CH 66

"Director Yan? Director Yan, what's wrong with you?"

The assistant director was frightened by Director Yan's expression, afraid that their "God of Variety Show" would go crazy before the end of the second season.

Director Yan snapped out of it, cleared his throat, and said seriously, "No worries. So what if Song Yan thinks he can't share the footage? Does that mean there's no way I could get it?"

The assistant director timidly reminded, "But Director Yan, stealing a phone is illegal."

Director Yan glanced at the young assistant director with disdain, "I'm this old, do you still need to remind me? Do you think I don't know?"

The young assistant director kindly advised Director Yan not to embark on the path of illegal activities, but she was met with cold treatment, so she closed her mouth feeling wronged.

Director Yan smiled meaningfully and said, "Stealing definitely can't be real stealing. It's not illegal to let him say it with his own mouth."

Several staff members looked at each other.

Their chief director, Yan Zhengkui, used to direct stage plays, but his achievements were not outstanding. At that time, the entertainment factor in television programs was not widespread. The majority of the audience for TV shows was older, while young people followed international idols and watched foreign dramas and variety shows. The domestic entertainment culture was monopolized by overseas content. However, in the past decade, domestic attention towards this aspect finally started to rise, and the development of the entertainment industry in China began. It was at this time that Yan Zhengkui was signed by a satellite TV station and became one of the pioneers in variety show directors.

That's how Yan Zhengkui completely opened the door to his career.

The traces of foreign influence in the domestic market were too strong, which made the industry a mixed bag. Many directors were criticized by the audience. But Yan Zhengkui's several original variety show programs laid a good foundation for his personal reputation. Until recent years, his hit variety shows kept coming, and many foreign producers even came to buy the rights. Some of them even fully promoted the national spirit without seeking permission.

But no matter the popularity or reputation, they couldn't compare to Yan Zhengkui's original version.

The reason was that Yan Zhengkui had many tricks up his sleeve. With the same script and recording process, he could grasp many small details and create many ingenious plots.

So the staff members were still confident in Director Yan's ability to create chaos. He had a sense of proportion in his antics, which not only produced results but also didn't offend the guests. Song Yan and Wen Li had overturned many of their tricks so many times, but there was no reason for a real conflict with Director Yan. It was because he would never do anything that genuinely offended the guests. In the previous teaser, even though Wen Li wanted to cut out parts, Director Yan reluctantly compromised in the end for the sake of the guests' face.

The previous teaser became a hot topic as the "One-Minute Teaser", and the fans collectively celebrated, attracting the attention of people outside the industry. Now, a week had passed, and the teaser for the seventh episode was about to be released.

Fans were waiting on the official social media account like expectant old fathers waiting outside the delivery room. The sixth episode teaser had given them such a big surprise, so they naturally had high expectations for the seventh episode teaser. They hoped for an even bigger surprise, preferably with an extended teaser duration, aiming to climb the peak of variety show teaser lengths and set a Guinness World Record.

The seventh episode trailer was not delayed and was released on time.

Fans clicked on the video with joy and eagerly looked at the duration of the progress bar.

Thirty seconds.

「Yan Zhengkui, are you incapable again?」

「The previous episode had a one-minute trailer and I celebrated with firecrackers for three days. I haven't finished cleaning up the mess yet, now you're back to the starting point?」

「You've messed up, @InThisWorldWithYou」

The seventh episode was originally recorded indoors and the production team did not interfere with the guests' schedules. There is more footage of the guests at home when they are there, and less when they are not. Last week, a marketing account leaked information about Wen Li's endorsement of a new game and Song Yan's new movie. Wen Li was busy contacting the game company this week while Song Yan frequently visited the theater these days. Both of them had a busy schedule, both publicly and privately, taking up most of the week.

The fans knew they were indeed busy, but a sense of discontent grew in their hearts.

Mainly because the previous episode's content was so unexpected. Now, the contrast was too strong. It appeared as if the production team of this program was unreliable.

The dark environment in the video suddenly lit up; the screen displayed the home of the Salt Grain couple, with the caption "9:20 PM, the busy couple finally arrived home".

Song Yan entered first and changed his shoes, followed by Wen Li. There were two other people at the door.

Audiences who didn't know them asked in the barrage who these two people were.

「They are Sanli's manager and Beauty's manager respectively.」

「Sister Dan is as cool as ever.」

「Is Brother Bin getting fat again? Hahaha.」

Later, the two managers left, and when Wen Li was changing shoes, she swayed a bit. Song Yan supported her and said, "Sit on the couch, I'll get you a glass of water."

"Okay."

「What happened to Sanli?」

「Looks like she's drunk.」

「Female artists also have social engagements. Fortunately, Beauty is with her, so it's reassuring qwq.」

「I'm a new fan. Do the old fans know what Sanli is like when she's drunk?」

「An old fan here. I don't know. Sanli has only been drunk in TV dramas.」

「Okay, I'm getting excited already.」

While fans were getting excited, Song Yan, who had brought water for Wen Li, suddenly appeared in front of the camera and gave a close-up shot.

Just as the fans were shouting "Can married men have some moral integrity and not show their faces casually?" and "Damn, this couple's flirting skills are exactly the same", and "Can I claim accidental death insurance if I die unexpectedly due to being overwhelmed by Song Yan's handsomeness?", Song Yan turned off the camera.

「...I'm tired of the word 'disappointed' with these two like this.」

「Why didn't you let us see?」

「Song Yan, turn on the camera for me! Warning: potential unfollowing!」

「Your wife just got drunk. Is it necessary to turn off the camera? Don't forget, your wife was raised by us fans! We Litchi are your father-in-laws!」

The barrage continued to accuse Song Yan of his unethical behavior for turning off the camera without informing them. The screen lit up again, it was already the next day.

The subtitles thoughtfully displayed "Early the next morning", with Wen Li still sleeping while Song Yan had already gotten up and was sitting on the living room sofa, drinking coffee and watching a theater play on TV. The TV was playing a scene from a play filmed in the theater.

「I can't accept this.」

「Damn it, it's like when I read the ending of a chapter of a novel that ends at night and the next chapter starts with 'the sun rose'.」

「Advice for newcomers who are starting to like Salt Grain: Run, run as fast as you can!」

「I noticed something. Beauty is watching a Republican-era play. The rumors about him starring in a new movie might be true.」

「I remembered that picture of the Salt Grain couple in Republican-era clothing. Beauty in a military uniform, Sanli in a cheongsam -- that sight killed me! I hope Sanli can act in Republican-era drama too qwq.」

In the trailer, Wen Li got up from bed. She appeared on camera with a bare face. The strict dietary management and the money spent on beauty salons were all for this moment of worthiness, where she could showcase her natural beauty without makeup. The camera had a layer of filter that concealed her pale and swollen face due to her hangover.

「Sanli looks amazing without makeup.」

「The natural eyebrows and long eyelashes. I envy her natural eyebrow shape and eyeliner.」

「If I looked like this without makeup, I wouldn't bother applying any.」

Song Yan heard some noise from the bedroom, poured a glass of water, and walked into the bedroom.

The barrage continued with comments like "Why does Sanli have such a hoarse voice?" "After-sex, definitely after-sex" and "OK, you turned off the camera, but we, adults, can still imagine a ten-thousand-word explicit scene now".

Song Yan asked if she remembered what happened when she got drunk yesterday. Wen Li said she didn't remember, and then Song Yan took out his phone.

"See for yourself."

Fans who were just requesting fellow fanfic writers to create a scene quickly reached a consensus and flooded the comments.

「I want to see it too!!!」

Then Song Yan asked Wen Li to go to the bathroom to watch it and also greeted the camera, "Good morning, everyone."

「What? It's already evening for me.」

「I'm unfollowing now.」

「I've already taken off my pants!!!!!!」

The trailer ended here, and the top comment in the comment section was, "They gave us a sweet treat in the previous episode and slapped us in the face with this one".

Yan Zhengkui, who rarely logs on to Weibo, reblogged this trailer with a message, preemptively explaining himself to the fans before their anger was directed at him.

Director Yan Zhengkui:「I asked Song Yan for the video, but he said, 'that content can't be aired', so he couldn't provide it. It has nothing to do with me. // In This World With You Official Weibo: #InThisWorldWithYou# #sweet in joys and sorrows# #Yanli Couple 30-second trailer#...」

He clearly shifted the blame, doing so with a righteous air.

Then a new hot search emerged: #TeamUpToStealSongYan'sPhone#, with the CP fan base as the main force. A coalition was formed, consisting of fans from 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities, and 2 special administrative regions. They gathered a large group of "phone-stealing" soldiers.

Beauty x Sanli:「#TeamUpToStealSongYan'sPhone# Yancheng's 11th Army, assemble!」

...

Salt Grain=Sweet Grain:「#TeamUpToStealSongYan'sPhone# Xingcheng's 43rd Army, assemble!」

...

Did Salt Grain Give Us Sugar Today:「#TeamUpToStealSongYan'sPhone# Hongcheng's Z Army, assemble!」

Of course, actually stealing the phone was impossible. All they could do was put pressure on Song Yan and leave threatening comments under his Weibo like "Hand over the phone, otherwise, we'll switch to being only Sanli's fans" or "I want to see it even if it can't be released! It would be best if the world is taken down as soon as it's released!" or "Brother, why don't you just post on Weibo? We'll call Sina to lift the ban".

Although Song Yan didn't go online, it still had an impact on his real life. While he was at the theater, enjoying a play, he held onto his phone the whole time. Even his assistant, Ah Kang, kept an eye on his phone, also wanting to know what Wen Li did after getting drunk that night.

The fire hadn't reached Wen Li's side yet, so she was unaware of it. She had just finished recording the second performance of the fifth episode of [For You To Debut]. The second performance was divided into dance, vocal, and rap categories. Her younger brother, Xu Li, chose to showcase his vocal performance, and his ranking climbed up again. He was just one rank away from making his debut.

She found her brother's popularity truly terrifying. Unable to contain her curiosity, she called him into the car to talk after the show.

"Did your company buy you a spot in the debut lineup? Your popularity is so high now, are you really going to debut?"

Xu Li replied calmly, "I'm not sure."

"You can debut, then. I'll consider it as you helping me fulfill my unfinished singing and dancing dreams," Wen Li nodded and smiled suddenly, "But our uncle will be furious."

Xu Li tugged at the corner of his lips and said, "Isn't our uncle almost angered to death by you?"

"Don't say that. He's living well. After I finish the screen test, I'll go home and have dinner with him," Wen Li finally remembered the main point of calling him over for a private conversation, "Will you come with me, Rabbit?"

"How can I? I can't take time off unless I withdraw from the competition."

Wen Li pouted, sounding disappointed, "If you come back, at least there will be someone to help divert the criticism. Otherwise, he'll just focus on me."

"Why don't you let Brother Yan accompany you back?"

Wen Li was stunned, seemingly not expecting that suggestion, "Ah?"

"You've been married to Brother Yan for so long, but he has never accompanied you back to our home. Is it that he doesn't want to go, or have you never invited him?" Xu Li made a similar expression to her sister's and said, "You're quite heartless," Then he added in a low voice, "Just how much does Brother Yan love you that he doesn't even care about this?"

Wen Li opened her mouth and whispered, "It seems like I've never invited him."

Xu Li had a complicated expression. "...You really are carefree," Then he sighed softly, "If you have some free time, go to Aocheng and visit Brother Yan's parents," Xu Li said, "It's been two years since you got married, and you don't even know what your father-in-law and mother-in-law look like. Are you okay with that?"

Wen Li was stunned for a moment. Xu Li thought she was about to get angry at him for meddling in her affairs.

But she acted completely different from her usual self, nodded, and said, "Okay, I understand," Then she patted the front seat and said to her assistant, "Wen Wen, help me check for plane tickets."

Wen Wen looked hesitant, "But sister, you're really busy recently."

Wen Li said without concern, "Didn't I squeeze out time before? Tell Sister Dan that I'll work a bit harder for now, I want a few days off when the time comes."

Xu Li looked at her as if she were a ghost.

"Wow, the princess who doesn't even love going back to her own home is willing to travel across half of China to visit her in-laws."

Seeing Xu Li staring at her as if he could see through her thoughts, Wen Li angrily said, "What's wrong? Jealous that I have more popularity and endorsements?"

"..."

Xu Li couldn't be bothered to argue with her, so he got out of the car and walked back to the dormitory, taking out his seventh phone to browse the internet on the way.

He bumped into someone head-on and quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket.

But it wasn't a staff member of the show he bumped into; it was Xu Xingyue and her assistant.

Xu Li had a phone and could secretly go online. He knew that the fans shipping him and Wen Li together had grown stronger because of Xu Xingyue's previous teasing on the show, so his impression of this mentor wasn't very good. He greeted her indifferently, "Teacher Xu."

Xu Xingyue smiled and said, "Hello, Xu Li. Where are you coming from?"

"The restroom."

"Doesn't your dormitory building have restrooms? Why did you specifically come to this side of the parking lot to find one?"

Xu Li furrowed his brows. "You know that I came from the parking lot and you're asking?"

"Maybe you were looking for someone in the parking lot? I can't jump to conclusions, can I?"

"..."

After Xu Xingyue left, Xu Li took out his phone again, intending to send a WeChat message to Wen Li.

Just as he took out his phone, he bumped into someone again.

This time, it was indeed a staff member of the show, the female trainer in charge of the trainees.

Xu Li hurriedly put away his phone and ran, with the trainer chasing after him.

"Xu Li! You've already turned in six phones, now you've brought out a seventh one! Does your family sell phones for a business? Stop right there!"

——

In the car, Wen Li had to rush to her teacher's place to make up for a last-minute lesson today. Tomorrow, she had an audition with Director Qiu, so after her lesson with the teacher, she planned to find Song Yan again tonight to seek his guidance and rehearse a scene with him to get a feel for it.

Song Yan had been busy finding his character's essence at the theater recently, while Wen Li couldn't escape the numerous business endorsements. Otherwise, she would have gone to the theater with him to find inspiration and perhaps schedule a meeting.

She was already busy, and now there was an "intimate time" on her schedule, one of the top three important events in her heart, making her even more pressed for time.

Wen Li let out a sigh, "Why am I so popular!"

Wen Wen turned her head to look at her, sounding surprised. "Huh? Sis, did you see the hot search?"

"What hot search?"

"The one about fans teaming up to steal Teacher Song's phone."

Wen Li thought for a moment, then suddenly realized, "The trailer was released today, right?"

She quickly took out her phone and scrolled through the hot search. Her expression became increasingly complex.

Yan Zhengkui!!

Truly the "God of Variety Show", he had complete control over public opinion.

Fortunately, that part of her conversation with Song Yan in the restroom wasn't captured on camera since there were no cameras in there. It was a stroke of luck.

She couldn't control the comments section on Song Yan's post, but now she was worried about whether the video recording of her conversation with Song Yan would be made public.

Wen Li quickly sent a WeChat message to Song Yan to confirm.

Wen Li:「You didn't show your phone to anyone, did you?」

After two minutes, Song Yan replied:「No.」

Wen Li:「Maybe you should delete it, just in case.」

Song Yan:「Not deleting.」

Wen Li: "..."

He was so cocky, but she couldn't do anything about it.

Wen Li:「Then take good care of your phone.」

Wen Li:「If someone else sees it, you're finished.」

Song Yan:「Finished? Can you give me an example?」

Wen Li squinted and smiled mysteriously.

Wen Li:「Did you watch the movie 'Wild Girlfriend'? Do you want to experience the 'wild wife'?」

This threat should be quite effective. Wen Li put down her phone, put on an eye mask, and planned to get some sleep before meeting her performance teacher.

But after a few minutes, she heard Wen Wen's anxious voice, "Sister, sister, sister!"

Wen Li sighed and took off her eye mask, "Huh, what's wrong?"

"Teacher Song just posted on Weibo!"

Wen Li quickly picked up her phone. The phone was on silent mode, so she hadn't seen Song Yan's message a few minutes ago.

Song Yan:「I want to ^ ^」

Wen Li:「?」

Damn, is this how Song Yan shows his love for her? She couldn't handle it.