Chapter 115: A Lifeline

"Alright, alright, you're a very good child!"
"Your professional skills are exceptionally strong, almost flawless in my eyes."
"However, since I am a bit older, I can offer you some advice based on life experience."
"From now on, we can learn and discuss together!"

Zhu Qingmei spoke humbly, which made Niu Jun feel somewhat flattered.
In previous competitions, the judges had never been this approachable.
But now, with Zhu Qingmei and Lv Yuanqing standing beside him, chatting and laughing like old friends, he felt momentarily dazed.
He loved this feeling deeply.

Since Niu Jun’s performance, the contestants that followed seemed relatively dull.
After recording for over an hour, they had only selected one contestant.
At this point, the first episode of “China’s Good Voice,” which had been recording for over three hours, was nearing its end.
Ten contestants had participated in total.
Five received turning chairs from the mentors.
Among them, Jiang Yan’s team gained two, while Lv Yuanqing, Qin Pei, and Zhu Qingmei’s teams each gained one.

The audience slowly got up, still wanting more, and began to leave.
Meanwhile, the director’s team and several mentors at the judging panel were discussing something.
It seemed they were planning a retake!

Sure enough, after most of the audience had left, several mentors returned to the stage to re-record the opening segment of the mentor’s singing performance, the song “Spin Cycle.”

“What’s going on?”
Su Chen approached and saw Ji Lin communicating with the crew. He asked,
“Hey! There were some angles that didn’t look good just now, and the lights hit the camera lens.”
“There were some distorted shots, so we need to do a retake.”

Su Chen frowned, thinking how such a basic mistake could happen.
Normally, if the footage was unusable, it wouldn’t be a big deal—they could just cut to audience shots to fill the gap.
He admired Ji Lin’s pursuit of perfection but felt that such a rookie error with lighting was unacceptable.

Seeing Su Chen’s displeasure, Ji Lin guessed his thoughts and quickly explained,
“There was no problem with our operation; it was just a temporary equipment malfunction at the station.”
“We’ve already arranged for it to be fixed.”

Hearing this, Su Chen nodded and didn’t press further.
“How long will post-production take?”
“I’m about to coordinate with the station on the first episode’s air date.”

Ji Lin thought briefly and said,
“Based on my experience, it should take about two weeks.”

Su Chen shook his head.
“No, that’s too long!”

“I expect the work to be done before New Year’s Day so that we can schedule the broadcast then.”

Ji Lin hesitated,
“Well, this is based on my past experience; it might not be entirely accurate...”
“Wait a moment, I’ll check with the post-production team.”

He waved and called over two people from the camera team.
“These are colleagues from our post-production team: Sun Jichang and Wang Xiaoyi.”
“Xiao Sun oversees post-production coordination, and Xiaoyi handles basic video editing.”

These two were the same people Su Chen had met the first time he came to Ji Lin’s team.

Su Chen wondered why the post-production team was present at the recording site.
Seeing his confusion, Ji Lin explained,
“This is the first recording of the show. The post-production team needs to participate to ensure the footage meets their requirements.”
“If the recording and post-production visions don’t align, it could cause serious problems.”

Su Chen nodded and smiled at them.
“So we meet again!”

“Su... Mr. Su,” they stammered, having already learned his name from Ji Lin but unsure how to address him properly.

Ji Lin didn’t mind and asked,
“Mr. Su has some questions.”
“Could you, as the post-production professionals, estimate how long it will take to finish the first episode based on the current footage quality?”

Sun Jichang, more experienced, quickly responded after some thought,
“Well, according to our standards, two weeks should be sufficient.”
“However, this show has higher quality requirements, so the production will need extra effort.”
“Also, we have to add VCR segments.”
“So in total, it might take longer than two weeks.”

Su Chen pondered. If it took over two weeks, the first episode wouldn’t air until after New Year’s Day.
That would miss the holiday window and might affect the show’s initial success.

“Can we shorten the schedule to finish before New Year’s Day?”

Ji Lin immediately understood Su Chen’s intent and put pressure on Sun Jichang.

“That should be possible, right?”
“Everyone will work overtime. If the show succeeds, everyone benefits!”
“New Year’s Day is a crucial moment—if we launch then, the show’s success is guaranteed.”
“You’ll also secure your income for next year early.”

Ji Lin’s ability to grasp Su Chen’s meaning and articulate it was impressive.

Sun Jichang looked at Wang Xiaoyi.
“Xiaoyi, can you handle the editing?”

Xiaoyi replied softly,
“No problem. If necessary, I’ll just work extra days.”

Hearing this, Sun Jichang nodded.
“Alright, boss, we’ll do our best to finish before New Year’s Day.”

Ji Lin nodded in satisfaction and looked to Su Chen.
“I’ll push forward with the plan to air the first episode on New Year’s Day.”
“Of course, the final schedule depends on the station. If there’s a conflict, we’ll adjust.”
“But if the station can coordinate the New Year’s slot, we must guarantee the release then!”

Su Chen smiled at them.
“Don’t overwork yourselves, though. If needed, Mr. Ji can arrange extra hands to help.”
“Work is important, but health comes first.”

Ji Lin immediately agreed.
“Yes, if you need more manpower, just tell me, and I’ll coordinate.”

They nodded quickly, though they dared not relax.
Tasks must be completed on time.
Even without Su Chen’s urging, they would work diligently.

To them, Su Chen was their lifeline.
They had lost hope at the station.
Though everyone persevered, they all knew it was only a matter of time before being cleared out.
Their fate was inevitable, just sooner or later.

But Su Chen’s arrival brought a glimmer of hope.
When Ji Lin first announced the “China’s Good Voice” project,
they saw it as a chance to change their fate, though with little expectation.

Signing the contract with Qianxiang Media, they even felt a sense of loss, lamenting selling themselves away.

But when Ji Lin began organizing and revealed the project plan,
it stunned everyone.

As industry insiders, they had a fundamental sense of a show’s value.

It was breathtaking!

That was their shared feeling.

Ecstatic!

That was their hope for the future once the shock wore off.

The faint hope they had before now felt within reach.

It kept them excited for days.

They worked with full motivation, no cutting corners.

The deadline Ji Lin set was already very tight for them,
but they were willing to push themselves to grasp this unprecedented opportunity.

At this moment, Su Chen was their saving grace.