Chapter 449: One Shot on Happy Camp

Chapter 449: Happy Camp, One Book

"Sister Bai."

Meng Fan and his two teammates left the studio and walked out. After a few steps, they ran into Bai Zhi. He greeted her with particular joy, as it had been some time since they last met, aside from seeing her in the stands during the Olympics.

"What are you doing here? Recording a show?"

Bai Zhi was also pleasantly surprised to see Meng Fan. She naturally had no idea he would be here today. She glanced at the two people beside him, greeted them with a charming smile, calling out the names of the athletes she recognized, and guessed that Meng Fan was here with his teammates to record a show. A quick question confirmed it.

Bai Zhi was also here to record a show—the very one Meng Fan and his group had just watched, *Fantasy Music City*. However, it wasn't the episode that had just been recorded, but the next one. *Fantasy Music City* was recorded in two consecutive episodes. She had come now to go over the script, and after the recording over there was done, she would still have to rehearse.

Meng Fan asked how late the rehearsal would go. Upon hearing it would be very late, he made plans to meet for lunch the next day.

The next day arrived in a flash. Meng Fan and Bai Zhi met at the restaurant downstairs from the hotel. They talked about his investment in an animated film and an animation studio, and he also inquired about the fees of the singers he had asked to write songs the day before. Meng Fan wasn't worried about being taken advantage of; rather, he was concerned that these singers might lower their prices to the minimum out of courtesy, thus taking advantage of them.

He was willing to take advantage of the convenience of asking for songs thanks to the Olympic popularity, but he didn't want to take unfair advantage.

"Animation studio?" Bai Zhi said. "Hey, didn't I hear from Qin Jiao that you already started one? Are you investing in another? Or expanding the scale?"

Bai Zhi was quite surprised that Meng Fan, with his current popularity, would still put effort into animation. She found it both foolish and endearing, worthy of respect.

With Meng Fan's current fame, he could make money in any number of ways. Why bother with animation? It showed he truly loved it. Actors and successful people often say they never forget their original intentions, but how many actually live up to that when they say it?

Bai Zhi had seen too many people in the industry who lost their way after gaining some fame. Many were probably pushed by their teams or capital, but in the end, they failed to hold onto themselves.

Of course, Meng Fan was worthy of respect and envy. In this, he was like his sister: their professional skills gave them the confidence to be self-reliant, and their backgrounds gave them the freedom to be autonomous.

After Bai Zhi told him about the fees of those singers, Meng Fan said, "Once these songs are written, I'll still need someone to sing them. Sister Bai, if any suit you, you'll have to help me out."

Bai Zhi asked seriously, "Will I get paid?"

Meng Fan shook his head. "No."

Bai Zhi smiled. "That's more like it."

After eating, Bai Zhi went with Meng Fan and his teammates to the Mango Building. She had to continue rehearsing in the afternoon. The creative performance for *Fantasy Music City* was shot in one take, with multiple rehearsals and run-throughs. Meng Fan and his team, meanwhile, were officially recording *Happy Camp* that afternoon.

"Why is it taking so long? Did you find tickets? Got them? Hooray!"

Xiao Xiaoxue was a student at Central South University. When she heard that today's *Happy Camp* guest was Meng Fan, she immediately started looking for tickets to the recording through various channels. Finally, she got one from her best friend's boyfriend's roommate's brother-in-law's uncle, who worked at some unit.

All Mango TV shows, including *Happy Camp*, do not sell tickets to the public. Most are given to advertisers, investors, various companies and institutions, as well as celebrities and industry insiders.

To get tickets, you either ask friends or relatives at local units if they have complimentary tickets, or you buy scalped tickets—how those tickets end up with scalpers is a complicated matter.

For Mango TV, even tickets for flagship shows can be had from scalpers for two or three hundred yuan. Of course, there are exceptions: first-row or fan zone tickets are much more expensive, and if a big star, especially a traffic star, is involved, the price goes even higher.

This time, Xiao Xiaoxue had planned to buy from scalpers, but they had sold out two days earlier. Only two hours before the recording did she finally manage to get a ticket through layers of connections. Then she and her best friend, who had already bought one earlier, immediately took a taxi to the Mango Building.

"Look, that's Meng Fan!"

They were lucky. As soon as they arrived at the entrance, they saw Meng Fan and the others about to enter the building. The crowd waiting to get in got excited.

"He's way too handsome!"

"His smile is so charming!"

"How can someone be this good-looking?"

"Why does someone this good-looking have a girlfriend?"

"What are you on about? You think you have a chance?"

"Well, a girl can dream!"

"Dream? You can dream now too. Who's going to cut open your head and throw him out?"

The pair of best friends watched Meng Fan go inside, then waited at the door for the staff to lead them and the others in line inside.

Finally, they arrived at the *Happy Camp* recording studio. They found their seats by number—not very close to the front, but not too far back either. From there, they could fully appreciate Meng Fan's looks. Well, since phones weren't allowed after security checks before entry, all they could do was appreciate; taking photos was out of the question.

Xiao Xiaoxue was a junior now. As a college student in Changsha, she had long since attended *Happy Camp* recordings. Her first time was during her freshman year, and she regretted it afterward because she found recording shows much more painful than watching them.

First, the duration: a single episode took at least four hours to record. Second, there was a lot of repetitive content—the clap leader was one thing, but they also recorded a certain celebrity's singing segment four times in a row, both live and lip-synced. Third, the process was tedious and boring, nowhere near as fun as the edited version.

After her first recording, Xiao Xiaoxue learned that recording and broadcasting were completely different things, and she swore she would never attend a recording again. But within a month, when one of her idols came, she was back to scrambling for tickets like a fool.

Over three years, Xiao Xiaoxue had attended at least ten recordings. Hmph, what could she do when she had so many husbands and they got eliminated so fast?

This time, Xiao Xiaoxue, who had sworn off it ten times, came again, filled with excitement and anticipation, just like her first time!

Of course—before, it was always her own husband; this time, it was someone else's husband. The feeling was absolutely fresh!

Before the recording started, the "Clap Leader" came out to hype up the crowd—Mango TV's pillar Wang Han had done this job before. Once the atmosphere was set, the clap-leading would be more effective.

Then, the Happy Family came out and recorded several applause shots. After building up the atmosphere, they went back and came out again to record the opening show. By the time Meng Fan and the other guests appeared, it was half an hour later. In Xiao Xiaoxue's experience, this was fast.

Originally, the production team wanted the guests' opening show to be a dance, but after one rehearsal, they opted for a mix of half dance and half catwalk. The athletes' bodies were certainly capable, but they weren't used to it, feeling awkward inside. Once awkward, they couldn't loosen up, and their movements became even more awkward.

But after the rehearsal, a bold and powerful entrance worked just fine—they didn't necessarily have to dance and sing their way out.

The actual entrance recording went very well. Forget everything else—their presence alone was enough. One take, done!

After the entrance, the Happy Family had the guests introduce themselves, interspersed with some "domestic flattery" and simple interviews. The focus of the interview was naturally on Meng Fan. When they came out, the teammates had pushed Meng Fan to the "C position."

"Meng Fan, everyone knows this isn't your first time recording a Mango TV show. Last time, you came as a voice actor for *Voice Masters*. This time, you're here as the Olympic five-gold king. Your identity change is really fast! Of course, being the Olympic five-gold king is definitely a major identity change in your life. Before and after the change, what different feelings do you have?" Teacher He interviewed Meng Fan.

Meng Fan answered with a smile that didn't quite match the question: "Maybe next time I'll come as a manga artist, or even to promote an anime. I've actually been involved in the production of a domestic animated film recently. I'll voice the main character and also serve as the voice director. It's adapted from a novel, and the original manga version was drawn by me. Hmm, that sounds a bit like an ad, doesn't it?"

Teacher He laughed heartily and waved his hand. "Go ahead, advertise all you want! Just say the name!"

Meng Fan played along: "It's an anime adaptation of the famous online writer 'Falls Asleep at the Keyboard' novel, titled *Spirits Underground*. It's currently in production, and I hope everyone will support it when it comes out. Of course, if you can't wait, you can read the manga version first, or check out my first original manga, *Mountain and Sea Oddities*."

Teacher He waited quietly for Meng Fan to finish his ad, then smiled and said to the production staff, "The advertising department should go find Tie Shen to settle the bill later. Double!"

Zhang Na stopped Teacher He, pointed at the sponsor, and said in a deliberately strange voice, "Teacher He, this is our sugar daddy's man. We can't afford to offend him!"

Hearing this, Meng Fan pulled out a Huaxiao Glory phone from his pocket, struck a pose like an ad poster, held up the phone, and said the tagline in a voice full of "seductive" charm: "The Five-Gold Glory in your hand!"

This drew a round of laughter that wasn't too awkward.

Of course, all of this had been scripted in advance. *Happy Camp* was a major hub for celebrity guests to promote their work, so advertising was fine—especially for movies, TV shows, and the like. Promotions for endorsed products were not allowed, but Meng Fan was an exception, as his only current endorsement was the show's sponsor.

After the interview, it was time for the "game segment." The games for this episode were specially designed for the judo champions, who wanted to use this show to promote judo. The games were meant to educate through entertainment.

Hmm—soon, the *Happy Camp* set turned into a sea of "one book."

(The chapter ends)