Chapter 36 : The Little Padded Jacket is About to Belong to Someone Else’s Family
Chapter 36 - The Little Padded Jacket is About to Belong to Someone Else’s Family
One must realize that Zhang Fanzhi currently possessed both fame and awards.
In terms of vocal skill and popularity, she was considered very outstanding among newcomers, and many people were optimistic about her future.
Since the decision to release a new song had been made, it must have been agreed upon with the company; generally speaking, there shouldn't have been a change of plans.
Recalling that Zhang Fanzhi’s new song had been snatched by Lin Hanyun last time, Chen Ran had a guess in his heart—she likely had an unpleasant falling out with the company.
Regarding work-related matters, Chen Ran didn’t ask much.
Her mood was already bad; asking now would just be adding to her frustrations.
It just so happened he had been busy these past few days. Having finished the tasks at hand today, he could relax a bit tomorrow, so he asked:
“What time is your flight? Should I pick you up?”
Zhang Fanzhi replied: “Aren't you busy?”
Chen Ran said: “I can get off work early.”
Zhang Fanzhi: “I’ll arrive at noon and head home first. You come over in the evening.”
A noon flight—then Chen Ran had no way around it; he really couldn't get away at noon.
Since he was making a program, he had to be responsible for his work.
Chen Ran replied: “I’ll head back with Uncle Zhang in the evening.”
“Okay.” Zhang Fanzhi only replied with this single word, and then there was no further news.
Chen Ran put down his phone and continued working, but Zhang Fanzhi’s situation remained on his mind.
Pausing his work, he decided to search online after all.
He didn’t find any news.
Chen Ran wasn't surprised; for internal company matters, it was impossible for someone to leak information immediately.
He went to check Zhang Fanzhi’s Weibo. It was very clean, just occasionally posting life photos once every few days.
But under the latest Weibo post, there were many comments, each filled with righteous indignation.
“Fanxing is truly a piece of work. They promised a song; why did they change their minds?”
“I’m sick of this. My poor Xiyun—releasing a new song keeps getting pushed back again and again. What kind of company is this!”
“Give a thumbs up if you support Xiyun leaving Fanxing!”
After Chen Ran finished reading, he thought for a bit and clicked on Lin Hanyun’s Weibo.
Over there was a selfie with the caption: “New song in preparation, produced by the famous producer Teacher Liang Guanqing in collaboration with Teacher Jiang Xiaohe. It’s very, very pleasant to listen to—everyone, please look forward to it!”
Opening the comments, he saw, as expected, Zhang Fanzhi’s fans venting here, but after refreshing, they were gone—evidently deleted.
“Is this... it was snatched away again?”
Chen Ran shook his head.
If he didn’t know about Zhang Fanzhi’s situation, it would look like a simple promotion for a singer's upcoming song release.
But he knew Zhang Fanzhi was supposed to release a song; now that her song had fallen through while Lin Hanyun was releasing a new one, these events coinciding at this specific junction was certainly no accident.
Zhang Fanzhi and Lin Hanyun—singers in the same company, yet receiving different treatment.
Chen Ran could well imagine how explosive Zhang Fanzhi’s mood must be right now.
But there was nothing he could do. People have their ups and downs, especially with Zhang Fanzhi’s issues with the company—he didn't know the exact nature of the conflict.
Yet even in such a mood, the fact that she thought to notify him beforehand so he could prepare to put on an act—this made Chen Ran want to chuckle a bit.
She really was scared by the constant marriage pressure!
……
“The songs definitely can't be too obscure, or people won't be able to guess them, but they also can't be too popular, or there won't be any difficulty. The songs in the library need to have had a fair amount of popularity in the past...”
Chen Ran was discussing the song library issue with the director, voicing his ideas.
“In addition to that, we can also pick out some themed songs and launch themed episodes during holidays...”
Director Wu Jin nodded slightly; he was quite in agreement with Chen Ran’s ideas.
When making a program, one must consider the audience's feelings. Their Entertainment Channel was responsible for its own profits and losses; ratings were their heaven, and the audience was their bread and butter.
Chen Ran did this very well; no matter the creative idea, he would first consider whether the audience could accept it.
Lin Fan stood nearby listening and took notes.
Working with Chen Ran these past few days, he felt he had learned a great deal.
It wasn't an exaggeration—firstly, Chen Ran’s way of thinking was on a completely different dimension from his own.
When looking at the same problem, his perspective differed significantly from others; it could be described as uniquely refreshing, free from shackles, with a sense of unconventionality.
Lin Fan was five or six years older than Chen Ran and had worked at the TV station for many years, so in terms of experience, he indeed had more than Chen Ran.
However, aside from experience, Lin Fan felt he was inferior to Chen Ran across the board.
The program had been in preparation for a few days, and the stage preparations were moving quickly.
The studio stage itself was already pre-built; for this kind of indoor variety show—and a small-scale one at that—not many changes were fundamentally needed. Most of the time was required for the equipment.
Because Chen Ran and the others had been working overtime these past few days, he could relax slightly now.
Chen Ran said to Lin Fan, "I have some matters to attend to today, so I won't be staying for overtime. I’ve written some summaries for the game segments we proposed the day before yesterday. Discuss them later and fill in the details. If they work, we'll use them; if not, we’ll discuss them again tomorrow."
"Alright," Lin Fan nodded, showing no trace of dissatisfaction.
Their goal was a long-term program, but a show cannot remain stagnant, otherwise the audience will experience viewer fatigue. While the overall format remains the same, the game segments can be changed for each episode.
After giving his instructions, Chen Ran handed the materials to Lin Fan. Just then, his WeChat chimed. He picked it up and saw it was Zhang Fanzhi saying she had just arrived home.
Chen Ran took out his phone and called Director Zhang.
"Uncle, wait for me when you get off work later. Zhizhi came back today; she’s already home."
"Even I, her father, didn't know yet, but you got the news first," Director Zhang chuckled.
"You haven't had time to come to my place for dinner these past few days, but now that Zhizhi is back, you suddenly have time?"
Being teased like this, Chen Ran couldn't help but smile.
"Didn't I just finish some work and manage to squeeze out a bit of time? Even if she hadn't come back, I was planning to go have dinner with you today, Uncle."
How could Director Zhang possibly believe that? He said:
"As if I don't know what’s on your mind. Just don't let seeing Zhizhi interfere with your work. This is your first program at the Entertainment Channel; you absolutely cannot let anything go wrong."
Chen Ran said, "Don't worry, Uncle. Because we’re on an accelerated schedule, the program is being prepared very quickly. With Director Wu Jin overseeing things and other planners following along, I couldn't let problems happen even if I wanted to."
"Alright, say no more. We'll head over together then."
Director Zhang sounded stern, but in reality, he was very pleased to see Chen Ran and Zhang Fanzhi getting along well. He even let out a small laugh after hanging up.
It was only then that he received a message from his wife saying their daughter had returned home.
Director Zhang shook his head. This "little padded jacket" of his was about to belong to someone else's family! Chen Ran knew beforehand, while he only found out after his wife sent a message. Talk about treatment!
When it was time to leave, Director Zhang waited for Chen Ran. He glanced at him and said:
"It seems you haven't prepared a gift? I see a flower shop nearby; do you want to go pick up a bouquet?"
Chen Ran was stunned for a moment. This... do I really need flowers?
But after thinking it over, since Director Zhang had said so, it didn't seem like he could say no.
Consequently, when Zhang Fanzhi opened the door, she saw Chen Ran standing at the entrance with an awkward look on his face, holding a bouquet of flowers...