Chapter 553: Milestone Variety Show

Fan Dao watched the numbers climbing steadily, his emotions complex.

His emotions were complex with every episode of the program, full of anxiety and apprehension; he was not at all like an experienced director with a wealth of worldly wisdom.

The number of concurrent online viewers rose to over 10 million, an incredible figure. Before the season had even finished airing, the view count had already surpassed 100 million.

It was a bona fide phenomenal program.

Yet the more this was the case, the more worried Fan Dao became.

What to do about the next episode?

What to do about the next episode!

What to do about the next episode!!!

This soul-searching question left Fan Dao at a loss.

He had thought about it countless times in his heart: if he had known the program would become this explosive, he should have delayed the recording schedule early on and brought in countless big names to brainstorm the program.

But now, it was entirely a matter of filming whatever came to mind; even he himself did not know what the next episode would be about.

As for the specific content, it depended on luck. Just like the advertising slogan from before, it was a high-fidelity restoration of a Doctor's life.

Fan Dao had lost control of the program as early as the first few episodes.

The tone of the program had been elevated by Ji Xiang to an outrageous level; Fan Dao's mind was completely blank, and he had no idea what else he could film that would satisfy the audience.

"Director!" Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li was completely free of Fan Dao's worries; his face was flushed with excitement, radiating hormones, and he said excitedly, "It broke 10 million!"

Fan Dao nodded slightly, full of worry.

"The program has already ended, but the number of online viewers is still rising! I guess the word-of-mouth is fermenting particularly fast, and many people who hadn't watched the program have started watching."

Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li was very excited, speaking incessantly.

Even though these words had been said after the previous few episodes ended, he still never tired of them, and he wouldn't be tired even if he spoke for a day and a night.

He was too excited to notice Fan Dao's gloomy expression.

"That must be it." Fan Dao was very composed. "Li Zhuren did a lot of homework before accepting the interview."

At the mention of this, Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li couldn't help but laugh.

In order to accept the interview and dub the animation, the Interventional Department's Li Zhuren had dragged the Gynecology Department directors from two hospitals to revise the script for almost a day and a night.

It had to be concise and comprehensive, and it had to explain everything that needed to be said; it sounded simple, but once they actually started, it was an extremely difficult task.

Simply put, to achieve something that appeals to both refined and popular tastes, it is impossible without putting in tremendous effort.

Fortunately, Li Zhuren was very attentive; whether it was the narration or the Patient's surgery, he had done it quite well.

"Director, do you think that after this season of the program ends, it will become a milestone among all variety shows? I think it must be a milestone-style program, the kind that everyone will give a thumbs up to when it's mentioned years from now."

"A milestone, what are you thinking about." Fan Dao scolded, "If you have that kind of Spirit, spend more time thinking about what content would be better for the next episode."

"..." Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li was speechless.

The next episode—these three words haunted the entire production team like a curse; now, whenever he thought of these three words, he felt a mix of anticipation and fear.

Both anticipating the next episode to be a hit and feeling lost about what to film for it, this complex state of mind intertwined to become the psychological state of everyone on the production team, including Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li.

"You stop talking when I ask you to think about serious matters?!" Fan Dao looked at his Xiao Zhu Li and scolded coldly.

He was as afraid now as he had been proud just a moment ago.

Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li scratched his head, knowing that the Director's mood was also particularly contradictory right now, but because he had great ability and great responsibility, his temper was becoming increasingly irritable. It was best for him not to speak; if he said something that made the Director unhappy, he was afraid he would be scolded to pieces.

"I'm asking you a question!" Seeing that the Xiao Zhu Li was slow to answer his question, Fan Dao asked coldly.

"Director, I think... I think..." Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li was caught between laughter and tears.

Perhaps this was the legendary "happy trouble"?

The more happiness there was, the greater the trouble.

"Think what?" Fan Dao looked at the Xiao Zhu Li impatiently.

Under the "death stare," Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li had a flash of inspiration. "Director, professional matters should still be left to professional people. When we were having discussions and brainstorming for inspiration for the first few episodes, didn't Lu Zhuren say that we should have survival of the fittest and introduce fresh blood?"

"Pfft!" Fan Dao said with disdain. "What good is introducing fresh blood? The level of young Doctors is right there; are you planning to find another Doctor like Ji Xiang? Keep dreaming."

"Director, finding another one is impossible, but I think Lu Zhuren's point still has some merit."

What Lu Gang said was certainly reasonable, but Fan Dao felt annoyed the moment he saw Lu Gang.

That guy always pretentiously treated the only remaining strand of hair on his head like a fig leaf, and that image was deeply ingrained in people's hearts; plus, no matter what he said, he was always arrogant and looked at people through his nostrils, so Fan Dao didn't want to adopt Lu Gang's opinion from the bottom of his heart.

"How about I go ask Doctor Ji Xiang?" Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li asked.

"Go ask him, see what Doctor Ji Xiang is doing and if he has any good opinions or suggestions," Fan Dao said helplessly.

When in doubt, look for Ji Xiang; Fan Dao had already developed a path dependency.

No one on the production team opened champagne to celebrate; everyone, including the producer, knew that as the program's results got better and better, Fan Dao's temper got worse and worse.

No one wanted to touch the bad luck; the further away from Fan Dao, the better.

Even though the ratings had broken records again and hit a new high, Fan Dao remained worried.

"Get some rest early." Fan Dao thought for a long time and squeezed out a sentence, "Meeting at nine tomorrow morning to study this."

After speaking, he walked out of the control room with his hands behind his back.

Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li followed all the way, preparing the car, and without Fan Dao saying a word, he drove straight to the Affiliated Hospital.

Asking Ji Xiang was better done in person; Fan Dao's Xiao Zhu Li was very clear about this. Ji Xiang looked young, but his Tai Chi skills were extremely deep; he could be described as slippery and elusive.

The elevator reached the floor of the Hepatobiliary Surgery Department, and as soon as the door opened, Fan Dao saw a familiar face appear before his eyes.

"Xiao Ji!" Fan Dao greeted him very enthusiastically.

"Fan Dao, hello. Coming to the hospital so late, are you here to ask me for ideas for the next episode?" Ji Xiang asked with a smile.

"That's right, Xiao Ji." Fan Dao spoke the truth, "I really don't know what to do anymore."

"I don't know either." Ji Xiang shrugged, watching the elevator being called away by someone, feeling a little regretful.

"Xiao Ji, you must help me think of something." Fan Dao grabbed Ji Xiang and said very enthusiastically, "I'm really at my wit's end, you must help me think. I didn't expect the program to be this popular before; if I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have done what I did in the beginning."

"Let's take it one step at a time," Ji Xiang said with a smile. "I haven't even had any contact with variety shows, so I really can't offer any good suggestions."

(End of chapter)