Chapter 243 The show isn't good? Then let's activate our cheat codes! (16,000 words!)
An emergency meeting was held for the production team of "The Days of Youth".
Chen Biqiu asked, "Why did this happen? Why would you take artists to the water's edge without any safety measures?"
Li Zhenzhen immediately said, "This is my fault. I felt that the current recording content was a bit bland, so I suggested that they go fishing by the reservoir without fully considering the safety issues."
Chen Biqiu glanced at Li Zhenzhen, whose face was filled with self-reproach.
Seeing this, Chen Biqiu sighed and didn't say anything more.
Zheng and Song then said, "This has nothing to do with the director. It was clearly Mengli who wasn't careful and insisted on wearing high heels to the reservoir. When she got there, we reminded her not to go near the water, but she insisted on having people take pictures of her and posing for photos. As a result, she wasn't careful and lost her footing. How can you blame us? There was video recording of the whole thing."
"Even if it was all Mengli's own carelessness, didn't she have the accident while recording our program?" Chen Biqiu questioned Zheng Hesong in a serious tone.
Zheng and Song tried to continue their defense, saying, "Even if the incident happened while we were recording our show, we're not babysitters, how could we watch her every second?"
Chen Biqiu slammed his hand on the table with a loud "bang!"
The loud noise startled everyone present.
Chen Mo was so frightened that he dropped his pen on the ground.
She quickly bent down and picked it up.
Chen Biqiu glared at everyone, his gaze sweeping over them, and said, "How can you say these things to the audience? How can you say them to Meng Li's fans?"
Chen Biqiu suddenly flew into such a rage that no one dared to speak anymore.
"This has already happened, and how to give an explanation is what we need to discuss." Chen Biqiu took a deep breath. "If this incident causes public outcry and people question whether our program disregards the safety of our guests and fails to take proper protective measures, don't forget the consequences of a program two years ago when a guest suddenly died during filming—the entire program was canceled!"
Chen Biqiu's words left no room for argument.
He looked at Li Zhenzhen: "You come with me. We'll go back to the city tonight. We have to appease Meng Li and her management team tonight."
He then looked at Zheng and Song and said, "He Song, I'm leaving this to you. Fortunately, no one else was present when this happened today, and there's no word of it online yet. Tell everyone to keep their mouths shut, and have each group do a good job of comforting the other artists."
Chen Biqiu swiftly and decisively assigned all the tasks.
Everyone did as instructed.
At this moment, although Li Zhenzhen was the chief director, she was also following Chen Biqiu's instructions.
As someone in the production team said, although Li Zhenzhen is the nominal director of "The Days of Youth," Chen Biqiu is still the actual helmsman.
Most of the team members are Chen Biqiu's men.
-
The fact that an artist fell into the water was completely unexpected by Li Zhenzhen, and it made her emotions sink uncontrollably.
From the very first day of filming, "The Days of Youth" seemed to have been plagued by bad luck, with all sorts of problems constantly arising.
Every time Li Zhenzhen felt that things were improving, new problems would arise.
Li Zhenzhen hasn't been sleeping well these past few days, averaging only four or five hours of sleep a day. Once filming actually started, she lost her ability to control herself, and was constantly being pushed around by all sorts of things every day.
When Mengli fell into the water, Li Xia ran over and berated them, then took Mengli away with her.
What truly devastated Li Zhenzhen was not any of the aforementioned events, but rather the moment Chen Biqiu erupted in anger while she was sitting in the workroom.
Li Zhenzhen clearly saw the gap between herself and Chen Biqiu.
Previously, Li Zhenzhen always felt that she had accumulated enough talent and experience to be fully capable of directing a program, and no longer needed to be an assistant director.
She was ambitious and wanted to create her own show. She didn't want the show to be too commercialized, and even felt that Chen Biqiu's approach was outdated and would eventually be phased out.
But when a real problem arises, Chen Biqiu can immediately make various arrangements with clear thinking and decisiveness. Li Zhenzhen didn't say a word, letting Chen Biqiu speak for her and say what should have been said by her. It seemed like she was respecting Chen Biqiu, but only Li Zhenzhen herself knew that at that moment, her mind was blank and she didn't know what arrangements to make.
Yes, it wasn't until that moment that Li Zhenzhen realized the real gap between herself and Chen Biqiu.
-
Chen Biqiu was driving, and Li Zhenzhen was sitting in the passenger seat.
The night was dark, and a road stretched out in a winding path.
Chen Biqiu glanced at Li Zhenzhen several times, but Li Zhenzhen did not react at all, remaining expressionless.
"Were you frightened?" Chen Biqiu asked.
"Huh?" Li Zhenzhen came to her senses, shook her head, and said, "No, it's just that I've been too tired lately, and this happened today. It was probably too sudden, and I didn't quite catch my breath."
“It’s normal that you can’t react immediately when you encounter these things as your first time directing. There’s no need to put so much pressure on yourself.” Chen Biqiu saw through Li Zhenzhen’s dilemma at a glance and suddenly comforted her gently, “Besides, if it wasn’t this, it would have been something else.”
"What?" Li Zhenzhen didn't understand Chen Biqiu's last sentence.
Chen Biqiu said, "Even if this hadn't happened, Li Xia would still have found an excuse to take Mengli away. Mengli wouldn't have stayed on the show. After what happened on the first day, this was already destined."
Li Zhenzhen said, "I thought they would at least wait until the first recording was over, or until the end of this season."
“Maybe, if the drowning incident hadn’t happened, but I actually think it’s a good thing,” Chen Biqiu said. “She herself didn’t want to stay on the show anymore, and we didn’t want her to stay either, but we didn’t have a proper reason. She couldn’t speak up, and neither could we. Whoever spoke up would be seen as the one who was dishonest. Now that Li Xia has taken Mengli away so ruthlessly, she might have had the same thought.”
Li Zhenzhen was somewhat surprised. "I thought you took me with you tonight to find Li Xia and Meng Li so that you could persuade them to come back."
"We still need to try to persuade them; we have to maintain appearances. But they definitely won't be coming back," Chen Biqiu said confidently. "If we go over tonight, we just need to appease them and prevent them from using the drowning incident to cause trouble and turn around and bite us."
How do you bite it?
“They say our program's arrangements are unreasonable, or that they're just playing the victim. If they want to take a bite out of someone, they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. They can act out any one of them,” Chen Biqiu said. “You’ve seen her acting before.”
Li Zhenzhen's expression immediately changed.
Chen Biqiu: "The first thing is to get her and her team on board and prevent them from talking nonsense. At least to the outside world, we broke up peacefully and amicably. The second thing is to find a new guest."
-
That evening, in the young people's cabin, a group of people sat together with a worried expression. The atmosphere that had been so hard to improve over the past few days was back to square one.
"I wonder how Mengli is doing," Song Linxin said.
"I just swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water, it's nothing serious," Li Zhibai said.
The house that once housed eight young people now has only seven left.
Mengli finally left, in a way that no one had anticipated.
"Now that Mengli has left, will our show continue filming?"
"Why not continue recording?" Li Zhibai said. "Can't this program be recorded without the beaded lens?"
“But didn’t we say before that our program would be changed to a task-based format? And today, on our first task, something went wrong.” Song Linxin’s face was full of worry.
"Are you worried that we might encounter similar safety issues when recording programs in the future?" Li Zhibai asked.
Song Linxin nodded. "I know that Mengli fell into the water today mainly because of her own fault. She lost her footing and fell in. However, if the production team had made relevant preparations, considered all kinds of possibilities, and taken some precautions, it wouldn't have been so dangerous. After Mengli fell into the water today, only the two of you jumped in to save her. If it weren't for the two of you, who would have saved her?"
Song Linxin questioned the program team's lack of preparation.
Her words made everyone else fall into deep thought.
Indeed, after Mengli fell into the water today, only Peng Zhixing and Li Zhibai jumped in to save her immediately; none of the staff members on site went in.
After the incident, there were no pre-prepared rescue measures or relevant equipment to help them.
Yan Liang said, "Is it because this trip was originally planned on short notice, so we didn't prepare much?"
"If it were just a small river, it would be fine, but the reservoir is so deep." Song Linxin crossed her arms, seemingly still traumatized by Meng Li's accident.
No one else spoke.
After a moment of silence, Peng Zhixing said, "No one wants to fall into the water. Fortunately, Mengli didn't really get into any trouble. I think Lin Xin's words make a lot of sense. Since the production team took us to the reservoir, they should have taken relevant precautions. Let's talk to the production team later."
“Hmm.” Li Zhibai nodded. “I also support talking to the production team, not only about the preventative measures this time, but also about the subsequent recordings. To be honest, the current recordings are really not very interesting. Originally, the purpose was to study how people get along, but now they've just put a few of us in one room for a few days. We just chat and play games every day, without any real interaction. Of course, many slow-paced variety shows are filmed like this, and they may be quite interesting, but at least I feel that the daily filming is meaningless now. I wonder how you guys feel.”
“I feel the same way.” Song Linxin raised her hand and said, “I really like everyone, but being stuck in this room every day feels like being in prison.”
"So you all feel this way?" Xiao Yun said cautiously, hugging her legs. "I thought I was the only one. Everyone seemed so happy and harmonious, so I didn't dare to say anything."
“It’s all acting.” Li Zhibai pouted and shook his head. “I wouldn’t say it’s acting. When we come to record a show, everyone is definitely in high spirits and gives their best performance in front of the camera. But like now, there is no emotional feedback. We have to force our own emotional reactions. Over time, it really becomes acting.”
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang looked at each other in bewilderment.
Neither of them expected that people would suddenly start criticizing the show.
From Song Linxin's accusations to Li Zhibai's questioning of the filming, Lu Yanhe originally thought the biggest problem with the show was the conflict between Li Zhibai and Meng Li. But now he finds out that it's not like that at all in other people's eyes. It turns out that everyone is secretly questioning the show's setup.
"Then what do we do? Should we talk to the production team?" Song Linxin asked.
Li Zhibai hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What do you think?"
Peng Zhixing shook his head, indicating that he had no objection.
Song Linxin shook her head and said, "This is only the first recording so far. We don't know what the final product will be like. When Director Li Zhenzhen first told me about this program, I was really impressed by her ideas. Today is only the fourth day of recording. Is it really appropriate for us to question her filming methods now?"
Li Zhibai said, "It's not a question, but we are indeed facing a dilemma right now. At least some of us don't know what we are supposed to do on this show, right? We need to communicate with the director and figure out what we should be doing on the show."
“If that’s the case, why don’t we figure it out ourselves?” Peng Zhixing asked.
"Um?"
Peng Zhixing said, "The director team's idea is actually very simple. They want us to make all the decisions ourselves, right? Let us explore the space and possibilities for becoming friends. Since we all feel that we don't know what to do, how about this: each of us proposes three things that we most want to do together. We write down what we think we can do to help each other get to know each other better and become friends. In half an hour, we will meet here to announce them together and then vote on them. We have one more day tomorrow. The one with the most votes will do it together tomorrow."
Song Linxin's eyes widened in surprise. "This is good."
Qin Zhibai said, "Can I not write it? I'll do whatever you want, I can't think of anything."
“You haven’t even thought about it yet and you can’t come up with an answer?” Li Zhibai glanced at Qin Zhibai.
Peng Zhixing patted Qin Zhibai on the shoulder and said, "You can't just sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor."
-
In the workspace, Zheng and Song sat up straight in disbelief.
What are these celebrity guests up to?
While the production team was still feeling uneasy about Mengli falling into the water, they suddenly started thinking about how to film the rest of the show?!
Zheng and Song felt that the show had suddenly become precarious.
Nothing seems to be going right.
The doubts that Peng Zhixing, Li Zhibai, and Song Linxin had about the program were actually the same doubts that Zheng and Song themselves had.
After a few days, Zheng and Song themselves felt that this was not the way to film a regular program.
If it weren't for Chen Biqiu as the producer, Zheng and Song wouldn't know how long they could have lasted.
Now, some celebrities are actually starting to design how the show will be filmed later?
Neither Zheng nor Song knew how to describe their feelings.
He thought about it and decided that he should tell Li Zhenzhen and Chen Biqiu about this.
-
What kind of things can I do to help people get to know each other quickly and become friends?
Lu Yanhe was alone in his room, deep in thought.
He genuinely hopes the show will be good.
So, what should we do?
Lu Yanhe really doesn't understand variety shows at all.
He looked worried and bewildered.
etc--
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.
He may not understand variety shows, but he has watched quite a few!
Before he came into this world, he also experienced an era of explosive growth in variety shows.
Lu Yanhe suddenly became excited! That's right, he's someone with a cheat code!
How could you forget your greatest treasure?
In the year since he transmigrated, Lu Yanhe has become more and more accustomed to this world and has come to regard himself more and more as one of its inhabitants. Everything from the past seems like a dream from yesterday.
He always felt that he was just a newcomer and that no one would listen to or care about what he said, so he never thought about the possibility of replicating those successful cases right now.
However, the program setup of "The Days of Youth" itself is a very good container—Li Zhenzhen wanted to create a dating show for young people that was 100% free from interference from the production team, and within this framework, they could do whatever they wanted. Wasn't this a stage where Lu Yanhe could showcase his talents?
Lu Yanhe's eyes suddenly lit up.
Just like that Werewolf game from before.
Lu Yanhe knew just how popular this game was among young people.
Lu Yanhe's thinking seemed to have broken through a constraint, and he stood from a different perspective to look at his relationship with the world.
-
Half an hour later, everyone gathered in the living room.
"Alright, everyone, let's share our thoughts."
Peng Zhixing was the first to announce his thoughts.
"First, let's all work together to renovate this house and rearrange it according to our own preferences."
“This is a huge project. We can’t finish it in one day, can we?” Li Zhibai said immediately.
Peng Zhixing: "If we can't handle it, we'll talk about it later. Let me finish speaking first."
"Second, have an open-air barbecue."
"Third, you, as the behind-the-scenes staff, will help me complete the recording of one episode of 'The Journey'."
Song Linxin immediately said, "I vote for the third idea. I've been wanting to know what kind of behind-the-scenes work is involved in talk shows for a long time, and I'm particularly interested in it."
“Me too,” Xiao Yun raised her hand.
Peng Zhixing smiled and waved his hand, "I'm just throwing out an idea to get the ball rolling. Everyone should share their thoughts first, and then we'll vote together."
So, one by one, they started talking.
Everyone's ideas came purely from their own preferences, and were quite imaginative. They ranged from ordinary activities like Peng Zhixing's "open-air barbecue" to activities like "going to the Arctic to see the aurora," which sounded romantic but were actually beyond the budget of the program.
As everyone shared their ideas one by one, a sense of unease began to creep in. At this point, there seemed to be no particularly insightful suggestions that would make anyone think, "That's it!"
Compared to the initial excitement when they heard Peng Zhixing's suggestion, everyone has gradually lost interest.
In the workspace, Zheng and Song watched their enthusiasm gradually wane and muttered to themselves, "Do they really think coming up with an interesting idea is that easy?"
At this moment, Yan Liang finished explaining his idea, and Peng Zhixing looked at Lu Yanhe and said, "Yanhe, it's your turn. Do you have any ideas?"
Lu Yanhe nodded.
He said, "My idea is actually very simple. It's not something I wanted to do myself. I just felt that it might help us get to know each other better. Three games."
"Games?" Peng Zhixing couldn't help but show a hint of surprise when he heard that Lu Yanhe was thinking of three games.
The others also showed confusion, and even some disappointment.
They've been playing games almost all day and are already tired of them, so why is Lu Yanhe still making them play games?
Lu Yanhe could also see everyone's disappointment.
He said, "This is quite different from the games we've played before. You can listen to it first."
Peng Zhixing noticed that everyone's mood had dropped and said, "Let's listen first, and then vote."
Lu Yanhe said, "The first game is called 'I Have What You Don't Have.' Simply put, everyone says something that they have done but no one else has done. For example, I debuted when I was fifteen, and so did Yan Liang. No one else has done it. The person who has not done it has to put down one finger. There are seven of us now. Everyone says something, and whoever puts down five fingers first loses."
"Wow, this game is interesting!" Li Zhibai was the first to say.
"As for the punishment for the loser, let's decide that among ourselves," Lu Yanhe said.
Peng Zhixing gave Lu Yanhe a thumbs up and said, "This game is good."
Lu Yanhe laughed, "The second game is also very simple, just to make you unable to say it."
"What do you mean, 'open'?" Li Zhibai asked in surprise.
Lu Yanhe said with a smile, "Each of us writes a word or an action on a card, and then we put it on each other's heads. Anyone can see the information on our heads except ourselves. We have to try our best to get that person to say the word or do the action. Once they do it, they are eliminated."
Yan Liang looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise and said, "Did you come up with all of this yourself?"
"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.
He had checked all these games and it was clear that none of these once-popular games existed in the world.
Lu Yanhe didn't know how to describe his feelings at that moment.
It's like having a warehouse full of gold at home, but he still diligently thinks about working to earn money.
"The third game is Werewolf, which I mentioned to everyone a few days ago," Lu Yanhe said. "Actually, I think we can play the third game later, when we all know each other better, it will be more fun."
The main problem is that Lu Yanhe hasn't fully developed the rules of the game yet.
There are only seven people, and he still has to act as the judge. According to the rules he knows, six people can't play, so the rules might need to be adjusted.
Xiao Yun looked at Lu Yanhe in disbelief and said, "How did you come up with so many games?"
"Because I love to play," Lu Yanhe said shyly. "I used to be very shy about talking to people when there were many people around. I'm a bit introverted, so I often think of games that can break the ice."
Qin Zhibai asked, "Are you introverted?"
Everyone laughed at Qin Zhibai's question.
Qin Zhibai seemed to be the most introverted person among them, and his question seemed to be a challenge to Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe said, "I used to be even more introverted than you, really. You can find out by searching for my old videos online."
Peng Zhixing said, "I have this game that you don't, and I think we can try it now."
“Then we need to agree on the punishment first,” Lu Yanhe said. “And if we really lose, we have to do it.”
Peng Zhixing asked, "So what punishment do you all think would be best?"
Yan Liang: "Shall I make breakfast for everyone tomorrow morning?"
“That’s no fun.” Song Linxin shook her head. “How about this, everyone writes down a punishment, and the loser draws a lot. Whatever they draw, they get punished.”
Li Zhibai looked at Song Linxin in shock: "Playing this big?"
Song Linxin raised her chin, a "who's afraid of who" look on her face, and asked, "What, you're scared?"
“What wouldn’t I dare to do?” Li Zhibai said. “You’d better not draw the one I wrote.”
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated. After thinking for a moment, he wrote on the paper: Tell me a piece of gossip you know about the industry.
After writing down their punishments, each person showed them to the camera.
Li Zhibai said again, "Everyone, just pray that you don't get to draw the one I wrote."
Peng Zhixing: "Li Zhibai, have you ever considered that it's possible you drew the one you wrote?"
Li Zhibai: "I can't be that unlucky."
"That's not necessarily true," Song Linxin said.
Xiao Yun clasped his hands together and said, "Let Li Zhibai draw the one he wrote himself."
Lu Yanhe asked curiously, "What did you write?"
Li Zhibai said, "Call the person you have a crush on and tell them to remember to watch the show."
Lu Yanhe stared wide-eyed in shock, "Playing this big?"
Qin Zhibai quickly shook his head and said, "No, this won't do."
"Oh my, who are you secretly in love with?" Li Zhibai immediately caught Qin Zhibai and asked with a wink.
Qin Zhibai's cheeks turned red. "No!"
Peng Zhixing slapped his thigh with a laugh, "We haven't even started playing yet, and one has already exploded."
"Zhixing, you're getting too cocky. This is a gentleman's game; you can't cheat," Song Linxin said. "But what if you don't have a crush right now?"
Li Zhibai said, "Then tell me how you confessed your feelings to someone in the past."
"..." Lu Yanhe said, "What about those who have never confessed their feelings to anyone?"
"Anyway, you can either call the person you have a crush on, without telling us who they are or making it public, just let them watch the show. Or you can talk about your own confession story, or a story about having a crush, what kind of people you've liked, and what those stories are," Li Zhibai said. "It's a gentleman's game, you can't cheat. Everyone has to agree for it to pass."
A group of people's adrenaline surged.
"Old Lu, you started this game, so you go first," Li Zhibai said.
Lu Yanhe said, "When I came up with this game, I never imagined your punishment would be so severe!"
"Stop talking nonsense and get started!" Li Zhibai shouted.
Lu Yanhe shook his head helplessly. After thinking for a while, he realized that the game required him to say something that most other people probably hadn't done before. After thinking for a while, Lu Yanhe came up with an idea and said, "I've been livestreaming my studies for a year!"
The others lowered one of their five outstretched fingers.
“You’re really something,” Peng Zhixing said immediately. “I’ve celebrated my birthday twenty-five times.”
Of the group, only Peng Zhixing was over twenty-five years old.
The others lowered their fingers.
Qin Zhibai said quietly, "I lived abroad for seven years."
Xiao Yun immediately burst into laughter, "Although I didn't have seven years, I did live abroad for two years, so that should count, right?"
"I'm seven years old." As soon as Qin Zhibai finished speaking, the others nodded and said "yes." Qin Zhibai looked at those who said "yes" in disbelief, and was about to say something when Xiao Yun immediately burst into laughter.
Now, Li Zhibai, Yan Liang, and Song Linxin all have only two fingers left.
When it was Song Linxin's turn, she hesitated for a moment, then suddenly remembered something, smiled triumphantly, and said, "I've had boyfriends. Note that it's boyfriends; only boyfriends who have had boyfriends count."
"..."
Lu Yanhe and the others silently lowered a finger.
"Isn't this cheating?" Li Zhi asked speechlessly.
Song Linxin shrugged. "You could also say you've had girlfriends."
Li Zhibai: "What nonsense are you talking about? With so many men, we'd kill a thousand enemies but lose eight hundred of our own."
Now only Li Zhibai and Yan Liang have one finger left.
It was Li Zhibai's turn to speak.
Li Zhibai pondered for a long time, looked at Yan Liang, and smiled.
"I've been in relationships."
The group of people all showed surprised expressions.
Song Linxin: "Is this a free point question?"
Peng Zhixing did not put his finger down.
Qin Zhibai didn't have it either.
In the end, only Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang lowered their fingers.
Yan Liang became the first person to lose all five fingers.
He glared at Li Zhibai with resentment.
Li Zhi laughed heartily, "Yan Liang, don't blame me, it's better for me to die than for my friend to die."
Yan Liang: "You wait! Come on, draw!"
He pulled one out of the slips of paper from which everyone had written their punishments.
"Among the other six people present, find one person to give a one-minute confession to him/her, which must be a very affectionate one."
Song Linxin and Xiao Yun instantly let out a surprised scream, their faces filled with excitement at the prospect of a good show.
Even Lu Yanhe couldn't help but laugh.
Yan Liang's cheeks flushed.
He looked around and asked speechlessly, "Who came up with this punishment?"
"Me!" Xiao Yun raised his hand, his eyes full of pride. "Quick, quick, who do you want to confess your love to?"
-
That night, the atmosphere seemed to change, driven by this game.
As the seven young people became increasingly engrossed in the game, they forgot about the cameras and began trying every possible way to win, punish others, and embarrass them.
A few days ago, everyone would go back to their rooms to rest around nine or ten o'clock, but this night, they played until 11:30 and were still not done.
Later on, everyone got a little tired, so they moved to a different spot and sat on the sofa.
"I'm so tired." Song Linxin rubbed her face. "My face is almost frozen from smiling."
Xiao Yun leaned on Song Linxin's shoulder and said, "I really didn't expect that neither Lu Yanhe nor Yan Liang had ever been in a relationship."
"They both only graduated from high school."
"It's strange that I haven't been in a relationship since I graduated from high school," Xiao Yun said.
Lu Yanhe and Yan Liang, who were being ridiculed, remained silent.
Peng Zhixing gave Lu Yanhe a thumbs up and said, "I really didn't expect this game to be even more exciting than you described."
Later on, they all started to deliberately say things that someone might not have done in order to punish that person. The group of them were trying to trick each other, and it became more and more chaotic.
Lu Yanhe said, "It seems I need to register a copyright so I can collect copyright fees in the future."
“Sure.” Peng Zhixing nodded. “You have a real talent for game design. I’m really looking forward to your other game designs.”
Lu Yanhe's game is not a simple game. Over several hours, everyone talked about many things they had done and hadn't done through the game, which led to a deeper understanding of each other. This is the true essence of the game.
The so-called "ice-breaking" is a metaphor for breaking the ice.
This segment is also very relevant to the theme and fits the program's overall message.
Everyone had a heartfelt feeling that they had finally taken the first step to become friends with each other.
-
Li Zhenzhen returned to the young people's house at two o'clock in the morning.
She was exhausted, radiating an aura of a walking corpse that seemed ready to collapse at any moment.
However, as soon as Li Zhenzhen entered the workshop, she saw Zheng and Song staring at her with unusually bright eyes, like light bulbs plugged into sockets.
Li Zhenzhen frowned hesitantly and asked, "What's wrong with you? How many cups of coffee did you drink?"
Zheng Hesong said, "You can't imagine what happened in the few hours you were gone."
"What happened?" Li Zhenzhen asked.
Zheng and Song gestured for Li Zhenzhen to sit down.
He opened a video, patted Li Zhenzhen on the shoulder, and said, "I finally have a feeling tonight that this show is going to be a success."
This was the first time Li Zhenzhen had ever heard Zheng and Song speak to her in such a sincere tone since the show began filming.
Li Zhenzhen was really tired.
These past few days of non-stop work have seemed to have drained all her strength and energy.
But after Zheng and Song said that, Li Zhenzhen had no choice but to sit down, put on her headphones, and start watching the video.
This video is over four hours long and has not been edited in any way.
-
The first recording ended at 5:20 pm on the fifth day of recording.
Lu Yanhe packed his suitcase and said goodbye to everyone.
Before the artists left, Li Zhenzhen gathered all the artists together and announced something.
“Meng Li will be withdrawing from the remaining recordings of our program,” Li Zhenzhen said. “As the director of this program, I feel very sorry. There were many problems during the first recording, which made everyone feel uneasy, including the incident of Meng Li falling into the water yesterday afternoon. It was indeed our production team that did not take proper precautions. Please trust me again, and such things will not happen again in the future.”
The announcement made by Li Zhenzhen did not surprise anyone.
Almost everyone had guessed that Mengli was going to withdraw.
What everyone wants to know is, what will happen to the show after Mengli leaves?
Li Zhenzhen said, "Before the second recording, we will come up with a plan to see how to record the next part, and then we will communicate with everyone about it."
With Meng Li gone, Li Zhibai has become the most popular and highest-ranking artist among all the current celebrities, while Peng Zhixing is trusted by everyone because he is the oldest and also a host.
As soon as Li Zhenzhen said that, everyone subconsciously looked at the two of them.
Peng Zhixing asked, "Director, will you change the recording format of this program?"
"What form are you referring to?" Li Zhenzhen asked.
"Will your directing team write the scripts for each subsequent episode, or will you still hand them over to us so we can get to know each other and do what we want to do?"
Li Zhenzhen said, "We will discuss this further and then have a meeting with you. I watched your video last night and I really liked it. You finally have a friendly atmosphere."
“Hmm,” Peng Zhixing said. “Actually, we also have some ideas about the next recording. To be precise, Lu Yanhe came up with an idea, and we all think it’s great.”
Li Zhenzhen asked, "Is it the idea you discussed this morning?"
“Yes.” Peng Zhixing nodded.
Li Zhenzhen said, "Let's all go back and think about it carefully. I also need to review the situation. Let's give each other some time to think it over seriously."
"OK."
-
Lu Yanhe went back in the same carriage as Li Zhibai and Yan Liang.
When they arrived, the three of them each rode in a car. On the way back, the cameramen from the production crew were no longer with them, so the three of them ended up in one car.
Yan Liang said, "I finally got into the groove, but the first recording session was over."
"At least we managed to get some feel for it after the first recording. If we hadn't gotten any feeling at all after the first recording, then we would have really wasted our time on this show," Li Zhibai said. "The idea that Lao Lu came up with this morning was really good. If we could record it like that next time, it would be quite interesting."
Yan Liang turned to look at Lu Yanhe and praised, "You're really talented! How do you have so many ideas in your head?"
"We wanted to keep the show going. The three of us have known each other for so long, and it's not easy to have a show we can record together," Lu Yanhe said. "This is our first project together."
In the past, the young talents also had shows where they reunited, but those were just guest appearances or one-time performances, unlike "The Days of Youth," which was recorded three times and broadcast in twelve episodes.
Li Zhibai said, "Lao Lu could go straight to being a program writer; your idea is amazing."
"No, no, no," Lu Yanhe quickly shook his head and said, "It's just a sudden idea."
“That’s right, your idea has attracted all of us.” Li Zhibai clicked his tongue. “I’m telling you, if ‘The Days of Youth’ really uses your idea, you must charge a copyright fee. You can’t let them get it for nothing.”
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, saying, "How could that be? It was originally agreed that we would design what we would do in the program ourselves. I just offered some of my ideas."
Li Zhibai: "Don't be silly. Those games you mentioned on the show will definitely become a nationwide sensation. You should quickly ask Sister Yan to help you register the trademarks and copyrights, lest someone else registers them first."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yanhe realized he had been reminded and immediately sent a message to Chen Ziyan: "Sister Ziyan, have you registered the trademarks and copyrights for those games I told you about before?"
Chen Ziyan said: It's all taken care of, don't worry.
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief: That's good.
-
In the following days, the Jiangzhi episode of "City Travelogue" and the interview program "Journey" were broadcast in turn.
Lu Yanhe's live stream welcomed He Yunlan and leaders from the local industry and commerce department to support the launch of the Jiangzhi episode and help Jiangzhi sell local agricultural products.
The Jiangzhi episode was released in two parts, which caused the release time of the second part to clash with that of "The Journey".
Jiang Zhi wasn't as wealthy as Lang Hua, so she didn't help Lu Yanhe buy trending topics.
However, Yemai.com, live streaming platforms, and local media in Jiangzhi all gave a lot of publicity to the program and Lu Yanhe's live stream.
Lu Yanhe said in the live broadcast room: "This is the first time I have sold things in the live broadcast room, and I don't know much about it. However, the three products I want to recommend to you are all ones that I have eaten, drunk and used in Jiangzhi. So, I recommend them very seriously, and you can give them a try."
"This chili sauce is the local chili sauce used in Sister Jing's private kitchen, and it tastes amazing."
"Red plum wine is quite mellow. I can't drink much, so everyone should drink according to their capacity. If you can't drink much, you can buy a bottle to try first, but it's worth a try."
...
Lu Yanhe's live stream lasted for one hour, and the number of viewers exceeded 100,000.
While the number of viewers is still relatively small in the live-streaming industry, the combined sales of the three agricultural products exceeded two million yuan, much to the delight of Jiangzhi's management.
“For me, Jiangzhi is a place I can visit whenever I’m tired or stressed. It’s not very modernized, but it has the simplicity of a traditional town with its bridges, streams, and houses, yet it also has a vibrant, lively atmosphere,” said Lu Yanhe. “When we went there to film ‘City Travelogue,’ we had a great time eating and exploring. Everyone can take a weekend trip to this city with their family or friends. It’s different from most modern cities and can offer a very different experience.”
Compared to the live stream, the viewership of Jiangzhi's episode exceeded many people's expectations.
Originally, everyone expected that the Jiangzhi chapter would be considered a success if it could reach half the level of the Langhua chapter.
The popularity of the Langhua chapter was a coincidence.
As a result, after the two episodes of Jiang Zhi's story were released, the number of viewers exceeded 2 million within 24 hours.
As the exclusive broadcasting website, YeMai.com not only attracted hundreds of thousands of new users with this documentary, but also attracted sponsors to insert advertisements at the end of the film.
Just as Xin Zixing and Lu Yanhe had predicted, He Yunlan and Liu Yiyi, the couple who gave up Yuming and returned to Jiangzhi to work and live, attracted a lot of attention and discussion.
After the show aired, there was much more discussion about them than about Lu Yanhe.
The main reason is that one of them is handsome and the other is beautiful; their good looks naturally attract attention.
Most encouragingly, the number of tourists visiting Jiangzhi suddenly increased by nearly 20,000 over the weekend after the program aired.
Everyone came because they watched this show.
-
The success of Jiang Zhi's story brought Xin Zixing a sigh of relief.
God knows how worried she was that the success of the "City Travelogue" Corridor Edition was just a flash in the pan. How many people would be willing to watch this kind of documentary-style program?
Xin Zixing herself was unsure.
The phone rang.
It was Liu Qiao calling.
"Editor-in-Chief".
"Come to my office for a moment."
Xin Zixing agreed, hung up the phone, and went to Liu Qiao's office.
As soon as Xin Zixing entered, Liu Qiao asked her to sit down.
"Congratulations on the great success of the Jiangzhi episode," Liu Qiao said. "We just got some internal data, and the Jiangzhi episode has brought over 100,000 new users to Yemai.com."
Xin Zixing's eyes lit up, and she said, "Thank you for your support, editor-in-chief. It is thanks to your support that we were able to produce such a program."
"Where do you plan to film the next episode of 'City Travelogue'?" Liu Qiao asked.
Xin Zixing said, "We are currently in contact with seven cities, all of which are still in the preparation stage and have not yet been finalized."
Liu Qiao said, "The higher-ups have decided to further increase investment in the documentary series 'City Travelogue'."
"Increase investment?"
"The production budget for each episode has been increased to 500,000 yuan," Liu Qiao said.
"Five hundred thousand?" Xin Zixing looked at Liu Qiao in surprise, never expecting that Liu Qiao would bring her such shocking news.
The previous episode's recording only cost around 100,000.
Liu Qiao: "City Travelogue has now become the biggest calling card of our Yemai.com. Moreover, it is also a very valuable brand for Yemai.com itself. We need to further improve the program to a higher level."
"Of course you can if you have money."
"There's another request," Liu Qiao said. "Besides Lu Yanhe, we need to invite one or two more artists to participate in each episode. The higher-ups think that always using Lu Yanhe is getting boring, and having different artists participate will expand the reach of the program."
“Editor-in-chief, I’ve told you before, if the guests weren’t suitable, this show wouldn’t have achieved its current success,” Xin Zixing said. “Adding more people is fine, as long as the budget is sufficient, I’ll invite other guests. But if you’re thinking of replacing Lu Yanhe, I suggest you be more cautious. You can count for yourselves whether there’s another young artist in the entire entertainment industry who can carry the cultural concept like Lu Yanhe. The reason why ‘City Travelogue’ has received such good reviews after only two episodes is largely due to Lu Yanhe’s role as a bridge between the show and the audience. His fan base is the same as our show’s fan base, and for the general public, his public image complements a show like ‘City Travelogue’ with its strong cultural attributes. Replacing any other artist would likely be a negative for ‘City Travelogue’.”
Liu Qiao: "Stop, stop, stop. I know how much you value Lu Yanhe, and I don't intend for you to replace him with someone else. But I also support the higher-ups' opinion. We can't tie the 'City Travelogue' program too closely to Lu Yanhe. He's just a collaborating artist with us. He's only recorded two episodes with us so far, and his influence on the program isn't that deep yet. If we keep recording, and one day he stops recording, the impact on the program will be much greater than if we found a few people to record with him now."
Xin Zixing: "Without Lu Yanhe, this show wouldn't be able to be made. It's only been two episodes, and you're already worried that Lu Yanhe might not participate in the show anymore. This is a bit too far ahead of schedule."
"Don't complain about the higher-ups' decision. What else can we do but listen?" Liu Qiao said. "Go and compile a list of artists. Starting from the next episode, pair Lu Yanhe with at least one artist to record the show together."
Xin Zixing: "With a budget of 500,000, we definitely can't invite any big names. Let's see who's suitable. You guys always give me difficult questions."
"We're only at the beginning. At least they haven't started trying to get you connections yet. The real problem will come when the show becomes so popular that people start trying to get you connections."
"No, stop!" Xin Zixing immediately made a "stop" gesture.
-
Lu Yanhe didn't expect that when he woke up, both Xin Zixing and Li Zhenzhen would come to ask him to meet.
However, Lu Yanhe had already made an appointment with Chen Siqi to go to the printing factory to check on the pattern making today, so he had no choice but to arrange to meet Xin Zixing and Li Zhenzhen in the evening.
He spent the entire day with Chen Siqi at the printing plant, making layout adjustments and looking at the printed drafts.
It was only at this time that Lu Yanhe realized that publishing a book and getting it to the printing plant involved so many complicated matters.
The printed artwork had a color difference from the design draft. If they were to use the paper that Chen Siqi had initially chosen, it would exceed their budget. They hoped to have it printed within fifteen days, but the printing plant couldn't do that, leading to a lot of wrangling...
Fortunately, Xu Xiaoyin and Xu Mingyue arrived later.
Xu Xiaoyin had experience dealing with them, and after rounds of communication, she finally resolved these issues.
"I didn't expect to finish it by the end of this month." Xu Xiaoyin held the sample copy, flipped through it, and said, "It wasn't easy."
“It’s all thanks to Chen Siqi.” Lu Yanhe also said with emotion, “In the later stages, I hardly had time to manage this matter; it was all done by Chen Siqi.”
"It's great that we were able to make it," Chen Siqi said. "Finally, the first episode of 'Jump Up' is finished."
Xu Xiaoyin said, "We have already sent order notices to all channels, and in a few days we will be able to confirm the initial print run."
"Sister Xiaoyin, what do you think the first print run of our book 'Jump Up' will be?" Lu Yanhe asked.
Xu Xiaoyin said, "Well, conservatively speaking, it should sell around 30,000 to 50,000 copies. The market for physical publishing is really bad right now. If it weren't for your celebrity status, I estimate that even 30,000 to 50,000 copies would be hard to come by. Actually, if there were no electronic version, the initial print run would be much higher. With an electronic version, the actual publication will definitely be affected. However, I'm very optimistic about the book's performance after it's released. The content of your book is excellent, many articles will resonate with readers, and it talks about things from student days. If it can appeal to the student market, the sales won't be bad."
To be honest, the initial print run of 30,000 to 50,000 was even lower than Lu Yanhe had estimated.
Lu Yanhe originally thought that with the current lineup of authors, the first print run should be better.
“Then let’s work harder to promote it,” Lu Yanhe said.
Xu Xiaoyin said, "We will indeed need your cooperation in some promotion. Siqi, come along too. This is an era where online promotion is king. We need to negotiate with each e-commerce channel one by one. Whether you are willing to cooperate in promotion or not will have a great impact on the conditions we get. Since we are thinking of making this book into a series of Mooks, we must make the first shot a success."
"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.
The initial print run is nothing; what truly matters is the long road ahead.
During the golden age of print media, many magazines could only sell 10,000 to 20,000 copies when they were first published, but later they were able to sell hundreds of thousands of copies per issue.
-
After finishing up the "Jump Up" project, Lu Yanhe rushed to the City Bookstore to meet Xin Zixing.
Xin Zixing was already waiting for him at the city bookstore; he was ten minutes late.
"Sorry, Sister Zixing, there was a bit of traffic on the way, I kept you waiting."
Xin Zixing smiled and shook her head, saying, "It's nothing. Have you had dinner yet?"
"Not yet." Lu Yanhe glanced at the time; it was already 7 p.m. "I just came from the printing factory."
"Let's order something to eat. The waffles and Black Forest cakes here are pretty good," Xin Zixing said.
Nowadays, bookstores and cafes are basically developed into urban cultural IPs, where people can read books and eat and drink, making them popular social venues for urbanites.
Lu Yanhe ordered waffles and a glass of milk.
Xin Zixing took this opportunity to tell him about the changes that would be made to "City Travelogue".
“We hope to further refine this program and also want to include more people as tourists exploring the city,” Xin Zixing said. “Currently, the main tourist is you alone. After discussion, we felt that if we could add one or two people to each episode, it would enrich the content of the program.”
Lu Yanhe fell into deep thought.
Seeing this, Xin Zixing said, "If you have any candidates to recommend, you can tell me directly, since it's for you to choose a partner."
“Actually, I don’t have a suitable candidate either. Sister Zixing, you are the one who started this show, you know it best, so you should find someone.” Lu Yanhe said, “I also think it would be better if you could find more people to join the show. People will get tired of seeing only me. Besides, I have classes and other jobs to do later, and I’m afraid that it will be harder to find a suitable schedule, which will affect the recording of your show.”
Xin Zixing shook her head and said, "Yan He, this program needs you. We'll make room for you. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not looking for someone to replace you."
"How could that be?" Lu Yanhe waved his hand with a smile. "I'm serious. This program can definitely be made more elaborate. If we only have me record it, it will indeed be rather dull and boring."
Lu Yanhe talked with Xin Zixing for about forty minutes, and after they discussed these matters, Xin Zixing left.
Lu Yanhe did not leave; he waited for Li Zhenzhen there.
Li Zhenzhen drove over to pick him up.
-
"Tsk tsk, Lu Yanhe is obviously busier than me. It's only his first day back, and I haven't seen him from morning till night," Li Zhibai remarked, lying on the sofa.
Yan Liang said, "The more capable a person is, the busier they are. This time, recording the program, I have fully witnessed how talented Yan He is. He can come up with so many ideas, it's really amazing."
After saying this, Yan Liang suddenly thought of the conflict between Li Zhibai and Meng Li.
"Will the conflict between you and Meng Li be broadcast on the show?" Yan Liang asked.
Li Zhibai shook his head: "I don't know, let's see how they cut it."
Yan Liang: "Next time, don't impulsively admit to writing love letters to people and playing tricks on them. No matter how many reasons you have, it's still your fault. Luckily, this program won't be broadcast, otherwise you'd probably be scolded to death."
“I’d rather be cursed to death than have that woman use it against me,” Li Zhibai sneered. “Her withdrawal from the show now is the best outcome.”
Yan Liang: "I am worried about this program. I guess everyone will criticize the program after they see Meng Li fall into the water and leave the show."
“Criticism is better than no one being optimistic,” Li Zhibai said. “I’m telling you, this kind of thing is actually a good thing for the show, it’s a natural topic and gimmick.”
Yan Liang shook his head, "Then I think it's more reliable to come up with good ideas to attract the audience, like Lu Yanhe did."
-
"A Lamp" is a quiet bar, and also a rare place with private rooms for guests to enjoy a quiet drink.
Lu Yanhe sat opposite Li Zhenzhen, with a candle lit on the table.
The candlelight illuminated the dimly lit corner, creating an atmosphere suitable for private conversations.
Li Zhenzhen looked much better than yesterday.
"Sister Zhenzhen, did you get cosmetic surgery?" Lu Yanhe asked in surprise.
Li Zhenzhen smiled and said, "What cosmetic surgery? I just caught up on some sleep. I haven't been sleeping enough these past few days."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Li Zhenzhen said, "Actually, after I heard your idea yesterday, I thought it was very creative. However, I was in such a bad state yesterday that I couldn't make any decisions. So, it wasn't until I had a good night's sleep today that I seriously considered your idea."
Lu Yanhe nodded.
"Seven people have to find a way to earn a thousand yuan a day in this city so they can stay in a youth hostel at night and enjoy time with friends." Li Zhenzhen shook her head and sighed, "How did you come up with that?"
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, this is just a disguised way of combining celebrity survival stories with your show.
Lu Yanhe vividly remembers how much audiences loved watching glamorous celebrities suddenly have to find ways to make money and survive like ordinary people.
This kind of segment has become a staple in many popular variety shows. For example, in "Divas Hit the Road," the celebrities only have a fixed amount to spend, and the struggle between spending and saving money is a recurring and enduring element of the show. There are also many more examples, such as outdoor survival reality shows.
Lu Yanhe felt that the program "The Days of Youth" had a big problem: as soon as everyone came, they got everything—good accommodation, good food, and a good life.
The show "Where Are We Going, Dad?" even divided the rooms into good rooms and bad rooms, so that the celebrity families had to re-assign rooms in each place they visited. Some people lived in good rooms and some lived in bad rooms. Wouldn't that create a good effect?
So, let's just turn the slow-paced indoor lifestyle into an outdoor survival challenge.
It's not really about surviving, it's about finding a way to make money.
Without relying on their celebrity status or accepting any subsidies, these seven young people banded together for warmth, and that's how their bond developed.
It is precisely because of this that houses for young people, which they can only afford to live in through their own efforts, are truly precious.
One concept made everyone realize that this way of shooting would look better.
No one expected that a social program could be filmed like this.
“This idea is actually quite good, but the pressure of recording will be immense for the seven of you in Yuming City to make money,” Li Zhenzhen said. “Wherever you go, you’ll likely be surrounded by onlookers, and it will all turn into a show.”
Lu Yanhe said, "The recording pressure is indeed very high, but I think it's worth it. You need to figure out how to film it, but filming it this way will allow us to truly communicate and it will be effective. If we just sit in the room filming for ten days and ten nights, we will only get to know each other better. To be honest, the tasks you assigned us are not stimulating at all. This kind of slow-paced variety show is probably more suitable for artists who have been in the industry for many years. They have enough topics to talk about. We are still in the industry and don't have that much experience to share with everyone."
Lu Yanhe was telling the truth.
Li Zhenzhen also knew that Lu Yanhe was telling the truth.
How do people become friends?
We need to go through some things together.
-
So tired.
I'm so tired.
This is Lu Yanhe's most genuine feeling when he walked to the entrance of Hongfu Community at 9:30 pm.
He left home at nine in the morning and has been busy until just now, with all sorts of things coming one after another, filling his day to the brim.
However, Lu Yanhe was also satisfied.
The things we've worked so hard on for so long are finally about to bear fruit.
The sample version of "Jump Up" has been released, the Jiang Zhi episode of "City Travelogue" has been broadcast, and there are new developments in the subsequent recording. After experiencing various setbacks in the first recording, "The Days of Youth" unexpectedly opened the door to its golden opportunity.
Lu Yanhe was also reflecting on himself, wondering what had happened to him that he had forgotten about his cheat ability.
Previously, I felt that I had no voice, that I was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and that I couldn't make others believe in me or invest in me.
And now? He has changed dramatically since then and now has the initial ability to push forward with something he wants to do. Just like in "Jump Up," if he can convince others to do what he wants, many people will come to help him.
At this moment, although Lu Yanhe was exhausted, he was also filled with renewed fighting spirit.
He wanted to showcase his variety show planning and scriptwriting skills in "The Days of Youth," letting others know that his ideas were very effective.
-
That evening, after returning home, Lu Yanhe took a shower and then sat down in front of his computer to start writing some program proposals for variety shows.
He wanted to write down all the popular variety shows he had watched while he still remembered them.
A good idea can create a new type of market.
Lu Yanhe had seen shows like The Voice of China, Running Man, and Where Are We Going, Dad? He single-handedly supported the revenue of a TV station and made a large number of stars famous.
He used to think that he had a talent for acting, and if he acted well, he might become a movie star, and then write screenplays to bring the classic movies he had seen to life in the world.
Looking back now, I realize he was narrow-minded.
The entertainment industry isn't just about movies. We don't know when he'll be able to make his own movie, but he can start making variety shows first!
After writing down more than a dozen ideas for wildly popular variety shows in one go, Lu Yanhe excitedly came out of the room.
"Li Zhibai, Yan Liang!"
The two of them were sitting on the floor playing online games when he suddenly yelled at them, startling them and making them look at him in shock.
What are you doing?
"That's scary!"
Lu Yanhe said, "If I make my own variety shows in the future, will you guys come?"
Li Zhibai gave him a look that said, "What the hell are you doing?!" "Have you suddenly gone crazy?"
Lu Yanhe said, "I'm serious. I have a lot of ideas. If I have the opportunity, I'll do the show. Would you like to come?"
Li Zhibai immediately said, "No, don't mess around."
Yan Liang said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. He will come, and I will come too. We will come whenever you need us."
Lu Yanhe smiled.
That's enough.
Today's update is a huge, feature-rich chapter!
I recommend the completed novel, "I Became the Scandalous Lead Actress Overnight."
(End of this chapter)
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