December 25, the provincial capital of Hunan, a residential compound.
Luo Xiaobo sat in front of his computer. A pen and paper lay on the desk. He glanced at the time: 7:20 p.m. There were ten minutes left until The Coroner's companion series, The Village, went live.
Luo Xiaobo was thirty years old and an ordinary employee at a graphic design firm in the provincial capital. He earned only 4,200 yuan a month. When he was single, he could just about get by, though he couldn't save much. But once he got a girlfriend, his money ran short immediately.
Fortunately, his reputation had soared over the past two months, and he'd earned the right to make a living from his reviews.
As well as being a graphic designer, Luo Xiaobo was also an amateur film critic on the side.
A few months ago, iQIYI Video's self-produced exclusive series The Coroner had burst onto the scene. He was one of the earliest viewers. Its polished production, tightly woven plot, bizarre cases, and eerie methods of murder had hooked him at once, stirring an urge in his chest: he wanted to write a review of The Coroner.
He'd occasionally written reviews before, mostly just for fun. Though he'd gradually picked up a few thousand likes, he was still nowhere near making a living from it.
The Coroner had made a powerful impression on him, so he poured himself into that review, writing with unusual care. He revised it over and over until, at three in the morning, he finally finished a review several thousand words long.
After uploading it, he barely paid attention to it, since he had work the next day.
Because he'd stayed up so late, he spent the whole following day in a daze.
When he finally got home from work that evening, he wolfed down dinner. Only then did he remember the review he'd written the night before. He logged into his Doumiao account and discovered that his inbox had exploded.
The review had gone viral. It was being reposted and discussed everywhere—on Weibo, Tieba, WeChat Moments, and all kinds of forums. Even The Coroner's production team had specifically mentioned it while promoting the series online.
Almost overnight, he'd gone from an unknown graphic designer to an influential figure whose opinions could sway the fate of a web series with a budget of over a hundred million yuan.
Two months had passed, and his life had changed dramatically. For one thing, he had money in his pocket, and he was more confident. An unusual air of self-assurance seemed to radiate from him.
Just last month, he'd started dating someone officially.
He'd never imagined a nerd like him could land such a beautiful girlfriend, but now it had really happened. And the source of it all was the confidence his review had given him.
Luo Xiaobo treasured everything he had now. So even though he'd earned the right to make a living from his reviews, he never accepted payment lightly.
The Village, a companion series to The Coroner, was about to premiere. For the past half month, its production team had been contacting him repeatedly, hoping he'd write a review for it just as he had for The Coroner.
Naturally, the fee they offered was quite generous.
The Village was a companion series to The Coroner, and both shows had the same production team, with nearly identical casts. In theory, there was very little chance it would turn out to be a terrible show.
But Luo Xiaobo still hadn't agreed outright. He insisted on watching the web series himself before deciding whether to accept payment.
Exactly 7:30 p.m.
Luo Xiaobo refreshed the iQIYI Video webpage. The first two episodes of The Village were online!
"Honey, what are you watching? I want to watch too!"
His girlfriend, Gong Xiaoxue, leaned toward the computer and pouted at him.
"Be good. I have to work tonight. You go relax first. Mwah."
"No, I'm not sleepy at all. I want to watch with you."
Half an hour later.
Luo Xiaobo's girlfriend, Gong Xiaoxue, started yawning.
"Be good and go to bed. I might be up late tonight!"
His girlfriend was distracting him, and he was afraid he might miss some important detail. He was getting a little annoyed.
There was no denying The Village was good. Its production quality was well above average, and every aspect had plenty to recommend it. Yet he still couldn't figure out where to begin writing.
He'd already said everything he could say in his review of The Coroner.
The story was as engaging as ever, but it somehow lacked anything new.
The publicity department for The Village had promised him such a generous fee that, even though he had no idea how to start, he felt he had to grit his teeth and write something.
With his girlfriend distracting him on top of that, he was growing more and more frustrated.
"This isn't interesting at all. Why don't we watch another show? I heard Uncle Ming's new series is premiering today too. How about we watch his show?"
The Village was certainly a solid series, but its atmosphere was a little oppressive. Gong Xiaoxue wasn't very taken with it.
"Be good. I'm not just watching for fun. This is work. Listen to me and go to bed first."
"Bed, bed, bed! Why would I go to bed? It's not even that late!"
"Listen to me. You can watch Uncle Ming's new series on your phone. I'm getting paid to watch The Village. Once I've earned some money, I can buy you lots of tasty food and fun stuff!"
"Forget it. I'll stay here and watch The Village with you."
Before long, the first episode ended. His girlfriend, Gong Xiaoxue, was yawning nonstop beside him. Yawns were contagious, and Luo Xiaobo was losing focus too. Even now, he still had no idea what to write.
"Forget it. If I can't write anything, I won't. I never gave The Village's publicity team a definite answer anyway."
"Xiaoxue, wake up. Since you don't like The Village, I'll watch Uncle Ming's Young Bao Qingtian with you."
Gong Xiaoxue rubbed her eyes. "Sure!"
Luo Xiaobo closed iQIYI Video and opened Penguin Video. The promotional image for Young Bao Qingtian filled the most prominent spot on the homepage.
To be honest, Luo Xiaobo didn't have high hopes for Young Bao Qingtian. He'd seen an interview with Chen Minghao and thought Uncle Ming had exaggerated far too much about the screenwriter.
A genius screenwriter the likes of whom hadn't been seen in twenty years?
The best mystery script he'd ever seen?
People who were truly good at what they did didn't need others to praise them deliberately. Conversely, those who lacked real ability cared more about other people's praise—and even went out of their way to beg for it—because they knew deep down that they weren't good enough. That was why they felt insecure!
There was no denying Chen Minghao's lavish praise had introduced Young Bao Qingtian to a lot of people. But it had also made quite a few of them instinctively label the series a likely flop.
Luo Xiaobo was one of those people who'd instinctively written Young Bao Qingtian off as a bad show.
If his girlfriend hadn't insisted on watching it, he might have given it a few hours someday when he was really bored. But if he had other options, he probably wouldn't watch it.
Still, what could he do? His girlfriend wanted to see it.
Luo Xiaobo clicked on the first episode of Young Bao Qingtian.
"Above me, a boundless sky. Within me, a single belief..."
His girlfriend, Gong Xiaoxue, sat up straight. "The theme song is so good!"
Luo Xiaobo nodded.
The theme song really was good, and the opening sequence had made a great first impression too.
But how did the saying go?
All that glitters is not gold!
Then the first episode began.
The first scene featured Gongsun Ce debating the scholars at Spring Breeze Full Moon Tower.
"Ren Yi is so handsome!"
Watching Ren Yi play Gongsun Ce as he played chess, solved riddles, and composed paired couplets, easily taking on three opponents at once, Gong Xiaoxue's eyes sparkled.
After praising Ren Yi, Gong Xiaoxue worried her boyfriend might get jealous, so she stole a glance at him.
Luo Xiaobo slowly nodded.
The screenwriter had come up with a clever couplet and word puzzle. A solid opening!
The story continued.
Bao Zheng, played by Huang Zhou, made his appearance as Bao Heitan.
"Interrogating a giant pig for breeding? That's hilarious!" Gong Xiaoxue giggled, already getting drawn into the story.
When Bao Zheng used nothing but a bowl of water and a little oil floating on it to identify the person who'd stolen the money, Luo Xiaobo finally sat up and paid attention.
"The case is small, but it establishes Bao Zheng's character perfectly. He uses the oil on the copper wire to figure out who really owns the coins. Clever! This series might actually be worth watching!"
Luo Xiaobo looked down at his girlfriend and saw that she was sitting upright, eyes fixed on the computer screen. She was completely absorbed.
Luo Xiaobo smiled and shook his head, then continued watching.
Next, Bao Zheng and his mother solved the case of a husband murdering his wife.
"No wonder Bao Zheng is so good at solving cases. His mother is amazing too."
"It's pretty funny watching the two of them bicker."
His girlfriend's bell-like laughter rang out from time to time.
"Mystery mixed with comedy? That's fresh!" Luo Xiaobo thought.
When Captain Lu stuffed his mouth full of sesame cakes while Bao Zheng reminded his mother that she'd just touched a corpse's vomit and couldn't eat until she washed her hands, his girlfriend's bell-like laughter finally turned into a burst of full-blown laughter.
"That's too funny! Look at Captain Lu's face—I'm dying!"
His girlfriend laughed so hard she doubled over.
Luo Xiaobo stared at the computer screen.
"Huang Zhou's acting has improved again, and Feng Lan really is a veteran. The mother and son she and Huang Zhou play are fantastic in every scene. They've got such great comic timing. Captain Lu's acting is excellent too."
Luo Xiaobo finally let go of all his skepticism.
"Distinctive style, a one-of-a-kind feel, excellent acting, and top-notch costumes, makeup, and props. Young Bao Qingtian might just hold its own against The Coroner. At least, so far, it certainly looks that way."
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