Chapter 104: Week Three of the "Star Creation Project"

Second place: "Assembly Line Love."

These two were almost undisputed, as these songs were the most polished and complete.

Coming in third was Chen Nan’s "The Station."

As for Li Xiyan, surprisingly, she ranked fifth this time.

After the rankings were announced, Li Xiyan glared at Lin Ze from the side.

"Alright, alright everyone, see you in two weeks."

The recording for today’s show had ended, and everyone bid each other farewell.

Rong Zhengyu walked alone to the underground parking lot. Just as he approached his car, he was surprised to see two people waiting there.

"Teacher Rong, I’ve liked you for many years. Seeing you on stage now makes me very happy."

"Could you please sign an autograph for us?"

Without hesitation, Rong Zhengyu picked up a pen and signed for them. He never imagined there would come a day when someone would ask for his autograph.

How far into the future will the person I’m waiting for be...

Rong Zhengyu’s mind drifted to Lin Ze’s song.

So, this song of yours isn’t entirely about love after all.

...

Tonight was Thursday; tomorrow would be Friday, and then they would start shooting "Our Love."

The theme for this week was entrepreneurship.

For this week, they would briefly establish a company and launch a small entertainment firm’s star-making project, aiming to turn an unknown person in the entertainment industry into a star.

Everyone agreed that Lin Ze would choose the person. Lin Ze decided this would be an artist signed to his own company.

Chang Zheng.

"Ah... what a coincidence, Wang... Sister?" Chang Zheng waved to the familiar face before him.

Wang Xue glanced around, pulled out the chair opposite Chang Zheng, and sat down.

"What a coincidence! What are you doing here? And don’t call me Sister Wang—I’m actually two years younger than you."

Wang Xue took off her bag and placed it on the chair beside her.

"Uh... boss? The company assigned me a dorm right here," Chang Zheng pointed to a building inside the nearby residential complex. "That one."

Wang Xue was momentarily taken aback, then realized, "Oh, right... gosh, I totally forgot."

"Don’t call me boss; just call me Wang Xue," she said, raising her hand to summon the waiter.

...

They ordered some barbecue and two bottles of beer.

"Wang Xue, is your dorm here too?" Chang Zheng asked somewhat awkwardly.

"No, I’m a local from Donghai. I just finished a blind date today and looked up a barbecue place to grab a late-night snack. This place had good reviews, so I came here," Wang Xue stretched lazily, sensing a bit of awkwardness in the air.

"Ever since Lin Ze became popular, my blind dates haven’t gone well. As soon as they find out I’m his manager, they ask for autographs, and the conversation about the date just fizzles out."

"Yeah, yeah," Chang Zheng laughed along. "I heard since I signed with Lin Ze’s studio, even distant relatives who rarely contact me have been asking for Lin Ze’s autograph pictures."

"Hmm?" Wang Xue reached into her bag. "Want one? After he became famous, I often keep some in my bag."

"No, no. I know exactly what they want those autographs for. Probably to sell them online."

"Heh." Wang Xue shook her head and put the bag down. "You’ve been here for half a month now, right? How’s it going? Are you comfortable with the food and living conditions?"

Pouring the wine, Chang Zheng noticed a clean glass on the table and poured some for Wang Xue.

"It’s okay; I can find food I like," Chang Zheng smiled. "It’s just that I had nothing to do before. I thought Lin Ze had forgotten about me. Staying in the dorm felt really uneasy."

"Don’t worry. Trust Lin Ze. After this week, you might just become an overnight sensation," Wang Xue clinked her glass with his, smiling.

"I believe that," Chang Zheng nodded.

Just then, Wang Xue’s skewers arrived, and she pushed the plate toward him.

"Here."

After a couple of drinks, they gradually opened up.

The last time they met in the company, it was just a brief work handover. This time, it was a private conversation.

Two singles in their early thirties suddenly realized they got along quite well.

...

"Actually, we have seven days. Isn’t releasing a song with an MV enough? Or maybe we could shoot a short film?"

"Yeah, the time is a bit too short," Zhao Funing said.

In "The Four Families of Love," they were discussing how to complete the plan this week.

Lin Ze had met a few students studying directing and photography back in school.

Even their low-demand graduation projects took a month or more to shoot.

Not to mention this time, they couldn’t slack off.

"It’s fine. With Brother Chen here, shooting shouldn’t be a problem."

"Ah, everyone," Lin Ze sent a message, "I’ve already decided on the song. I’m taking this opportunity to release it."

"What song? Sing it for us?"

"Oh, you’ll see when the time comes," Lin Ze immediately changed the subject. "As for the short film..."

He directly shared a document.

It was the script he had been secretly writing for the past few days.

Since he wasn’t a professional, editing and revising it was a bit challenging.

After sending the document, the group chat fell silent for a long moment.

Chen Weiguo read it and quietly sent one message:

"Awesome."

A string of "Awesome" messages followed.

"How to put it... your story is a bit cliché, but not too much. With the song added, it’s not cliché at all. In fact..." Su Zitan didn’t quite know how to describe it and stared at Lin Ze for a long time.

"My little brother Dabao is awesome!"

"Bravo!"

...

They rented a temporary office space this time, with offices, a conference room, and a lounge area.

After Lin Ze and Su Zitan arrived, the others came as well.

Chen Weiguo and Bai Qiong had nothing urgent to do, so they had already arrived in Donghai City yesterday and enjoyed a leisurely tour.

Today was Friday, and tonight they would finalize their respective roles.

"Now we have a Planning Department, Finance Department, Performance Department, and Artist Management Department."

Director Zhang, smiling as usual, stood in the conference room outlining the evening’s agenda.

"Everyone choose your department. Note that the funds earned during the first week will be multiplied fivefold this week."

"And the order of selection will be based on the first week’s ranking."

"Then we choose..." Pei Xue and Zhao Funing whispered to each other. "Let’s go for Finance!"

Looking up, the Finance Department seemed the most powerful among the departments.

After all, everything needs funding.

"Uncle Chen, you choose first." Lin Ze’s score was tied with Chen Weiguo’s, so Chen Weiguo got the first pick.

"Then we..."