How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 367 Daring to Think and Act
Upon hearing Teacher Zhang's words, Liu Haiyang's expression stiffened. Although what the other party said was true, in this circle, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

Moreover, this matter cannot be blamed on the production team. It was Chen Silu and others who failed to seize the opportunity. What's the use of condemning the production team?

“Teacher Zhang, you don’t understand the situation,” Liu Haiyang said.

"Mr. Liu, is there some other story?" Zhang Wen was taken aback, then asked curiously, "Mr. Liu, these trainees are also my students. Tell me what's going on. If it's their fault, I will definitely teach them a lesson later."

Liu Haiyang didn't want to say it at first, but considering that the other party was currently in charge of teaching content in the company's training department, after hesitating for a moment, he finally told her about Chen Silu and the others' ungrateful behavior.

Zhang Wen listened attentively, as if he knew nothing about the matter.

Liu Haiyang briefly explained the situation and concluded by saying, "Teacher Zhang, do you think this is the fault of these trainees? The production team has already given them a chance, but they were incompetent."

“President Liu, isn’t this a shady deal?” Zhang Wen disagreed with Vice President Liu’s words and said angrily, “The purpose of the Super Trainee program is to create outstanding role models and idols for young people, not to select concubines for President Feng. Does he think he is the emperor? The Qing Dynasty is long gone.”

“Teacher Zhang, how can there be a reward without effort? You don’t even understand this simple principle?” Liu Haiyang patiently explained the reasoning.

"I understand, but you can't force a good person into prostitution, can you?" Zhang Wen frowned deeply, his face full of displeasure.

"Teacher Zhang, you can't say that. President Feng didn't force anyone into prostitution." Liu Haiyang was startled, thinking, "What kind of outrageous words are these? If they get out, I'll be cursed to death."
"Isn't this forcing a good woman into prostitution?" Zhang Wen pointed at Chen Silu beside him and said indignantly, "Look at her, look at how badly the production team beat her up! Prosecute her, you must prosecute her! This matter isn't over until the thugs are locked up for ten days or half a month."

The room fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Chen Silu's eyes reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes as if she wanted to vent all the grievances she had suffered.

Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, and Su Jin, who were standing to the side, were filled with emotion. As expected, only Teacher Zhang treated them like human beings.

Xu Qingyu frantically winked at Teacher Zhang, signaling him to stop talking, lest he offend Vice President Liu.

Liu Haiyang was utterly embarrassed. The dignified deputy general manager had suddenly been turned into a thug. Who could feel comfortable about that?
It's best not to mention this matter, as it's certainly not something to be proud of.

"Ahem, Teacher Zhang, you've misunderstood. I was the one who slapped Chen Silu twice," Liu Haiyang said softly. The man who had been so ruthless before now seemed a little embarrassed.

"What?" Zhang Wen's eyes widened in shock, and he stammered, "President Liu, this, this is what you did?"

"Yes..." Liu Haiyang's voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz.

Zhang Wen looked at Liu Haiyang with a complicated expression. Although he didn't say anything, it seemed as if he had a thousand words to say.

Of course, there were no compliments, only profanities.

Liu Haiyang felt extremely uncomfortable under their gaze, as if he were being called a scumbag.

“Teacher Zhang, I’m doing this for her own good. I hate that she doesn’t know how to seize the opportunity. You don’t know how popular the show ‘Super Trainee’ is right now. It’s foreseeable that the final girl group will be a huge hit.” Liu Haiyang explained, trying his best to salvage his image.

"That's not necessarily true. Without substantial work, a lot of traffic is useless. It's like a bubble; it may seem great, but even if no one pops it, it will eventually burst on its own," Zhang Wen said calmly.

"That's still better than going back to square one and starting all over again." Liu Haiyang said, then glared at Chen Silu with a look of disappointment.

"Mr. Liu, don't be angry. Getting angry is bad for your health." Zhang Wen comforted her with a smile. "Besides, it's just a reality show. Since those girls were eliminated and can't join the girl group, I think we should rely on ourselves instead of asking others for help. How about we form our own girl group?"

"what?"

Liu Haiyang was stunned by this audacious idea.

Forming a girl group is a huge undertaking, isn't it too hasty for the other party to just make such a suggestion?

"Teacher Zhang, do you mean to form a girl group with these five?" Liu Haiyang pointed to Chen Silu and the others, confirming again.

"Yes." Zhang Wen nodded.

"No way." Liu Haiyang shook his head like a rattle-drum. "They were all eliminated from 'Super Trainee'. If we let them form a group, wouldn't people laugh their heads off? It would be a complete waste of company resources."

"Mr. Liu, I think this is precisely an opportunity."

Zhang Wen said seriously, "Do you know why Chen Siyao and the others were eliminated? Was it because they were not good enough? No. So we can form a girl group with them, and then use the traffic after the show airs to directly promote them to the audience and prove their excellence with their actions. When the audience sees this, they will immediately feel sorry for the five of them and will definitely gain a wave of fans."

“That’s true, but how can we let people know that they are better than the trainees on the show? They need to have some work to show for it, right?” Liu Haiyang said.

"Mr. Liu, isn't that what I'm here for?" Zhang Wen smiled.

"You?" Liu Haiyang looked over suspiciously.

"Yes, I can write songs for them. Even if you don't believe in them, you have to believe in my songwriting ability, right?"

"..."

Liu Haiyang pursed his lips. If someone else had said that, he would have refused immediately, but hearing it from Teacher Zhang's mouth, he was actually a little tempted.

Who can blame them when the other side is a hit song generator?
The most successful example is Tang Yi.

Because of the huge success of the song "Human World" written by the other party, Tang Yi is now appearing on variety shows and galas, and fans are even more excited for Tang Yi's new album.

Without this song written by the other party, Tang Yi would never have the popularity she has today.

Come to think of it, Tang Yi came from the training department, didn't she?

At the beginning of the year, he was just an ordinary trainee.

Seeing Liu's hesitation, Zhang Wen continued, "How about this, Mr. Liu, you let me handle this matter?"

"Teacher Zhang, are you really going to do this?" Liu Haiyang frowned and began to seriously consider the feasibility of this matter.

"Yes, I can't let my students be bullied. To put it bluntly, I want to compete with 'Super Trainee' and see if their five-member girl group is better or their nine-member girl group is better. I think netizens will also compare the two girl groups, which will generate topics and traffic," Zhang Wen said.

Liu Haiyang unconsciously swallowed after hearing this.

To be honest, although he was a little unsure, he was still somewhat tempted. In fact, he genuinely disliked General Manager Feng and Director Chen, who had eliminated Chen Silu and the others. They hadn't given him any face at all; wasn't that disrespecting him, the deputy general manager of Tianxi Media?

This is not only a slap in the face for Liu Haiyang, but also a slap in the face for the company.

"Mr. Liu, we've prepared so diligently for the 'Super Trainee' program, and we were eliminated in the first round. To be honest, you can tolerate it, but I can't. This is clearly bullying, trying to ride roughshod over us."

Zhang Wen said indignantly, "Think about it, if we agree to their unreasonable demands this time, won't they be even more unreasonable when dealing with the artists of our Tianxi Media in the future? Our Tianxi Media is not their harem."

After careful consideration, Liu Haiyang felt that what Teacher Zhang said made some sense.

Just a small-time variety show director dares to boss him around because of the support of video websites. If he remains indifferent and just puts up with it, wouldn't it be that anyone can act arrogantly in front of him in the future?
No, I can't swallow this insult.

Since the other party isn't afraid of a complete breakdown in relations, why should he give them any face?
“Okay, it’s settled then.” Liu Haiyang finally made the decision. “Teacher Zhang, you’re in charge of this matter. You must give them a good slap in the face.”

"Yes, Mr. Liu, I guarantee I will complete the mission," Zhang Wen said earnestly.

Liu Haiyang nodded, then looked at Chen Silu and the others beside him and said with a serious expression, "Did you hear what Teacher Zhang said? The company is now forming a five-member girls' group for you. I hope you can cherish this opportunity and make amends for your mistakes. Also, you must follow Teacher Zhang's arrangements. If you disobey orders again in the future, you will be cleaning toilets in the company for the next eight years. Do you understand?"

"Listen clearly!"

The five women spoke in unison, their eyes brimming with undisguised excitement and joy.

They originally thought they would be sidelined after returning to the company, but they never expected the company to form a girl group for them. It's like a dream come true.

Of course, all of this is thanks to Teacher Zhang.

If it weren't for Teacher Zhang persuading General Manager Liu, these women would definitely have been sidelined today.

Liu Haiyang said nothing more and turned to leave the office.

Xu Qingyu saw Vice President Liu to the door and only returned to her office after he had gone far away.

The first thing she did after closing the door was to look at Zhang Wen and ask him a question.

"Teacher Zhang, are you really planning to have these five debut as a group?!"

In her view, Xiao Zhang's words were just an act of protecting his own. If they were to actually launch a girl group, not only would they not get any attention, but they would also be affected by the market environment.

It should be noted that girl groups are not popular in China.

Many companies have tried to emulate neighboring countries by launching girl groups, but all of them have failed. The successful ones make a splash but quickly fade away, while the unsuccessful ones don't even make a ripple.

Even the show "Super Trainee" created a "nine-member girl group" as a gimmick to increase audience attention and participation, turning the show's fans into fans of the girl group.

No company would do something like Teacher Zhang's approach of assembling a group of trainees and debuting them on a whim; it's just too reckless.

It's just that Vice President Liu was so angry that he agreed after being provoked by Teacher Zhang's words. He'll definitely regret it once he calms down.

"Of course it's true, I patted my chest in front of Vice President Liu and vouched for it," Zhang Wen said after hearing this.

"Teacher Zhang, you should think this through carefully." Xu Qingyu didn't want the other party to go through all that trouble and end up with nothing to show for it.

I recently went to report to my boss, and he seemed to have a lot of opinions about Teacher Zhang. If Teacher Zhang's plan to launch a girl group fails, she will definitely get a good scolding.

“Director, I’ve thought this through very carefully,” Zhang Wen said solemnly. “You might think I made this decision on a whim, but I’ve actually had this idea for a while now.”

"Huh?" Xu Qingyu was taken aback, then looked at the other person suspiciously, somewhat disbelieving.

Zhang Wen guessed what Director Xu was thinking, so he explained: "In recent years, although the number and scale of domestic girl groups have been increasing and market competition has become increasingly fierce, there is not a single one that can compete. The reasons are: first, the company is not good at management; second, there is discord among the members; and third, there is not enough output of works to maintain the stability of the fan base."

Xu Qingyu nodded inwardly. This analysis was quite accurate. She really hadn't expected the other party to actually have some research experience, and that it wasn't just something they were saying casually.

"Regarding the first item, Director, you just heard it too. Vice President Liu has entrusted this matter to me. From now on, I will be in charge of all affairs related to this girl group."

"As for the second point, the five of them stood together through thick and thin in 'Super Trainee,' which shows how strong their relationship is. This is called true friendship in times of trouble. Look at another trainee, Cao Qing, who is also a trainee of Tianxi Media. Why wasn't she eliminated?"

Xu Qingyu was stunned for a moment, and only after being reminded did she remember that there was indeed another trainee in the "Super Trainee" program.

If she remembered correctly, before the training department was reformed, Cao Qing was Gu Chunyan's prized student.

"There's even less to worry about in the third aspect. I'll write songs for them, which will absolutely guarantee that they'll have new works released every year, and the quality of the songs won't be bad."

After Zhang Wen finished explaining, he looked at the five trainees beside him and continued, "Director Xu, I originally planned to think about forming a girl group after the TV series finished filming. Now that these five have been eliminated from 'Super Trainee,' we can take advantage of the show's popularity to promote them."

After hearing these words and seeing the other party's confident demeanor, Xu Qingyu didn't know what else to say. So she sighed softly and forced a smile.

"Since you've already made up your mind, then I wish you good luck. Just let me know if you need anything. Although I can't provide financial support, I can still meet your needs in terms of manpower and resources."

"Thank you, Director Xu. Just you wait and see," Zhang Wen said with a smile.

"Mm." Xu Qingyu nodded.

"Director, then I won't bother you any longer. You're busy." Zhang Wen said and left the director's office.

Chen Silu and the others bowed to Director Xu, and then hurriedly followed Teacher Zhang away.

As Xu Qingyu watched Xiao Zhang's retreating figure, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly: "Young people these days are truly daring and enterprising!"

Looking at these young people, and then at herself, a thought suddenly popped into her head:
Am I getting old?

……

(End of this chapter)