Chapter 54: The Remedy That Stops a Child’s Crying!

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Because of the limitations of the era, it was difficult to measure a television show’s popularity immediately after it aired.

On the night of its premiere, no one could possibly know whether the series would be a success.

That evening, Ji Yu went home still praying that the show would become a huge hit.

The next morning, he got up as usual and went to the breakfast stall outside the alley.

“One basket of steamed buns, a cup of soy milk, and one—”

Before Ji Yu had finished ordering, he was surrounded.

Nearly all the customers at the breakfast stall were neighbors from the alley.

“Little Yu! You’ve become a big star!”

“I watched your show last night! It was wonderful!”

“Our alley has produced a star! I’ve always said Ji Yu was handsome and would amount to something when he grew up.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Little Yu has made something of himself. He even filmed a television show with Li Yapen.”

“Little Yu acted so well—but he was such a villain! He deserved what he got. Come here and let Auntie slap you once to vent her anger.”

A palm landed on Ji Yu’s shoulder. He had clearly been praised, so why did he suddenly feel a little uncomfortable?

What was wrong with Li Yapen? Had he grown an extra leg or something?

Why was everyone hitting him?

While Ji Yu was still dazed, the owner brought over his breakfast.

“The usual, huh? It’s on the house today. Let me treat our big star.”

Looking at the uncles and aunties gathered around him, praising him without pause, Ji Yu gradually began to feel rather pleased with himself.

The last time he had been surrounded and praised by so many neighborhood elders had been back in primary school.

Amid their flattering praise, Ji Yu polished off two baskets of steamed buns, two cups of soy milk, and three eggs.

It wasn’t that he was particularly hungry. He simply wanted to chat with the uncles and aunties and strengthen the bonds between neighbors!

After basking in a chorus of praise, Ji Yu went home.

He tidied himself up and prepared to go to the company to ask about the ratings.

But after he came downstairs and saw the ancient bicycle in front of him, then glanced at the neighbors’ eager eyes, he decisively abandoned the idea of riding it.

Today, he would take a taxi!

He could indulge himself a little.

He couldn’t lose his star quality!

After Ji Yu left in the taxi, the aunties in the alley could not help gossiping.

“He’s really doing well now. In the past, he rode his bicycle all the way to Chedun just to play background roles. Now he’s taking taxis.”

“What’s taking a taxi? A while ago, I even saw him driving a car. Now that he’s a big star, he might move away one of these days.”

“While he’s still here, we should build a good relationship with him. We might be able to use it someday.”

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Ji Yu had no idea what the aunties were thinking. Even if he had known, he would not have minded.

It was only human nature.

After arriving at the company, Ji Yu blew the receptionist a kiss, then swaggered off to find Miss Cai.

“Cai-jie, are the ratings out yet? Was it a hit?” Ji Yu asked impatiently.

Miss Cai looked up and rolled her eyes at him.

“Don’t you know how to knock before coming in?”

“You didn’t close the door.” Ji Yu sat down opposite her and asked anxiously, “The ratings—are they out yet?”

Miss Cai laughed and scolded him affectionately as she handed him a sheet of paper.

Ji Yu took it and glanced at the numbers. His brow furrowed. After a long while, he looked up.

“Cai-jie, is a Nielsen rating of 4.8 high or low? Is that the national figure?”

“Dream on. It’s a 4.8 percent rating in the areas covered by Magic City Educational and Science Television.”

Miss Cai’s face also broke into a smile.

“That’s very high. It’s almost caught up with Magic City Satellite Television. The television station called to say that if the ratings hold steady, the show will air on satellite television in March.”

Ji Yu was instantly overjoyed. Satellite signals covered the entire country. He was about to go from being a local actor to a national one!

Miss Cai smiled.

“Your performance in the first two episodes has received excellent reviews, and the character is very memorable. You’d better prepare yourself to become an overnight sensation!”

“Always ready!” Ji Yu nearly stood up to salute.

His conviction that he was destined to become a star was stronger than ever.

Over the next two days, the ratings continued to climb, rising gradually from 4.8 to 5.6.

The show had already pulled far ahead of everything else airing in the same time slot across Magic City.

But Ji Yu was also being cursed quite thoroughly. His character was simply too evil. In the first five episodes alone, he had harmed several actresses.

Every time, he killed them first, then violated them, and afterward listened to music, drank wine, and danced like a madman.

In one episode, he even danced while holding a corpse. The limp female body and deathly pale face, combined with Ji Yu’s deranged smile, left many viewers traumatized.

Now, whenever the people in the alley frightened children, the name of the bogeyman had been replaced by Ji Yu.

“Keep crying and I’ll go fetch Ji Yu!”

“Waaah, waaah…”

The child’s sobs gradually died away.

Lying in bed at home, Ji Yu could not help scratching his head.

Had he really acquired the power to silence crying children?

Just yesterday, the little brat downstairs had been chasing after him and calling him “Big Brother.” Today, the child was too frightened by his name even to cry.

He was never going to be able to live in this alley again.

The uncles’ and aunties’ praise had now turned into people pointing at him behind his back.

Everyone was asking whether he had some kind of psychological problem.

Although Ji Yu felt troubled, he was also delighted. Detective Ke Lan was becoming more and more popular, and his own fame was growing along with it.

Li Yapen was busy courting women and solving cases in the show, while being toyed with by Ji Yu’s villain on several occasions. He was not memorable at all.

That was simply the fate of a righteous protagonist.

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With the first case in the series finally solved, the ratings reached a new high of 6.2 percent!

Countless viewers assumed that Ji Yu’s character would be brought to justice, only to discover that he escaped in the end.

“Li Yapen is completely useless! He couldn’t even find him!”

“Why isn’t that villain dead yet?”

“He’s truly despicable. He even dared to lay hands on his own cousin!”

“And he calls himself a detective? He’s just pretending to be a good person!”

Countless viewers discussed the matter heatedly. While complaining about the show, they continued contributing to its ratings.

The villain was still alive, so they had to keep watching. They simply refused to believe he could get away forever!

As the story delved deeper, the ratings continued to rise.

The local media in Magic City began reporting on the series of their own accord, and Ji Yu’s name appeared repeatedly in the articles.

More and more people across the city remembered him—and came to hate him.

Ji Yu had even started wearing sunglasses whenever he went out. He had no face to show the people of Magic City!

At Tangren, in Miss Cai’s office, she said with a smile, “This really was an unexpected delight. Bringing you in for the role was absolutely the right decision.”

Ji Yu gave a bitter laugh.

“Now people point at me even when I go home. Someone in the alley has even started installing a security door.”

After laughing at his misfortune for a while, Miss Cai told him some good news.

“You’ve landed the second male lead in The Sword of the Third Young Master. But we’ll have to shoot at top speed, and we may not even get a break for the New Year.”

“That fast? What about Meteor Garden?” Ji Yu could not help asking.

Miss Cai frowned slightly.

“Chai Zhiping is quite satisfied with your appearance. She’s only concerned about your status as a mainland actor.”

“So there’s no chance?” Ji Yu asked dejectedly.

Miss Cai thought for a moment.

“I’ll ask again. She’s considering several newcomers, and no one in the mainland knows them. If she wants to enter the mainland market, you may still have a chance. It’ll just be troublesome. You might have to help distribute the series.”

“Thank you, Miss Cai!”

Ji Yu hurriedly expressed his gratitude. Miss Cai considered the project small and troublesome now, but one day she would certainly thank him for it.

The explosive popularity of Detective Ke Lan in Magic City had finally allowed Ji Yu to squeeze through the gates of the entertainment industry.

Once the series received its second broadcast on Capital Satellite Television and Magic City Satellite Television, he would be able to go from Magic City to the entire nation.

His goal was to become a minor third-tier star in 2001!

And if he landed Meteor Garden, he could become a first-tier star overnight!

At that moment, Ji Yu arrived in Hengdian and hurriedly joined the cast of The Sword of the Third Young Master.

At the same time, Detective Ke Lan began airing on Capital Satellite Television.

Ji Yu’s reputation as the man who could silence crying children was about to spread across the length and breadth of the country!