Chapter 127: Guarding Against Others

It actually sold over 2,100 copies! This sales speed is second only to Zhang Qiyang's best-selling track on the East Network, "Night Star"! What kind of taste do the people who pay for this song have? How could anyone spend money on such a silly song? Qin Xueyang was completely bewildered by the sudden modest success of "The Five-Ring Song." Has pop music entered the era of fast-food consumerism? Regardless, the higher the sales, the happier Qin Xueyang felt, as Zhang Qiyang had promised her all the online revenue from this song to compensate for her wounded feelings after being tricked into recording it, and as a reward for her recent hard work. A lollipop certainly couldn't soothe her hurt feelings, but the earnings from this song could.

Selling over 2,100 copies in just over an hour—looking at the trend, reaching a total of over 10,000 sales was a certainty! That meant this song could bring her over ten thousand yuan in profit. Thinking of this, Qin Xueyang felt much more balanced.

That night in the studio, after listening to Zhang Qiyang's two spliced masterpieces, "Dark Sky" and "The Five-Ring Song," Li Xuan, Chen Ke, and Xiao Wa were once again conquered by his talent. Chen Ke was the most moved among them; she was increasingly willing to believe that Zhang Qiyang was a super genius worthy of her concern. Later, while having a late-night snack, Chen Ke earnestly offered Zhang Qiyang a lot of advice regarding the filming of "Infinite Challenge" the next day. She also introduced him to every host and guest participating in the show. She specifically pointed out a few people he should be wary of, so he wouldn't get "porcelain-smashed" (used for clout).

Although "Infinite Challenge" was produced by East Entertainment's own variety department, not all the hosts were from East Entertainment. Several MCs were recommended by Magic City Satellite TV and other affiliated parties, having nothing to do with East Entertainment. If the show were to continue, these hosts would certainly be wary of Zhang Qiyang's status and wouldn't dare to overstep their bounds, lest they lose their jobs. But it had already been confirmed that there would be no second season; the team would disband after tomorrow's shoot. Consequently, those artists not affiliated with East Entertainment wouldn't feel the same restraint.

It was even possible that someone like Tan Zhizhong might try to provoke a conflict with Zhang Qiyang during filming, intentionally using the opportunity to stir up news and leech off his immense popularity. Zhang Qiyang was unlike those mainstream celebrities with impeccable images, whom other artists wouldn't dare to provoke for fear of public backlash. "Cannon Master" was different; currently, his public image was quite negative. If there were a particularly shrewd team—one capable of using clout-chasing tactics to the extreme—they might very well have their artist provoke Zhang Qiyang to gain a positive image, potentially hitting headlines while gaining public support. It would be killing two birds with one stone, and such an opportunity was rare. If an artist actually did this, Chen Ke wouldn't be surprised at all, as people in this industry would resort to any devious means to generate buzz. If a highly respected veteran artist like Tan Zhizhong could lower himself to use Zhang Qiyang for clout, let alone those young artists desperately needing news to get famous.

Chen Ke actually regretted her decision; she hadn't judged the situation well and shouldn't have accepted this gig for Li Xuan and Zhang Qiyang. Two weeks ago, the show still had a glimmer of hope for recovery. But after last week's ratings were released, Magic City Satellite TV had already sentenced the show to death. No matter how spectacular the finale that Zhang Qiyang and Li Xuan were recording turned out to be, it couldn't save the program. East Entertainment's variety team had wanted to give it one last push, but Magic City Satellite TV had run out of patience. Last week, the ratings for "Infinite Challenge" plummeted to a pathetic 0.15%, far below the 0.25% "life-or-death" line stipulated in the contract. Magic City Satellite TV decided to cancel the show as per the contract. Terminating it early meant the station would have to pay penalties, but they were determined to do so. A top-five national broadcaster like Magic City Satellite TV simply could not tolerate such a poorly performing show occupying a prime-time Friday slot.

On Monday, Magic City Satellite TV and the East Entertainment team held a meeting where it was decided that only the final episode would be aired this Friday, after which the show would be pulled to make way for a new program next week. Originally, there were three unaired episodes left in the first season, and the finale Zhang Qiyang and the others were set to record was supposed to air the week after next. However, the station wouldn't grant them that time. This left the production team with only two choices.

The first was to edit the two already-filmed episodes together to cobble together a rushed finale and end the show in a disgraceful scramble. This would spare them from filming the expensive grand finale, saving East Entertainment part of the production costs. But without filming the final episode, the show would truly be a failure, ending with a dismal conclusion that would leave a permanent stain on the East Entertainment variety department.

The second choice was to shelve the already filmed episodes and stick to the plan to film the grand finale, then rush the editing and submission process to give the show a proper, dignified conclusion. Even though it was still a failed project, it would at least show a sincere effort to Magic City Satellite TV, ensuring there would be no hard feelings for future collaborations. The executives at East Entertainment had summoned producer Xiao Qiang and director Shen Yulin yesterday. After weighing the pros and cons, the department heads decided to proceed with the final shoot, as the venue was already booked and most of the artists' fees had been prepaid—not filming would mean a total waste.

While the higher-ups insisted on filming, Chen Ke received news from the production team that morale was at an all-time low and everyone had lost the will to fight. Xiao Qiang and Shen Yulin were still trying to boost spirits, but everyone knew the show was over. At its inception, East Entertainment had poured immense resources into making this their flagship variety show. No one expected such a dismal end, and the entire team bore responsibility. Including Xiao Qiang and Shen Yulin, no one in the group would be able to land such a high-profile project in the near future; their prospects were bleak. The mentality of the seven hosts would undoubtedly be affected, and one couldn't rule out the possibility of someone acting out.

In Chen Ke's view, since the show had already tanked, it would have been better to just pull the plug instead of continuing to film, which served only as a form of torture for everyone involved. If she had known it would turn out like this, she would never have let Zhang Qiyang step in for the injured guest. But since the contract was signed and the deposit was received, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and record this final episode.