Chapter 84: The Advertiser’s Collapse

Contrary to what Chen Qi had anticipated, the final bonus episode received widespread acclaim from viewers online. His closing words about speaking up for one’s dreams moved many people deeply. After hearing those words, some felt an outpouring of emotion, while others remained silent for a long time. Then, the comment section exploded! Shortly after, the episode’s views and comments skyrocketed as if riding a rocket.

In just over ten minutes, its metrics surpassed those of the original final episode by a significant margin. Before long, advertisers still keeping an eye on "Wanwan" began to hear the news. Upon learning that Chen Qi had filmed a bonus episode without any advertisements, they all stared in disbelief. God only knows how bewildered they were! To them, Chen Qi seemed completely insane! For heaven’s sake, why would anyone in their right mind turn down easy money? What kind of crazy thought process was this? Why couldn’t he just play by the rules for once? Not only did he limit the series to fifteen episodes and then quietly add a bonus one, but now he’d even gone so far as to make an episode without any ads—was he out of his mind?

They almost begged him to please act like a normal person! Such waste was unforgivable! These advertisers, who had been desperately scrambling for ad slots just days ago, now felt their hearts ache with regret. Especially as the episode’s reputation continued to soar, they felt as though they'd lost hundreds of millions! Squandering such an opportunity—what a waste! In their minds, they cursed Chen Qi up and down.

At a restaurant, Xu Bunian, who was in the midst of a meal, received several calls from advertisers. They all wanted to confirm whether or not there would be any more bonus episodes. "No more, really, that last one was a spur-of-the-moment idea. There wasn’t time to arrange ads," Xu Bunian explained with a laugh. Hearing the advertisers’ frustration, everyone at the table burst out laughing—even Chen Qi himself couldn’t help but chuckle. The atmosphere was harmonious and relaxed; no one was constrained by Xu Bunian’s status as boss or Chen Qi’s as director. Having worked together for so long, they’d all become quite familiar with one another.

After another half hour of eating and drinking, everyone, satisfied, waved their goodbyes and left in high spirits. Chen Qi politely declined Xu Bunian’s offer to drive him home. After all, he hadn’t been drinking—why trouble anyone for a ride? Hailing a taxi was cheap and convenient; he wasn’t about to pinch pennies over a few bucks. So he refused. Seeing his insistence, Xu Bunian didn’t push further. With a wave, Chen Qi bid him farewell and headed straight back to his rented apartment by taxi.

Perhaps it was the exhaustion from the busy days, but as soon as he got in the car, a deep fatigue washed over him. Back at his place, he washed up briefly and fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t wake until after nine the next morning, his fatigue completely gone.

Taking his time, he made himself breakfast and enjoyed it leisurely before heading out to the studio, fully content. He had entrusted the entire renovation of the studio to a company and hadn’t visited since handing over the keys. On the way there, he looked out the window with interest, taking in the sights of this city that still felt so unfamiliar.

At a red light, after some time, a red convertible pulled up in the lane beside him, catching his eye. The driver was a young man, but that wasn’t what drew his attention. In the passenger seat sat a slender woman with long hair. He couldn’t see her face, but her silhouette was pleasing enough. So, instead of gazing at the scenery, Chen Qi found his eyes drifting between the woman and the car.

Regrettably, before half a minute had passed and as the light turned green, the red sports car shot off and was gone. Chen Qi clicked his tongue in mild disappointment, wondering if he should buy a car himself. After all, he was now a millionaire.

Of course, even if he did buy a car, it wouldn’t be a flashy convertible like that—he couldn’t justify such extravagance. Still, he thought it practical to own a car; taking taxis everywhere was just too inconvenient. In the city, it was manageable, but when filming in the suburbs, it had been awkward.

What else did he need to buy? He ought to find a better place to live as well. Beyond these material needs, he needed to build his small team as soon as possible.

The studio was nearly ready for use, but he didn’t have a single staff member yet. Lost in these thoughts, Chen Qi arrived at the studio just before eleven. Inside, several workers were busy with construction. He looked around carefully. The progress was good, and both the design and materials matched what had been agreed upon in the contract.

He pointed out a few things that needed fixing to the project manager, asked when the work would be finished, and left. The renovations were straightforward—just painting, flooring, electrical adjustments, and partitioning a few rooms—so things were progressing quickly. According to the manager, it would be wrapped up in about a week. Once finished, he'd just need to air it out, buy some office supplies and plants for decoration, and it would be ready for use.

Clearly, recruiting staff had become an urgent task. As he reached the ground floor and was about to take a stroll, his phone suddenly rang. It was Xu Bunian.

“Mr. Xu,” he answered.

“Here’s the situation,” Xu Bunian said, getting straight to the point as usual. “I just got calls from two TV stations. They want to invite you guys to appear on their talk shows. They’re offering a fifty-thousand-yuan appearance fee.”

Chen Qi was momentarily taken aback, then quickly understood. The two stations were trying to ride the wave of "Wanwan's" popularity and wanted them for a ratings boost. If they appeared on TV now, the viewership would certainly be high.

But—he had no interest in such things.

“I’ll pass. Why not let Zhao Wu and Bai Xiaoke go instead?” he replied.

“You’re not going?”

“No, those kinds of things don’t interest me.”

“Alright, I’ll turn them down,” Xu Bunian said simply. He’d only called to ask Chen Qi out of courtesy. Since he didn’t want to go, then that was that. Maintaining a bit of mystery wasn’t a bad thing either.

“Okay, do as you see fit,” Chen Qi said, hanging up.

A few minutes later, Zhao Qingqing from Simple Video called. Her request was similar: Simple Video wanted to organize a kind of fan meeting, broadcast live on their platform.

Once again, Chen Qi declined.