Unconventional Center

Chapter 32: The Purest Form of Soccer, the Ultimate Enjoyment

Tiansheng Entertainment was once the most successful large-scale integrated entertainment enterprise in the country, primarily engaged in music publishing, artist management, record production and distribution, concert organization, and more. It was unrivaled and highly prominent in the last century,Unfortunately, the Company made poor decisions upon entering the internet age. As the physical CD market—which it stubbornly clung to—declined sharply, Tiansheng faced major financial problems. Several music producers and singers who had been the Company’s pillars either left or retired, and the entire Company began to decline, struggling to stay afloat. Finally, six years ago, it was acquired by the mysterious Nirvana Group and renamed Nirvana Media Company. Nirvana Media carried out major reforms based on Tiansheng Entertainment’s foundation while increasing its investments, quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing entertainment giants in China in recent years. Some of the TV dramas it produced and distributed achieved notable success, and the digital albums released by several of its signed artists also raked in substantial profits in the domestic music market. Nirvana Media’s ambitions are clearly far-reaching. The year before last, it made another major move by announcing its official entry into the online video sector; Nirvana Video, with its own independent domain, officially launched at the end of that year. Unfortunately, since its launch over a year ago, Nirvana Video’s traffic has remained lackluster. Despite pouring vast sums into marketing and promotion, it continues to be overshadowed in every aspect by several established video platforms. Had Tenglong Video—the industry leader in online video—not refrained from taking action against Nirvana Video, the latter likely wouldn’t even be able to survive. Unable to compete with rivals in original video sharing, on-demand movies and TV shows, and live streaming, Xiao Luo, the CEO of Nirvana Group, had long sought to blaze a new trail. After deciding to acquire Valencia Football Club, he conceived an idea: to create a flagship program centered on soccer and use it as a breakthrough to penetrate the online video market. *The Green Bacteria Magnifier* was born out of this vision. “Isn’t this just like *World Soccer*?” In Li Jia’s office, after hearing the full history of Nirvana Video, Chu Yang couldn’t help but ask. *World Soccer* is a program on CCTV Sports Channel that primarily covers the latest international soccer matches and news; it’s somewhat similar to *Soccer World* from Chu Yang’s previous life,though compared to Tianzu, it featured much more technical content and far less lighthearted material. It enjoyed immense popularity among domestic fans. If *Green Field Magnifier* were truly the same type of show as *World Soccer*, Chu Yang was convinced it would be utterly crushed by *World Soccer*—leaving nothing but dust. Sitting across from Chu Yang, besides Li Jia, was Tian Hong, the chief producer of *Green Field Magnifier*. He was a middle-aged man in his fifties with dark circles under his eyes, looking gloomy no matter how you looked at him. “It’s different from *World Soccer*,” Tian Hongdao said. “Although there is some overlap, *World Soccer* is a professional soccer program that focuses on tournament news, league trends, and tactical analysis of matches, whereas we plan to shift our focus to what happens off the field—things like team tryouts, transfers, training sessions, locker rooms, and VIP boxes that fans are interested in but rarely get to see.” “So while they cover serious content, you plan to focus on gossip and the like—it’s roughly the difference between serious news and a tabloid, right?” “It may sound harsh,” Tian Hong’s expression grew even more grim, “but that’s exactly how it is.” “All right, I get the gist of it. What I don’t understand,” Chu Yang pointed at himself, “is what does this have to do with me?” “Our first episode will, of course, start with our own club—that’s Xiao Dong’s idea. We originally planned to begin with Valencia’s history, but once we dug into it, we realized there really isn’t much worth praising about Valencia’s history. The proposal was rejected by Xiao Dong as soon as we submitted it. Later, I thought of finding a story about the club’s legendary striker, Díaz Hugo. And you know what? That old guy’s life story is actually quite compelling—it’s definitely great material.” ” “And that got rejected too?” Li Jia asked with a chuckle. “Not exactly. Xiao Dong was quite enthusiastic about this one, too, but he thought it would be a bit too thin to serve as the first episode of *Under the Magnifying Glass*, so…” Tian Hongdao said, “that’s why I came to you.” “As a side dish?” “That’s exactly it,” Tian Hongdao said. “Ugo will be the main focus of our first episode, but we’ll feature you prominently as well. It’ll require a lot of cooperation from you, though—not only do you need to perform well on the field, but you’ll also have to give us interviews and let our reporters film you for a while.” “I get what you’re saying. You want me to score some high-difficulty goals on the field—preferably with some flashy moves that’ll catch people’s attention—and then play along with your reality show, right?” Tian Hong let out an “uh,” implying, “You’ve got it all figured out—what else is there to say?” “All right, I told you a long time ago that Xiao Chu is a smart guy,” Li Jia said to Tian Hong before turning to look at Chu Yang. “I actually think this idea makes sense. After all, there aren’t many similar shows in China, and fans are very curious about the daily lives and training routines of players—especially European players. Plus, with your spectacular goals as a backdrop, this episode will be quite compelling. And you should know that Chinese fans currently have a deep misunderstanding of you, which is also having a negative impact on the club. so we can use this show to reshape your image and, while we’re at it, establish you as the team’s rising star. That’s beneficial for both you and the club.” “You’re even bringing up the club’s reputation and image—Sister Li, you’re getting better and better at shifting the blame,” Chu Yang said with a smile. “I admit this kind of show has some appeal, but have you thought about this: you can interview me, or even Ugo—we’re both part of the family, so we’ll definitely cooperate. But what about future episodes? Will you keep following this same formula? “While a player’s daily life and some behind-the-scenes gossip about the soccer club may hold a certain appeal for fans, this kind of thing can only be done once. Watching the team’s practice match for the first time might be interesting, and seeing the players’ locker room for the first time might spark curiosity. Some people might even find it amusing to see players putting on their cleats, socks, and shin guards for the first time. But what about the second or third time?” Just as Tian Hong was about to object, Li Jia raised her hand to stop him and said to Chu Yangdao, “Do you have any other ideas?” “I do have a few.” “Care to share them?” Chu Yang didn’t go into detail; he simply sat up straight and asked, “Do you have a pen?” Li Jia and Tian Hong exchanged a puzzled glance before she took a fountain pen from the pen holder and handed it to him. “And some paper, too, sis.” Li Jia flung a stack of draft paper from beside her at him with a sigh. Chu Yang picked up the pen and scribbled a few words on the paper. Li Jia took a quick look at it, then passed it to Tian Hong. Tian Hong took it and saw several characters written in a sweeping, flowing cursive script: “The purest form of soccer, the ultimate pleasure.”