Chapter 27 : Changes
Chapter 27 - Changes
Chen Ran arrived at the TV station. Director Zhang had already instructed people to prepare the materials and handed them all over to him.
He didn’t lack many materials; it was mostly audience viewership data. While other data could be found online to some extent, this specific data was only available within the TV station.
Director Liu Bing was slightly surprised to see Chen Ran. "Aren't you off today?"
Chen Ran looked up, greeted him, and said, "There were some things I hadn't finished handling, so I came back for a bit."
Director Zhang had only just submitted the application and didn't know the station's opinion yet, so he hadn't told Director Liu Bing or the others.
It wouldn't be too late to notify them and handle the work handover once things were finalized.
If he spoke now and ended up having to stay here after all, it would be quite embarrassing.
Liu Bing saw that Chen Ran’s complexion was a bit haggard and knew he had stayed up late. He said concernedly:
"Rest well since you're on holiday. Staying up too late isn't good for you."
Chen Ran smiled. "Thanks, Director Liu. I can handle it."
Liu Bing shook his head. Seeing that Chen Ran was busy, he took his leave tactfully.
The ratings were still in the rising phase, so he didn't dare relax at all. Although being off would allow other directors to manage the workload, he insisted on working overtime; only then could he feel at ease.
While he told Chen Ran to get more rest and not stay up late, he actually hadn't been sleeping well lately either.
Previously, he could claim to be a seasoned veteran who didn't get nervous at all, but seeing the ratings climb higher day by day, he also became anxious.
Every time the ratings rose now, a new record was being set. He wanted to see just how high this record could go!
Chen Ran didn’t pay much mind to Director Liu; instead, he focused on his own tasks.
He checked the materials carefully and crossed off two programs in his mind.
By this point, he finally had some leads regarding the program proposal.
He didn't stay long at the TV station; instead, he went to Director Zhang's house.
It was Sunday, and both Auntie Yun and Director Zhang were home.
"Chen Ran? Quick, come in!" Auntie Yun was slightly surprised to see Chen Ran when she opened the door.
"Didn't you go home? Why did you rush back so early this morning?"
Chen Ran said, "I rushed back from Jia City last night."
Auntie Yun hurriedly asked, "Could it be that something went wrong with the program?"
Before Chen Ran could speak, Director Zhang walked out from the study and said:
"Hmph, you wouldn't understand work matters anyway. I’m the one who urged Chen Ran to come back; I have things to discuss with him."
"It wasn't easy for Chen Ran to make a trip home, yet you urged him back for what..." Auntie Yun grumbled.
Director Zhang shook his head. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you later. You go cook first. Chen Ran, come to my study to talk."
"Typical!" Auntie Yun shot Director Zhang a glare, but she didn't say much else, giving her husband plenty of face.
After entering the study, Director Zhang asked, "Have you looked at all the materials?"
"I've finished looking. I just came over from the TV station," Chen Ran nodded.
"I’ve looked into it. The one competing with you is Director Lin’s son, named Lin Fan. He is twenty-nine years old and entered the TV station at twenty-two. He has been learning with the crews in the Entertainment Channel all these years and has participated in many program productions. Now, Director Lin wants him to be the Chief Planner for a new program," Director Zhang said slowly.
"Director Lin?" Chen Ran blinked. This wasn't exactly good news.
Director Zhang nodded. "Director Lin Jun of the Economic Channel! Don't worry about his status. As long as the proposal is written well, there won't be any problems."
Chen Ran didn't worry much, but he became far more serious.
He had no way to guarantee that the station wouldn't favor the other party. After all, the status of a Director could pressure many people, and moreover, Lin Fan was already a member of the Entertainment Channel, giving him an advantage over Chen Ran.
Therefore, his proposal had to be extremely outstanding—so outstanding that the other party's advantage would vanish into thin air, leaving the station with no hesitation in choosing him upon seeing it.
What Chen Ran had to do was not just use this proposal to win the title of Chief Planner, but also have the station launch the project directly based on this proposal.
Only such an overwhelming victory could erase the gap in advantage with the other party and any potential bias from the people at the Entertainment Channel.
"Uncle, how many days did the station give us?" Chen Ran turned and asked.
“Wednesday at the latest, because the program needs to be produced as soon as possible to take over the slot.” After Director Zhang finished speaking, he asked again,
“Is that enough time?”
“It's enough!” Chen Ran nodded.
Director Zhang motioned for Chen Ran to sit down and asked again, “You've looked at the materials. Do you have any ideas for the proposal now?”
Chen Ran nodded. “I do have an idea, and it's relatively complete.”
“Ah?” Director Zhang was stunned.
He had just asked casually; after all, Chen Ran had only just received the materials last night. Even working overtime, he would have barely finished reading them. How could he have a creative idea now? He hadn't expected Chen Ran to say he already had one, which left him momentarily dazed.
Director Zhang said somewhat solemnly, “Tell me about it.”
Given the ability Chen Ran had shown, it was naturally impossible for him to underestimate the young man. He also wanted to hear what insights Chen Ran had.
When Chen Ran was at the TV station, he had already decided which program proposal to write. On the way over, he had even used his phone to write out an outline, forming a mental draft.
Now that Director Zhang asked, the words flowed out of him without any stumbling; he spoke in an orderly and clear manner.
The more Director Zhang listened, the more surprised he became. Initially, when he heard Chen Ran say he had a relatively complete idea, he thought it would just be a simple concept.
But the way Chen Ran spoke fluently revealed not just a concept, but an almost complete proposal. There might still be some flaws in the details, but since this was just a mental draft, those flaws could be completely ignored.
Although Director Zhang was the Director of the Public Channel, he had previously struggled and worked his way up in the Entertainment Channel. He had his own insights regarding programs, yet he couldn't find many faults in Chen Ran’s creative idea.
“Uncle, the program proposal I plan to write is roughly like this...”
After Chen Ran finished in one breath, he looked quietly at Director Zhang, waiting to hear his opinion.
Director Zhang's brows were tightly furrowed; he was already lost in thought. After all this time, he actually couldn't offer any constructive suggestions.
“I can't offer any suggestions for this proposal of yours. I can only say it's excellent—so good that it's somewhat beyond my imagination,” Director Zhang said truthfully.
Chen Ran smiled and said, “Uncle, you're exaggerating now.”
Director Zhang shook his head. “I'm not exaggerating. I can't believe this is a creative idea you came up with in just one night.”
“I had some ideas during my spare time before. This time, I happened to encounter the right opportunity, so I brought it out since I thought it was good,” Chen Ran explained.
Director Zhang suddenly understood; this felt more normal. Although a creative idea could be a flash of inspiration, the program proposal Chen Ran just described was far too complete; it was absolutely not just a matter of a single concept.
In fact, he felt that using this proposal directly to make a program was entirely feasible.
“You can write the proposal out today then,” Director Zhang said.
Chen Ran shook his head, however. “It's not enough yet. Tomorrow, I'm going to visit some KTVs; I need some data from them.”
Director Zhang's eyebrows rose slightly. “You're...”
Chen Ran nodded. He didn't just want the station to choose him; he wanted to turn this proposal directly into a program.
Director Zhang looked up and only then realized that Chen Ran had changed a bit.
The introversion from previous days was gone, replaced by a sense of earnestness he had never seen before, making him look high-spirited.