Chapter 196: What is going on here?

Two days later.

Thursday.

Chen Qi arrived early at the production team's studio as usual.

Not long after he arrived, Zhou Zhou, dressed in simple attire, also reached the venue.

"Director Chen." Expecting him to not be this early, she walked up to him nervously to greet him.

"Morning." Chen Qi greeted her with a smile and asked, trying to make conversation, "Has the handover of your work at the television station been completed?"

Zhou Zhou hastily replied, "Yes, everything has been handed over."

Chen Qi nodded and said nothing more.

Since he did not speak, Zhou Zhou naturally did not dare to initiate a conversation either, and simply stood quietly to the side.

"..."

"..."

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat awkward.

"Uh..." Chen Qi immediately sensed this despair-inducing awkwardness.

Because both of them had arrived quite early, they were the only two people currently in the entire production office...

"Boss."

Just as Chen Qi was racking his brain for a topic to break this suffocating atmosphere, Su Xiaoxiao arrived.

"Phew..." Chen Qi let out a silent sigh of relief as if he had seen a savior, and hurriedly called Su Xiaoxiao over.

Su Xiaoxiao walked over with a bewildered look on her face.

"This is Su Xiaoxiao, my assistant."

"This is Zhou Zhou, the host for the grand finale, transferred over from Beijing Television Station Channel 1."

Chen Qi introduced them to each other.

"Hello."

"Hello."

Zhou Zhou and Su Xiaoxiao exchanged greetings.

Strangely enough, the moment Su Xiaoxiao appeared, both Chen Qi and Zhou Zhou instantly felt the atmosphere lighten up considerably.

That awkward tension vanished into thin air!

"Take her to get familiar with the set first, and we'll arrange the work later when everyone else arrives," Chen Qi instructed Su Xiaoxiao.

"Okay," Su Xiaoxiao replied obediently and directly led Zhou Zhou away.

Only after they had walked far away did Chen Qi let out a long sigh of relief and set off toward the backstage lounge.

Shortly afterward, the production team members, who had rested for two days, returned one after another.

Every staff member returning to their post wore a look of anticipation and curiosity on their faces.

Having rested for half a month not long ago, there was technically no need for them to take another break, but after Monday's recording, Chen Qi had forcibly ordered them to rest for two days.

He told everyone to recharge their batteries, as he would have an important announcement to make in two days.

Based on their understanding of Chen Qi, anything he announced with such solemn advance notice had to be a big deal!

However, now that the show was about to conclude, what kind of major event could there possibly be?

Could it be... that he was preparing a new show?

Upon guessing this possibility, almost everyone felt a surge of excitement inside.

Over the past few days, they had been feeling sad about the impending disbandment of the production team once "The Singer" ended!

8:30 AM.

After confirming that all the staff members had arrived, Chen Qi gathered everyone together and announced the arrangements for the grand finale.

The matter he was announcing was extremely important, yet very simple.

The grand finale would be broadcast live from start to finish!

Starting today, they would officially begin preparations for the grand finale!

Until the grand finale concluded, all vacations were canceled!

Hearing this announcement from Chen Qi, almost everyone stared at him in utter shock.

The expressions on their faces were a mixture of astonishment and delight.

A live broadcast?!

This was a major event!

In their understanding and impression, a live broadcast was an extremely solemn and serious undertaking!

To exaggerate slightly, it was an exclusive privilege reserved for the major television networks!

Now, they were going to do a live broadcast too?

For some reason, after digesting this news, many of them inexplicably grew excited.

Nervous?

Worried?

Apprehensive?

Non-existent!

Perhaps because Chen Qi, their pillar of strength, was present, these staff members, who possessed zero live broadcasting experience, felt not a single trace of anxiety.

Not only were they unafraid, but they were also bubbling with excitement.

With Chen Qi around, there was nothing for them to fear!

Had they not weathered so many doubts and difficulties in the early stages of the show?

"Do you all understand?"

"Understood!!!"

Everyone spoke in unison, brimming with confidence.

They genuinely possessed the confidence to make the show a success now.

If the director dared to decide it, they dared to execute it!

Through more than two months of interaction and understanding, they had long since developed an absolute admiration for Chen Qi!

By now, they had even cultivated a kind of blind trust in him.

On the stage, having received an affirmative response, Chen Qi said no more and directly instructed everyone to take their positions and begin preparations.

Then, he walked toward Zhou Zhou, who was waiting in the audience seating.

"Director Chen." Seeing Chen Qi approach her, Zhou Zhou's nerves tightened up once again.

Unlike the production crew, who were brimming with confidence, she was very nervous.

She worried that her performance might fail to satisfy Chen Qi.

"Don't be so nervous; the flow of this show shouldn't be too different from the programs you've hosted," Chen Qi said, clearly sensing her tension.

Zhou Zhou managed a strained smile and said nothing.

"Have you watched 'The Singer'?" Chen Qi asked.

"I have," Zhou Zhou hurriedly replied. "From the very beginning until now, I haven't missed a single episode."

She was speaking the truth.

Although she had deliberately crammed and re-watched the previous episodes yesterday, she had indeed been following the show from its inception.

She was a hardcore fan of the program!

Especially after learning some little-known behind-the-scenes stories about the show from the veteran station head, she held a deep respect for Chen Qi.

Chen Qi nodded and asked again, "I heard from the veteran station head that you write all the news scripts for your program yourself?"

"Yes."

"Then try writing the host's script for the grand finale. It doesn't need to be too complex; keep it as simple as possible. Don't feel any pressure either—just write it in your own style and habit. Of course, it would be best if we can use it in the end, but it doesn't matter if we can't; I'll make other arrangements later." Chen Qi assigned her a task.

He had been busy with the grand finale's workflow and songs lately, and had not yet found the time to prepare the hosting scripts.

Since he had no other tasks for her at the moment, he might as well let her try her hand at it.

Just as he said, it would be great if it could be used, and no big deal if it couldn't.

"Ah? Oh..." Zhou Zhou was stunned for a moment before quickly agreeing.

Since Chen Qi had put it that way, she did not feel overly pressured. Besides, writing scripts was her specialty.

Furthermore...

When she was cramming "The Singer" yesterday, she had genuinely felt from the bottom of her heart that Chen Qi's hosting style was somewhat sloppy.

As a professional host, it was truly a bit hard for her to watch!

Of course, she only dared to harbor such criticisms in her heart; she would never dare to voice them out loud.

"Alright, go ahead and get busy. Backstage Lounge No. 1 is used by Su Xiaoxiao and the others; you can go write it there. If you need anything, just find me or Su Xiaoxiao directly."

"Understood."

Zhou Zhou acknowledged the instruction and turned away to get to work.

With a task at hand, the nervous flutter in her heart finally dissipated somewhat.

Following that, Chen Qi walked onto the stage holding a stack of previously prepared musical scores.

He communicated with the band members for a long time.

The coordination between the band and the singers was the absolute top priority of the entire show.

It was also the aspect that required the most thought during the preparation process.

He needed them to memorize all the musical scores by heart as soon as possible.

Upon seeing the scores Chen Qi brought out, the musicians were stunned at first, and then their expressions grew somewhat solemn.

After staring at the sheet music for a while, the music director could not help but ask, "Are all of these new songs?"

"Yes, they are all new songs." Chen Qi smiled, openly admitting it, and said, "As everyone knows, due to various reasons, I can no longer purchase new music copyright licenses on my end. Therefore, I specifically commissioned people to tailor-make several new songs based on the styles of these singers."

"..."

"..."

"..."

As soon as Chen Qi said this, the scene fell into a dead silence.

Everyone looked at Chen Qi with eyes full of astonishment.

New songs?

You're actually using entirely new songs for the grand finale?

Isn't that taking way too big of a risk!

What if the results turn out poorly...

They stared blankly at Chen Qi, then lowered their heads to look at the sheet music in their hands again, their faces filled with disbelief.

They truly could not comprehend Chen Qi's approach!

If you couldn't buy new copyrights, using songs that had already been performed before would have been fine too!

To use completely new songs...

They honestly didn't know what to say anymore.

Even the music director looked at Chen Qi, opening her mouth to speak several times but hesitating, and perhaps due to some misgivings, she ultimately said nothing.

At this moment, their hearts were filled with worry.

Some even hummed along to the sheet music in their minds, but unfortunately, judging from the score alone, they could not tell whether these new songs would sound good or not.

However...

These were more than a dozen new songs!

How could every single one of them sound good?

Good songs were simply not that easy to write!

If even one good song came out of these dozen-plus tracks, it would be considered a high probability event!

Yes, they were doubting the quality of these new songs.

They did not believe that singing these new songs during the grand finale would yield good results.

They even worried that the reputation the show had built up would be completely ruined in its very last episode.

This was "The Singer"!

In the words of the outside media, this was the ceiling of musical variety shows!

Let alone one good song, even two or three wouldn't be enough!

If even two songs with mediocre reception appeared in the grand finale, it would be fatal to the show.

"Alright, hurry up and get familiar with them. Later on, we'll rehearse with the singers." Seeing the worry in their eyes, Chen Qi offered no further explanation.

There was no time to explain!

It was already close to nine o'clock, and the important guests he eagerly awaited should be arriving soon.

Watching Chen Qi hurry away, the band members wore complex expressions on their faces.

In fact, they all knew that Chen Qi had been driven into this state with absolutely no other choice.

If he had been able to purchase new music copyrights, why would he resort to such a suicidal method?

Although they could have used songs performed in previous episodes, for a grand finale as crucial as this one, using old songs wouldn't yield stellar results either...

However, worry aside, they did not forget their jobs.

They quickly cast these messy thoughts out of their minds and began earnestly familiarizing themselves with the sheet music in their hands.

...

Outside the television station.

Just as Chen Qi hurried over, he happened to see a small minibus stopping at the front entrance.

Immediately afterward, he saw Li Hongti, dressed in a long dress, step down from the vehicle first.

Seeing the dozen or so people following closely behind her, the smile on Chen Qi's face blossomed instantly.

"Director!"

Li Hongti waved to him from a distance.

Seemingly infected by the smile on Chen Qi's face, she smiled back as well.

"Let me introduce them to you. These three are from the choir."

"This is the bassist."

"This is the drummer."

Yes, the people following Li Hongti off the bus were the assistants Chen Qi had asked her to help find earlier.

"Hello."

"Hello, hello."

"Hello, hello, hello."

After politely greeting them one by one, Chen Qi joyfully led them into the venue.

Without too much formality or excessive pleasantries, once the contracts were signed, Chen Qi introduced them to the musicians already on stage.

With this, his accompanying band finally grew substantial in scale.

While they were getting acquainted with each other, Qin Mengxue, Song Quqi, and the others arrived one after another.

Chen Qi left the band matters to Su Xiaoxiao and led the singer guests backstage himself.

Entering the backstage lounge, after everyone had taken their seats, Chen Qi asked, "How are your arrangements going with the guest singers?"

"I've already secured mine."

"Still contacting them; the matter came a bit too suddenly, so the other party can't confirm their schedule right now."

"I'll need to wait until tomorrow to get a reply on my end."

The singers replied one after another.

Over the past two days, they had wracked their brains over the matter of guest singers.

They needed someone they were familiar with, someone who could sing well, and someone who had sufficient free time...

With so many restrictions piled together, it really was a bit of a challenge.

Fortunately, things were moving in a positive direction.

Just as they had anticipated, when their actor friends confirmed that the grand finale of "The Singer" would indeed feature actors performing on stage, they all showed tremendous interest.

In the words of their flattery, this director really knew how to think outside the box!

As for the appearance fee of only one hundred thousand yuan...

They didn't care about that at all.

What money? We are all friends, talking about money makes us strangers!

That was what they said themselves.

However, while they were interested, the preparation time required by the show made things a bit difficult for them, so most of could not give an immediate confirmation.

"Alright, it doesn't matter if the guest singers take a couple more days to finalize. In the meantime, you guys should focus on practicing the songs for your solo rounds." Chen Qi understood their situation.

What he failed to notice, however, was Li Hongti sitting on the side, opening her mouth to speak several times but holding back each time.

"Still, once you've confirmed your guests, be sure to notify me immediately so I can contact them to sign contracts."

"Got it!"

Everyone nodded.

Chen Qi finally set his mind at ease.

Afterward, without saying anything further, he took out a batch of pre-prepared envelopes and handed them out.

"What is this?" the singers asked curiously as they accepted them.

Chen Qi said, "Inside are two songs. These are the pieces you will perform for the two segments of the grand finale."

"Ah?"

"Ah?"

"Ah?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone froze.

Songs to be performed in the grand finale?

Wait...

We haven't even told you what songs we want to sing yet!

What is going on?

Staring blankly at Chen Qi with dumbfounded expressions, they were completely flabbergasted.