Chapter 273: Chapter 273 - 273 - 196: The Wind Rises, Starting from the Tip of the Duckweed, TV Interview Program_2

“`

“You’re talking about Xu Qingyan, with so many controversial points, aren’t you worried that it’s not safe?”

Chen Ling knew that the station had launched a new interview show and was selecting a female host with high standards. Normally, she wouldn’t stand a chance in the competition, but if she could find a talking point…

“Director, Xu Qingyan was able to become enormously popular in just a couple of months. It wasn’t luck, but because he solidly wrote seven or eight great songs.”

“Although the controversies surrounding him are indeed significant, they have all been proven to be rumors. Besides, this is also one of the appealing points. Nowadays, audiences like to ride the wave of emotions and watch reversals.”

“Not only that, Director, but look, Xu Qingyan’s online reputation is continuously turning around. A young man who writes songs and shoots videos, going from infamous to extremely popular.”@@novelbin@@

She argued her case passionately, her voice trembling with excitement.

“These are all talking points! If we can invite him as the guest for the first episode, we’re guaranteed to hit the ground running!”

“I understand all that, but after all, it’s the first episode.” Producer Director Lao Huang glanced at the steaming coffee, feeling like it reduced his lifespan.

“Don’t worry, it’s totally reliable.” Chen Ling’s eyes lit up, sensing the opportunity and striking while the iron was hot, “You remember Lin Chuan, right? Lin Chuan believes in him.”

“Lin Chuan?” The producer hesitated, as Lin Chuan had a good reputation in the entertainment industry, “When you say he believes in him, you’re not talking about just a few supportive clicks, are you?”

“No, it’s a genuine friendship, and there seems to be intention to collaborate.” Chen Ling shook her head, “Outstanding people are always attracted to each other. I think Xu Qingyan will be the next Lin Chuan.” Continue your saga on empire

“Hiss~” Producer Lao Huang didn’t expect Chen Ling to have such a high opinion of Xu Qingyan.

Lin Chuan was a minor miracle in the entertainment industry in recent years. Although not yet a top-tier star, he had been extremely hot, straddling both the literary and performing arts circles.

He was known for his professionalism and sensibility, earning unanimous praise. As a singer, he distinguished himself with impressive abilities and gathered a large fan base, though he didn’t trend much outside of his main field.

However, with both fame and dedication, lacking no resources, breaking out was probably just a matter of time.

But… Producer Lao Huang couldn’t figure out why Lin Chuan would risk getting close to someone so controversial. How highly must he regard Xu Qingyan?

“Our show needs talking points, and these past few days the hot searches have almost all been about Xu Qingyan. These are the hot topics in entertainment, and the discussion is already happening.”

Chen Ling pressed on, continuing.

“Being able to write eight songs in two months speaks to his talent. And Lin Chuan, who’s so concerned with his reputation, still openly supports Xu Qingyan, so his character is also assured.”

“Director, what are you still hesitating for?”

“Okay… okay, let’s invite him first then. He might not even agree.” Lao Huang finally gave in but seemed to remember something.

“Right, what’s happening with ’I Am the Song King’? Their station is usually so aggressive. It’s curious that they’re keeping quiet this time.”

“Even if they did say something, we might not know, like if there’s an industry ban saying not to work with anyone related to Xu Qingyan or something.” Chen Ling said.

“Still, their director has always loved to flame unruly guests online, crash idols and boost no-names; it’s become a habit, and nobody can do anything about it.”

“As one of the leading stations, that’s just how they are, we can’t control it.” Producer Lao Huang chimed in.

“Director, what goes around comes around, and this time it’s their turn to be uncomfortable.” Chen Ling suddenly smiled, pulled out her phone, and swiped to show something to Lao Huang.

“What?” Lao Huang adjusted his glasses and leaned in for a closer look.

It turned out to be a weibo post from the ’I Am the Song King’ show team, vaguely accusing Xu Qingyan of disrupting their work. They also said there were no backdoor deals and then proceeded to vent their frustrations.

For example, how the show team had a meeting until four or five in the morning, the staff ate some bread and were back on the job at eight.

No matter how much they were misunderstood by the outside world, and how many people didn’t get them, they would work their hardest to protect the show for their old viewers and fans, and so on and so forth.

Old Huang smirked, unimpressed by their sob story marketing—it was so typical of their station. Even in a weibo post, they added so much drama.

The comments section was predictable, no doubt cleared of anything negative to leave only supportive messages. Fans would curse at the guests, and long comments would be upvoted to guide public opinion.

“`

His gaze swept downward, and he was momentarily stunned; the very first comment wasn’t supportive.

Introverts Don’t Show Off: “Shameless, /smile/ you get a chance to advance, yet you manage to eliminate all the original big shots. Please bring back the last-place contestant for advancement. If this continues, you might as well run a KTV.”

This comment had a whopping thirty-four thousand likes, which gave Old Huang a good laugh.

Another Punch for Your Mom: “Stop with the sob story, isn’t staying up all night something you bossy oldies insist on doing? You don’t value your employees’ lives, yet you still play the victim. I really want to punch your mom.”

That comment got twelve thousand likes, and the replies were somewhat difficult to hold back.

“Haha, this is the most fitting episode for their ID.”

“I suspect this is an alt account of one of the staff, I’m dying of laughter, the resentment is almost spilling out of the screen.”

“Case closed, guys, it’s a temporary alt account. Its identity is hard to say, hahaha, I’m so amused, and they even chose such a fitting ID.”

“Who is this genius, crying here, this person’s only post is a forwarded MV by Xu Qingyan.”

Director Old Huang watched with a smile curling the corners of his mouth, happily entertained for a while. The last bit of worry in his heart dissipated as he saw that not a single comment mentioned anything bad about Xu Qingyan.

Old Huang handed the phone back to Chen Ling, grinning as he spoke.

“Arrange a meeting first, see if he’s interested in an interview.”

“Okay.” Chen Ling, hiding her clenched hand behind her back, relaxed it and said, “Thank you, Director, I’ll go get busy then.”

“Go ahead.”

After leaving the director’s office, a faint smile appeared on Chen Ling’s face, and her heart thumped wildly. If she could secure this episode, the position of the show’s host would be hers.

Containing her joy, she knew it was impossible to contact Xu Qingyan. Thus, she sent a message to Lin Chuan first, hoping he could relay the message to Xu Qingyan.

After everything was done, Chen Ling ordered a cup of coffee and began drafting at her workstation.

….

Xinghai University.

In the large classroom, during the first afternoon class, the teacher’s voice rose and fell in inflections. Students held pens in their hands, heads down, dozing off, with a scattered few listening attentively.

The ceiling fan spun listlessly above, and the margins of the room not reached by the air conditioning were unbearably hot.

Zhou Lili adjusted the straps of her bra under her clothes. A girl’s chest always seemed to expand and contract with her weight, and couldn’t stop creeping up.

She seemed a bit distracted, having scrolled through the trending searches all of the previous night. She was originally a fan of Pei Muchan, and later started following Lin Wanzhou as well, all because of Xu Qingyan.

Xu Qingyan appeared to have a well of endless talent, always managing to surprise people with something new.

After witnessing Xu Qingyan break free from the immense pressure of the internet and becoming an overnight sensation with his MV, she was so excited she could hardly sleep, having clicked on every comment under the five trending posts.

Even though she had never met Xu Qingyan in person, the signed album he sent to her idol Pei would be something she’d remember for a lifetime. Even if he was blacklisted by the entire network, Zhou Lili was still willing to believe in Xu Qingyan.

Back in high school, she had been just as much a fan of Lin Chuan, like playing a cyber idol-raising game. Seeing her favorite idol rise to fame step by step was thrilling.

The classroom was too hot. She sneakily glanced at the teacher at the podium and surreptitiously took out her phone. The one she had turned in was a spare, used for playing games.

She planned to change her nickname in her dorm group to update her current state of mind. Before the app could even react, she skillfully blind-tapped to change her nickname to “My Pompadour’s Big.”

Right after changing it, she noticed a huge number of messages in the background.

“Huh?”

She curiously clicked on it and saw thousands of group join requests. Looking closely, someone requested to join “Xu Qingyan’s Fugitive Wild Fan Group.”