The most excited people about Cheng Che's recent surge in popularity are not netizens, but the production teams of the dramas " Walking the Flower Road Together " and " The Youth Here ".
The reason is simple: Cheng Che has only filmed this one variety show and this one TV series so far.
Other celebrities become famous, but you can only watch with envy, unable to ride their coattails.
But these two production teams are different. Cheng Che's popularity is their popularity. The more popular Cheng Che is, the more valuable their stuff becomes.
They've already tasted success with " Walking the Flower Road Together ".
After the South Korea episode aired, the show became the variety show of the year, breaking platform records in viewership. Advertisers were clamoring for more money, and there was already a long queue of sponsors for the second season before it even started.
The director sent a message in the group chat saying, "In the next episode, we'll include more of Cheng Che's scenes." Director Sun praised him again during a meeting at headquarters, saying, "It was the right decision to invite Cheng Che against all odds."
But no matter how happy " Walking the Flower Road Together " is, it can't compare to " The Youth Here ".
Variety shows are variety shows, and dramas are dramas.
The popularity of variety shows is temporary; it dissipates once the show ends. But TV dramas are different; this is Cheng Che's only starring role in a film or television work to date.
More importantly, the plot of " The Youth Here " overlaps so much with Cheng Che Himself experiences that viewers will automatically immerse themselves in the story while watching. This kind of effect is something that money can't buy.
In the editing room of " The Youth Here," Director Zhou was staring at the screen.
He had accumulated over two hundred hours of footage in front of him, and the rough cut had reached forty-five episodes; he was currently doing the third round of fine editing.
The scene pauses on a classroom scene, where Cheng Che, playing Zhou Ye, sits by the window, turning his head to look outside, the light shining on his profile.
Director Zhou stared at that scene for a long time, then sighed.
After editing for so many days, he felt more and more that Cheng Che had an incredibly strong presence in front of the camera.
No matter the angle or the lighting, the image is perfect whenever he places it there.
He was adjusting the entry point for a piece of background music when the door to the editing room was pushed open.
Producer Fang stood at the door with a strange expression.
It wasn't anxiety, nor anger, but a suppressed excitement that was about to explode.
" Old Zhou, come out for a second."
Director Zhou frowned.
He hated being interrupted while editing. But seeing Producer Fang's expression, he still stood up.
In the hallway, Producer Fang handed over his phone.
A news notification appeared on the screen: Cheng Che advances to the Australian Open final, marking a historic breakthrough for Xia Country men's tennis.
Director Zhou stared at that line of text for three seconds.
Then his fingers began to tremble.
"The final?" His voice was a little hoarse. "He made it to the Grand Slam final?"
Producer Fang nodded, unable to suppress his smile, "They beat Medvedev 3-1 in the semifinals, making them fourth in the world. The final is the day after tomorrow."
Director Zhou handed the phone back to him and took a deep breath.
He acts in youth dramas, but he learned about tennis in order to prepare for filming " The Youth Here ".
He knew what a Grand Slam was and what Xia Country's best Grand Slam result was before that.
He also knew the weight of what Cheng Che was doing.
" Old Fang," Director Zhou turned around, looking at Producer Fang, his tone suddenly becoming rapid, "Do you know what this means?"
Producer Fang was taken aback. "Popularity?"
"It's not just about popularity." Director Zhou lowered his voice, but spoke faster. "What's the plot of ' The Youth Here '? A sports prodigy, in his final year of high school, trains and studies simultaneously, eventually getting into university and embarking on a professional career. And who is Cheng Che Himself? A top scorer in the college entrance Zhuangyuan, currently studying at Peking University, a tennis Champion, and now reaching a Grand Slam final. His experiences overlap so much with the character. When viewers watch the show, they automatically connect Zhou Ye and Cheng Che. This sense of immersion isn't something acting can create."
Producer Fang's eyes slowly widened.
"You mean?"
"Even if he loses the final, the buzz will be enough to keep us entertained until the end of the broadcast," Director Zhou said excitedly. "But his chances of winning are extremely high. I watched the recording of his semi-final. Medvedev made so much preparation, won the second set, but was still crushed in the third and fourth. With that kind of skill gap, no matter who he plays in the final, he has a very good chance."
He paused for a moment, then looked at Producer Fang: "So what we need to do now is strike while the iron is hot."
Producer Fang immediately nodded. "Edit the trailer."
"Yes." Director Zhou turned and walked towards the editing room, his steps much faster than usual. "Pick out Zhou Ye's scenes and cut a thirty-second trailer. It doesn't necessarily have to mention the Australian Open, but include Cheng Che's name. The audience will make the connection themselves."
"Not mentioning the Australian Open?"
"No need to mention it," Director Zhou said. "His advancement to the finals is all over the internet. As long as we release a preview with his name in it, fans will naturally connect the two events. That's called leveraging existing momentum, not riding the coattails of popularity."
Producer Fang laughed, "You never hold press conferences, so I thought you didn't understand marketing."
Director Zhou pushed open the door to the editing room and glanced back at him.
"I don't open one because it's a pointless waste of money. But it would be foolish not to capitalize on a trending topic."
At 2 PM, the official Weibo account of " The Youth Here " posted an update.
The accompanying image is a still from a drama featuring Cheng Che.
He was wearing his school uniform, standing on the track of the playground, the sunlight shining from behind, gilding his entire body with a layer of gold.
He held a tennis racket in his hand, tilted his head, and had a faint smile on his lips.
The accompanying text consisted of only one line. " Zhou Ye, senior high school student, sports specialist. See you this summer!"
Finally, I included two hashtags: Youth Here Cheng Che
The Australian Open was not mentioned, the final was not mentioned, and nothing related to tennis matches was mentioned at all.
But the number of comments exceeded 10,000 within ten minutes.
[Ahhhhh, he looks so handsome in his school uniform!!!]
[Wait, he's holding a tennis racket?? Zhou Ye plays tennis??]
[Isn't this Cheng Che Himself?!]
[Holy crap, I get it, Zhou Ye is a Cheng Che!]
[A top-scoring student in the national college Zhuangyuan examination plays a student with special athletic talents; this isn't acting, it's a natural performance]
[He just reached the Australian Open final, and this announcement came out; they really capitalized on that hype.]
[Don't say they're trying to ride on the coattails of someone else's popularity; they're the lead actors, so releasing a trailer is perfectly reasonable.]
[The role of Zhou Ye is perfect for him, I can't wait to see it!]
[Where's the trailer? I want to see the trailer!!!]
[Hurry up and set a release date!!! Can't I even get a membership!!!]
An hour later, the video had been viewed over a million times.
The comment section received over 100,000 views and the number of likes exceeded one million.
The hashtag # Youth Here # trended to second place on the hot search list, Australian Open only to # Cheng Che #.
Two trending topics: one about his competition, and the other about his drama.
Fans were running back and forth, cheering for the game on one hand and posting comments for the show on the other.
Wen Zhiyi reposted the trailer, adding the caption, "Waiting for summer with Zhou Ye."
Her comment section also became lively.
[ Sister Zhiyi and Zhou Ye teamed up!!! What an amazing combination!!!]
With Wen Zhiyi's acting skills and Cheng Che looks, I'm definitely watching this drama.
[ Zhou Ye and Shen Nian, a sports student and a top student, I'm shipping them!]
Are there any scenes between them in the trailer? I want to see them.
[Sister, are you also watching Cheng Che's competition? Hahaha]
Zhao Yiming reposted the trailer, adding a cheering emoji.
Li Siyuan also shared it, only writing the two words "expectation".
Other actors in the production crew also shared the post.
Some were genuinely happy for Cheng Che, while others wanted to ride the wave of his popularity.
Regardless of the motives, this wave of reposts pushed the popularity of " The Youth Here " to its peak.
Producer Fang sat in his office, looking at the data in the backend, grinning from ear to ear.
" Director Zhou," he turned to Director Zhou and said, "Guess how much the number of pre-orders for the trailer has increased?"
Director Zhou glanced at him.
Two hundred thousand.
"How many?"
"The number of reservations increased by 200,000 in half an hour. The total number of reservations has now exceeded eight million."
Director Zhou paused for a moment, then nodded.
"That's normal," he said. " Cheng Che's current popularity, coupled with the decent quality of the drama, means this number will continue to rise."
Producer Fang leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Do you think if he really wins, we can break ten million reservations?"
Director Zhou looked at the still of Cheng Che on the screen and thought for a moment.
"Yes," he said. "Not only can it break ten million, it can break records."
Producer Fang slammed his hand on the table. "Then we'll just wait to collect the money."
Director Zhou didn't respond, but simply turned his gaze back to the editing screen.
In the scene, Zhou Ye, played by Cheng Che, is standing on the playground and smiles at the camera.
The sun was shining brightly, and the wind was blowing the hem of the school uniform.
Looking at that scene, Director Zhou suddenly realized that the show's success might be even better than he had anticipated.
Meanwhile, Cheng Che, far away in Melbourne, was completely unaware of all this.
He is currently training, making final preparations for the final match the day after tomorrow.