First Broadcast

They said that when he confronted the traffickers, one of the bad guys had even pulled out a homemade gun...

Seeing the students in the classroom whispering curiously among themselves, Song Huaiyan smiled kindly, lightly patted Lu Heng on the shoulder, and said warmly, "Everyone, give our new classmate a round of applause and have him introduce himself."

Lu Heng instantly came back to his senses and said, "Hello, everyone. I'm Lu Heng, fourteen years old, from Lu Family Village in J City, Northeast China. I'm very happy to be here to study."

The students seated below all looked at Lu Heng with sparkling eyes. When they realized he had nothing more to say after a single sentence, they immediately cried out in disappointment, "What? That's it? You should tell us what you like, your talents or hobbies or something."

"Exactly! That was way too perfunctory. At least tell us which celebrity you like."

"You know martial arts, right? You're even a year younger than us. How did you get so good?"

"Great hero, who is your master? State your school!"

"Give us a demonstration! How exactly did you take down those traffickers?"

Lu Heng was a little surprised. He had not expected these classmates to have such lively, uninhibited sides to them. They were nothing like his previous life, where everyone had been busy studying, conducting experiments, or organizing club activities, always rushing about in a way that made people reluctant to approach.

Perhaps Lu Heng had remained silent for too long. Song Huaiyan, standing beside him, mistakenly assumed that the young hero had not yet adapted to the environment here. She smiled understandingly, placed both hands on his shoulders and gave them a slight squeeze as though encouraging him, then suggested loudly, "How about we have Lu Heng perform a talent for us?"

"Okay!" the students below replied in unison.

Song Huaiyan looked at Lu Heng with a smile. "What do you think?"

For an entertainer, performing was never something difficult. But a talent show during morning class... Lu Heng swept his gaze across the front of the classroom. The space was too small to move around in, so a martial arts demonstration was definitely out. That only left singing or something similar...

Lu Heng blinked. As someone reborn from sixteen years in the future, most of the songs in his head were popular hits from later generations. Even for older songs, he could not remember whether they had already been released at this point. It would be troublesome if he casually sang a song that did not yet exist.

After considering it, Lu Heng said, "How about I sing a passage from Peking Opera for everyone?"

"Peking Opera?" The teachers and students throughout the room, Song Huaiyan included, could not help exchanging looks.

They truly could not imagine Lu Heng singing Peking Opera with such an old-fashioned air!

First Broadcast

According to the production team's original plan, filming for the first episode of Exchanging Lives was supposed to take only around ten days. Including the travel time there and back, it would not exceed half a month. This arrangement was mainly intended to speed up production so that it could smoothly take over in early June from Shi Dian Talks Gossip, Huaxia TV's former ratings champion talk show.

Unfortunately, no matter how thorough Wei Linxuan's planning had been, he had never expected Lu Heng to expose a child trafficking ring while waiting for a train at the station. Nor had he expected that what seemed like an ordinary trafficking case would involve such a wide-reaching network, forcing the entire crew to remain in J City for more than ten days while the police conducted their operation.

Although the company and production team had promptly adjusted their promotional strategy after Lu Heng signed his contract, allowing Exchanging Lives to explode in popularity before it even aired by riding the momentum of the major trafficking case, the fact that the production schedule had been delayed while the crew stayed in J City was indisputable.

According to the company's arrangements, Exchanging Lives had originally been meant to replace Shi Dian Talks Gossip, which aired every Saturday night at ten o'clock on Huaxia TV. That show had once been Huaxia TV's flagship program and the ratings champion among similar programs nationwide.

Shi Dian, the host, had studied broadcasting and hosting at Yanjing Media University. After graduating, he turned down invitations from numerous media outlets and magazines, heading alone to a gossip newspaper in Hong Kong to work as a paparazzi reporter. Over four years, he rose from paparazzo to magazine editor-in-chief, then decisively resigned and returned to the mainland, where he applied for a position as an entertainment producer at Huaxia TV.

A year later, the ambitious Shi Dian earned the favor of the channel's executive producer, who promoted him to host Ten O'Clock Talks Gossip.

Thanks to his years as a paparazzo, Shi Dian knew the gossip surrounding most entertainers in the industry like the back of his hand. He also absorbed the sharp, cutting style of Hong Kong entertainment magazines. When commenting on entertainment news, he was not only quick-witted but also humorous and well-read, earning widespread praise and enthusiasm from viewers. The ratings soared again and again, directly breaking records for the time slot and claiming the top spot. Seeing this, the company simply renamed Ten O'Clock Talks Gossip to Shi Dian Talks Gossip, creating a win-win model of brand recognition.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. During Star Entertainment's aggressive talent-poaching spree, Shi Dian, as popular as a rising superstar among television hosts, was also lured away. He went to host Shi Dian Talks News on Starlight Television, which belonged to Star Entertainment. Not only did he leave Shi Dian Talks Gossip hanging without a host, but he openly went head-to-head with his former employer, catching Huaxia Imperial Entertainment completely off guard.

The host hastily brought in as his replacement lacked the necessary skill. His clumsy imitation was nothing more than a poor copy, turning an engaging and entertaining gossip interview show into something as long-winded and boring as a lullaby. Its ratings fell again and again, plunging directly from champion status to 0.12%, while its reputation among viewers collapsed just as badly. Taking into account outside media criticism and the impact on the company, Huaxia Imperial Entertainment had no choice but to grudgingly pull the program off the air.

The Exchanging Lives reality show proposed by Wei Linxuan at this critical juncture was intended to replace the soon-to-be-canceled Shi Dian Talks Gossip and officially premiere in early June.

They had originally had plenty of time to produce the show, but unexpected complications on Lu Heng's side had caused the schedule to fall behind. It was already May 26, yet the Beijing portion of Exchanging Lives had not even finished recording half its content. The company was deeply troubled by the replacement issue, which was why Wei Linxuan had rushed back to Beijing overnight—to use the existing footage for a first round of post-production editing and ensure that, after Shi Dian Talks Gossip was taken off the air, Exchanging Lives could smoothly broadcast the first half of its first season's first episode.

June 1 was not only the official Children's Day, but also the first Saturday of June. After dinner, most families across the country were gathered in front of their televisions, watching dramas while waiting for Exchanging Lives to begin.