Chapter 18: Jiang Zhe, who was robbed by others

At this moment, after Jiang Zhe finished his broadcast, it was time for the talk show: Talk Show Host.

Talk Show Host was a young host whose first-class eloquence ensured late-night viewers weren't lonely.

Talk Show Host had also watched Jiang Zhe's hosting and believed he couldn't compare.

He went on stage to start his talk as usual, estimating he could retain about ten thousand viewers.

"Today, our theme is: Feminism!"

"Two days ago, I went on a trip to Kyoto and visited Xidan Park. There were handsome guys and beautiful girls everywhere."

"I, Talk Show Host, was very curious if there were also so many handsome guys and pretty girls over in Dongdan."

"So, I went to Dongdan Park, and then..."

"Guess what I saw? Not a single woman; it was all fucking men!"

"Later, I took the subway straight back to Liziyuan in Fengtai. At a plaza, it was already dark and people were arguing. After all, everyone in Xia Country is a bystander, and I'm no exception."

"I went to take a look and found a man and a woman arguing. I thought they were a young couple..."

"In the end, that woman pointed at the man and cursed—all men are scumbags, a race that should disappear! He wouldn't even buy an LV bag; poor bastards shouldn't have girlfriends!"

"I thought the man would defend men's dignity. I thought he would throw a punch at her, but then came the twist. The man said seriously: [Sister, I think you're right!]"

"..."

...

Meanwhile.

In the backstage monitoring department.

Due to the nature of his work, Old Wang had to work late into the night, getting off work at the same time as the late-night radio host Wang Lin.

He was lying on the sofa in the monitoring room playing with his phone, watching the recording of Jiang Zhe's broadcast.

Even though it was a recording, there were hundreds of thousands of people sending bullet comments to discuss the topics.

Just then, the small room was suddenly pushed open by a young staff member.

"What is it? Why are you so clumsy?" Old Wang, with his big belly, looked at the young man with an unhappy expression.

The staff member said with a panicked face, "No, it's no good. No one is watching Talk Show Host's program anymore. The number of people online is less than 1,000. Talk Show Host is performing normally today, so why is this happening?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Old Wang suddenly sprang up from the sofa, his face full of disbelief.

"How is that possible? Isn't it usually around ten thousand?"

"It's true, Supervisor Wang. There's no one left. Everyone has run off to the online livestream room to watch Teacher Jiang's recording!"

"Honestly, once Jiang Zhe's program came out, other programs were affected; but that's fine, it's time to stir up those hosts who are just idling away their time."

As soon as Jiang Zhe arrived, all sorts of monsters and demons began to show their true colors.

Hosts who originally thought they could just coast through since they had government-established positions.

Who knew that the audience didn't need hosts who were just coasting, but fresh blood with strength and ideas.

Thinking this, he still picked up the phone to call Station Manager Zhao in another office building.

...

Su City Bureau of Radio and Television.

Liu Guangyi, the head of the Bureau, and other leaders were also watching Jiang Zhe's program.

After watching, thunderous applause broke out in the conference room.

"Incredible, incredible!"

"Our city has produced a little genius host!"

"What do you mean 'little'? Besides his young age, he's bigger than you in every way, okay?"

"This little guy's hosting skills aren't like a newcomer's at all!"

"With him around, the ratings will be rock solid!"

"Perhaps our Bureau should also learn from Station Manager Zhao Ming's decryption program."

"Learn my ass, just pull Little Teacher Jiang over. Offer a monthly salary of fifty thousand plus commission; I don't believe he won't come!"

Liu Guangyi said with burning eyes, "This little guy must enter our Bureau. Our venue is larger, we face the whole country, our promotion is stronger, and the opportunities are greater. According to the investigation by my subordinates, Jiang Zhe hasn't signed a contract with them yet, so there's a chance."

Thinking this, he prepared to pick up the phone to call Station Manager Zhao.

At this time, a staff member from the Bureau's rating monitoring department ran into the conference room in a hurry.

"Leader Liu, we've detected a problem with the Television Station managed by Station Manager Zhao. The traffic has plummeted. Now their program has fewer than 1,000 people online, and the online livestream audience is less than 5,000!"

"I checked, and there's no problem with Talk Show Host's program. He's performing normally!"

In the past, this situation would certainly have been a program accident.

But now, the night-shift leaders in the conference room smiled slightly and didn't mind.

The staff member looked bewildered, "Leaders, aren't you surprised?"

Liu Guangyi glanced at him helplessly, "No need to make a fuss. Station Manager Zhao over at the Television Station started a new program and found a very impressive little guy about your age. He single-handedly pulled the station's online viewers and the online livestream viewers to 1.6 million."

As soon as this was said, the staff member was dazed, "What? Did I hear that right? The same age as me, 24? You've got to be kidding."

"Look at what you're saying, would I, Old Liu, lie to you?"

"This... then it's normal. No, it's not normal either. I'm 24 and an intern, and he's 24 and a big-time host with a million viewers!"

The more the young man thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and he began to doubt his life. Finally, he left, pondering where he wasn't good enough.

...

At this time, in the breakroom at the Television Station.

Jiang Zhe sat in the main seat of the breakroom like some kind of auspicious doll.

Station Manager Zhao, Wang Guosheng, Xiao Shiyi, Wang Lin, and others surrounded him in a circle. They all looked at Jiang Zhe with burning eyes, not saying a word.

He felt a bit strange being watched by everyone.

Fortunately, a phone call came in, breaking the eerie atmosphere.

Station Manager Zhao answered the phone, "Old Wang, what happened?"

Old Wang's tone was somewhat resentful, "It's nothing. I estimate if this continues, Talk Show Host will have something to say."

Hearing the speakerphone, Jiang Zhe looked at the handsome young man Wang Lin beside him, "Who is Talk Show Host?"

Wang Lin leaned close to his ear and whispered, "The Talk Show Host," and then pointed to the muted program on the TV in the breakroom.

Jiang Zhe looked and realized, "Thank you. You are Wang Lin. Then who is the Old Wang in the monitoring room whose full name I don't know?"

"My dad, Wang Guochang."

"Thank you!"

After a while, Station Manager Zhao said helplessly into the phone, "Forget it, we can't really cut Talk Show Host's talk show program. After all, Little Jiang's program is too popular. In the next few days, the number of people online will recover. Let's leave it at that."

He hung up the phone, and another call came in.

Station Manager Zhao looked confused, "Didn't I say? You don't need to worry about Talk Show Host's matter, his program won't be cut. Next time, let Little Teacher Jiang direct some traffic to his program, and the fans will look after Talk Show Host."

Who would have thought that Liu Guangyi's voice came from the other side, "Old Zhao, have you told Little Teacher Jiang about that matter?"

The expression on Station Manager Zhao's face froze. His purpose for this trip was precisely to tell Jiang Zhe about this.

Who knew the Bureau leader would personally call first.

"What matter?" Jiang Zhe looked at the other handsome young man, Xiao Shiyi.

Xiao Shiyi explained softly, "It's Liu Guangyi, the head of the Bureau. He's usually a fan of science and science fiction. After seeing your program, he wants to pull you to the Bureau to work. He's probably taken a liking to you."

This would indeed be a good thing on a normal day, but it was already fixed on Jiang Zhe's panel.

[Name: Jiang Zhe]

[Age: 24]

[Occupation: Suzhou TV Station Host]

[Current Occupation: Unchangeable!]

[Current Location: Unchangeable!]

At this time, Station Manager Zhao looked at Jiang Zhe to see what his thoughts were.

If Jiang Zhe really wanted to leave, since the contract hadn't been signed anyway, he couldn't stop the man's freedom.

Jiang Zhe only shook his head gently.

Station Manager Zhao was stunned. To be able to refuse such a temptation... wait, are we talking about the same thing?

He looked somewhat uncertainly at Xiao Shiyi and Wang Lin on either side of Jiang Zhe.

Wang Lin pointed at Xiao Shiyi and said, "Old Xiao already told Teacher Jiang."

Hearing this, Station Manager Zhao was overjoyed, "Sorry, Old Liu, our Little Teacher Jiang has already signed a contract with us. Although the Bureau is good, this is Little Teacher Jiang's home, hehe!"

"Are you sure you're not lying? He just finished his broadcast. For the sake of his future, we have more resources and stronger promotion. As long as he comes..."

"What? The signal is a bit bad, I can't quite hear what you're saying, Old Liu. Oh oh oh, you're going to hang up, right? Okay, okay, let's talk next time."

Click! Station Manager Zhao took the initiative to hang up.

At the other end of the phone, the corner of Liu Guangyi's mouth couldn't stop twitching.

In helplessness, Liu Guangyi looked at the head of the operations department beside him, "Allocate some funds to the Television Station. Don't let Jiang Zhe suffer; give him high-level treatment."

The head of the operations department looked bewildered, "Didn't he already sign a contract with the Television Station? He didn't sign with us, so why should we improve his treatment?"

"Are you stupid? A talent like this, in any city, even a provincial station, as long as they produce these kinds of results, everyone would be fighting for them. If he went to Kyoto or Magic City, he's someone who could even hang out with gold-medal science professors. Can we afford to offend him? It's better to do something good so at least he'll think of us in the future."

"This... I was narrow-minded. I understand, Leader."

...

"Little Jiang, I'm very sorry. I'm here to apologize to you."

Station Manager Zhao stood up and bowed deeply to Jiang Zhe.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhe hurriedly stood up to support him, "There's no need for this, you'll shorten my life. By the way, why is everyone here today?"