Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 230 Living a Hateful Life

Putting aside the incident of meeting Li Chengru, Zhang Yan, Guo Chuanlin, and Dou Wei sat down at the table and naturally started talking about Luo Qi.

Guo Chuanlin sighed, "I know that bastard who did it too. His nickname is Ma San'er. He used to like fighting and being violent. I didn't expect him to be so old and still try to harm a young girl."

As he spoke, he poured himself a glass of beer and said to Zhang Yan, "How about I go... Sigh, never mind."

"Don't forget about it, Fourth Brother, just say what you have to say."

"I'm getting a bit tired of this industry lately, but I don't know what I could do if I left this circle."

Guo Chuanlin poured himself another beer and sighed, "When I first entered the scene, rock and roll wasn't like this. Back then, people were shouting about pursuing freedom and breaking free from shackles, but now they just learn whatever is dirty and smelly."

Dou Wei slammed his beer glass down on the table, his voice booming, "So we need to make purer music, something deeper..."

Zhang Yan ignored him and said to Guo Chuanlin, "Fourth Brother, if you want to come and fulfill your dream, I will welcome you with open arms. But if you really want to leave the entertainment industry, why not try real estate? I reckon there will be huge profits to be made from land speculation in the next twenty years."

Guo Chuanlin laughed upon hearing this, "No wonder you've hoarded so many houses—let me think about it, anyway, there's no rush."

…………

Zhang Yan stayed in the capital for another night.

By the morning of the third day, the people transferred from the company had completed their handover with Xu Zhenghui, and the five people and two cars returned to Tianjin—the reason there were five people was because Zhang Fang had also come along.

Before leaving, Wang Luyao bought a bunch of newspapers, including one about Luo Qi's incident. Seeing the words "President Zhang generously donated to fulfill dreams," she felt honored and shared the newspaper with Tian Zhen and Zhang Fang.

Upon arriving in Tianjin, Zhang Yan dropped Tian Zhen and Wang Luyao off at their respective residences, then took his sister to the television station.

Entering the TV station building through the back door, Zhang Yan asked his sister, "I'm going to check out the underground recording studio, what about you?"

"Did the production team replace many people?"

"We only added a few new people."

"Then I'll go over and say hello first."

Seeing her younger sister walk briskly upstairs, Zhang Yan couldn't help but feel secretly gratified. After all, she was a young woman in her early twenties who had already learned to be independent.

However, while I was happy, I also felt a little bittersweet.

He went down into the recording studio alone and saw Zhang Weining and Han Lei still working on the demo. He went up to them and asked, "Brother Ning, how's that Zhou Xun doing?"

Zhang Weining took off his headphones, spread his hands, and said, "The talks broke down."

"Did the deal break down?"

If it passes, it passes; if it doesn't, it doesn't. How could the negotiations break down?
Zhang Yan asked incredulously, "Is she dissatisfied with our company's treatment?"

"That's not it."

Zhang Weining said, "That's how it is. The girl's voice is alright, even slightly better than Wang Luyao's. Originally, according to your instructions, we were going to take her to the company to sign a contract."

However, Han Lei discovered that the girl smoked heavily and especially loved spicy food. Worried that this would damage her throat, he suggested to Wang Zhongqi that Zhou Xun must add a restriction: she must quit smoking and eat less spicy food.

"She doesn't agree?"

"She disagrees."

Zhang Weining spread his hands and said, "She said it was her personal freedom, but the talks broke down in the end. Then she said she was going to sign up for the TV station and participate in the second season of 'I Am a Singer'."

This girl...

Zhang Yan shook his head speechlessly. So many people are begging and pleading to join the dream-fulfilling program, yet someone would give up this hard-won opportunity for the freedom to smoke.

It's probably because they're too young and haven't experienced the harsh realities of life yet.

"Then forget it. Since she gave up herself, let's focus on finding some good prospects."

In fact, Zhang Yan has recently taken a liking to two people, but given that the slogan of this season is fairness and impartiality, he has not yet directly recruited them, but has only subtly expressed his appreciation.

"correct."

Zhang Yan remembered something and said, "I'm planning to have Tian Zhen, the defending champion, perform the opening act during the round of 32. Brother Ning, what song do you think would be suitable for her to sing?"

Zhang Weining thought for a moment and said, "How about 'Sing If You Want'?"

"It's not impossible."

Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment, thinking that Chen Hong didn't really care about her achievements in the music industry, and even if she was surpassed by Tian Zhen, it wouldn't be a big deal, so he nodded in agreement. Doing so also made it seem like the succession was in order.

After finishing his conversation with Zhang Weining, when he returned to the program crew upstairs,
Zhang Yan noticed that Zhang Fang had already become friendly and joking with everyone, so he felt a little relieved. As for the rest, he would have to wait until Zhang Fang finished hosting the show before he could decide whether to completely step down.

"boss Zhang!"

At this moment, Shen Xia, the deputy director of the production center and Zhang Yan's assistant in this program, suddenly came over and asked, "Could we invite that little girl who was blinded to our program?"

"forget it."

Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "The doctor said that if that girl continues to sing high notes, she may lose sight in her other eye as well. We don't need to take that risk."

"That's such a pity."

Shen Xia was a little disappointed. When Zhang Fang mentioned this, she thought she could use it to create some hype and make the young girl famous.

Zhang Yan smiled. Having been by his side for a long time, the people at the TV station had also begun to have the concept of creating sensational stories. However, replicating the classic case of 'Breast Origin' was not so easy.

"Have someone take Fangfang to see our stage, and let her get familiar with the new mechanisms first."

"No need, I'll take Fangfang there myself."

Shen Xia volunteered and took Zhang Fang to the TV station's studio.

Zhang Yan briefly checked the progress of the past two days, and after confirming that there were no problems, he prepared to return to his office.

Just then, a staff member from the registration office ran over to report that they had encountered a contestant who was unsure about their choice and hoped that Mr. Zhang could give them some advice.

"What makes you unsure?"

Zhang Yan was a little puzzled. Because there were too many applicants, the TV station added an interview for applicants at the last minute. It was a matter of singing a few lines in person. As long as your singing ability was slightly better than the average person, you could pass.

Logically speaking, this method has been in effect for more than half a month, and the people at the registration office should already know who can pass and who cannot.

"The man's voice was fine, it was the song he sang—he sang a Yunnan folk song, the kind that's a bit erotic."

As the staff member spoke, he swayed his body and sang a few lines of 'Ali Li'.

"Let's just cancel his registration."

After listening, Zhang Yan decisively passed on the idea. Whether the person was deliberately trying to attract attention or thought there was nothing wrong with doing so, they were an unstable factor.

After the staff left, Zhang Yan suddenly realized that his attitude seemed somewhat familiar, as if it were the same as the kind of review process in his dream where they would rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.
uh~
Is this what it means to become the person you hate the most?
…………

For some time afterward.

The production team continued to proceed in an orderly manner. Zhang Fang performed very well in both rehearsals. Although she lacked Zhou Tao's composure and poise, she gained a more playful and relaxed feel.

Of course, overall it's still a bit inferior to Zhou Tao's.

Meanwhile, Han Lei's recording of the demo was not going smoothly. The powerful version was finished long ago, but the revised version of "Dream Broken at Baidi" was not satisfactory after many attempts.

Fearing they wouldn't be able to finish the film in time, Zhang Yan and Zhang Weining discussed it and called director Wang Fulin again to ask if they could have someone else sing this version.

"Don't rush."

As a result, Old Wang said somewhat dejectedly, "The part where Liu Bei sees the ghosts of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in his dream in Baidi City is considered by the higher-ups to be suspected of promoting feudal superstition, so they plan to delete it—if this part is deleted, there's no need to add any more songs."

Got~
All that work for nothing.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Weining started cursing. Han Lei remained silent for a while, but then said firmly, "Let's keep going. I refuse to believe we can't sing this version well!"

"But now..."

"We can put it in the album!"

Seeing that Han Lei was determined, Zhang Weining slammed his hand on the table and said, "Fine, I'll revise it again. I refuse to believe I can't come up with a satisfactory version!"

It was clear that both of them were getting a little carried away.

Zhang Yan didn't stop them, but reminded them to send the version full of heroic spirit to Wang Fulin first, and then went to prepare for their long trip.

The TV station's satellite is finally going to be launched. As one of the guests, he needs to go to the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center with Ma Yuan and Yan Xiaoming to attend the satellite launch ceremony.

Just as they returned from Jiuquan, the film crew of "The New Dragon and Phoenix" was about to move to Tianjin for filming.

(End of this chapter)