Chapter 20: The Great Explosion

Time slipped by quickly, and Song Wan had already been with the "Dream of Splendor" crew for two months. Apart from the slightly awkward relationship with the male lead, Ling Yang, her interactions with everyone else were delightfully smooth. Despite being the youngest, she had blended in so well that she was now friends who could joke around with the others.

Early this morning, before most of the staff had even woken up, Song Wan arrived at the filming location. Her scene was the first of the day—there could be no delay. She went straight into the makeup room, preparing to change into her costume, when Zhou Zhou burst in, phone in hand, his face alight with excitement. "Wan-jie, it exploded! It exploded!"

Song Wan couldn't help but laugh, "Zhou Zhou, this is the makeup room."

Still lost in the excitement of the news he'd just seen, Zhou Zhou hesitated to respond. Song Wan shook the coat in her hand, teasing him, "If you'd come just a moment later, I'd have been down to my underclothes."

With the crew being a mixed bag, and no telling if someone might have ulterior motives, the makeup room was separated by gender, with several lockable dressing rooms inside to protect the actors. Song Wan was merely amused by Zhou Zhou and joked with him, but he took it seriously.

Realizing what she'd said, Zhou Zhou's face flushed bright red. "Wan-jie, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I just got too excited..."

Song Wan chuckled, "Zhou Zhou, you're way too timid—I was only joking."

He looked up. "Really?"

Song Wan nodded helplessly, then asked, "So what good news have you stumbled upon to be so happy?"

Zhou Zhou sighed in relief and handed her his phone. "It's not me who got good news—Wan-jie, it's you!"

She was puzzled, taking the phone as she asked, "Me? What good fortune could I possibly have? Did someone win the lottery and write my name by mistake?" Sliding past the phone’s lock screen, she froze at the sight of a certain Weibo post.

Drama "Immortal Clouds" Crew V: Come, come, here’s the sister you’ve all been waiting for.

The post was brief, accompanied only by two photos—both styling shots of Miaoyu.

One was mysterious and haunting: the girl's face was adorned with bizarre, terrifying patterns covering her features, leaving only a pair of sharp, black-and-white phoenix eyes visible, their gaze cold and indifferent, ice-cold murderous intent radiating from within. Meeting her eyes sent a chill down one's spine, as if she might swing her whip and step right out of the photo; the palpable sense of threat, even knowing it was just a picture, was enough to make one’s heart tremble.

The other photo was gentle as spring: her face glowed like peach blossoms, charming and naive. Her head tilted slightly, those seductive phoenix eyes filled only with confusion and innocence. Her teeth bit softly on her lower lip, hands twisted nervously together, evoking the image of a lovable sister or daughter pleading for forgiveness at home—a sight that brought a smile to anyone’s face.

Two utterly opposite styles, yet both equally stunning. The striking contrast delivered an extreme surprise.

The official post never mentioned "Miaoyu" by name, but every die-hard fan who saw the two styling shots instantly exclaimed—

Miaoyu!

Only Miaoyu, it could only be Miaoyu!

Just as Zhou Qi initially insisted Song Wan was the only choice for Miaoyu, those who truly loved the original novel "Fallen Immortal," and who eagerly anticipated the drama "Immortal Clouds," immediately recognized the girl in the styling photos as the Miaoyu of the Miao region, stepping right out of the book.

Song Wan herself barely reacted to her styling shots, but when she saw the number of reposts, comments, and likes, she gaped in astonishment. "Why are there so many?"

Over 800,000 reposts, more than a million comments, and nearly two hundred thousand likes—even with the backing of original fans and Miaoyu fans, it was far too much for a newcomer with no fanbase. Even the hottest young stars were nowhere near such numbers.

"Did the crew buy bots?" Having never seen such a spectacle, Song Wan’s first reaction was to question the authenticity of the stats.

Buying bots was old news in the industry, and Zhou Qi’s particular fondness for Miaoyu made it plausible—his personality could very well have led him to boost the numbers.

But Zhou Zhou shook his head emphatically. "Impossible, Wan-jie."

"Hmm?" Song Wan turned, "Don’t you think the numbers are exaggerated?"

"Exaggerated? Where?" Zhou Zhou widened his eyes, "Nowadays, looks are justice! Wan-jie, you’re so beautiful, and your acting has been praised by Director Zhou—there’s nothing strange about this kind of popularity!"

Looks are justice? Song Wan found it amusing and was about to retort when another voice chimed in, agreeing with Zhou Zhou. "Song Wan, Zhou Zhou’s not wrong."

Turning, Song Wan saw it was Director Qian. "Director Qian, you too?"

Qian Fu waved her off, settling in a chair before speaking. "I know Zhou Qi well. For ratings, he would buy bots for promotion, but he’s a real director, not a businessman. The crew’s budget is limited—he couldn’t have allocated much for publicity."

Nowadays, many directors focus solely on marketing and pay little attention to the quality of their films and dramas, but Zhou Qi was definitely not one of them.

Song Wan thought it over, and agreed. She was even more surprised. "So you’re saying most of these numbers are real?"

Qian Fu answered without hesitation. "Of course—Zhou Qi probably hasn’t even had time to buy bots yet."

It was almost unbelievable.

But whatever the case, Song Wan was thrilled to have such a promising start.

*

Gu Yi was a die-hard fan of the novel "Fallen Immortal," but a sworn critic of its drama adaptation, "Immortal Clouds."

The trend of adapting novels into film and television had swept the industry in recent years, with fan-favorite stories becoming the darlings of production companies. Yet true masterpieces accounted for less than ten percent; most were slapdash, and some changed so much the original author could hardly recognize them, earning the wrath of readers everywhere.

After witnessing so many disasters, when her beloved "Fallen Immortal" sold adaptation rights, Gu Yi was furious.

When she first followed the novel’s serialization, her feelings for Miaoyu were complex—she hated the girl’s dark side, yet deeply pitied her as the male lead’s sister. When her identity was revealed to the female lead, Gu Yi felt her first dissatisfaction with the protagonist. As she learned more, Miaoyu’s fate became clearer, and Gu Yi grew to love the character to her core; she had even spent a month’s salary tipping the author, all for Miaoyu.

The more she loved Miaoyu, the more she believed no one could capture Miaoyu’s essence. She could be ruthless, adorable, stunningly beautiful, or ugly enough to frighten—yet she was always virtual, never real.

When styling portraits for other characters were released but Miaoyu’s actor remained undecided, Gu Yi grew ever more anxious. Finally, she learned the actor’s name, yet the crew kept Miaoyu’s styling shots under wraps...

Her worries drove her to transform, seamlessly, from die-hard fan to critic.

The moment the official blog posted, she rushed to the front lines, cursing with a single word!

When the "Fallen Immortal" author promoted the drama, she leapt into the comment section, unleashing a torrent of abuse!

When the male and female leads’ styling shots were revealed, Gu Yi couldn’t restrain her primal fury—she not only attacked the official blog but also the actors’ personal pages, lambasting them without mercy!

...

Her behavior was so extreme that friends who knew the situation thought she’d lost her mind.

But Gu Yi didn’t care. She would never allow anyone to ruin "Fallen Immortal," or her beloved Miaoyu.

Now, staring at the two styling shots posted by the official account, Gu Yi opened her mouth, but couldn’t type a single negative word—

Too beautiful, too evocative—exactly the Miaoyu in her heart!

Coming back to herself, she hurriedly right-clicked to save the images, then opened a group chat called "Anti-Immortal Alliance," tapping out a string of words—

Miaoyu, self-attacking and self-receiving: Aaaaah, did you see Miaoyu’s styling shots? So adorable, so gorgeous, my phantom limb is stiff with excitement!!!

The group was suddenly silent for a full minute—no one replied.

Gu Yi waited, puzzled, and typed: Why is nobody saying anything?

After a while, replies began to trickle in.

Miao Miao loves Yu Yu: Are you really our group leader? Did your account get hacked?

Because Gu Yi was so unwavering and contributed so much to criticizing "Immortal Clouds," everyone in the group called her "group leader."

Gu Yi retorted: You’re the one who got hacked!

She suddenly remembered something and grinned.

Miaoyu, self-attacking and self-receiving: I know why you’re doubting me. Wait—I’ll send two pictures, and you’ll see why.

Miaoyu, self-attacking and self-receiving: [picture][picture]

...

Two minutes later, still no movement in the group. Gu Yi grew uneasy and couldn’t help but @everyone.

With a bang, the group exploded!

Miao Miao loves Yu Yu: Aaaaah, who is this actress? So beautiful! How could Miaoyu possibly exist in real life? That expression—oh, I just want to pounce!

Love Miaoyu, gain eternal life: Don’t talk, you’re disturbing my screen-licking session!

Miaoyu is my husband: ... My phone got water damage and went black, I’m using my mom’s phone QAQ don’t ask how it got wet!

...

Just two styling shots had caused such a sensation—something Zhou Qi, and even the entire "Immortal Clouds" publicity team, had never expected.

As Qian Fu had predicted, to ensure the drama’s quality, Zhou Qi was eager to hype "Immortal Clouds," but lacked the funds for major publicity, most of which was reserved for the male and female leads. Even though Miaoyu was the most popular character, resources allocated to her were limited.

Moreover, Miaoyu’s popularity meant the biggest resistance the drama faced came from Miaoyu’s fans—almost all of them had become critics of the crew. Even though Zhou Qi was satisfied with Miaoyu, he wouldn’t risk the entire production.

So the publicity budget for Song Wan was almost entirely reserved for damage control, just in case.

But now? Zhou Qi couldn’t stop smiling—his grin was wider than any Buddha’s, wider even than a nutcracker’s.

The PR staff beside him didn’t find his expression odd at all, since they too were glued to their screens, grinning just as broadly.

The hype was there, the critics were gone, original fans had declared their anticipation for the drama...

At this point, things could not be better.

Just then, a marketing account with nearly eight million followers suddenly posted an exposé on Weibo.