novelraw Chapter 123: Data Skyrocketing
Chapter 123: Data Skyrocketing
Nighttime.
In the living room of his grandmother's house, the lights were brightly lit.
The old ceiling fan wasn't on, just hanging quietly from the ceiling, witnessing the liveliness filling the room.
Jiang Ci was pressed into the very center of the sofa by his grandmother and mother working together, a standard Center Position.
On his left was a peeled water chestnut his grandmother had shoved over, on his right was a segment of peeled orange his mother had handed him.
The TV was replaying a Spring Festival Gala sketch, but no one was watching.
Everyone's attention was firmly locked onto Jiang Ci.
"Bro! Look! Look!"
His cousin Lin Lin squeezed past an aunt who wanted to hand Jiang Ci an apple and plopped down next to him, shoving her phone screen right in front of his eyes.
She was glowing with excitement."Our high school class group chat! It's completely blown up!"
Jiang Ci's gaze fell onto that small screen.
On the screen was a movie screenshot that had been photoshopped to the point of being distorted.
General Gu was beating the drum on the city tower, covered in blood, a single tear sliding from the corner of his eye.
And right next to this tear, a line of sparkling pink artistic text had been photoshopped.
"The General's tears are pearls, I'd smash my head against a wall for the General!"
Jiang Ci: "..."
This incredibly tacky fan support left him momentarily unsure how to react.
Lin Lin, completely oblivious to her older brother's speechlessness, swiped her finger rapidly across the screen, showing him the chat records in the group.
"Bro look, they're all discussing you!"
"This one says they're going for a second viewing, just to see clearly how handsome you are!"
"This one is asking if 'Palace Conspiracy' merchandise is out yet, they want your autographed poster!"
"And this one, our class monitor, he says he's a grown man, but when he saw you die at the end, he cried so hard he almost washed his contact lenses out!"
The entire screen was filled with fervent discussions about the character "General Gu."
The core topic was only one.
Who exactly played that White Moonlight General, that fleeting glimpse who left countless people with a sense of Unresolved Injustice?
Screenshots of movie ticket stubs were being tossed into the group, proving they had all shed tears for this general's tragedy.
Jiang Ci looked at those familiar ticket stubs, and in his mind, the system notification sound that had almost become background music dutifully rang out again.
[Ding! Heartbreak Value +4.]
[Ding! Heartbreak Value +7.]
He expressionlessly withdrew his gaze.
Madam Chu Hong walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of cut cantaloupe, just in time to see this scene.
She looked at her son being surrounded in the center, her face unable to hide her gratification and pride.
But when her gaze fell on Jiang Ci's slightly weary eyes, that pride transformed into a hint of indescribable worry.
"Come on, come on, don't all crowd around, let Xiao Ci eat some fruit."
Madam Chu Hong placed the fruit plate on the coffee table, subtly rescuing her son from the siege.
"Mom, I'm not hungry yet."
Jiang Ci dealt with his family's enthusiasm, feeling like the muscles on his face were about to stiffen completely.
He needed a little space alone.
Even if only for a few minutes.
"I... I'm going to the balcony for some air."
He found an excuse and stood up from the sofa encirclement.
"Hey, it's cold outside, put on your jacket!" His grandmother immediately called out worriedly.
"It's fine, I'll just stand for a moment."
Jiang Ci walked quickly to the balcony and pulled the glass sliding door shut.
The night in the small town was quiet and peaceful.
No suffocating prosperity like the capital, just a few sparse streetlights in the distance and the warm glow from the neighbors' windows.
Jiang Ci leaned against the railing and took a deep breath.
This was the real human world.
At that very moment, the phone in his pocket suddenly began vibrating frantically.
Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—
Jiang Ci pulled out his phone.
On the screen, a familiar group chat name was frantically popping up with new message notifications.
It was his university dormitory group chat.
He tapped it open.
The entire screen was filled with Zhao Zhen's iconic profile picture, frantically @-ing all members, and himself.
Followed by a long string of voice messages that seemed to have no end.
Jiang Ci casually tapped on the latest one.
The next second.
Zhao Zhen's signature loud voice nearly blasted the phone's speaker into immediate retirement.
"Old Jiang!!! Holy shit!!! I declare you are the Ziwei Star descended to earth!!! My brother is fucking killing it!!!"
The voice was so booming, Jiang Ci felt a slight tingling on his scalp.
He silently moved the phone a bit farther away.
"I booked three showings today! Dragged my dad, my mom, my aunts and uncles to go watch!"
"Do you know how hard my second aunt cried?! She said it reminded her of her high school first love!!"
Zhao Zhen's voice message wasn't finished yet.
In the group, Chen Mo, who had been silent, finally sent a message.
He didn't send any exaggerated words.
Just calmly tossed out a few screenshots.
All were analytical charts from professional box office data websites, with red circles marking the most critical data.
Chen Mo: "The data is out."
Chen Mo: "'Palace Conspiracy' opening day box office broke 300 million. Your personal hashtag #General Gu's Forever Is Now# contributed over thirty percent of the entire internet's heat."
Chen Mo: "Maoyan rating 9.7, Taopiaopiao 9.6, first in Spring Festival season attendance rate by a landslide. Private WeChat moments of multiple cinema managers show they are adjusting screenings overnight, adding extra showings against the trend for your character."
The cold, hard data was more convincing than any flowery rhetoric.
Zhao Zhen seemed stimulated by Chen Mo's calm, "letting the data speak" style of showing off.
Not to be outdone, he immediately tossed out a picture.
It was a meme he had personally photoshopped.
The base image was a still from the drama of Jiang Ci as General Gu beating the drum on the city tower, covered in blood.
Using Meitu XiuXiu, Zhao Zhen had crudely photoshopped a crooked crown onto Jiang Ci's head, with two golden, sparkling, outrageously tacky big characters next to it—
[Film Emperor]
And below the image, was a line of even bigger, more audacious text.
"Me, General Gu, send money! No, send five-star reviews!"
Jiang Ci looked at that meme that was tacky to a shocking degree.
Looked at that version of himself, set against the gold light and crown, appearing especially tragic and comical.
He couldn't hold it in anymore.
The sorrow and alienation of that identity were shattered into pieces by a single punch from this silly meme.
He leaned against the balcony railing, his shoulders trembling slightly, letting out a laugh that came from deep within.
The light from the phone screen illuminated the curve of his smile.
His fingers tapped on the screen.
In the end, he only typed out one line and clicked send.
Jiang Ci: "Please, be a decent human being."
Zhao Zhen replied with a voice message instantly.
"Be a decent human being? What decent human being! You're a reserve top-tier celebrity now!"
"I just checked Weibo, you're already trending on the hot search, the title is #General Gu Unresolved Injustice#, but the direction inside seems a bit off..."