Caught in Affairs with Superstar

He has a lot of resources to run a variety show that is more appealing to the audience and more profitable.

But he has his own ideals, and he still wants to make a show that offers more humanistic care and reflection.

For the first episode, Zhou Yun and Song Chi were invited, and their service fees were not low.

They didn’t ask for high prices, but the program team still paid them the market rate.

Lew Yuan never haggles just because they are friends or acquaintances.

They went to a restaurant.

Lew Yuan said, "This restaurant is very famous. I came here once the day before yesterday, it’s very good."

The restaurant was quite busy, and as soon as their group appeared, they immediately caught everyone’s attention.

People exclaimed their names, and some came forward, directly asking if they could take a photo together.

After taking photos generously, they followed the waiter into a private room.

Lew Yuan ordered the dishes and said to them, "Take a look and see if you want to add anything else."

Song Chi took the menu, looked at it, and said, "It’s good, it’s about right. We can add more if it’s not enough."

Lew Yuan nodded, and said to the waiter, "Let’s just go with what I mentioned earlier."

Zhou Yun: "Get me a box of yogurt, please."

"Okay."

After the waiter left, Lew Yuan immediately started sharing some things about the preparation process of the program with them.

"Originally, it was agreed to be aired on Hongcheng TV Station. We had a good conversation, but when it came time to sign the contract, they suddenly changed the head, and that leader didn’t like the show, so it fell through. I had to look for other TV stations, but most of them weren’t interested in this type of program, so I had to turn to online video platforms and negotiate for a long time," Lew Yuan said. "In the end, I finally reached an agreement with Chestnut Video regarding production costs and pricing, but then, out of the blue, the higher-ups issued a document saying they would advocate for shows promoting traditional culture next year. With this, everyone knew my program was about exploring local customs in different places. All those who had previously rejected me came back, offering large sums to discuss cooperation."

Zhou Yun listened and felt particularly helpless.

"It’s always like this."

Lew Yuan: "Actually, I know that this type of show isn’t something that would be liked by many viewers, but I still want to try to make these kinds of programs. There are always viewers who like to watch them. Now, they’ve made me feel a bit discouraged; it seems that no matter how hard I work to make a program, it’s not as effective as the direction of the larger environment. I can’t help but doubt the meaning of my efforts."

Zhou Yun shook her head.

"Brother Lew, you’re working on a very heartfelt program, and the audience can feel whether it’s genuine." She said, "Our personal efforts will never overcome the direction of the larger environment; that’s inevitable. But I believe that a good, heartfelt, and meaningful effort definitely has inherent significance. Like when my agent told me about a new program inviting me to record, she didn’t even ask me and directly agreed on my behalf. Why? Because she knows I fully trust you; as long as it’s your program, as long as my schedule doesn’t conflict, I will definitely agree. This is the meaning brought by the effort you’ve put into making programs over the years. I’m just one person, but I believe there are more people who, because of the shows you’ve made and the efforts you’ve put in, will trust every new program you create in the future."

Lew Yuan pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and gently sighed.