Chapter 55: Super Girl and a Small Gathering

This summer, if you want to talk about what's explosive, it has to be "Super Girl".

Since the regional auditions began in March, it has been dominating the entire variety show market.

Entering July, "Super Girl" ushered in the national top ten competition, which triggered a massive amount of viewing by students on summer break; there were even no small number of entire families watching together.

Once the competition entered the national top ten, it sparked a frenzy of nationwide participation. Even if you didn't follow the program, as long as you had a mobile phone, it would inexplicably be borrowed by people around you to vote for their favorite contestants.

You might even be stopped on the street to borrow a phone; it really was crazy to that extent.

Wei Jin was no stranger to this talent show in his past life, especially when the third-place winner of the first Super Girl season, Zhang Hanyun, was born in Shudi; many senior high school girls at his school went to compete, all dreaming of becoming famous overnight just like Zhang Hanyun.

However, Wei Jin never imagined that one day he would go to watch it in person, and it was only because of a favor he owed from promoting "Crazy Stone" previously—there was no other way.

On August 26, the second "Super Girl" ushered in its grand finale, and Wei Jin appeared at the competition venue as a surprise guest in his capacity as an internationally renowned Gold Medal Producer.

Many in the live audience didn't recognize him and just thought this guest was quite handsome. When host Wang Han introduced Wei Jin's identity and listed his works, it caused a burst of gasps from the audience, and the contestants on stage had eyes that were practically glowing.

"Director Wei, do you usually watch our program?"

Li Xiang took over the topic and asked.

"Of course, I am quite impressed by several of the contestants."

Wei Jin wasn't lying; he was indeed quite impressed. This season could be considered the most successful season of Super Girl.

"Then what is your take on who will be the champion tonight?"

Li Xiang continued to ask; guest predictions before the competition were also a major gimmick of the program.

"I'm watching it while sitting down."

Wei Jin cracked a joke, looked at the bewildered crowd at the scene, and then explained.

"I am more optimistic about Li Yuchun and Zhang Jingying."

"Could you tell us the reason?"

Wang Han was a bit curious; this was also what the live audience wanted to know.

"For Li Yuchun, I am more optimistic about her image—androgynous style, and she looks quite heroic. Usually, this type of image is popular with both men and women on screen, so I imagine many viewers will like her. As for Zhang Jingying, it is purely because I personally admire her singing skills."

Wei Jin gave an explanation, and subsequently, the host interacted with other guests and judges.

After several rounds of song performances, the final result was decided by audience voting. As Wei Jin expected, Li Yuchun still won the championship, Zhou Bichang won the runner-up, and Zhang Jingying won third place. They did not receive more favor from the audience because of Wei Jin's optimism, and the gap between them and the top two was still quite large.

In the final acceptance speech segment, the three of them unanimously expressed their hope to have the opportunity to sing Wei Jin's new song.

"This song is called 'Painted Heart', and it will serve as the theme song for the movie 'Painted Skin'. As the saying goes, it is easy to paint skin and bones, but hard to paint the heart."

Wei Jin fulfilled his previous promise.

This time, Wei Jin almost crashed. After the lyrics and music were written, the company's music director discovered that the melody of this song was a Japanese song and thought it was an adaptation, so he reminded him about copyright issues. Only then did Wei Jin obtain the relevant copyright.

This incident also reminded Wei Jin that he was not omnipotent after all; in the future, he should check things out before writing songs.

As for who would sing it, after communicating with the production team, it was not announced on the spot, leaving some suspense to continue increasing the heat for the contestants later on.

After a tedious and dull process was finished, it was already past 11 o'clock. He Laoshi came to invite Wei Jin for a late-night snack.

Last time, Wei Jin had refused due to a tight schedule, but this time it was hard to push it away again.

He Laoshi probably also felt that just two people would be a bit monotonous, so he invited the three contestants and the two hosts to join; He Laoshi really knew how to conduct himself.

The group of seven traveled light and arrived at a private kitchen restaurant. The decoration style was very retro, with a bit of a "small bridge, flowing water, and family" feel.

The three contestants had all signed with Tianyu Company and could be considered "one of our own" at Mango TV, but the three of them still couldn't help but feel a bit constrained at the table.

And as for who would sing "Painted Heart", they didn't know either, so they appeared somewhat uneasy.

"Don't be nervous. You are all very familiar with the three of us, and Wei Jin is about the same age as you; just treat it as a gathering of friends."

Seeing that the three were a bit uncomfortable, He Laoshi comforted them gently. "That's right, don't be constrained, relax. I don't eat people."

Wei Jin looked at the three who hadn't debuted yet and felt as if he had aged.

In fact, it was no wonder the three were nervous; the person in front of them was an internationally famous director, a Gold Medal Producer, a film and television company boss, and the one who single-handedly made Bitter Love Song King Huang Bai and the Goddess of Victory Scarlett, who was sweeping North America, famous.

The gap in status between them was too large, and even the Tianyu Company they signed with was not in the same league as Wei Jin at all.

"Director Wei, is your new movie in post-production? About when will it be released?"

As a woman, Li Xiang started to change the subject to help the newcomers out.

"It's hard to say. It's still doing special effects in North America. I estimate it will be at the end of the year."

Wei Jin answered, "By then, I'll probably have to come to your station to do some promotion."

"That's no problem. You don't know, but the last time you came, the ratings for that episode were quite high. The station leaders even said your sense for variety shows is not bad."

He Laoshi agreed readily, taking the opportunity to praise the effect of the "Those Years" crew's appearance on the show last time.

"Don't worry, this time I'll book it in advance so I won't cause you any trouble, haha."

Hearing this, Wei Jin was also a bit helpless. It wasn't that his sense for variety was strong; it was that the variety shows at this time were truly lackluster.

"Director Wei, do you think there is anything in our program that needs improvement?"

Wang Han couldn't get a word in alone, so he also took the initiative to bring up a topic. He hadn't become famous yet at this time and couldn't compare to He Laoshi.

"Hmm, hard to say, hard to say."

There was no need; it wasn't his own program, and Wei Jin was too lazy to point fingers at others.

"It's okay, it's just us few. Last time you said you'd give my program some suggestions; let's do it together this time."

He Laoshi also felt it would be good to hear Wei Jin's views. Although they weren't in the same circle, there were commonalities after all.

"Then I will speak rashly, and you can listen tentatively, okay?"

Seeing that He Laoshi was also full of thirst for knowledge, Wei Jin stopped holding back. Giving some advice could also be considered building a relationship with Mango TV; if it was truly useful, others would owe him a favor.

"Let's talk about Super Girl first. This program has been held for two seasons and is becoming more and more explosive, but the matter of audience voting is becoming more and more outrageous. Public opinion has already shown some signs of backlash."

What Wei Jin said was the truth. The program's ratings were already very high, and they had already earned quite a bit in sponsorship and advertising fees, yet they were still targeting the audience.

You have to know that audience voting costs one yuan per text message, and there were no limits. Some people could vote hundreds of times a month, and there were even children who stole their parents' phones and spent thousands of yuan to send text messages to vote. It was truly outrageous, and the media had already reported on it. For Mango TV to pull this move, their greed was truly a bit ugly.

"As for 'Happy Camp', the main issue is that the program has existed for too long and lacks new ideas. We can try inviting more popular stars or following real-time hot topics. In addition, the interactive game segments could also be changed. It's really not that my sense for variety is strong; it's that you guys are too weak."

Speaking until the end, Wei Jin complained a bit; last time playing games on the show, it had made Wei Jin depressed, it was truly too silly.

"What you said, it indeed makes sense; for a show to last a long time, one still cannot just look at the immediate present. I will chat with the station leaders later, thank you, Wei Jin."

He Laoshi savored these words carefully upon hearing them, and suddenly understood in his heart.

Although Super Girl had nothing to do with He Laoshi, as the face of the station, He Laoshi's opinion was still very important.

"Teacher Wei, do you favor singer-songwriters more, or do you favor singer-performers?"

The meal was already half-eaten when Zhang Jingying finally plucked up the courage to speak; the other two were also looking at Wei Jin with burning gazes. It was obvious that, having just debuted, they hoped to receive guidance from an industry bigwig so they could take fewer detours in the future.

"Hmm, this question is actually a bit one-sided. What I favor most is of course the singer-songwriter, but such all-around talents are truly too rare. Next would be the songwriter; if one has talent, one will eventually have a chance to stand out. As for those who only have singing skills, I like them very much, but the competition is quite fierce, so it all depends on the company's promotion."

Wei Jin talked about his own understanding of the Singer profession; as for whether it was correct or not, he was not responsible.

The three of them also looked thoughtful upon hearing this.

Afterwards, the few of them started chatting about some gossip in the circle. Come to think of it, Wei Jin really didn't know much, and he listened with great interest. A newbie author writing a book for the first time, kneeling and begging for collections, follows, catch-up reads, and recommendations. Thank you everyone. A newbie author writing a book for the first time, kneeling and begging for collections, follows, catch-up reads, and recommendations. Thank you everyone.

(End of this chapter)