Chapter 404: I Only Give You the Time of a Sheet Mask

During his call with Luo Mo, Cheng Wen frequently let out "uhs" and very dry "hahahas."

But regardless, he was feeling anxious and had sought out Luo Mo to chat, just to put his mind at ease.

And it must be said, under Luo Mo's sky-high arrogance, he really did feel a lot more at ease.

He had an understanding of the general Drama of *Nirvana in Fire*. Although he hadn't followed the review process the whole way through, he had watched most of the content.

Just as Luo Mo had said, the directors of *Jade Pearl City* and *Nine Deadly Sins* were very skilled at creating expectations and satisfying the audience's expectations.

But *Nirvana in Fire* would utilize a large number of techniques like 【Reversal】, and the final plot would exceed the audience's imagination.

This kind of script was quite bold.

However, Penguin Video now wanted to catch up to and surpass Pineapple and Qiqu, and what it needed was to take big strides!

It's just that, whether they would stride forward with ease or pull a muscle, would depend on the audience's response!

………

………

After ending the call, Luo Mo's state of mind was very peaceful.

In his view, although *Nirvana in Fire* was a "cool" drama at its core, it was generally logically self-consistent.

Similar to 【Reversal】 or plots that exceed audience expectations, there must be foreshadowing, logic, and clues.

You have to make the audience feel it was unexpected, yet upon careful thought, it was within reason, and then, they would let out one "Wow!" after another.

If it was purely for the sake of reversal, or for the sake of being shocking, then it was actually falling into a lower tier.

It would also cause the character settings to collapse.

Luo Mo was very clear about the positioning of *Nirvana in Fire*, and he also knew the charm of this drama well.

"It won't start high and end low; it will only keep rising all the way!"

*Jade Pearl City* and *Nine Deadly Sins* did not know what kind of opponent they were facing.

They might have already realized the terror of *Nirvana in Fire*, but they did not know that this drama was even more terrifying than they imagined!

………

………

In Beijing, Li Yang, the lead actress of *Jade Pearl City*, was sitting in the living room of her home.

After hesitating for a while, she decided to watch *Nirvana in Fire* after it updated.

As the head of the Four Little Dan, she regretted that the reputation of *Nirvana in Fire* had actually warmed up.

She wished for the reputation of *Nirvana in Fire* to plummet, so that Tang Shiyu would never recover.

Among the Four Little Dan, there was intense friction between their teams.

Marketing accounts often posted content comparing them, fans often fought, and the teams often disparaged each other.

Tang Shiyu, for instance, took the acting route, packaging herself as the one with the best acting skills among the Four Little Dan, and then crazily posted content in this regard that praised one while stepping on another.

Li Yang did not think Tang Shiyu's acting was better than her own; she felt Tang Shiyu simply had a "movie face."

Her natural temperament and facial features gave people an excellent cinematic quality.

Such a person, whether acting in a movie or a TV series, had an inherent advantage.

It gave people a sense of high-class quality.

Li Yang's current state of mind was actually okay.

"So what if you, Tang Shiyu, have latched onto Luo Mo's thigh?"

"My *Jade Pearl City* is a female-led drama, and you aren't even a lead in *Nirvana in Fire*."

Her team had even held a meeting specifically for this, analyzing the psychedelic operations of Tang Shiyu's team, and finally concluded: "She wants to rely on this to farm Luo Mo's favor, so that when they collaborate a second time, she might have a chance to play the lead!"

This method could occasionally be seen in the industry; some people, in order to get on good terms with famous directors, would specifically take supporting roles or perform for zero pay.

When they collaborated a second time, they might hit the jackpot!

"Plus, Tang Shiyu is all 'tea-like' and is best at pleasing men," Li Yang thought to herself.

As for the "rumors" that had spread earlier about Tang Shiyu being scolded to tears by Luo Mo on set, Li Yang didn't believe it for a second.

A high-end green tea like that, and she gets scolded to tears?

Men would only want to make such a woman... cry in that way.

The time had come, and *Nirvana in Fire* had updated.

If one signed up for a membership tonight, they could watch 6 episodes in one go.

Li Yang had originally subscribed to monthly memberships for all four major video platforms, so she had the authorization.

But she had no intention of watching 6 episodes and contributing data to her opponent.

She just wanted to take a casual look, know the enemy and know herself, and set her mind at ease.

As soon as the fifth episode started, it led into the main Drama, beginning to tell the story of Mei Zhangsu training a few young children, teaching them a sword formation to compete against the Yan Kingdom warrior Baili Qi.

The audience had been extremely looking forward to this scene since last week; wasn't this a typical 【Showing Off】 plot?

The male lead, in front of the Emperor, Princes, Princess, and others, relied on the children he had trained to defeat a strong enemy.

And he himself was just a scholar with no strength to truss a chicken.

This sense of contrast could hit the "cool" points of many people.

Li Yang was very familiar with this path.

The *Jade Pearl City* she starred in was also an IP drama adapted from a web novel.

The entire drama also contained a large number of classic tropes from web novels, which the audience found extremely satisfying after watching.

Li Yang just wanted to see what kind of effect the ending of this small plot could achieve.

After watching it, she wouldn't follow it anymore.

Wearing silk pajamas, Li Yang sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding a pillow in her arms.

She tied up her wavy hair, thought it over, and applied a facial mask.

"I'll just watch for fifteen minutes," she muttered to herself.

After fifteen minutes, this part of the Drama should be about over, and then she could wash off the mask and go to sleep early today.

In fact, Li Yang had also been having sweet dreams lately; she was going to be the contributor who helped Qiqu Video members break through 50 million!

With this connection in place, there would be many benefits for future collaborations.

After smoothing the mask perfectly onto her facial skin, Li Yang continued to watch the show at her leisure.

In the show, everyone had already taken their seats in the main hall, including the three child slaves from Ye You Ting, who were holding sharp swords and about to face off against the Yan Kingdom warrior Baili Qi.

Princess Nihuang and Mei Zhangsu were still sitting together, and she leaned over and whispered, "The fight is about to start. The children cannot win. If Brother Su has any clever tricks, you had better use them now."

Nihuang had visited the set, and she had seen the so-called sword formation.

Although it was very peculiar, she could tell at a glance that it was impossible to defeat Baili Qi with it.

She did not know what Medicine Mei Zhangsu had in his Gourd.

Since it concerned her martial arts competition for a husband, she was still very concerned.

Mei Zhangsu smiled faintly and said, "The Princess only needs to watch with peace of mind."

Seeing this, Li Yang couldn't help but say, "I'm familiar with this trope. Make the audience nervous, highlight the male lead's mastery of the situation, and then keep raising expectations!"

A standard web novel template.

When Li Yang attended the script reading for Jade Pearl City, she chatted with the original author of the book for over half an hour, and she didn't think this trope was played any more brilliantly than in our Jade Pearl City!

At most, she could only admit that the acting of the other Actors in this show was indeed much better than those supporting roles in Jade Pearl City.

At the same time, she even felt that this show was profiting from the Mo Xu CP.

The comments were all saying: "Don't panic, Jing, Luo Mo is protecting you!"

Everyone was obsessed with the CP to the point of madness; the audience must be getting even more satisfaction while watching.

Film and television works are a strange thing sometimes.

Some male and female leads, even if they are both handsome and beautiful, and even if the Drama is truly sweet, the audience just feels that the two have no chemistry, and watching their interactions is awkward and uncomfortable.

Yet some people, perhaps with just a small exchange of glances, can make the audience feel that the two aren't even acting, and that there's an eighty percent chance something is going on in real life!

Li Yang felt that this was one of the advantages of Nirvana in Fire.

At this moment, the battle was on the verge of breaking out, and the three young children deployed the sword formation and engaged Baili Qi in battle.

Everyone in the main hall stared at the battle, their expressions one more solemn and serious than the next, their attitudes one more earnest than the next. Only Mei Zhangsu sat there, leisurely picking up a piece of pastry and looking at it over and over, as if he could see flowers in it.

The entire fighting process was filmed quite well.

"The Martial Arts Instructor put in the effort," Li Yang evaluated.

She decided to look up who the Martial Arts Instructor for Nirvana in Fire was after she finished watching.

It felt like a decent level.

Most importantly, the few child Actors were clearly also well-trained over a long period. It wasn't relying on post-production special effects to play it awkwardly, with the Actors doing a few random moves and the post-production team doing a few slow-motion shots to muddle through.

In the show, throughout the process, Baili Qi gradually fell into a disadvantage.

The Emperor of Liang became increasingly interested; seeing the end, he wouldn't even allow the eunuch beside him to disturb him, but instead smiled and said, "Look, look."

In the end, the three child slaves from Ye You Ting actually defeated Baili Qi.

Watching this scene, Li Yang didn't feel surprised at all; she even felt a lack of interest.

She no longer sat cross-legged, but lay on her side on the sofa, watching the show in a more languid posture.

Judging from the curvaceous figure revealed while lying on her side, it was indeed worthy of the line netizens often joked about: "With a wife like this, even if the child isn't mine, what does it matter!"

In the comments, many viewers were posting: "Ox! Ox!"

Li Yang, however, did not think so.

Seeing the Drama to this point, she was actually more confident.

"What Luo Mo is playing is just the same stuff our Jade Pearl City screenwriters and original author use; nothing rare about it." She patted the hydrating and firming mask on her face, Heart Like Still Water.

On the contrary, Jade Pearl City had a fantasy background and was more high-martial. Many scenes were grander and flashier. Some face-slapping scenes were also filmed more impactfully.

In her view, when it came to giving the audience satisfaction, our Jade Pearl City might even be a cut above!

"Hmm, Nirvana in Fire is mainly good because of the character design, and the details are more on point," Li Yang thought to herself.

She decided that for the next show, she would also put more effort into the Costume, Makeup, and Props.

Since the mask on her face hadn't fully absorbed all the essence yet, Li Yang thought: "I'll watch for five more minutes, and once the mask is absorbed, I'll stop watching."

For this kind of trope, I am only willing to give you the time of one facial mask.

(PS: First update, asking for monthly tickets.)

(End of this chapter)