Chapter 495: Canonized in a Single Battle

Fan Dao's assistant watched the steadily climbing data, a flower blooming on their face—a fresh, vibrant chrysanthemum in full blossom.

The matter of popping champagne at halftime didn't happen, and as for the future, that was for the director to worry about; they were happy enough as it was.

They had already written a bold, colorful stroke onto their own resume in their mind.

"Director! Awesome!" Fan Dao's assistant said loudly.

Fan Dao was silent; it took a full 3 seconds for the assistant to realize the director seemed to be thinking about something.

They glanced at the data in confusion; the peak number of concurrent viewers had reached 8.8 million, setting the highest concurrent viewership record in recent years and becoming the hottest variety show.

Moreover, the third episode had already ended, and after a brief dip in data, the concurrent viewership did not drop rapidly, but instead stabilized on a relatively high plateau and then continued to climb firmly and slowly.

What else could there be to be dissatisfied with?!

Fan Dao's assistant was somewhat puzzled.

"Director, what are you pondering?" Fan Dao's assistant asked in a low voice amidst the cheers and excitement.

The data for episodes 1-3 was gratifying—not just good, but the kind of good that would make it a phenomenal work. With this, what else could Fan Dao be dissatisfied with?

"Now is not the time to be happy, look at the data." Fan Dao pointed at the screen, "The show has ended, but it stopped sliding when there were 6.5 million people online simultaneously. Have you ever seen something like this?"

"No." Fan Dao's assistant shook their head repeatedly.

"I reckon many people are going back to rewatch the surgeries after the show ended," Fan Dao said, "In the past, whether it was going to an accounting firm or a law firm, everyone was just curious; the vast majority of people would never come into contact with those in their lifetime, so they just watched for the novelty.

But hospitals are different; everyone will come into contact with a hospital, and not just once or twice. So, everyone wants to go back and watch the footage here again."

"With the audience going back to rewatch the surgeries, plus the surgical animations, and the word-of-mouth fermentation, I feel the second peak will appear late at night."

Hearing Fan Dao's judgment, Fan Dao's assistant was even more confused.

"Director, this is a good thing."

Fan Dao shook their head, remained silent for a full 10 seconds, and then said, "Meeting!"

"..." Fan Dao's assistant was stunned.

"Let's discuss what to film for the next episode together." Fan Dao slapped the table, stood up, and said loudly.

The cheering in the control room quieted down.

Fan Dao cleared their throat, clapped their hands, and said, "Everyone, everyone, thank you for your hard work."

They said they were working hard, but there was no smile on their face; they were even more serious than before the show started.

Someone who didn't know better might think the show had flopped and Fan Dao was looking for trouble to scold people.

"You have all seen the data for the third episode; I can be certain that this is a fantastic season of work."

"If we keep going like this, the first three episodes alone can challenge for the number one spot of the year."

Number one of the year!

Although everyone saw this point, it was still different coming from Fan Dao's mouth.

"Number one of the year is not enough. This subject matter is exceptionally good; I hadn't expected it before either." Fan Dao began to self-criticize with a calm expression, "Let's put in another burst of effort and strive to turn the third season into a phenomenal work, a national-level work—to be canonized in a single battle!"

Everyone in the control room was silent.

Canonized in a single battle!

The first two seasons were also very popular, but absolutely no one would have thought of the words "phenomenal."

It would be an overestimation to say one phenomenal work could appear in ten years.

Now that Fan Dao had personally said "phenomenal," the hearts of everyone in the production team fluttered.

"Meeting!" Fan Dao shouted loudly.

So, some people immediately moved tables and chairs, starting to set up the room next to the control room as a simple meeting venue.

No one was absent, but when everyone sat down, they stared at each other blankly, and no one spoke. Everyone's gaze kept scanning the data on the screen, feeling restless.

Fan Dao asked two people, but didn't get any meaningful information.

At this moment, the data had returned to the peak of 8.8 million concurrent viewers and was continuing to climb slowly and firmly.

The fermentation of word-of-mouth was actually this fast; it hadn't even passed the night and had already begun after the show ended. Even Fan Dao hadn't expected this.

But the better the show's performance, the more apprehensive and cautious Fan Dao became.

They didn't have a single thought in their mind; they wanted to brainstorm and spark some inspiration. But everyone else was exactly the same, their minds a blank slate.

Damn it!

Fan Dao felt some regret.

If they had known that this season, which had been forcibly arranged, would be this explosive, they definitely would have done more work beforehand.

But regret was useless; they still had to look forward.

"Director, why don't you ask Ji Xiang? Last time we had a meeting, it was also Ji Xiang who proposed a new line of thinking," Fan Dao's assistant said.

Fan Dao's eyes lit up, recalling that scene from back then.

They picked up their phone and called Ji Xiang.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, hello." Fan Dao's tone was ten times more polite than before; it had only taken three episodes to go from perfunctory politeness to genuine admiration.

"Director Fan, hello. Is something the matter? It's so late, are you still recording?" Ji Xiang's bright voice came through.

"No recording, no recording. I'm telling you something—you watched the third episode, right? The data is exceptionally good! It can become the best variety show of the year!"

"Oh, congratulations."

Fan Dao's excitement and Ji Xiang's indifference formed a sharp contrast.

"Doctor Ji Xiang, thanks to your pertinent advice for the third episode. We are discussing the fourth episode, and I was wondering..."

"I don't have any advice; I'm currently in Pediatrics writing Medical Records," Ji Xiang remained very indifferent, "You handle it as you see fit on your end; I will cooperate as much as I can."

"..."

"Director Fan, if there's nothing else, I'm hanging up." Seeing that Fan Dao was slow to speak and that he couldn't solve the director's problem himself, Ji Xiang hung up the phone.

"Xiao Ji, was that the production team calling?" Zhao Zhe asked with a smile.

"Mm, the production team." Ji Xiang pocketed his phone, "Fan Dao asked me what I want to film for the fourth episode; how would I know?"

"Let them come, or I can go." Lu Gang smoothed the precious strand of hair on his head and said solemnly, "They aren't professionals and have no ideas at all. Right now, they need my ideas! Ideas!!"

Ji Xiang glanced at Lu Gang with a look like he was looking at an idiot.

This guy just wanted to be on TV.

Lu Gang had a craving for being on TV; it seemed to be a matter of bringing honor to his ancestors for him.

"Lu Zhuren, if that's the case, should I contact the production team?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Contact them!" Lu Gang pressed his hands down as if he were in a consultation, saying in an unquestionable tone.

Ji Xiang contacted Fan Dao, and someone came to pick up Lu Gang; after everything was finished, Zhao Zhe smiled and said, "Xiao Ji, actually Lu Zhuren isn't just doing this to get on TV himself. The show's effect is quite good; just after it aired, I received 3 calls, all from old Patients and Family Members from Yuanliao inquiring about Interventional Surgery."