Chapter 65: Remedies and Consequences

  Although the crew made changes, due to time constraints, episodes 9 and 10 that aired on TV next were still compiled from old footage shot earlier, with only a slight increase in Zhang Chengyuan's share of screen time.

  As there were no major changes, as everyone predicted, the ratings of "The First Love of a Prince" continued to decline, while its competitor "Full House" rose steadily and reached over 28%, estimated to break through 30% next week, exceeding the former by nearly 10%.

  The continued decline in ratings and the further bombardment of many media outlets made all members of the crew feel depressed, with the director, screenwriter, and several leading actors being so heavy that they almost couldn't eat. As for whether others can eat their fill, Zhang Chengyuan can ignore it, but over the past two weeks, Cheng Youli's body has clearly lost a lot of weight, which makes him worried.

  So, he forced Seong Yu-ri to eat enough every day, supervised her drinking the nourishing soup made by her mother or Ok-joo, and even fed her himself. He also spent his true energy to help her adjust her body. When she was depressed, he told some lame jokes to make her laugh; when she was tired, he massaged her to activate her blood circulation; when she was memorizing and practicing her lines, he rehearsed with her. It can be said that he took care of her meticulously, being considerate in every way. When they occasionally gathered together at night, Jang Sung-won didn't disturb her sleep like before, but quietly hugged her to sleep together, serving as her human air conditioner.

  With Zhang Chengyuan's "refined and spiritual" cultivation, he was no longer afraid of the cold or heat, and for him, regulating his body temperature and even adjusting the air temperature within three feet of his body was just a trivial matter. On this hot summer night, having Cheng Youli by his side made it much cooler and more comfortable, and the quality of sleep also improved.

  After his efforts, Seong-yoo Lee's body and mind have improved a lot, but if the TV series continues to deteriorate like this, I'm afraid Seong-yoo Lee will inevitably become haggard again. Therefore, Jang Sung-won can only work harder to act, hoping to regain some ratings. Apart from him, all the crew members are also working hard, hoping to produce a more exciting and satisfying episode for the audience. It's just that their purpose is different from Jang Sung-won's, they don't want their hard work to be belittled and scolded by people.

  Another week passed, and the newly broadcast episodes 11 and 12 had more than half of their content using the latest footage that was just rushed to be filmed, so the audience had several delightful discoveries in these two episodes:

  Cha Tae-hyun's male lead finally stops being a self-righteous and complacent young master, becomes someone who respects others, considers others, and takes more responsibility.

  The male supporting role played by Zhang Chengyuan is no longer so cold, although he still speaks sparingly, but his smile has increased a lot, especially when thinking of the heroine, looking like a silly man who has just fallen in love, that kind of sweet and tender expression makes young female audiences infatuated and can't help themselves.

  The interactions between Zhang Chengyuan and Sung Yu-ri have increased, and their relationship looks sweeter. The two are a perfect match, as if they were born to be together. They don't need to act out any intimate scenes; just walking hand in hand along the beach, occasionally exchanging gazes and understanding each other's feelings, makes people feel that this is what true love, which countless people yearn for, looks like.

  After these two episodes were broadcast, cut pictures of Zhang Chengyuan and Cheng Youli's sweet scenes quickly spread to the internet, causing a frenzy of downloads.

  ……

  Another astonishing discovery for the audience is that at the end of each episode, a few lines of subtitles appear: "Please choose who you want to see with the heroine, Choi Jae-hee (played by Cha Tae-hyun) or Cha Seung-won (played by Jang Sung-won)? Or neither. We will film the ending according to the majority of the audience's choice. Stay tuned!" Followed by an introduction to the voting method and voting time.

  After the broadcast of these two episodes, it caused quite a stir. The romantic scenes between Zhang Chengyuan and Cheng Youli sparked heated debate, but even just the fact that the ending was decided by audience vote at the end of the episode was enough to attract widespread attention.

  Some people think this is a way to attract attention, in order to break the embarrassing situation of "The First Love of the Crown Prince" with its current plummeting ratings. Although it has been effective in stopping the decline in ratings and even saw a slight increase in episode 12, reaching 21.3%, but this cannot effectively improve the quality of the TV series, nor can it make a positive contribution to the development of the television industry.

  There are also some people who think that although this method cannot become a regular way to save TV drama ratings in the future, it is not a bad way to change the situation at present. At least, it has attracted the audience's attention again. If the quality of the TV series can be improved simultaneously, then this play may not be able to revive and achieve good ratings.

  There are also people who have mixed opinions, commenting: "From the two episodes this week, we can see that the production team of 'The Crown Prince' has ambitions and sincerity to bring good visual enjoyment to the audience. Not only did they increase the screen time of the handsome and more likable second male lead, treating him as another main character; but also made the plot arrangement more concise and compact, and the camera work is increasingly refined, looking very beautiful and satisfying. There are many changes like this, but whether it can ultimately satisfy the audience remains to be tested by time. However, it can be confirmed that they are indeed sincere, and such a change, regardless of the outcome, is quite commendable."

  This has attracted the attention and discussion of many people, and the ratings of these two episodes have also rebounded, which is reasonable. Even the ratings of next week's two episodes can be worry-free. With this change having such an effect, all members of the crew are very excited, and their confidence has been strengthened, while also seeing hope for success.

  Of course, this does not mean that the following days will be worry-free. No matter what kind of gimmick, it can only occupy a short period of time, and the key is still to look at the quality of the work produced. On this point, the crew has a clear understanding from top to bottom, because the director, screenwriter and others have repeatedly emphasized many times.

  So everyone didn't lose their vigilance, but instead became more diligent and worked hard. Although the frequent overtime due to rush shooting made both mentally and physically extremely exhausted, almost reaching the limit, everyone persisted stubbornly, because everyone felt that this time's efforts would definitely pay off.

  After several weeks of intense struggle, the result was as everyone wished. The ratings for episodes 13-16 of "The First Love of a Royal Prince" were steadily rising, although only slightly, reaching around 25% by episode 16. While this couldn't compare to the initial excitement when it first aired, nor could it catch up with its competitor "Full House", everyone was extremely satisfied because they managed to revive a TV series that was on the brink of being eliminated, which was already a remarkable miracle! Moreover, due to the impact of "The Royal Prince", the ratings for "Full House" had been hovering around 30%, making it unlikely to break through to 40% and become a national sensation before "The Royal Prince" ended its broadcast. This could be seen as a small revenge against their competitor.

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