Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Time flies, only two days remain until the Round of 16 of the Divine Pen Competition. For the past few days, Lu Chen had been staying at home, eating and sleeping, resting up for the next round.

Thanks to Breaking the Ice dominating the charts recently, there had been a strong online demand—netizens were hoping Lu Chen wouldl open a personal account to interact with fans.

Honestly, Lu Chen hadn’t really considered it. For a screenwriter, the most important thing is to focus and write with a clear mind. Social media is a distraction best avoided. Besides, very few top screenwriters have active social media accounts—legends like Liu Heping and Shu Ping haven’t opened any either.

Lu Chen wasn’t comparing himself to these industry titans, but he simply felt that having an account wasn’t necessary and couldn’t be bothered with it.

Better to stay low-key and observe from the sidelines—there was no point in engaging in flashy, superficial interactions. Another issue had been bothering him these past few days—his personal contract.

Even though Breaking the Ice ended up collaborating with Noon Sun Productions, other film and TV companies hadn’t given up. They were doing everything they could to sign Lu Chen as a contracted screenwriter and bring him under their banner.

Among them, Jiaxing Media was the most persistent. Every other day, Lu Chen would receive calls from them, using every tactic in the book to persuade him.

Lu Chen politely declined, stating that his main focus right now was the competition and he would consider other matters afterward. This was a perfectly reasonable excuse, and it successfully held off the production companies—at least for now—giving Lu Chen a moment of peace.

To avoid further harassment, he even set his phone to block unknown callers. Not that it mattered much—his social circle was small, and he only stayed in touch with familiar people.

With that, the countdown continued…

At noon, Breaking the Ice’s official Weibo account and Divine Pen Competition released synchronized announcements. Breaking the Ice unveiled its latest trailer!

The scenes were intense, the characters deeply layered. Especially Li Weimin, Zhao Jialiang, and Lin Yaodong—their expressions alone stirred anticipation among fans!

Within just an hour, the trailer had surpassed one million views. Comments and shares skyrocketed past 100,000, propelling it to the top spot in the film and television category!

At the end of the trailer, the official premiere date was revealed—that night at 8 PM, the first episode would air!

Excitement spread like wildfire, and netizens eagerly awaited the 8 PM debut. Meanwhile, Divine Pen Competition announced that the topic for the next round had been decided.

Curiously, they attached a photo of a school of fish in the ocean and revealed that the 32-to-16 match would be livestreamed the next evening at 6 PM, inviting the nation to witness the rise of the Top 16!

Lu Chen stared at the image from the competition’s post, frowning.

“Does this mean the topic is related to the ocean? Or maybe fish?”

After pondering for a while, he still couldn’t figure it out. Forget it—he’d find out when the competition started. Whatever came his way, he was ready for it!

But moving the competition from 2 PM to 6 PM was a clear signal—the organizers were placing more importance on this stage of the competition. Their level of commitment was not the same as before.

At 8 PM sharp, Noon Sun Productions’ streaming platform was flooded with viewers.

“Mr. Hou, our backend shows that site traffic has exceeded three million!”

Hou Hongliang nodded.

“Good! Start the first episode at exactly 8!”

“Understood!”

As soon as the clock struck 8 PM, Episode 1 of Breaking the Ice went live. Within seconds, the number of clicks surged past 500,000. In just one minute, it broke two million views!

Hou Hongliang was so overwhelmed that he trembled with excitement. This momentum—this was going to be a massive hit!

Millions of viewers tuned in—including Song Xiaoling. Thanks to her viral ‘Uncle Dong impression’ video, her follower count skyrocketed to 600,000 in just a week. Grateful for the support, she made sure to watch the much-anticipated drama.

As the episode began.

Boom!

A rainy night. Several figures dashed through the rain, chased by an angry mob of villagers.

“Stop! Stop right there!”

In the video’s comment section, netizens erupted in excitement.

[Damn! This is a perfect recreation of the original story!]

[This opening is the most intense and unique anti-drug drama setup I’ve ever seen!]

[Clan-based communities are terrifying! They really dared to encircle the cops!]

Soon, a mysterious umbrella appeared in the frame. Two men approached Li Fei and his group calmly.

Then, As soon as Wang Jinsong’s Lin Yaodong appeared on screen…

The comment section exploded!

[Uncle Dong! It’s him!]

[Holy sh*t, I got chills all over my body!]

[This is perfect casting! Exactly how I imagined Uncle Dong!]

The number of live comments reached an all-time high!

Backstage at Noon Sun Productions.

“Mr. Hou, the live audience count has exceeded five million! A new record!!”

Hou Hongliang clenched his fists, shouting “Good! Good! Good!”

On-screen, Lin Yaodong approached Li Fei. He took off his rain-soaked glasses and casually wiped them on his sleeve.

Just this one action—Netizens went wild!

[Damn, this is insane! The sheer dominance in that one move!]

[I knew this show wouldn’t disappoint!]

[I was worried about Wang Jinsong playing Uncle Dong, but now I’m convinced—he is Uncle Dong!]

[Guys, online viewers just hit 5 million! Let’s gooo!]

With every passing second, viewership kept climbing—The show was breaking records, creating a new legend in Chinese television!

Production companies across the industry were watching. Seeing the explosive premiere, Jiaxing Media, Huanyu Entertainment, and iQIYI—all of whom failed to secure the script—were stunned.

Huanyu Entertainment HQ.

CEO Li Da paced furiously in his office, frustrated beyond belief.

“If I had known it would blow up like this, I wouldn’t have hesitated! Not even three million—hell, I’d have paid ten million for that script! We lost big time! If we had just added two more million, we’d be the ones laughing now!”

Producer Yu Zheng, sitting on the couch, watched as the drama’s popularity index skyrocketed to 30 million—which meant the estimated live audience had exceeded six million. His expression was complicated.

“If this pace continues, the total view count might exceed 5 billion.”

“At the very least, Noon Sun Productions will make 4–5 billion yuan just from traffic monetization alone!”

“They just struck gold!”

Li Da groaned, lighting a cigar and taking a deep drag.

He pointed at Yu Zheng, declaring.

“Next round! We must win the next round of the Divine Pen Competition!

Even if we have to offer the industry’s highest 45% screenwriter royalties—I don’t care! We have to get the next script!”**

Yu Zheng chuckled.

“Mr. Li, I’m afraid… a lot of other companies feel the same way.”

“Then we’ll outbid them! Our company has 200 million yuan in reserve funds—if we can’t buy a script with that, then what the hell are we doing in this business?”

Yu Zheng’s smile stiffened.

It was clear—the success of Breaking the Ice had completely driven Li Da mad.