Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 40 The window has finally arrived!

"That's right," Zeng Hao said, "that's why I made him the team leader."

He picked up his coat and walked out, Xu Wen following behind. "Should I go and file the contract here?"

"Go," Zeng Hao said, "Give me a first draft of the boy band training plan this week. It doesn't need to be detailed, just the framework is correct."

Xu Wen agreed and walked in another direction.

At 2 PM, Zeng Hao went to the recording studio.

"Ugly Monster" officially went into the studio today. After Xue Zhijian finished the half-beat of the chorus on the drum, the arranger sent him a message: It's finished. Teacher Xue listened to it and said there were no problems. It's going into the studio today.

He had confirmed the final version of the song's arrangement, but he wanted to personally review the recording process to see if any new problems arose.

The recording studio is located in an old office building in Qianhu City. It is inconspicuous from the outside, but the soundproofing is very solid once inside.

The hallway felt like it was being sucked away; footsteps echoed on the carpet without a sound, as if you were walking in a vacuum-sealed space.

In the control room outside the studio, the arranger sat in front of the mixing console.

Xu Wen was standing to the side. When he saw Zeng Hao come in, he moved his chair aside to make room for him.

Zeng Hao didn't sit down; he stood behind the soundproof glass and looked inside.

Inside the studio, Xue Zhijian, wearing headphones, stood in front of the microphone, holding the lyrics in his hand, but not looking at them.

The lyrics have already been memorized; the piece of paper is just sitting there, like a ritual.

The sound engineer's voice came through the walkie-talkie: Okay, let's start from the beginning, get ready.

Xue Zhijian pulled his earphones down slightly, pressed them close to his ears, closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again.

The intro started playing.

When he opened his mouth, Zeng Hao knew from the very first sentence that this scene would most likely have to be re-recorded.

It wasn't because she sang badly, it was because she was too steady, as steady as if she were reciting a text, with every word in the correct position.

But the right location is not the same as the right feeling.

What "The Ugly Duckling" needs is not stability, but a sense of being on the verge of losing control but not quite. Stability and that thing are two different things.

The sound engineer clearly sensed it too, but didn't stop immediately. He waited until Xue Zhijian finished singing the first verse before pressing the intercom button and saying, "This part is fine, continue."

Xue Zhijian nodded and walked downstairs.

In the second section, the emotions began to emerge, and it was a little more relaxed than the first section, but not relaxed enough. It was like a string that had been tuned to the correct pitch, but the hand hadn't actually plucked it.

The chorus is coming in.

The timing of the drumbeat was pushed back by half a beat compared to before. The position is now very accurate. The air pressure pushes upward the moment the drumbeat comes in.

Xue Zhijian followed that energy upwards, and his voice, when he opened the first line of the chorus, was a whole dimension wider than the first two verses.

In the control room, the arranger leaned back in his chair and let out a soft sigh.

Xu Wen, standing nearby, unconsciously tapped the edge of the table with his finger.

After recording the last line, the sound engineer waited two seconds, pressed the intercom button, and said, "This take is recorded. Should we do another take as a backup?"

The shed fell silent for a moment.

Xue Zhijian took the earphones off his ears, draped them around his neck, replayed the entire conversation in his mind, and then spoke.

"Let's do it one more time."

The sound engineer paused for a moment, "That last take was already very good, but the chorus—"

"I know," Xue Zhijian said, "but I want something better."

After saying that, he put his headphones back on, nodded to the sound engineer, and signaled to start over.

In the control room, Xu Wen turned to Zeng Hao, as if to say something, but Zeng Hao didn't look at her; he was looking at Xue Zhijian in the shed.

Xue Zhijian stood in front of the microphone, waiting for the intro to start again. His shoulders were a little more relaxed than in the first recording. The lyrics in his hand had already been placed on the music stand; they were no longer needed. He wasn't waiting for the lyrics, but for a certain feeling. He would only start singing when that feeling came.

As the intro began, he started to speak.

This one is different from the first one.

The first rule is stable, this rule is flexible. It's flexible in every breath, in every way of enunciation and ending, in the air between one word and the next. It's like something is flowing, invisible but perceptible.

When the chorus came in, the drumbeats landed precisely in that spot, and Xue Zhijian followed the drumbeats upwards. His voice opened up, not in a violent way, but rather it broke out from within. After it broke out, it didn't dissipate; it was very clean. When the last line fell, the lingering sound circled around the studio before stopping.

This time, the sound engineer didn't press the intercom button immediately. He remained silent in the control room for nearly five seconds before pressing it, saying, "Use this one."

Inside the studio, Xue Zhijian took off his headphones, clenched them in his hand, said nothing, picked up the lyrics from the music stand, folded them, and put them in his coat pocket.

Zeng Hao turned his gaze away from the glass.

Become!

Xu Wen leaned closer and whispered, "President Zeng, this song..."

"The second quarter," Zeng Hao said. "We can't move it forward; the timing isn't right."

Xu Wen took back what he was about to say and nodded.

Success has been achieved, but timing is timing; the two things cannot be confused.

He had already decided on the release window for "Ugly Monster," aiming to capitalize on the popularity of the variety show and launch it at the right time. Releasing it earlier would only allow the hype to dissipate, and it would take three times the effort to regain it once it had faded.

He had a clear understanding of this.

In the evening, Peng Bing sent me the weekly report from "Diamond Lover".

Today is the twenty-first day. The filming progress has reached 60% of the overall script, and the budget consumption rate is 58%, which is basically in line with the progress. There is no overrun, but not much spare capacity either.

Peng Bing noted at the end of the weekly report: There are two emotional scenes next week. The actors' condition needs to be confirmed. It is recommended to notify the script supervisor one day in advance to prepare a contingency plan.

After reading the weekly report, Zeng Hao replied: "I'll go to the set to watch those two emotional scenes."

Peng Bing replied a few minutes later: Okay, I'll let you know the specific time.

He put down his phone, and Sister Liu knocked on the door and came in, holding a printed statement of transactions. "President Zeng, two payments came in today. The iQiyi revenue share for 'Go Princess Go' is 61,000 yuan, and the theatrical release revenue for 'Back to 20' is 6.58 million yuan. They've both been deposited, and the receipts are here."

Zeng Hao took the vouchers, two in total, one for 61,000 and the other for 6,580,000. Both were due today, and the amounts were correct.

He pushed the voucher back, saying, "The books have been updated; what's the amount now?"

Sister Liu mentally calculated the numbers: "Including what arrived today, the cash on hand is about 27.9 million, and the remaining receivables from 'Back to 20' are about 59.4 million, which will be settled monthly."

"Okay," Zeng Hao said, "Remember, give me the latest transaction record on Friday."

Sister Liu agreed, put the receipt away, and left.

Twenty-seven million nine hundred thousand.

This number would have been unimaginable for the company six months ago.

But he still didn't tell anyone this number and asked them to keep it a secret.

The annual report was filed through normal channels, and it can be found by outsiders.

But he doesn't say it proactively; he says it's a performance, and that his true ability lies in waiting for others to ask.

Zeng Hao took a deep breath and looked out the window.

The light outside the window was almost gone. In Qianhu City, the evenings shrink very quickly in winter. It only takes half an hour for the sky to go from light to dark, like a person taking a deep breath and then slowly exhaling. It's very steady, but you can't stop.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Xu Wen.

"Mr. Zeng, the contact person from Hunan TV sent an email saying that the recording schedule for the third season of 'I Am a Singer' is around the end of March to the beginning of April. They asked if we were interested in participating. We don't have a formal invitation yet; we're just testing the waters."

Zeng Hao read the message, put his phone on the table, and did not reply immediately.

Late March to early April.

He mentally checked the timeline: "Ugly Monster" would be released in the second quarter, at the earliest by the end of April.

The recording period for "I Am a Singer" is about two months.

If Xu Jiaying joins the crew at the end of March, filming will finish in May or June.

The hype from May and June should last until the release of "Ugly Duckling".

The two lines intersecting wasn't a coincidence; it was the window he had been waiting for.

The window of opportunity has finally opened!

He replied to Xu Wen: Reply to Hunan TV that you are interested, ask them to send over the formal invitation letter, and discuss the details after receiving it. Do not express your opinion beforehand.

Xu Wen: Okay, I'll reply to the email now.

Zeng Hao put down his phone and leaned back in his chair.

Hunan TV's move to test the waters first indicates that Sunshine Entertainment is now on their priority invitation list.

It wasn't because the company was big, but because Xue Zhijian's trending topic on Happy Camp showed them the conversion rate of topics.

They are assessing the company's artists' ability to generate buzz.

He is not worried about the outcome of this assessment.

What he was worried about was the timing.

When the timing is right, "I Am a Singer" is an amplifier for Xu Jiaying; when the timing is wrong, it's a consumable.

The timing is right.

He turned off the lamp, stood up, put on his coat, and went outside.

The lights in the corridor were still on. The sounds of people coming and going in the company at this time of evening had faded away. The chair at the front desk was empty. Light shone through the crack in Xu Wen's office door, and the sound of a keyboard could be heard inside. It was very soft and steady, like a machine that would keep running without supervision.

He walked to the elevator and pressed the down button.

The elevator doors opened, he went in, and the doors closed.

As the numbers descended one by one, he watched them change and mentally reviewed the tasks he needed to handle the next day: the first draft of the boy band training plan, the timing of the emotional scenes for "Diamond Lover," and whether he should inform Xu Jiaying in advance about her interest in "I Am a Singer."

It's too early to tell her; she'll start preparing.

Once preparation begins, the state of mind changes.

If her condition changes, she will be distracted by her scenes in "Diamond Lover," and the cost of that distraction is the production quality of the crew, which is not worthwhile.

I'll tell her after the official invitation arrives and filming of "Diamond Lover" wraps up.

The order cannot be changed.

When Zeng Hao arrived at the company at 8:20 a.m. the next morning, Xu Wen was already there.

She stood next to the front desk, holding a folder in her hand. When she saw Zeng Hao come in, she followed him directly. "The training room starts at nine o'clock, and the teachers from Huayi will arrive at eight-thirty. I've asked my assistant to pick them up."

Zeng Hao draped his coat over the back of the chair. "Has the list been confirmed?"

"It's confirmed," Xu Wen said, opening the folder. "Zhou Zhennan, Chen Linong, Xu Kunkun, plus the other two who came in during the initial screening, Wang Yuxuan and Lin You, all five of them are here today."

Zeng Hao glanced at the list and asked, "How's Wang Yuxuan's line?"

"Huayi said they were barely able to," Xu Wen paused for a moment, "and they're about the same as Xu Kunkun, both are Bs."

Zeng Hao closed the folder. "Okay, I'll look at it later."

He didn't say much, but sat down and scanned the emails he hadn't finished reading last night.

He hasn't received the official invitation from Hunan TV yet; he expects it to take another three to five days.

Yesterday, Peng Bing said that the emotional scenes for "Diamond Lover" would be filmed next week. Today, we'll watch the first day of the boy band training and spend the afternoon on set.

At 10:50, he stood up, grabbed his coat, and went downstairs.

The Huayi training teachers have arrived; there are two of them, a man and a woman.

The man's surname is Zhao, and he is responsible for the lines and performance; the woman's surname is Lin, and she is responsible for physical expression and stage presence.

Xu Wen had communicated with them about the direction beforehand. When they entered, neither of them said much. They simply placed their documents on the table and waited for someone.

The training room was a separate space downstairs from the company, about fifteen square meters in size. One wall was a mirror, the floor was wooden, and a small speaker was placed in the corner, next to a stack of teaching materials, which Xu Wen had apparently prepared in advance.

Five trainees entered one after another.

Zhou Zhennan was the first to arrive. He was wearing a regular sweatshirt today, instead of the suit he wore yesterday when discussing the contract. He seemed a bit more relaxed, but when he entered, his eyes scanned the room before he found a place to stand. He had a habit of observing people, something he couldn't shake.

Chen Linong was the second one. His appearance was indeed outstanding among the five people. When he entered, Teacher Zhao's eyes lingered on him for a couple of seconds, but she didn't say anything. Her professionalism was impeccable.

Xu Kunkun was the third to enter, almost three minutes later than the other two. His hair was still a bit messy when he came in, obviously he arrived right on time. He saw Zeng Hao standing in the corner, paused for a moment, and then looked in his direction.

Zeng Hao ignored him and looked down at his phone.

Wang Yuxuan and Lin You followed them in. They arrived together and immediately started looking for places to stand. They automatically huddled together, an instinctive reaction to strangers.

All five people were present. Teacher Zhao pushed the teaching materials aside and said, "Okay, let's start with self-introductions. Each person should say three sentences: your name, where you're from, and why you want to do this job."

Zhou Zhennan was the first to speak. He finished his three sentences with a steady voice and even rhythm. Although the occasion had changed, his demeanor remained the same, a testament to his professional instincts.

Chen Linong was the second. She was good-looking, but in two out of the three sentences, her tone went up and she didn't finish her sentence. Teacher Zhao made a note of it in her notebook but didn't say anything.

When it was Xu Kunkun's turn, he stood up, introduced himself, and said where he came from. He paused for a moment when he got to the third sentence, "I... want to be an artist that everyone likes."

The sentence was paused in an odd place. Teacher Zhao paused for a moment, then said, "Say it again."

Xu Kunkun tried again, and this time it was smoother than before, but the emphasis was wrong in the phrase "make everyone like it". The emphasis was on "everyone" instead of "like".

Minor issue, but typical of B-level dialogue.

Teacher Zhao made two notes.

Zeng Hao stood in the corner, taking this detail to heart without saying a word.

Dialogue is something that can't be rushed; going from B to A takes more than a week, but if you're on the right track, time will tell.

After Wang Yuxuan and Lin You finished their introductions, Teacher Zhao closed his notebook. "Okay, for today's first lesson, we won't talk about theory. Let's get straight to it. Everyone read a line from a script, I'll give you some direction, and then we'll do it again."

He took out five printed scripts from his bag, handed one to each person, and said, "Get ready in three minutes, then come one by one."

The training room fell silent as the five people looked down at their notes.