Chapter 88: Lin Feng Makes His Entrance
Everyone looked at each other in astonishment. The spike in ratings was simply bizarre. Commercial breaks usually saw a drop in viewership, but at this moment, there was a dramatic surge instead. It was truly puzzling.
“Could it be that the audience split by Blue Lake Satellite’s ‘Changeable King’ has returned now that their show is over?” Sun Ze mused.
“That’s possible, but…” Qian Jinlai glanced at his watch. “Isn’t ‘Changeable King’ still airing at this time?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. “Their ending time should be about the same as ours.”
“Then this is strange. What else could cause our ratings to rise even during commercials?” Everyone wore an expression of confusion.
“I know!” Suddenly, Wu Daren shouted.
“Old Wu, why do you have to startle everyone like that?” Qian Jinlai was taken aback by Wu Daren’s outburst.
Wu Daren grinned, “The reason for our rising ratings, as I said before, is entirely because of Lin Feng!”
“If you don’t believe me, look…” Wu Daren displayed his social media feed for everyone. He typed in ‘Original Songs’ in the search, and out of the ten most recent posts, seven or eight mentioned Lin Feng by name.
“Lin Feng is about to appear—quick, tune into ‘Original Songs’…”
“Really looking forward to seeing Lin Feng and Qin Ruolin share the stage on ‘Original Songs’—it’s finally happening.”
“Will Lin Feng join Qin Ruolin’s team?? Original Songs.”
“I wonder how many mentors will push their recommendation for Lin Feng. The song from the promo was amazing…”
“Already tuned in, coordinates set to CCTV’s ‘Original Songs,’ just waiting for Lin Feng to take the stage…”
…
Each post indirectly confirmed Wu Daren’s theory.
Still, everyone remained half skeptical. Lin Feng was a hot topic, but he was hardly a superstar—could he really wield such influence?
Could a show’s ratings truly skyrocket the moment he appeared?
Wasn’t that a bit exaggerated?
“Let’s go to the tech room! I want to see the real-time data!” Qian Jinlai still couldn’t believe Lin Feng could have such a dramatic impact.
The program team leaders followed Qian Jinlai to CCTV’s technical monitoring room.
This tech room wasn’t set up just for ‘Original Songs,’ but served all CCTV channels. Constructing a real-time ratings monitoring facility required immense resources and funding—something only CCTV could afford, not provincial satellite stations.
On the walls, huge LCD displays were mounted. At that moment, seven or eight technicians stared intently at the ratings for CCTV’s main channel during this time slot.
“It’s up again!”
“My god, this is unbelievable!”
“It’s already at 2.8, and the commercials aren’t even finished yet!”
As Qian Jinlai and the others entered, they caught the technicians exclaiming.
“It’s up again?” Qian Jinlai walked to the massive screen showing CCTV’s real-time ratings. Across fifty-two cities, the numbers had climbed to 2.81, and judging by the momentum, breaking 3 was only a matter of time.
“Producer Qian.”
“Producer Qian…”
The technicians greeted Qian Jinlai.
“The ratings are rising so sharply—could this be a technical error?” Qian Jinlai asked.
“That’s impossible. We’ve tracked ratings for years; the margin between our data and the official stats from the Broadcasting Authority never exceeds 0.05,” one technician replied.
Qian Jinlai nodded in relief. Whatever the reason, the ratings were finally surging—a great sign for the entire program team.
CCTV broadcast.
The commercial break ended, and ‘Original Songs’ resumed.
The scene was a vast, empty sports arena.
The narrator intoned, “The next contestant has a somewhat special background. He’s a professional basketball player. On the court, his shots are precise, he cuts through opposition, unstoppable!”
The footage shifted to the final game of the CBA championship. In the last moments, Lin Feng leaped high, shot a three-pointer—score!
Lin Feng celebrated passionately, teammates rushed in to join him…
“On the court, he turned the tide single-handedly! In this year’s CBA finals, he set a series of records, delivering two earth-shattering game-winning shots…”
“He is the undisputed king of the court!”
“That’s right, the next contestant to take the stage is the 2016 CBA Finals MVP—Lin Feng!”
“Tonight, he’ll challenge the music stage in a crossover performance!”
“In this brand-new ‘battlefield,’ what will his performance be like? Will any mentor push the recommendation for him?”
“Let’s wait and see!”
The short film ended.
The scene returned to the ‘Original Songs’ stage, where the four teams of mentors sat relaxed, unaware of who was about to appear.
“Please welcome the next contestant…” the host introduced.
Lin Feng slowly walked onto the stage.
The moment he appeared, a loud gasp erupted from the audience.
The broadcast managed to capture several audience members’ astonished faces.
Upon seeing this, viewers at home were amused and even more eager for what would happen next.
“It broke 3!!”
In the tech room, a technician suddenly shouted.
The group, who had been focused on the TV broadcast, quickly shifted their attention back to the giant ratings screen.
Sure enough, the moment Lin Feng stepped onto the stage, the ratings for ‘Original Songs’ broke 3 again since the opening…
“Looks like the ratings surge really is thanks to Lin Feng,” Qian Jinlai nodded to himself.
CCTV broadcast.
Lin Feng nodded to the band.
The intro began…
He launched into the verse, his voice clean and clear…
If only the mirror were not like you, not hiding secrets
I wouldn’t believe that without you, I’d smile more beautifully
That day I heard your apologetic concern through the phone
With a pout, I cut you off more decisively than your breakup words
…
The first section ended, Lin Feng took a brief breath.
The mentors swayed gently to the rhythm, clearly impressed with the song.
The music continued, moving into the second section, and Lin Feng unleashed his power…
Tears washed the clothes clean, memories dried in sunlight
Folded away heartbreak, from tomorrow only happiness will accompany me
Though crowded, if I truly meet you in this city of love
Don’t be surprised, my smile cannot be replaced
…
At the end of the second section, Lin Feng executed a beautiful vocal run, building momentum for the approaching chorus…
And just then, two mentors almost simultaneously pushed their recommendation levers!
Click!
Click!
Two beams of mentor-recommended light blazed on—the ones who pushed were Liu Hua and Hansen.
When the audience witnessed this, excitement exploded.
“Mentors actually pushed the lever!”
“Even the usually strict King Liu pressed it—Lin Feng is truly impressive!”
“Will Qin Ruolin push the lever too?”
“…”
With two mentors giving their recommendations, the audience’s curiosity about what would happen next grew even stronger…
…