Chapter 87: Boosting the Ratings (Any Votes?)

"That idiot Zhou Ziqian is showing off on Weibo again! Everyone, come and watch!"
"Damn it, flood his comment section!"
"Guys, someone’s acting stupid—grab your gear!"
"Commander, it’s time for battle! Battle! Battle!"
"..."

No sooner had Zhou Ziqian posted on Weibo than the Shenfeng Guardians’ group chat exploded. Everyone was shouting to go ‘take down’ Zhou Ziqian.

Just then, Lin Feng, who had been silent for ages, finally spoke.

"Don’t get worked up, everyone. Name-calling doesn’t solve anything, and besides, it’s just a waste of time..."

"Holy crap, Shenfeng’s alive!"
"What do you mean? He was never dead!"
"Look, a wild legendary master appears—everyone, come see!"
"Is it really Shenfeng? I’m so excited."
"Don’t go, Shenfeng! I want to have your babies…"
"…"

Lin Feng’s single message instantly drew all attention to him. But he didn’t reply to anyone in the group; instead, he updated his Weibo again.

"Zhou Ziqian, I’m honestly worried about your intelligence. You’re sticking out your stupid old face like that—am I supposed to hit you, or hit you? If you want to show off, at least wait until after the show, all right? Also, don’t you have a student named Sun Hao? Before you post again, you’d better talk to him. Otherwise, if you keep sticking your face out this naively, I’ll be embarrassed to hit you..."

"Oh, and another thing—I’ve told you before: if you’re a real man, stop rambling on Weibo all the time. After the ‘Music PK Arena’ wraps up the day after tomorrow, let’s meet at a boxing gym and settle things for real. I’ve always believed, name-calling never solves anything!"

"Damn! No wonder Shenfeng told us not to curse him out—he’s going to settle it with his fists!"
"Well done! That’s how you deal with someone like Zhou Ziqian—no need for politeness!"
"Shit, now I’m worried Shenfeng’s public challenge will get him punished by the Basketball Association again. Those bastards are capable of anything!"
"Let them punish him all they want. I heard an American team wants to sign Shenfeng. If he goes to the American league, the Basketball Association can go eat dirt!"
"They already are dirt! Especially Zhu Deli, the head of the basketball administration center—I heard he’s the one who ordered Shenfeng’s punishment."
"Hey, is it true an American team wants to sign Shenfeng?"
"That’s what I heard. My uncle’s a high-up at the Jiangning Club; he said an American team contacted them, but Lin Feng’s contract is already up, so the club doesn’t have any say in his transfer."
"Wow, I’ve never heard that before!"
"If Shenfeng really goes to America, the Basketball Association’s face will swell up like a pig’s head!"

"Not to mention, Shenfeng’s three-point shots are legendary—he’d have a real shot in America!"
"..."

As the group kept chatting, their conversation went off-topic as usual...

Meanwhile, Weibo was ablaze thanks to Lin Feng’s challenge. Legions of Zhou Ziqian’s fans rushed to Lin Feng’s Weibo, hurling insults—calling him crude, violent, a country bumpkin, and so on...

Lin Feng just laughed it off, and finally replied to all of them with a single comment:

"Hey, fans of you-know-who, hold your fire—‘Original Songs’ is about to start. Watch closely, find something worth criticizing, and come back after the show!"

That reply actually amused many of Zhou Ziqian’s fans, and sure enough, the flood of insults in Lin Feng’s comment section subsided.

At exactly eight o’clock, the fourth season of ‘Original Songs’ aired right on schedule. This season, the show had upgraded everything—the mentors, the stage, the sound equipment—so the production team had high hopes for the ratings.

After a flashy opening, the host Yang Fan took the stage. With a few quick words, he introduced the first contestant of the season: Qin Da, a singer from deep in the mountains.

Qin Da’s style was unrefined and natural. The melody of his song was simple, the arrangement unadorned, and he relied solely on his impressive voice. His rendition of a hometown folk song stunned all three mentors, who all slammed their buzzers for him. In the end, he chose Liu Hua.

Qin Da’s entrance wasn’t exactly jaw-dropping—the previous three seasons had similar contestants—but he still shone and captured attention. At least, viewers who’d been waiting for ‘Original Songs’ wouldn’t be disappointed.

The next few contestants were all unique in their own ways and each earned the mentors’ approval.

However, after Qin Da’s performance, the ratings began to steadily decline.

In fact, the show’s team had anticipated this. After all, it was season four—many contestants this year had styles similar to those in previous seasons, including Qin Da and those who followed him. Naturally, the audience began to lose interest.

At the China Central Television building, the ‘Original Songs’ team was working overtime for the season premiere. Several technicians monitored the ratings in real time.

"This is bad, Producer Qian—the ratings have dropped below two..."

A technician rushed into Qian Jinlai’s office.

At this point, Qian Jinlai’s office had become a makeshift meeting room, filled with the show’s key staff, while a TV on the wall played the first episode.

"What? The ratings dropped below two this fast?" Director Sun Ze exclaimed. The premiere had started with ratings above three, and now, after just an hour, they’d lost a full point—a drop far beyond anyone’s expectations.

"Is audience fatigue really this severe?" Qian Jinlai frowned.

"Maybe today’s contestants just aren’t up to par," someone suggested.

"Isn’t Lin Feng up next? At this point, only he might be able to save the ratings!" Deputy Director Wu Daren said confidently.

"Wu Daren, you’re being too optimistic. Sure, Lin Feng is a hot topic and might bump up the ratings, but expecting him to pull us back up to three is just impossible," Sun Ze replied coldly.

His skepticism stemmed from the fact that Lin Feng was Wu Daren’s discovery.

In this world, a rating above three was the benchmark for a phenomenon-level variety show. The previous three seasons had averaged between 1.5 and 2.6, so this year CCTV had spared no expense, hoping to break past three and create a phenomenon. But now, the premiere’s ratings had already dipped below two. The final average might be around 2.2 or 2.3 at best—a huge gap from their expectations.

While the team stewed in frustration, the fifth contestant finished performing. Next up was Lin Feng, the headliner of the first episode. But just then, the show cut to commercials.

Online:

"Everyone, switch to ‘Original Songs’! Lin Feng’s about to go on!"
"On it! The earlier contestants were boring—I changed the channel."
"Same here. The contestants were all too similar, nothing worth watching. But I’ll never miss Shenfeng."
"Is Shenfeng finally up? I’ve been waiting..."
"Gonna take a break—watch Shenfeng and then back to gaming..."
"Let’s go, let’s go—time to watch Shenfeng sing..."

...

Back in Qian Jinlai’s office—

"Producer Qian, the ratings, the ratings..." The technician burst in again.

"They dropped again?" Everyone inside tensed up—the ratings were tied directly to their bonuses.

"It’s fine, we’re in a commercial break. A drop is normal," Qian Jinlai forced himself to stay calm.

"It didn’t drop! It’s up!"

"What!? Up? How is that possible?" The room was stunned. It was a commercial break, after all.

"How much did it go up?" Qian Jinlai asked.

"It’s already climbed to 2.6..."

Qian Jinlai sucked in a breath. The surge was astonishing—almost a 0.7 jump in an instant. What kind of force could cause that?

...