Two days later, Sound of Thunder 2 was broadcasted on TV. At midnight that same evening, the show had officially began running on the internet as well.
The next morning, Nan Chen received information that Sound of Thunder 2 received the highest ratings among the shows of the same time slot.
The online view count for the show was more than a hundred million, and it was the top three trending topics on the Internet.
Nan Chen verified with Jiang Zhe that the data was not manipulated. The show did indeed reach the top three trending topics on the Internet.
With his first starring role in the TV show, Zheng Lunlun rode the wave and was the ninth trending topic on the Internet.
As for the twentieth trending topic, a fascinating question was raised where netizen was asking: Who was the actress in “Sound of Thunder 2”?
The name “Ding Mi” had been viral on the internet before but in a bad way.
It did not take long for the forgetful netizens to forget about the name, though.
That was why some celebrities pay money to manipulate internet search pop-ups. People would forget all about them if they did not show up on the internet from time to time.
When the TV show got popular, Ding Mi was mentioned by people once again, and old news got dug up.
All the netizens had to do was add a few extra details, and old news would become new again.
Many online accounts quickly took advantage of the surge in popularity to write up a bunch of articles about Ding Mi.
Some said she only got to replace Luo Fei as the female lead because a rich man took a liking to her.
Although no name was specified, those that were observant would know that the rich man mentioned was Nan Chen.
A topic as juicy as that quickly became the talk of the internet.
Many accounts followed up with new outrageous stories. Some even claimed that Ning Ran killed Luo Fei to get her role, which was why Luo Fei disappeared from showbiz.
The speculation got out of control, and many wondered if the show could keep running or keep up its popularity.
The news that the female lead of Sound of Thunder 2 was a murderer immediately topped the charts for the hottest internet search.
Media broadcast companies suspended the show when they received orders from relevant authorities.
The companies were getting anxious because they thought they had acquired profitable copyright. Nobody expected the female lead issue.
People even resorted to taking legal actions to get compensated.
The executives of Star Entertainment had already waited for half an hour when Nan Chen got to the office.
Star Entertainment was only a subsidiary of Nanshi Corporation, so Nan Chen rarely went there personally for meetings.
That day, even though the staff at the office seemed like they were working, they were actually eyeing the elevator expectantly to see Nan Chen himself.
The moment Nan Chen walked out of the elevator, everyone held their breath and pretended to work while keeping their gaze on the man from the corner of their eyes.
Waiting at the elevator was the CEO of Star Entertainment, who quickly walked up to greet Nan Chen. “This way, please. We’re expecting you, Mr. Chen.”
Instead of responding to the CEO, Nan Chen kept a poker face and strode towards the meeting room.
The minute Nan Chen stepped into the meeting room, the staff’s chat group went into a frenzy.
“He’s here! He’s finally here!”
“He looks even hotter than on TV!”
“Oh my gosh! He’s only three meters away from me. Three meters! I can almost smell him!”
“Come on. You could be a meter away from the man, and it still won’t mean anything, the man probably won’t even notice that you’re there.”
“Does it make it you feel any better to rain on my parade like that?”
“It does because I’m jealous of you! I can’t believe I have to go on a business trip when Sir Chen is there!”
“Too bad!”
“Stop fooling around. The company’s in a crisis right now, and I’m guessing they’re looking for someone to blame. Who knows? It could be one of us!”
“I’m just a nobody. The top brass should be the ones answering for it.”
“Whoever has the guts to take a photo of Sir Chen for me will get one week supply of milk tea. I need to post that online!”
“Forget it. Not even a year of milk tea supply will give me the courage to do that. I have no wish to lose my job over this.”
In contrast to the chatty regular staff, the executives in the meeting room were dead silent.
Nan Chen just sat there quietly, minding his own business on the phone.
Naturally, nobody dared utter a word either.
The executives wondered why Mr. Chen was busy with his phone instead of giving them a good scolding.
Moreover, Nan Chen rarely brought his phone into the meeting room. It was almost common sense that phones were not allowed during a meeting.
Yet, he had been busy with his device for more than a few minutes, and everybody was looking at him doing just that.
Nobody dared move a muscle. They felt as if they would disturb Sir Chen on his phone if they made any sudden moves.
After a while, Nan Chen was finally done with his phone as he set it down on the desk.
Somehow, the meeting room became even quieter at that. There was pin-drop silence.
“Have you all seen what’s on the internet?” Nan Chen finally spoke.
Everyone simply nodded in response because nobody dared to speak.
Nan Chen then turned to the Director of Public Relations. “You, explain it to me.”
The director stood up. “According to our observations, some of the negative news articles were done very professionally. It’s almost as if they were deliberately trying to defame our artistes.”
“And how did you respond to them?” inquired Nan Chen.
“We’ve asked our lawyers to send cease and desist letters to some of the more influential accounts. They are to cease publishing articles that defame our artistes. In addition, we’re also preparing for some press releases,” answered the director nervously.
“Then people would just believe what they want to believe. Nobody knows for sure who’s telling the truth.”
Sensing that Nan Chen was dissatisfied with the solution, the executives kept quiet.
That was the standard operating procedure, and nobody knew how else to handle the matter.
“There’s no need for press releases. All you need to do is to find out who’s behind all this,” instructed Nan Chen.
“Understood, Mr. Chen.”
Although nobody knew why there was no need for the press releases, they dared not question it as it was an order from Nan Chen.
“What about the show, Mr. Chen?”
“It’s only been suspended, and it’ll be back online soon. Besides, the suspension got people talking about the show. Bad publicity is still publicity. As for the accounts that are deliberately defaming Ding Mi, sue their pants off!” The last sentence was cold and unhesitant.
“Understood, Mr. Chen.”
After that, the rest of the meeting was no longer related to Ning Ran.
The executives reported on their work one by one. In general, Star Entertainment did considerably well in the year of recession.
“Given that the Sound of Thunder 2 ratings was at a record high, far exceeding than that of other shows of the same genre, we should hold a celebration party and invite more reporters,” suggested Nan Chen
The executives were once again baffled. Why are we celebrating when the show’s been suspended? But if that’s what Sir Chen wants, we’ll get it done. We’ll even make it a grand celebration!
