Even after the Iconic Moment finished playing, the comments section was still flooded with messages.
[I could watch it a hundred more times!!!]
[What's next? What's next? I want to see the Gwangjang Market!!!]
[Switch quickly, don't lag!]
Then the screen froze.
First the comments section went blank, then the screen froze on the frame where Cheng Che was smiling, and then--
A line of black text on a white background popped up on the screen.
404 Not Found.
Yan Ruanning paused for a moment, then refreshed the page.
404.
She refreshed the page again.
It's still a 404 error.
She stared at the screen for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.
She put down her milk glass, leaned back in her chair, and stared at the "404" on the screen, a deep smile playing on her lips.
She knew that Cheng Che had established himself in the entertainment industry.
Someone who can crash a platform is a phenomenon in themselves.
Xiao Zhou frantically refreshed the page, cursing as he did so. "What a lousy platform! It messes up at the crucial moment!"
Yan Ruanning ignored her, picked up her phone, and sent a WeChat to Cheng Che.
You're trending because the platform crashed.
Su Miaoyin had a completely different reaction.
She slumped on the sofa, watching Cheng Che's Iconic Moment finish playing, and was just about to watch the next segment when the screen went black.
404.
She froze for half a second, then kicked the coffee table.
The slipper flew out and hit the cushion.
"What a lousy platform!" She sat up, grabbed her phone, and frantically refreshed the page. "Hurry up!"
Mama Su peeked out from the kitchen, a spatula in her hand, and stared in disbelief as her daughter angrily confronted her phone, her face flushed.
" Miaomiao? What are you doing?"
"It's nothing!" Su Miaoyin said without looking up, "The internet crashed!"
Mama Su walked over, glanced at the 404 error on her daughter's phone screen, then at the anxious and angry expression on her daughter's face, and was full of doubt.
"What internet outage made you so angry?"
Su Miaoyin opened her mouth, but she couldn't very well say, "I'm watching my future husband's variety show, and the platform crashed so I can't watch it."
After hesitating for a while, she finally managed to say, "It's that variety show, the one that's really good."
Mama Su was even more puzzled. "When can't I watch variety shows? Why are you making such a fuss?"
Su Miaoyin stopped talking and continued refreshing the page.
I cursed the Mango TV a hundred times in my mind.
Seoul.
Pei Jingshu froze for a second when she saw the 404 error message suddenly appear on her phone screen.
Then she cursed in Korean.
"Aish!"
Jin Zhixiu peeked out from the bed next to her, saw her expression, and couldn't help but laugh.
"What's wrong? You're having a meltdown too?"
"Stop laughing!" Pei Jingshu shouted at her while refreshing the page, "Come here and help me check if it's a problem with my internet connection!"
Jin Zhixiu leaned over to take a look, then took out her own phone and tried it out.
Mine won't open either.
Pei Jingshu's face fell.
She waited for two weeks.
To watch this show, she finished her homework early, declined her friends' invitations to dinner, and sat cross-legged on her bed for a full two hours.
Then, at the most crucial point, the platform crashed.
She threw her phone on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and muttered something in Korean.
Jin Zhixiu didn't hear clearly, but she could roughly guess that it was a complaint.
Meanwhile, Weibo was in an uproar.
On the trending topics list, one term is climbing at a visible speed.
Cheng Che's amazing camera shot caused the Mango TV to collapse#
Clicking in, the comment section already has over 10,000 views.
[The platform crashed the moment I saw Cheng Che take off his sunglasses???]
[ Mango TV, you owe me money!!! I was watching the crucial part!!!]
[Such a big platform, and it can't even broadcast a variety show steadily?]
[I almost dropped my phone, what a piece of junk server!]
[I've refreshed the page thirty times, and it's still a 404 error. I'm going crazy!]
Do you know how long I've been waiting for this show???
[I was just about to take a screenshot of Cheng Che's part when the platform disappeared.]
[ Mango TV, can you guys even do this? If not, try another platform.]
[Hilarious! A variety show crashed the platform; this is a historic moment!]
[So just how good is this show... that the platform crashed?]
[I haven't watched it yet, but seeing you guys like this makes me really want to watch it.]
The official Weibo account of Mango TV received tens of thousands of comments within ten minutes.
Is it fixed? Is it fixed? Is it fixed?
I'm begging you, please hurry!
[I paid for a membership and you're showing me a 404 error???]
[Refund!!!]
[I've only seen half of Cheng Che's Iconic Moment!!!]
[Do you know how important this shot is? I'm going to screenshot it and use it as my wallpaper!!!]
Mango TV Headquarters.
The data monitoring room was in complete chaos.
Deputy Director Sun stood in front of the large screen, looking at the real-time data, his expression complex.
Surprise, joy, and anger were all crammed together.
To his surprise, he had never seen anything like this in over a decade of working in the variety show industry.
A Iconic Moment scene from a TV show crashed the platform's servers.
The good news is that during the few minutes the system was down, the number of new member registrations surged by 120,000.
Many users who click on the link and see a 404 error don't immediately exit; instead, they go to buy a membership, thinking, "Maybe if I buy a membership, I can watch it."
Then I found it was still a 404 error, and the membership wouldn't be refunded.
What's infuriating is that the platform crashed.
He turned around and faced the head of the network department, his voice cold.
"I'm giving you three minutes to tell me when you can fix it."
The head of the network department was sweating profusely, holding a mobile phone and talking on the phone with the technical team.
He hung up the phone and spoke cautiously.
"Mr. Sun, the peak concurrency was too high. In the last five minutes, the number of people watching online simultaneously exceeded eight million, three times our estimate. The server overloaded and crashed. The technical team is urgently expanding capacity, and it should be back up in about ten minutes."
"Eight million." Deputy Director Sun repeated the number, then took a deep breath. "What was our peak concurrent user count last time?"
Three million.
Deputy Director Sun paused for a moment in silence.
Then he spoke, "Go, add servers immediately. Expand to a capacity of 15 million by today."
The head of the network department nodded vigorously.
Deputy Director Sun waved his hand, telling him to get on with it.
Then he turned to the person next to him and said, "Tell everyone that there will be a meeting in ten minutes."
Ten minutes later, the Mango TV was restored.
The official Weibo account issued an apology statement, which was sincerely worded, acknowledged the technical malfunction, and promised compensation.
A lottery link was provided, offering 100 annual membership cards.
The criticism in the comments section subsided somewhat, but most people simply ignored the Weibo.
[I'm not smoking anymore, I'm going to watch the show.]
[Apology received. I'm going back to watching Cheng Che.]
[Keep the membership, I'll top it up myself.]
[Your giveaway made me miss two minutes of Cheng Che's performance. Do you think I care about a membership card?]
[I watched it, I already took screenshots of Cheng Che's part, it was worth it.]
Bye, I'm going to watch a show.
In the conference room.
Deputy Director Sun sat at one end of the long table and glanced around at everyone present.
He first looked at Deputy Director Sun —no, he should be Director Sun now.
He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"The premiere of ' Walking the Flower Road Together ' achieved very impressive results. Despite a technical glitch, its overall performance far exceeded expectations."
He paused for a moment and looked at the person who had defied all opposition to invite Cheng Che.
" Old Sun, when you insisted on inviting Cheng Che, some people in the team objected, saying you were taking too much of a risk. Now the data is out, and the segment with Cheng Che was the peak of the entire show. You did the right thing."
Director Sun nodded, his expression restrained, but the corners of his mouth couldn't be suppressed.
His competitor sat across the table, looking rather displeased.
He was the most vocal opponent of inviting Cheng Che back then, but now that the data is there, he can't say a word.
After the meeting, the others offered their congratulations to Director Sun.
"Mr. Sun, congratulations!"
"This show is a sure thing."
"That shot of Cheng Che was absolutely amazing; I was stunned for a long time after watching it."
"We need to act quickly if he has any other projects coming up."
Director Sun smiled and nodded, responding to each question.
After most of the people had left, he stood by the window, looking at the traffic below, took out his phone, and sent a message to the program director.
"Well done. Add more of Cheng Che's scenes if possible."
After sending the message, he leaned against the window frame, his mind still racing.
Having worked in variety shows for so many years, he has met all kinds of artists.
Some have popularity but no talent, some have talent but no luck, and some have everything but are just missing that one crucial element.
But Cheng Che is different.
There's something about this person that I can't quite put my finger on.
The moment he stands in front of the camera, you know the shot is perfect.
He says one sentence, and you want to hear the next. He smiles, and you want to take a screenshot.
These kinds of people are born for this.
They are also naturally gifted at helping others make a living.
He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced down at his phone.
The program director has already replied.
"Received. There's still footage for the next three episodes; I've kept all the material for Cheng Che's parts, enough for editing."
Director Sun put his phone back in his pocket with satisfaction.
Meanwhile, countless viewers have already returned to the platform to continue watching the program that made them wait for ten minutes.
The comments started scrolling again.
[They're back! They're back!]
[ Mango TV, you owe me a minute, and I'm remembering it.]
[Stop talking nonsense and let Cheng Che cook!]
I want to see the Gwangjang Market!!!
[I took a screenshot of that Iconic Moment, anyone want it?]
[I want it! I want it! I want it!]
In the video, Cheng Che is walking on the streets of Seoul, sunlight shining on his shoulders, his steps light.
He glanced at the stall next to him and smiled.
The live chat exploded again.
[That laugh!!!]
I'm dead, I'm dead, I'm dead
[This is what variety shows should be like!!! This is what they should be like!!!]
I've forgiven Mango TV.