Chapter 78 078 The Fun Seeker

Chapter 78 078 The Fun Seeker

"Wow!!!"

"Holy crap! It feels like the buzz around 'Voices of the Dead' might surpass 'The Path of Bones'!"

"Does anyone else think Shao Yao's action scenes are sharp, not the kind of flimsy and lacking strength? He could try playing a swordsman hero in a wuxia series!"

"It's a pity he constantly gets picked on in the 'Nan Xiangzi' crew, such a stark contrast."

"Just checked the date, 'Voices of the Dead' has only been on for two days, is Lu Xu about to skyrocket?"

The highest buzz around 'The Path of Bones' was 14000+, and 'Voices of the Dead' has already exceeded 13000 in just two episodes. Although there is the factor of a case being solved, such data is still astonishing.

"Is Lu Xu perhaps the destined acting prodigy?"

"More like the record-smashing phenomenon."

"Earlier this year, I guessed that there probably wouldn't be a drama that could break the record of 'The Path of Bones', but then 'Voices of the Dead' came along in the second half of the year."

What first made 'Voices of the Dead' break out was not the two leads Lu Xu and Shao Yao, but the details of the case—for a drama series, the storyline itself is more important than the actors. The bloggers who interpret 'Voices of the Dead' have always had a good reputation among the audience. Although 'Voices of the Dead' incorporates a bit of paranormal aspects, the logic of the story itself is tightly woven and detailed.

Naturally, the audience's attention turned to the next episode.

Since there are limited good dramas in this season, the platforms are all launching relatively mediocre works, and no drama can withstand 'Voices of the Dead'. Therefore, to some extent, 'Voices of the Dead' has dominated the entire scene.

...

However, viewers who went straight to the fifth episode found that the new case they were expecting did not appear. The fifth episode is a continuation of the first case—the story of a girl who fled her family but was brutally murdered along with her child.

Such girls exist in every city, perhaps more than one, but she never received the care and love from her parents, neither in life nor in death.

Her death only means that her parents can get more money.

A life, no, two lives, are not worth the compensation she can receive.

But what's the use of blaming the parents?

They have already been assimilated by their environment. They cannot tell others that their daughter was brutally murdered because they have other children, because... the dead are dead, and the living are still alive.

They cannot consider the dead child, but must consider the living children.

Besides, the girl was not given more preferential treatment during her life.

Only the pleas for mercy and desperate cries that Jiang Lin heard proved that she had once been in this world, and that she actually wanted to live well.

Unfortunately, she was born without a home, and she did not have one after death.

The city where she and her little child lived became her final resting place.

"...A solid mystery, but a tragic tale."

"Ahhhh couldn't they give a heads-up? Got blindsided again."

"A heavy sigh, blaming the parents seems useless, it won't alter her circumstances, even... in her family's environment, her parents' choice is probably the optimal choice."

"Still, value life and make the most of life, nothing is more important than being alive."

The continuation of the first case is heart-wrenching, and the second case that follows is brutal.

The sound of rodents gnawing on skin, the sight of rats and insects scurrying out in a line from the house, and the gruesomely mutilated corpse inside the house were all too much for the audience, who were growing more desensitized.

"Ahhhhh! The most brutal creatures on Earth have appeared!"

"Did the scriptwriter think about how people who are scared of mice would feel? Those little whiskers, those black eyes, that shiny fur—it's not cute at all, ahhh!"

"It’s amazing the actors kept a straight face while filming this scene."

Tan Qi was also impressed by how Lu Xu and Shao Yao stayed calm and finished the scene.

When it came to rats... she was completely out of her depth.

Right after Tan Qi praised them, she spotted the hashtag #FearOfMice trending online.

Recently, the trending topics related to "Voices of the Dead" didn't always include the show's name, but as soon as she saw the word "mouse," Tan Qi had a hunch it was related to the just-aired sixth episode of "Voices of the Dead."

She clicked on it—oh, it was a human, not a monkey, jumping around.

This person was screeching like a chicken while tap-dancing. Once the rhythm settled, they let out a weird howl, followed by sounds indistinguishable to human ears.

It took Tan Qi a few seconds to realize this person... was Shao Yao?

She couldn’t believe it and rewatched the video.

This was a clip the official "Voices of the Dead" account posted, showing Shao Yao, who plays Su Yang and is terrified of mice, reacting to a rat.

"The poor guy looks like he’s on the verge of tears."

"Honestly, Shao Yao’s moves are better than Lu Xu’s."

"...Is this praising Shao Yao or shading Lu Xu?"

"Shao Yao’s so pitiful, but his screams crack me up. Bro, where's your cool persona?"

"Tiptoeing like he’s in 'The Four Little Swans.'"

"It’s equal parts sad and funny, but Su Yang in the show stays so calm. Is this the actor's self-discipline?"

"Give us more!!"

The "Voices of the Dead" crew had never put out behind-the-scenes clips before, and Tan Qi assumed director Xu Yan wasn’t into this kind of filming. She later realized the crew wasn’t against it—they just went big when they did.

She actually watched the whole video five times.

Shao Yao in the video was hilarious, bouncing higher than a monkey, dodging sideways, looking like he was about to faint.

But Shao Yao’s video was just the start, because soon after, the "Voices of the Dead" crew released footage of both Lu Xu and Shao Yao facing mice together.

The crew added text to the video, saying Lu Xu wasn’t scared of mice at first, but Shao Yao’s fear rubbed off on him.

"Like two roosters stomping on bugs."

"Don't they look more like geese charging across the road?"

"Hey, you guys are really mean. I just think it's double monkeys."

Fans were loving it, watching Lu Xu and Shao Yao bounce around, nearly collapsing, like puppies stung by bees—both sad and funny.

"They could debut right now, call them SL Dancers."

"We, LS Rappers, are not convinced!"

"Why not call them LS Dogs? No no, LS Doge. [dog head][dog head]"

"@Shao Yao, why didn't you share something good with our Lu Xiao Gou??"

"Alright, now I finally get why Lu Xu and Shao Yao became good friends."

And the "Voices of the Dead" crew made sure Lu Xu and Shao Yao saw it by specifically tagging them in their Weibo post.

Lu Xu: "...No thanks, I don't want to revisit that."

Shao Yao: "..."

Shao Yao stated that he has watched every episode of "Voices of the Dead" that has aired so far, except for this one, which he absolutely does not want to revisit.

If he revisits it, he's done for.

He doesn't even want the word "mouse" to appear in his sight.

However, this world is never short of people looking for a laugh.

Just the day after the "Voices of the Dead" crew released the video, a certain video site was flooded with "mouse dance covers." These covers not only accurately showcased the two dancers' exquisite skills but also perfectly recreated Shao Yao's sharp screeching.

But several uploaders admitted that their recreations didn't even come close to 50% of Shao Yao's original sound.

Some netizens even turned Shao Yao's chicken-like screams into a ringtone: "It perfectly captures my 'I want to die at work' mood, very realistic."

Lu Xu and Shao Yao were speechless, but the popularity of "Voices of the Dead" soared because of this—even viewers who don't follow the show now know that the "Voices of the Dead" crew features two dancers.

Although the details of the second case were overshadowed by discussions about mice, the fact that Lu Xu and Shao Yao managed to complete the filming despite their fear of mice, and that the crew didn't use prop mice, is pretty impressive.

Moreover, the design of the second case is indeed... something else.

On this day, discussions about "Voices of the Dead" mainly focused on the fate of the first case's victim and the fact that Shao Yao was bullied by the crew's mouse actor. Discussion leads to attention, and attention leads to popularity.

With the first case wrapped up and a new case just starting, the popularity of "Voices of the Dead" stayed at 13,000+.

Given that the popularity of the first case jumped from 11,000 to 13,000, industry insiders predict that by the time the second case wraps up, the popularity of "Voices of the Dead" could very well top 14,000.

Those who previously wrote off "Voices of the Dead" have now gone quiet.

As of now, "The Path of Bones" has just barely crossed 14,000 in popularity. If "Voices of the Dead" hits 14,000 with its second case, and the third and fourth cases keep climbing, then "Voices of the Dead" could very well overtake "The Path of Bones" to become this year's champ.

By then, Lu Xu would be holding the top two spots on the popularity chart, a sight... that's hard to stomach.

"Isn't this just a popularity stunt?" Yan Qichen just asked this, only to be met with his agent's exasperated expression.

Yan Qichen doesn't care about Lu Xu's popularity, but he's really bothered by Shao Yao's sudden rise to fame with "Voices of the Dead." If his agency hadn't stopped him from speaking out, he would have already thrown shade at Shao Yao.

But his agent firmly stopped him: "Can you out-argue Lu Xu? Or are you more popular than Zhang Che?"

Yan Qichen: "? What does Lu Xu and Zhang Che have to do with this?"

His agent patiently explained that Shao Yao must have Lu Xu backing him, and Lu Xu is unmatched in arguing across the entertainment industry. With Yan Qichen's smarts, he'd only end up in tears if he tried.

Even Zhang Che can't take on Lu Xu, and he's not as popular as Zhang Che!

More importantly, with Lu Xu's current momentum, there's virtually no young actor in the entertainment industry who can match him.

The popularity of "Voices of the Dead" has already surged, and even if a big-budget drama were to suddenly appear on any platform, it might not be able to compete with "Voices of the Dead." Lu Xu has extensive experience in targeting high-budget dramas.

In short, it's no secret in the entire entertainment industry that Yan Qichen and Shao Yao are already at odds. He doesn't need to make Lu Xu another adversary.

Lu Xu has been riding high lately, while Yan Qichen is clearly on a downward trajectory.

The agency behind Shao Yao, Mingniao Entertainment, is nothing to worry about, but Feiyang Performing Arts, which Lu Xu is signed to, has deep connections in the entertainment industry.

Yan Qichen had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

He was so angry that he bought several pet guinea pigs, daily holding up their cages, urging them to hex Shao Yao. The guinea pigs would flee at the sight of him.

#TheGuineaPigsArentUpForIt#

#TheResponsibilityIsTooGreat#