Age of Legends

Chapter 289 Hidden Clues
“I’m just a high school student, and I won’t be starting university until September this year unless something unexpected happens. How can I help you?” Zhang Chen asked.

Jiang Rong, wearing an obsidian bracelet, held a drink in her hand, biting the straw, while squinting at him with her other eye. This made Zhang Chen feel a little uneasy, as if he were being watched by a fierce cat.

"You're playing the victim again. Playing the victim is just an excuse. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get your share of the profits. Let's cooperate. I won't treat you unfairly!"

Zhang Chen grinned. "If that's how you put it, then we can talk."

Jiang Rong sneered, "You really don't act until you see the benefit."

Zhang Chen asked again, "Is there something you need to prepare for?" Just as he felt that Jiang Rong might have left something unsaid, someone suddenly waved to them, "President Jiang! President Jiang!"

Zhang Chen looked over and saw a pretty girl tentatively waving at Jiang Rong.

The two looked over, and Jiang Rong's expression immediately hardened.

Zhang Chen was familiar with the girl; her name was Yang Xiaole, the number one female host on Jiang Rong's program. She had only been there a short time and was considered a peripheral host, whom he often saw on the show.

Jiang Rong felt like covering her face, but then she thought that it was possible to run into acquaintances at a roadside stall like hers and Zhang Chen's—after all, the world is a small place. Seeing that Yang Xiaole didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon, she could only ask, "Do you want to…?"

"Great, great!" Yang Xiaole quickly approached them and sat down next to them. "I was hungry too, Mr. Jiang. We weren't filming today, so I was just saying I'd come over to buy some clothes. I didn't expect to run into you! And this is..."

“Oh, Zhang Chen…” Jiang Rong began, intending to say that this was the behind-the-scenes boss of the show, but she stopped herself and said, “My friend.”

Yang Xiaole's gossip instincts immediately surged. Her hesitation to acknowledge Jiang Rong stemmed from the fact that Jiang Rong looked youthful and radiant today, a stark contrast to her appearance on the show. She and Jiang Rong were the same age; she had started as a wedding emcee, and her excellent stage presence during her TV hosting audition made her well-suited for guiding and hosting relationship-themed programs. Jiang Rong had noticed her and recruited her, so she considered herself Jiang Rong's subordinate.

"President Jiang..." Zhang Chen looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"She was just joking, saying I was the commander-in-chief, so she always called me General Manager Jiang," Jiang Rong explained, her face slightly flushed.

"Haha, I was just joking. But actually, our teacher Jiang... Jiang Rong takes great care of us!" Yang Xiaole looked at Zhang Chen's youthful face, which was clearly that of a high school student, with fuzzy hairs just sprouting at the corners of his lips. Realizing something, he became a little tongue-tied and quickly corrected himself, "Oh, oh no, Planner Jiang, it's not that she takes care of us, she's just very approachable."

"No, no, Xiao Jiang... Jiang Rong and I... we work together very well!" Yang Xiaole thought to himself, who says that a host is necessarily eloquent in everyday life? I have a script on the show, but without a script, I don't even know who I am!

Jiang Rong sighed, "Alright, stop talking."

Yang Xiaole covered her mouth with both hands, then reached for the skewers in front of her, her big, dark eyes darting around as she tentatively asked, "Then, I... I'll eat the skewers..."

"Enough to fill you up." Jiang Rong said succinctly, her face dark.

Seeing Zhang Chen laughing beside her, Jiang Rong had no choice but to say to Yang Xiaole, "He is Teacher Wang Bowen's godson and also the chief planner of our program."

Yang Xiaole thought for a moment, still with oil dripping from her mouth as she held the kebab, but her eyes widened as if she had just realized something. "Ha... I saw two names on the chief planner list, Zhang Chen. I didn't realize it at first. I thought it was a ghostwriter hired by Teacher Wang Bowen! He came up with the plan, and this person was responsible for copying it."

Yang Xiaole quickly covered her mouth again, "No, no, no, I didn't mean you're not smart!"

Zhang Chen looked exasperated. Jiang Rong said, "She doesn't actually have any ulterior motives; she's just straightforward."

“I know,” Zhang Chen nodded, “so sometimes it’s very entertaining. We’ll edit in the parts that are entertaining. You have a good eye.”

Yang Xiaole looked at the two of them and said, "Ah..."

Jiang Rong said, "On the contrary, Teacher Wang is just a figurehead in our planning; he is the one who is truly responsible for the program design."

It was only after Jiang Rong's introduction that Yang Xiaole was completely shocked and realized that the person in front of him was actually the real boss behind their program. So, President Jiang and Zhang Chen weren't on a date, but were probably actually reporting on the situation.

But regarding Jiang Rong's outfit today, Yang Xiaole had already been quite impressed with her when she applied for the program hosting job. Jiang Rong might not even know that she already had considerable fame in the industry, mainly due to her appearances at several public events in Rongcheng. Later, when she took charge of the emotional mediation room, her status as the most beautiful girl from the Communication University of China became widely known. Yang Xiaole actually admired her quite a bit, and sometimes secretly bought similar clothes to her. It was a feeling—like liking someone, working with them, partnering with them, seeing them every day—it was a kind of inspiration. But this wasn't romantic love; it was a different kind of attraction—an admiration for someone virtuous.

Jiang Rong's youthful, Korean-style outfit today once again impressed Yang Xiaole. She's a natural clothes hanger; she looks good in anything. Moreover, it brought a completely different vibe from her usual appearances on the show.

Of course, Yang Xiaole wasn't stupid. Jiang Rong's lively attire was something she had never seen before, and it just so happened to appear when she was reporting to the boss? Was it a coincidence? However, her free-spirited personality, coupled with the relaxed demeanor of Zhang Chen and Jiang Rong, made her less reserved as well. She quickly understood Zhang Chen's personality, and thus her words became much bolder.

"Heh, you have no idea, our show is quite envied. Jiang Rong has helped us overcome many difficulties."

Jiang Rong glanced at her and said, "Just eat your food and stop talking nonsense."

Zhang Chen had noticed Jiang Rong seemed hesitant to speak, so he asked, "Has something been going wrong lately?"

Jiang Rong remained silent.

Yang Xiaole said, "It's all because our program has such good ratings that many stations in Rongcheng are now copying us, and even some people on the provincial station are thinking about it!"

Zhang Chen frowned: "What's going on?"

Yang Xiaole said nonchalantly, "What else? You're just an outsourcing company. Even if you have Teacher Wang's name, who brings the benefits and reputation? They don't dare to openly compete with you for power and profit, but they will always support another similar program and plan to package your resources over there."

Zhang Chen looked at Jiang Rong: "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Jiang Rong said, "Teacher Wang knows about this, which means he doesn't want you to worry about it. After all, you're about to enter the second semester of your senior year, which is crucial. Besides, this matter hasn't been finalized yet; it's just that the provincial TV station has this plan. Even if they do it, there's nothing Teacher Wang can do about it. But it's okay for us; we can just start a new program. That's why I told you before that if anything happens, you have to help me."

Zhang Chen asked, "Who wants to leave your show?"

Yang Xiaole said, "It's that 'Owl' Meng Lihui again. She has a niece named Wu Yue who's a host. She's only been at the provincial station for less than a year, and she's already stealing other people's plans, poaching their guests, and robbing advertisers. With such a big piece of the pie like 'Emotional Mediation Room,' how could she not want a piece? She's already secretly encouraging the station to create another program, and now she's poaching people from Jiang Rong's show, planning to take over our program when our one-year contract expires. A complete substitution. Let me make this clear: I will absolutely not betray our program!"

Zhang Chen vaguely knew that the "Owl" they were talking about was a female director of the provincial TV station. She had a hooked nose and triangular eyes, resembling an owl. She was mean-spirited and good at manipulating power, so everyone privately nicknamed her "Owl," and her reputation spread far and wide.

Zhang Chen nodded. This development wasn't unexpected. Their program had become a huge hit, and their relationship with the provincial TV station was outsourced. In this power-driven situation, it was very likely that someone would become envious and try to seize their resources and influence. Even though the program was initially arranged by the provincial TV station director, such internal strife could still lead to unforeseen changes.

After all, connections will always exist. Once things are stable, someone else will take over and reap the rewards. As long as the transition is smooth and doesn't affect ratings and profits, the station director can't say anything. In fact, this is the mainstream development. It's not uncommon for TV stations to reclaim control over their programs. Even CCTV's "Today's Talk" and "Tell It Like It Is" were initially outsourced or semi-outsourced, but were taken back as policies tightened.

Now the policy direction has also changed, and the provincial TV station can easily terminate their contract, and then substitute another similar program to poach key personnel from Jiang Rong's program, thus completing the shutdown.

In this situation, even a powerful team like Wang Bowen's could be replaced. All resources are cut off; co-hosts and guests are poached, advertisers are snatched away, and without a complete falling out, they marginalize Jiang Rong and their team while the show "seems to still exist." When they stop giving them prime-time airtime, there are no ratings, no advertising revenue, and they won't even be able to continue before their contracts expire.

Jiang Rong said, "If we don't resist, we might still get some advertising revenue and some cash flow. But if we really break off relations, they might have even less to worry about."

Zhang Chen nodded.

He could sense the frustration and anger in Jiang Rong and Yang Xiaole's hearts, and he also understood why Wang Bowen had privately told Jiang Rong not to bother him with such matters.

Because it is indeed full of the scheming and filth of the adult world.

They simply didn't want someone like Zhang Chen, brimming with creative aspirations, to be corrupted by the darkness of reality, thus affecting his college entrance exam preparation in the second half of the year and his chance to change his destiny.

Zhang Chen thought for a moment and said, "This matter is not difficult to handle, but I have a question. The female host, Wu Yue, is the deputy director's niece, but Wang Bowen is also a good friend of the director. Moreover, our content production capabilities are so strong. Is that owl just going to let her niece run wild? What if she messes it up?"

Yang Xiaole then said mysteriously, "I've heard... I've only heard... that Wu Yue is quite powerful. She, she seems to be Liu Qi's mistress! You know Liu Qi, right? He's the CEO of Yipin Real Estate, a big shot who has connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles. Yipin Real Estate ads run on the provincial TV station every day, that's all thanks to Wu Yue! With this kind of influence and the support of Meng Lihui, she can really wield a lot of power within the station!"

Zhang Chen was stunned. Liu Qi really was everywhere!

Now I understand. No wonder Yipin Real Estate's advertisements are everywhere. It seems Liu Qi has big ambitions. What is he trying to do? Does he want to control Rongcheng's publicity channels and media through his mistress?

It seems that after being tricked by Chen Xuran and Huang Huifen last time, he discovered the advantages of this approach and decided to seize the high ground first, so that he can launch a devastating attack later.

(End of this chapter)