Chapter 15: 15: Making you hurry on the road, yet you take the Empress to see an excavator?
Upon hearing this, the forty-year-old director Chen Fufeng sucked in a breath of cold air and quickly shuffled his potato-like body toward a nearby set of monitors.
He gave a pat on the back to the assistant director Gao Changlin, who was intently looking at the screens, and after Gao called out "Old Chen," he made room for him.
"What's going on?" Chen Fufeng asked.
"After Pei Muchan and Xu Qingyan's live streaming entrance was combined, their popularity far exceeded that of the other pairs of guests. Their fans have gone to the other guests' streams to stir things up."
Gao Changlin sighed, a helpless wry smile hanging on his face.
"Old Chen, this new show isn't easy to do."
"All beginnings are hard, but the feedback for Pei Muchan's segment isn't bad so far." Chen Fufeng furrowed his brows slightly, sat in front of the monitor, and reviewed the eight-times speed replay of the other couples from half an hour ago.
You Zijun got up early today after witnessing "One King with Three Queens," a world-renowned painting, last night. He had completely figured things out and decided to give up on any attempts to contact Pei Muchan.
After all, they were not from the same world. He was wealthy, but Pei Muchan was not in need of money either. And clearly, she was only interested in Xu Qingyan—women really do go for looks, after all.
However, he wasn't discouraged. Since all love in variety shows is one-on-one, not having Pei Muchan didn't mean he couldn't find love, right?
He barely slept at all, pacing around his hotel room with a pillow in his arms, deciding to start by making contact with Nian Shuyu. The tall, leggy flight attendant seemed quite caring, which should at least make for a comfortable interaction.
On the drive there, You Zijun was a bit nervous at first, but when he confirmed that no one else had come to pick up Nian Shuyu, the tension finally lifted from his heart.
On the other side, the ambitious Chen Feiyu was naturally waiting early downstairs at rich girl Song Enya's hotel, almost ready to label himself a loyal dog.
The guy was just too keen on advancing himself.
Internet celebrity Shen Jinyue, boasting thirty million followers, was full of confidence. Before heading downstairs, she even guessed with her photography crew how many male guests would be waiting for her.
Even in the elevator, she indulged in the fantasy of several male guests jostling for her attention downstairs, covering her face sheepishly, even though she appeared to be a youth turned into a daft entertainer.
The netizens cried out in pain, finding it way too abstract.
When she went downstairs excitedly, dragging her pink teddy bear suitcase, and found not a soul waiting for her, the producer team even added a special effect of a crow flying by.
The effect was an instant hit, and Shen Jinyue's fans arrived on the scene right away to mock the situation.
Laughter filled the live chat, with teases and consolations so mixed up that they were indistinguishable.
After taking care of everything, when Chen Fufeng settled back into his seat, he noticed that everyone in the director's team was staring silently at the monitor's big screen, which made him somewhat puzzled.
He walked over and looked up at the screen, becoming instantly dumbfounded.
Xu Qingyan had taken the car off-road, and was standing outside the road with Pei Muchan, who was dressed in a delicate black dress, watching an excavator dig a pond by the roadside.
I asked you to press on with the journey, and you take a diva to watch an excavator dig a pond?
Director Chen Fufeng slapped his forehead, feeling dizzy, now primarily suffering from a headache. If he'd known, he wouldn't have allowed Xu Qingyan to improvise—too abstract.
Having one abstract painter like Shen Jinyue is a surprise, another free-willed Xu Qingyan is nothing short of a fright.
Just when he was considering whether or not to send Xu Qingyan some script remotely, the errand-running nobody stealthily approached and whispered.
"Director, the public opinion team can't manage it."
Hearing this, Chen Fufeng felt his head has never been so heavy. The romance show had barely started and there were already so many issues. If only he had known, he wouldn't have set up a pick-up segment. He took a deep breath and asked.
"What happened with the group including Nian Shuyu?"
"Ah, it's not the Nian Shuyu group, it's... the Pei Muchan group." The nobody held a mobile phone and whispered, "The audience in the live chat won't stop discussing the excavator, it's uncontrollable."
"Forget controlling it, let them be," Chen Fufeng waved his hand dismissively, "I'm tired, let it all go to ruins."
By the roadside, Xu Qingyan, with arms crossed, kept commenting on the excavator, while Pei Muchan smiled warmly by his side. The seabreeze lifted her black dress, surpassing half of summer.
This scene, captured in the eyes of the live stream viewers, was naturally sour enough to prompt comments.
"Sister Pei! Wahhh! My Sister Pei is too gentle, actually accompanying Xu Dog to watch excavators, I declare Sister Pei to be the goddess of my dreams!"
"I'm dying, would a girl really like to watch excavators? Way too fake for the camera!"
"Who says girls can't watch excavators, I love seeing all the action!"
"How dare you, Xu Dog, what are your merits or abilities! I wish to replace you out of envy! Too heart-stirring, if I watched excavators, my wife would only scold me for being idiotic!"
"Same here, I once picked up a small stick on the road, and just as I got ready to play with it, my girlfriend called me crazy. She told me to throw it away and not to embarrass ourselves (sobbing)!"
"Boys: Wow, an excavator! Young men: Wow, an excavator! Middle-aged: Wow, an excavator! Elderly: Wow, an excavator! (dog-head.jpg) Tombstone: Wow, an excavator!"
"A thousand years after death, fossil: Wow, an excavator!"