Chapter 47
Even though Chen Sicheng was usually good at maintaining his composure in front of the caras, his expression had visibly darkened. Wasn’t this just rubbing salt into the wound?
Feeling displeased, his applause appeared perfunctory. This amused the viewers in the live stream, who flooded the chat with bullet comnts, exclaiming how satisfying it was to watch!
“Alright, as usual, everyone has ten minutes to find their assigned creation rooms. In ten minutes, the competition will officially begin!
Contestants, get moving!”
One by one, the contestants left the hall. Lu Chen glanced at his number—4. It seed the numbers had been reassigned based on the previous round’s results.
Tsk tsk, he really had so fate with the number ‘4’…
This ti, the creation rooms were closer. Lu Chen found his in under a minute. The room was noticeably larger than in the last round. The facilities were the sa—cigarettes, red wine, snacks—everything was well-prepared.
Wait, there were two additional items—instant noodles and a kettle.
Were they worried the contestants might get hungry while writing?
Lu Chen chuckled, feeling that the show’s service was becoming increasingly considerate. He flopped onto the sofa, just like last ti.
Casually, he tore open a pack of Huazi cigarettes, took one out, and placed it between his lips. At that mont, As the audience was redirected, Lu Chen’s live stream was instantly flooded with three million viewers!
That was more than 90% of the total audience. Seeing Lu Chen skillfully light his cigarette, veteran viewers burst into laughter.
【Hahaha, just as expected—starting off with a Huazi again!】
【Classic corner-smoking scene, back in action!】
【Sa vibe, sa taste!】
【Is he really just smoking a cigarette, or is he about to create another hit?】
【Lighting up a cig in solidarity!】
【 too! Witnessing the birth of another blockbuster together!】
【You guys need to chill. Always saying ‘blockbuster, blockbuster’. Do you really think Lu Chen is so screenwriting god?】
【Exactly! Even Liu Heping, the real scriptwriting master, doesn’t get as much hype as Lu Chen!】
【Breaking the Ice was good, but I refuse to believe he can write sothing on the sa level again this round!】
【If he runs out of ideas this ti, it’ll be hilarious】
【Operation Icebreaking was trash! I don’t get why so many people liked it!】
【Yeah, I couldn’t even sit through a minute of it!】
【Super garbage, only idiots would watch it!】
【Whoa, why are there suddenly so many haters? Get out! Don’t provoke a fight!】
【Did Lu Chen just step on a landmine of keyboard warriors?】
Inside the live stream, longti fans were surprised to find a sudden influx of haters, who seed to be taking over.
…
In the room, Lu Chen puffed on his cigarette while brainstorming his story. The drama ‘The Knockout’ had been an absolute phenonon. It could be sumd up in one sentence—the undisputed number-one show of 2023!
It was the textbook example of breaking into the mainstream. The only big-na actor in the cast was Zhang Yi. The rest were third-tier, fourth-tier, or even completely unknown actors. Yet, despite this, the entire cast skyrocketed to fa.
Zhang Songwen, who played Gao Qiqiang, led the pack. This one drama turned him from an obscure actor of twenty years into a household na overnight. He firmly secured his spot among China’s top-tier celebrities!
The female lead, Gao Ye, also shot to stardom through her role as Chen Shuting. She beca a darling of the dia and spotlight.
And then there were others—Gao Qisheng, the ‘frozen fish warrior’, Tang Xiaolong and Tang Xiaohu, the fish vendor Old Mo, the ‘ice queen’ Gao Qilan, the reckless villager Li Hongwei, even Xu Jiang and the father of AD calcium milk…
All of them beca breakout stars!
Saying the entire cast went viral would not be an exaggeration. That was just the actors. As for the plot, while at its core, The Knockout was still a traditional anti-cri drama, Its brilliance lay in how it perfectly depicted the rise of a small-ti nobody!
Just like its title—The Knockout!
Gao Qiqiang’s teoric rise captured the essence of the term. His journey resonated deeply with countless viewers. However, this aspect also sparked imnse controversy.
Many believed the director was deliberately glorifying criminal figures. Lu Chen, on the other hand, believed that cri should indeed be condemned!
But did that an such characters had to be oversimplified and one-dinsional? Not necessarily, Lin Yaodong wasn’t one-dinsional. Neither was Gao Qiqiang!
His protectiveness over his family made him likable. Yet his cunning and ruthlessness towards his enemies made him terrifying. A character like this truly embodied what it ant to be ‘human’.
In the first half of the series, Gao Qiqiang was practically the protagonist of a power fantasy novel. Starting off as a bullied fish vendor who just wanted to protect his family. Then using his connection with officer An Xin to overco obstacles and gradually earn respect.
And then, facing Chen Tai, he made that shocking move—kneeling before him!
Uttering the now-iconic line, “Uncle Tai, I want to take care of you in your old age.”
That scene shook viewers to their core. When Lu Chen watched it, he imdiately recalled a novel he read in high school—The Monstrous Life of Chen Ergou.
It had a similar scene where the protagonist, Chen Ergou, was cornered and had no choice but to approach the novel’s big boss.
He then delivered the legendary line—”I want to be your pallbearer!”
From that mont, his rise was unstoppable!
Just like Gao Qiqiang, who also knelt at a crucial mont. The narration in the novel had been particularly striking.
“He didn’t know if other n had gold beneath their knees, but in the Chen family, there was no gold beneath their knees!”
Gao Qiqiang likely felt the exact sa way at that mont!
Therefore, when watching The Knockout, Lu Chen kept ntally aligning Gao Qiqiang with Chen Ergou!
A story about an underdog rising from the bottom of society to beco a kingpin, soaring to new heights—How could that not move audiences?
Back to the drama itself…
In many ways, Gao Qiqiang and Lin Yaodong were similar. Both would stop at nothing to achieve their goals. But at their core, they still had deeply human qualities!
The difference was that Lin Yaodong was more reserved. Whereas young Gao Qiqiang was outwardly expressive—Only llowing out as he aged. Which made sense, given that Gao’s storyline spanned several decades!
Whereas Lin Yaodong had been formidable from the start. Comparing these two standout villains, the ‘official’ protagonist, An Xin was far more fleshed out than Breaking the Ice’s Li Fei. Even though An Xin still had that typical ‘righteous hero’ trope, his depth was leagues ahead of Li Fei, whose recklessness was frustrating. This was another reason why The Knockout outperford Breaking the Ice!
More grounded and relatable characters!
And the push-and-pull between An Xin and Gao Qiqiang? That was a major highlight of the show!
So fans even jokingly shipped them as a couple online, which was absolutely wild. In conclusion, the character writing was a huge reason The Knockout beca a smash hit!
The second reason?
Its tight, suspenseful, and unpredictable plot!
Plus, the stellar acting across the board!
All these elents combined to make The Knockout the biggest TV phenonon of 2023!
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