Chapter 55 055 Why Not Share

Chapter 55 055 Why Not Share

"It's awesome!"

"You mean 'The Empress'?"

"Yeah, totally! I checked out one episode of each of 'The Path of Bones' and 'The Empress', and I feel 'The Empress' has a faster pace."

"'The Path of Bones' is also great. Man, Lu Xu is such a good actor. I was blown away by Yu Yi's transformation."

Both shows dropped two episodes. Surprisingly, both dramas, which were trending before release, got rave reviews, scoring around 9.5 on top sites.

'The Empress' excels in its core theme, which is a strong female lead drama that resonates with current audiences. The lead is independent and strong-willed, with a free spirit. From the start, she’s focused on the bigger picture, not just the palace.

"It's so good!!"

"Who wouldn’t love a brilliant, sharp female lead!!!"

Meanwhile, 'The Path of Bones' stands out thanks to Lu Xu’s performance as Yu Yi.

Fans saw Yu Yi in the trailer, but the show’s way better.

"Yu Yi’s loved by all, and he makes everyone around him happy too." — This is a comment from a certain drama critic.

The bonfire’s warmth is captured in a soft, soothing melody, like gentle rain on your face.

Yu Yi, shy and quiet, is like a kitten guarded by his team.

Some read him letters from home; others bring pickled, rock-hard fish. Their gifts are random, but their love for him is real.

Kong Le didn’t give Yu Yi a happy ending, but he nailed his gentleness early on.

Watching the show, Tan Qi felt genuinely touched.

Yu Yi looks plain, maybe thanks to makeup, but his warmth still shines through.

It’s subtle yet powerful, filling you with deep joy.

Lu Xu’s never done a role like this, but Tan Qi thinks Yu Yi feels like the real him.

Lu Xu seems tough online, but he’s actually sweet and sensitive.

"Lu Xu should totally go for a gentle, everyday role next," Tan Qi sent a message to her friend, who didn't reply, so she turned her attention back to 'The Path of Bones'.

She loves the earlier scenes, so she hit pause.

Because in the next moment, Yu Yi's nightmare is about to begin.

What happens to "Team 01" is way gorier than the trailer showed — blood splatters everywhere, on trees, grass, a photo of a lover, and a pink teddy bear secretly brought by a daughter.

The scene is somewhat dark, causing a disorientation of vision and smell, as if the air is filled with the stench of blood.

One second, they’re dreaming of the future; the next, their lifeless eyes stare, clutching photos that scream they didn’t want to go.

To the mastermind behind this massacre, "Team 01" is nothing but a group of ants.

But to Yu Yi, they are family, his everything.

In the next moment, the camera cuts to a pair of eyes.

His eyes were still smeared with blood, whether it was his own blood or his teammates', and they only slowly opened after the assailants had retreated.

He looked at his teammates, his pupils so dilated they were almost unfocused, blood covering his lashes, seeping into his eyes and turning them a deep red.

Yu Yi struggled to his feet, moving slowly.

Severely injured, his movements were slow and labored, but no matter how long it took, he tenderly closed his teammates' eyes, clutched their lifeless, cold hands, picked up the photos, wiped off the blood, and tucked the pink teddy bear into his teammate's chest.

He made a silent, unbreakable vow.

Yu Yi started crawling through the pitch-black night.

The scene unfolded slowly, but while watching it, Tan Qi felt completely absorbed in Yu Yi's grief.

Yu Yi didn't cry, but his sorrow was so raw it pierced through the screen.

She couldn’t bear to watch, longing to reach through the screen and comfort him.

Revenge feels satisfying, and in the original story, Yu Yi’s revenge was almost effortless, but now, Yu Yi’s pain was all too real.

What was gone was gone forever.

The night was silent, and the director chose not to overlay the scene with mournful music, only the scrape of Yu Yi’s legs dragging and the occasional chirp of crickets. Despite his pain and the night’s terror, Yu Yi’s eyes stayed wide open.

One pair of eyes.

Two pairs of eyes, three pairs of eyes, four pairs of eyes...

Yu Yi’s living eyes merged with the lifeless ones of his fallen teammates.

Until the horizon gradually turned white.

Those blood-soaked eyes would haunt him until his dying day.

She sighed.

"The dead are gone, but do the living truly live?"

"Though the show didn’t show it, I could feel Yu Yi’s heart darken."

"I’m such a crybaby; I lost it the second Yu Yi opened his eyes."

Tan Qi gave these comments a thumbs-up.

For some reason, she felt that Lu Xu’s performance was so raw it felt contagious, making her involuntarily emit a mournful cry from her chest, as if, the moment her gaze met Yu Yi's through the screen, she understood what was in his heart.

Although she was a fan—just based on this performance, Lu Xu was godlike.

When he reappeared, Yu Yi had a different face.

More refined, more dazzling, as if wrapped in deep desire, it was Lu Xu's own face, yet, refined as it was, Yu Yi at this moment seemed like a hollow shell, his soul gone.

His smile never reached his eyes, his gaze deep enough to swallow people whole.

Yu Yi's revenge had begun.

When he was the captain of the "01" team, Yu Yi was smart enough and had enough strength, but because his teammates habitually took care of him, Yu Yi occasionally showed his childish side.

But now, those who trusted him are gone, and there is no one to rely on behind him. He can only face the danger alone.

In the scene, Yu Yi uses every means to extract information—using alcohol, drugs, and even his own body.

In the dead of night, he sneaks into a secret room to search for account books, memorizing the text from the machine one by one. The tension is so palpable that even breathing is audible, yet Yu Yi remains composed.

He is a weapon of vengeance.

Although Tan Qi is already familiar with the plot of *The Path of Bones*, for her, Lu Xu's performance is not just bringing the text to life.

He is the living incarnation of Yu Yi.

"I always knew Lu Xu's acting was good, but... he portrayed the ideal version of Yu Yi that I imagined."

"+1+1, Yu Yi's state of vengeance is almost inhuman, yet he still managed to portray it."

"Incredible!!"

"If *The Informant* had cast Lu Xu as the lead, I wouldn't have anything to complain about."

"Ahhhhh, just mentioning *The Informant* makes me furious, those scumbags ahhhhh!"

"I absolutely love this version of Yu Yi."

"Before and after the vengeance, it's like sunshine and dark clouds that shroud everything in darkness. The Yu Yi at the beginning felt like basking in the sun, so warm."

"Amazing!"

...

Although the audience has given high praise, in terms of popularity, *Empress* still comes out on top.

Qiao Mengyao's fanbase is large and stable. After the drama aired, discussions about *Empress* on TV drama forums, Tieba, and other platforms skyrocketed.

In the original work of *Empress*, there is a plot about building a harem, and one of the harem members has already interacted with Xi Rongyi.

"Is another hit drama set to debut in this February season?"

"Last time, Deyi Film broke records with Qiao Mengyao's *Born a Woman*. This time, with *Empress*, the platform can rake in another wave of profits."

"The buzz is huge. Looking at the search volume, *Empress* is much stronger than *The Path of Bones*. Qiao Mengyao has a knack for leading dramas."

"*The Path of Bones* and *Empress* are not even in the same league. What made you think that?"

On major platforms, more drama fans are optimistic about *Empress*.

Qiao Mengyao herself is a household name. *Empress* has a good pace and lays a solid growth line for the female lead, making it the type of drama most likely to become a hit in the current TV drama market.

Although *The Path of Bones* has many book fans, the buzz they can generate is quite limited. It's a blessing if they don't oppose the adaptation.

*The Informant* was such a flop that everyone knows about it, and the endless criticism from book fans played a significant role.

However, the heat data for the next day was... somewhat strange.

The popularity of *Empress* is indeed high, with an average viewership rating of 13,900 on the first day, just a step away from 14,000—a rare achievement in the drama market in recent years.

Moreover, the plot of *Empress* hasn't fully unfolded yet.

Qiao Mengyao's ability to carry a drama goes without saying.

Facing the juggernaut *The Empress*, *The Path of Bones* scored a first-day heat score of 11,111.

It's a strange number, but it still broke 10,000 and even crossed 11,000.

After hitting 10,000, every extra 1,000 points is a tough climb.

There's always been a silent agreement among platforms, celebrities, and audiences that breaking 10,000 in heat is the make-or-break moment for a series.

Shows like *The Noble Son* and *The Son of Heaven*, slow starters but strong finishers, are rare. Most hit dramas start with first-day heat around 10,000, rising and falling with the plot's ups and downs. There are also long-running series, of course, and then there are shows like *Watchmen* and *Rising Sun*, which leave audiences scratching their heads.

Still, *The Path of Bones* had a stellar first-day showing.

Especially compared to *The Empress*'s search buzz and chatter, *The Path of Bones*' metrics might seem unremarkable, but pulling off these numbers is enough to shock the industry.

Even with a 2,000-point heat gap, no one thought *The Path of Bones* lost.

The two shows are on totally different scales, and their cast disparities are even more pronounced. In *The Path of Bones*, Lu Xu is the only big name, but in TV dramas, Lu Xu still has to prove himself.

"...Actually, *The Path of Bones*' rating is slightly higher than *The Empress*."

"And that's with book fans being way harsher than regular viewers."

"Wait, what? Even though I'm a book fan, Lu Xu's performance genuinely moved me."

"Moved me too, +1. I’m all in for performances that move me."

"I like both *The Empress* and *The Path of Bones*. *The Empress* is about one person fighting alongside a group, while *The Path of Bones* is about one person's solitary battle. Between the two, I’m all about Yu Yi."

"Both are great shows; there's no need to fight over which is better, right?"

Compared to the constant drama surrounding Lu Xu's past projects and the infighting seen in *Watchmen* and *Rising Sun*, in the eyes of Lu Xu's fans, the competition between *The Empress* and *The Path of Bones* has been relatively harmonious.

Fans naturally don't see the undercurrents of tension between the two series, especially since Lu Xu has only criticized the other three members of Verse and hasn't dissed the *The Empress* crew. The two shows haven't openly clashed.

For the *The Path of Bones* team, maintaining the status quo isn't a bad thing.

The first-day heat blew past the team’s expectations; *The Path of Bones* never expected to win.

Unfortunately, the *The Empress* team isn't willing to share the spotlight.

If one can dominate alone, why share?

The first-day heat has already broken records from the past two years. With a bit more effort, it's not impossible for the series to set an overall heat record.

But as everyone knows, the audience pool is limited. When one show becomes a massive hit, there's rarely room for another breakout hit around it.