Chapter 116: The Musical Mastermind Behind the Scenes

The next day was Saturday.

For most salaried workers, this was finally a day to sleep in and enjoy a leisurely weekend.

But Shen Yumeng was not so lucky. Before eight-thirty in the morning, she was already dragging her exhausted body to the radio station for work.

After a night of speeding through the southern highways, Shen Yumeng felt like her legs were about to give out. Nan Fang’s driving was simply too fierce—she almost felt like her engine was about to blow.

It had been exhilarating at the moment, but afterward, it was sheer agony.

Sitting in the office, her backside still throbbed faintly.

But she had no time to dwell on that.

The ratings for the entire station’s broadcasts over the past five weekdays had just been released.

Their program’s new version of "The Literary Heroes’ Assembly" had dropped to third place station-wide—one spot lower than before the revamp. The station management was far from pleased with the results. Rumor had it that last night, the female editor-in-chief, Lin Guangmei, had been harshly reprimanded.

Lin Guangmei was furious. When she arrived at the station that morning, her usually cold, aloof face was like ice. During the meeting, she unleashed her sharp tongue on everyone—from the hosts to the behind-the-scenes scriptwriters—and ordered the entire team to work overtime every day starting next week. All leave requests were to be canceled. If they couldn’t come up with good program ideas, they would all have to endure it together. Only when the ratings improved would they be allowed a break.

This terrifying leave ban left everyone on the production team frustrated and stressed.

The program’s two star hosts, Yu Fan and Hu Xuefang, felt particularly helpless.

Before the revamp, the most popular aspect of the show had been the hosts’ casual, humorous banter. Many listeners enjoyed their lighthearted chats.

But listening to the same thing repeatedly could get dull.

Now, with the revamp, the focus shifted to interviews between the two hosts and their guests, emphasizing the guests rather than the hosts’ playful chatter. This left Yu Fan and Hu Xuefang, both highly skilled, unable to fully show their talents, causing them great anxiety and frustration.

Several relatively famous figures from the literary and artistic circles had been invited as guests, but their performances on the show were consistently underwhelming.

In this, both the hosts and the production team bore some responsibility.

The team hadn’t crafted the program’s script well enough, nor had they tapped into the guests’ potential and highlights, which led to the show becoming increasingly lackluster.

Now, everyone in the team was anxious, eager to do better but unable to find the right approach.

If they could invite a few more captivating guests to boost the ratings, perhaps they could turn things around.

But if the show continued to flounder and the ratings failed to rise, it would soon face yet another revamp, or worse, be canceled outright and replaced.

No one wanted to see that happen, so during meetings everyone brainstormed earnestly, offering suggestions to make the show more brilliant.

As the youngest member of the team, Shen Yumeng dared not speak rashly in such meetings.

Though she had several times wanted to suggest inviting Huang Guolun, she dared not speak up when she saw their editor-in-chief’s icy, unforgiving expression—one wrong word could earn her a sharp rebuke.

Finally, the meeting ended, and everyone returned to their desks, the atmosphere still heavy and tense, as if everyone carried a weight upon their shoulders.

In this stifling mood, Shen Yumeng remained withdrawn, afraid to say anything.

Only when Hu Xuefang, the female host sitting opposite her, got up to go to the restroom did Shen Yumeng muster the courage to take her phone and follow.

Hu Xuefang was Shen Yumeng’s senior and fellow alumna from the Communication University, ten years her senior and a bona fide graduate of the 2003 broadcasting class.

Hu’s voice was exceptionally sweet and captivating; hearing her on the radio made listeners feel a warmth as if their ears were being gently caressed.

Hu was also quite charming in appearance.

However, her height was somewhat modest—wearing heels, she barely reached just over five feet.

Her upper body was relatively long, but her short legs made anyone who stared at her feel a pang of sympathy.

Shen Yumeng and Hu Xuefang got along well, after all, they shared the same alma mater, and Hu often looked out for her younger junior.

Their male co-host, Yu Fan, was also considerate toward Shen Yumeng, but his attentions clearly carried other intentions, which Shen Yumeng was perceptive enough to notice. So she usually kept her distance and rarely sought his help.

For example, when she wanted to recommend Huang Guolun for the program, she chose to confide only in Hu, to avoid being scolded or mocked.

After waiting by the restroom door for a while, Shen Yumeng finally saw Hu Xuefang come out.

Hu wiped her hands with a tissue and looked up to find Shen standing there.

Hu smiled and asked, "What are you doing standing here?"

"I'm waiting for you, Teacher Hu."

"Waiting for me? What’s up?"

"Well…" Shen glanced around to make sure Lin Guangmei’s terrifying face wasn’t nearby, then smiled brightly and said, "Teacher Hu, are you busy? If not, how about we go chat in the lounge for a bit?"

"Why the lounge? Afraid someone will overhear?"

"It’s not that I’m afraid of others hearing. I just feel embarrassed if someone does, hehe."

Shen Yumeng blushed shyly and looked at Hu with a pleading sparkle in her eyes, inviting her to a private conversation.

Hu had nothing pressing and didn’t want to return to the oppressive atmosphere of the studio just yet, so she followed Shen to the lounge.

Shen busied herself making a cup of coffee for Hu and invited her to sit.

Hu half-joked, "You’re such a little schemer. What, you want to borrow money from me?"

Shen hurriedly shook her head, "No, no, I wouldn’t dare. It’s like this: our program’s always worried about finding guests, right? I have a somewhat immature idea but don’t dare tell the editor-in-chief. I want to run it by you and hear your thoughts."

"Oh? What’s your suggestion? Tell me."

Shen gathered her thoughts, then spoke clearly to Hu: "Our show has been trying to invite big-name stars to boost ratings, which is a good approach, but those guests are really hard to secure, and it won’t happen anytime soon. So I thought, since it’s unrealistic in the short term to get big stars, why not take a different path? Invite some talented and interesting but less famous artists as guests. This might be easier and could have a better effect than chasing the so-called big names."

Hu frowned and guessed, "You’re not thinking of inviting your boyfriend as a guest again, are you?"

Shen blushed with embarrassment, "No, no. My boyfriend could never be a guest on our show. That was a moment of foolishness on my part. I won’t have such unreliable ideas again."

"Then who do you want to invite? Do you have someone specific in mind?"

"Actually, yes. Teacher Hu, take a look at this…" Shen Yumeng pulled out her phone, ready with a video.

The screen showed an ordinary middle-aged man holding a guitar, seemingly about to sing.

Hu asked, "Who’s this?"

"Don’t worry about who he is now. Just listen to his singing."

Hu frowned slightly and continued watching as the man began to sing softly:

“One day, I realized I didn’t even have the right to pity myself anymore,
Just these tireless shoulders bearing simple satisfactions.”

“One day, I began to find joy in ordinary days,
Seeing clearly into the distance,
The happiness I want.”

“The steady happiness I want,
One that can withstand the harshness of the end times,
A refuge in restless nights.”

“The steady happiness I want,
One I can reach for with both hands,
Every time I reach into my embrace,
There is your warmth…”

At first, Hu Xuefang paid little attention to the man in the video.

But as she listened to his singing, she felt as if his voice had gently gripped her heart.

The tender, confiding tone was like a neighbor playing guitar under the moonlight, telling stories of life’s pursuits and wisdom—so warm and beautiful.

Every line of the song seemed to sing directly into her soul, making her involuntarily imagine that steady happiness herself.

Shen Yumeng secretly observed Hu’s expression changing—from furrowed brows to curiosity, then to a serene smile—and felt her own heavy burden lifting.

Clearly, Hu had been touched by Mr. Huang’s voice.

When the song ended, Hu, unable to suppress her curiosity, asked, "What song is this?"

"This is a song he wrote himself, called ‘Steady Happiness.’ Keep watching; he’s written several others too."

Shen had already edited a series of clips and continued to play more of Huang’s classic works like "The Story of Time."

Listening through them, Hu felt as if she had just attended a masterful folk music concert, or read the life story of a musical poet—she was utterly moved.

Though the audio Shen recorded wasn’t as soul-stirring as hearing Huang Guolun live, his rich, husky voice still conquered Hu’s spirit.

As a radio host, Hu was familiar with all kinds of music, but she hadn’t heard such refined, tasteful, and meaningful original music in a long time.

Not just one song—every piece the man sang was a classic.

It was like flipping through a textbook of life; his songs revealed poetic flavors of human existence and elevated Hu’s aesthetic sensibilities to a new level.

At the end, Hu was amazed beyond words and asked Shen, "Who exactly is this man? Some kind of behind-the-scenes music master?"