Chapter 79

At 7:30 in the evening, busy Nian Nian ran back and forth many times before finally preparing everything she needed and placing it on the coffee table in the living room.

When Jiang Chen finished his work and came downstairs, he saw fruits, melon seeds, soda, and various other snacks placed in front of Nian Nian.

“Nian Nian, do you want some snacks?” Jiang Chen asked.

“Yeah.” Nian Nian sat down with her legs crossed. “Sister Xiao Xi said that watching TV dramas should have a sense of ritual.”

In pursuit of a sense of ritual, Nian Nian took the nuts and other snacks out of the box, put them into several particularly good-looking small plates, and then arranged them neatly one by one.

Watching his daughter’s actions, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but ask, “What drama is Nian Nian going to watch?”

“My mother’s drama.” Nian Nian also learned from Xiao Xi that a TV series her mother had filmed would be broadcast today. She will be able to see her mother on TV soon, so Nian Nian certainly can’t miss it.

Jiang Chen looked at Nian Nian, who was very excited, and said: “Nian Nian, you’re too young to watch TV shows right now.”

Jiang Chen came downstairs to watch the TV series his wife was filming on time, but he had already decided that he would watch TV alone. As for Nian Nian, he could give her her favorite toys to play with. At that time, the father and daughter would do their own things and not disturb each other.

Back when they were at home, the father and daughter had formed a silent understanding. While the father worked, Nian Nian would quietly play nearby, and they wouldn’t bother each other.

But now the plan had obviously changed with Nian Nian’s actions.

If it was a cartoon, Jiang Chen could let Nian Nian watch it, but the TV series Nian Nian wanted to watch was a love idol drama, which should not be suitable for Nian Nian.

After hearing her father’s words, Nian Nian frowned and replied, “You said I was a big kid when you wanted me to sleep alone. Now that I want to watch TV, you say I’m still too young. Do I have some special power that makes me both big and small?”

This morning, when Nian Nian woke up and didn’t see her mother, she thought her mom hadn’t come back from filming yet. But when she got up, she found out that her father had returned from his business trip the night before and had taken her mother with him. Her father had told her that she was a big kid now and needed to learn to sleep alone. Although Nian Nian wasn’t happy about it, she agreed. Now, however, her father is saying that she’s still too young to watch TV. Nian Nian was confused, not knowing if she was a big kid or a little kid.

His daughter’s argument was so well-reasoned that Jiang Chen was left speechless.

“Mom is in the TV series, so Nian Nian only needs to watch her and not watch anything else. Is that not okay?” Nian Nian said, “Even if my father doesn’t let me watch it now, I can find other ways to watch it tomorrow.”

Jiang Chen rubbed Nian Nian’s head amusedly, “Are you threatening Dad?”

Nian Nian’s eyes lit up: “Can I threaten you?” Why didn’t she think of this method just now?

“Of course not.” Jiang Chen patted his daughter’s head gently. “You can watch it today, but only today. You can’t watch it tomorrow. Can Nian Nian agree to this?”

Jiang Chen thought there were only two episodes tonight. For a TV series like this, the first few episodes were all about developing the plot, so there shouldn’t be any restrictions on children watching. It should be okay to let Nian Nian take a look.

“Deal.” Seeing that her father finally agreed, Nian Nian sat down again and happily fiddled with her snacks.

Seeing how Nian Nian treasured her snacks, Jiang Chen remembered the last time he ate Nian Nian’s precious instant noodles, which made Nian Nian so angry that she ran away from home. Jiang Chen teased her, “Nian Nian, can Daddy eat these snacks?”

Nian Nian smiled and replied to her father: “Of course you can.”

Jiang Chen was immediately touched by his daughter’s sweetness.

_

After much publicity and with the anticipation of fans, the TV series “Hello President” and “Crossover Elite” were aired almost simultaneously.

One of these two dramas is a Mary Sue idol drama, and the other is a female-led workplace drama. Generally speaking, due to their different audiences, most people would not put these two dramas together. As a popular young actress with several representative works, Gu Aifei has great market appeal, and her TV dramas have always been loved by the platform and the audience. In contrast, the drama “Hello President” was not well promoted, and the male and female protagonists are both newcomers. In fact, most people are not optimistic about this drama.

When the TV series first aired, “Hello President” couldn’t compete with “Crossover Elite”. As the first episode aired, netizens and fans started discussing it online with hashtags like #Gu Aifei’s first modern workplace drama# and #The start of “Crossover Elite”# trending. Fans of “Crossover Elite” began to tune in, finding it on Tomato TV.

In contrast, “Hello President” hardly got any online attention.

However, as the first episode of “Hello President” neared its end, an entry about Shen Mingyou suddenly became a trending topic. Clicking on it revealed numerous complaints about her acting.

— #Shen Mingyou’s acting is so bad# Shen Mingyou’s acting is as poor as ever. “Hello President” is a bad drama!

— After watching “Hello President”, I found Shen Mingyou’s acting awkward. Besides her pretty face, she has no acting skills at all. She’s still the heroine of “Asking the Sky”. I really doubt there’s no behind-the-scenes manipulation. #Shen Mingyou in Asking the sky#

— #Shen Mingyou’s acting is so bad# Shen Mingyou should just return to being a wealthy lady and stay away from acting. She’s such a bad actress; doesn’t she have any self-awareness?

— #Shen Mingyou’s acting is so bad# Even in a Mary Sue idol drama like “Hello President”, which requires minimal acting skills, Shen Mingyou’s acting is terrible. It’s clear she has no talent. No amount of promotion will change that.

— “Hello President” sounds like a cheesy idol drama. This kind of crude show might have worked before, but now viewers are harder to fool. They claim there’s a billionaire president, but he’s just a small boss. The plot is awkward, and the acting is poor. This drama should be boycotted! #Shen Mingyou looks like poop^[1]refer to ways of expressing a strong negative opinion about her acting.#

Many people who saw these complaints started questioning if Shen Mingyou’s acting was really that bad and decided to avoid watching the show to avoid wasting their time.

During the commercial break, Shen Mingyou’s fans noticed the trending search and were upset.

Fans quickly went online to respond:

“Who is spreading these rumors about Shen Mingyou? ‘Hello President’ has only aired one episode, and Shen Mingyou, the second female lead, hasn’t even appeared yet. How can they judge her acting?”

“Don’t believe it. Shen Mingyou wasn’t in the first episode of ‘Hello President’. It focused on the hero and heroine. This trending search is just a smear campaign!”

“The drama ‘Hello President’ is quite fresh. The male lead is handsome, and the female lead is cute. I was pleasantly surprised by the first episode. I recommend watching it! Shen Mingyou wasn’t in the first episode, so I don’t know where this negativity is coming from.”

Shen Mingyou, still on set, also saw the negative comments about her.

Assistant Xiao Xi said angrily: “What’s up with this trending search? Sister Mingyou didn’t even appear in the first episode, but people online are saying her acting is bad. This is ridiculous.”

Shen Mingyou replied: “Why get upset? It’s free promotion.”

The negative search seemed to be a planned attempt to discredit her, but it was poorly executed since Shen Mingyou hadn’t appeared yet.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shen Mingyou contacted Geng Feng, who quickly identified the source of the slander and devised a counter-strategy.

Soon, another hot search about “Crossover Elite” exploded online:

#Gu Aifei’s acting skills exploded#

— As expected, Gu Aifei was impressive in the first episode. Her acting was outstanding. Everyone, go watch “Crossover Elite”. #Gu Aifei’s acting skills explode#

— #Gu Aifei’s acting is trending# Gu Aifei’s performance was more touching than ever. She was not inferior to veteran actors. She truly shines when facing strong competition.

— Gu Aifei is amazing. “Crossover Elite” seems tailor-made for her, and her performance was excellent. #Gu Aifei’s acting skills explode#

Gu Aifei became very popular, and more people joined the discussion.

The negative trending search about Shen Mingyou was seen as a deliberate attempt to discredit her. Fans and curious onlookers ended up discussing both “Crossover Elite” and “Hello President”, boosting both shows in viewership.