52: "Unexpected" became a hit as soon as it was released!

It was filmed in less than half a month.

The post-production was even faster, and the entire team was filled with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

You must understand, "unexpectedly" was an unprecedented work, with each episode being only five minutes long.

In an era where TV dramas typically ran forty to fifty minutes per episode, a show with only five-minute episodes was truly bizarre, an outlier among outliers.

After filming wrapped, everyone in the entire Film Crew, except for Chen Le, had absolutely no confidence in the project.

They didn't even know what they had been filming all these days... Chen Le, however, was very optimistic. As soon as the first season of "unexpectedly" was finished, he called Zhang Li and asked her to go negotiate the web series release cooperation with Video Platform.

"Sister Li, Gang Zi and the others have finished filming the web series. I need you to go to Video Platform and discuss the release."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li nodded, "Yes, boss. I guarantee I'll complete the task."

The next day, Zhang Li arrived at Video Platform's headquarters in Yanjing.

At this moment, Zhang Li was sitting in Video Platform's conference room, facing Li Hao, their content procurement manager.

On the table sat two freshly brewed cups of coffee, emitting a faint aroma.

"Manager Li, this is the sample episode of our 'unexpectedly.' You can take a look first," Zhang Li said with a smile, handing over a USB drive, her eyes brimming with confidence.

Li Hao took the USB drive, plugged it into his computer, and began playing the trailer for "unexpectedly."

As the slightly handsome yet expressionless and somewhat goofy image of Wang Dachui, played by Bai Ke, appeared on the screen, along with those hilarious lines and scenes, Li Hao's furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Hmm, this show is quite interesting. A bit absurdist, yet very down-to-earth," Li Hao commented.

As Video Platform's content procurement manager, he had a discerning eye.

"Yes, we wanted to create a work that allows audiences to find joy in their busy lives," Zhang Li added.

"Moreover, each episode is only five minutes, perfectly suited to today's fast-paced lifestyle."

Li Hao nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, let's sign for the first season's broadcasting rights first and see the market reaction. If the results are good, we can discuss further cooperation."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li felt a surge of joy in her heart and quickly nodded in agreement, "No problem, Manager Li. A pleasure doing business!"

After Zhang Li finalized the cooperation with Video Platform...

On March 3rd...

"unexpectedly" officially premiered on Video Platform!

Meanwhile, at home...

Yang Mi and Chen Le sat in front of the computer at home. She looked at Chen Le, a somewhat smug smile on her face, and said, "Old Chen, if you lose, you have to remember the promise you made me before. No going back on your word."

Hearing this, Chen Le raised an eyebrow, "Oh, Mi Mi, the show hasn't even started airing yet. How do you know I'll lose?"

Seeing his reaction, Yang Mi rolled her eyes and said, "Your web series didn't even have half the investment of 'nightclub.' No proper actors, no proper production. How could something so shoddily made possibly become popular?"

"You never know. What if it does become popular?" Chen Le shook his head and said with a laugh.

"I'm just afraid you won't admit defeat if you lose."

"Hmph, how could I not admit defeat!"

As the premiere time approached, Yang Mi held her breath.

Finally, the first episode began.

On the screen, Wang Dachui's slightly handsome yet expressionless and somewhat goofy image immediately caught Yang Mi's attention.

And later, seeing Wang Dachui holding a text replacement special effect in each hand, one in his left and one in his right, directly made Yang Mi laugh.

"Wait, the text replacement special effects... you can actually play it like this?" Yang Mi was somewhat dumbfounded.

"Old Chen, did you do this because you had no money for real special effects, or was it intentional?" She looked at Chen Le, very puzzled, and asked.

"It was definitely intentional," Chen Le nodded directly.

This web series was all about absurdist humor, all about being abstract.

"If that's the case, then this show... it's actually quite interesting."

Seeing her reaction, Chen Le smiled somewhat smugly and continued asking, "So, do you still think it can't become popular now?"

"I don't know," Yang Mi turned her head away.

Although she said this, in her heart, she clearly understood that she had probably lost this bet.

Just thinking about the punishment Chen Le had mentioned made Yang Mi feel her face grow warm.

After watching the first episode, Yang Mi was amused by this short five-minute show.

The text replacement special effects, the repeatedly appearing villain character, and those hilarious lines—if this were a movie, it would definitely be considered a bad film. But as a five-minute short video, it didn't feel that way at all.

Instead, it felt quite funny.

The first season of "unexpectedly" had a total of fifteen episodes. The Youku platform released three episodes first as a trial.

However, once these three episodes went online, they quickly sparked heated discussions among netizens.

Gang Zi and Bai Ke also sat in front of the computer, nervously watching the netizens' comments.

They kept refreshing the comment section on their computers, and soon, there were quite a few comments.

"Hahaha, this show is way too funny! This Wang Dachui is killing me with laughter!"

"Are these special effects for real? You can play it like this? Just a few words? Text special effects?"

"Oh my god, I almost spat out my water! The plot twists are so fast! I can't guess what's going to happen next!"

"The villain is the same person over and over again, but he manages to convey a different feeling each time. His acting skills are incredible!"

"Great show, update faster!"

"Why only three episodes? Is my membership not powerful enough?"

"It's the first time I've seen such a hilarious show. More episodes, please!"

Seeing these comments, Gang Zi and Bai Ke both breathed a sigh of relief, and smiles unconsciously appeared on their faces.

They hadn't expected this seemingly terrible web series to be so well-received.

Especially Gang Zi, who was now particularly excited.

Old Chen was actually right; this web series really could become popular.

Now he was completely convinced by Chen Le's vision, as if whatever Chen Le filmed would become a hit.

The next day, when Yang Mi dragged Chen Le to open the computer again to check the view count of "unexpectedly," she was stunned by the numbers before her eyes.

In just one night, the view count for the three episodes had already exceeded 5 million!

"Old Chen, am I seeing this right? Over five million? That many?!" Yang Mi widened her eyes and said incredulously.

She hadn't expected the three episodes to surpass five million views in just one night.

This meant that "unexpectedly" had truly become a hit.

Seeing Yang Mi's disbelief, Chen Le smiled and said, "Mi Mi, it looks like I won this time. Tell me, shouldn't you fulfill your promise?"

Hearing this, Yang Mi snapped out of her shock, and her face immediately flushed red.

"I... I admit defeat! I'll go buy it today!" Yang Mi gritted her teeth, not backing out.

Seeing this, the smile on Chen Le's face couldn't be contained.

"Mi Mi, I'll go with you."