Chapter 25: The Remarkably Gifted Netizens Finally Discovered the Clue

Chen Mo and Yu Youde, "Meteor Shower Together" and "Watching Meteor Shower Together."

Added to this were the previously sensational "First Internet Defamation Case," the "Knife-in-the-Back" cult scandal, and Fang Xiaoxiao's exposés.

The result led to a scenario that neither Chen Mo nor Blueberry TV had anticipated.

#RuthlessChenMo (Trending)
#KnifeInTheBackCultSequel (Hot)
#WhoIsTheImposter (Hot)

Within a mere two days, three related search terms rocketed onto the trending lists. Even Chen Mo himself was dumbfounded; he honestly hadn't expected to trend because of all this.

Blueberry TV, however, was overjoyed. They hadn't expected that Chen Mo, someone they had initially deliberately sidelined, would generate such spectacular promotional effects.

What was there to say? It was an obvious opportunity to add fuel to the fire.

For a time, netizens devoured this massive piece of gossip. After all, Chen Mo's situation was packed with gimmicks. The transformation of his public persona became a primary focus for the gossip-hungry crowd.

His first identity was that of a reviled, arrogant, small-time actor who bullied actresses.
His second identity, revealed after the full surveillance footage was released, was that of a pitiful victim who had been framed, oppressed, and coerced.
His third identity was that of a ruthless figure who flipped the table and orchestrated the "First Internet Defamation Case."
His fourth identity was the director of "Meteor Shower Together!"

It could be said that he had achieved a magnificent turnaround that no one could have imagined. More importantly, it was clear to everyone that the advantage was now on his side.

Furthermore, why did Chen Mo and Yu Youde become enemies? Did it start when Chen Mo auditioned? Why would a director hold such deep-seated hatred for an actor auditioning for his show?

Unfortunately, the netizens of this era had not yet evolved to become as savvy as those of the future; remarkably, no one guessed at anything like "sexual favors" or "casting couch" politics. Of course, the main reason was that, in those days, people were relatively innocent, and their understanding of such unspoken rules was strictly tied to traditional gender roles, so for the time being, no one really thought in that direction.

Naturally, Chen Mo couldn't go public with such accusations; he had no hard evidence, and with the advantage already in his court, there was no need to gild the lily. Yu Youde, meanwhile, was even less likely to expose his own flaws or admit his guilt. He was currently in a state of panic. He never expected this fire to reignite; he hadn't even been able to suppress the initial spark!

Mango TV had completely abandoned "Watching Meteor Shower Together." After all, it held no competitive advantage, and the critical issue was that it was a knock-off. While everyone played by these rules in the past, you could do it, but you couldn't talk about it openly. Just as "Meteor Shower Together" could use *Meteor Garden* for promotion and even invite actors from the original version to help, would "Watching Meteor Shower Together" dare to do the same? Chen Mo could boldly claim his version was the new F4, but the other side could only call theirs H4, and they couldn't even say that in public.

Of course, Yu Youde still had a final straw to clutch: hoping that once "Meteor Shower Together" officially aired, it would prove to be a massive failure. In that case, "Watching Meteor Shower Together" might still have a chance, and could perhaps even be sold at a high price. Bundled marketing was a double-edged sword; if "Meteor Shower Together" flopped, then whether it was the "real deal" or an "imposter" wouldn't matter much anymore. Ratings were king!

In truth, Yu Youde was now filled with regret. Put simply, how much would it have cost to just buy the remake rights for *Meteor Garden*? The market climate made it impossible to sell such things at a high price at the time, given that people could film them anyway without buying the rights. Why did he film his version? It was only because the *Meteor Garden* IP had such widespread influence. But he only now realized that there were so many benefits to purchasing the rights—the promotional effect was incredible!

Of course, Chen Mo wasn't guaranteed a win. In fact, while Chen Mo's maneuver seemed flawless—and buying the official remake rights was hailed by netizens as a stroke of genius that left Yu Youde speechless—it did, to some extent, break certain unspoken rules. If Chen Mo succeeded, it would be a stroke of genius that everyone would praise. But if he failed and the ratings for "Meteor Shower Together" didn't meet expectations, he would be "pushed out" of the film and television industry entirely.

That was exactly why everyone called him a "ruthless man"—he had gambled everything!

Time passed, day by day, amidst the clamor of the netizens and the anxiety of Yu Youde.

August 9, 2010.
Today was the day "Meteor Shower Together" would premiere on Blueberry TV’s "China Blue" theater block.

Whether it was a mule or a horse, we would know tonight. After the continuous promotion, this drama was arguably one of the most anticipated of the moment. Whether it was due to the nostalgia for *Meteor Garden* or the messy grievances between Chen Mo and the "Knife-in-the-Back" cult, everything eventually funneled into this show. It could be said that it had even greater advantages than the premiere of the original version in the previous life.

Blueberry TV had invested so many promotional resources that they naturally had high expectations for the show. Today, a significant number of people were watching the premiere ratings. This included Zhou Qizhong, the Deputy Director of the Procurement Department at Blueberry TV who had a stake in the show; Chen Mo's mentor, Li Bin; Ning Hao, who was busy filming; the show's creators; and, of course, those who hoped to see it fail, such as Yu Youde, some people at Mango TV, the members of the "Knife-in-the-Back" cult, and even Fang Xiaoxiao, who was currently "sewing soles" in prison.

On the eve of the premiere, Chen Mo and his team were still in Hangzhou, having just finished recording a special program for "Meteor Shower Together" at Blueberry TV. This special would air after the first two episodes of the drama concluded. They remained at the station to witness the premiere, though in reality, they were just marking the moment. Getting accurate ratings wouldn't be that fast; it would take at least until the next day to get preliminary statistics, and because of the way ratings were calculated, more accurate figures usually took at least 24 hours or longer to emerge.

This show was obviously important to Chen Mo, but it was equally vital for the other leads. Zhao Liying was particularly tense at this moment, as this was her first time acting as the true, undisputed female lead in a serious production. Lacking confidence to begin with, she appeared even more nervous. She also knew how much the ratings meant to Chen Mo, which, for some reason, made her even more anxious. While the others were expectant and nervous, none were as visibly affected as her. After all, none of them had checked their watches as many times as she had in the last few minutes.

"Can you stop checking your watch?" Chen Mo said, half-laughing and half-crying. "You're making me nervous too. Besides, even after it airs, we won't know the ratings until tomorrow at the earliest."