Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, starting with the strategy of 95 flowers to counterattack

Chapter 137 The Idol Producer's Shocking Moves and Cheng Xiao
The headquarters building of the kiwifruit company is located at No. 2, North 1st Street, HD District, Yanjing City, in the core area of ​​Zhongguancun.

Designed by renowned architects, the building boasts a modern exterior and is one of the new landmarks in the HD district.

The interior is fully equipped with business facilities such as a business center and meeting rooms, as well as leisure facilities such as restaurants and cafes, and also provides ample parking spaces.

The conference room was filled with smoke.

Xu Jiang, the executive producer of "Idol Producer," loosened his tie, and the red dot of the laser pointer landed on the program's logo on the projection screen.

"Everyone, there's one week left until recording. Here's the current progress of preparations."

He clicked on the remote control, and the screen changed.

"Mentor lineup: Zhang Yixing serves as the representative of the national producers, Li Ronghao is in charge of vocals, and Cheng Xiao and Zhou Jieqiong serve as dance mentors."

"Regarding trainees, 87 agencies submitted resumes, and we initially selected 89 people to enter the candidate pool."

Production manager Wang Lei continued, "The stage design has been approved. This time, we used holographic projection technology, and the budget has increased by 40% compared to last year."

He tapped the tablet. "But here's the problem."

The screen suddenly split into two columns, with the right side prominently displaying a preparation briefing for Tencent Video's "Produce Camp 101".

The two columns of data resemble a chess game, but the most glaring element is the bold red text at the bottom of the mentor list:

Dance Instructor: Gu Yang!
"This news was just announced at Tencent's investment promotion conference yesterday."

Publicity Director Lin Man pushed the tablet to the center of the table, displaying a screenshot of a trending topic on Weibo: #GuYangJoinsProduceCamp# followed by the word "Explosive" in dark red, with 3.2 million views.

“Our official announcement about Zhang Yixing only lasted for four hours on the trending topic, while Gu Yang’s post has been trending for 18 hours.”

A series of gasps filled the conference room.

Xu Jiang's pen unconsciously poked several ink dots on the paper.

Gu Yang is really hot this year!
The three works, "Wolf Warrior 2", "Go Go Squid!" and "Qing Qing Daily", are basically all blockbusters.

A while ago, he casually posted a hype about two women fighting over him, and it caused the server to crash.

Not to mention, this is his first time being a regular on a variety show.

"This is the more troublesome part."

Lin Man swiped the screen, and a comparison curve of the Baidu Index of the two programs popped up. The blue line representing Produce Camp looked like a steep cliff, while the red line representing Idol Producer was as flat as a dead snake.

"Regarding sponsorship, Nestlé and OPPO have clearly stated that they will wait until both companies have fully announced their lineups before making a decision."

The air froze for a few seconds.

Suddenly, the sound of a chair being moved came from the corner.

Su Rui, a planner who had just been transferred to the project team, raised her hand: "Can we adjust the broadcast time? Produce Camp is scheduled for June, but we'll move it to early April to seize the first-run advantage."

"There's not enough time to record," Wang Lei was about to retort when Xu Jiang suddenly stood up straight: "What if we cut the second stage of the reality show and edited the auditions and initial evaluations into a pilot episode?"

He grabbed a calculator and typed rapidly, “The recording cycle can be shortened by three weeks.”

The operations director frowned: "But Gu Yang's popularity won't disappear just because it aired a few weeks earlier."

"So we need to play another card."

Su Rui opened her computer, and Gu Yang's schedule suddenly appeared on the projector: "He will be attending a Dior event in Yanjing next Monday, and the first recording of Produce Camp is on Saturday."

She zoomed in on a date highlighted in red, saying, "There are five days in between, enough time to record a guest episode."

The meeting room fell silent.

Everyone understood her intention: to have Gu Yang appear on two competing programs simultaneously would be an unprecedented move.

"Would Tencent agree?" Wang Lei's throat went dry.

“We don’t need their consent.” Su Rui pulled up a contract template. “We’re not going to take the permanent mentor route. We’ll sign contracts for the term as ‘special guest stage director,’ and we can even not participate in the scoring.”

She paused for a moment, then said, "The key is Gu Yang's team's attitude. We need to see if we can offer something that can sway them!"

……

The night in Yanjing is brightly lit, with neon lights from the skyscrapers streaming into the living room through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Cheng Xiao sat cross-legged on the carpet, holding a bag of potato chips in his arms, his cheeks bulging out like a hamster stealing food.

She was wearing loose pink loungewear, her slightly wavy chestnut hair was casually tied into a half-bun, and her cheeks still had a bit of baby fat, making her look so soft and cuddly that you couldn't help but want to pinch her cheeks.

Zhou Jieqiong sat on the sofa with her long legs crossed, her skin as white as snow accentuated by her black silk nightgown.

She was looking down at her phone when she suddenly chuckled, "Xiao Xiao, you're trending again."

"Huh? What did I do now?"

Cheng Xiao looked up blankly, with potato chip crumbs still stuck to the corner of his mouth.

"#Nai Xiao makes her first public appearance after returning to China#", Zhou Jieqiong turned her phone towards her, staring at her extraordinary talent with envy.

How can it be so big?

That's so unscientific! Doesn't dancing like that affect your balance?
Cheng Xiao muttered as she pulled out a tissue to wipe her mouth: "When I was in South Korea, my manager told me to lose weight every day, but now that I'm back in China, I'm getting compliments for being 'slightly chubby'..."

Zhou Jieqiong smiled, got up and went to the kitchen to make two cups of grapefruit tea.

When Cheng Xiao returned, she was already slumped in a beanbag chair, rubbing her soft belly and sighing, "Oh no, I ate too much these past few days back in China. I have to lose weight before the show recording."

She was pinching the soft flesh on her stomach in distress when Zhou Jieqiong suddenly handed her her phone, on which was a screenshot of a trending topic on Weibo.

#Gu Yang suspected of joining "Idol Producer"#
"Huh?!" Cheng Xiao almost choked on his grapefruit tea, his eyes widening. "Isn't he a mentor on 'Produce 101'? What's he doing here?"

Zhou Jieqiong shrugged, swiping her finger across the screen: "Rumor has it that the production team is in talks to have him as a guest star for one episode."

She paused, then gestured with her hand to indicate a number, "I heard it's just for one episode, this is the amount!" "One million?" Cheng Xiao's eyes widened, "One million for just one episode? That's way too much money!"

“Add another zero,” Zhou Jieqiong interrupted, wiping away the tea stains from Cheng Xiao’s lips.

Cheng Xiao dropped the cushion in her hands with a "thud": "Ten million?!" She suddenly started counting on her fingers, "How many cups of milk tea could that buy?"

"Now you know the gap between top celebrities and us?" Zhou Jieqiong chuckled as she flipped through the schedule.

"They're incredibly popular right now! Even so, I heard Gu Yang's team still didn't agree, afraid of affecting their relationship with Tencent. In the end, it was an elder from iQiyi who stepped in to negotiate, probably promising some resources."

"Your Lehua team really hit the jackpot this time!"

Zhou Jieqiong chuckled and counted on her fingers: "How many people did you squeeze into the two shows?"

"Idol Producer has Fan Chenchen, Huang Minghao, Zhu Zhengting and other members of Lehua Seven, and Produce Camp 101 has Meng Meiqi and Wu Xuanyi... It seems like Du Ma is going to take over the entire talent show market."

Cheng Xiao rested his chin on his hand and exclaimed, "Aunt Du's staff is truly full of talent; any one of them could handle things on their own."

“That’s right.” Zhou Jieqiong nodded. “But it would be interesting if Gu Yang really came to ‘Idol Producer’.”

Cheng Xiao tilted her head, looking curious: "Hasn't he always focused on filming? Why is he suddenly interested in talent shows?"

"I don't know, maybe he's here to pick you up?"

? ? ? ? ?

As soon as Zhou Jieqiong finished speaking, Cheng Xiao's face turned bright red to her ears, and she grabbed a cushion and threw it at her.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" She pounced on Zhou Jieqiong and tickled her waist. "How can you say such things like that?!"

Zhou Jieqiong laughed and dodged, the two of them wrestling on the sofa. Cheng Xiao's bun was half loose, and her chestnut hair was sticking up messily.

She straddled Zhou Jieqiong, pinching her cheek angrily: "You're talking nonsense! What kind of person is Gu Yang? Would he even look at me?"

Zhou Jieqiong laughed until she was breathless, raising her hands in surrender: "I was wrong, I was wrong! But..." She suddenly flipped over, pinning Cheng Xiao to the sofa, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "What if he just likes your 'milky Xiao' style?"

Just as Cheng Xiao was about to retaliate, his phone suddenly started vibrating wildly.

The two paused, and Cheng Xiao reached for the phone on the coffee table. The screen clearly showed that it was an incoming call from Aunt Du.

"Oh no, oh no!" Cheng Xiao scrambled to his feet, smoothed his hair, took a deep breath, and answered the phone, "Hello, Mr. Du..."

On the other end of the phone, Du Hua's voice was crisp and clear: "Gu Yang has confirmed his participation in next week's recording, and the script has already been sent to your email."

Cheng Xiao sat up straight instantly: "Huh? It's really settled?"

“Yes, the kiwi fruit company offered top-tier resources in exchange for their team’s agreement.” Du Hua paused, her tone serious. “Wear that white GUCCI dress from last time. Keep your makeup light but refined, and avoid anything too flashy.”

Cheng Xiao nodded obediently: "Okay, Mr. Du."

"And..." Du Hua's voice suddenly rose, "No milk tea allowed for three days before recording! Your face can't be swollen on camera!"

Cheng Xiao's expression fell, and he looked pitifully at Zhou Jieqiong, who shook the milk tea cup in her hand with schadenfreude.

"I...I understand..." Cheng Xiao replied dejectedly.

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Xiao collapsed onto the sofa and wailed, "It's over! My bubble tea happiness is gone!"

Zhou Jieqiong smiled and leaned closer, poking her cheek: "Just bear with it, what if Gu Yang really has feelings for you?"

"Zhou, Jie, Qiong!" Cheng Xiao grabbed a pillow and pounced on her again.

Outside the window, the night in Yanjing was deepening, and the LED screen of the office building across the street was playing the trailer for Gu Yang's new movie "Better Days" on a loop.

The man's deep-set eyes and brows stood out sharply in the light and shadow, while the sounds of playful fighting and laughter in the apartment seemed to have nothing to do with that unattainable world of the elite.

……

One week later, at Studio 3 of Yanjing Film and Television Park.

The recording site of "Idol Producer" was bustling with activity. Staff members were running around adjusting camera positions, and the stage manager was shouting into a walkie-talkie: "Turn the lights up a bit! Soften the camera on the mentors' seats!"

Cheng Xiao sat in the dressing room, where the makeup artist was setting her makeup. She was wearing a white GUCCI dress that Du Ma had specified, with delicate rhinestones adorning the neckline that shimmered under the lights.

She stared at herself in the mirror and pinched her cheek.

I haven't had milk tea for three days, and I do seem to have lost a little weight!
A commotion suddenly broke out outside the dressing room, followed by screams!
"Gu Yang is here!!!"

The corridor erupted in chaos, with hurried footsteps and excited chatter coming from afar.

Several female stagehands jogged to the doorway, peering out with excited blushes on their faces.

"Oh my god! It really is him!"

"He's even more handsome than on TV! That profile is amazing!"

"Quick, quick, help me check if my lipstick has smudged?"

The makeup artists couldn't sit still either. While pretending to organize their tools, they secretly glanced at the door and unconsciously ran their fingers through their hair.

Some even quickly applied another layer of lipstick and pursed their lips, afraid that they might not look their best if they accidentally bumped into their crush later.

Cheng Xiao sat in front of the makeup mirror, looking at the chaotic scene reflected in the mirror, and couldn't help but blink.

As for?
She knew Gu Yanghuo, of course, but seeing such a scene in person was still quite shocking.

The footsteps in the corridor grew closer, accompanied by the staff's respectful greeting, "Hello, Teacher Gu," and an invisible sense of pressure seemed to hang in the air.

She couldn't help but turn her head curiously, wanting to see what this legendary top star looked like that could instantly get the entire production team into a state of high excitement.

Just then, there was a light knock on the door of the dressing room.

Everyone held their breath.

(End of this chapter)