Chapter 54

Sun Yuzhen had previously told Lin Zaishan that the program team had arranged for him to appear in the first episode of *The Strongest Singer Creator* for a reason.

For a singer-songwriter of Lin Zaishan's caliber, who was almost the last to perform, he should have appeared after a few episodes to serve as a trump card to boost the program's popularity.

Unfortunately, Lin Zaishan's background was too complicated, which led to a split within the station—those from the Art and Entertainment Group 3, including the head of the publicity department, Niu Li, who originally did not favor Lin Zaishan, now strongly supported his appearance on the show, believing that Lin Zaishan would bring a unique and different brilliance to *The Strongest Singer Creator*.

However, the senior management of Oriental TV, such as the deputy director in charge of variety shows, Chang Hua, the head of the Art and Entertainment Department, Fang Qingtian, and the chief supervisor of *The Strongest Singer Creator*, Diao Yuehan (female), were all wary of Lin Zaishan's background and were reluctant to have him appear on the show.

A rock veteran who had caused significant negative social impact, taken drugs, served time in prison, and never apologized to the public, carried too much negative energy.

Giving such a person a chance to re-emerge would pose a huge risk to Oriental TV. If things went wrong, it could lead to a public backlash, affecting the future of the heavily funded music program.

Although the advertising sponsorship for this season of *The Strongest Singer Creator* had already been secured, if the program were to be labeled as a "haven for villains" or a "garbage collection station" and these labels stuck, it would not only affect the future advertising sponsorship, causing significant economic losses to the station, but also damage the image of Oriental TV.

The competition in the television industry was fierce. Any small mistake could be seized upon by competitors, leading to negative public opinion.

From a higher perspective, the senior management of Oriental TV was completely opposed to having Lin Zaishan on the show. Losing a highlight in the program was not a big deal for them, but letting this "bad apple" ruin the whole show would be a loss.

If not for Park Dae-cheng's strong recommendation, Lin Zaishan would not have had the opportunity to participate in the program.

Even if his music was excellent, it meant nothing to the senior management of Oriental TV.

In this high-profile industry, talent was secondary; an artist's character and image were the most important.

Under the spotlight, every action and word of an artist would be scrutinized under a microscope, and public opinion directly affected their future.

Even a single major mistake could ruin an artist's career. Lin Zaishan, who had persistently made mistakes for years, had long been branded by the media and the public as a sinner.

Park Dae-cheng was truly determined. During the interview that afternoon, he was genuinely impressed by Lin Zaishan's talent and felt that this uncle had repented and deserved a chance to showcase himself again. He was willing to risk his career to recommend Lin Zaishan.

However, under the pressure from the senior management, Park Dae-cheng did not dare to fully support Lin Zaishan. He could only give Lin Zaishan one chance to prove himself on the show.

The main reason the program team arranged for Lin Zaishan to appear in the first episode was to test the public's reaction to him from the beginning.

Before the official broadcast, the program team would, as usual, cut a preview version for the media, industry insiders, and a small number of social groups to watch and provide feedback.

The senior management of the station would pay close attention to the results of the preview. If Lin Zaishan caused too much negative impact during the preview, his part in the program would be cut, and he might even be completely removed. Even if a mentor took him in, the program team might still be pressured to eliminate him through editing.

Art and Entertainment Group 3 did not want to see this happen. Influenced by Park Dae-cheng and the two female group leaders, the members of Group 3 were now looking forward to Lin Zaishan's performance, hoping that this prodigal genius would bring the biggest surprise to the program.

The publicity department, led by Niu Li, began to lay the groundwork for public opinion after confirming that Lin Zaishan would appear in the first episode. They would ensure that the preview group made objective and rational evaluations and not be influenced by other factors.

The story group, led by Kweiyu, also began to design scripts and stories to help Lin Zaishan improve his image, aiming to minimize the public's "misunderstanding" and habitual negative evaluations.

But these were secondary. The most important thing now was for Lin Zaishan to present a work that could touch people's hearts on his first appearance on the show.

In music variety shows, music was the core.

As long as Lin Zaishan could present a work that moved people so much that they couldn't bear to criticize him, everything else would be easier.

Sun Yuzhen told Lin Zaishan about the severe situation at the station.

Lin Zaishan now understood that his first step in the competition, with his tarnished past, was the most crucial. If he took this step well, his future would be smoother. If he stumbled, his path in the industry would be extremely difficult.

An opportunity to work with a top producer like Park Dae-cheng, who supported him solely based on his music, was rare, and he could not afford to miss this chance to prove himself.

After careful consideration, Lin Zaishan decided to bring out a top classic from another life—*Hills*—to conquer everyone at once.

He knew that the biggest obstacle to his appearance on the show came from the senior management of Oriental TV.

The senior management of Oriental TV were likely older, experienced, and knowledgeable people.

The more experienced and knowledgeable a person was, the more they would be moved by *Hills*.

If such music could not move those senior managers, then he had nothing to say, and he would accept being cut. After all, the uncle had made so many mistakes.

You reap what you sow.

Trying to escape the consequences was impossible.

Using a cliché—good and evil will be repaid, the cycle of heaven is just. Look up, and heaven will not spare anyone!

If you do wrong and still act arrogantly, you will eventually face retribution.

Only by enduring and working hard to improve can you truly reform.

Lin Zaishan was prepared for a bumpy road.

He would embrace this new world with the most sincere heart for music and participate in this competition with the greatest enthusiasm and determination, which could potentially change his life.

But if all his efforts in this competition ultimately turned to nothing, he would not be discouraged.

He would treat this competition as a small step on a bumpy road.

In the future, there might be many such small steps.

As long as he did not give up after falling and kept moving forward step by step, he would eventually achieve his goals.

Of course, this was the worst-case scenario.

There were also positive aspects to the program team's decision to have Lin Zaishan appear in the first episode.

If Lin Zaishan could use his music to win the public's hearts and redefine his character, making the public look forward to his future, he would become the first and possibly the most memorable participant in this new, attention-grabbing program. This would greatly benefit his future in the competition.

The program would later adopt an interactive approach with the audience to decide the fate of the participants. If Lin Zaishan left a deep and lasting impression from the beginning, cultivating a loyal fan base, his path in the competition would be smooth.

Park Dae-cheng was well aware that if the audience could view Lin Zaishan, a genius musician who had risen from the depths and never gave up on his dreams, with a new perspective, his story would bring significant positive energy and social attention to the program.

For the program team and Oriental TV, Lin Zaishan was a double-edged sword.

A major station like Oriental TV would not be willing to take such a risk.

But for the program team, which was determined to succeed, even with a 30% chance of success, they would take the risk with this double-edged sword.

Lin Zaishan did not want to think too much about it. He just wanted to bring out the best music and let the music speak.

...

That afternoon, Lin Zaishan went to the "Liren" record company, where Zhang Pengfei worked, to record a demo of *Hills*.

Liren was a medium-sized record company that did not have an agency to manage artists but focused solely on music production.

Many quasi-top-tier singers chose Liren to produce and record their albums.

The company had top-tier recording studios available for artists to choose from.

Due to the poor market conditions in the music industry, Liren also opened up paid recording services for music enthusiasts.

The starting price for recording a song was 300 yuan, which was quite cheap, but this was just the starting price.

There were various additional services such as post-production effects.

Recording was charged by the hour.

The price varied depending on the level of the recording engineer.

Top recording engineers charged 500 to 1000 yuan per hour, while a beginner like Zhang Pengfei charged 200 yuan per hour.

Lin Zaishan had previously troubled Zhang Pengfei many times to record for free at Dongyi University.

Now that he had some money, he didn't need to save face and take free lunches.

He also wanted to support Zhang Pengfei's business and asked to pay for the recording at Zhang Pengfei's company.

"Uncle, why do you have to do this? With these few hundred yuan, you could treat me to a meal! Why come to our company to record? If you want to record a demo, we can go to Dongyi University tonight." Zhang Pengfei stopped Lin Zaishan, who was carrying his old guitar, at the entrance of Liren.

"Going to Dongyi University would trouble you to coordinate the time, which would just add to your workload."

"This is no big deal! If you're not in a hurry, we can wait."

"No, let's just record at your company. It's just a demo, not too complicated. After recording, I still need to do the arrangement. I'll try to finish the song tomorrow and send it to Oriental TV."

"Alright, if you're in a hurry, we'll record at my company. I'll take you to register and just do the minimum charge. If you need any additional services, I'll secretly do them for you, hehe."

"Thanks, I'll treat you to a meal later."

With Zhang Pengfei's help, Lin Zaishan went to register at Liren's recording department.

"Nothing else, this uncle just wants to record a dry voice, no need for separate tracks or mastering. Just a simple recording and a CD. Can you give us the minimum charge, miss?"

The front desk lady, Hu Xuelian, looked at Lin Zaishan in surprise and confirmed, "Just a dry voice? No accompaniment?"

Zhang Pengfei answered for him, "No, this uncle is recording his original work. We don't have the accompaniment here."

"Shouldn't you do some post-production? Just a dry voice... it won't sound good!" Hu Xuelian suggested, "Uncle, have you ever been in a recording studio? If it's your first time, I suggest you do some post-production. It won't cost much. Just a dry voice won't sound good, and it will be a waste."

"Look, this uncle is carrying a guitar. Does he look like he has no experience in a recording studio? Don't give him bad advice. Just register the minimum charge. He's waiting for the demo."

"Alright, I'll register it. You can go to Studio A3. Uncle, if the recording doesn't sound good, I suggest you discuss with the recording engineer and do some post-production. Just a dry voice really won't sound good."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you." Lin Zaishan and Hu Xuelian smiled and thanked her, paid a 500 yuan deposit, and followed Zhang Pengfei to Studio A3.

Without wasting time or making small talk, the two entered the studio and began the sound test.

The recording started charging as soon as the light in Studio A3 turned on.

After a five-minute sound test with the monitoring headphones, Lin Zaishan was about to try his guitar when the door of Studio A3 was knocked.

A woman in her forties, wearing a black business suit, with light makeup and a somewhat stern look, entered.

She was Xu Yan, the head of the recording department.

Oh no!

When Xu Yan's eyes met Zhang Pengfei's, his heart sank.

Was this old woman going to monitor the recording?

If she monitored the recording, he couldn't secretly do the post-production for Lin Zaishan!

---

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