Chapter 89: Isn’t This a Little Too Fast?

When the evening news ended, Yu Zhile, who was already trending, shot straight to the number-one spot on the hot search list thanks to the news broadcast’s nomination and praise.

Yu Zhile knew that the buzz behind this could not have come from nowhere; the publisher must have been working hard to drive it. After all, this time, aside from him gaining plenty of likes and fame, the biggest beneficiary was the publisher.

When Yang Bing saw the trending topic, he sent a message in admiration: “That’s insane! Even the evening news gave you a shout-out!”

There was something oddly funny about the way he put it.

Yu Zhile replied: “I guess the evening news just didn’t have any uplifting stories to report, so my little matter happened to catch their eye.”

After that, Yu Zhile asked: “How did today’s recording of I Am a Singer go? Smoothly?”

After the Spring Festival, Oriental Satellite TV was set to launch I Am a Singer, and today was the first day of recording.

Yang Bing messaged back: “The recording went smoothly, but now we’ve run into an opponent. Tonight, the show Starry Brilliantness is airing, and the host-introduction segment is a complete imitation of our drawn-out style. Now they’ve also chosen to air before I Am a Singer, and their upcoming time slot clashes with ours too. It feels like they’re targeting us.”

Yu Zhile was intrigued. “Starry Brilliantness? Is that show all about inviting popular singers?”

Yang Bing replied: “Exactly. Overall, it feels like a final revision of I Am a Singer, just with the voting process slightly altered. So there’s nothing much we can do about them.”

Yu Zhile asked: “What do you think of the show?”

Yang Bing answered honestly: “It’s pretty good overall, since they’ve invited a lot of popular singers. But the stage and sound system aren’t very good, because most of the budget went to the performers’ appearance fees.”

Yu Zhile typed: “Then there’s no need to be intimidated by them. Audiences are probably already tired of this kind of music show anyway. Compared with them, I Am a Singer has the advantage of a reality-show segment and a fresher format. On top of that, our stage and sound are both far better than theirs. Even if our singer lineup isn’t as glamorous as theirs, we can still crush them in the ratings.”

“Mm. I just hope our thinking and decisions are right.”

Yang Bing could only hope that when the show premiered next week, it would achieve a good viewership rating.

Yu Zhile turned on the television and watched the Starry Brilliantness show Yang Bing had mentioned. After Qin Haiyu finished showering and came out, she asked curiously, “Honey, is this a new variety show?”

Yu Zhile nodded. “Mm. It premiered today. Overall, it’s pretty much the same as the revamped I Am a Singer from last season.”

Qin Haiyu sat down and watched for a few minutes before commenting, “It really is similar to I Am a Singer. They just invite popular singers to compete in singing, and only tweaked the voting segment a little.”

Yu Zhile said, “These music shows are all basically the same. They’re just dressed up in different clothes. They can only rely on popular singers to boost ratings, so the musical standard and overall quality end up looking rather ordinary. They’re even less impressive than a street busker.”

Qin Haiyu nodded. “That’s why outdoor reality shows are the ones that are popular now. Music programs generally can’t get good results anymore.”

Yu Zhile said hopefully, “Let’s wait for next week’s I Am a Singer. This time they’ve invited singers with real ability—either washed-up stars or artists who are famous for their songs but not for themselves. I’m actually quite optimistic about this kind of countercurrent music show.”

Qin Haiyu looked puzzled. “I feel like that makes it even more likely to flop. Variety shows nowadays all go after traffic celebrities, which shows that traffic stars are the main guarantee for ratings. If I Am a Singer doesn’t use traffic celebrities, then they’ll have to spend more effort and money promoting the show.”

Yu Zhile analyzed it for her. “Honey, you have to think in reverse. For this kind of music show, when the musical level is too weak, where do the ratings come from? Naturally, from the die-hard fans of the traffic singers.

“But what about the viewers who truly love music? People like us, who don’t chase celebrities—when we watch a music program at this level, there’s plenty to complain about.

“So if they go against the grain and give up on traffic, the production team can save a lot of money and use it to improve the stage, upgrade the band, and enhance the audio equipment. That way, a genuinely music-centered high-level show is born. Against all those gaudy, flashy music programs, it becomes a breath of fresh air, a true feast for the ears and the heart.

“So yes, it’s a risk. But it’s a risk that can absolutely bring unexpected rewards.”

Listening to her husband’s analysis, Qin Haiyu suddenly felt that it made perfect sense.

She giggled. “No wonder you’re my husband. The way you look at things is different from everyone else.”

Yu Zhile held his wife in his arms and smiled with satisfaction.

He thought to himself that these were lessons distilled from many years of watching variety shows.

In this world, he could tell at a glance which variety shows would become hits and which would remain ordinary.

The next morning.

Yu Zhile woke up, and early that morning his editor, Zhang Xue, had already left a message. She sent him a congratulatory text: “Boss! The book’s sales have surpassed ten million copies! I’ve heard that many primary-school teachers across the country are recommending that lower-grade students buy your book!

“After last night’s news broadcast, someone from the Ministry of Education contacted the publisher first thing this morning. I just sent them your contact information, and they should reach out to you today. The general idea is that they want your permission to include those fables in the next revised primary-school textbooks!”

By the time he finished reading, Yu Zhile was stunned.

That was too fast, wasn’t it?

He had indeed imagined that once the stories became popular, they would probably eventually be included in primary-school textbooks. But he had never expected the Ministry of Education to make a decision in just one week.

He replied to Zhang Xue: “All right!”

After getting up and walking out briskly, Yu Zhile saw Qin Haiyu in the living room feeding the baby some thin noodles. Excited, he said, “Honey! The editor says the book has sold ten million copies! The Ministry of Education contacted the publisher this morning and wants my permission to include those fables in future primary-school textbooks!”

“Wow!”

Qin Haiyu was just as thrilled. “Honey, you’re amazing! When our baby goes to school in the future, she’ll be able to proudly tell everyone which lesson was written by her dad!”

Yu Zhile laughed. “If the teacher asks her to read it aloud and memorize the whole thing, I’m afraid our baby will beat me up later.”

“Pfft, hahahaha!”

Qin Haiyu was strangely amused by that.

The baby was slowly slurping down a noodle hanging from her mouth, her big curious eyes fixed on the little bowl of noodles, not really understanding what her parents were saying.

But at that moment, it seemed she had a vague sense of foreboding. Her little nose itched, and then she suddenly sneezed. The noodle she had been slurping flew right out of her mouth.