After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows
Chapter 271: The Production Team’s Trick

Chapter 271: Chapter 271: The Production Team’s Trick

"Reserved? What do you mean?"

Li Wanxuan was truly puzzled, but the expression of Mr. Shi, who had already participated in a show once, had become ugly.

He had a premonition that if his wife heard the explanation, she would probably explode.

He was about to change the subject, "Wanxuan, I just saw a painting..."

"Shut up first," Li Wanxuan interrupted her husband’s words directly, seeing his flickering eyes and realizing that something was amiss, "You continue."

"It’s like this, Mr. Li," the person who was being watched by Li Wanxuan couldn’t help but wipe the sweat off his forehead. Although he was quite a celebrity in the calligraphy and painting world, it depended on who he was standing in front of. In front of Mr. Li Wanxuan, he was like an insurmountable mountain, and he could only curse the contestant who leveraged connections in his heart while brazenly answering, "A contestant will parachute directly into the program team, originally we were supposed to select six pieces from these works, now choosing five will suffice."

As soon as he finished speaking, the spacious room fell into a deathly silence.

Another judge, seeing the atmosphere was off, quickly took out his phone and sent a message out.

Before long, the chief director of the program’s Calligraphy and Painting Chapter hurried over.

"Mr. Shi, Mr. Li, thank you for coming so early today!"

Li Wanxuan watched him enter and respectfully greet her, then only chuckled lightly, her voice even sounding gentle.

Just as everyone was about to relax, she pointed to the works hanging around with her finger, questioning word by word, "Director, doing this, is it fair to the works of these children?"

The atmosphere froze again.

The director didn’t dare to glance in the direction Li Wanxuan was pointing, "Well... Mr. Li, this is after all a show, the program team has to consider the viewership, the higher the viewership, the higher the show’s popularity. This parachuting contestant is a celebrity, who is also proficient in calligraphy and painting, but was temporarily unable to produce a work due to a busy schedule. For such a special contestant, the program team has relaxed the conditions accordingly and hopes for your understanding."

After listening to his explanation, Li Wanxuan responded with a cold laugh.

The other two judges might accept this explanation, empathizing with the unavoidable situation of the parachuting contestant.

But she did not accept it.

"Busy with work, now that’s a good excuse, but who isn’t busy with work? So many pieces have been sent over these days, not every one of them comes from a dedicated calligrapher or painter, yet they managed to find time to create their works, but this big star can’t even squeeze out that little time?"

"It’s just a shortcut for convenience, and you guys agree to it for the popularity the celebrity brings, with no principles at all!"

The director was red-faced from what she said.

Seeing he had no words to refute, Li Wanxuan knew she was right, her disappointment growing inside.

She got to know the show "Inheritance" through her husband, and had watched the previous Chess Chapter, thinking it was well done, only then accepted the invitation to be a special judge for this Calligraphy and Painting Chapter.

Who knew that even before the show started recording, the program team would pull such tricks in her face.

Thinking of this, she looked down at the badge pinned to her clothes representing her as a special guest judge for "Inheritance."

She still remembered the excitement she felt pinning that little badge on.

The old man had found a few rising chess stars through the previous show and even brought the best one into the Chess Association.

She naturally also wanted to see if there were any good candidates to bring into the Calligraphy and Painting Association for cultivation.

But she didn’t expect a program to have such filth!

Mr. Shi beside her knew things were about to go awry, and quickly grabbed her hand before she could take off the badge and throw it in the director’s face.

"Wanxuan, come with me for a moment."

The three people left in the room watched the couple leave, exchanged a glance, and gave a bitter smile.

They had witnessed the pure pride and untainted nature of true scholars.

Which was the complete opposite of their benefit-first perspective.

"I hope Mr. Shi can persuade her. If Mr. Li comes back, please also help say a few words."

The two judges could only nod.

They would only try if persuasion was possible!

"Do you think what the director said was right too?"

Li Wanxuan saw that her husband didn’t want her to give up on the show, and uncharacteristically got cold-faced.

Mr. Shi was distressed, speaking earnestly under his wife’s cold glare, "Wanxuan, this is your first time participating in such a show, you might not understand, actually, most programs nowadays are pretty much the same. And ours is still a national station; having a celebrity contestant is considered few."

"Either way, I can’t stand it, might as well quit since it hasn’t started recording yet, is that okay?"

"Please, don’t. To be honest, in the last Chess Chapter, there weren’t many celebrities proficient in chess either. Finding little Jiang for the final was quite fortuitous, which added a bit more buzz to the broadcast. Before that, without little Jiang, the viewership was quite low; I guess the director also had that in mind. For them making the show, the primary goal is to have more people watch it, which is like you needing to ensure every piece you create is well-made. Can’t we show some understanding?"

Li Wanxuan’s expression mellowed slightly but she insisted, "Still, it has to be done by the rules, can being a celebrity justify special treatment, is it fair to other contestants?"

"But should you quit, and the program team favors the celebrity because of their fame, giving them more screen time, what then? If you stay, at least when it comes to the stage, the team will be mindful of your presence and won’t dare overdo it."

Upon hearing this, Li Wanxuan genuinely hesitated.

Seeing how the director compromised so much for a celebrity today, what he said wasn’t far off.

Having already reserved a slot is unfair to other contestants, and if they get little screen time, those kids’ hard work creating their works for the show might end up being just a foil for the celebrity.

Just thinking about it was infuriating!

"No, I can’t let the program team mess around!"

Seeing his wife turning back angrily, Mr. Shi felt relieved.

His wife had a strong character, but he managed to be a bit more suave.

*

On the set of "The Empress Yuan Zhao."

A scene had just wrapped up filming, and when the props team was about to take away the calligraphy tools in front of her, Jiang Lingxi raised her hand to stop them.

"Let me use these for a bit longer, just half an hour."

"Alright, I’ll come back to tidy up in half an hour."

"Thank you, and sorry for the trouble. By the way, I’ll take this sheet of paper with me later."

The staff quickly waved their hand, "No need to be courteous, Ms. Jiang. It’s just a piece of paper; feel free to take more if you like."

"Since it belongs to the crew, it’s only right to let you know."

The staff walked away happily.

Passing by the monitor, they were called over by Wei Xiao.

"When you’re tidying up the calligraphy set later, give me the rice paper used by the lead actress."

He didn’t believe he couldn’t get a piece of Jiang Lingxi’s handwriting!

"Uh, Director, that might not be possible."

"Why?"

"Ms. Jiang said she’d take it with her after she’s done writing."

Wei Xiao: "..."

He waved the staff away, pondering over Jiang Lingxi from a distance.

In the past, whenever the girl did calligraphy or painting on set due to plot needs, she never took anything with her, always kept what belonged to her separate from the crew’s. Why did she want to take it with her all of a sudden?

Could she know he wanted to secretly collect it?

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