Now, even more fans and netizens are eagerly watching to see just how long Qin Yunxuan can hold onto her reigning champion spot on Singer!
Will the next contestant finally end her winning streak? Will Chen Qiyun perform another original song next time? Can he turn the tables in the next episode and wipe away his earlier disgrace?
The ratings for I Am a Singer have been climbing steadily, and it has now clearly become the ratings giant among music programs.
Seeing this, other TV stations have grown intensely envious and are all rushing to launch similar projects, hoping to grab a slice of the pie.
You’ve got things like The Vocalist Assembly, This Is Singing, The Stage Is My Kingdom—you name it!
Anyway, a whole bunch of singing shows were quickly pushed into production.
It might come off as a clumsy imitation, but with the huge wave of buzz stirred up by Singer, passing up a share would really be hard to justify.
That’s also the source of Station Head Zhao’s sense of crisis.
With so many similar shows popping up, audiences will have that many more choices. Whether Singer can keep up its earlier momentum is truly an unknown.
This was exactly the reasoning Qin Lang used to persuade Station Head Zhao in the first place.
Inside the main conference room at Jiuyang Television.
“Hey, any idea why Section Chief Chen called us all in here?”
“No clue. I only came because I got an urgent summons!”
“Do you think it’s related to the station’s new program?”
“Is there a new variety show in the works? How come I haven’t heard about it?”
“That… The Jiuzhou Poetry Competition!”
“What? The Jiuzhou Poetry Competition? The project where Qin Yunxuan is both the lead director and lead planner?”
“If it’s that, I want off the team!”
…
Just as the staff were buzzing in disarray, the conference room door swung open.
Section Chief Chen Ke walked in.
“All of you are the backbone of Jiuyang Television. The station has just unanimously approved a decision to produce the nation’s very first poetry-themed show, The Jiuzhou Poetry Competition. This will be a major tentpole project for the station in the near future. So, I’ve gathered you all here specifically to put together the production team right away!”
As his words settled, a clamor broke out.
They’d had their suspicions before, but they hadn’t expected it to be true.
“Section Chief Chen, I have a question. Is Qin Yunxuan really going to be the lead director and lead planner for this program team?”
One of the planners hesitated for a moment, then voiced the doubt on everyone’s mind.
Chen Ke nodded. “That’s right.”
With that, the whole room erupted.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Putting a singer in the director’s chair—how does the station make decisions like this?”
“This is a disaster! I was doing perfectly well in another program group. I never thought I’d be reassigned here!”
“What kind of connections does this Qin Yunxuan have, for the station to back her like this?”
“Section Chief Chen, can I request to be taken off the team? I don’t have time to fool around with an amateur!”
…
The people Chen Ke had gathered were all the backbone of the station, every single one of them highly skilled professionals.
As the saying goes, the sharper the skills, the pricklier the temper.
The moment they heard they’d be playing second fiddle to a singer, they all started grumbling in discontent.
Chen Ke frowned and banged hard on the table. “What’s this all about? What’s this all about? Are you all trying to stage a rebellion?”
Seeing that Chen Ke was genuinely getting angry, they reluctantly shut their mouths.
“What do you think you’re doing? Do you think this is child’s play? This is work! Picking and choosing, quibbling over assignments—do you think you’re haggling at a market?”
“The station has its own considerations. Your job is to cooperate with Qin Yunxuan and produce a good show. Anything else is not for you to worry about, understand?”
Sullen expressions flickered across their faces. Be that as it may, who wouldn’t want to work under a famous director?
That way, it would count as credentials and a feather in your cap when mentioned later on.
But a poetry show? Is there even an audience for that in this day and age?
Worse still, with a singer as the lead director—how would that reflect on their standing in the industry later?
Next time they run into colleagues and make small talk, what would they say?
“I’m working on Director Qin’s program team?”
Wouldn’t that make them the laughingstock of the whole industry?
However, seeing Chen Ke’s furious expression right now, they all wisely kept quiet.
Though they said nothing, that didn’t mean they had no objections in their hearts.
Seeing everyone settle down, Chen Ke’s face finally relaxed a little.
“In a moment, Qin Yunxuan, Director Qin, will be here. First, break the ice among yourselves and start on the preliminary prep work! Zhao Yu, Zhang Yun, you two are the deputy directors and deputy planners. Qin Yunxuan doesn’t have directing experience, so your task is to be her right-hand support.”
Zhao Yu and Zhang Yun exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but sigh. “Understood.”
“Alright, don’t be so pessimistic. Since the station is putting so much effort into this, it means they’re very optimistic about this project. The nation’s first poetry-themed show—if it makes a splash, you’ll all go down in the history books!”
But everyone remained quite dismissive of Chen Ke’s attempt at reassurance.
They weren’t green rookies fresh out of the gate, and certainly weren’t going to take it seriously.
The audience for poetry programming is niche. Good ratings would be a miracle!
In the end, it would surely turn into another tedious, outlandish mess. After all… everyone on the inside is bearish about the project. Expect an outsider to turn dross into gold?
If Qin Yunxuan could really pull that off, then what was the point of all their own training?
They might as well just go home, hold their wives, and make babies!
…
Qin Lang’s heart was racing with excitement.
The lead director of a program team—that was the person who held the power of life and death over it.
He’d seen all those gossip stories before—directors late at night inviting actresses to their rooms to “discuss the script!”
Directors offering hands-on acting guidance and “rehearsing” the scenes in person…
What a pity this was only a variety show. If it were a movie…
Wouldn’t that be absolute heaven?
“Steady, steady now. I’m a gorgeous woman at the moment!”
Qin Lang took a deep breath, then made his way to the main entrance of the general conference room.
“Director… Director Qin!” Chen Ke came out from inside and, seeing Qin Lang already at the door, looked a bit awkward.
No wonder the people inside were so unhappy. Asking him to address this twenty-something, impossibly beautiful young woman as “Director” was a little hard to choke out!
After all, Qin Lang’s current appearance didn’t match anyone’s image of a director at all.
“Section Chief Chen, hello!” Qin Lang said with a smile. “Inside must be the production team for The Jiuzhou Poetry Competition, right?”
Chen Ke nodded. “That’s right. But these people… they’re rather arrogant…”
Since these were his own subordinates, Chen Ke didn’t want them offending Qin Yunxuan somehow, so he gave a subtle warning.
Qin Lang smiled. “I know. People with real talent always have an unyielding streak! Let’s head in then.”
Pushing the door open and entering, Qin Lang instantly sensed something off.
The atmosphere… it was deathly still. Below, he saw row after row of detached, indifferent eyes.
“These guys… are they trying to put me in my place?”
Qin Lang raised an eyebrow slightly.
