LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 147 Just a Songwriter
The trending searches exploded, and so did the production team.
When Zhou Mian received the notification, his head was buzzing. The PR department was in a meeting with everyone related to the program attending, but they had discussed for half a day without a clue.
The meeting room was filled with smoke, and the director Chen Fufeng remained silent.
The reality dating show was already filmed, and any troubles that arose were left to PR to handle. He had already dealt with an emergency during the filming, and now he was truly exhausted.
"What the hell was the casting team we worked with doing? Didn't they do any background checks?" someone raged, "One problem after another, how are we supposed to continue with the show?"
"There's no word from them yet, but the priority now is to deal with this mess. Those scandalous rumors might not even be true; we're still communicating with the guests."
"Communicate my ass! How many good people are there among that bunch? They can't even pretend anymore! There are still four episodes left to air, what are we supposed to do?"
"Forget it, we've made the money we were supposed to make; it's doubtful we'll get the final payment from the TV station. Let it go if we can't; after all, even if there weren't any issues with the show, getting the final payment would be difficult."
The team had different opinions, discussing fervently. But just like they said, they had already made most of the money during the live broadcast, then sold the edited version to provincial TV stations.
That's the advantage of the new model, quick capital recovery.
Traditional dating shows are slow to make money, and you can't afford any mishaps, walking on eggshells. Unlike "Love Hunter," which had already made a fortune just by live broadcasting and recording.
After editing, there was even more confidence since popularity was obvious, and if you don't buy it, there are plenty of TV stations that will.
They negotiated a good price and after selling it, the pressure wasn't so intense. Whether they got the final payment wasn't that big of an issue; even if they wanted to pursue it, they'd have to play by others' rules.
Zhou Mian pushed open the door of the meeting room, deciding to step out for a breath of fresh air.
A former colleague from the props department also came out and offered him a cigarette, which he declined. The two stood by the window at the end of the corridor, chatting while watching the traffic on the elevated highway below.
"Who keeps targeting us? Last time it was infighting, and that dumbass actor Bai Jinze nearly ruined the show. Who is it this time?"
"Don't know, we'll find out after some investigation." Zhou Mian sighed and couldn't resist lighting a cigarette from his colleague's pack, "It feels a bit like..."
"Like what?"
"Nothing, just a guess." Zhou Mian smiled and did not continue.
....
"Isn't this the usual tactic of your Xiliang? Someone called and cursed at me, asking if it was someone under my management." Li Mingwei said gravely.
"What can I say, what should I say?"
Xingchen Entertainment building.
In an office on the thirty-second floor, Li Mingwei stood by his desk infuriated, lashing out at the beautiful young man Ji Chen who was sitting in a chair nearby.
Ji Chen had recently opted for a buzz cut, which made his handsome features even more striking. His eyebrows were like a hard line, and his expression only added to his rebellious demeanor.
With a black face mask hanging off his chin and his legs crossed leisurely in the leather chair, he appeared unconcerned.
"It wasn't me."
"If not you, then who?" Li Mingwei was utterly exasperated, "Other band members? Xiaolu? Ashui? Or Timmy? At least give me a reason!"
"Just because I say it wasn't me, how can you believe it?"
As the manager of the Xiliang band, Li Mingwei had initially focused solely on Xiliang. But after the band nearly got banned officially, he lost his drive and began to try managing newcomers.
He had three offices and four assistants, and he rarely spent time on Xiliang anymore; he left most trivial matters to assistants.
In his view, the youths who liked rock music were dwindling, and considering the current environment, the new generation of rap had more market potential.
He had already warned Ji Chen to behave, to just attend events and make money, perhaps appear on variety shows once in a while. Being a top star was out of the question, but a centipede dies hard.
Considering Xiliang's impact on idol rock and their broad fan base, they had enough to secure their position just below the top stars.
But Ji Chen didn't take his advice to heart at all, offending people repeatedly. Li Mingwei even wondered if Ji Chen had some sort of mental illness.
"You can find a way to condemn me if you wish to do so; if I said I didn't do it, then I didn't." Ji Chen was tired of listening to Li Mingwei nag like an old woman, his hand adorned with a mechanical watch drooping.
"I just disliked that country bumpkin and had someone mix in some stuff to smear him; so what? The other matters have nothing to do with me; I don't even know those people."
"So what? What do you mean so what?" The agent was furious, "They've brought the evidence right to my phone, and you think just saying it wasn't you settles it?"
"Not everyone's going to accommodate you, Mr. Big Shot! Now someone wants to sabotage the 'Love Hunter' show, and you're involved; they followed your method to denigrate people."
"It's no use telling me this now, you can't clear your name even if you jumped into the Yellow River!"
Ji Chen wasn't too concerned; love-themed reality shows had nothing to do with rock. If he hadn't done the deed, the program team couldn't bother him no matter how furious they were.
"I didn't plan on explaining anyway, forget it, too lazy to talk about it."
This arrogance shocked Li Mingwei so much he nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. After taking a few deep breaths to calm down, he stared at Ji Chen and slowly said.
"Do you know why Xiliang hasn't become top-tier despite its development?"
"Because of what? You want to say it's because of me?" Ji Chen, with profound eyes, glanced at the agent, "Weren't you the one who decided on Xiliang's original style?"