At night.
It was past 9 PM.
Other than those on duty and those recording the program at night, most of the people in the television tower had already gone home. Many of the floors and offices were dark, and more than half of the building was empty. However, The Voice's program team office and recording studio were still brightly lit, with people coming and going. There was the sound of construction workers moving equipment, the sound of staff talking hurriedly, and the loud voices of the relevant managers repeating their tasks over and over again.
"Put it here."
"OK, Sister Qi!"
"Over there, hurry up!"
"The lights must be set up before 11 PM!"
"Director Zhang, we will definitely get the lights by tomorrow morning …"
"There's still work to be done tomorrow morning. We have to save as much time as we can. 11 PM at the latest. I'll come over at 11 PM to see the results!"
"OK, we'll do our best!"
"Thank you for your hard work. When we're done tonight, I'll treat everyone to supper!"
At this moment, a female editor walked over tiredly and waved her cell phone at him. "Director Zhang, about that, my husband is rushing me again. Should I come over today?"
Zhang Ye said, "Hurry up and go home."
The female editor said, "OK, I'll come over early tomorrow morning."
"Be careful on the road," Zhang Ye said with concern.
The female editor turned around and looked at the drowsy Chenchen sitting in the recording studio's auditorium. She said to Zhang Ye, "I drove here, why don't I send Chenchen back?"
Only then did Zhang Ye remember Chenchen. "Yo, is it convenient?"
"Yes," the female editor said.
Zhang Ye asked Chenchen, "Shall I get Auntie Yi to send you home?"
Chenchen looked at him. "Are you going back or not?"
Zhang Ye said, "I can't leave. I have to stay at the office for the next few days."
Chenchen said, "Oh, then I won't be leaving either."
Zhang Ye said, "What are you doing here? It's not like there's a good place to sleep here. I'll get someone to send you home. If you're afraid that you'll be alone at home, I'll give my parents a call and let them know. You can stay at my parents' place today and get them to take care of you for two days."
Chenchen did not say a word.
"Chenchen, I'm asking you," Zhang Ye said.
Chenchen still ignored him and minded her own business.
Zhang Ye was helpless and could only say to the female editor, "Go home first. If she doesn't want to leave, she can stay with me. There's no other way."
The female editor suggested, "There are large sofas in the dressing room and lounge at the back. There are also pillows and quilts upstairs. Although the conditions aren't too good, you can still sleep there."
"Sure," Zhang Ye said.
Turning around, Zhang Ye threw himself back into work. Not only did he manage the overall situation and command everyone, he also did everything himself. Wherever he could help, he would help. He even climbed up the ladder to help the workers install the lighting equipment. In the end, he was covered in dust, but he did not even notice it.
For an executive director like Zhang Ye to go this far, putting himself in their shoes, the rest of the staff also put in more effort. None of them slacked off. Some of the staff were even planning to go home at 10 AM, but when they saw Zhang Ye working so hard, they were too embarrassed to say that they were going to leave. They endured their sleepiness and carried on working overtime. If the leaders did not complain that they were tired, how were they supposed to complain?
About half past ten.
Chenchen could not take it any longer. Her eyelids drooped as she staggered to Zhang Ye's side, "Zhang Ye, I'm sleepy. Bring me to bed."
Zhang Ye did not even turn his head, "Little Zhao, bring Chenchen to the lounge."
"Hey, coming!" Little Zhao put down his work and ran over. He said in a pleasant manner, "Chenchen, let's go."
Chenchen glanced at Little Zhao, then looked at Zhang Ye. She pushed Zhang Ye's back, "Zhang Ye, bring me there. You sleep too."
Zhang Ye said, "How can I sleep? It's already so urgent. I've already made preparations to work non-stop for the past few days. Be good and get your Uncle Little Zhao to bring you a blanket. You sleep well."
Chenchen shouted, "Zhang Ye, Zhang Ye!"
Zhang Ye ignored her. There seemed to be a problem with one of the lighting equipment. He immediately rushed over angrily, "What's going on? Wasn't it checked before we installed it? "
Chenchen was angry.
Little Zhao looked at her and said, "Now that something has happened, Director Zhang is the most anxious person in the program team. He's also the one under the most pressure. Right now, all he can think of is how to get The Voice on time for the broadcast. As for the other matters, let's not trouble Director Zhang for now. Otherwise, he'll be too tired."
It was unknown if Chenchen took his words to heart, but she slowly followed Little Zhao out of the lounge. Before she left, she suddenly turned around and said loudly, "Zhang Ye, come and sleep in a while."
Zhang Ye acknowledged, "Alright, alright."
Only then did Chenchen leave.
But with this busy work, it was already midnight.
After ordering food and eating supper, all of the workers had left. Most of the staff had also gone home, leaving only Zhang Ye and a few other program team staff behind. The remaining few were all men, and they were all young and had better stamina. There was a female staff member who did not want to leave and said that she wanted to continue working, but Zhang Ye saw that it was getting late, so he let her go back. Otherwise, it would be too unsafe if she stayed any longer.
"Director Zhang, let's continue."
"Can you guys still do?"
"Yes!"
"I can still hang in there!"
"I'm fine too. I usually sleep late."
"Alright, there's only a little left for today's work. Let's hurry up and finish it. When we're done, hurry home and get some rest."
A new round of busyness began.
Besides, the intensity of work after midnight was different from the intensity of work during the day. There might not be much of a difference in the amount of work and it might still be the same, but during the day, it was done under the premise that they were in a good mental state and had enough sleep. After midnight, they would be in a state of extreme fatigue. After working for more than 10 hours straight, coupled with the sleepiness, their work efficiency would plummet. It would require a lot of willpower and stamina to hang in there!
Ten minutes!
Half an hour!
Suddenly, a small figure walked out from backstage, swaying. It was Chenchen. She was holding a thin blanket in her hands and groggily found Zhang Ye. She opened her eyes with great difficulty and glanced at him, then sat down in the coach's chair closest to him. She wiggled her butt a little and pulled the blanket over her. Only then did she happily fall asleep again, her mouth panting.
Zhang Ye did not notice.
It was those employees who had noticed it first.
"Uh."
"Director Zhang, Chenchen is here."
Zhang Ye turned around to look. "Whoa, why are you here? It's so noisy here, why are you sleeping here? Hurry up and go to the waiting room to sleep."
Chenchen was woken up by the noise. She glanced at him before closing her eyes to continue sleeping.
Zhang Ye hurriedly went up to her and pulled her away. "Go, go, go. Be good. If you don't, I'll get angry, okay?"
Chenchen leaned back in her chair like she had no bones. She was so sleepy that she mumbled a few times. As for what she was saying, no one could really understand what she was saying.
Zhang Ye had no choice but to say to the employees, "Let's call it a day. We've pretty much finished our work. You've all worked hard, so go back and have a good sleep."
"Then … alright."
"Then we'll be leaving."
"Director Zhang, you should sleep early too."
The few of them were indeed half-dead from exhaustion. It was time for them to go home.
Zhang Ye nudged Chenchen. "Let's go. Let's sleep together."
Chenchen moaned and did not move.
Zhang Ye was helpless and could only bend down to carry the little kid. She was already seven or eight years old, so she was actually quite heavy. Zhang Ye did not have the arm strength of the landlady who could lift Chenchen up with just one hand, so he could only carry her with both hands to the waiting room and put Chenchen down on the sofa.
"Go to sleep," Zhang Ye said.
Without needing him to say anything, Chenchen had already fallen asleep.
Zhang Ye covered her with the blanket and did not dare to leave. He knew that Chenchen could not sleep alone and needed someone to accompany her. He was afraid that Chenchen would not sleep well and would look for him again with the blanket, so he pretended to lie down beside her. He closed his eyes and rested for a while, but he did not fall asleep. After waiting for about 20 minutes, he finally got up and looked at Chenchen. Then he quietly got off the sofa and returned to the production studio.
Come on.
Let's continue!
He was the only one left in the large recording studio. Zhang Ye went to the control room and started testing a few of the equipment that he knew a little about. For example, the microphone that he requested to be suspended high up in the air. After that, he went through them one by one. Finally, he started tinkering with the lighting system. Finally, he started working on the computer and printed out a few hundred audience and contestant passes, as well as making a short promotional video explaining the competition rules. As he had experience in making advertisements by himself, this was not a problem for Zhang Ye. Even without anyone's help, he could still finish it if he was a little slower. The dubbing of the competition rules was also done by him.
Time passed by bit by bit.
Zhang Ye was so engrossed in his work that he had already forgotten about the time. He was now treating himself as a blue-collar worker and ordering himself around. Titles like executive director, famous host, or whatever were of no use to him now. What he needed to do now was to ensure that The Voice would finish its production on time with quality and quantity guaranteed. Other than that, everything else was meaningless and useless!
He had to go all out!
He had to race against time!
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