Chapter Sixty-Six: Program Storyline
After the flashback to the company practice video, the camera cleverly showed the teams from Baihe Company and Weier Company one after the other, with the caption "Nemesis or fate?"
It leaves much to the imagination.
The audience's curiosity was greatly aroused. Some wondered if they would meet again, while others imagined a dramatic and unpredictable showdown.
Many people were amazed by Meng Fanxi's thoughtful and gentle reminder to Xu You not to get carried away after the cruel rule of eliminating three teams in the first stage was announced.
When the invited judges appeared, most people didn't pay much attention, but a few comments questioning the professional level of some of them still floated across the screen, such as "How can a certain unscrupulous marketing account judge others?" and "How can someone who was criticizing young idols be sitting here?"
There weren't many dissenting comments, and it didn't cause much of a stir.
During the initial stage segment, before each team's performance, there were interspersed images of them registering on their team forms at the Dream Chasing Hut. The noisy, quiet, and disagreeing situations, along with the funny background music, made the audience smile.
Even teams from lesser-known companies have their own unique storylines, which moved some viewers who enjoy heartwarming ensemble scenes.
Zhu Lou's repeated attempts to manipulate emotions through song requests not only caused Meng Fanxi and his group to experience emotional highs and lows at the time, but now they are also directly affecting the audience. Everyone is saying that they don't want Zhu Lou to talk anymore, because their hearts can't take it. However, the data from the backstage shows that the public is very receptive to this approach.
When Baihe's team came on stage, the camera naturally focused on Weir's team, even cutting close to Meng Fanxi's expression. He looked straight ahead, calmly gazing at the stage.
Wei Ye subconsciously pressed his hand against the corner of his lips, lost in thought.
Ordinary viewers naturally follow the program's structure, but industry insiders like him, especially when watching their own team, always pay attention to the editing highlights, analyze the underlying purpose, and worry about their team being unfairly edited.
The show first uses Meng Fanxi to create an intersection between the two teams, and then continuously uses the reactions of the two sides and the watching teams to build an opposing rival relationship.
On platforms such as Weibo and Douyin, terms like "Weir and Baihe are at odds", "Meng Fanxi and Weier are both working for Baihe", and "Why did Meng Fanxi leave Baihe" have successively become trending topics.
It was predictable that Will and Bai He would be used as a topic of discussion, and what Wei was also concerned about was that the production team seemed to have given Meng Fanxi a subtle storyline.
Although there are no post-interview shots, these elaborate setups arouse the audience's curiosity about Meng Fanxi's experiences, thereby deepening their impression of him.
Will the subsequent developments deepen the storyline, or will they use Meng Fanxi to promote someone else?
He wasn't worried about Meng Fanxi's performance on the show, but he maintained a cautious attitude because he couldn't figure out the show's purpose.
Could it be because of the previous live stream?
Wei missed the live broadcast, but he carefully watched the original content. He applauded Meng Fanxi's handling of the situation, but was also worried about what Meng might encounter on the show.
He contacted an acquaintance in the production team, who only said that the situation wasn't that bad and there was no need to contact the person directly, and declined to reveal any further details.
Watching WONE's performance on stage, Wei Ye truly realized that the real show was much crueler than he had imagined.
The scene of WONE filling out the registration form was very heartwarming, and it was already showing a trend centered around Jin Ziran. Wei couldn't understand how someone who was just working at Kaidi Entertainment not long ago could directly enter Baihe Company.
He dialed the phone of a senior executive from Baihe whom he had met at the banquet. Although the two companies were competitors, necessary communication and probing were still essential.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he tentatively asked, "I saw your group perform very well on this show, especially that guy who said he was new... Jin Ziran, where did you find him? You're so lucky!"
The person on the other end of the phone chuckled, "How could we be as capable as you guys? You managed to poach one of our company's promising talents. But, you know, this person wasn't actually someone we found," he lowered his voice, his tone filled with gossipy excitement, "Someone recommended him to our top leader, and he was parachuted in directly."
"Wow, so outstanding." Wei Ye's voice sounded shocked, but his intuition sensed something unusual.
After hanging up the phone, he knew the other party was holding back. How could someone who could recommend candidates to Baihe's senior management be as simple as that person made it sound?
Before they knew it, it was time for the Weir team to take the stage. Wei looked at the camera and found the WONE team's expressions, watching their reactions play.
Jin Ziran seemed just as expectant as everyone else, showing no unusual expression, which only made Wei Ye more vigilant.
The scene of Will's team filling out forms in the Dream Chaser's Hut drew a lot of comments and criticisms. The boys, who initially seemed cool, turned out to be quite adorable here.
[Gu Huailang is spacing out? He seems to always be spacing out.]
[Everyone, be good and stand quietly to the side while the team leader fills out the form.]
Help! How could they choose such a corny name? @Weir Company, do you even know about this?
Zhang Yang changing "lightning" to "eternity" actually really resonated with me.
[Haha, the expressions on Meng Fanxi, Ren Yuchen, and Gu Huailang's faces as they look up at the sky and Xu You looking down at the ground are hilarious!]
[It's rustic and reassuring]
[Such a huge number; I had the same reaction as Ren Yuchen]
Ren Yuchen seems quite intelligent, so why did he suddenly say something like that?
[Fanxi is helping everyone adjust their equipment; he's so skilled and considerate.]
...
Before the performance of the Eternal Six Stars, the program aired commercials. Online viewers could skip these by subscribing to a membership, but viewers watching the live broadcast offline had to frantically search for their phones to watch the video, not wanting to wait even a second longer.
The production team knew that the "Eternal Six Stars" segment was the highlight. They had already garnered a lot of attention in the early stages thanks to the company's popularity and the live stream's popularity. If their performance and the storyline before the performance were not convincing, the subsequent episodes of the show would be affected.
Jiang Xunzhen kept a close eye on the ratings and online viewership data. Regarding the editing of the first half of the first episode, she and her team held several late-night meetings before deciding on this risky plan: to create contrasting but not overly highlight Will's scenes.
The strategy is to build suspense before emphasizing the positive aspects, hoping the second half will meet the team's expectations.
Jiang Xunzhen crossed her arms and stared intently at the viewership and data curves with Cen Qi. They watched as the line slowly climbed up, then suddenly surged upwards at a certain point, as if it had gained momentum.
The two exchanged an excited glance, knowing they had made the right decision.
In the scene after the advertisement ends, the steps of the six eternal stars as they take the stage are slowed down, the stirring and grand background music is about to start but suddenly turns, the sound of rewinding begins, and the background music becomes relaxed.
Six figures appeared on the screen, practicing in a luxurious practice room.
Wei was stunned for two seconds before realizing that this was a video of the initial stage practice that the production team had requested from Weier Company.
Initially, the production team wanted practice videos of the six members when they first joined the company. Wei Ye's team patiently dug them out and sent them over. Later, they made a bunch of other requests, including practice videos for the initial stage performance. They lost patience and simply handed the videos over to Wei Ye, no longer caring about his plans for the six-member group, and only wanting to reduce his workload.
When Wei received the notification, there was not much time left before the deadline. The production team said they would not accept the expired entries and would not edit them.
He guessed that there was a lot of exaggeration in those words, how could they not cut out Will's behind-the-scenes story? But he still hurried to find the videos. Fortunately, he had developed the habit of recording practice videos with these six people, and he carefully selected a few clips and sent them over before the deadline.
"After practicing this song now, I feel it doesn't showcase our characteristics." After finishing the dance, Meng Fanxi walked to a spot where he could see everyone and said these words carefully.
Wei recorded this part unintentionally. He got tired of holding the phone for too long, so he put it at a fixed angle. Usually, after a song ended, everyone would gather around to see the result, and he would press pause.
But after this, they were in low spirits and started discussing the song selection. Wei didn't care about anything else and focused all his thoughts on the arrangement.
The production team even thoughtfully added subtitles.
"But time is very tight now, there's no time to change it, right?" Gu Huailang asked.
Meng Fanxi waved his hand, "As long as we can produce good songs, I'm not worried about everyone's efficiency at all."
Lin Ruohe sensed something and asked him with a smile, "You have something on your mind, don't you?"
Meng Fanxi smiled mischievously and walked up to Zhang Yang with a slightly apologetic expression, saying ingratiatingly, "Brother Zhang Yang, I thought that song you hummed last night was so nice, I couldn't concentrate on practicing it today."
Zhang Yang looked at him with some surprise, "That song? It's still very immature. This is our first stage performance, we can't take too many risks."
"No, believe me, there is no better song than that."
The scene froze for two seconds as Meng Fanxi looked firmly at Zhang Yang.
So, the production team automatically fast-forwarded through the scene, and they immersed themselves in practicing Zhang Yang's self-composed song, discussing and revising the lyrics together, creating a beautiful and heartwarming scene.
During the choreography segment, Meng Fanxi took on the main responsibility, arranging everyone's positioning and movements.
His clear eyes were full of seriousness and focus.
"Young, could you check if this formation is symmetrical?"
"Xu You, remember to do this move, it will look absolutely stunning."
"Yu Chen, remember to pause here, mark the point."
"Gu Huailang! Watch your expression, be sad."
"Captain, perfect."
...
Their interaction was natural and approachable, and they clearly had a good relationship. Many viewers were surprised that Meng Fanxi also had the skill of choreography, and the barrage of comments instantly turned into a praise squad. A small number of viewers wondered why Will Company didn't provide them with a choreography teacher.
The practice room scene gradually darkened, seamlessly transitioning into the darkness of the stage.
As the music began, several beams of light suddenly illuminated the stage, and the immersive expressions of the six performers drew countless viewers into the dramatic performance.
...
"Meteor" did not turn into a meteor as its name suggests.
As soon as the song was released on the music platform, it immediately topped the charts and set a record for the number of people watching the same song online at the same time.
Their performance videos were uploaded to various platforms, where they were watched by tens of thousands of people at the same time.
The ingenious stage arrangement and encouragement for bold attempts at new songs are inseparable from the person behind it.
Meng Fanxi's name is mentioned in every comment section.
And a question that has almost become a meme.
What exactly is Fan Na questioning?
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