Chapter 51
Ji Wei abruptly yanked his hand away, but his palm still burned as if branded, a constant reminder of the words he had just written.
“You focus on your physical therapy.”
Ji Wei felt his reaction as a partner might have been a bit extreme, so he added with a blush, his voice trailing off, “Once your leg is a little better, it’s not like it’s impossible…”
A flicker of surprise crossed the man’s dark eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his pleasant voice was low and a little hoarse. “It’s a deal.”
Ji Wei felt a bit uneasy under Lu Shenxing’s profound gaze, as if it could see right through his clothes. He lowered his head so far it nearly touched the ground and quickly agreed.
That should still take a long time… right?
Ji Wei thought to himself.
The morning’s physical therapy session went very smoothly. Several of the young nurses praised Lu Shenxing for being much more serious than before.
“If you had been this serious before, you would’ve been off the wheelchair in a few days.”
“That’s right, but don’t get complacent. You have to keep it up. Your family member, in particular, should supervise you well.”
“Actually, you could try using crutches now. They’re much more convenient than a wheelchair, and you can exercise your upper body muscles too.”
Listening to the nurses, Ji Wei suddenly felt like he had dug a pit for himself. But his idol’s dark eyes were slightly narrowed, his expression unreadable.
Ji Wei reflected for a moment and concluded he was probably overthinking things.
***
In the director’s office at the Palace Museum.
Gao Qiao stood before Director Lu, holding a report. “Since the show premiered, sales of cultural and creative products have hit a new high, and the number of visitors to the official website has exceeded eighty million. It’s better than we anticipated.”
To say it was better than anticipated was a conservative statement. More accurately, it was much, much better.
The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was a huge investment, and he hadn’t been optimistic about it at first. But after it aired, its popularity exceeded his wildest imagination. At this rate, they would recoup their costs in two weeks at the latest.
“Give Tomato Television Station a call,” Director Lu said, taking the report from Gao Qiao. He was beaming with delight, extremely satisfied with the data on the report. “Ask them if they’re interested in buying the broadcast rights for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop.”
“Understood.”
Gao Qiao wasn’t surprised. The broadcast rights for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop hadn’t been sold yet. Initially, no major television station was willing to buy them, afraid of competing with Great Nation’s Artifacts. Now, they were all scrambling to buy them, and the problem was deciding who to sell to.
He found Tomato Television Station’s contact information and was about to dial when Director Lu’s next words stopped him.
“The broadcast time will be Sunday at nine p.m.”
Director Lu said with a grin.
Gao Qiao was speechless.
That was the exact broadcast time for Great Nation’s Artifacts. He turned off his phone; there was no need to contact Tomato Television Station. Who would agree to such a demand?
Director Lu had Gao Qiao hand him the phone. “You’re just too thin-skinned. What’s there to be embarrassed about?”
The Deputy Station Director of Tomato Television Station was incredibly flattered when he received the call from the Palace Museum.
The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was the hottest variety show at the moment, its online popularity even surpassing the TV variety show Great Nation’s Artifacts. Many television stations wanted the broadcast rights, but the Palace Museum hadn’t agreed to any of them.
The Deputy Director couldn’t help his excitement. Just last week, their station had designated The Forbidden City’s Little Shop as a case study. The station director had even said that if it were a TV variety show, its audience rating might have broken 2%.
This could be Tomato Television Station’s chance to surpass Yancheng Television Station.
“Hello, Director Lu.”
He thought Director Lu was a truly kind and amiable person, easy to negotiate and connect with, until he heard Director Lu’s words. “But I have a requirement for the broadcast time: Sunday at nine p.m.”
The Deputy Director was about to agree when he felt the broadcast time sounded familiar. He casually asked his subordinate, “Is there any program airing at nine p.m. on Sunday?”
The subordinate stood up and said, “Yancheng Television Station’s Great Nation’s Artifacts.”
The Deputy Director slapped his thigh. No wonder the time sounded so familiar. It was the broadcast slot for Yancheng Television Station’s Great Nation’s Artifacts.
Great Nation’s Artifacts was the TV variety show with the highest ratings recently. Although Tomato Television Station was eager to surpass Yancheng Television Station, they couldn’t bring themselves to engage in such a head-on confrontation. After all, they had to be responsible to their sponsors.
When Tomato Television Station hung up, Director Lu was still in disbelief. He asked Gao Qiao, “Is my request that unreasonable?”
Gao Qiao lowered his head.
His silence was a clear confirmation.
Director Lu was speechless.
But he wasn’t discouraged. He was very confident in the quality of The Forbidden City’s Little Shop and had Gao Qiao contact other television stations. To his surprise, however, not a single one accepted.
None of them dared to go head-to-head with Yancheng Television Station, even though it was no longer as dominant as it once was.
Left with no other choice, Director Lu stood up from his chair and personally dialed CCTV’s number, though honestly, he didn’t hold out much hope.
He had approached CCTV before, and their response was that they did not accept live broadcast formats.
Too many things could happen during a live broadcast, and the risks were uncontrollable. For the ever-cautious CCTV, The Forbidden City’s Little Shop was not a good choice.
Gao Qiao watched as Director Lu’s expression shifted from sunny to cloudy and back to sunny during the call with CCTV. Although he knew CCTV would most likely not buy the show, he couldn’t help but be curious about how they would turn it down.
Director Lu hung up the phone, his expression grave.
Gao Qiao understood and lowered his head.
He knew the result.
As his secretary, he still had to offer some comfort. “A web variety show is fine. The audience for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop is clearly a younger demographic, and they don’t watch TV that often. There’s no need to be obsessed with getting on television.”
Gao Qiao didn’t try to persuade Director Lu to change the broadcast time, only to relax. He knew that while his boss was usually all smiles, once he made a decision, not even ten bulls could pull him back.
“Who said it’s going to be a web variety show?”
Director Lu raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“How could CCTV possibly agree?”
Gao Qiao’s eye twitched.
Even Tomato Television Station hadn’t agreed, so how could CCTV? Ratings aside, it was common knowledge that getting on CCTV was much harder than getting on a local station. The approval process alone stumped many.
Director Lu sat back down in his chair, his joy overflowing. “CCTV still has some reservations about the show’s format, and I wasn’t holding out much hope either. But you know about CCTV’s newly appointed Director Wang, right? He recently read an article in The New York Times and thinks it’s very meaningful for domestic variety shows to go international.”
It sounded like a lot of official jargon.
Gao Qiao mentally filed it all under “nonsense.” “And?”
“Several of Weiwei’s videos have made it to YouTube’s trending list, and many foreigners have even registered for Weibo because of him. He was stunned. He didn’t expect foreigners to be so interested in traditional Chinese culture and wants to do more cultural outreach to promote the Confucius Institute.”
Director Lu looked immensely proud. “It’s a good thing we invited Weiwei. Otherwise, getting broadcast on a satellite channel would have been impossible.”
Old Sir Ma Liqing had high artistic attainments but couldn’t attract the interest of young people. His nephew was even more of a lost cause; even when smiling, he exuded an unapproachable aura. In comparison, Ji Wei was a rare gem.
Gao Qiao nodded slightly.
That seemed to make sense. It was rare for a domestic variety show to gain some fame overseas. This was indeed a good opportunity for the government to promote the Confucius Institute. It was no wonder that the usually conservative and cautious CCTV would buy the show.
He couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. As long as the ratings were good, The Forbidden City’s Little Shop would definitely be the variety show of the year. He had to notify the product department to prepare more merchandise. When the next episode aired on CCTV, the Forbidden City would surely reach a new peak in popularity.
Meanwhile, news of Tomato Television Station rejecting The Forbidden City’s Little Shop spread like wildfire online, leaving many in disbelief.
[BBQ Stand] No way, The Forbidden City’s Little Shop is so popular, Tomato Television Station clearly doesn’t know what’s good. No wonder they’re always being suppressed by Yancheng Television Station.
[Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs] I guess the TV stations have their own considerations. The Forbidden City’s Little Shop is a slow-paced variety show. Although the live stream popularity is high, no one can guarantee the ratings. My classmate works at a TV station, and I heard they contacted many stations, but none of them bought it.
[Sweet and Sour Fish] Maybe the target audience is different? Young people use computers more, while middle-aged and elderly people watch TV more. Great Nation’s Artifacts has consistently high ratings, so the ratings for The Forbidden City’s Little Shop are hard to say.
[AC Repair] Shocked. Is The Forbidden City’s Little Shop in such a sorry state that not a single TV station is willing to buy it? Sigh, there really is a wall between web variety shows and TV variety shows. Why hasn’t Yancheng Television Station gone under yet?
***
Ji Wei pushed Lu Shenxing back to Hua Ting.
After some thought, he still didn’t trust Ying Guanxiao to supervise Lu Shenxing’s physical therapy. Ying Guanxiao was too easygoing; if his idol didn’t want to go, he wouldn’t press the issue.
He went to the study to make a chart. He would put a checkmark for every day his idol went to the hospital. Just as he was making the chart, he heard the doorbell ring.
Ji Wei put down his pen and walked toward the door.
The screen showed a delivery person.
He looked quizzically at Lu Shenxing, who was sitting in the living room reading a script. “Did you order takeout?”
The man lowered his eyes. “I bought something.”
Ji Wei pressed the button to open the elevator. After it opened, a delivery guy in a blue uniform walked in, carrying a large box. “Hello, this is the custom cake you ordered. I hope you’ll leave a good review.”
Ji Wei took it and nodded.
The delivery guy then turned and left.
Ji Wei placed the cake on the coffee table in front of the sofa and saw that the contact person on the outer packaging was Ying Guanxiao. He was startled. Had he missed some important holiday?
He carefully recalled Lu Shenxing’s birthday, debut anniversary, and various domestic and international holidays. None of them seemed to be today. He couldn’t help but ask, “Is today some special day?”
Lu Shenxing’s hand, which was turning a page, paused. “No.”
Ji Wei was puzzled. “Then why would Ying Guanxiao send a cake?”
“I sent it.”
The man said calmly, “Open it and see.”
Ji Wei hadn’t expected his idol to have bought the cake. Was it… for him?
He froze for a moment before opening the cake’s packaging. It was an eight-inch mille-crepe cake with delicate layers and exquisite craftsmanship. It looked delicious, but the cake wasn’t the main point. The main point was—
His and his idol’s names were written on it in cream.
Why would his idol suddenly send him a cake?
And with both of their names on it.
Countless possibilities instantly flooded Ji Wei’s mind. Did his idol like him? Or did his idol simply want to eat cake? His mind was in a whirl, and his heart couldn’t help but pound, each beat more intense than the last, completely uncontrollable.
He was panicking.
He hoped his idol couldn’t hear it.
Seeing that he hadn’t cut the cake, Lu Shenxing asked lightly, “Why aren’t you eating? Not to your taste?”
But his voice wasn’t as calm as usual.
He didn’t know if the little one liked mille-crepe cake. He had just seen that couple yesterday happily sharing cookies with each other’s names on them, and he wanted his little one to be happy too.
Startled by the question, Ji Wei shifted on the sofa, glanced at the cake, then secretly peeked at Lu Shenxing, and inadvertently blurted out his true thoughts. “I can’t bear to eat it.”
He blushed as soon as he said it, lowering his head to hide his emotions. The air seemed to grow hotter.
The man pursed his lips, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly in a silent smile. His originally cold aura instantly softened, its sharp edges retracting.
Ji Wei didn’t hear the man speak. The sudden silence made him even more shy, and he felt embarrassed. Just as he was about to go back to the study to continue making his chart, he heard the man’s low voice. “Then the only way is—”
“The only way is what?”
Ji Wei was still dazed and didn’t hear what Lu Shenxing said clearly, so he asked blankly. The man watched him, paused for a moment, and said lazily, “For brother to feed you.”
His tone was so matter-of-fact that Ji Wei subconsciously agreed. When he came to his senses, his face turned beet red, from the tips of his ears all the way down to his collarbones, and the heat only intensified with time.
He was truly mortified.
He was a grown man, and he still needed to be fed.
Ji Wei thought about how to politely refuse when his idol handed him the cake. It seemed that no matter what he said, it would be awkward. He should just go back to the study and make his chart.
But in the next second—
The man lowered his head, took a bite of the cake, and his warm lips covered Ji Wei’s. The action was so sudden that Ji Wei’s eyes widened instinctively. The man kissed him slowly and deliberately. By the time he reacted, his mouth was already filled with a sweet taste.
It was a light cream-flavored kiss.