Chapter 13

The next morning at work, Sun Yuzhen organized a file on Lin Zaishan and, along with the demo of "Butterfly," handed it over to the music department of the station, specifically finding Liao Bo and asking him to help recommend it.

"Lin Zaishan?" Liao Bo was somewhat surprised when he saw the recommendation.

"Yes, the veteran rock singer who sang 'Wheat Field.'"

"This guy has a very bad reputation; he has offended many people in the industry."

"That was in the past. Now this uncle has changed, and I think he's a really good person."

"How did you get to know someone like him?"

"I met him by chance. I think he has great musical talent and is particularly suitable for 'The Strongest Singer-Songwriter.'"

"Zhenzi, I'm not trying to discourage you, but I must remind you that this guy's record is terrible. He might not be able to participate in the show. Even if his music is excellent, the production team might still reject him. Are you sure you want to recommend him?"

"Definitely! His music is really great! Just listen to it and you'll know!"

Impressed by Lin Zaishan's musical talent, Sun Yuzhen didn't think much about it and just wanted to help this uncle make a comeback.

Liao Bo, however, was more aware of the complexities of the industry.

Someone like Lin Zaishan, who had offended everyone in the industry, would find it very difficult to make a comeback.

People in the industry might seem magnanimous, but few forget a grudge.

Seeking revenge is a surefire way to maintain a long-lasting career in the industry.

Liao Bo remembered that the station's music director, Ma Xiaodong, had a falling out with Lin Zaishan in the past.

Ma Xiaodong, who started in rock music, later moved to the production side.

Twenty years ago, when Lin Zaishan was at the height of his fame, Ma Xiaodong, as a senior, "advised" Lin Zaishan, but was insulted by him in return.

Back then, Lin Zaishan was like a rogue cannon in the music industry, always lashing out at anyone who criticized him, which led to many enemies.

His downfall was directly related to his arrogant personality.

Over the years, this uncle had long faded from the public eye, and no one cared about him anymore.

But if he were to make a comeback, it might cause another storm.

Liao Bo didn't want to get involved in this mess, but seeing Sun Yuzhen's determination, he reluctantly accepted Lin Zaishan's recommendation.

...

At 4 PM, in the 10th-floor meeting room of the Oriental TV building.

The Art Group 3 was holding a regular meeting.

The 40-year-old main producer, Park Dae-cheng, had the latest list of participants and recommended singers.

"Lin Zaishan? Who the hell recommended him?"

Seeing Lin Zaishan's name, Park Dae-cheng was secretly annoyed.

Sun Yuzhen was startled; she didn't expect Park Dae-cheng to be so opposed to Lin Zaishan!

She had thought that Lin Zaishan's negative image would make people see him as a despicable villain, someone beyond redemption.

But after meeting the reformed Lin Zaishan and witnessing his exceptional musical talent, Sun Yuzhen genuinely believed he deserved a place in the industry.

Who hasn't made mistakes?

To acknowledge and correct one's mistakes is the greatest virtue.

Can't a reformed sinner get a chance to be forgiven?

Sun Yuzhen felt deeply unfair for Lin Zaishan.

The head of the story group, a 32-year-old refined woman named Kwe Yu, asked Park Dae-cheng, "Which Lin Zaishan? The one who sang 'Wheat Field'?"

"Yes, someone actually recommended this guy. This is a joke, right?" Park Dae-cheng was helpless.

Several employees were whispering, secretly discussing Lin Zaishan's notorious past.

Seeing how much everyone disliked Lin Zaishan, Sun Yuzhen felt extremely uncomfortable.

"This guy has a lot of stories. If he can participate in the show, it will definitely spark a lot of discussion."

From the perspective of the participants' background stories and the show's appeal, Kwe Yu believed that Lin Zaishan had value. The story group liked participants with unique stories.

"But the discussion will be negative. This guy has been in jail and has offended many people. His public image is completely negative. If he appears on our show, it could tarnish our reputation."

This was said by the head of the publicity group, Niu Li, who was the same age as Kwe Yu.

These two unmarried women of a certain age had joined the Oriental TV station in the same year and held the same position.

They were close friends in their youth, calling each other sisters.

Two years ago, they had a falling out over a man, and their relationship at work became very competitive, with neither willing to yield to the other.

If you said east, she would say west; if you said one, she would say two. They always opposed each other.

Niu Li's subordinate, Wang Yaowen, added, "In the year 2000, Lin Zaishan severely injured the son of a tycoon. If I remember correctly, he beat up Liu Zhongjie, the current chairman of the listed company, Huali Group, a very young and capable tycoon."

Another veteran employee, Zhang Jing, an old woman who loved gossip, said, "I remember this incident was quite big. They seemed to fight over a woman, right? At that time, Liu Zhongjie was also a playboy, and his public image wasn't much better than Lin Zaishan's. Who would have thought that seven years later, he would become a tycoon, while Lin Zaishan might still be in jail. That's fate!"

Sun Yuzhen felt more and more helpless, wanting to defend Lin Zaishan but unable to get a word in.

She had been working for almost three years but had only joined Art Group 3 a year and a half ago, so she was still considered a junior member with little standing in the group.

Niu Li asked the foreign affairs group, "Is Huali Group participating in the advertising bid for our show?"

The head of the foreign affairs group, Li Nan, said, "They haven't bid for our show, but they are a secondary sponsor of 'Go Out' (another variety show on the Oriental TV station)."

Niu Li said, "Exactly! Huali Group has advertised with our station. If you push someone who beat up Liu Zhongjie onto the show, the group will be angry, and the station's management won't agree!"

Kwe Yu huffed, "That was so many years ago. Huali Group's Liu must have forgotten about it. He wasn't exactly a saint back then either."

Niu Li argued, "If Lin Zaishan reappears, his past will definitely be brought up. The incident with Liu Zhongjie will be revisited, and Liu will be upset. He will definitely boycott our show!"

Kwe Yu laughed, "Let him boycott. He hasn't advertised for our show, and we don't need his one viewer. If he wants to stir up trouble, it will help us generate more buzz for the show!"

Niu Li was furious, "Is that a good topic to stir up? Our show's goal is to create an excellent music program. Stirring up such gossip will blur the focus!"

Kwe Yu retorted, "Do you even know how to produce a show? Without generating buzz, how can our show become popular? Viewers love stories of grudges and love affairs!"

Niu Li was about to curse, "Are you crazy? You're bringing up all these grudges and love affairs. I think you really don't know how to produce a show! How did you become the head of the story group?"

"Enough, enough! Stop arguing!"

Seeing his two key subordinates about to fight again, Park Dae-cheng was annoyed and stopped them.

Originally, he was very opposed to a character like Lin Zaishan, but after mentioning Huali Group's Liu Zhongjie, Park Dae-cheng felt a bit more sympathetic towards Lin Zaishan.

A young actress whom Park Dae-cheng had once favored, a junior from Dongyi University, had a secret affair with Liu Zhongjie and became pregnant.

This girl was determined to marry into a wealthy family and pressured Liu Zhongjie, but he abandoned her, and she lost the child.

Her promising career in the industry was ruined, and she spiraled into self-destruction, a tragic outcome.

Since then, Park Dae-cheng had been very resentful of Liu Zhongjie, the so-called tycoon with a hypocritical facade.

Thinking about how Lin Zaishan had beaten Liu Zhongjie to a pulp, with photos even posted online, Park Dae-cheng felt secretly satisfied.

If Lin Zaishan could appear on the show and bring up old news, making Liu Zhongjie lose face, Liu would be very upset.

Liu's upset would make Park Dae-cheng happy.

However, as the show's chief director and producer, Park Dae-cheng couldn't let personal grudges affect the show.

In his forties and increasingly valued by the station, Park Dae-cheng placed great importance on this new show that could potentially launch his career.

He personally oversaw every detail of the preparation for "The Strongest Singer-Songwriter," ensuring nothing went wrong. He was under a lot of pressure.

Park Dae-cheng knew that the core competitiveness of the show was the quality of the participants.

He valued the musical talent of the participants.

The show planned to invite 60 participants for the preliminary rounds, recording six episodes with 10 participants each.

As of today, the production team had confirmed 55 participants, leaving 5 spots open.

In addition, they needed to select 3-5 backup participants in case of any last-minute changes.

The selection of participants, in theory, should be reviewed by the music group, but Park Dae-cheng, for perfection and to avoid mistakes, personally reviewed each participant's file and provided recommendations.

He was relatively satisfied with the 55 confirmed participants but hoped to find more talented musicians to strengthen the show. Therefore, he strongly encouraged the team to use their connections to find suitable singer-songwriters.

However, seeing Lin Zaishan's name, Park Dae-cheng was very troubled. He couldn't understand who was causing trouble at this critical stage of preparation.

Heavily tapping the list on the table, Park Dae-cheng asked the 20 team members sitting around the long conference table, "Who recommended Lin Zaishan?"

Everyone looked at each other, none daring to speak.

Sun Yuzhen, sitting at the end of the table, frowned, her delicate face showing distress, and slowly raised her hand.

"It was me, PD."

Afraid of Park Dae-cheng's outburst, Sun Yuzhen didn't dare to look him in the eye.

The team members murmured, secretly annoyed that Sun Yuzhen was causing trouble and didn't understand the industry.

Niu Li, giving Sun Yuzhen a cold stare, said, "Are you out of your mind? How could you recommend someone like him?"

Defending Sun Yuzhen, Kwe Yu said, "What's wrong with recommending Lin Zaishan? I'll tell you, if he can appear on our show, the online discussion will increase by at least 1%!"

"An increase in online discussion is useless! What matters is the ratings!" Niu Li said fiercely, "I'll tell you, if such a villain appears on the show, our ratings will drop by 1%!"

"You two, take your argument outside! Every meeting, you argue. Is this ever going to end?"

Park Dae-cheng was frustrated by the two older women sitting on either side of him.

Niu Li and Kwe Yu glared at each other and fell silent.

Park Dae-cheng turned to Sun Yuzhen and asked his junior from Dongyi University, "Did you check Lin Zaishan's background before recommending him? You should know who he is, right?"

"I know what kind of person he is in the public eye. He has been in jail and has a history of indulgence and decline, but I want to say that it's all in the past. The current Lin Zaishan has reformed and is now a very talented and principled musician. I've heard his music, and I think he is very suitable for our show."

She added, "His singing and songwriting are both excellent."

"Even if they are excellent, it doesn't matter!" Niu Li said angrily, "His image is negative! This will greatly harm our show!"

"Compared to the harm his negative image might cause, I believe his musical talent will bring more benefits to our show." Sun Yuzhen mustered the courage to stand up to Niu Li.

"You think it will bring benefits just because you say so? How can you be so presumptuous?"

"He really is very talented!" Sun Yuzhen felt extremely wronged by Niu Li's criticism.

Kwe Yu spoke up for Sun Yuzhen, suggesting to Park Dae-cheng, "Whether he is talented or not is debatable, but the topics surrounding Lin Zaishan are very rich. He is a double-edged sword. Who hasn't made mistakes in their youth? If he has truly reformed, our show can help him turn his negative image around and give him a chance to start anew, which would create a good reputation."

Park Dae-cheng nodded thoughtfully, finding Kwe Yu's words reasonable.

Niu Li wanted to argue further, but Park Dae-cheng said, "Let's stop this! We're wasting time. How are the venue negotiations going? Can we start recording on the 15th of next month?"

"The Donghai Sports Center has cleared the schedule for us. The stage will be set up on the 9th, and we can start recording on the 15th."

"Have the schedules of the four mentors been confirmed?"

Park Dae-cheng changed the topic.

...

After the meeting that afternoon, Park Dae-cheng asked Sun Yuzhen to stay behind.

"Xiao Sun, what is your relationship with Lin Zaishan?"

Park Dae-cheng wanted to ask Sun Yuzhen privately.

"We're friends, but we just met. From my interactions with him, I really believe he has reformed and is not the same Lin Zaishan. He is very talented and very suitable for our show."

"Hmm." Park Dae-cheng nodded thoughtfully. He had a good opinion of Sun Yuzhen's character. He knew this junior from Dongyi University was kind and honest, not the kind of person who exaggerates or talks nonsense.

"PD Park, if you're worried, you can interview Lin Zaishan. If you meet him personally, you'll see he's not the person we imagine."

"Alright, I'll think about it. You can go back to work."

"Thank you, PD Park."

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