Read Novel Full Chapter 92 - Going Public
**Chapter 92: ** Going Public **
Translator: Namizaki
*********************
He Zhang was a full-time influencer specializing in film and television, with accounts on multiple video platforms. His sharp critiques had earned him a massive following. Naturally, he couldn’t ignore the overwhelming publicity surrounding <The Patriot>.
Online, many bandwagoners joined the hype, eagerly anticipating the drama’s premiere. But compared to the feverish enthusiasm of netizens, He Zhang’s expectations for <The Patriot> remained low. He wasn’t alone; professional film and television bloggers in the industry shared his lukewarm sentiment.
The reason was simple: The promotion was excessive.
Even before the first episode aired, the hype had reached saturation levels. Weren’t they afraid the drama would fall short and backfire?
If the show’s quality failed to meet viewers’ expectations, all the current hype would turn into backlash.
They had seen this pattern countless times: Dramas launched with massive pre-release campaigns, flooding the internet with paid promotion and grandiose claims like “A tragic love that endures beyond death” and “An epic saga of national destiny and personal vendettas.”
But strip away the flashy rhetoric, and you’d find just another Mary Sue drama. No matter how dramatically the promotion promised sweeping historical conflicts and grand ambitions, the actual show always devolved into a cloying romance.
This was especially true for so-called “female empowerment” dramas and political intrigue series. Only a handful ever managed to escape the clutches of romantic tropes.
These two types of dramas were He Zhang’s pet peeves. The moment he saw the grandiose marketing campaign for <The Patriot>, his instinctive aversion kicked in. After watching the promotional trailer, his impression of the drama improved slightly, but to stay relevant, he still decided to make a video about it.
But what kind of video could he make based on just a trailer?
With no plot to analyze, He Zhang simply followed his gut and went against the online hype: “I admit <The Patriot> has stunning costumes, makeup, and props, and the trailer is visually striking. But with leads like Ye Hang and Jing Xi, it might just be another cash-grab drama. If I’m wrong, I’ll apologize.”
Even before its premiere, news about <The Patriot> flooded the internet, generating both immense anticipation and backlash. The number of detractors rivaled the number of supporters.
During the wait for the drama’s release, this video became He Zhang’s third most-viewed piece. Viewers who shared his skepticism rallied behind him, while those eagerly awaiting <The Patriot> felt offended, sparking endless debates in the comments section—yet miraculously, the discussions remained civil.
The top comment read:
[Tomato Beef Noodle: No ulterior motives here. One male lead and seven supporting characters, three of whom are female. If the male lead doesn’t have a romantic subplot with more than one female character, I’ll apologize. I have nothing against domestic productions or CCQ, but good actors don’t necessarily make a good drama.]
[I stand by my words: I hope domestic dramas continue to improve. If <The Patriot> turns out to be good, CZQ can expect my apology.]
[He Zhang: He liked the top comment.]
The video went viral, briefly trending on social media. Chi Zhongqiao, abandoning his usual low-profile demeanor, simply replied with a single word: “Good.”
The video’s views exploded.
*****
On the day <The Patriot> premiered, the video had surpassed fifteen million views.
He Zhang rubbed his hands together, settling in front of the television. Impatient for the midnight website update, he shamelessly squeezed next to his Mother.
As the majestic opening theme concluded, the first episode of <The Patriot> began.
He Zhang silently popped open a bottle of AD Calcium milk. He both hoped to be proven wrong and feared the drama would indeed be as irredeemable as he had predicted.
The urgent clatter of hooves shattered He Zhang’s thoughts. He looked up to see a group of young men in brocade robes reining in their horses. At their head was none other than He Yu, looking exactly as he did in the promotional poster. Even his voice perfectly matched the audience’s expectations—slightly deep, with a hint of casual arrogance befitting his noble birth.
It perfectly matched Marquis Jingyuan’s established character.
He Zhang nodded. “Regardless of anything else, I have to admit Chi Zhongqiao’s acting is truly impressive. He’s damn good.”
As the plot progressed, He Zhang quickly grasped the scene: the emperor was holding an autumn hunt, and the “Rich Young Masters” led by Marquis Jingyuan rode into the hunting grounds.
However, to grab viewers’ attention in the first episode, the pacing couldn’t be so leisurely. Shortly after He Yu arrived at the hunting grounds, he overheard another group of Rich Young Masters gossiping about him.
This conversation successfully established He Yu’s background: Though born into nobility, his parents had died early. While the Old Marquis Jingyuan had earned his title through military valor, He Yu held a sinecure in the Ministry of Works, leaving him the target of scorn and ridicule from those who resented him.
He Yu stood behind them, listening with his hands clasped behind his back, until he heard the line, “A tiger Father doesn’t necessarily have a cub.” A faint smile curled his lips. He drew his bow and arrow, nocked the arrow, pulled the bowstring taut, and with a swift motion, sent the arrow whistling through the air, pinning the speaker’s crown to a nearby tree.
Seeing the man disheveled, clutching his head as if about to collapse, He Yu tossed aside his bow and scoffed.
*****
After the first episode aired, He Zhang tossed aside his empty AD Calcium Milk carton and muttered, “Putting everything else aside, He Yu is undeniably handsome. Those young girls are going to go wild.”
He glanced back at his Mother. Well, it wasn’t just the young girls—his mom was already smitten.
<The Patriot> aired only two episodes today, revealing just the tip of its massive iceberg. The early episodes were tightly paced and perfectly aligned with the conventions of political intrigue dramas. By the second episode, the emperor had fallen ill and appointed the Crown Prince as regent. The Crown Prince, as it happened, was He Yu’s sworn enemy.
He Zhang finished the first two episodes feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
If <The Patriot> could maintain this momentum, it might not replicate the phenomenal success of <Invisible Crime>, but it could certainly be considered a high-quality drama.
He Zhang smacked his lips and began preparing his new apology video.
He planned to wait until more episodes had aired before editing the video. With so little footage available and the plot still unfolding, it was too early to make a proper assessment of the series.
However, while he was holed up preparing the video, the internet exploded.
With fewer than ten episodes aired, <The Patriot> remained focused on political machinations, falling short of the epic scale promised in its promotional materials. Moreover, the male lead seemed to be exhibiting Mary Sue traits.
“Fuck… Isn’t He Yu a bit too overpowered in his character design? He’s a Martial Arts Master, a Math genius, and incredibly skilled with his hands. In episode eight, he even invented a new type of waterwheel! Why don’t you just say he’s from the Shi Clan?”
“It’s a bit much for him to be good at everything. If it were just his skills, fine, but his emotional intelligence is maxed out too. In episode six, he tricked Prince Wei! Can anyone really be this all-around perfect? Isn’t this just wish fulfillment?”
“It feels like they’re pushing a bromance… He’s getting way too close to that Crown Prince.”
He Yu’s character design is indeed overpowered. Moreover, while the early plot progresses steadily, none of the conflicts have truly erupted. Under the veneer of peace, everyone is either concealing their sharp edges or biding their time, making He Yu stand out like a sore thumb.
However, when you place He Yu back into the context of the drama, his strength doesn’t seem so excessive. After all, everyone in the story is highly capable. The reason he appears so conspicuous is simply because the drama is told from his perspective. His subtle actions, which might have remained hidden in the narrative, become glaringly obvious to the audience, who have the benefit of an omniscient viewpoint and can clearly see He Yu secretly pulling strings behind the scenes.
Dedicated fans who were seriously invested in the drama felt suffocated by these comments:
“Get a grip, people! What’s with the ‘Mary Sue’ nonsense? So far, aside from Prince Wei, who got killed off, who the hell has low intelligence? If He Yuyu were even slightly stupid, he’d have been devoured, bones and all!”
“You complain when the male lead is weak, and you complain when he’s strong. What’s your problem?”
“Still pushing the ‘bromance’ angle… Wake up! The Crown Prince and He Yu are childhood friends. Their Mothers were close friends, and after the Princess died, He Yu often stayed at the royal manor. Of course their bond is strong!”
“But it’s so satisfying! Whether you like it or not, I’m loving it. I could watch this again right now.”
Despite the fans’ rebuttals, comments and live chat messages accusing <The Patriot> of being a female-version Mary Sue continued to flood every episode.
<The Patriot> had indeed broken free from the domestic drama trope of obsessing over romance. However, this direction didn’t appeal to everyone. For some viewers, the male lead’s “Mary Sue” traits became unacceptable when not juxtaposed against a female lead.
The sky-high praise and expectations that had filled the promotional campaigns now seemed like sins. Many viewers cried “utter disappointment” and “hype without substance,” accusing <The Patriot> of excessive marketing.
No matter how fiercely fans argued, <The Patriot> was dismissed as a gender-swapped Mary Sue drama, incapable of carrying the weight of national duty and patriotic sentiment.
This situation persisted until the sixteenth episode.
In the drama, after the Lang Prefecture floods, the embezzlement of disaster relief grain sparked a rebellion. Meanwhile, He Yu, a Court Official, made a critical error, which the Crown Prince seized upon to demote him to Lang Prefecture. With no local connections, He Yu found himself virtually powerless in the region. However, the narrative’s focus shifted away from He Yu’s struggles, instead highlighting Lang Prefecture itself and the desperate fight for survival of its people.
In the seventeenth episode, He Yu rescued a young beggar, only for the child to be beaten to death for accidentally staining the Magistrate’s son’s clothes and dumped in a dilapidated temple.
That afternoon, when He Yu went looking for the boy, he found only a corpse amidst the drafty, crumbling ruins.
The man, as upright as a pine or bamboo, stood in silent contemplation for a moment before bending down to lift the child’s body. He glanced up at the weathered statue of the deity, then turned and walked out.
The little beggar’s death drew tears aplenty. Many drama fans wept until their eyes were swollen, their grief only easing in the final two episodes when He Yu used tales of ghosts and spirits to eliminate several corrupt officials.
In episodes eighteen and nineteen, chaos erupted across the four regions. He Yu, uniting with a handful of upright officials, began to quell the turmoil in Lang Prefecture. The final two female leads among the seven main characters finally made their debut.
By this point, the turbulent era had fully unfolded.
The earlier lighthearted, carefree atmosphere vanished completely, replaced by the menacing fangs of internal strife and external threats.
When He Zhang watched this episode, he silently deleted the video he had previously edited, opened his editing software, and began crafting a new one.
He had to admit that <The Patriot>, like <Invisible Crime>, possessed the quality to contend for the pinnacle of domestic television dramas.
By the thirtieth episode, <The Patriot> had achieved a viewership rating of 2.9%, crushing all competing dramas and rivaling even <Invisible Crime> in viewership.
*****
Chi Zhongqiao had just picked up a ring when Du Yusheng called. “That’s great,” he said calmly.
Du Yusheng exclaimed excitedly, “2.9! 2.9! <The Patriot> hasn’t even reached its climax yet, and it’s already hitting these ratings! It might even break 3 later on! Do you know the last time a drama broke 3? And the online reviews are glowing! <Invisible Crime> didn’t submit for this year’s Peony Awards, so your Best Actor award is practically guaranteed!”
Chi Zhongqiao gestured for the Manager waiting nearby to leave.
Du Yusheng sensed something was off. “Where are you?”
Chi Zhongqiao remained unfazed. “Buying a ring.”
Du Yusheng had a sinking feeling. “Don’t you already have one?”
Even if he did, you couldn’t propose with an old ring.
Chi Zhongqiao gently set the ring down, paused for a moment, and said, “If I win Best Actor at the Peony Awards this time, I want to wear the ring publicly.”
No hiding from the media’s cameras, just wearing it openly and proudly.
Du Yusheng was speechless.
Going public? Do you want a PR disaster?
Zaki~ English is not my first language, but I’ll try to get the translations as close as possible to the Author’s work. If you see any grammatical errors or mistakes in the translation, please feel free to drop them in the comments section so I can correct them immediately. Thank you and Happy Reading 🙂
