“Sister Liang, what did you say?”
Cao Bo felt the wine in his mouth was a bit harsh on his throat.
Liang Dan hung up the phone, “You heard it, Tianjiao is holding a promotion event at the Huatian Hotel to pitch the broadcasting rights for ‘Star River and You’ to major TV stations.”
“Is that true? Is the news reliable?”
Cao Bo found the wine unpleasant, and Mr. Guan’s slight buzz from drinking vanished instantly.
“Of course it’s true, it’s scheduled for tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock.”
Yu Tianlin reacted the fastest, “Are they really holding a promotion event, or do they have other plans?”
Liang Dan breathed a sigh of relief.
Talking past each other was frustrating, and finally one of the three was on the same wavelength as her.
“Half true, half false, I suppose. If the station doesn’t compromise, Tianjiao will sell the rights to other stations. If the station gives in, Tianjiao can take the opportunity to back down, a clever move that leaves them room to advance or retreat.”
Even without coming to Xiang Province, that woman Yuan Fenghui could still pull strings from behind the scenes.
Liang Dan was wary of Yuan Fenghui and even more resentful of her husband.
If Mr. Guan hadn’t driven Yuan Fenghui away, why would Liang Dan be so stressed now?
With Yuan Fenghui helping manage artists, Liang Dan could focus on producing shows. Yuan Fenghui had even mentioned various formats for talent shows, but Liang Dan was too busy to discuss them in depth.
Such a talent leaving was truly a huge loss for the company.
A ruthless glint flashed in Yu Tianlin’s eyes, “Advance or retreat? That won’t do.”
Liang Dan nodded slightly, “I plan to go to the event tomorrow to check things out, some station leaders will be there too.”
Which station leader attended the promotion event made a big difference.
Liang Dan felt Director Fan was unsuitable to go. Getting this news early was good, as they could find ways to keep Director Fan occupied. If Tianjiao truly intended to sell the broadcasting rights of ‘Star River and You’ to another station, Liang Dan thought they could subtly facilitate it.
Yu Tianlin felt a twinge of unease.
“It looks like Tianjiao is set on the July slot and won’t back down.”
Other satellite channels had smaller viewership shares than Xiang Province TV. Cutting off Tianjiao’s partnership with Xiang Province TV was Yu Tianlin’s original goal.
That goal seemed within reach, yet Yu Tianlin felt a vague unease.
If ‘Star River and You’ aired on another station and outperformed his new drama in ratings, it would be a nightmare for him.
No, impossible.
Yu Tianlin had risen to fame with idol dramas. When Yuan Fenghui managed the Miracle Group, she often lectured the four members about the “idol economy,” explaining that female viewers were key in the idol drama market, whoever won them won everything.
No matter how strong Tianjiao’s new drama ‘Star River and You’ was, its male lead, Yun Chen, was a newcomer with only one project to his name. Though popular, his fanbase couldn’t match Yu Tianlin’s years of accumulation.
Was ‘Star River and You’ a “personal drama” tailored for Yun Chen by Yuan Fenghui?
Yu Tianlin had considered this but dismissed it.
From what he saw and heard, Yuan Fenghui valued Li Mengjiao more than Yun Chen.
The female lead of ‘Star River and You’ was Li Mengjiao. Since Yuan Fenghui prioritised her, she wouldn’t sacrifice Li Mengjiao’s screen time to prop up Yun Chen. Given the mainland’s context, Yu Tianlin was certain Yuan Fenghui wouldn’t let the underage Li Mengjiao film intimate scenes. Tianjiao’s new drama would likely follow the same path as ‘The Princess’s New Clothes.’
With so many restrictions on idol dramas, how could it compete for ratings?
Two dramas on different tracks were vying for the same female audience. Yu Tianlin had secured the superior platform of Xiang Province TV and was confident in his personal charm, certain he could beat ‘Star River and You.’ This reinforced his resolve, no matter the cost, he would sabotage Tianjiao’s partnership with Xiang Province TV.
This wasn’t just Yu Tianlin’s idea, it was a consensus among Liang Dan, Mr. Guan, and Cao Bo.
As long as Tianjiao didn’t sell the broadcasting rights of ‘Star River and You’ to Xiang Province TV, it didn’t matter which station they sold to.
Liang Dan never sat idly by, she decided to take action.
…
Tianjiao’s talks with Xiang Province TV had fallen apart.
Upon hearing this, Hu Man shared it with Huang Yongjuan.
“Without you, Tianjiao is in chaos, I wonder if Yuan Fenghui regrets it.”
It was just a theme song.
The newcomer was ungrateful, and the new company lacked vision.
If Hu Man had secured the theme song, ‘Star River and You’ would have been completed on schedule. With a polished production and strong cast, how could Xiang Province TV give the July slot to someone else?
Now, ‘Star River and You’ wasn’t completed on time, and Xiang Province TV had concerns about its quality, causing talks to collapse instantly.
This was partly due to Yu Tianlin and others’ efforts, with Hu Man fanning the flames behind the scenes, though Yu Tianlin’s group was in the open, while Hu Man worked in the shadows.
After all, having taken 3 million from Tianjiao for her role, Hu Man couldn’t openly badmouth ‘Star River and You’ as a flop, or people would mock her for taking dirty money, and she couldn’t afford that humiliation.
But in certain settings, in front of key figures, subtly expressing concerns about the production progress of ‘Star River and You’ was acceptable.
There were no secrets at dinner gatherings, and words from Hu Man’s mouth carried weight.
Sure enough, before Tianjiao could send a sample, Xiang Province TV had already assigned the July slot to another drama, giving Hu Man a mischievous thrill.
Huang Yongjuan wasn’t as pleased.
Sigh.
This wasn’t entirely honest of him.
Had Yuan Fenghui found a suitable album producer?
Zhang Yangning’s songs were truly good, if the album production matched that quality, Zhang Yangning would surely explode.
Guilt gnawed at Huang Yongjuan, leaving him in low spirits, “Losing the July golden slot is a big blow to Tianjiao, especially since Xiang Province TV gave the slot to Yu Tianlin’s new drama. Everyone in the industry knows about Yu Tianlin and Yuan Fenghui’s ‘old grudge.’ Yuan Fenghui not only faces financial losses but also loses face. Manman, shouldn’t that satisfy you?”
Huang Yongjuan tried to persuade her, but Hu Man remained noncommittal.
And that little newcomer.
With Tianjiao in disarray, that newcomer would likely bear the brunt of the blame.
Thinking this, Hu Man felt much better.
Just as Hu Man was about to speak, her phone rang. She answered with a smile, which gradually faded.
“Yes, I understand, thank you.”
“What’s wrong?”
Hu Man’s expression soured, “It seems Tianjiao has wide connections, after failing with Xiang Province TV, they’re immediately holding a copyright promotion event in Xiang Province to sell the broadcasting rights of ‘Star River and You’ to other stations.”
Hu Man grew suspicious.
Tianjiao was so eager to secure the July golden slot, could they really make it?
Wasn’t Yuan Fenghui supposed to be scrambling to replace Huang Yongjuan?
Was it a bluff?
Huang Yongjuan had a different view, “Tianjiao is a new company after all, with few commercial gigs for its artists. They invested heavily in ‘Star River and You,’ so rushing to sell broadcasting rights and secure a slot is likely about recouping costs.”
Is that so?
The reasoning made sense.
But if Tianjiao found another station to take the bait, Hu Man was still displeased, “The promotion event is tomorrow at the Huatian Hotel in Xiang Province, I want to go check it out.”
