"Brother Wang Shu, we are all law-abiding citizens. Getting a driver's license is something that must be done step by step!"
Upon hearing Wang Shu ask if he had any connections, Lu Nan quickly dispelled his thoughts.
After all, this was the capital, the most regulated place, and he genuinely had no shortcuts for getting a driver's license.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed the third subject four times back then.
"However, I have a friend who owns a driving school. I'll have a word with him, and you can just take your test at his school!"
Lu Nan said.
"That works too. I'll go practice when the time comes!"
Wang Shu readily agreed. After all, it would be a waste to not take advantage of this free opportunity to get a driver's license.
"I've already prepared the employment contract. You just need to spare a few days a month to come to our club, and the annual salary remains one million as before!"
Lu Nan continued.
"Thank you, Brother Nan!"
Wang Shu said excitedly.
This was a fantastic job! Only a few days a month for a million-dollar annual salary.
After dinner, Wang Shu signed the employment contract.
Wang Shu had also briefly reviewed the contract terms and found nothing unreasonable. It was evident that Lu Nan had specially redone the contract for him.
Afterward, Wang Shu and Su Yao left the Beijing Speed Club.
Although this was Wang Shu's second time in the capital since arriving in this world, he was not very familiar with the city.
Last time, he was busy with auditions, and before he could even appreciate the sights of the capital after the auditions, he was chased all over the city by Su Yao's cheap father.
This time, with spare time, Wang Shu didn't mind touring the historical sites of the capital.
For the rest of the afternoon, Wang Shu and Su Yao toured the capital of Dragon Country, getting a pretty good grasp of the city's layout and culture.
It wasn't until evening, as Wang Shu and Su Yao were sitting in a barbecue restaurant, that Wang Shu noticed the television was showing a program from Jiangnan Satellite TV.
And this program was none other than "Masked Singer," in which Wang Shu had participated.
"This show is quite interesting. Other shows can't wait to put all their guests on posters, but this one has its guests all masked!"
"The quality of Jiangnan Satellite TV's programs this time is a significant improvement over their previous variety shows. The anticipation is high!"
"I was already looking forward to this show when I saw the preview, and I didn't expect it to premiere tonight!"
The customers in the barbecue restaurant were all focusing their attention on the program playing on the television, discussing it in small groups.
"Boss, will they recognize him?"
Su Yao, sitting beside him, looked nervously at Wang Shu.
"They're all masked, how could they possibly be recognized!"
Wang Shu smiled slightly, reassuring Su Yao.
Although he was somewhat famous, he had been away from the public eye for so long that few people would probably remember him.
Moreover, many of his performance clips had been directly cut and banned by Hunan Satellite TV, so no new viewers would notice him.
Therefore, he was currently like a completely transparent artist, with no need to worry about being recognized.
"That's good then!"
After hearing Wang Shu's words, Su Yao was finally at ease and then happily ate the hot meat skewers on the table.
...
Hangcheng, Jiangnan Province, Jiangnan Television Station.
Gong Tao was sitting in the control room with all the program staff.
The old station manager was also with them today, waiting to see the program's viewership ratings.
"Director Gong, what do you estimate the viewership ratings for your show will be?"
Since the show had just started, the current ratings were not yet indicative, so everyone was quite relaxed.
The old station manager couldn't help but smile as he asked Gong Tao beside him.
"I'm not too sure, as this is my first time doing this type of program!"
Gong Tao said somewhat nervously. After all, he had always been involved in music variety shows and talent competitions before.
However, those were more conventional formats, and the big-name guests for each episode were announced in advance to attract fans.
But this time, all the singers were masked throughout, which, while creating anticipation and suspense, also lacked fan support.
Therefore, he was unsure if this format could be successful.
"I think it can at least break into the national top five. I'm very optimistic about your show!"
The old station manager said with a smile, as he had high expectations for this program.
In the past, the top variety shows were consistently dominated by Hunan Television, and Jiangnan Television had been overlooked due to a lack of good content, losing many viewers.
Now that he had poached a golden variety show director from Hunan Television, he believed that even if they couldn't surpass Hunan Television this time, they could at least compete for the top few spots.
About thirty minutes after the show began, the viewership ratings for "Masked Singer" had steadily climbed into the top ten.
And the moment Wang Shu, wearing a monkey mask, walked onto the stage and sang "The Undefeated" (Gu Yong Zhe)...
Suddenly, the show's viewership ratings began to soar again!
Seventh!
Fifth!
Third!
In just a few minutes, "Masked Singer" not only broke into the top five but even reached the top three.
The top two programs were Hunan Television's flagship show "Happy Brigade" and Jiangcheng Television's "Running Brothers."
These two shows had consistently held the top two positions for years and had been running for many years, possessing a large loyal audience.
Therefore, it was still somewhat difficult to shake their viewership ratings.
"Director Gong, well done! This is the first time our Jiangnan Television has reached third place in the golden time slot for a variety show!"
Seeing the continuously rising viewership ratings, the old station manager was overjoyed.
"It's all your praise, old station manager!"
Gong Tao was also very excited. Back at Hunan Television, his superiors always said that as long as it was a piece of dung, it would be watched by many if broadcast on Hunan Television.
At that time, he had also become somewhat insecure about his own abilities, but this time he had truly gained confidence.
As long as the content is good, it will shine anywhere.
"Wang Shu, you are truly my treasure!"
Looking at Wang Shu in the monkey mask singing "Love you walk alone in the dark alleys" on the big screen, Gong Tao couldn't help but think.
At Hunan Television, it was Wang Shu's song "Blue and White Porcelain" that propelled "I Am a Singer God" to divine status.
At Jiangnan Television, it was Wang Shu again, who, with the song "The Undefeated," helped him regain his face.
As the first segment of the program ended and commercials began...
Gong Tao was surprised to find that the viewership ratings did not drop after entering the commercial break.
They were even slowly climbing, which immediately shocked him.
Because under normal circumstances, as soon as commercial breaks started, the program's viewership ratings would plummet.
But today's situation was completely different from the past.
"This show seems to have not reached its peak yet!"
At this moment, the old station manager, sitting beside him, said meaningfully.
Having worked in the television industry for decades, he had seen all sorts of situations.
In a situation like today, if it wasn't for a problem with the viewership rating statistics, there was only one explanation.
The show was so good that viewers preferred to ignore the commercials rather than miss a single second.
...
Meanwhile, many students who had returned home for the holidays were attentively sitting in front of the television, waiting for the program to start.
"Hurry up, hurry up, the show is about to start. Let me tell you, that song just now was so cool!"
"Which channel is it! I'll turn on the TV right now!"
"Jiangnan Satellite TV, the one with the monkey mask singing, it was really amazing!"
At this moment, a few students were using their parents' phones to chat in their class groups.
And they were all recommending "Masked Singer" to their classmates.
At this time, many adults who were watching TV with their children also picked up their phones and started chatting about the show.
"Have you watched 'Masked Singer'? It's so exciting!"
"I'm watching 'Happy Brigade'! What show are you talking about?"
"What era is this? Still watching 'Happy Brigade'! Hurry up and switch to Jiangnan Satellite TV, it's about to start!"
...
Simultaneously, at Hunan Satellite TV, chaos had erupted.
Because the viewership ratings of their flagship program "Happy Brigade" were actually declining.
This was a phenomenon that had never occurred in the years since the show began.
At first, they thought there was a problem with the main station's viewership rating system.
It wasn't until they saw a program from Jiangnan Satellite TV called "Masked Singer" surpass "Happy Brigade" and ascend to the number one spot in viewership ratings that they realized the truth.
"What is going on? Someone explain it to me!"
With the viewership champion changing hands, Hunan Satellite TV urgently summoned everyone back overnight.
The station manager looked at the group of executives with a stern expression.
"What's the background of this 'Masked Singer'?"
The Hunan station manager asked directly.
"This program was created by our former Hunan Television employee, Gong Tao, after he resigned!"
A senior executive replied directly.
Upon hearing that the program was led by their former employee, the Hunan station manager's face immediately darkened.
"Director Zhao, give me a reasonable explanation!"
The Hunan station manager shifted his gaze to Director Zhao, who had been silent, and asked sternly.
"This, I... He resigned voluntarily. It has nothing to do with me..."
Director Zhao stammered, as Gong Tao had requested to resign himself, and he hadn't forced Gong Tao out.
"If you hadn't forcibly interfered with 'I Am a Singer God,' Director Gong wouldn't have left!"
At this moment, the deputy director of "I Am a Singer God," who had remained silent in the corner, stood up and pointed at Director Zhao, saying.