This director lacks vision.

Chapter 137 Chance Encounter
At 5 p.m. on July 6, Meng Ziyi appeared near the Wukesong Arena with his mother.

Looking at the crowded scene, Meng Ziyi said proudly, "I told you Produce 101 was a hit! Look at all these people here today!"

As a 14-year-old girl, Meng Ziyi has just finished this year's middle school entrance examination and is now enjoying her summer vacation.

She loved watching Produce 101, and because of it, she was often scolded by her parents.

After all, the middle school entrance exam results are very important.

Parents are eager for their children to focus solely on their studies without getting distracted.

Meng Ziyi's mother often spoke ill of 101, hoping that her daughter could study hard and get good grades.

Hearing her daughter's proud tone, the mother subconsciously retorted, "What does this have to do with 'Produce 101'? The judges for this show are Liu Huan, Tengger, Li Wen, Elva Hsiao, and Phoenix Legend, and they will also perform."

With these celebrities involved, ticket sales are guaranteed.

Meng Ziyi looked at her mother and suddenly asked, "How do you know so much about Produce 101? You even know all five judges?"

Mom coughed and said, "It's all because of you, always nagging me about it."

Seeing that her mother's expression was not good, Meng Ziyi knew it was time to stop while she was ahead and took the initiative to change the subject: "With so many people today, are the tickets for the finals hard to buy? Didn't you say before that you couldn't get tickets?"

"You don't need to worry about the tickets. Mom promised you she'd come to the finals after your high school entrance exam, and of course she won't go back on her word."

But you have to promise me you'll eat more meat when you get back. Girls should be a little thin, but you're too thin.

Meng Ziyi comes from a well-off family and is an only child from Northeast China. Her parents dote on her and always feel that their daughter is too thin.

During her middle school years, Meng Ziyi was not only very thin, but also had a long, thin face with no flesh on her cheeks. If a face-slimming filter were added to a photo, it would look like a snake-like face.

She would be perfect for playing the female snake spirit in the Calabash Brothers series.

In modern parlance, Meng Ziyi's appearance is that of a natural-born internet celebrity; some people might find her unattractive at first glance and not be drawn to her looks.

But after looking at it for a while and getting used to it, you'll find it really beautiful.

In certain makeup looks and angles, Meng Ziyi looks very similar to Nezha.

In the future, the two will have some overlap in their career paths within the industry.

Therefore, when Meng Ziyi watches the 101 girl group, his favorite is Nezha.

Other women might not be able to emulate Nazar's looks, but Meng Ziyi can effortlessly do so. Moreover, she's just like Nazar in her daily life—she talks a lot.

She is one of the few loyal female fans of Naza.

I came to the Produce 101 finale to support Nezha's debut.

Hearing his mother's words, Meng Ziyi pouted and said very honestly, "I've been eating a lot, but I just can't gain weight, there's nothing I can do about it!"

"Mom, you're so chubby, can I have some?"

Mother:"???"

Mom was already used to Meng Ziyi's sharp tongue.

She took her daughter's hand and led her to a small door at the back of the venue, then made a phone call.

A short while later, a middle-aged woman dressed in a business suit came out.

"Mengmeng, this is Aunt Li Yunli, Mom's old classmate. She is now the head of the marketing department of Feihe Milk Powder. You can watch the finals live this time thanks to her help."

The Produce 101 finale was broadcast live, and Feihe Milk Powder was one of the sponsors.

Meng Ziyi's mother couldn't get tickets to the finals, so she used her connections.

Led by Li Yunli, Meng Ziyi entered the venue ahead of time.

She was very bold. While her mother was chatting with her old classmate, she secretly slipped away, wanting to go backstage to see the contestants of Produce 101.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I entered a passage, I ran into Jiang Yifeng coming out of the restroom.

To separate the office areas and prevent others from accidentally entering, some barriers have been set up in the back of the venue, and you have to walk around them.

Jiang Yifeng, finding it troublesome, simply stretched out his long legs and easily stepped over the barrier.

Seeing this, Meng Ziyi jogged to catch up; she had misunderstood.

"Handsome, did you also sneak in to see the Produce 101 girl group?"

"Who do you like? You men definitely like He Na, she's got a big D!"

"No, Naza has a lot of male fans too. Do you like Naza?"

“I really like Nazar. Don’t you think I look a lot like Nazar?”

"Say something! Why are you acting all high and mighty?"

"He's quite handsome, a real heartthrob, but he's terrible at talking, what a pity!"

Jiang Yifeng looked at the teenage version of Meng Ziyi and asked, "You don't recognize me?"

"Who are you, a big star? Why should I know you?"

"Aren't we all the same? We're here to chase after celebrities, right? Stop pretending."

"We'll split up later. I'll go to the left, and you go to the right. Let's check the terrain first."

Meng Ziyi was very talkative and chatty, and he also very familiarly assigned tasks to Jiang Yifeng.

She took out a pink flip phone and said, "Let's exchange contact information so we can share information later."

Jiang Yifeng casually gave a phone number and then asked, "If you just barge into the backstage area and get caught, it's no small matter. Aren't you afraid?"

Meng Ziyi instinctively raised the banner.

"What's there to be afraid of? I know the show's sponsors."

Then, showing great loyalty, he added, "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you if anything happens."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yifeng recalled the rumors circulating online that Meng Ziyi's family was very wealthy and that he had brought his own investment to the production of "The Untamed" to force changes to the script, causing quite a stir.

As a result, after The Untamed aired, the two male leads became top stars, while the female lead, Meng Ziyi, was heavily criticized and her reputation was extremely poor.

He gradually turned his career around thanks to his outstanding performances on variety shows.

Jiang Yifeng found it very interesting. He never expected to meet Meng Ziyi here, who had unexpectedly become a fan of Nazha.

At the age of 14, he was already loud and energetic.

People involved in the arts are mostly like this; they tend to be extroverted.

Meng Ziyi looked around and was about to go inside when a woman walked over and said to Jiang Yifeng, "President Jiang, Mr. Wang from Jiannanchun brought his friend over. He said he's a fan of yours and wants to take a picture with you."

Jiang Yifeng said, "I don't have time. We also need to manage the audience brought by the sponsors. They can't run around and disrupt the live stream."

The assistant nodded and said, "Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Jiang Yifeng turned to look at Meng Ziyi and asked, "You just said you know a sponsor, which sponsor?"

Meng Ziyi: "..."

The relationship between the program and its sponsors is not simply that of a client and a service provider.

Everyone is scrambling to sponsor a wildly popular show.

Jiannanchun's sponsorship of Produce 101 is a huge windfall, and Jiang Yifeng certainly won't be so lenient with them.

Taking a photo together is fine normally, but asking for a photo so close to the finals live shows a lack of manners, so it's best to just refuse.

Seeing that things were going badly, Meng Ziyi didn't answer Jiang Yifeng's question, put away his phone, and ran away.

A short while later, she saw staff members come over to inform those who had arrived early not to wander around, as patrols had begun.

Meng Ziyi took out his phone and searched for Jiang Yifeng's information on Baidu. After seeing the photo, he suddenly realized who it was.

The handsome guy I just met turns out to be Jiang Yifeng, the initiator of Produce 101. No wonder his words carry so much weight.

Not only was she not afraid, she also posted a Weibo post with the hashtag #Produce101FinalLive#.

"My dream finally came true today! I went to watch the Produce 101 finale live and supported Nezha's debut as the center! Go go go!"
P.S.: I ran into a handsome guy at the event, I think it was @JiangYifeng, I was so lucky today!

After posting on Weibo, Meng Ziyi updated her status on QQ Space.

Soon after, people started replying on Weibo and QQ Space, mostly her classmates.

There are many girls in their class who watch Produce 101, and a few boys too.

Seeing the various envious and amazed comments from his classmates, Meng Ziyi burst out laughing.

Human beings' source of happiness is showing off and being pretentious.

Thinking of this, Meng Ziyi was eager to get along well with Jiang Yifeng so that he could continue to show off in the future.

She took out her phone and looked at the number she had written down. It was the number Jiang Yifeng had just given her, but she didn't know if it was true or not.

So he turned to her and asked, "Aunt Li, do you have Jiang Yifeng's phone number?"

“I have his business card, but I don’t know if it’s a private phone number or a work phone number.”

"Could I take a look?"

Meng Ziyi looked at the phone number on the business card; it was completely different from the one on his phone.

She gritted her teeth and dialed the number on her phone.

"The number you dialed is not in service. Please check and dial again!"

Meng Ziyi: "..."

At this moment, Meng Ziyi realized that he had been deceived and also deeply understood the wickedness of the adult world.

By 7:15 p.m., all the spectators had entered the stadium, which can hold 18,000 people and was packed to capacity.

The executive director walked onto the stage and said, "To make the performance even more perfect, we need your help. We've prepared light boards in your seats..."

Under the direction of the executive director, the audience also participated in a rehearsal.

At 7:55, the performance officially began.

To ensure the stability of the live stream, a 5-minute delay was added to this broadcast.

Meng Ziyi looked at the stage with anticipation, waiting for the grand performance.

As a result, Zhang Chaoyang walked out amidst a melodious tune.

"The organ in the classroom, tinkling and tinkling~"

Meng Ziyi couldn't understand Zhang Chaoyang's nonchalant singing style.

Many audience members didn't understand either, but most of them gave Zhang Chaoyang face and didn't boo.

However, the viewers in the online live stream cheered.

"Holy crap, the opening performance really was Zhang Chaoyang!"

"Can this song really be sung like this? Angela Chang would probably want to punch someone if she heard it!"

"Mr. Zhang is awesome! Only he sang something that wasn't about love."

"Darling, that's not love, that's just a money transaction."

"Haha, Zhang Chaoyang's dancing is also very captivating; he's completely out of sync with the backup dancers!"

"That's the relaxed attitude of a top boss. Anyway, I'm rich, take it or leave it!"

"A billionaire singing for us, and it's live! What more could we ask for!"

Most of the people who are willing to spend money to see the performance live are fans of the contestants from Produce 101.

They weren't particularly fond of Zhang Chaoyang.

However, the majority of viewers in the online live stream are casual viewers who come to watch the show.

Zhang Chaoyang has always been perceived as a successful entrepreneur.

This was the first time he sang in public, and he sang a light and refreshing song, which was very different from his previous image.

Moreover, when internet moguls sing for everyone, in terms of entertainment value and program highlights, it's no worse than a girl group performance, and may even be better.

So the viewers in the live stream were pleasantly surprised, and the majority of the comments were positive.

During Zhang Chaoyang's opening performance, the number of viewers in the live stream increased from over 160 million to 183 million, demonstrating that most viewers appreciated the program.

Moreover, the Produce 101 program adopted a method of live streaming and segmenting content simultaneously.

As soon as Zhang Chaoyang finished his performance, clips of him appeared on Weibo and video websites.

Many viewers were drawn to the live stream after seeing Zhang Chaoyang sing "That's Not Love".

Within just 6 minutes of the broadcast starting, the number of concurrent viewers in the Produce 101 finale live stream exceeded 200 million, achieving the first goal set.

The reason it happened so quickly is that after Zhang Chaoyang, Tengger's group took the stage.

Tengger's group sang "Invisible Wings," which was even more catchy than Zhang Chaoyang's song.

What was supposed to be an inspirational song was sung by Tengger into the feel of a cheerful nursery rhyme.

With the addition of Li Yitong, Zhang Yuxi, and five other contestants, the show not only drew cheers from the live audience but also boosted the popularity of the live stream.

(End of this chapter)