Later that afternoon.
At Zhang Ye's Studio.
Everyone was sitting in a meeting.
"They planned it all out!" Wu Yi said furiously.
Little Wang said, "Central TV Department 1 deliberately did it this way!"
Ha Qiqi said in anger, "By issuing our Cease and Desist Letter, we inadvertently helped them publicize the show and helped them let everyone know that The Voice has a new name. If we knew that this would happen, we shouldn't have played their game! We should've let them promote it longer with the name of The Voice before suing them!"
But Zhang Ye said, "That would be pointless. Even if we didn't say a thing, they would've come up with some other excuse. They aren't stupid."
Zhang Zuo slapped his thigh. "I'm pissed off!"
Ha Qiqi said indignantly, "Those people will really stoop to anything to achieve their goals? Why isn't Central TV Documentary Channel like that? We've worked with Central TV Sports Channel too. They're all very nice people, respectful, and professional in their work. But why does it have to be the largest channel that behaves like this?"
Everyone kept cursing for a long time.
Then, Zhang Ye's cell phone rang.
It was Chen Guang's wife, Fan Wenli.
Zhang Ye said: "Hello, Sister Fan?"
Fan Wenli asked: "Zhang'er, do you know about Sing!?"
"Let Central TV Department 1 do what they want. It doesn't matter to me," Zhang Ye said.
"Well, they just contacted Old Chen and me to ask whether we would like to return to the show as guest coaches." Fan Wenli's words seemed to hold a deeper meaning. "Do you think it will do well?"
Zhang Ye knew what she was getting at. "It should do well. Even without me, it shouldn't affect them much. The platform is already there, so even without any new breakthroughs in the show, the viewership ratings should still be quite good with them retaining the same format. Just go back with Old Chen, hur hur. You don't have to make your decision with me in mind."
Fan Wenli said: "Alright then, I'll think about it for a while longer."
Zhang Ye said graciously: "Sister Fan, there's no need to think too much about it. If the appearance fee is good enough, just go ahead. You can earn the money and gain publicity on TV at the same time. Only a fool would not accept."
Fan Wenli laughed and said: "Alright, I know what to do then."
Zhang Ye understood that Old Fan had called him to give him a heads up. The other party must have given her an offer she couldn't refuse, and she probably still had some feelings for The Voice. However, due to the rocky relationship between Zhang Ye and Central TV Department 1, she was slightly hesitant and probably felt bad about accepting the offer. But Zhang Ye did not think of it this way. Old Fan did not work for him, after all. She was just a friend and coworker, so if she had the chance to gain more fame and money, who was Zhang Ye to stop her? How could he? He couldn't be so particular about such things.
But to his surprise, Chen Guang called shortly afterwards.
The moment the call connected, Old Chen said: "Zhang'er, did Wenli call you earlier?"
Zhang Ye laughed and said: "What's the matter?"
Chen Guang said: "I'm telling you, however much that copycat version of The Voice offers me, I won't be joining them! What nonsense is that? Without you heading The Voice, I won't acknowledge them! But Wenli might be tempted to join, so I argued with her earlier. That woman is too short-sighted! She makes me so angry!"
Zhang Ye said: "Whoa, come on, did you two have to argue over this? It's not even a big deal."
Chen Guang said: "I can't control what she does. The Sing! program team has gotten in contact with the former guest coaches, but I've already spoken to Grandma Zhang Xia, and the two of us definitely won't accept. I didn't check with Sister Zhang, but I doubt that anyone other than you can move her. She probably won't accept the offer either. Only Wenli is keen on returning to the show. I'll speak to her again!"
"Don't."
"I'm terribly sorry."
"Aiya, that's enough."
The call ended.
The studio staff were looking at him.
Ha Qiqi asked, "Are both Teacher Chen and Teacher Fan going to join the production of Sing!?"
Little Wang said anxiously, "Then the show will be even more popular. With the old guest coaches holding the fort, Sing! will be able the shed the 'copycat' tag more easily."
Zhang Ye waved it off. "It's not like that. Sister Fan will probably join, but Old Chen isn't."
Zhang Zuo said, "That's not so bad then. What about Sister Zhang? Could Sister Zhang also…"
Zhang Ye said, "They can't get her to join."
Zhang Zuo heaved a sigh of relief. "Fortunately for us."
Zhang Ye turned serious and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. We should discuss our fourth milestone in the 'Reach the Summit' plan."
The staff each had a copy of the document and information in their hands.
Zhang Zuo spoke, "The first three milestones have been successfully completed. It wasn't easy, but they've helped to build a very strong foundation for the latter part of our plan. For the fourth milestone, we need to create a reality show. We're thinking that since you have a foundation and made your name in this area, a lot of viewers will accept any new show that you come up with. At the very least, it would be propped up by the celebrity effect for a while. Besides, even though the popularity we received from the domain of TV shows is quite large, there's still a lot to be gained and could be expanded upon."
Ha Qiqi nodded and said, "Right. We've analyzed that the popularity you gained in many of the industries that you dabbled in has reached saturation. For example, in the field of Go, it would be pointless for you to beat any additional top players. All of the popularity that you could gain from there has already been earned. And in the field of literature, the previous three milestones you reached by winning the highest honor in the domestic literary field and breaking book sale records have also helped to peak your popularity. There isn't much you can improve on in those areas. There's only the domain of TV shows that we still have a lot of room to work in. There are tons of viewers in this area and the market is huge. Since everyone is receptive to your works, why don't we aim to bring up your popularity in this field to its highest? By making another show that can outdo The Voice, A Bite of China, and King of Masked Singers?"
Zhang Ye said, "What are your suggestions?"
Ha Qiqi and Zhang Zuo gave each other a look.
One of them said, "We were originally going to suggest that you produce a singing show since that's what you are most familiar with. But things have changed. With Central TV Department 1 bringing out The Voice, a signature show, and us being from the old program team, we know full well how popular and loved this show is. So with this condition, it'd be difficult if we were to do a singing show as well."
Zhang Ye laughed and said, "Why's that?"
Zhang Zuo said, "We can't fight fire with fire. If it were anyone else's show, that might be fine. We could probably still take them head on and fight it out! Who's afraid of whom! But The Voice was the most successful show we created, and it's going to have a second season. There'll be too many diehards around. If we really take them head on, it can only be a lose-lose scenario, and no one will be happy in the end. Moreover, our show's popularity would likely fall behind since The Voice has already accumulated a year's worth! Stripped to the waist, our new show is sure to suffer. Our objective isn't to compete with Central TV Department 1. We're looking to reach the summit of the entertainment industry. If both we and Department 1 suffer, the ones who'll lose more will be us!"
Ha Qiqi suggested, "Why don't we make a reality show instead?"
Wu Yi nodded and said, "A reality show is a pretty good idea."
"Yeah, there hasn't been much competition for reality shows recently!" Everyone was chipping in with their suggestions.
Zhang Ye looked at them and said, "Who says that if we film a singing show, we'll definitely end up suffering along with Central TV Department 1?"
"Ah?"
"What do you mean?"
Everyone was stunned.
Zhang Ye said, "The suggestion for a reality show isn't bad either." Thinking, he suddenly looked up and smiled. "I have an idea about a reality show combined with a singing show. Are you guys interested in hearing about it?"
A singing show?
A reality show?
Could these two be combined?
Everyone was stunned again. "What show?"
Zhang Ye narrowed his eyes and said, "I would like to call it: I Am a Singer."