Chapter 79 079 Heat Up

Chapter 79 079 Heat Up

Shao Yao had fantasized that he might become popular after the release of "Voices of the Dead."

When he first took on the role of Su Yang, his agent had seriously analyzed this possibility with him.

After all, it was a collaboration with Lu Xu, and the series featured a dual male lead setup.

But what he didn't expect was—the role didn't become popular, but he did.

Seeing the various imitations on video websites and the dancing memes circulating online, Shao Yao felt his vision darken.

Actually, he was quite satisfied with his cold and cool persona and didn't need to change much, but... the cold demeanor was gone, and now people called him the "goofy cool guy."

Shao Yao: "..."

Fortunately, things weren't as bad as he imagined: "At least I'm not the only one who became a meme."

Lu Xu: "...What do you mean?"

Lu Xu quickly threw a dozen Shao Yao memes into the group chat and sent several voice messages. Director Xu Yan and scriptwriter Zhao Jincheng were unfortunately caught in the crossfire, wishing they could toss their phones across the room the moment they opened the voice messages.

Xu Yan: "...Is this really necessary?"

Lu Xu and Shao Yao insisted that it was absolutely necessary; the "Voices of the Dead" team shouldn't be the only ones suffering.

...

Thanks to the reputation built by the first case, the viewership ratings of "Voices of the Dead" continued to climb after the second case aired.

The second case was slightly longer than the first, lasting about 6 episodes. The average viewership ratings for the first few episodes were above 13,000, and for the final episode, which had been heavily promoted, many viewers had been eagerly anticipating it.

"The viewership ratings for this episode should definitely surpass 14,000, right?"

"Think bigger, maybe it could hit 15,000."

Although "Voices of the Dead" is currently the series closest to reaching 15,000 in viewership ratings, neither industry insiders nor loyal viewers dared to predict such a number.

Because surpassing the 15,000 mark is extremely challenging.

To some extent, the 14,000+ viewership ratings of "The Path of Bones" are already quite rare.

There are only so many regular drama viewers, and unless a majority of them tune into "Voices of the Dead," it would be impossible for the series to reach 15,000+ in viewership ratings.

But is that even possible?

"Why not? I found the second case quite intriguing," Tan Qi complained to her friend while taking screenshots of the mocking comments about "Voices of the Dead." "Why do these profile pictures look so familiar?"

She quietly compared them and, sure enough, the same profile picture had previously mocked "The Path of Bones," and even earlier, they had claimed that Lu Xu's Starlight Award nomination was rigged.

"Just a die-hard anti-fan."

This person was a die-hard fan of Zhang Che, and as soon as Lu Xu was nominated for the Starlight Award, they had already seen him as a rival.

"...This jinx is so powerful. If they mock the puppy a few more times, the puppy clinching the Starlight Award won't be an issue."

When "The Path of Bones" aired, this Zhang Che fan had repeatedly predicted that "The Path of Bones" wouldn't surpass "The Empress," wouldn't exceed 12,000 in viewership ratings, and wouldn't exceed 13,000—yet "The Path of Bones" exceeded all expectations.

This time, with "Voices of the Dead" airing, it was the same. They first predicted that the premiere ratings wouldn't hit 10,000, then that the first case wouldn't exceed 12,000. Even as many in the industry believed the second case would inevitably surpass 14,000, they still stubbornly believed that "Voices of the Dead" wouldn't exceed 14,000.

In a way, it’s even more genuine than a fan’s devotion.

As a fan of Lu Xu, Tan Qi’s attention to him pales in comparison to the other party’s.

It’s like saying that hating someone to the extreme is...

Picking the wrong answer every time—isn’t that some kind of bizarre talent?

The second case in "Voices of the Dead" is a classic "snowbound villa" mystery, a type of case that many detective masters have described, but "Voices of the Dead" brought something new by introducing live animals like rats and insects.

How did the criminals pull off the crime in a room only accessible to small animals?

The criminals believed that using live animals would throw off the investigators and inflict extreme punishment on the victims, but their cleverness was the double-edged sword that destroyed them—every living thing has a spirit and emits its own distinct sound, and it was by this that Jiang Lin found the breakthrough in the case.

The process of solving the second case not only continued the fast pace of the first case but, to some extent, was more like teaching a lesson in animal science. Tan Qi found it utterly fascinating.

Honestly, without Jiang Lin’s guidance, she’d have been completely lost.

Because she had been following "Voices of the Dead" these days, she even joined a mystery-solving group, listening to the experts in the group analyze the clues of "Voices of the Dead." Tan Qi felt out of her depth, reduced to just reacting.

As "Voices of the Dead" progressed, Tan Qi couldn’t help but admire Lu Xu’s knack for picking great scripts.

"Voices of the Dead" is definitely not the kind of drama that leaves you confused after ten episodes; it’s fast-paced and never drags. The first and second cases are completely different modes, but every shot is filled with a lot of information, with absolutely no redundant plots.

If it were other actors, the script of "Voices of the Dead" wouldn’t be the first choice—the two actors don’t get many standout moments in this drama, solving the case is the priority.

Nevertheless, the characters Jiang Lin and Su Yang are still impressive.

The two tied together the case-solving threads of the two cases in "Voices of the Dead"—beneath Jiang Lin’s laid-back exterior lies a sharp mind, while Su Yang appears aloof but burns with intensity. Because of their shared pursuit of the truth, the two can cooperate perfectly.

In Tan Qi’s view, "Voices of the Dead" is a drama where it’s hard to see how good Lu Xu’s acting is, unlike in "The Path of Bones," where Yu Yi’s character undergoes a dramatic change, with cruelty and simplicity imprinted on the same person, making Lu Xu’s performance naturally remarkable.

However, as "Voices of the Dead" has progressed, Lu Xu’s performance feels natural and never jarring.

It’s as if City S truly exists in this world, and in City S, there really is a young man who doesn’t do his job properly and just wanders around all day.

Lu Xu is truly remarkable.

Tan Qi saw an evaluation of Lu Xu’s acting skills two days ago, from a well-known drama critic, who said that a truly great actor can embody any role. Some roles have extreme personalities, and if the actor plays them to the extreme, they can naturally attract the audience and make them feel that he is great, but this kind of acting is elevated by the role itself.

Other roles, however, remain unremarkable throughout, lacking points that attract the audience’s attention, and the audience even thinks that such roles are easy to play.

But the fact is not so.

Extreme roles have many breakthroughs, but ordinary roles are difficult to balance well; if you play too full, there are too many highlights, it doesn’t fit the definition of "ordinary," but if you play too conservatively, the role will fade into the background.

Jiang Lin and Yu Yi are completely different roles, Yu Yi belongs to the former, Jiang Lin belongs to the latter, but Lu Xu has mastered both types of roles.

Tan Qi quietly liked the comment.

In her opinion, Lu Xu can make any role feel authentic.

The highlight of "The Path of Bones" is on Yu Yi, making Yu Yi the only highlight in the drama, while "Voices of the Dead" focuses on the plot, with Jiang Lin leading the audience to the depths of the truth.

Lu Xu perfectly fulfilled his responsibility as an actor.

...

The finale of the second case aired on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday, not a Friday or Saturday with more traffic than usual, but for the entire TV industry, this Wednesday was not ordinary—

The heat of "Voices of the Dead" today is—15066!

"!!!!!!"

"Lu Xu is definitely A-list now, right?!!!!"

"It surpassed 15000!! I checked, the last drama that exceeded 15000 in heat was "The Ballad of Clouds and Sea," a summer blockbuster three years ago, which was also broadcast on Grape Video. I feel like "The Ballad of Clouds and Sea" must have been much more expensive than "Voices of the Dead."

"Grape Video must be over the moon, right? 'Voices of the Dead' already had a lot of sponsors, and last night they added a dairy ad."

"Lu Xu's casting fortune... is insane."

"I really love Jiang Lin and Su Yang. Recently, there have been quite a few fan edits of them, hehehe, I’m getting my daily fix."

Fans who follow "Voices of the Dead" know that in recent days, Jiang Lin and Su Yang have been topping the CP rankings on several platforms.

When watching the previews, many fans were already prepared for shipping.

Yan Qichen's fans mocked Shao Yao for riding on Lu Xu's coattails, trying to hype up the CP between Lu Xu and Shao Yao with the release of "Voices of the Dead."

However... that didn’t happen.

Not only was Shao Yao himself dead silent, but his agency, Ming Niao, also remained completely silent.

The CP between Shao Yao and Lu Xu didn’t even become as popular as the "dancers" meme.

After "Voices of the Dead" aired, their social media posts mainly consisted of reposts from the official show account.

The actors' CP wasn’t hyped at all, and the characters' CP... wasn’t quite what the outside world expected of a male-male CP.

To be precise, the kind of trust where you’re willing to entrust your back to the other person, the blind belief that the other person will protect your life... is closer to true friendship, a bond of kindred spirits.

"This is the real deal!"

"The way they look at each other isn’t overly affectionate, but that tacit understanding where they know each other’s thoughts at a glance, I’m obsessed!"

"+1+1+1, Jiang Lin is a character I really love. He’s someone who becomes brave for the truth, and Su Yang is someone who shows anger for the truth. They just fit so well."

"Check out the most-liked 'What If' video on a certain site, which tells the story of Yu Yi meeting Jiang Lin after seeking revenge, and Jiang Lin covering for him. Although it doesn’t align with Jiang Lin’s moral compass, it’s so good!"

"No no no, I think this is exactly Jiang Lin’s moral compass. If he saw what Team 01 went through, he might point out Yu Yi in the end, but he would never stop him midway."

The popularity of the "What If" video immediately drove a group of "The Path of Bones" fans to watch "Voices of the Dead."

Besides fanfiction about Yu Yi and Jiang Lin meeting, fans also theorized that if Yu Yi hadn’t experienced all that, he might have become an ordinary person like Jiang Lin, patrolling the streets and helping solve cases with his physical prowess.

It’s precisely because there’s no "what if" that Yu Yi’s story feels so gut-wrenching.

In summary—"Voices of the Dead" has indeed become a hit.

After surpassing 15000 in heat, "Voices of the Dead" has clearly become the most buzzworthy show of the year.

Although the third case didn’t reach 16000—a figure that’s nearly unattainable—it maintained a stable average of over 14000.

During this season, the attention of the entire TV drama market has been completely monopolized by "Voices of the Dead."

It’s already the second half of the year, and the number of dramas that have surpassed 10000 in heat this year is only half of last year’s. Industry experts are worried, and although "The Path of Bones" sparked a trend in similar genres, they still hope to see a more varied array of shows.

"Voices of the Dead" burst onto the scene in this context.

The most concerning point for industry insiders is that, due to various factors, audiences might have abandoned television dramas.

However, "Voices of the Dead" has surged past a popularity score of 15,000.

This indicates that it's not that no one is watching dramas, but rather that audiences are favoring high-quality series.

"Voices of the Dead" isn’t just being watched—it has also broken the year's viewing records.

For the entire industry, the existence of "The Path of Bones" and "Voices of the Dead" acts as a major boost.

The popularity of both Lu Xu and Shao Yao has risen with the show—Lu Xu has received far more scripts and variety show offers than during the broadcast of "The Path of Bones," and Shao Yao is so busy that Ming Niao Entertainment has had to make temporary hires.

Xu Wen doesn’t want to run Lu Xu ragged, carefully selecting and reducing his workload, yet some offers are simply too hard to refuse.