Chapter 63 New Play Premiere

  Time flies, and more than a month has passed in the blink of an eye. The filming of the drama's scenes on Bali has finally been completed. After finishing filming on Bali, the crew rushed to Tahiti Island, also known as French Polynesia, which is called "the closest place to heaven", to continue filming. This time, the crew was streamlined, and only three main actors, Cha Tae-hyun, Sung Yu-ri, and Jang Seong-won, went to Tahiti, while other actors returned to Korea.

  There weren't many scenes to be shot in Tahiti, so the filming task here was completed smoothly within a few days. This also means that all outdoor scenes of this drama have been completed. Afterwards, everyone rushed back to Seoul by plane without rest, because there were only a few days left before the premiere of this drama, and they had to rush back for promotional work before the new drama was broadcast.

  This time abroad, the trip lasted for more than a month. No matter how beautiful the scenery is, staying in one place for too long makes it feel ordinary. It doesn't give you the same warmth and comfort as your hometown. So being able to return to Seoul, every member of the crew felt genuinely happy, and Jang Sung-yuan was probably the happiest among them, but his happiness was different from others.

  During this period, he was close to Sung Yu-ri every day, but due to the gaze of others, he didn't dare to make too intimate movements, especially at night, he couldn't sleep with Sung Yu-ri in his arms, which made him extremely uncomfortable. Every day, he would lie awake thinking about her and slept very unhappily, feeling like he was back in the military camp as a "monk". At that time, when he was in the army, he also missed his four sisters so much.

  That night, Zhang Chengyuan wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to flirt with Li Xiaoli and other girls. However, after dinner, the four girls left one after another, despite Zhang's attempts to persuade them to stay. It was understandable that Seungyeol had been away from home for too long and wanted to reunite with her family, but Li Xiaoli, Yu Zhuoxuan, and Li Zhen also made excuses to leave, leaving Zhang feeling disappointed and confused. He didn't know if they were really busy or if they saw through his intentions.

  No matter what, Zhang Chengyuan could only spend another sleepless night alone. And this situation was not just for a day or two, but had been going on for quite some time, making him feel like every night lasted as long as a year.

  Five days later, on June 23rd, "The First Love of the Crown Prince" finally started airing on MBC TV. This new drama, which had already gained popularity before its broadcast and created a lot of buzz, attracted strong attention from the moment it premiered, with ratings exceeding 20% in its first episode, causing the ratings of other dramas airing at the same time to plummet.

  The second episode that aired afterwards did not disappoint and once again increased the viewership ratings, reaching 25.3%, making people feel that its momentum is very strong and not just a fleeting sensation created by manufacturing topics.

  The new drama's successful premiere is largely due to the excellent promotional work done by the production team and TV station beforehand. Cha Tae-hyun and Sung Yu-ri's immense appeal to the younger generation also cannot be overstated. As for Jang Sung-won, his role so far has been negligible.

  After the first two episodes were broadcast, due to Zhang Chengyuan's relatively small share of screen time, apart from his unparalleled appearance and cool and wise white-collar elite temperament leaving an indelible impression on the audience, the audience did not pay much attention to him or discuss him in depth.

  Because the audience prefers to discuss is Sung Yu-ri's various styles in the play and her obvious improvement in acting, as well as Cha Tae-hyun's unchanged kind image and his performance with a strong sense of intimacy and comedic effect.

  There are audiences who left messages online saying: "Being able to see Cha Tae-hyun oppa return to the TV drama again, it's really a feast for our eyes."

  "His every move makes me extremely happy and excited."

  "Yu Li Gong Zhu is getting more and more beautiful, every outfit in the drama is very fashionable, making me want to imitate them. Especially the boots she wore at the Hokkaido Sapporo resort in Japan are the most heart-moving. Yu Li sister, I and my fan team will always support you."

  "Yu Li Gong Zhu, you have always been our people's beloved queen."

  "Awesome! Fighting!"

  ……

  A large number of praise and support for Taehyun, Sung Yu-ri's remarks continue to emerge online, major media outlets have also begun to sing their praises, stimulating more and more viewers to watch "The First Love of the Prince", after episodes 3 and 4 were broadcast, on the streets, in schools, the most popular TV drama besides "Lovers in Paris" starring Park Shin-yang, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Dong-gun is this one.

  Of course, "The First Love of the Prince" cannot be compared to "Lovers in Paris", which has been occupying the number one spot in TV ratings so far. However, since they are not broadcast at the same time slot, "Lovers in Paris" will not affect the ratings of "The First Love of the Prince". At most, Park Shin-yang and Kim Tae-hee's mature acting skills make people feel that the young actors' skills are still a bit immature. Nevertheless, this small flaw cannot stop this drama from successfully winning the ratings champion in its time slot before facing strong competitors.

  It's somewhat unexpected that among the young actors criticized for their poor acting skills by some fastidious experts and audiences, Zhang Chengyuan's name is not mentioned. His mature and excellent acting skills make the audience unaware that Zhang Chengyuan is only 22 years old this year, about 7 years younger than Che Tae-hyun, but he plays a successful white-collar worker in his thirties in the drama. His suit attire and cool, strong aura in the drama also make people feel that he is older than Che Tae-hyun and more like a mature adult. Of course, this doesn't mean that he has aged prematurely, but rather the makeup artist's skills and Zhang Chengyuan's acting have created an illusion, adding a kind of mature charm to him.

  It can be said that it is quite rare for a young actor like Zhang Chengyuan to play well the role of a mature and charming man.

  As he appeared more and more in the drama, more and more TV critics recognized this point and became increasingly interested in him, wanting to find more surprising aspects about him. By doing so, they might be able to increase their newspaper sales or TV program ratings. After all, if they kept hyping Cha Tae-hyun and Sung Yu-ri without changing the flavor, audiences would eventually get tired of their columns or programs.

  Affected by the critics, the audience also shifted their attention from Cha Tae-hyun to Jang Sung-won. In comparison, they found that Jang Sung-won's charm and acting skills were indeed not inferior to Cha Tae-hyun, who had already made a name for himself. What was even more unbelievable was that Jang Sung-won seemed to be one step ahead. A young actor was actually more powerful than an actor who had already been certified by the public as a powerhouse!

  For a time, many people began to scrutinize Zhang Chengyuan, wanting to find his shortcomings to comfort their own shaken beliefs. However, the more they understood Zhang Chengyuan, the more they felt that he was indeed a talented person, with a natural appearance that didn't need any makeup, excellent grades in both literature and physical education during his school days, first place in the college entrance exams in all of Hancheng, an outstanding student in the Department of Business Administration at National Hancheng University, a special soldier in the Korean army, one of the highest-paid models in the modeling world, and winner of the 2001 KBS Newcomer Award... The numerous honors he had received seemed endless.

  Such an outstanding figure, yet being ignored and forgotten by people, I don't know if it's because the public's vision is too high or their eyes are blocked by other seemingly prosperous things?

  It was as if the water had flowed into a canal, and after just one week, Zhang Chengyuan's popularity soared. Not only did the number of fans on his official website multiply several times, but some unofficial fan clubs also emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, growing stronger with each passing day. Moreover, his rising popularity led to a significant increase in viewership ratings for episodes 5 and 6 of "The Crown Prince's First Love", jumping from 27.3% in episode 4 to 31.4%, stunning experts who thought the drama's plot was too clichéd and that its ratings had no room for growth.

  Taking advantage of the east wind, Zhang Chengyuan's photo album shot in Bali was released and sold out tens of thousands of copies without much publicity, not only making a small profit but also deepening his fans' impression of him, thereby solidifying his popularity.

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