Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

More than twenty, that's a lot...

Xu Zhen and the others didn't read Yu Wei's novels; they had only heard that the kid had recently prepared a lot of programs, but they didn't know much about him.

Hearing about eight people was already outrageous enough, but they never expected there to be even more experts. If Liao Ling hadn't mentioned it, they wouldn't have dared to imagine that number.

That's outrageous, really outrageous. Their Spring Festival Gala only has about forty programs, and Yu Wei took twenty of them. How are we supposed to compete?

Xu Zhen and Wang Taikang exchanged a glance. Looking at it this way, it seemed that Yu Wei had already restrained himself. Eight programs seemed like a lot, but it was only a small part of what he had prepared.

They've already reduced the amount themselves; if they still complain it's too much, wouldn't that dampen the guests' enthusiasm?

Eight is fine, let's leave it at that for now. We can cut the rest during the review. There's no need to offend anyone today.

They were aware of this situation. Although Liao Ling's defection was unexpected, there were no major problems in the overall direction.

Actually, their thoughts were the same as Liao Ling's; they also didn't want Yu Wei to appear on too many shows, but they didn't say it outright.

They didn't care whether Yu Wei had any so-called conspiracy or ambition; they were only concerned about their own "safety."

To put it bluntly, even if the Spring Festival Gala gets worse every year, they won't take the blame, because everyone's used to it...

But if someone says they are "forming cliques" or "cultivating power," then that position must be changed, no matter how well the Spring Festival Gala is organized.

They promoted Yu Wei, who became a sensation on the Spring Festival Gala, but then they were accused of "monopolizing" and "centralizing" their positions and were removed from their posts.

They just made do and remained as steady as ever, it was that simple.

Anyone in the director's position would make the same choice: to demonstrate "ideological awareness" through program arrangement. That's just how things are, and there's nothing they can do about it.

Yu Wei must be given important responsibilities because they genuinely want to improve the Spring Festival Gala, but the extent to which he should be given important responsibilities depends on the circumstances.

There's no need to spell it out; Liao Ling will do her best to help them with her idealism and passion...

"Then I look forward to your performance then."

"Understood, Director Xu."

After a brief exchange, Yu Wei left the meeting room. The group looked at each other, and finally all turned their gazes to Liao Ling.

What's wrong with this child today?

"I just think Yu Wei is a bit strange. He only submitted eight programs to the Spring Festival Gala. Where did all the others go?"

Hearing Liao Ling use the word "only," Xu Zhen's feelings were quite complicated. "Eight programs can use 'only,' right?"

"He probably already did a round of screening himself, so we don't need to worry about it."

Yu Wei's program is mostly his own business. They only need to focus on the Spring Festival Gala. As long as it's not submitted for selection, they can arrange it however they want.

"Ah."

Although Liao Ling was nodding, she had a bad feeling. She had been paying attention to Yu Wei for so long and knew him well. This person rarely did anything in vain.

A gun appeared in the story, and it was only a matter of time before it was fired. She didn't think Yu Wei would write so many new works for nothing.

However, Director Xu was clearly not interested in this kind of thing, so Liao Ling had no choice but to give up.

……

After leaving the CCTV building, Yu Wei breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He had actually sensed that these main creators were no ordinary people.

Who would be able to sit in this position?

You can't believe a word they say!
Ye Shengyu, Zhao Rujun, and Feng Qi were relatively at ease with Yu Wei, since they were artists and their work would be recognized as long as it was good.

But director Xu Zhen and assistant director Wang Taikang seem to have deep thoughts and are obviously not easy to deal with.

Liao Ling, who kept staring at him, was actually the most naive one among them; she was just too young.

The judging for the song and dance programs will begin in five days and last for two weeks. Yu Wei dared not delay for a moment and returned to the studio to begin the intensive preparations.

The good news is that the judging for language-based programs still has some time left, so their skits can continue to be refined.

Seeing Yu Wei's serious expression when he returned, Qi Yuan and the others realized that things were not simple. They knew that the Spring Festival Gala would not be as trivial as in the novel.

The group tacitly intensified their training. The more severe the situation, the more they had to seize the opportunity and absolutely not let Yu Wei down.

"To be honest, this trip strengthened my determination to put on a good fake Spring Festival Gala."

Facing Qi Luoan, Yu Wei finally spoke her mind: the real entertainment industry is too complicated, and novels are much more appealing.

He was too lazy to play mind games. There was no point in saying more. Let's show our cards. My makeshift team might just be able to fight!
Two days later, the Spring Festival Gala staff began to confirm the programs participating in the review one by one. Yu Wei and his team had seven songs and one skit, so they naturally reported them in full.

It's worth mentioning that Yu Wei didn't leave any space for his single. Although he hasn't decided on it yet, it's against the rules not to announce the song title.

So Yu Wei wrote "Unforgettable Tonight" to submit, which was both offensive and defensive.

If Senior Chung Ching's song is ahead of his, and he happens to have a song with a similar style, then he can switch songs on the spot and snipe at the wrong song.

If he sings this song right before the show, he'll be a true god of the Spring Festival Gala. Singing it won't diminish his status, and he'll definitely be selected.

The day before the judging, they received their entry numbers. The contestants did not have a program list and could only enter in order.

"I'm number 25, what about you?"

Qi Yuan glanced at his information. This number was alright. He was easy to be used as a reference standard when he appeared in the early rounds, and he would be automatically eliminated when the quota was full. It was just right to be in the middle.

"8."

The eighth act in "Love and Affection" was under immense pressure from team leader Zhang Lingye, as they were scheduled to perform on the very first day. Yu Wei's single was the 47th act; although it's unclear how many shows she participated in, it seemed to be relatively late in the competition.

This is undoubtedly good news for him. I hope that Senior Zhong can go up soon. Respecting the elderly and caring for the young, let the older ones go first. Thank you.

"It's over."

Fei Hong's voice trembled noticeably. When everyone leaned over to look, they were shocked to see a bright mark in his email: ①.

The first to appear?
It's obviously not a good thing to be the first to appear in this kind of audition, because the judges don't know what the overall situation of the later episodes will be, so they will naturally be very picky about the number one performer.

The first one to go up will most likely become a negative example and a unit of measurement...

"Is my luck really that bad?"

Fei Hong's single, deadly shot startled them. This was incredibly unlucky; a poor start would be a significant blow to their morale.

It wasn't just luck; Yu Wei felt that Fei Hong was being targeted.

Of their group, only Fei Hong, Su Jian, and Meng Lei were not on the invitation list at all; Su Jian's skit was not being considered for the time being.

In the chorus of "We Are Family", Meng Lei's team leader Zhang Lingye was someone the higher-ups valued, so he wasn't targeted.

In this situation, if they want to weaken their team, targeting Fei Hong is the best option, since he isn't very popular.

In other words, "Serving the Country with Utmost Loyalty" is basically already in the "sacrifice position," and the probability of it being eliminated is quite high...

Yu Wei certainly wouldn't say that, as it would be too discouraging for his teammates. He could only say that the higher-ups were a bit ruthless, wanting to sacrifice one of them right from the start.

"Don't worry, we'll have a fantastic start!"

Zhang Lingye patted him on the shoulder, "Dude, the more things are like this, the more you have to prove them wrong. Just do it!"

At times like these, the advantage of having an optimist on the team becomes apparent, and Lao Zhang's attitude is truly admirable.

Fei Hong was taken aback when he heard this. That's right, he had nothing to lose even if he was eliminated, so he might as well give it a shot.

If you can't even overcome this small challenge, how can you expect to gain everyone's approval?

He glanced at Zhou Mumu beside him, his eyes filled with a fighting spirit that refused to admit defeat. Even if he was eliminated, he had to let the judges know that Yu Wei had not misjudged him!
"Help, help me take a look."

Lin Yuting softly broke the heavy atmosphere. Although it was somewhat hellish, she couldn't see her own number...

"Number 58, good for the back."

Tong Yulu glanced at the list and saw that this was the last person in their team to participate; everyone else had been selected before the 50th.

Qi Luoan and Yu Wei's duet is number 32, which is relatively late in the list, while Chi Leying's "Come Home Often" is earlier, number 11.

At this point, there was no need for rehearsals anymore. Yu Wei told them to adjust their mindset, not to worry about whether they would be selected, and at least not to be nervous.

The review day has officially arrived.

Upon entering the CCTV area again, Yu Wei's mood was completely different. As a judge, he arrived before his fellow judges.

The judging venue for song and dance performances was no longer a meeting room; Yu Wei was taken directly to the studio, not the venue for the Spring Festival Gala, but the scale of the event was still considerable.

Instead of a long conference table, their seats were now occupied by three rows of professional judges arranged in an arc-shaped tiered configuration.

Each seat is equipped with an adjustable armrest table, and individual digital ratings can be entered into the terminal.

Yu Wei's novels used paper for scoring, but little did people know that high-tech scoring is now used, and judgments can be made with just a few taps on the screen.

What era are we living in that we're still using traditional scoring methods?

The six main creators were directly below the stage, and their view was even better than theirs, but whether they could see clearly wasn't determined by their position...

Yu Wei's seat was in the center of the first row. On the table, in addition to the terminal equipment, a stack of new and more detailed materials had been laid out.

At the top is today's judging process, down to the minute, including breaks, discussion periods, and a list of programs for those participating in the judging.

"Finally, we're seeing some benefits!"

The judging panel still has the program list, which is definitely a good thing for Yu Wei, as it makes it easier for him to study his opponents in advance.

However, Zhong Qing's show isn't today; we'll have to check back later.

Yu Wei adjusted the position of his chair and the terminal, waiting for the selection to begin. True gold fears no fire; he would use any tricks he had up his sleeve.

In front of the main judges' panel, the chief director Xu Zhen kept an eye on Yu Wei's movements. After finding that he had no reaction, he turned his attention to Liao Ling beside him.

"Xiaoling, this is your first time participating in the judging, so you'd better be on your best."

He wasn't offering words of comfort, but rather reminding Liao Ling to take her work seriously and to show her usual professionalism.

Of the six main creators, Feng Qi, as the director of the language-based program, did not participate in the selection. Of the five, he and Wang Taikang were naturally on the same side.

Ye Shengyu and Zhao Rujun are artists, and Yu Wei's musical talent is beyond doubt; they would most likely favor Yu Wei's works.

In a two-on-two even situation, Liao Ling's opinion is crucial; whichever side she leans towards, it will tilt the game in her favor.

However, according to Xu Zhen's observation, Xiao Ling seemed to have some dissatisfaction with Yu Wei, which was undoubtedly a good sign.

The initiative is firmly in their hands...

"Understood, Director Xu!"

Liao Ling nodded seriously. She would definitely give an objective score and wouldn't let her fan bias get in the way! (End of Chapter)