Chasing the Drama

January 25th, 7:35 PM.

Chen Bing was lying in bed scrolling through short videos when his alarm rang. He turned off the video and opened CCTV Video, then found Deep Blue TV.

CCTV Video is the most authoritative video client for watching CCTV and dozens of local TV stations across the country online. Its program sources rely on China's largest online television station—China Network Television.

After a few minutes of commercials, the TV drama began.

After a melodious and lingering theme song full of ancient charm, the drama's title appeared on the screen—The Legend of Consort Chen!

Actually, Chen Bing wasn't a big fan of TV dramas, especially palace intrigue dramas. However, he had recently taken a liking to a new female colleague at work. Her name was Li Yanping, and she was his junior from university. Coincidentally, they were both from the same hometown, which made him feel they were a perfect match.

After a period of patient observation, Chen Bing learned that Li Yanping's biggest hobby was watching dramas, especially palace intrigue dramas. He noticed how unusually happy she would be whenever she discussed TV shows with other colleagues.

Chen Bing's favorite pastime was watching sports, but girls generally weren't interested in that. Wanting to find more common ground with Li Yanping, he had specifically set an alarm for tonight.

Tonight at 7:35 PM, the grand palace intrigue drama The Legend of Consort Chen would premiere on Deep Blue TV. The Legend of Consort Chen was so famous that even someone like Chen Bing, who usually paid little attention to television, had heard its name countless times.

He was sure Li Yanping would be watching it tonight too. If everything went as planned, they should have plenty of topics to discuss tomorrow!

Twenty minutes later, the sound of his phone falling onto the bed startled Chen Bing awake. He had fallen asleep without realizing it.

He truly had no interest in the affairs of women's palace intrigues.

But even without interest, he had to watch!

Chen Bing gritted his teeth, pinched the root of his thigh hard, and then picked up his phone to continue watching.

He wouldn't sleep until he had finished watching the two episodes, no matter how tired he was!

The sound of the news in his ear gradually became clearer. Chen Bing opened his eyes again. His phone had long since fallen onto his chest. CCTV Video was still playing on the screen, but The Legend of Consort Chen had already finished. What was currently being broadcast was Deep Blue TV's late-night news program.

Chen Bing glanced at the time: January 26th, 1:30 AM.

Chen Bing was dumbfounded. He had fallen asleep again without realizing it, and had slept for five or six hours with his phone on.

Chen Bing plugged his phone in to charge, then got up and turned on his computer.

He felt like he had slept enough. He was wide awake now, with no trace of drowsiness. So, he opened Dou Miao to search for The Legend of Consort Chen and began to carefully read the reviews.

Chen Bing knew that iQIYI Video already had the resources for The Legend of Consort Chen. He could open iQIYI Video and rewatch The Legend of Consort Chen, but he really couldn't muster the interest.

He might as well read the reviews first to get a general idea of the plot of the first two episodes, and memorize some of the brilliant long reviews. If it sparked his interest in watching the show, that would be great. If he still felt unenthusiastic, he would use these excellent reviews to chat with Li Yanping tomorrow.

"A rating of 9.0?!"

Chen Bing was stunned when he saw the Dou Miao rating for The Legend of Consort Chen.

Even someone like him, who never paid attention to TV dramas, knew that a 9.0 rating was an astonishing achievement.

"Are there Chinese dramas with ratings above 9.0?"

Chen Bing wasn't very knowledgeable about this, but in his impression, he couldn't recall ever noticing a drama with a rating higher than 9!

"The data for this show is incredible. No doubt, Li Yanping will be enthusiastically discussing this drama tomorrow!"

"Should I watch it again? Maybe this time I'll get into it?"

Looking at the rating for The Legend of Consort Chen, Chen Bing finally felt a flicker of interest.

But it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer. He'd read the comments first.

"I hope everyone who has prejudices against palace intrigue dramas watches two episodes before criticizing. Without a doubt, this will be the most sincere historical drama of the year!"

"The pinnacle of palace intrigue, no explanation needed. Wishing Consort Chen a meteoric rise!"

"The number one historical drama has been born. Debate me if you disagree!"

Under the reviews for The Legend of Consort Chen, positive comments were overwhelmingly dominant. Scrolling down the mouse, it was almost entirely five-star reviews from top to bottom.

However, there were still other voices.

For example, in the replies below the comments praising The Legend of Consort Chen as the number one historical drama, there were often sarcastic remarks.

"Number one historical drama? Is it officially certified? Self-proclaimed? Shouldn't the number one historical brand be Young Bao Qingtian?"

"The Legend of Consort Chen is indeed good, but in terms of excitement and originality, it's still a notch below Young Bao Qingtian."

"I specifically set an alarm for midnight today just to watch Young Bao Qingtian. To be honest, I was a bit worried before watching, especially since Uncle Ming doesn't appear in this arc, and I feared the show might start strong and end weak. But after staying up late to watch Bao Heitan tonight, my worried heart is finally at ease. The second arc of Young Bao Qingtian is still full of sincerity. I won't say who is better between Bao Heitan and Consort Chen, as the two dramas have different genres and target audiences. But if I had to choose one, I would naturally choose Young Bao Qingtian."

Chen Bing's brow furrowed as he read the reviews.

"Why does it feel like the promotional team for Young Bao Qingtian hired a lot of paid commenters?! They're praising Young Bao Qingtian in droves on The Legend of Consort Chen's page. The attempt to piggyback on its popularity is too obvious!"

With his preconceived notions, Chen Bing's impression of Young Bao Qingtian had already become very negative.

But hearing the drama's name so often, he couldn't help but become curious.

So, he typed "Young Bao Qingtian" into the search bar on Dou Miao.

"Let's see just how good this Young Bao Qingtian is that everyone is hyping up!"

"What? A rating of 9.2?"

Chen Bing froze.

"How can the rating be so high? Could it be that those netizens earlier weren't actually paid commenters?"

With curiosity, Chen Bing typed "Young Bao Qingtian" into the search engine and clicked on the first link.

Opening Penguin Video, he saw that the first 8 episodes of Young Bao Qingtian had already been released. Chen Bing clicked on the link for episode 1.

The next day at noon, the employee cafeteria.

After getting his lunch, Chen Bing sat down next to Li Yanping with his meal box. Four or five male and female colleagues were around them, mostly women.

"Hey, did you all watch The Legend of Consort Chen last night? It was so good! The empress's acting was explosive!"

"Exactly, her acting was amazing, and the best part is the dialogue wasn't awkward and the characters' intelligence was on point!"

"The costumes were so exquisite, so ancient and elegant. The production team really put in the effort!"

"Shows like this should make a fortune!"

"The women in the harem are all so cunning. With our intelligence, if we were transported there, we'd probably only survive two episodes at most."

Chen Bing carefully observed Li Yanping and noticed she seemed unusually quiet today, uncharacteristically not joining her colleagues' discussion.

"Li Yanping, why are you just eating? Come on, tell us, who do you think was the woman who informed on everyone?"

Li Yanping said sheepishly, "Actually, I haven't watched The Legend of Consort Chen yet."

"What? You haven't watched it?!"

All the colleagues around looked at Li Yanping.

She was the biggest drama fan in the entire company. How could she say she hadn't watched a major palace drama like The Legend of Consort Chen?

Was the sun rising in the west?

"Tell us, were you on a date with some handsome guy last night?" her colleagues teased.

Chen Bing suddenly tensed up, afraid Li Yanping might confirm it.

"No, no, I watched TV for half the night, but it wasn't The Legend of Consort Chen," Li Yanping quickly explained.

"You're lying, your face is all red. You watched TV for half the night but didn't watch The Legend of Consort Chen? Even a ghost wouldn't believe that!" the colleague persisted.

"I'm really not lying to you. Let me tell you, this drama is really, really good. I just wanted to watch a couple of episodes to pass the time, but I couldn't stop once I started. In the end, I didn't even have time to watch The Legend of Consort Chen," Li Yanping said, blushing slightly.

"It wasn't The Legend of Consort Chen, but you couldn't stop watching? Oh, I know! You were watching Palace Scheme, right? I heard that drama is also quite good!" a colleague exclaimed, suddenly understanding.

Unexpectedly, Li Yanping still shook her head and said, "I was watching Young Bao Qingtian, starring Huang Zhou and Jin Jiawei, and Uncle Ming is also in it."

"Young Bao Qingtian?"

"Just by the name, it doesn't sound like a good show. What's the genre? Could it be better than The Legend of Consort Chen? No, you're still lying. You were on a date last night, weren't you?"

When Chen Bing heard Li Yanping mention Young Bao Qingtian, his heart immediately relaxed. He believed Li Yanping's words; Young Bao Qingtian was indeed a drama that kept you hooked.

He could guarantee that 100%!

"Everyone, stop guessing. Li Yanping definitely isn't lying. This Young Bao Qingtian is super good, you just can't stop watching it. I watched 8 episodes straight last night, and my eyes are still heavy!" Chen Bing said with a smile, looking at Li Yanping, then turning to his colleagues.