Rebirth 09: Starting from taking charge of Running Man on CCTV

It airs on CCTV's prime time slot every Saturday at 8 PM, attracting tens of millions of viewers nationwide.

Baby's face appeared before 1.3 billion people.

180,000 yuan can buy you a ticket to become a top-tier actress in mainland China.

This debt...

"Director Chen."

Zhou Yougen's voice turned calm.

The anger of slamming the table had subsided, replaced by a calculated and tentative approach.

"15,000 is too low. Baby has a market price in Hong Kong."

"Could you raise the price a bit? Thirty thousand per installment, that's my real bottom line."

Chen Yang looked at her for two seconds.

"Twenty thousand."

"Twenty-five thousand."

"Twenty thousand."

Chen Yang's tone left no room for compromise.

"The twelfth phase, total price 240,000."

"The program crew covered all expenses, including food, accommodation, and transportation. The standards were in accordance with CCTV's travel regulations. It wasn't a five-star hotel, but it was clean and respectable."

"Regarding the schedule, you will be notified two weeks in advance of the recording date, and it can be coordinated with your schedule in Hong Kong."

He pulled his finger back.

"This is my final offer."

"It's not the starting point of negotiations, it's the end point."

Zhou Yougen stared at him.

The office was silent for a full five seconds.

The legal counsel next to him was looking down at the contract template, writing "2/episode" next to the "remuneration" column, and then looked up at Zhou Yougen.

The meaning in his eyes was clear—the terms were fine, and he could sign.

Zhou Yougen shifted his gaze from the legal representative's face to Baby.

Baby sat on a chair, her hands on her knees, her fingertips gripping the hem of her skirt.

She didn't say anything.

But the look in her eyes when she looked at Chen Yang said it all.

Zhou Yougen was all too familiar with that look in his eyes.

It's about trust.

It's like a girl who has been struggling in the dark for three months finally grabbing onto a seemingly sturdy rope, a kind of trust that she refuses to let go of.

"Sister Zhou."

Baby finally spoke.

The voice was very soft, with a slight tremor in its gentle, Cantonese-accented Mandarin.

"I want to sign."

Just four words.

There were no lengthy explanations or analyses of the pros and cons.

It means "I want to sign".

Zhou Yougen closed his eyes for two seconds.

When she opened her eyes again, she took the pen from the legal counsel.

"Director Chen."

"Um?"

Are you really twenty-four this year?

"Of course, it's more real than real gold!"

Zhou Yougen shook his head and signed his name at the end of the contract.

The sound of the pen tip touching the paper was particularly clear in the quiet office.

"At twenty-four, he pinned me, an old woman who had been a broker for fifteen years, down and tortured me in a chair."

She put down her pen and looked at Chen Yang.

"You young man, you're going to be something special in the future."

Baby sat next to her, her eyes red-rimmed, but the corners of her mouth curved up.

She watched as Chen Yang calmly took the contract back and handed it to Ma Li to file.

His expression remained largely unchanged throughout.

It seemed that all of this was within his expectations.

Forty minutes later.

The office door was closed.

Zhou Yougen left the CCTV building with Baby and his legal counsel.

Before leaving, I glanced back at the door at the end of the twelfth-floor corridor near the elevator.

The words on the nameplate reflected the light under the fluorescent lamp.

[Run, China! Program Team]

She turned around and stepped into the elevator.

Before closing the door, he whispered:

"Baby, this girl, is bound to have good luck."

……

Ma Li leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.

"20,000 per installment, which is 30% lower than I expected."

"Your persona plan is the real killer move."

"That old lady Zhou Yougen was shrewd her whole life. In the end, she wasn't persuaded by the salary, but by the proposal."

She gave a thumbs-up.

"Chen Yang, I'm truly impressed."

"I've been an artist coordinator for so many years and have seen countless people negotiate contracts."

She gave a thumbs up, but her expression was a mixture of surprise and fear.

"Your eating manners are nothing like a director's."

"Like what?"

"Like a financial tycoon."

Chen Yang chuckled but didn't answer.

"Sister Li, how are things going with Shen Teng and Chen He?"

Ma Li's expression changed instantly, switching from shock to barely suppressing a laugh.

"Don't even mention it."

She took her phone out of her pocket and looked through her call history.

"This morning, Su Xiao called Chen He and immediately mentioned becoming a regular MC on CCTV's variety channel during prime time. Chen He was silent for ten seconds on the other end of the phone, and then said..."

Ma Li cleared her throat and imitated an accent.

"'Sister Su Xiao, have you been scammed? I get about three of these scam calls a day in Shanghai.'"

Chen Yang was amused.

"and then?"

"Then Su Xiao read the approval number to him and told him to check it on the CCTV website himself."

After checking, Chen He yelled on the other end of the phone that he would go buy train tickets right away.

Ma Li scrolled through her phone.

He sent me a text message an hour ago saying that he bought a hard-seat ticket from Shanghai to Beijing last night. It's a T-series express train, and the journey takes twelve hours. He's already on the train.

"This kid couldn't even afford a sleeper berth."

Chen Yang shook his head.

"Where is Shen Teng?"

"Shen Teng's reaction was even more amazing."

Ma Li grinned.

"I had someone find the phone number for the administration department of Happy Twist, and eventually got in touch with Shen Teng himself."

"As soon as the call connected, I told him that CCTV's variety channel wanted to invite him to be a regular MC for their new program."

He chuckled on the other end of the phone and said…

Ma Li cleared her throat again.

"'Sis, don't tease me. I'm a stage actor. CCTV is looking for me? Are you sure you haven't dialed the wrong number?'"

"I said I didn't make a mistake. It's an A-level project, prime time, and personally selected by the director."

He paused for five seconds, then asked—"Really?"

I'm serious.

He said, "Then I probably won't be able to sleep tonight."

Ma Li put her phone back in her pocket.

"He called me back early this morning, his voice was hoarse, he obviously hadn't slept all night."

"They asked me when I could come to the station to discuss this."

"I told him to come at nine o'clock the day after tomorrow, and he said on the phone, 'Received, sis, I'll be there on time.'"

"His tone was as if he had received a military order."

Chen Yang leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers twice on the armrest.

Deng Chao and Ma Li are making contact.

Li Chen and Ma Li are in contact.

Wang Baoqiang has a natural connection with CCTV, and it's only natural that "Shunliu" will be broadcast on CCTV-1 next month.

Zheng Kai has signed.

Baby, it's signed.

Chen He, on the train.

Shen Teng will come the day after tomorrow.

The seven puzzle pieces are almost complete.

"Sister Li, well done!"

Just as Chen Yang was about to stand up, Ma Li's spare phone on her waist suddenly vibrated.

It wasn't a normal vibration.

It was a series of four or five rapid vibrations.

Ma Li glanced down at the incoming call number, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

She pressed the answer button.

"Feed?"

The conversation on the other end of the phone lasted less than thirty seconds.

Ma Li's expression changed from confusion to solemnity, and then from solemnity to ashen.

Are you sure?

I listened for another ten seconds or so.

"I see."

She hung up the phone, clutching it in her hand, and looked up at Chen Yang.

"What's wrong?"

"There's been a problem with Li Chen."

Ma Li's throat tightened.

"His agent just called and said that Li Chen has serious concerns about becoming a regular MC on variety shows."

"He was afraid that appearing on comedy variety shows would ruin his tough guy image, and he felt it was inappropriate."

Chen Yang's fingers stopped.

"Anything else?"

"besides."

Ma Li lowered her voice even further.

"The production team of a major patriotic drama is offering a hefty sum to secure Li Chen's slots for the second half of the year."

"His agent's exact words—"

"Teacher Li has considered it and we'll put the variety show discussion aside for now."

Ma Li placed her phone face down on the table.

"He's going to refuse."

There was a two-second silence in the office.

The seven squares on the whiteboard are still there.

The two characters "Li Chen" were written neatly and correctly.

Chen Yang stared at those two words for three seconds.

Then he stood up and downed the last sip of cold tea in his cup.

"Sister Li, could you help me find out the office address of Li Chen's management team?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Come to my door."