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

Chapter 373 Adding Obstacles
The sweltering August has quietly slipped away, and the clear skies and crisp air of September have arrived.

The sunlight was no longer harsh, but became exceptionally gentle.

With the arrival of the first weekend, the long-awaited idol competition and talent development reality show "Super Trainee" finally officially launched on Qiku Video.

With popular celebrities serving as mentors, coupled with the concepts of 'girl group training' and 'nationwide participation,' the show became an instant hit online as soon as it aired.

It garnered over 1 million views in just one hour and frequently trended on social media, demonstrating its immense popularity.

The 100 outstanding trainees from various entertainment companies featured in the show have become a hot topic among netizens, with many of their names appearing in trending topics.

"This is the best talent show I've ever seen. The mentor lineup is amazing, the contestants are incredibly talented, and the stage is absolutely gorgeous. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming elimination rounds!"

"After waiting for two long months, it's finally here! The mentors are professional, the contestants are excellent, it was worth the wait. But one episode a week is too few. Could we have three episodes a week? I can't wait to see the next elimination round."

"The girls are all very beautiful, it's dazzling. Thanks to Qiku Video and the production team, I, a nobody, feel like I'm choosing a bride online."

"I like numbers 2, 9, 11 and 13, and I hope they can be selected for the final girl group."

"I will cast all my votes for contestants number 8 and number 31 in the real-name voting."

"..."

As more and more people started discussing the topic, fan clubs for some of the players also emerged.

Jiang Qinglan Fan Club...

Xu Meiting Global Fan Club...

He Jiaying Fan Club...

Despite being newly established, these fan clubs and support groups have seen rapid growth in their fan base, even surpassing 5 on the very first night.

Although it can't compare to the fan clubs of celebrities with millions of followers, 5 followers is already quite a lot for a newcomer, especially considering it was just for one night.

Zhang Wen watched the first episode of "Super Trainee" at noon on the second day.

Just as he had expected, several trainees who had received close-up shots in the promotional videos before the show aired also received a lot of close-up shots in the actual program.

Of course, except for Chen Silu.

As for Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, and Cheng Sisi, although they were standing in the front row, they didn't get any close-up shots; they could only be seen in the overall shot.

As for Su Jin, who was standing in the second row, she was like a nobody throughout the entire show. If you didn't deliberately look for her on screen, you wouldn't even know that she was there.

On the contrary, Cao Qing, number 20, received two close-up shots.

Some netizens have raised the issue of uneven camera coverage, but it hasn't caused much of a stir.

As some netizens commented below the question: There are too many contestants and the program time is limited, so it is normal for some people not to have close-ups. In the later elimination rounds, there will naturally be close-ups.

If everyone agrees with what was said, then naturally no one will pay attention to this issue anymore.

Zhang Wen also thought it was fine, because besides his students, there were more than a dozen trainees who didn't get close-up shots. But who told him that the show was rigged?

Now that we know about this, and it happened to one of his students, this matter cannot be easily forgotten. Even if it doesn't affect the broadcast of the show, we should at least annoy the production team.

He turned off the video, found someone in his phone contacts, and then called that person.

"Beep...beep...click!"

Soon, the call was connected.

“Niece, I’m your uncle,” Zhang Wen said.

"Teacher Zhang, that happened a long time ago, and I've already apologized to you, so please stop teasing me." A woman's aggrieved voice came from the other end of the line.

"Haha, Reporter Jiang, I was just kidding," Zhang Wen said with a laugh after hearing this.

This reporter, Jiang, whose full name is Jiang Xin, once posed as a small vendor selling local eggs outside the Xingxiang Art Examination Training Center in order to secretly film celebrities undergoing hypnotherapy.

When he discovered her, he chatted with her for a while and tricked her into believing she was his niece, and even got a basket of eggs for free.

Later, when the filming of "Perfect Days" was launched, many entertainment reporters were invited, including Jiang Xin. It was then that they learned of his true identity.

Zhang Wen thought that having an entertainment reporter friend might be of some help in the future, so he added the other person's contact information, and today he finally put it to use.

"Teacher Zhang, you didn't just call me to joke around, did you? Is something wrong?" Jiang Xin asked curiously.

"Actually, it's nothing major, I just wanted to spill some tea with you," Zhang Wen said.

"Spoilers? Spoilers of whom? You're not going to spill your own secrets, are you? Teacher Zhang, are you planning to debut?" Jiang Xin asked.

Many singers were songwriters before their debut. Teacher Zhang writes good songs and is also handsome. He will definitely become famous after his debut.

“Reporter Jiang, you’re overthinking it. I have no interest in debuting. The main reason I’m contacting you is to reveal some inside information about the show ‘Super Trainee’,” Zhang Wen said.

"What's the scoop on 'Super Trainee'? What kind of scoop?" Jiang Xin immediately became interested upon hearing this.

The show "Super Trainee" just premiered yesterday, and it's currently very popular. If we can get some insider information, many netizens will definitely enjoy watching it.

"Isn't the show going to select nine trainees to form a girl group at the end? The list is basically finalized, and this is just a formality," Zhang Wen said.

The main focus of "Super Trainee" is public voting. If it is revealed that the girl group members have already been decided in advance, it will definitely cause a heated discussion among netizens and make the production team feel disgusted.

Jiang Xin waited a while, and when she saw that there was no sound from the microphone, she asked, "Is that all?"

"What, isn't this a big deal?" Zhang Wen asked.

"What kind of material is this? Which entertainment program doesn't have a script? Isn't this normal?" Jiang Xin was somewhat disappointed.

What she wanted to hear were rumors about celebrities, such as a mysterious man visiting the set of "Super Trainee" to see producer Liu Yifei, or mentor Cai Yaxuan spending an hour together in a car with another mentor, Peng Jie.

Is there something fishy going on with the show?
It's all too ordinary.

“Normal? Has the media become so tolerant of behind-the-scenes manipulation in programs? Isn’t this deceiving the audience?” Zhang Wenyi said sternly, adopting an attitude of ‘I will never forgive any such manipulation.’

“Teacher Zhang, it’s not that we have a high tolerance for behind-the-scenes manipulation, it’s that viewers like to be fooled by shows. Rational viewers know that variety shows have scripts, so they won’t take this seriously. As for the remaining viewers, as long as the production team and mentors come forward to clarify, they will choose to believe it. So, do you think this information is useful?” Jiang Xin explained patiently.

"..."

Zhang Wen rubbed his nose with his hand, speechless for a moment.

He thought he could disgust the production team by knowing the inside story, but he didn't expect that everyone else would ignore it, except for him.

How can this possibly disgust people?
Are we just going to let it go like this?
No!

We have to give the production team a hard time.

“What if I could accurately name the members of the girl group?” Zhang Wen asked.

"Can you name all nine?" Jiang Xin asked rhetorically, though she wasn't particularly interested.

Keep in mind that the show has only aired one episode, and it will take at least four or five months until the final episode, the grand finale.

With such a long time span, who will still care about this revelation by then? It will have been long forgotten.

Even if someone digs up their old posts, the production team will deny it by saying that "there are many such speculations online."

When she watched "Super Trainee" last night, many netizens had selected a list of nine people in the comments.

"Uh……"

Zhang Wen was stumped by the question.

Although he knew the nine-person list, what if the production team changed the members?
Just like Cao Qing. To deny any behind-the-scenes manipulation, the production team should be capable of sacrificing one or two trainees.

Zhang Wen thought about it for a while, and finally decided to speak up.

One person at a time, as disgusting as possible.

Making things difficult for the show was only one aspect; his ultimate goal was to generate buzz for Zhao Tong and others who were eliminated in the first round by exposing the show's behind-the-scenes manipulations.

Once Zhao Tong and the others debut, netizens will see the performance of these five members and will definitely think that their elimination was related to behind-the-scenes manipulation. At that time, they will surely gain a large number of sympathetic fans and righteous fans.

"Reporter Jiang, I'll tell you nine names. Please expose them for me, and hopefully they'll trend on social media," Zhang Wen said.

"Trending on social media? Teacher Zhang, this isn't any explosive news, it definitely won't trend," Jiang Xin said with a wry smile.

"I'll pay for it."

"That's no problem."

Jiang Xin thought to herself: Why didn't you say you had the ability to make money earlier?
In the entertainment journalism circle, money talks.

Money can suppress scandals, and it can also make trivial matters trend on social media.

"How much does it cost to buy a trending topic?" Zhang Wen asked.

"..." Jiang Xin immediately gave a number.

Without saying a word, Zhang Wen transferred the money directly.

Rich and willful.

Just play.

"Teacher Zhang, I guarantee you'll see this trending topic before dinner," Jiang Xin assured him confidently.

"Ah."

"Teacher Zhang, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Please come again next time," Jiang Xin said.

“Yes, we will,” Zhang Wen said.

And it won't be long.

He will definitely buy trending searches when Zhao Tong and others debut.

Anyway, the money comes from the consumer. This is a promotional expense, so it can be recorded in the books. Once the portfolio makes money, we'll gradually pay it back to him.

When you're busy, time always flies by.

After filming only a few scenes, it was time to wrap up for the night.

Zhang Wen said goodbye to director Han Xiaohua and prepared to leave the film set. As soon as he got into the car, a WeChat notification sounded.

He took out his phone and saw that it was a WeChat message from Jiang Xin. The message was very simple, containing only three words: "Check the trending topics!"
Zhang Wen opened the website and found that among the 15 trending news items, 3 were related to "Super Trainee".

2: The premiere of "Idol Producer".

5: Liu Yifei's expression.

7: The list of members of the final girl group of "Idol Producer" has been leaked.

A smile appeared on Zhang Wen's face.

Jiangxin's efficiency is quite good; he said he'd be trending before dinner, and he was trending right before dinner.

He clicked on the trending topics and took a look at the content.

"Recently, with the launch of the competition reality show 'Super Trainee', a final list of girl group members was allegedly leaked from within, sparking heated discussions among netizens."

"The leaked list includes: No. 8 Jiang Lanqing, No. 11 Fan Jingjing, No. 13 Xu Meiting, No. 15 Xia Man, No. 31 He Jiaying..."

"Some netizens have noticed that the nine trainees on the list all had multiple close-up shots in the first episode, far more than the other trainees, so the list is highly credible..."

"Currently, the production team has not responded to this matter, but it is foreseeable that, as a competition program that claims to have 'nationwide voting,' if the final rankings are similar to this list, the program will face enormous public pressure..."

"Whether this list is real or fake, and what the final members of the girl group will be, let's wait and see!"

"..."

"Snapped!"

Chen Peng angrily slammed his phone to the ground, sending the case flying and shattering the screen like a spider web.

The assistant director standing to the side couldn't help but widen his eyes, staring at the completely black screen of the phone. A hint of dissatisfaction flashed in his eyes, but more than that, he felt heartache.

This is a brand new phone he just got a few days ago!

"Why the hell did you smash my phone?"

The assistant director felt a pang of regret.

If I had known this would happen, I should have used the director's phone to find that trending topic.

However, seeing the director's angry expression, he ultimately said nothing and silently picked up his phone from the ground.

I pressed the side buttons a few times, but the phone screen didn't light up.

Furthermore, the fuselage has become bent.

That's it, it's completely ruined.

"Who? Who leaked the girl group list?" Chen Peng asked angrily, his eyes fierce as if he were about to kill someone.

"I don't know." The assistant director shook his head.

"Investigate! No more than ten people know this list. We must find this mole," Chen Peng said through gritted teeth.

"Yes," the assistant director replied, but didn't leave immediately. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Director Chen, this matter has become a trending topic, and many people are paying attention to it. Shouldn't we deal with this matter first?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Peng immediately calmed down.

That's right, the incident has already happened. Investigating the mole is secondary. The most important thing is how to quell this incident and convince everyone that there was no inside story on the show. Otherwise, the number of people buying tickets to watch the show will decrease, and the number of people voting will also decrease, directly affecting the show's revenue.

Actually, this matter is not difficult for him to resolve. As long as the production team comes forward to clarify, the girl group members will eventually be fine as they do not match the list.

The problem is, how will he explain this to these people with connections?

Apart from Cao Qing, the people behind the other eight would be unhappy if they were anyone else.

To solve this problem, replacing one device won't be very effective; it's best to replace three or four.

He took out the information on the nine people from his bag and spent a long time filtering through it without making a choice.

This kind of thing happening just one day after the show went live is really unlucky!
Forget it, I'd rather torment others than torture myself.

Chen Peng put the documents back into his bag and said to the assistant director, "Go check it out. I'll go report this to General Manager Feng. Whatever he says, we'll do."

After saying this, he walked out of the room feeling dejected, already prepared to be scolded by General Manager Feng.

……

(End of this chapter)