Beijing TV Station had never had a program break a 3 rating before; this was a first.
This year, Mango TV had its signature variety show, I Am the King of Songs. Now, Beijing TV Station had one too.
The program crew found Lin Chudong a guitar and set up a cajón for Tian Yingxiong. Two professional-level singers could still create a lot of sparks.
"The atmosphere is right, let's do an original song."
"Alright!"
Lin Qiqi and Cheng Huanhuan applauded, their faces full of anticipation.
Da Fei's songs were all classics.
A few days ago, on Beijing TV Station, the two hit songs from Crossover Singer had already reached the top ten on the charts.
Deng Siqing's "Courage" even went straight to number one.
Everyone admired Da Fei's creative ability, and he would definitely be releasing a new song this time on Yearning for Rural Life.
Cheng Huanhuan asked, "What's the new song called?"
"Friends."
Lin Chudong strummed his guitar, and Tian Yingxiong tapped the cajon, the two of them working together seamlessly.
"These years, alone, Through wind, through rain,
With tears, with mistakes,
"Do you remember what you insisted on?
Truly loved, only then will you understand.
Will be lonely, will look back.
Eventually there's a dream, eventually there's you, in my heart."
Lin Chudong's song made the atmosphere of the small courtyard tranquil and peaceful.
In this bustling city, the pressure and anxiety people felt were simply suffocating.
Being able to drink and sing heartily with a few friends in such a place, far from the noise, was simply wonderful.
Lin Chudong's singing was very infectious, and everyone began to sway along.
"Friends walk through life together, Those days are gone forever.
One word, a lifetime, A life's worth of affection, a glass of wine…"
Lin Chudong's song directly pushed the entire variety show to its climax.
After a tiring day, watching this variety show at home made people want to pick up their phones and call their friends.
In their free time, they definitely needed to get together with friends and relax – that's the normal way for urban people to unwind nowadays.
Not by watching others on yachts at the beach, having Michelin-level candlelight dinners.
Then, the recorded version of "Friends" played on the television, and the camera slowly zoomed out, capturing the quiet night scene of the small village.
"Friends are never alone, You'll understand a friend's call. There is still hurt, still pain, Still walking, still me…"
The song ended, and it was completely dark. Before everyone went inside, Cheng Huanhuan suddenly said,
"Before we go to bed, how about a little quiz?"
"Sure, Sister Huan, go ahead."
Cheng Huanhuan said, "Tell me, to put an elephant in a refrigerator, how many steps are there?"
Everyone burst out laughing. "We've all seen that show. Three steps, right? Open the refrigerator door, put the elephant inside, and close the refrigerator door."
Cheng Huanhuan seemed to be reliving a classic moment when she said this.
Cheng Huanhuan asked, "Then let me ask another one. To put a giraffe in the refrigerator, how many steps are there?"
Lin Qiqi was stunned, and she and Tian Yingxiong and Da Fei looked at each other, a little bewildered.
"You wouldn't happen to be thinking of the three-step one, would you?"
Cheng Huanhuan said, "Wrong, it's a four-step one."
"First, open the refrigerator door."
"Second, take the elephant out."
"Third, put the giraffe in."
"Fourth, close the refrigerator door, hahahaha…"
Cheng Huanhuan's laughter seemed to transport everyone back to the I Am a Comedian show.
That night, everyone quickly drifted off to sleep. Lin Qiqi and Cheng Huanhuan shared a room, while Lin Chudong and Tian Yingxiong stayed together.
At this moment, two mysterious guests disembarked from the plane.
The show concluded at this point.
"Sister Huan is killing me! Classic re-enactment, but this time the elephant isn't pitiful, it's a giraffe instead."
"Is Sister Huan always this funny? I start laughing the moment I see her."
"How can a woman be both beautiful and hilarious?"
"This show is so good! I want to watch the next episode!"
"Who are the guests for the next episode? I'm so excited!"
"I hope it's Shen Jianbin."
"Haha, are you kidding me? If Da Fei and Shen Jianbin could be on the same show, my life would be complete."
"This episode is really god-tier... Wait, what? The director of this show is Da Fei?"
"I saw it too, it flashed at the end of the credits. Da Fei is the general director of this show, and Sun Xuan is the producer."
"Da Fei is so awesome, he's already started to enter the director's world and is directing variety shows."
"Da Fei has already directed two works, Beginning and Swordsman. Although Swordsman hasn't aired yet, I've been watching the behind-the-scenes footage for over a month."
"I wonder if Hui Sang has returned to his hometown."
"Da Fei is a truly versatile artist, a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry."
"..."
The show finished airing, and the ratings were 3.2!
It set a new record for Beijing TV Station.
Sun Xuan sent the news to Lin Chudong immediately.
"Awesome! Look at these numbers, they're incredible."
Lin Chudong: I got lucky. You don't have to worry anymore, right?
Sun Xuan: Hahaha, no worries. This time, CCTV will have to practically beg me to go back.
Lin Chudong finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that the show hadn't crashed and burned. He hadn't used the [Memory Search Card] for this one.
One reason is that reality shows primarily rely on the guests' performance. Even with a detailed script, some guests might not perform well. Therefore, as long as the scene and shooting mode are replicated, the rest is up to their own performance.
Another reason is,
— He no longer had the [Memory Search Card].
Achieving this effect was also beyond his expectations.
In the first episode, there weren't many soft advertisements, only two commercial breaks and the logo that was always present on the screen.
After the show aired, Yao Qiang said,
"The advertising effect is very obvious; new users are significantly increasing."
Lin Chudong nodded, "Are we preparing to hold an event recently?"
He wasn't very good at game operations; Yao Qiang handled all of that himself.
"Here's the plan. I had the art department design a few sets of clothes styled after Yearning for Rural Life. You four each have a set. New users get a set upon registration, and there's a 50% discount on top-ups."
Lin Chudong nodded. Yao Qiang seemed to have prepared everything in advance; he was quite skilled in this area.
Although his game creation abilities might not have been that strong, he wouldn't make any mistakes if given a finished game to operate.
This time, the company had invested nearly ten million in the filming of Yearning for Rural Life. Let's see how long it takes the game to earn back the investment.
The show's ratings were so high, the conversion rate for advertising would definitely be great.
This time, besides repaying Sun Xuan's favor, he could also make a profit.
Deng Siqing was interrogating Cheng Huanhuan at this moment.
"You and Lin Qiqi are sharing a room, what did you two talk about?"
Cheng Huanhuan was speechless, "You've asked this a few times already, we didn't say anything. That girl sleeps super fast, she was already asleep before I could even say a word."
Deng Siqing: You're just full of it.
Cheng Huanhuan: It's true, I swear on my life, it'll be broadcast in the next episode, you'll see.
Deng Siqing: Who are the guests in the next episode? Cheng Huanhuan: Su Yulin and Yang Han.
Deng Siqing: Oh, what's Su Yulin like? Cheng Huanhuan: Not bad, I feel like something's going on with Da Fei.
Deng Siqing: Hmm? Really? Are they flirting?
Cheng Huanhuan: It's... hard to explain. Just watch later.
Deng Siqing: That's strange. Isn't Su Yulin from Da Fei's band? Did Da Fei and Shen Jianbin bury the hatchet?
Cheng Huanhuan: I don't know, but I heard Shen Jianbin isn't feuding with Da Fei anymore. This time, they invited Su Yulin, gave her some appearance fees, and even let Shen Jianbin make a little money. I wonder what Da Fei thinks.
Deng Siqing: I guess Su Yulin is about to terminate her contract. Da Fei has a show to promote people, and they're short-handed anyway. They can let Shen Jianbin make some money, then they'll promote Su Yulin and have her join their company later.
Cheng Huanhuan: You always know the score. I'm going to quit my hosting job at CCTV and join Da Fei's company.
Deng Siqing: Are you sure you want to do that?
Cheng Huanhuan: There's nothing to be hesitant about. I don't have any shows. Although I got popular from the variety show, I still don't have a show. I'll have Da Fei create one for me.
Deng Siqing: You need to talk to Da Fei about that.
Cheng Huanhuan: You get busy in bed and help your bestie out.
Deng Siqing: Go die!
Back at the company, Lin Chudong was still very busy. He immediately wrote a script and sent it to Cheng Huanhuan.
The next episode of I Am a Comedian was about to start recording, and the elimination round was starting. After one elimination round, it would be the finals.
He repeatedly urged her not to let anyone else see the script. Cheng Huanhuan probably wouldn't be foolish enough to let anyone else see it again.
This time, he didn't want to perform a two-person skit; he wanted to do a three-person one, but he was missing a partner.
None of the people in the company were very suitable. Lin Chudong sat in his office, looking at the resumes of the applicants.
Wasn't there a single suitable one?
Wang Zhi was scrolling through Douyin in his dorm.
He could only see himself those few days during the Spring Festival Gala, and after that, he couldn't find himself anymore.
No choice, who told him he didn't get any screen time?
Being a bassist is tough, there's no chance to get any attention.
He definitely needs to come up with some killer skills to stand out.
He swiped up, and suddenly saw a middle-aged man removing his makeup.
The man was wearing clown makeup, and was wiping his face with makeup remover wipes.
Behind him, a woman was constantly berating him.
"You bought another pack of cigarettes? This pack is over a hundred yuan, and you smoke two or three packs a month. That's several thousand a year! You think you're rich or something?"
"Marrying you was the worst mistake of my life!"
The man had just been livestreaming as a clown at home. Seeing his wife and child return, he immediately stopped and started removing his makeup.
He didn't want his child to see him looking ridiculous.
Everyone thought it was easy to make money online by acting like a clown. But in reality, even though he delivered food during the day and played a clown at night, his income hadn't increased much.
This month, a few big spenders had given him tips during his livestream, and he'd earned a few hundred yuan. He'd bought two packs of cigarettes and used the rest to buy some fruit and toys for his wife and child.
But as soon as his wife walked in, she started berating him. The man was a bit broken.
He wiped away tears as he removed his makeup.
The live stream viewers saw everything and started offering words of comfort.
"Don't get angry, man. They're just angry words, don't argue."
"Harmony in the family brings prosperity."
Wang Zhi also sent a message, "Calm down. Men should yield to women."
The man didn't speak, but nodded at the camera.
The woman opened the bag of fruit and saw the strawberries and mangosteens, things they usually wouldn't buy. Suddenly, she was furious.
She stormed in and stood behind him, yelling.
"Xie Yujun! You can't be trusted with money, can you? You just waste it all!"
"You're middle-aged, don't you have any ambition? Do you know who the worst man in the world is? It's you!"
"You don't earn any money, your work is a failure, and you don't take care of your family!"
"You have no skills, no education, and no abilities!"
"You can't support your wife, you don't spend time with your children. You're over thirty, you know half your life is gone?"
"Xie Yujun, pack your things tomorrow, and get a divorce immediately!"
Xie Yujun stared at the camera, a tear rolling down the corner of his eye. He gritted his teeth and said,
"Okay."
...
That evening, Lin Chudong returned to the dorm. Wang Zhi walked over and said,
"Brother Fei, I saw something on Douyin today. A couple was arguing…"
Wang Zhi recounted the incident and showed him the person's account.
Lin Chudong glanced at it and suddenly became interested.
This Xie Yujun usually posted short skits himself, but unfortunately, he relied on being ugly to be funny, so he wasn't very popular.
Moreover, without a management company, he couldn't get his account off the ground.
But this Xie Yujun's acting was surprisingly good, with a perfect Northeast China accent, and his performance was very natural.
Lin Chudong was somewhat interested in him.
"Use our band's account to send him a private message and ask if he's interested in working for our company."
Wang Zhi was taken aback, "Brother Fei, are you going to sign him?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'll contact him."
Xie Yujun left home with the new pack of cigarettes he had just bought.
The irritable cursing of his wife and the sound of his daughter crying followed behind him, making him very sad.
The wind still cut through the streets of Shenyang.
Xie Yujun lit a cigarette, and they smoked it down to the filter together.
He found a 24-hour self-service bank, went inside, and lay down on the floor, ready to spend the night.
Suddenly, his phone chimed.
He opened Douyin and saw a private message from the Liang Music Band's account.
Xie Yujun was startled and sat up straight away.
"Goodness, I wouldn't have run into a scammer, would I?"
Xie Yujun quickly replied with his phone number. Then, the call came in, originating from Magic City.
"Hello..." Xie Yujun's hand trembled as he answered the phone.
"Hello, this is Da Fei from the Liang Music Band, do you know me?"
"I know, I know! Of course I do!" Da Fei's popularity was so high now, how could someone like him, who was eager to enter the entertainment industry, not know?
"I appreciate you. Are you interested in signing with a company and developing in Magic City?"
Xie Yujun choked up and said, "I am!"
Lin Chudong said, "Great, you can come to Magic City for an interview tomorrow. Regardless of the outcome, I'll reimburse your plane ticket."
"Thank you..."
After hanging up the phone, Xie Yujun hugged his knees and burst into tears.
When he told his wife he wanted a divorce, he was already holding back a lot of grievances, and now they were completely unleashed.
The next day at noon, Wang Zhi picked up Xie Yujun. He looked travel-worn, which surprised Wang Zhi.
"What happened to you…?"
Xie Yujun said, "My wife kicked me out last night. I slept outside all night."
Wang Zhi said, "I watched your live stream yesterday. Sigh, I don't know how to comfort you."
Xie Yujun said, "Thanks, brother. No need to comfort me. I understand now. A man has to focus on his career. Now that a big star has taken a liking to me, I have to work hard, even if it's just to prove myself!"
Arriving at the company, Lin Chudong had an interview. Wang Zhi was very satisfied with his appearance, and his acting was also quite natural.
"Have you watched I Am a Comedian?"
Xie Yujun nodded. "Yes, your show is great."
"How about I take you on the next episode?"
Xie Yujun's eyes widened instantly. This unexpected good fortune had just landed on his doorstep?
Liang Music Band signed a contract with him and also gave Xie Yujun a preliminary plan for his future career path.
When Da Fei performed comedy, he would bring Xie Yujun on stage. There would be almost no performance fees, only a chance to gain some small fame.
The company would operate an account for him, and Da Fei would write some scripts for him to perform.
Later on, the company would also recruit some actors. Once the account was successful, they would act as his supporting cast.
Xie Yujun was very satisfied with this path, and the salary was also quite good. He couldn't believe he was able to join Liang Music Media.
He got Lin Chudong's script and studied it day and night, practicing secretly in front of the mirror when he returned to the dormitory at night.
Two days later, Lin Chudong brought Xie Yujun and Wang Zhi to Jingcheng to prepare for the recording of a new episode of I Am a Comedian.
Once again at CCTV, many people greeted Da Fei.
Qiu Chengdong said, "You're something, you can do variety shows too. I watched Go Ahead, you're amazing."
Lin Chudong said, "Director Qiu, you flatter me. Isn't this still paying a favor to Brother Sun? I have to work hard!"
Qiu Chengdong said, "Don't be biased, you helped me with the Spring Festival Gala too. You can plan one for me later, I'll be the producer, you be the director, and I'll give you full authority."
Lin Chudong smiled wryly, "We'll talk about it later!"
Once Sun Xuan got back, he might need to look him up.
Although Qiu Chengdong treated him well, their relationship wasn't as close as with Sun Xuan. If he were to do a show, he'd still prioritize collaborating with Sun Xuan.
"Perform well tonight. Cheng Huanhuan has extremely high popularity. This episode is six into three. Are you confident?"
Lin Chudong nodded. "Director Qiu, you've already decided on me, so of course I'm confident."
Qiu Chengdong smiled. "Don't talk nonsense. How could I have decided on you? I don't do behind-the-scenes deals. If your performance isn't good, you'll still have to go down."
Lin Chudong, Cheng Huanhuan, and Xie Yujun were backstage, preparing.
Cheng Huanhuan said, "With such a strong script, we can probably beat anyone, right?"
Lin Chudong said, "Don't be too confident. Besides us, the strongest right now is the Ant Team, and the mime artist Wang Shuai."
Although Wang Shuai's show wasn't that hilarious, it was fresh for everyone to watch, and he was also very strong.
"Let's see how our luck goes."
At the start, Cheng Huanhuan was the host, and then the director told them to draw lots.
Because Cheng Huanhuan was the host, she drew last, waiting to be picked.
As a result, the first group of comedians, the crosstalk performers Yu Hong and Meng Xin, drew the lot that matched Lin Chudong's team.
Cheng Huanhuan was immediately delighted, and whispered.
"Director Qiu is still doing some behind-the-scenes maneuvering."
Lin Chudong smiled. That was normal; it would be strange if there wasn't any manipulation.
In the elimination round, Lin Chudong's team would be up against the Ant Team. The audience wouldn't be happy about that.
In this elimination round, the final three would undoubtedly be Da Fei, the Ant Team, and the mime artist Wang Shuai.
Then, the final three would compete again to determine the champion, runner-up, and third place.
For the crosstalk actors to get this far was already the director being very accommodating. They'd been given a free pass, considering that Meng Xin had seniority.
This time, the two of them had prepared a traditional crosstalk piece, "On Supporting and Teasing."
Yu Hong and Meng Xin were the first to perform, and the audience gave them some symbolic applause.
The two of them gave a somewhat awkward performance, using old, outdated material. Their speaking sounded more like they were reciting a script.
The audience clapped to show their support, but no one laughed.
Downstage, Qiu Chengdong shook his head. He had already given them enough face, but there was nothing he could do; the show was just not up to par.
After they left the stage, it was Lin Chudong, Cheng Huanhuan, and Xie Yujun's turn.
It was Xie Yujun's first time on stage, and he was very nervous. Fortunately, he performed well, and all the punchlines landed, causing the audience to laugh.
After the performance, Xie Yujun was filled with excitement, but he didn't know how it would come across when it aired.
The thought of seeing himself on TV filled Xie Yujun with excitement.
Both teams stood on stage, and the director announced that the audience should start voting.
Suddenly, Meng Xin raised his hand and said something.
"Director, I have something to say!"
Everyone was stunned for a moment, looking at Meng Xin. Qiu Chengdong signaled for him to speak.
Meng Xin spoke to the camera.
"When the program team asked me, I said, 'Who is Da Fei?' To be honest, I really didn't know."
"Even when they asked me to predict, I predicted that they would come in sixth."
"I thought to myself, I'm older, I'm over fifty this year. I can't compare my three-year-old self learning the single-string clapper talk to these kids, it's not fair."
"So, for this competition..."
"We let them win."
Suddenly, there was some commotion on the scene; everyone had never encountered this situation before.
What did Meng Xin mean by this?
Cheng Huanhuan quickly said, "No, no, no, this is a competition, we still have to follow the rules."
Meng Xin directly interrupted him, "This is my decision, can you all respect my decision?"
Cheng Huanhuan frowned, "But this is a competition, it should be up to the audience to decide."
Cheng Huanhuan was very dissatisfied; this Meng Xin was really getting old and acting like he was superior.
If he could compete, he would compete. If he couldn't, he would say he conceded. Didn't he get to say everything?
Anyone with ears and eyes could see the difference between these two performances today. He insisted on saving face for himself; wasn't this negating other people's efforts?
In this situation, did he even need to concede?
"If you're forfeiting, just forfeit. What's with the 'letting' nonsense? It's hilarious."
Meng Xin said, "It's mainly because of the seniority. Director, let me yield, okay? Audience, let us yield, thank you!"
Meng Xin and Yu Hong bowed to the audience. The audience, out of respect, applauded.
Qiu Chengdong frowned, hesitated for a moment, and said,
"Da Fei, what do you think?"
Lin Chudong said, "We don't need you to 'let' anything."
"Seeing that you're about to lose, you say you're 'letting' us. Your seniority is high, and your skin is thick enough."
Is Lin Chudong someone who's easily bullied? Does he need to give you face? You're already so shameless, who cares about your age or seniority? Is Da Fei someone who indulges others?
-----------------------
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