She lowered her head, staring at the coffee in her cup, lost in thought.
For the first time, a crack appeared on her ice-cold face.
After a long moment, she lifted her head and looked back at Chén Mò.
"Send your project proposal and demo reel to my email."
"I'll show it to Dèng Cháo."
Chén Mò's heart settled back into his chest.
It was a success! They passed the first hurdle!
Leaving the coffee shop, Chén Mò felt his legs go a little weak.
Dealing with someone like her was more exhausting than filming a whole day's program.
He wasted no time and headed straight to Chén Hè's company.
Unlike the cautious approach with Guō Sī, Chén Mò was much more direct with Chén Hè.
Chén Hè himself was a bit plumper than on television, lounging on the sofa like a Buddha, looking at Chén Mò with a smile.
"Director Xiao Chén, is it? I've heard about you. You're quite the talent. A mere intern, and you've managed to secure fifty million."
"Director Hè, you flatter me."
"Save the pleasantries," Chén Hè waved his hand. "I'll ask you one thing: can this show of yours be a hit? I've had two consecutive flops already. If I have another one, my title as the 'King of Variety Shows' will have to be changed to 'King of Variety Show Curses'."
Chén Mò smiled.
"Director Hè, whether it's a hit or not, I can't say for sure. Let me show you something, and you can feel it for yourself."
He directly led Chén Hè to the conference room at the TV station that they were using as their base.
Liú Yáng and Zhāng Péng were already waiting.
"The rules are simple: Tear Name Tag."
Chén Hè looked at the tags stuck to their backs and chuckled, "That's it? Like playing house?"
"Try it."
The game began.
Chén Hè, relying on his size, didn't take Liú Yáng and Zhāng Péng seriously at first. However, in a moment of carelessness, he was ambushed from front and back, chased around the room, his ample flesh jiggling like waves.
"Damn it! You two brats are actually serious!"
Chén Hè's competitive spirit was instantly ignited.
He hid behind a cabinet, panting heavily, but his eyes gleamed.
In the end, with a clever move where he feigned surrender, he tricked Liú Yáng and seized the opportunity to take down Zhāng Péng.
As he held up Zhāng Péng's name tag and roared at the sky, his plump face was filled with genuine, unadulterated joy.
"That's interesting! This is fun!" He plopped down on the floor, wiping his sweat. "Much better than those idiotic running games those people designed! Alright! I'll take on this show!"
With the two most crucial people secured, Chén Mò thought the rest would go smoothly.
But to his surprise, they hit a snag with Fàn Chéngchéng.
Fàn Chéngchéng's team was cautious. They felt Fàn Chéngchéng was too young and might be overshadowed by veterans like Dèng Cháo and Chén Hè, becoming mere background decoration.
No matter how much Chén Mò pleaded, they wouldn't budge.
Just as he was at his wit's end, Zhào Kǎi's face, like a persistent ghost, reappeared.
He had apparently learned about the situation from somewhere and had secretly contacted Fàn Chéngchéng's agent, subtly implying, "I'm doing this for your own good."
"I think this young man, Little Fàn, is quite good. But we can't let him jump into a fire pit," Zhào Kǎi's voice was low on the phone, as if sharing top-secret information.
"That Chén Mò is just an intern, what does he know? You saw the demo reel, didn't you? It was well-made, but think about it logically, could an intern really edit something of that quality overnight? That's a joke!"
Zhào Kǎi sneered and continued to fan the flames: "It's obvious that our station's best editor, Lǐ Jiě, stayed up all night to clean up his mess out of respect for Director Zhou! How many times can you rely on such favors? When filming actually starts, who is Chén Mò to boss around the esteemed Lǐ Jiě? Won't your artist be the one to suffer from shoddy production then?"
"Listen to my advice, young man, don't be too impulsive. I have a new project here, 'Celebrity Sports Games,' an eighty-million production with A-list stars. It's a sure bet."
This elaborately concocted "reasonable analysis" was far more malicious than simple slander, and it instantly made Fàn Chéngchéng's team waver.
When Chén Mò found out, he was so angry he almost crushed his phone.
Zhào Kǎi! Are you a fly? Where there's a crack, you'll get in!
Without a word, he rushed to the editing room.
Lǐ Jiě was wearing headphones, frowning at the screen.
"Sister Lǐ, I need a favor."
"Speak."
"Come with me to meet someone. You don't need to say anything, just stand there."
In Fàn Chéngchéng's team's conference room, when Chén Mò pushed the door open, followed by Lǐ Jiě, arms crossed and face frigid, everyone was stunned.
Lǐ Jiě glanced at the agents, saying nothing.
That one look.
It was more effective than ten thousand words from Chén Mò.
Finally, she looked at Chén Mò and said calmly, "Notify me in advance when filming begins, so I can schedule it."
With that, she turned and left.
Fàn Chéngchéng's agent looked at Lǐ Jiě's elegant retreating figure, then at Chén Mò, his face filled with shock and sudden realization.
This wasn't someone they hired to clean up messes!
This was clearly his exclusive behind-the-scenes crew!
That Zhào Kǎi was full of lies!
That evening, as soon as Chén Mò got home, he received an unexpected call.
It was Dèng Cháo.
"Director Xiao Chén, I've watched your demo reel." Dèng Cháo's voice was filled with unconcealed excitement. "Amazing! Truly amazing! Especially the Tear Name Tag segment, it's so much fun."
"Teacher Dèng, you're too kind."
"I'm calling about business. I'm in for this show! I'll be the team leader!" Dèng Cháo said on the other end. "However, I have an idea. Since I'm the leader, shouldn't I have some special privileges? For instance, in one episode, I should have a chance to revive a eliminated team member. What do you think?"
Chén Mò's eyes lit up.
Isn't this the revival card in later episodes? Dèng Cháo's variety show sense is truly innate!
"We'll have that in the future," he said, appeasing him. "Dèng Cháo, from now on, you are the patriarch of our Running Brothers Team!"
"Hahaha, great! Then it's settled!"
With Dèng Cháo and Chén Hè, the two cornerstones secured, the rest fell into place naturally.
As soon as Lǐ Chén heard it was a high-intensity competitive game, he agreed without hesitation.
Upon hearing he could travel all over the country and roughhouse, Wáng Bǎoqiáng happily signed the contract.
Shā Yì, hearing that someone wanted him to film a variety show, a novel experience for him, also signed the contract feeling it was fresh.
Lù Hán and Yáng Yǐng's teams were attracted by the show's huge exposure potential and its youthful positioning.
Yáng Mì, the first episode's celebrity guest, was good friends with Dèng Cháo. Hearing that Dèng Cháo was going, she readily agreed, thinking of it as just coming to hang out.
And so, the eight regular MCs and the first guest for the first season of 'Keep Running! Brothers', were all assembled!
Chén Mò let out a long sigh as he looked at the faxes of signed contracts.
Ps: We are continuously soliciting guest suggestions from you and games you'd like to see. o(*////▽////*)q