I Am A Prodigy

“iPartment? Not many people are interested in that series right? Just the name itself seems uninteresting.”“I think so too. Those slice-of-life comedies are always the same. I’m sure it’ll be lame.”

“This type of TV series will be very plain. I don’t know what’s so nice about it.”

“I know about those things, but this TV series is endorsed by Actor Y. Previously, Huo Yuanjia was looked down upon too, but a miracle happened in the end. At least it shows that his scripting ability is very good. I think iPartment won’t let us down.”

“Huo Yuanjia was a one-time thing only. If Actor Y would show his face and take part, then there would be something to look forward to. I think you’re just putting him on a pedestal.”

“That’s right. Look at Xiao Feifei, giving up her identity as a goddess of the silver screen and retreating to the backstage. The first TV series she produces will surely be filled with flaws. It’ll be considered a blessing for them not to fail.”

“However, I still feel that the ratings for iPartment shouldn’t be too bad. After all, with a director like Li Tai on top of Xiao Feifei and Actor Y’s popularity, it should at least get them a 0.6, right?”

…

An unknown residence in an unknown region…

A family of three were enjoying their rare peaceful reunion and sat in front of the TV.

“Ma, change the channel please. I want to watch Banana TV.”

“Why? I want to watch For My Love.”

“Let’s watch iPartment first. That’s Actor Y’s work. Our class has a saying that Y’s products are the best! Let’s watch that please.”

“What’s all this Y and Z. What’s so great about them?”

“I still want to watch it. Just a while. It might turn out great!”

“This name is so lame. What series is this? Fine, fine, stop your nonsense. I’ll change it for you.”

…

As the air time neared, Weibo grew more active.

[I just made a list of all the TV series airing on New Year. Everyone come make your guess on the TV ratings.]

[Sure, let’s do this.]

[I think For My Love and Palace should be able to break through 1%, and might even reach 1.1%. They’ll definitely be the highest. As for iPartment, I think it should be the lowest between 0.5% to 0.7%.]

[Previous post, my views are similar. Banana TV’s ratings aren’t that good to start with. Add to that iPartment being looked down on by others, I expect the ratings to be quite bad.]

[I heard that iPartment was supposed to be aired on Durian TV, but it was replaced by For My Love. What a pity.]

[That’s for sure. TV stations are not charities. They will definitely pick the better one.]

[I really admire Actor Y. First acting and now filming. Can’t he just focus on one thing? Now he’s even filming a TV series, and it’s a slice-of-life comedy too. Isn’t that just digging his own grave?]

[I hope Actor Y won’t let me down. After all, I still feel quite the attachment to Y.]

[Once iPartment flops, I hope Actor Y can reflect upon his actions and denounce himself as Y.]

…

Strawberry TV.

Orange TV.

Peach TV.

All the TV stations were paying attention to the reactions online. Their TV ratings depended on it!

They would even arrange for their employees to take part in the comments and brag about the merits of their TV stations, hoping for more followings.

Durian TV’s Chairman Ding was comparing various data when the corner of his lips curled into a smile. “I made the right choice. iPartment was destined not to be a hit. A love psychology drama like For My Love is the way to go.”

“That’s right. This time Banana TV made the wrong move. To think they would mindlessly pick iPartment.”

As the time neared 8pm, everyone was waiting in front of their TV for the show to start, another trending search popped up.

That trending search was related to advertising. The article included a lot of advertising companies.

[iPartment is dreaming big. A TV series like this is asking for an ad placement fee of 3 million!]

[That’s right. I only wanted to have their cast to drink my Dark Brew beer in the program, but they asked for 2 million!]

[Ambroisal faced the same issue too. It’s good that we’ve picked their program, but they actually asked for an astronomical figure. Don’t they know their limits?]

[With such a price, who knows what company would be willing to pay for that advertising fee.]

[Hehe, that’s right. It’s just a small little ad placement. Even if the TV rating hits 1.3, the heavier ad placements would only require 5 million!]

[I wonder where iPartment gets their confidence from, daring to pick a fight with others on New Year’s period.]

…

Those ad companies acted as though it was all planned in advance, aiming their mockery at iPartment. They had previously approached Li Tai, hoping to place some ads in the TV series. That was a common practice and also considered some form of sponsorship that benefited both parties.

However, Ye Lingchen was not willing to negotiate the price and was unwilling to compromise for his reputation. He aimed for it to be on the high-class spectrum, therefore setting a high price and left no rooms for negotiations. To be honest, if the price was too low, Ye Lingchen would not even care for that measly sum.

Under such circumstances, the price was naturally non-negotiable. Moreover, their views on price had a big difference.

That made the advertising companies frustrated. For this kind of TV series, they should be rejoicing to even receive sponsorship, yet they were acting all high and mighty. Were they waiting for someone to serve them?

Did they think they were some top-class program? Do they even have the qualifications to be haughty?

Upon seeing the one-sided comments on the internet, they felt all the more wronged. That naturally led to them joining the fray to sh*tpost on iPartment.

With that, the internet was filled with booing. It went from just looking down on the TV series to outright disgust.

One should always reflect on their actions.

‘It’s fine if this TV series can’t perform, but they don’t recognize their faults at all. That’s just too much. Do they really think that they would achieve such amazing TV ratings? A newly founded company with an all-rookie cast. How can they justify having others investing that much on them for ads?’

‘Even old companies with full celebrities cast have a chance of failing, much less a newly founded company. Do you really think advertising companies are lambs for slaughter?’

8pm.

All the ads from the various TV stations came to an end.

On Banana TV’s channel, the screen changed immediately into a vibrant one. With a happy and lively tune in the background, handsome young men and beautiful ladies started appearing one after another on the screen. Their happy faces made the viewers feel comfortable. It was all accompanied by the introduction credits for the actors.

The theme song was different from other TV series and was filled with cheerful and lively feelings.

“…Floating with a breath of pure oxygen.

I practice my flight under the blue sky.

Maintaining my attitude.

I’ll be the master of my future.

Dancing the whole day.

Playing in front of the screen.

The continuous dream accelerates non stop.

Zooming on the map I’ve drawn…”

iPartment begins!