Ch. 54
Chapter 54 - We Are All One Family
The ratings report came out, and quite a few people in the Entertainment Channel were rather surprised.
It wasn't that they didn't have high hopes for the program.
Who wouldn't have high hopes for a program that a channel pushed with a massive amount of promotional resources?
The main point was that the ratings were far too unexpected!
Let alone them, even Director Liu was first startled, and only then pleasantly surprised.
He had joked with Director Yang, estimating a premiere rating of 10%, but in his heart, he thought it would be around 9%.
Who knew that it would not only break expectations but even shatter the record set six years ago in one fell swoop.
By noon, practically the entire TV station knew.
"The Entertainment Channel has produced a hit; the premiere was 11.05%!"
"Is it that I Love Remembering Lyrics? I watched it last night and felt the program was quite good, but I didn't expect it to be so incredible!"
"This program is truly interesting. It looks like it will be a long-running one; the Entertainment Channel stands to make a killing this time."
Many people were discussing it; the Entertainment Channel's previous program had taken a very ugly fall, yet no one expected it to suddenly take flight now.
With this rating alone, aside from the Public Channel's Zhaonan Focus which could suppress it, no other channel had a rival for it.
In the Public Channel, Director Liu Bing and the rest of the Zhaonan Focus crew also received the news, and every one of them was somewhat surprised.
"These ratings are too high!" Director Liu Bing exclaimed.
He hadn't forgotten that Chen Ran was the Chief Planner of this program.
If someone can plan Zhaonan Focus, you could say it was a flash of inspiration and they had good luck.
But when another program appears with ratings not inferior to Zhaonan Focus at all, that's not luck, but strength.
Director Zhang was in his office, his face full of smiles.
Even though he was the Public Channel Director and this program belonged to the Entertainment Channel, it didn't stop him from being happy!
"11.05%—a program like this doesn't come around even once in several years. Shoving Chen Ran into the Entertainment Channel back then was truly the right move!"
In his heart, Director Zhang was happy for Chen Ran; although the ratings couldn't compare to Zhaonan Focus, the nature of the two programs was different.
He was thinking that if he hadn't found the Entertainment Channel for Chen Ran and insisted on keeping him in the Public Channel, it would have been impossible to produce a hit like I Love Remembering Lyrics.
"The station should thank me too!" Director Zhang was so happy he couldn't close his mouth.
……
Chen Ran received many congratulatory messages.
They were basically sent by colleagues from the Public Channel, including colleagues from the Beautiful Zhaonan crew, as well as Director Liu Bing from Zhaonan Focus and others.
He had stayed in the Public Channel for a few months, from his internship to becoming a regular staff member, from following the Beautiful Zhaonan crew to becoming a lead creator of Zhaonan Focus; his popularity was quite good.
After replying to the messages one by one, he received a call from Director Zhang, asking to have a meal together.
After meeting, Director Zhang said with a chuckle, "Two programs with premieres breaking 11%—you're famous at the TV station!"
Chen Ran smiled and said, "What kind of fame can we program makers get? Besides, it was you who gave me the opportunity, Uncle; otherwise, what kind of program could I have made?"
He was telling the truth, but Director Zhang shook his head.
"I wouldn't dare take credit for that. I was at most a little extra help. If it weren't for your good abilities, you wouldn't have been able to go to the Entertainment Channel. Look at Lin Fan—his dad is a Director, so his opportunity was bigger than yours, right? But his ability isn't as good as yours, so he still has to keep waiting."
Chen Ran smiled; if Lin Fan heard this, he would likely feel quite bad.
"You should be getting off work early this afternoon to go celebrate, right?" Director Zhang asked.
"Yes, Director Liu said everyone has been tired for so long that we should relax for a day today, and then we have to keep being busy." Chen Ran nodded.
Indeed, they could only relax for a day or two; now that the ratings were out and the program was obviously a hit, they could naturally continue recording and make more preparations.
"Then relax well. If you finish up early, come over to the house. I told your Auntie Yun the good news, and she said she wants to celebrate for you."
Chen Ran said, "I feel a bit embarrassed about troubling Auntie Yun every time."
Director Zhang laughed, "We're all one family; what's there to be embarrassed about!"
Chen Ran felt awkward; he was certain that Uncle Zhang's so-called "one family" definitely didn't mean he considered Chen Ran a nephew.
In the evening, everyone from the program crew went to a hotel for dinner.
As the program’s hero, Director Liu made a point to clink glasses with Chen Ran.
Lin Fan watched from the side with great envy; he was also a member of the crew and similarly in charge of planning, but in terms of contribution to the program, he was far behind Chen Ran.
‘I wonder when I’ll be able to make my own program.’
The moment this thought surfaced in his mind, he immediately shook his head.
Having followed Chen Ran during this time, he understood his own shortcomings; if he didn’t correct them, even if the program he made didn’t flop, it would still be mediocre.
A program without any highlights would hardly have a chance to become a massive hit.
On the contrary, since he had time now, he could learn more from Chen Ran.
Chen Ran rarely drank; after just one glass, he already felt a bit dizzy.
He wasn’t exactly drunk, just slightly tipsy; his consciousness was clear, yet everything felt a bit hazy.
He went to the restroom and splashed his face with cold water before feeling a bit better.
Seeing his slightly flushed face, he gave a bitter smile; the flaw of turning red when drinking existed in his past life and hadn’t changed even after transmigrating.
After returning to the table, his colleagues tried to get him to drink, but he hurriedly waved them off in refusal. Seeing how red his face was, they let him off the hook, which made Chen Ran heave a sigh of relief.
Just then, his phone chimed; it was a message from Zhang Fanzhi.
“How much longer will you be? I’ll come pick you up.”
Chen Ran looked at the table; they were almost finished, and since he couldn't join in with the group drinking, he replied:
“Right now is fine.”
“Mm, send me your location.”
Chen Ran sent his location. He listened to his colleagues telling funny stories; Director Wu had likely had a few too many and was boasting about how great he was at staying up late and how well he used to sing...
The tone of his voice didn't match his artistic image at all!
With everyone chiming in, the atmosphere was quite lively.
Before long, seeing that the time was about up, Chen Ran thought they were going to call it a night, but Director Wu enthusiastically invited everyone to go to KTV.
Chen Ran naturally wouldn't go; he told Director Wu his girlfriend was coming to pick him up. The group gave him meaningful smiles and expressed their understanding.
As everyone walked to the hotel entrance, Zhang Fanzhi’s car was parked outside.
Though she was wearing a mask, she didn't get out of the car.
Chen Ran saw her, looked up, and said to his colleagues, “I’m heading out first. You guys have a good time.”
Director Wu glanced outside, and seeing the figure in the car, he patted Chen Ran’s shoulder and said:
“Today is a good day; you should celebrate well with your girlfriend. Just be careful when you're 'playing'—don’t fail to get up and let it affect your work!”
Chen Ran was speechless; Director Wu was normally such a standard person, so how did he start letting himself go like this after just a little alcohol?
Likely, he was usually wearing shackles, and now that he was relaxing, his true nature was showing through.
Chen Ran opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.
Although he hadn't drunk much, a strong smell of alcohol still wafted toward her.
Zhang Fanzhi’s willow-leaf brows knit slightly.
“You’ve been drinking?”
Chen Ran gave a toothy grin. “Just a little bit.”
“The smell is awful.” Zhang Fanzhi was somewhat disgusted.
Chen Ran was speechless.
This tiny bit of a smell is awful? Wasn't the one who was drunk last time you?