Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 32 Adapted Song

Inside are seven audio files, each with a parenthesis following the filename, containing a few words written by Xue Zhijian. Some describe emotions, some scenes, and some are just a single word.

He started listening to the first song.

The first song is called "Ugly Monster," which is three minutes and forty seconds long. The arrangement is in a pop-rock style. Xue Zhijian's voice is quite expansive in this song, with a high emotional intensity. The note says: "For myself, not necessarily suitable for posting."

After listening, Zeng Hao wrote down one word in his notebook: "Stay".

The second and third poems are more lyrical in style and well-made, but they lack distinctiveness and would not stand out in the market. He wrote in his notebook: "For future use."

The fourth song is "The Actor".

When the intro started, Zeng Hao put down the pen he was holding.

He already knew this song in his memory, knew which variety show it later appeared on, knew how many people covered it, and knew how many people in its comment section were trying to identify with the lyrics.

But now, listening to the demo version, the arrangement is simpler than the final product, and Xue Zhijian's voice doesn't have the same polish as the later version; some details aren't handled smoothly enough.

But the skeleton remains.

The basic structure of the melody is there, and the core logic of the lyrics is there. What this song lacks is timing and polishing, not direction.

After listening for four minutes and eight seconds, Zeng Hao circled the words "Actor" in his notebook and wrote next to them: "No movement, timing to be determined, arrangement needs to be redone."

He listened to songs five through seven. The sixth song was a more upbeat piece, with a note saying: "For variety shows, can be modified." Zeng Hao wrote next to it: "Variety show theme song candidate, forwarded to Xu Wen for evaluation."

After listening to all seven songs, he unplugged the USB drive and wrote down his overall assessment in his notebook: "The Actor" will be released later, and "Ugly Monster" is a candidate for the first single. The timing should coincide with the popularity of the variety show, and it could be released as early as the second quarter of next year.

Then I sent a message to Sister Liu: Inform Xue Zhijian that we should have our own production team redo the arrangement. "The Actor" and "Ugly Monster" should be given priority in the scheduling. He himself needs to cooperate with the recording schedule. Xu Wen will handle the specific arrangements with him.

Sister Liu replied: Okay.

This matter has been pushed forward.

Xue Zhijian's first step was not to release a song, but to get on the variety show scene. Once he became a familiar face and generated buzz, people would listen to his songs seriously, and his efforts would not be wasted.

The order cannot be reversed.

In the afternoon, Sister Liu brought over the progress report on the "Diamond Lover" project submitted to the General Administration.

"Fang Qing sent out the project application form yesterday afternoon," Sister Liu said. "The State Administration has registered and accepted it, following the normal procedures. The filing number is expected to be issued in about two weeks. If there are no problems, the system can be launched in early December."

"Is there a possibility that something might go wrong?" Zeng Hao asked.

"Fang Qing checked it, and there's no sensitive content in the script outline. It meets the standards for TV broadcasting and is family-friendly," Sister Liu said. "She said she made the censorship requirement her top priority when writing it, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"There shouldn't be any problem," Zeng Hao repeated, his tone calm. "Have Fang Qing keep an eye on things. Let me know immediately if there's any movement from the headquarters. Don't wait until the results are out."

Sister Liu nodded and went out.

The filing number is within two weeks, and filming will begin in early December. The first resource clause in the Dilireba contract annex expires in January next year, which is still enough time. However, there is no buffer space in between. If there is a problem with the filing, this clause will enter the countdown to default.

Zeng Hao updated a line in the "Diamond Lover" section of his memo: "Accepted by the State Administration of Radio and Television, filing number to be issued within two weeks, to be launched in early December, no buffer, keep a close eye on it."

Then I closed the memo app, picked up my phone, and glanced at the box office data on Maoyan.

2.26 million.

It has moved up another notch from yesterday, with the daily box office falling below 1.5 million, entering the final stage of its climb. This number will continue to rise slowly over the next two to three weeks, with Zeng Hao estimating the final figure to be between 2.35 million and 240 million.

The second batch of settlement payments to cinemas is settled monthly and should arrive in the latter half of this month.

He did some calculations in his notebook. Based on a box office of 230 million, with the production company receiving 38% of the revenue, the total amount received would be approximately 87.4 million. The first batch of 846 million had already been received, and the second batch corresponded to the increase in box office revenue from the end of October to mid-November. During this period, the box office revenue increased from approximately 1.03 million to 160 million, corresponding to an increase of approximately 2185 million for the production company.

With monthly settlements, the figures are now more accurate.

After calculating the numbers, he wrote in his notebook: Second entry, eight million.

The number eight million lingered on the notebook for a few seconds. Zeng Hao capped his pen and pushed the notebook aside.

Six months ago, I had 30,000 yuan in my account, and I was almost unable to get a loan.

Now, with this additional eight million, the total amount on the books is close to twenty million.

With continued box office revenue and unsettled payments from "Go Princess Go," plus the monthly income from Yang Shanshan and Zhang Tianai's appearances, the possibility of securing the Korean version's licensing deal, and the project revenue from "Diamond Lover" after filming begins, the company's cash flow structure is completely different from what it was six months ago.

The difference is that six months ago it was supported by a single line, but now it is supported by several lines together, so it won't collapse if any one of them breaks.

That's what it means to survive.

In the evening, Xu Wen sent Yang Shanshan her weekly status report.

Five announcements were completed, within the contract limit. In the emotional state section, Xu Wen wrote: "Appears calm, speaks little in private, spent more time in the dressing room than last week, and answered the assistant's questions more briefly."

In the section for abnormal records, Xu Wen wrote this entry: After the announcement on Wednesday, Yang Shanshan sat in the car for about twenty minutes before getting out. Her assistant was unsure of the reason and did not inquire.

Zeng Hao read this sentence twice and wrote two words next to it: Record.

Then send a message to Xu Wen: Keep the assistant in touch, don't interfere, let her interact normally, and don't let Yang Shanshan realize that someone is watching her.

Xu Wen replied: I understand.

Sitting in the car for twenty minutes—Xu Wen might not be able to tell what this detail signifies, but Zeng Hao knew very well.

After a long day of running around outside, when you get back in your car, you don't want to get out. It's not that you're tired, it's that you don't want to get into the next phase of your life. You need some time to be alone and recharge.

When this situation accumulates to a certain extent, it can no longer be resolved by buffering.

The year-end deadline remained unchanged, but Zeng Hao added a small note next to Yang Shanshan's entry in his memo: "The emotional buildup is happening faster than expected; the timeline for shelving may need to be assessed in advance."

After writing this line, he paused for a moment, neither crossing it out nor changing it, but simply leaving it as is.

Now is not the time to make a decision, but it's time to start thinking about it.

Around 10 p.m. that night, Zeng Hao was packing his things in the office to leave when his phone vibrated. It was a message from Sister Liu.

Sister Liu rarely sends messages, but if she does at this time, it usually means something's up.

He opened it and looked.