Chapter 59: Anniversary Gala
“Since the TV station formed a group of four male artists—Shang Hanyou, Hou Beihua, Huo Gucheng, and Ling Chen—last year, their development and resources have improved significantly.” Lu Yiting looked at Li Sishi and tapped the announcement document on the table lightly. “Therefore, this year the TV station also intends to follow last year’s successful example and select four female artists to form a corresponding ‘Four Heavenly Queens’.”
"But... the other three candidates are Ye Shanyun, Cen Xilian, and Tang Jingwen?" After hearing Lu Yiting's reason and the three names, Li Sishi was somewhat shocked. "With my current qualifications and popularity, I shouldn't be able to get this position yet, right?"
It's not that she's being self-deprecating, but Ye Shanyun, Cen Xilian, and Tang Jingwen are all talented, popular, accomplished, and experienced female artists. For a newcomer like her, who has only been in the industry for less than a year, to be grouped with these three veteran singers and actresses who have been in the industry for several years seems like she's really "trying to ride on their coattails."
After listening to Li Sishi's words, Lu Yiting shook her head and smiled, "Normally, you wouldn't be the one for the fourth position, but you're lucky enough to have been 'filled' in this vacancy."
"When the TV station was forming the four Heavenly Kings, did you hear that the original candidates for the four Heavenly Kings were actually different from the current four?"
“I’ve heard that the original fourth person wasn’t Huo Gucheng, but Li Dewen.” Li Sishi nodded, then seemed to realize something, “You mean…”
“That’s right, your current situation is very similar to Huo Gucheng’s.” Lu Yiting explained patiently, “When we formed the four Heavenly Kings, the first thing we considered was their achievements and popularity, and the second thing was their respective positions.”
"Among these four people, Shang Hanyou has achieved some success in the music industry, Hou Beihua has done well in the film industry, and the TV series starring Ling Chen in those two years had huge ratings... The three of them occupy the three aspects of music, film and television respectively. So if the fourth person is Li Dewen, who is also mainly in the music industry, then it would be the same as Shang Hanyou."
"Just at this time, Huo Gucheng returned from his venture to Taiwan. His popularity soared due to advertisements and Mandarin albums. So, after Huo Gucheng's manager worked hard and the TV station held a meeting to discuss the matter, Huo Gucheng was chosen as the fourth member of the four Heavenly Kings."
Li Sishi nodded again: "I think I understand what you mean, Sister Ting."
It's clear that her "replacement" this time is based on Huo Gucheng's rise to fame, but with some differences: the original fourth member, Kuang Meixing, although not successful in the music industry...
No, but she has always prioritized performing at commercial events and taking on stage to earn money because she needs to regularly repay her mortgage, rather than improving her personal skills.
Under these circumstances, Kuang Meixing, who only works in the music industry and has no interest in film and television, stands out from the other three who are pursuing both singing and acting careers.
While Li Sishi doesn't yet have a particularly impressive film and television resume, anyone familiar with the industry knows she's Zhuang Menghua's new favorite. She'll be slated for various films and television dramas immediately after winning the Miss Hong Kong title next year. Furthermore, her acting in previous commercials was natural and fluid, and her albums and singles have sold quite well… If nothing unexpected happens, she's another promising talent in both singing and acting.
Of course, the most crucial point is that the two commercials that Li Sishi recently filmed were huge hits. Just like Huo Gucheng back then, although she didn't have many works, she achieved super high popularity for a period of time. As a result, she can indeed be put into this group to test the waters in this year's anniversary program, "Golden Diamond Stars Celebrate the Anniversary".
If it doesn't work out, we can find someone else next year.
The perceptive Lu Yiting naturally knew this was an excellent opportunity: if Li Sishi performed poorly, she could use her lack of experience as a newcomer to get by; but if Li Sishi could keep up with the pace of the anniversary performance, her popularity and resources next year would take a leap forward, allowing her to skip the initial stage of a new actress and start getting closer to established actresses like Ye Shanyun...
Because TBL's anniversary celebration is an annual event held by the television station, usually starting in October and lasting until around mid-November, it is a series of programs and performances organized by TBL to celebrate its first anniversary.
During this nearly month-long period, not only TBL TV's contracted artists, but also artists who have cooperated with TBL, try their best to adjust their schedules to participate, making it no exaggeration to call it the annual grand event of the port city.
Of course, to put it simply, this is similar to a company's annual meeting in later generations. However, because TBL is a film and television company, TBL's annual anniversary celebration is different from ordinary company annual meetings, and is particularly star-studded and exciting.
TVB's anniversary programs have always been divided into two categories: one is "A Thousand Stars Shine for the Anniversary," which focuses on film and television artists, and the other is "Golden Diamonds Celebrate the Anniversary," which focuses on singers. Small artists who want to develop in both singing and acting and have available time will want to appear on these two anniversary programs to increase their exposure.
However, because the anniversary program aimed to attract attention,
Every year, they go all out, so there are quite a few big-name artists who don't want to perform on the anniversary show. But unfortunately, TBL is practically the only dominant force in Hong Kong. If you dare to refuse TBL's invitation to perform on the anniversary show, you might end up sitting on the sidelines next year, or even getting no publicity for the entire year...
This is why so many superstars are willing to perform some terrifying acts during TBL's anniversary celebration: things like breaking a boulder on their chest, balancing a steel bar on their throat, stunt driving, and various aerial acrobatics... They don't actually know these skills, but they're doing it for the sake of the gimmicks the TV station creates, so they have no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.
As one of the top three Miss Hong Kong contestants this year, it was inevitable that Lee Sze-sze would perform acrobatics on "TVB Anniversary Gala," but this kind of performance, which happens every year, certainly wouldn't make Lee Sze-sze stand out on the show. Therefore, Luk Yee-ting could only turn her attention to "TVB Anniversary Gala," hoping to secure another opportunity for Lee Sze-sze to gain exposure.
"You've been focusing on improving your singing skills lately. 'Golden Diamond Gala' is a celebration held before 'Stars Shine Gala.' In this program, male and female singers will be divided into red and white teams to compete in a singing battle for the year's championship banner." Lu Yiting looked at Li Sishi very seriously, "Although I was able to put you in this position, you must perform no less than others to secure your place."
"Thank you, Sister Ting. I will definitely work hard." Li Sishi replied quite earnestly.
“I’m glad you think that way, but don’t overwork yourself, lest you hurt yourself by overdoing it.” Lu Yiting understood the principle of giving a sweet treat after a harsh reprimand. She first seriously explained the problem to Li Sishi, and then showed her concern and care for her. “After all, before going to the Hong Kong Coliseum to participate in the ‘Golden Diamond Stars Celebrate the Anniversary’s Gala, you still have to participate in a charity event with the singers’ team.”
"This year's anniversary charity events include a charity car race on the Shenzhen Expressway and a charity marathon relay. I'll arrange a fitness coach for you this afternoon to help you train your physical fitness and running," Lu Yiting added.
As Lu Yiting finished speaking, Li Sishi began her daily routine of studying and training in the room during that time.
Zhuang Menghua was busy with the anniversary celebrations and hadn't had time to visit her these past few days. Li Sishi was happy that no one was bothering her, so she pestered Lu Yiting for a long time until she got a half-day off to go home and visit her family.
Hearing that Li Sishi will be appearing on two anniversary programs this year,
While the Zhou family was happy for her bright future, they couldn't help but worry about whether she could handle such hard work.
"It's okay, Sister Ting and the others take good care of me, and I know how to balance work and rest, so there won't be any major problems. Just wait and watch me perform on TV!" Li Sishi always tries to report good news to her family and never tells them bad news. She definitely won't talk about the days when she was struggling to balance studying and training.
“Our school will also be participating in that charity marathon relay, and Guangzai is one of them. Maybe we'll see them both on TV!” Zhou Huichang said hurriedly after hearing Li Sishi’s words.
"That's not necessarily true. I'm in the youth group of the school team, while my cousin is probably in the youth group of the singers' team, right?" Zhou Huiguang shook his head.
"It's okay, we should still see him on the field then." Li Sishi thought for a moment, then gave her very fast little cousin a gentle pat.
Actually, if she had to choose, she'd quite like to run a marathon relay with her younger cousin, since they're both professional young athletes. Meanwhile, the singers' teams are mostly involved for charity...
If the youth group lags too far behind the junior group, it might not look very good.
When the day of the charity event finally arrived, Li Sishi changed into sportswear and was about to join the singer's team when she saw many faces staring at her and covering their mouths to chuckle.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with my clothes?" Li Sishi instinctively wanted to rummage through her clothes.
"No, no, no, that's not the reason." Shang Hanyou suppressed a laugh, then walked over with the demeanor of a kind and approachable older brother. "For some reason, you're not in our group this time."
"Why?" Li Sishi asked, somewhat confused. "Which group am I in?"
"Because, because you are still a minor, you have to be assigned to a group with those middle school students, hahaha, I'm sorry, I really can't help it..." Thinking of Li Sishi, who was able to win a prize in an international beauty pageant for her beauty and intelligence, and now she was being assigned to the youth group to run a marathon relay with a group of children, Shang Hanyou finally burst out laughing.
Under Li Sishi's pouty gaze, Shang Hanyou shrugged helplessly, then called out to the other side, "Fourth Brother, please ask your son to take this 'MayMay' over to the youth group."
"Come, come, over here." Xiao Yuan, the evergreen actor in the film industry, responded when Shang Hanyou called him over. Then he called his son, who had participated in a charity marathon relay last year, over and introduced him, "Lemon, take Sister May to your place to participate in the competition later. Ah May, this is my son Xiao Xie, his nickname is Lemon. You can call him Lemon like everyone else."
Looking at Xiao Xie, who was only thirteen years old and half a head shorter than her when he stood up, and then at his aggrieved expression—clearly disliking his nickname but whose existence was publicized by his father—Li Sishi waved and smiled at him: "Hello, your name is Xiao Xie, right? I heard you're studying in Canada, do you have an English name?"
“My English name is Nikola, hello Sister May!” Hearing that Li Sishi deliberately asked for his English name instead of his nickname, Xiao Xie quickly looked up and happily replied.
So well-behaved and adorable, it's hard to imagine that she'll later become the "rebellious king" who, in a moment of inspiration, smashed a limited-edition guitar worth millions to pieces on stage during a concert.
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