Chapter 153: Now This Will Be Fun to Watch!

Hearing the hurried footsteps behind him, Chen Qi instinctively looked back.

Then, he couldn't help but show an expression of disdain.

Is this never going to end?

"Chen Qi." Du Bin caught up with him, matching his pace. "Want me to let you in on some insider information?" he asked, acting mysterious.

Chen Qi glanced at him and, showing no courtesy, shook his head. "No, thanks."

"..." Du Bin’s mouth twitched. He really felt the urge to stab him!

Do you think you’re something special?

Is that it?

Even if you don't want to hear it, I'm going to tell you!

"I just received reliable news: there isn't a single host in this station willing to host your show." He spoke while closely watching Chen Qi’s reaction.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qi slowed his pace and looked at him with surprise.

"Don't misunderstand; this doesn't have much to do with me." Seeing Chen Qi’s look of disbelief, Du Bin felt a surge of satisfaction. He looked at him with feigned sympathy and said in an innocent tone, "Everyone treasures their own reputation. We’d have to be out of our minds to host a show that so obviously has no future."

Chen Qi remained silent for two seconds, then said with a faint, amused smile, "Well, that makes things interesting."

With that, he continued walking.

Du Bin didn't follow him further.

He watched Chen Qi’s retreating back with great satisfaction, a brilliant smile on his face.

Keep pretending!

Just keep up the act!

I don’t believe you’re truly that calm!

You must be panicking inside!

Without a host, how are you going to produce this show?

Trying to compete with us—you really are overestimating yourself!

***

Back in the studio, Chen Qi continued with his arrangements, not giving a second thought to the gossip Du Bin had shared.

A host?

His show didn't even need a host to begin with, did it?

However, he was a bit curious. Vice Station Chief Wang was also a leader at the station; would those hosts really dare to risk offending her just to target him?

Were they idiots?

Or perhaps, had Vice Station Chief Wu been pulling some strings behind the scenes?

With these chaotic thoughts in his mind, he kept on working.

But to his surprise, half an hour later, the news had spread throughout the entire station.

When the rumors broke, the whole television station was in an uproar!

"Did you hear? No host is willing to take on Chen Qi’s show!"

"No way! Are you serious?"

"It seems to be true. Several hosts have already made their stance clear."

"My god! What is Chen Qi going to do? Without a host, how will his show even work?"

"Who knows!"

"Wow, this is going to be a good show to watch!"

In an instant, almost everyone at the station was whispering about it.

Every staff member who heard the news was shocked, their faces displaying varying degrees of disbelief.

They were stunned!

What was this? A coordinated effort to target Chen Qi?

Although they didn't have high hopes for his music program either, wasn't this going a bit too far?

Yet, once the shock wore off, the staff began to look rather excited.

The intensity of this rivalry seemed far beyond their expectations!

The news quickly reached Chen Qi’s production team.

The moment they heard it, the entire team involuntarily stopped working.

Then, they all turned to look at Chen Qi in unison, their expressions dazed and anxious.

This was an unexpected turn of events.

Like many others at the station, while they knew the show didn't have much potential, they hadn't expected the hosts to react so strongly.

They were actually choosing to risk their superiors' criticism rather than host this program.

Without a host, was this show, which hadn't even started yet, doomed to fail?

In the center of the stage, Chen Qi, who had been discussing something with the lighting supplier, was also taken aback.

He hadn't expected this news to spread so brazenly.

What exactly were they trying to do?

"It's fine, everyone keep working. I'll handle it." After offering some reassurance, he quickly walked out of the studio.

His face was grim.

Demoralizing the troops!

His opponents were trying to crush his team's morale!

He was starting to get angry.

If they wanted to compete, they should do it properly—why resort to these petty tactics?

He didn't need a host, but the rumor was affecting the morale of his staff!

He just wanted to make a decent show; why were there so many headaches involved?

To his surprise, just as he stepped out of the studio, he saw Vice Station Chief Wang hurrying toward him.

Clearly, she had received the news as well.

"Chief Wang," he greeted her, asking with frustration, "What is going on?"

"I've looked into it, you don't need to worry." Vice Station Chief Wang, her expression equally unpleasant, tried to remain calm. "Tell me, which host do you want?"

"Huh?" Chen Qi was stunned.

"Just say the word, and leave the rest to me. I will make sure they come to you," Vice Station Chief Wang said firmly.

Chen Qi hadn't discussed the matter of a host with her, so she hadn't taken the initiative to worry about it.

She hadn't expected this kind of situation to arise.

When she heard the rumors, she had someone inquire about it. She wasn't sure about the minor hosts, but the famous ones had indeed made it clear they wouldn't help Chen Qi.

Their reasoning was that hosting such a hopeless show wasn't worth the trouble.

She was so furious she could have pointed at their noses and cursed them out.

Getting a bit full of themselves, aren't they?

Since when did they get to pick and choose their programs?

Observing the dark look on Vice Station Chief Wang’s face, Chen Qi chuckled and said bluntly, "Chief Wang, don't get worked up. Let them stir up trouble if they want; I don't need a host for this show."

Not to mention that the show didn't require one in the first place, even if it did, he wouldn't use people like them.

You can't force a melon to be sweet; even if he forced them to join, they wouldn't necessarily put in any effort.

"Don't worry, I will definitely... huh?" Vice Station Chief Wang, who was about to say more, suddenly froze.

Don't need a host?

What did she mean, she didn't need a host?

How could a show proceed without a host?

"Are you serious?" she asked, stunned.

"Don't worry, I have my own arrangements," Chen Qi said with a smile, nodding.

Vice Station Chief Wang looked at him skeptically, and upon realizing he wasn't just acting out of spite, she was dumbfounded.

She couldn't fathom how a show could exist without a host.

"Chief Wang, does this have anything to do with the floor below?" Chen Qi asked tentatively.

Vice Station Chief Wang glanced at him, and after a moment of silence, she shook her head with a bitter smile. "There's no smoke without fire; it certainly has something to do with them."

Once his suspicions were confirmed, Chen Qi didn't say anything more.

"Alright, let's leave it at that. Let me know if you need anything," Vice Station Chief Wang said. After a brief update on the progress of the show, she prepared to leave.

Just then, her assistant hurried over.

She had brought another piece of major news.

The title sponsor for *The More You Play, The More You Start* had been secured.

Of course, that wasn't the point. The point was that their sponsorship fee had broken the station’s record.

60 million!