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

Chapter 376 He's not even going to act anymore!
The week passed quickly.

Amidst the ongoing controversy and negative public opinion, the second season of "Super Trainee" was officially launched.

Since this episode marks the start of the elimination phase, and many viewers were looking for clues about the 'girl group member list', the second episode attracted a large number of viewers.

The first episode took an hour to reach 100 million views, while the second episode reached 100 million views in just 55 minutes.

It arrived a full five minutes early.

In the variety show industry, the viewership and ratings of all programs start high and then decline. However, "Super Trainee" broke this curse and achieved growth, which made Qiku Video and the program team particularly happy.

Especially Feng Xinghai.

After a week of being embroiled in negative news about the show, I was even more worried about the second episode, fearing that the negative news would affect the show's viewership.

But now?
The attention he received not only did not decrease, but actually increased significantly, which finally put his mind at ease after a week of anxiety.

'Hmph, trying to mess with my show? No way!'

'Trying to smear the show through exposure? They've gone too far!'

"Although I don't know who you are, you've been buying trending topics for my show every day to increase its popularity and viewership. Thank you for your hard work."

Feng Xinghai was very pleased with himself.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have spent money to remove it from the trending topics; I wasted almost a million yuan.

However, when he went online to read netizens' comments on the second episode, he felt depressed again.

"The elimination rounds were so exciting, especially Chen Silu, number 9. She's beautiful and has a sweet voice. I've cast all my votes for her, and I hope she won't be eliminated when the voting results are announced next time!"

"I support Zhao Tong, number 1. She is the trainee with the best singing skills in this episode. I don't understand why there were no close-up shots of her in the first episode. It seems there really is something fishy going on."

"The members of the girl group list that was leaked online were not in this round of eliminations. It's hard to say whether there was any behind-the-scenes manipulation. I look forward to the next round of eliminations and hope that the production team will not let us down."

"Zhang Jiajia, number 3, is also good. He dances street dance really well and is so cool. And number 7, I'm voting for these two trainees. I'm campaigning for number 3 and number 7."

"Holy crap, am I blind? Why didn't I notice numbers 1, 3, and 9 in the first episode? The production team needs to explain why they weren't shown in the first episode!"

"..."

Because it was an elimination round, who would advance depended on online voting. So after the second episode aired, the internet was flooded with discussions about the twenty trainees who appeared this time.

Some netizens even launched polls on other social media platforms, and Chen Silu was far ahead.

Zhao Tong is ranked second, and Zhang Jiajia is ranked third...

Feng Xinghai gripped his phone tightly, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force, and his skin making a 'crunching' sound as it rubbed against the plastic casing. His face revealed a ferocity and irritation.

If it weren't for the fact that it was his own phone, he would have smashed it to the ground long ago.

hateful!

Why do netizens support those few people? Are they blind?
此时此刻，他只想顺着网络信号把发言支持1号3号7号9号16号的网友找出来，然后给这些网友每人十个大嘴巴。

Are these five people really that outstanding?

Feng Xinghai was very puzzled.

To ensure the original plan could proceed smoothly and avoid causing too much controversy, he explicitly told the production team during post-production editing that they should only cut out the unpleasant shots of the five trainees, and even better if there were any mistakes.

But in the end, she still became a favorite among netizens.

"What the hell!"

After scrolling through the comments for a while, Feng Xinghai couldn't help but swear.

If he hadn't watched the editors cut the footage with his own eyes, he would have even suspected that there was an inside agent from Tianxi Media within the production team.

How to do it?

Although the production team can control the number of votes, they can't do it too obviously, otherwise they'll be criticized to death by netizens after the results are announced.

After much deliberation, Feng Xinghai decided to use the old method: hiring an online army.

雇水军投票，雇水军发文引导舆论走向，制造出其他练习生比1号3号7号9号16号优秀的假象。

In this way, even if some netizens disagree, their voices will be drowned out by the comments of online trolls.

Yes, just do it.

Thinking of this, Feng Xinghai finally smiled and squinted at the picture of trainee number 9 that netizens had captured.

Trying to fight me? You're overestimating yourself!

……

set.

Zhang Wen ate his boxed lunch while browsing entertainment news.

Just now, news of what appears to be the final girl group member list from "Super Trainee" appeared on the trending search list right on time.

However, unlike the news in the past few days which would be taken down after a few minutes, more than twenty minutes have passed today and it has not been removed from the trending list.

What's the situation?
Could it be that the production team ran out of money and decided to drop the project?

It shouldn't be.

Isn't QiKu Video behind the show?

Are large companies with a market value of tens of billions really unwilling to spend even a few million?

At this moment, he couldn't help but think of Vice President Liu, who wouldn't even spend a million on advertising. These capitalists are really stingy!

As Zhang Wen looked around, he suddenly noticed something was amiss.

When the second episode aired last night, the internet was full of fans of Chen Silu, Zhao Tong, and Zhang Jiajia, but now, they are practically nowhere to be seen.

Not only that, but there were also many posts praising other trainees, and even belittling Chen Silu and others as worthless.

They say Chen Silu is just a pretty face, and Zhao Tong only knows how to show off her singing skills...

The wind direction seems to have changed.

Zhang Wen immediately logged into Qiku Video to check the rankings and votes of each trainee.

"This……"

Zhang Wen was completely speechless.

1st place: Xie Jingying, 125321 votes.

Second place: Feng Mingyue, 103932 votes.

……

15th place: Chen Silu, 43764 votes.

16th place: Zhao Tong, 41321 votes.

17th place: He Xia, 41019 votes.

Following them were Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, and Su Jin, whose combined votes were even fewer.

Su Jin was even ranked last.

The second episode featured twenty trainees, with the final five to be eliminated.

Based on the current rankings, Zhao Tong, Zhang Jiajia, Cheng Sisi, and Su Jin have already been eliminated, while Chen Silu is on the verge of elimination.

However, Zhang Wen knew that He Xia would definitely surpass Chen Silu and eliminate her before the third episode aired next Friday.

"You can't take a joke!"

Zhang Wen curled his lip. Although he already knew the result, he was still shocked by the shamelessness of the production team. Last night before going to bed, Chen Silu and others were still occupying the top five spots on the list, but now they have all been squeezed to the bottom and are no longer even acting.

This reminded him of what Prime Minister Zhuge Liang once said: "I have never seen such a shameless person."

Fortunately, he had prepared a way out for Zhao Tong and the others, otherwise...

Speaking of backup plans, Zhang Wen suddenly remembered that the elimination results for Zhao Tong and others would be announced next week.

In other words, Zhao Tong and others will officially debut in just one week.

With this thought in mind, he found Vice President Liu's mobile phone number and dialed it.

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

Soon, the call was connected.

"Hey?"

"Mr. Liu, it's me, Zhang Wen. Regarding what I told you a while ago about using the company's media accounts to promote Zhao Tong and others, we can publish the article now," Zhang Wen said directly.

"Okay, no problem. How should we write the slogan?" Liu Haiyang asked. He wouldn't let the company do anything as long as he didn't have to pay.

“The tagline should be: Tianxi Media is about to launch a brand new girl group. Stay tuned for September 20th,” Zhang Wen said after thinking for a moment.

"What about the group name? Don't we need to announce it?" Liu Haiyang asked, puzzled.

"Uh……"

Zhang Wen paused for a moment. Although the debut song and music video had been recorded, the group's name had not yet been decided.

I had discussed this with Zhao Tong and others several times before, but each time it ended in an argument.

"How about the name 'September Girl'?" Zhang Wen casually suggested a name.

They debuted in September, so they're called September Girls, which is kind of a commemoration.

"September Girls Group? Teacher Zhang, is this a name you just came up with? Isn't it a bit too hasty?" Liu Haiyang frowned.

In his opinion, not only was the name of the girl group chosen hastily, but the decision to form the girl group itself was also somewhat hasty.

The show "Super Trainee" is so popular right now. Comparing ourselves to it is just asking for trouble, isn't it?

Moreover, if this group becomes popular, other companies will definitely follow suit, and then there will be "January Girls", "February Girls", "March Girls", and so on.

If the entertainment industry gathers twelve girl groups, how will fans remember who is who?
Zhang Wen knew it was too hasty; he couldn't very well just go to the maternity hospital and find a master to name his child, could he?
“Then let’s call it the ‘Unconvinced Girls’ group,” Zhang Wen said.

Liu Haiyang was speechless.

Even if someone harbors resentment towards "Super Trainee" and wants to target the other's Super Girl group, there's no need to express it so obviously, right?
It feels like a fight is about to break out at any moment.

It must be said that the songs they wrote for Zhao Tong and others were really good, but the group name they gave them was really awful.

"Teacher Zhang, how about we call them the Future Girls Group? It would mean they have a bright future," Liu Haiyang said after thinking for a moment.

Anyway, the name 'Unyielding Girl' is definitely not acceptable.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wen thought the name "Future Girl" was a good choice, and it also had a touch of science fiction. So he said, "Okay, let's call her Future Girl."

Liu Haiyang, on the other end of the phone, secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid the other party would insist on using the name 'Rebellious Girl'.
"Then it's settled. I'll have someone send it right away." Liu Haiyang hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking, afraid that the other party would change their mind.

After ending the call with Vice President Liu, Zhang Wen immediately opened WeChat, changed the name of the group he was in with Zhao Tong and others to 'Future Girls', and then spoke in the group.

"Notice: Effective immediately, the group's name will be: Future Girls. We hope that each member will have a bright future."

Within just a dozen seconds, group members began to speak.

Zhang Jiajia: "It sounds great, I agree!"

Cheng Sisi: "Teacher Zhang, is this what you thought of? You're so talented."

Zhao Tong: "I like this name."

Chen Silu: "We're a group with a name now."

Su Jin: "Tonight at the usual place, to celebrate the formation of the future girl group."

Zhao Tong: "Agreed."

"..."

Zhang Wen didn't plan to attend, so he left the WeChat group after sending out the notification.

Just as he was about to continue eating, a WeChat notification sounded; it was a message from Vice President Liu.

There are no words, no audio, only a picture.

He clicked to view it, and it was a screenshot of Tianxi Media's official Weibo account. The content was the promotional slogan he had just told Vice President Liu, only slightly modified.

"Tianxi Media is proud to present the brand new five-member girl group 'Future Girls,' which will make a dazzling debut on September 20th, breaking through dimensions. Stay tuned!"

Below was another promotional poster, showing five girls standing on a stage, but the girls were just black silhouettes with no faces.

Zhang Wen nodded as he read, quite satisfied with Vice President Liu's work efficiency and the revised promotional slogan.

After admiring it for a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something, so he quickly logged into Weibo, found Tianxi Media's official account, and saw the post.

Although it was only posted for 3 minutes, fans have already left comments below.

"Looking forward to it! Looking forward to it!"

"Future Girls? The last time a girl group was launched was five years ago..."

"The secrecy was excellent; there wasn't a single word of it beforehand."

"The official Weibo account is promoting the new group? That's impressive, looking forward to it!"

There are only four comments, but it has already received more than 20 likes.

Zhang Wen quickly shoveled the food from the lunchbox into his mouth, wiped his mouth, and walked towards where the male lead, Chen Zhenghao, was.

The publicity campaign has already begun, and he needs to get started now.

"Zhenghao, are you reading the script?" Zhang Wen came to Chen Zhenghao's side.

Since Liu Haiyang didn't want the company's artists to help promote the new group, he had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

"Yes, Teacher Zhang." Chen Zhenghao nodded, his eyes questioning, as if to say: Did you need something from me?

Zhang Wen didn't waste any words and directly showed his phone to the other party.

"The company just posted a Weibo post. As a member of the company, we should keep up with the company's pace, right?"

Chen Zhenghao blinked. The company account posts on Weibo every day, sometimes even sharing information about the artists' daily lives and job postings. Does that mean every artist has to repost it?
Moreover, it seems that the company has never forced artists to do this.

Seeing that Chen Zhenghao remained unmoved, Zhang Wen became anxious, realizing that he truly had no sense of collective honor.

"I'm in charge of this group, please do me the favor of forwarding this," Zhang Wen said.

Chen Zhenghao looked enlightened and immediately straightened up, saying, "Teacher Zhang, I'll send it now."

After saying that, he took out his phone from his pocket, forwarded the Weibo post that the company had just released, and added two words: "Looking forward to it".

"Thanks, I'll look for you again if I find a good script!" Zhang Wen said to Chen Zhenghao, then walked towards the second male lead.

“Teacher Zhang, then it’s settled, it’s a deal.” Chen Zhenghao said with a joyful expression.

Forwarding a Weibo post can get you a great script – this is such a great deal!

……

(End of this chapter)