Love Variety Show: The despised me exploded in popularity

Jiang Ling finished reading the score and looked up, somewhat stunned.

After roughly clapping the beat and singing it once, she fell silent. The music seemed like walking alone on Xinghai Street under the drizzle after finishing a performance.

Wearing an oversized sweatshirt, alone with her music, holding an umbrella on her way home.

Walking for a long, long time on the street, it was unclear whether it was loneliness or a kind of tranquility. The cold drizzle hitting her face made her wish the rain would never stop, letting her longing continue...

After coming back to her senses, Jiang Ling sent a message to Xu Qingyan.
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"Received, thank you Teacher Xu for the new song."

"I will transfer the payment in a bit. Is it convenient to sign the contract tomorrow?"

A few minutes later, she received Xu Qingyan's reply and breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he didn't care much about the money, simply squandering his talent.

"How I envy him," she said with a thud as she slumped back in her chair and murmured to herself.

After a while, Jiang Ling let out a sigh and adjusted her mood. She took out her phone and scrolled through Weibo, her pupils involuntary shrinking as she did.

She, as a popular young actress, had participated in the CCTV's Lantern Festival Gala four years ago. The general director of that gala was Ji Shi'an. At that time, she was at the peak of her popularity but felt like she was walking on thin ice.

Director Ji Shi'an's status was at its zenith back then, and it was said that he nearly had the chance to become the deputy director for the main variety department of the state television. However, that year's gala was a failure.

The backlash online was overwhelming so much so that Jiang Ling hadn't heard any news about Ji Shi'an for three or four years.

Although she hadn't followed up on the event, she had in fact followed his Weibo account. Now Ji Shi'an's account had posted new content – it was a group photo.

In the photo, the director and the main creative team were taking a group picture, likely in a conference room with a gray tablecloth. A banner hung on the wall, reading "The People's Spring Festival Gala."

There were about a dozen people in the photo, filling up the frame. In this ordinary photo, she spotted someone familiar – it was Xu Qingyan!

At that moment, Jiang Ling even doubted her eyes for a second.

She looked several times to confirm and finally rested at ease. Although he was standing at the edge, he was indeed a member of the main creative team.

"Ji Shi'an, director of the Chang'an venue..." She found the answer in the comments section below the photo, unsurprised, but puzzled as to how Xu Qingyan got involved there.

In the end, she couldn't resist and drafted a message.

"Teacher Xu, you're on the Spring Festival Gala..."

But that's not right, she crossed it out and tried again, "Teacher Xu, how come you're a main creator for the Chang'an venue Spring Festival Gala..." She edited it several times and eventually deleted all of them.

After a long sigh, she sent a message saying, "Congratulations Teacher Xu on becoming a member of the Spring Festival Gala creative team."

A few seconds later, he responded with several question marks.

At a loss for words, Jiang Ling sent him a screenshot of Ji Shi'an's post, apparently, he was unaware that the creative teams for each venue of the Spring Festival Gala are typically announced in mid-October.

Now it's the end of October, which is rather late.

Announcing the creative team doesn't involve program details, so it wouldn't be an issue. Moreover, some programs might even be undergoing final revisions in late December.

Artistic performances are like that, the bottom line is flexible.

Once Xu Qingyan confirmed it himself via message, Jiang Ling couldn't help but ask.

"Teacher Xu, how...how did you get in there?"

"What's so difficult about that, I just passed by," Xu Qingyan's messages flew in, each more preposterous than the last, "Good looks, distinguished temperament, artistic vibe, you know?'

"When I stood there, I was the very image of a melancholic youth. The director asked me why I looked so sad, and I talked to him about Beethoven's 'Disqualification of Humanity.'"

"And then I was in. Is it very 'blue'?'"

Jiang Ling: "....."

For a moment, she couldn't tell if he was a jokester or just liked to give people the runaround. In her memory, Xu Qingyan always kept his distance from her; this was the first time he had joked with her.

After... formally confirming the collaboration.

After a moment's thought, she casually sent the screenshot to Lin Chuan and received a reply from him in almost half a minute.

"For real?"

Jiang Ling: "What do you think, there's even a photo."

At this moment, the clueless Teacher Xu had just finished replying to Jiang Ling's message. Bored and listless, he leaned back in his chair, staring blankly out the window at the vast expanse of twilight.

His thoughts were all over the place, phrases like "withered vines, old trees, and a flurry of patches, Xiao Qiao moving waters, wife of a man" flitted through his mind. These past two weeks had been kind of tiring, and his brain was starting to get muddled.

He had returned yesterday non-stop and immediately started recording "Qinghua Ci."

Today he was back to work as normal at Chanming Studio, went out for lunch in the car with Pei Muchan to try out a new place, and nearly got recognized by a few people, but managed to bluff his way through it.

The office was empty except for him.

Pei Muchan had been spurred on by what he said yesterday, planning to get the album done early. Not just to finish it, but to make a high-quality album that was beyond reproach.

It's good for the two little divas to release their albums earlier. Xu Qingyan would also be able to earn a share of the profits without hindering his simultaneous participation in the Spring Festival Gala and the preparation of the company.

He would only be busy for these few months. Once he established the network and got the small company up and running, it would be transformational. Money would come quickly, and he could either harvest resources or become a resource himself.

The barrier of information truly existed objectively. For instance, from Gan Wenchang, he had learned that Xinghai had been supporting red-theme film and television dramas for the past two years.

Get a team together to film, and if it's up to par, you can receive a subsidy. As for the three million funds, how to spend just one million to complete the filming and how to operate it concretely are different matters.

Even if some people are aware, they can only grasp the general idea.

Gan Wenchang, with his extensive connections, even knew about a series of specific operational procedures. It wasn't about repurposing old material for a quick buck; earning some government subsidy for thematic projects was entirely feasible.