Chapter 157: Playing the Fool to Catch the Unwary?
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The news that Kuku Mobile had arrived as promised soon spread through the entire television station as if it had grown wings, stirring up another brief commotion.
Quite a few people even made a special trip to the set of The Singer to take a look for themselves.
For a while, all kinds of discussion could be heard everywhere.
By this point, no one at the station dared underestimate Chen Qi any longer. Many people even began to look at him with a hint of wariness.
This man... was terrifying!
...
In Deputy Station Director Wang's office.
After hearing from her assistant about the outrageous things Chen Qi had said, Deputy Director Wang was stunned for a moment. Once she recovered, she could not help laughing—openly and heartily.
Although she had not heard Chen Qi say those words herself, hearing them relayed to her still gave her the satisfying feeling of having vented her anger.
At that moment, even she had to look at Chen Qi in a new light.
She had not expected that, once he got serious, the young man would be so utterly unrestrained.
Interesting!
She was finding this young man more and more interesting.
...
Next door, in Deputy Station Director Wu's office.
His expression was extremely grim.
To put it more dramatically, he now practically wanted to kill Chen Qi!
Was he pretending to be a pig while secretly being a tiger?
Was that what he was doing?!
That bastard had put on the appearance of an ignorant newcomer when Wu had gone to sound him out a few days earlier, only to turn around and unleash such a devastating move!
Could he be any more devious?
Eighty million?
How the hell had he negotiated that figure?
Wu had been willing to stake half his dignity for sixty million, and Chen Qi had simply turned around and told him he had secured eighty million?
Feeling an enormous sense of crisis, Deputy Director Wu sat gloomily in his office. He thought about it for a long time, yet still could not figure out how that fellow Chen Qi had overtaken him.
Eighty million!
Was Kuku Mobile insane?
With that kind of money, would it not have been better to sponsor a program on another station?
Deputy Director Wu was under pressure now.
This rival, whom he had initially never taken seriously, had suddenly made him feel threatened.
The things Chen Qi had said in public had hardly sounded like something he had blurted out on a whim.
The only thing that offered Wu a little peace of mind was Chen Qi's declaration that he would not use the station's hosts.
He was still too young. He had acted on impulse, had he not?
Just because a few hosts had said they would not host his show, he had been unable to swallow his anger and blurted out those words?
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Was he just throwing a tantrum?
Was that all it was?
Heh. If he did not use the station's hosts, whom could he use?
Without hosts to carry the show along, even the best program would lose much of its appeal.
Young!
He was simply too young!
Deputy Director Wu smiled unconsciously, and his previously tense mood eased somewhat.
There was no way they could allow him to bring in hosts from outside. Wu would also have to make further arrangements concerning those few hosts and absolutely ensure that they did not change their stance.
Although he had lost the first round, the competition was still far from decided.
No matter how impressive the buildup was, it would all amount to nothing in the end if the program itself was not good. He simply refused to believe that Chen Qi could turn his music show into something extraordinary!
...
The studio.
After seeing Chen Qi accompany the senior executives from Kuku Mobile on a tour of the set, everyone on the production team became even more enthusiastic about their work.
They were now filled with energy from head to toe!
Although they still had no idea what the program would ultimately look like, Chen Qi's words and actions that day had given them immense confidence.
They had completely lost interest in the program downstairs, the one they had once envied so intensely.
Because of the few rousing words Chen Qi had spoken, they were now filled with anticipation for their own show!
In a corner of the studio, Qi Qi and Zhang Yichi, who were helping Chen Qi shoulder some of his workload, were also watching him with smiles on their faces.
They were smiling with complete satisfaction.
When they had first arrived at the station, they had immediately sensed the production team's dispirited morale.
They had also heard all kinds of voices predicting that the program would fail, along with the lavish praise being heaped on the show downstairs.
At the same time, they had seen Chen Qi's silence and apparent indifference.
For a moment, they had been confused.
This made no sense.
The Chen Qi they knew was not like this!
How had he suddenly become a completely different person?
It was not until Chen Qi had publicly delivered those thunderous, outrageous declarations that morning.
At that moment, they felt that the image of him in their minds had become fuller once again. That arrogant Chen Qi had perfectly merged with the Chen Qi they remembered.
Yes, this was the Chen Qi they had learned about online—the Chen Qi who seemed fearless of heaven or earth and was forever recklessly courting disaster.
In another corner, Su Xiaoxiao was also directing the production team as they arranged the set.
She had a great deal of work to handle, and it was all rather miscellaneous.
Aside from arranging for the relevant personnel to prepare the set, Chen Qi had also entrusted her with coordinating with the bands, musicians, and post-production team.
She had been present at the brief meeting that morning as well.
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But she had said nothing, merely watching silently from an inconspicuous corner.
When she heard Chen Qi say those words that had left everyone utterly stunned, she too had been badly shaken.
She had learned online about the reckless things Chen Qi had done in the past, but this was the first time she had witnessed it in person.
After seeing him restore the entire production team's morale with just a few words, the image of this boss in her mind had become a little more three-dimensional.
...
Perhaps Kuku Mobile's arrival as promised had, in another way, confirmed some of Chen Qi's claims. Not long after Qian Dafu and the others left, the station director personally issued an order that everyone was to keep quiet.
The fact that the station's hosts had refused to host Chen Qi's program was not to be disclosed!
Beijing Satellite TV had its dignity to protect.
If this news got out, what would the other stations think of them?
If Chen Qi's program truly failed to stir up any waves, then so be it. But now, it seemed that might not be the case.
If it later became genuinely popular, having this matter spread would be utterly humiliating!
However, although the station director appeared to be maintaining neutrality, he had merely said that the matter was not to be disclosed. As for whether the hosts had been right or wrong to take that stance, he said nothing.
Fortunately, the station staff all understood the importance of discretion. They were happy enough to watch the spectacle, but none of them intended to spread the matter outside.
There was no need.
They were people from Beijing Satellite TV as well. Would spreading such a thing not simply invite outsiders to laugh at them?
They were not fools!
And so, the considerable commotion stirred up within the station lasted for a while before fading away, entirely unknown to the outside world.
Under the watchful attention of the entire station, the two programs continued their intense preparations.
At present, what everyone at the station was most concerned about was the host for Chen Qi's program.
He had already declared that he would not use any of the station's hosts, so how was he going to run the show? Was there any chance that his strained relationship with those hosts might ease?
No one knew.
With time pressing, Chen Qi did not offer any further response.
Perhaps influenced by his outrageous declarations, the production team of So Happy became much more low-key. They made no further moves that caused a stir.
Their efforts to buy media coverage and generate publicity outside the station did not create much of a sensation within it either. The only exception was when they recorded the first episode, which caused a modest commotion.
Several major, currently popular stars had been invited for the premiere, and it was said that quite a few station employees had gone to watch the recording.
But even that was no more than a minor disturbance. So Happy was simply carrying out ordinary publicity and had not provoked Chen Qi again.
Chen Qi, who knew that recording had already begun downstairs, did not pay much attention to it. Nevertheless, he unconsciously tightened up his own preparations and arrangements.
Under the pressure, everyone on the production team also quickened the pace of their testing and adjustments.
Amid this high-intensity workload, Chen Qi and the entire program gradually became better synchronized, and their coordination and understanding began to take shape.