This celebrity became even more popular after being exposed of having multiple girlfriends
Chapter 172: Owing the Rest for Now

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Owing the Rest for Now

Nowadays, these people clearly support him in game development but not in his career as a celebrity.

If he were to release some celebrity-related project, I bet rather than supporting him, they’d probably join forces with his anti-fans and boycott him.

So he went on that show, didn’t get any benefits, and instead gained hundreds of thousands of anti-fans?

Wu Mu found it funny but didn’t take it to heart. So what if there were more anti-fans? He didn’t rely on fans for money. Even a lot of anti-fans wouldn’t make much of a difference.

Thinking they can stop him from being a celebrity and push him into game development? Wishful thinking.

Game development is such a grind. Being a celebrity and earning money comfortably through "Performance Card" is much easier.

Take the game from the show, for instance. If he really had to make it himself from scratch, the effort alone would be enough.

Without the Performance Card, even good wine fears the alley’s depth. Even if he did finish the game, he’d have to worry about various marketing issues and platform contacts on his own.

But with the Performance Card, he just needs to lift a finger, and all kinds of promotions and marketing would be maxed out for him. He just has to sit back and collect the money.

By the evening after the program aired, Wu Mu’s five Performance Cards had already shown as redeemed.

Beijing TV Station and the Paris Game Show organizers had cashed in eighteen million for him, and the crowdfunding page had cashed in the remaining thirty-two million.

However, the amount on the crowdfunding page hadn’t stopped and was still increasing rapidly.

This was another hidden effect of the Performance Card. Apart from redeeming its own amount, by boosting popularity and marketing beyond its circles, it would also bring in some additional profit.

Take Wu Mu’s "Farewell" album, for instance. Even after the one hundred million quota was redeemed due to high popularity and it hanging high in the album sales charts, it still brings in some additional sales now and then.

This kind of extra popularity and sales wouldn’t be very obvious if the project itself didn’t break out too significantly.

But for a game like "Vampire Survivor" that already has tens of millions of sales, this boost from popularity is especially evident.

Wu Mu estimated that apart from the fifty million from the Performance Card, this popularity could bring in at least an extra twenty to thirty million in revenue.

And that’s just with the demo’s popularity—once he actually finishes and officially releases the game, it might sell even better than before.

Wu Mu didn’t take the matter of the new "anti-fans" to heart; instead, he casually chatted with Lu Yao.

Then, after chatting for a while, he received a message from Lin Qingyue.

Lin Qingyue: "This episode had an average viewership rating of 0.54, with the peak section reaching 0.62."

An average of 0.54?

Tsk, that’s breaking into the threshold of popular variety shows.

Wu Mu wasn’t too surprised in his heart. Given the high heat this episode had, it would be a problem if it didn’t break through.

And while it was also beneficial to him and sounded good when spoken of, counting as his achievement,

Lin Qingyue and Beijing TV Station benefited the most.

Although Lin Qingyue’s message seemed plain, Wu Mu knew well how much the show’s team valued this success.

He learned early on from some staff members in the production team.

They launched this show aiming to hit big as a popular variety show.

They spared no expenses inviting Lu Yao and Zhang Haoran, two current hotshots with enormous following, and even brought in industry veteran Zhang Lifeng, along with Wang Xiaotian, who had a solid reputation for effective variety show performance in recent years. Each episode also featured various big names as special guests.

You could say everyone had high expectations.

Unfortunately, the initial response to the airing was far from satisfactory.

The guests invited didn’t click, and the anticipated high freedom in the program structure not only failed to shine but stood out as hollow and boring without the right sparks from the guests.

In the first few episodes, rather than hitting the heights of popular variety shows, they couldn’t even reach the viewership of ordinary ones for a casual watch.

Having known her for a while now, Wu Mu could somewhat make out Lin Qingyue’s character.

Though she rarely showed her true emotions on her face, he was sure that she must really care about this situation.

Deep down, Lin Qingyue was rather proud, and for a show she produced to get such results, it would be odd if she were happy about it.

Add to that some of the talk within their station, Lin Qingyue undoubtedly faced considerable pressure.

This achievement was a response to those pressures.

Wu Mu smiled slightly and replied, "Congratulations to Director Lin, but I feel I played a pretty big part in this success. It wouldn’t be right if you didn’t show some appreciation, how about returning the twenty-five million you owe me?"

He was just joking, but unexpectedly...

Lin Qingyue: "Alright, I do owe you."

Eh, really paying?

Wu Mu was surprised.

Lin Qingyue can actually pay this kind of money?

And while he was surprised...

Lin Qingyue sent him a red envelope (digital cash gift).

Wu Mu’s expression of surprise instantly turned speechless.

He clicked to receive it, and there were two hundred yuan.

Lin Qingyue: "I’ll return two hundred for now, and continue to owe you the rest."

Wu Mu, amused on his face, "Ei, Director Lin, you owe me twenty-five million. If you return it two hundred at a time, I’m afraid it won’t be paid off even by the day I die."

Lin Qingyue: "Haha, we can take it slow, at least I’m not reneging, right?"

Lin Qingyue was obviously joking. After sending a smiling emoji to Wu Mu, she changed the subject, "The Star Agency has finished, do you have any shows lined up next?"

Wu Mu: "Not at the moment."

Lin Qingyue sent an emoji of a nodding head, "Well, after this episode, your popularity has increased quite a bit. You shouldn’t lack projects that come knocking."

Though it seemed that the increase in popularity turned out to be anti-fans, people inside the industry wouldn’t be foolish enough to think those were actual anti-fans.

Those gamers were largely positive viewers who liked Wu Mu very much. Even if they don’t support ordinary programs and might join in the swearing on the surface, when it comes down to it, they would likely stand on Wu Mu’s side to some extent.

This was undoubtedly an increase in Wu Mu’s popularity.

Moreover, there were already projects that had come looking for him.

Lin Qingyue disclosed, "Director Wang Ren contacted me, asking about your song pricing and the like. I reckon they plan to invite you."

Director Wang Ren planning to invite him?

That wouldn’t be too bad. Although composing didn’t fetch much points, if he got to sing, he couldn’t lose out.

After all, it’s the first television series by a well-known domestic director. He didn’t care much about the popularity boost for himself, but the increase in system points? That mattered to him.

Wu Mu nodded.

Sure enough, that afternoon, people from Wang Ren’s side contacted him.

It wasn’t the voice of that director, Wang Ren, but a male voice with a hint of authority.

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