Still, a video with two million likes was hardly a threat.

Chen Jincheng took out his phone and logged into Tiao Yin. As expected, the "Popular Long Videos" topic had already appeared. Tapping on it revealed a feed of recently uploaded long videos.

Just as he’d thought, the most-liked video was from Pipa Sauce, already at 450,000 likes.

The video was the exact same one from his previous world, "What’s the Deal with Women’s Hair?"

The video’s premise was simple:

Someone invites Pipa Sauce to go swimming, and she replies, "I washed my hair this morning... Ugh, you guys go ahead. I’m not going. You guys have fun!"

Someone invites her to get hot pot, and she says, "Hot pot? I already washed my hair today. I’m not going. You guys go without me!"

Someone invites her to the hair salon, and her response is, "I’m not planning on washing my hair today, so you go ahead!"

The video continued with a series of similar scenes. Every decision was somehow connected to washing her hair. It seemed like a woman’s entire social life revolved around whether or not her hair was clean.

To be honest, the video’s target audience was actually quite niche. People who "got" the joke would find it relatable, but those who didn’t would just find it boring.

That’s why in his past life, the video had stalled out at two million likes.

Of course, for your average creator—or even most major influencers—two million likes on a single video was an incredibly high number.

That was true even for someone like Pipa Sauce.

That is, until plot-driven accounts like Uncle Qi came along, unreasonably dropping videos that casually racked up five or six million likes.

Chen Jincheng scrolled through the other long videos in the popular topic. They were all just slapped together. None of them had any semblance of a plot, let alone being what you’d call a "plot-driven" video.

’But that wasn’t surprising. After all, these creators just got access to the long-video function. In such a short time, the MCNs and most influencers are probably still trying to figure out how to even approach filming them,’ he thought.

As for Chen Xiang at 7:30 PM, they had, as expected, just reposted an old video to half-ass their entry.

After looking through the popular long videos, Chen Jincheng felt relieved.

’Since there’s no real competition, I’ll just have to make a stunning debut with my first ’Family Position’ plot-driven video.’

With his current fame, combined with the contrast of the "Ancestral Master" himself filming a simp video, the final product was bound to be at least as popular as it was in his past life. On top of that, with Tiao Yin pushing this popular topic to concentrate traffic, it was entirely possible for "Family Position" to get even more likes than before.

With that thought, Chen Jincheng turned to Sister Hong and said, "Let’s head up. Since Tiao Yin created this popular topic for long videos, we might as well take first place."

"Mm," Sister Hong nodded.

Seeing her boss’s confidence, she immediately urged Lao Chen and the others to pick up the pace.

’She had complete faith in her boss’s abilities. If he’s this confident, then there’s definitely not going to be a problem.’

Second-Life Star had rented a suite on the 8th floor of Building 9 in the residential complex.

The suite had originally been decorated by a young couple for their marital home. The decor had a modern, youthful style, making it perfect for filming the daily life of a couple.

As for why a home intended for newlyweds was now up for rent... well, that was a sad story. The bedroom had been "used" ahead of schedule, and the one "using" it was the owner’s fiancée.

The house was currently for sale, and until it sold, Second-Life Star could rent it for a very cheap price.

But as everyone knows, selling a house can take a while unless the price is dropped significantly, or you happen to find a wealthy buyer who falls in love with it at first sight.

Once inside, Lao Chen and his crew began setting up the cameras.

The main shooting location for "Family Position" was the living room.

An employee had already placed two cats on the sofa.

They belonged to one of the employees, who had lent them for the shoot. In the video, these two cats would have a higher status than the male protagonist.

"Yueqing, take one last look at the script. We’re about to start filming," Lao Chen called out once everything was ready.

Lin Leqing nodded, picking up the script to look it over again.

Li Muchen was instantly filled with anticipation.

You could tell her mindset had shifted. She seemed to have a newfound enthusiasm for shooting this plot-driven video for Second-Life Star. While Lin Leqing was reading the script, she even leaned in to discuss it with her.

It really did give her the feeling of being on a proper film set.

A moment later, Lin Leqing put down her script, ready to start filming.

"Family Position" opened with the male protagonist’s monologue, which required Chen Jincheng to go and record the voice-over.

"Boss, we’re ready to start," Lao Chen said after fiddling with the sound equipment for a moment.

Chen Jincheng nodded. Once the recording started, his first line was: "My name is Xiaocheng. As you can probably tell, my status in this family ranks in the top four. Uh... in a two-person household, how can my Family Status be fourth..."

That’s right. He had modified the script, adding the line, "My name is Xiaocheng."

This was a "simp" video, after all. And while having the "Ancestral Master" film a simp video would create a great sense of contrast, he couldn’t let that contrast create a disconnect that would damage his "Ancestral Master" persona.

That would do more harm than good.

But adding this one line changed everything.

’The one being a simp is Xiaocheng. What does that have to do with Chen Jincheng?’

’Xiaocheng is the old Chen Jincheng. He’s in the past.’

He had already planned the promotional angle: "It was only after experiencing heartbreak and despair that Xiaocheng transformed into the Ancestral Master Chen Jincheng we know today." When the time came, he’d have Yijin and the other clip channels help push the narrative.