Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Sitting in the production’s car, Lu Yao watched the scenery streak past outside the window and felt a little nervous.
A camera operator was filming inside the vehicle. This portion was not live, but it would be edited into the final program later.
Lu Yao was still considered a newcomer to the entertainment industry. Although she faced cameras every day while filming, that happened on a set, where she wore a costume and knew with certainty that she was playing someone else.
For a reality show, the cameras would follow her every moment for the next week, beginning the instant the production arrived at her door. The prospect was deeply unsettling.
“Our Lu Yao looks a little nervous. Is it because this is your first reality show?” a staff member in the car asked.
Lu Yao instinctively glanced beside her and answered softly, “A little. This really is my first time filming a live program.”
The camera followed her gaze toward the adjacent seat. A young woman slept soundly with her head tilted against the seat.
The camera operator could not resist giving her a close-up. Under the high-definition lens, her milk-white skin was flawless, and long eyelashes lay against her cheeks, casting fan-shaped shadows.
Everyone present knew who she was: Lu Yao’s cousin and assistant. This was the first time the production had met someone so carefree that she could fall asleep without a worry shortly after getting into the car.
The host lowered their voice along with Lu Yao. “Don’t be afraid. All the guests on the show are very friendly.”
Lu Yao smiled. “I’m only a little nervous. I’m not afraid.”
As she said she was not afraid, she instinctively glanced at the person beside her. With Zhu Yin there, nothing could frighten her.
The camera faithfully recorded the moment.
.
As a long-running family reality show, I’m No Superstar had put considerable thought into selecting its guests.
Its four regular families each had a distinctive style.
The first pairing consisted of an entertainment-industry veteran, Zhong Lingling, an actress over fifty, and her non-celebrity husband, Cheng Feng.
The second was a married celebrity couple in their thirties, Xie Fengyi and Song Shu, who were also accompanied by their six-year-old daughter.
The third consisted of the popular young celebrity Wei Sheng and his older sister.
The fourth was Xu Xinchen, a child star who had become famous at a young age, and her mother.
Every group had its own distinctive appeal.
But no matter how interesting the guests were, a season of reality television took months to film and was broadcast live, so viewers inevitably became bored. Each month’s temporary guests provided a welcome change of pace.
I’m No Superstar invited temporary guests once every month. Each appearance had a “theme,” with two guest pairings who fit it and served as foils to each other.
Ordinarily, the production had one pairing it wanted to promote.
This episode, however, was different.
The host glanced at the two cousins sitting side by side, pleasing to the eye based on their looks alone.
Lu Yao had not originally been the second guest. That slot had belonged to another unknown rookie actor, who had essentially been chosen to serve as a foil for the first guest.
But the list had suddenly changed the previous week, and Landi Entertainment’s Lu Yao took that person’s place.
Now they had two rookies with powerful backing.
A slight smile remained on the host’s face. Whatever else might happen, there would be no shortage of buzz and attention.
Zhu Yin slept for almost the entire journey.
The reason could be traced to an author who had abandoned a story with a terrible rushed ending. Zhu Yin had spent the past few days reading an excellent Western fantasy adventure novel. Yesterday, just as she reached an exceptionally gripping part, the story suddenly stopped. The author posted a three-hundred-word outline and declared it the ending.
Zhu Yin: ?
She used certain means to investigate the author and discovered that the author’s family had become rich overnight after receiving a massive redevelopment payout. The author had since emigrated and now spent every day waving money around in drunken indulgence.
How could Zhu Yin allow that?
She visited the author that very night and engaged in a friendly conversation.
That morning, other disgruntled readers suddenly discovered an update from a certain book buried at the bottom of their reading lists. Its original three-hundred-word ending had been deleted, and its status had returned to ongoing serialization.
The review section erupted in celebration. Readers rushed to spread the news, and the commotion even reached the trending topics.
The author’s group chat with fellow writers was equally shocked. Everyone tagged the author and asked in amazement whether their conscience had finally awakened.
The author, who had been visited in the night by an unidentified nonhuman reader: 🙂
Zhu “Unidentified Nonhuman Reader” Yin, who had not slept all night, quietly concealed her contribution.
When she woke, she stretched languidly.
“Zhu Yin, are you awake?” A bottle of water was held out to her.
Zhu Yin discovered that everyone in the vehicle was watching her.
She explained without embarrassment, “Hello, everyone. I didn’t sleep well last night. Sorry you had to see that.”
The host hurried to say it did not matter and explained that everyone was simply curious about her.
Privately, the host thought that this assistant looked even more relaxed in front of the camera than Lu Yao, the official guest.
If the information had not clearly stated that Lu Yao was the only celebrity guest, the host might have suspected Landi intended to use the program to launch Zhu Yin’s career.
Meanwhile, in the livestream for I’m No Superstar.
The live cameras were already running. The villa lawn had been decorated to welcome the new guests, and all four regular families had gathered to wait for them.
Many viewers had already entered the stream:
[Wei Sheng looks unbelievably handsome! Husband husband husband husband!]
[Does the temporary guest theme “new” mean newcomers who just entered the industry?]
[Most likely. I’m rather curious. They’ve only just gone from ordinary people to celebrities. I wonder what they’ll be like.]
[Does anyone know the guest list? I heard Sister Luwei will be there. Is that true?]
[Who’s Sister Luwei? Never heard of her. But if they’re newcomers, does publishing the list make any difference? We probably wouldn’t recognize them anyway.]
The four regular families in the waiting area were each making calculations of their own.
As regular guests, they knew the production’s hidden rules and usual routines well. The temporary guest segment ordinarily promoted one person and used the foil pairing to generate discussion and attract attention.
They would cooperate with the production to an appropriate degree.
But this episode seemed different. Both newcomers were privileged favorites.
The veteran Zhong Lingling remained at ease.
At her age and status, she had no need to curry favor with the production in the first place, much less ingratiate herself with juniors.
Nor did she want to make things difficult for an unknown newcomer without backing.
The other three groups had their own thoughts. The only truly innocent ones were probably ten-year-old child star Xu Xinchen and the six-year-old daughter of Xie Fengyi and Song Shu.
The two young girls held hands, looking forward with pure anticipation to the arrival of their “new neighbors.”