative leap will suddenly occur!

Cheng Wen laughed and said, "Good for you, you've filled up all three collaboration opportunities with us at Penguin for yourself!"

This was equivalent to introducing his Ancient Costume Trilogy to him!

"Director Cheng, saying it like that isn't quite right. Actually, I have a third thing," Luo Mo began to pour wine for Cheng Wen.

At the dinner table, who pours wine for whom often says something.

Just now, when Cheng Wen recommended Under the Firmament to Luo Mo, it was he who poured wine for Luo Mo.

—Luo Mo rejected your project and threw a project back at you.

After pouring the wine for Cheng Wen, Luo Mo smiled and said, "Director Cheng, have you ever felt that Celestial Sword 5 Qixia Zhuan is actually very suitable for adaptation into a game?"

(PS: First update, requesting monthly votes!)

Also, thanks to "Yi Yin" for the alliance leader tip!)

(End of chapter)