Chapter 2

After parting ways with Meng Chen, Bai Siyi returned to his dorm and stayed awake all night.

Although he was exhausted, the idea of being invited to an online dating reality show felt like a pie falling from the sky.

Suddenly being offered 500,000 yuan felt surreal to Bai Siyi.

When that fan tipped him a million before, he was thrilled but not overly so. After all, fans usually have ulterior motives with such tips, and that kind of money isn’t something he could necessarily claim.

But participating in a reality show was different. He would be earning the money through his own efforts and getting paid according to the contract. That money would feel rightfully his.

Unable to sleep, Bai Siyi stayed up surfing the web, diving deeper into all the buzz surrounding the online dating reality show First Heartbeat. Since the first season was such a hit, news about the upcoming second season had already trended multiple times.

However, since Bai Siyi didn’t use Weibo much, he hadn’t known about it until now.

He clicked on the trending topic and eagerly scrolled through the top comments:

【I’m so excited, guys! My child finally has food to eat. Cat banging bowl.jpg】

【Don’t get your hopes up too much. Most reality shows can’t escape the curse of second seasons.】

【The first season was just too big of a hit—truly unmatched and impossible to replicate. If I were the writer, I’d be pulling my hair out.】

【Hahaha, so true, sis. Someone said they saw Director Liu drinking on the roadside last night—his bald spot is shining brighter than ever.】

【Last season blew up because of a rich kid pretending to be a factory worker live streaming while selling steamed buns every day. No way they’d use the same trick this season.】

—

Bai Siyi spent the whole night reading comments, muttering to himself, “Director Liu has nothing to worry about, he’s even thought of using a cross-dressing dude.”

The next day, Bai Siyi went to work at the factory with dark circles under his eyes. Like a robot, he worked through the morning on the assembly line.

At lunch break, he opened his phone to find several missed calls from unknown numbers, along with many WeChat messages from Director Liu. Most of the messages repeated what had been said before, but since Bai Siyi hadn’t agreed yet, Director Liu kept trying to persuade him through WeChat.

Although Director Liu tried not to come across as too desperate, he clearly was.

Bai Siyi carefully read through each of Director Liu’s messages.

Aside from the 500,000-yuan post-tax payment, what truly swayed him was that the show strictly followed the process of online dating. Starting from exchanging contact information, he and his match would have only one week of online chatting.

This week was the program’s minimum required chatting phase. No matter how poorly they got along, they couldn’t reject each other during this stage.

But the eighth day was the meeting-in-person phase. After chatting for a week, the two would finally meet face-to-face for the first time.

Starting from that phase, they were free to “meet and immediately break up.”

Director Liu explained that as long as Bai Siyi made it to the face-to-face meeting and the other person rejected him, he could walk away with the 500,000 yuan!

There was no reason to hesitate. During his lunch break, Bai Siyi sent Director Liu a message: 【Director Liu, I’ve made up my mind. I want to join the show.】

Moments after sending the message, Director Liu called immediately.

Director Liu’s tone was full of excitement. “Xiao Bai! You’ve finally decided! I’m so thrilled to hear back from you.”

Bai Siyi felt a bit embarrassed. “I’m just an ordinary guy, making Director Liu wait this long. I’m really sorry.”

To Bai Siyi, those big names in the entertainment industry were completely out of reach. And Director Liu, the director who masterminded First Heartbeat, such a sensational show, was being so approachable and even praising him. A director like this was truly one in a million.

Bai Siyi felt flattered and a little overwhelmed.

Director Liu chuckled. “Xiao Bai, you may be an ordinary guy now, but once you’ve been on the show, you won’t be.”

When First Heartbeat exploded again, just like the first season, someone with Bai Siyi’s looks would undoubtedly become famous.

Having spent so long in the entertainment industry, Director Liu had seen countless artists and could usually predict how far someone could go.

For someone like Bai Siyi, not becoming popular would defy all logic. When the time came, entertainment companies would fight tooth and nail to sign him.

Bai Siyi, still modest, said, “Thank you, Director Liu, for having so much faith in me. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I just want to focus on doing a good job with the show.”

Director Liu was delighted. “Exactly! The priority is to make this show great. Xiao Bai, let me explain the contract details to you.”

Director Liu went over many points, but there was one part he emphasized twice.

“Xiao Bai, I hope you can understand that my primary reason for inviting you is to bring excitement to the show. Now, the other person can reject you during the ‘face-to-face’ stage, but unless it’s during the final confession segment, you’re not allowed to reject them first. This will be explicitly stated in the contract. Aside from that, you’re free to do whatever you like! Our show is very open and respects the guests. Review the contract, and if you’re okay with it, let me know.”

The final confession segment would occur after a week of online chatting and more than a month of in-person interaction. At this stage, the pair would sit face-to-face and write letters to either express interest in continuing or politely end things. The purpose of the letters was to ensure a respectful goodbye.

Director Liu’s reasoning made sense. If Bai Siyi rejected his match on the eighth day, their pairing would naturally end, but the show was designed to air for two months, later edited into four episodes for television and major video platforms.

As the contestant most likely to create buzz, Bai Siyi leaving on day eight would force Director Liu to find another focal point, costing him more effort—and likely more hair.

Although there were many backup contestants, not every one of them had the same star quality.

Bai Siyi understood that relationship reality shows needed certain rules.

He confirmed with Director Liu, “Director Liu, although we’ve already discussed this, I just want to clarify one more time. The program’s requirements are: I cross-dress and don’t reject my match before the confession segment, right? During the show, I’m free to act as I please—no script, no preset persona. Is that correct?”

In other words, even if he acted like a block of wood, stayed mute, or played dumb, the program wouldn’t interfere, right?

Bai Siyi had interpreted it correctly, and Director Liu confirmed. “That’s right, Xiao Bai. If you’re okay with it, I’ll pay you 200,000 upfront once the contract is signed.”

Bai Siyi took a deep breath and nodded. “Deal!”

Cross-dressing? That’s his specialty! Online dating? Even more so.

He’d guarantee the first meeting would be a disaster, and wouldn’t that 500,000 yuan practically be in the bag?

After all, the show’s rules were simple: the person who gets rejected would be eliminated, while the one rejecting would continue filming with a new guest. As long as he didn’t actively reject anyone and found a way to make others reject him, it’d be easy money!

This job seemed pretty straightforward.

Because Director Liu was in a hurry, Bai Siyi read through the contract several times and even sent it to Meng Chen, who asked a cousin in the family studying law to review it. Since no issues were found, Bai Siyi arranged to meet Director Liu at midnight to sign the contract.

Director Liu’s tone carried a hint of exasperation. “Xiao Bai, uh, our company’s legal team finishes work at six. Could you maybe…”

Bai Siyi’s response was genuinely apologetic. “I’m sorry, Director Liu, but it’s really hard to take a day off at my factory. If I take leave, I lose 200 yuan in wages, plus a 1,000 yuan attendance bonus. I just can’t bear that kind of loss.”

The main issue was that even if he did take a day off, his workload would still be waiting for him when he returned, effectively doubling it. To be honest, unless the world was ending, he wouldn’t take a day off!

Director Liu: “…”

Director Liu hesitated. “How about 7 o’clock in the evening instead? We could have dinner, get to know each other, and have a good chat.”

Bai Siyi sounded even more sincere. “I’m really sorry, Director Liu, but I work as a vibe setter at a bar from 8 p.m. to midnight. It pays 400 yuan a night, and that’s really important to me.”

Director Liu: “???”

Director Liu was stunned. He knew Bai Siyi needed money, but he hadn’t expected things to be this tight—working a factory job during the day and dancing at a bar for four hours at night.

With a sigh, Director Liu, rubbing his balding head, relented. “Fine, midnight it is. Same place as last night. I’ll wait for you there.”

Bai Siyi, grateful, replied, “Thank you for understanding, Director Liu. I promise I won’t be late.”

Although Bai Siyi had been slightly hesitant, Director Liu’s accommodating attitude made him feel much more at ease.

Director Liu was indeed one of the more conscientious directors out there. When choosing contestants, he didn’t care about their background or popularity, only whether their identity could generate buzz and benefit his show.

For instance, during the first season, the breakout male contestant who became a viral sensation was also a factory worker, but Director Liu hadn’t dismissed him.

This earned Bai Siyi’s trust in Director Liu.

Since First Heartbeat was a live streamed show, all behavior and speech needed to be carefully managed. When Bai Siyi signed the contract, Director Liu and the company’s legal team spent two hours going over everything with him to ensure he didn’t say anything on stream that could get the broadcast shut down.

It wasn’t just Bai Siyi—six out of the eight contestants weren’t from the entertainment industry, so the legal team had to give each of them their own “briefing session.”

Meanwhile, Huo Xingming had just returned from a cosplay convention, his makeup still intact, only to be stopped by a friend waiting at his door.

Jiang Fengjing, exasperated, grabbed Huo Xingming’s silver wig and yelled, “Didn’t you tell me to pick you up at the airport?! I waited an hour, and you went to a convention instead?”

Huo Xingming, a mixed-race man who grew up abroad, had a tall frame and strikingly handsome features. Although he’d been accepted for postgraduate research after university, he secretly returned to China to avoid working at his father’s company with its grueling 996 schedule.

He was a man determined to build a great empire in the anime world! How could he let his family’s little failing company trap him?

Since he didn’t spend much time in China, his only friend was Jiang Fengjing, who lived next door to his grandmother’s house. The two were basically summer vacation buddies.

Huo Xingming was surprised. “Huh? You actually went to get me?”

Jiang Fengjing: “…”

Jiang Fengjing rolled his eyes. “Dude, it’s pick you up, not take you away! I told you to take a Chinese class, but you just wouldn’t listen! You can’t even speak properly!”

Huo Xingming nodded seriously. “Oh, pick me up. Got it.”

He hadn’t done it on purpose. He held up his phone and waved it in front of Jiang Fengjing. “The power bank got tired and went on strike.”

He’d tried to send Jiang Fengjing a message, but his phone died, so it never went through.

Jiang Fengjing sighed in exasperation and followed Huo Xingming into the house, tossing him a contract. “Remember that online dating variety show we talked about? The live broadcast starts next week. Sign the contract and get to it.”

Jiang Fengjing had some money and had invested in the online dating show. Originally, he’d planned to participate as a contestant himself since online dating was all the rage lately.

But Director Liu had been brutally honest, saying his height and identity didn’t quite meet the standard.

The show had four male contestants in total, with preliminary roles set as an actor, a businessman, an athlete, and a student.

The businessman and the student were complete newcomers to the entertainment industry, so to attract viewers, their identity and appearance had to stand out.

The businessman’s role had already been filled, and Jiang Fengjing wasn’t a student—he’d graduated two years ago and was two years older than Huo Xingming.

Huo Xingming, currently a senior in college with plans to start his master’s degree next year, stood at 190 cm, had eight-pack abs, and was a mixed-race heartthrob. A hardcore anime fan with shaky Mandarin, he’d recently left home penniless after a big argument with his family, focused entirely on building his “empire.”

Director Liu was very satisfied with him and asked Jiang Fengjing to make sure he signed up.

Huo Xingming, having nothing better to do and desperately needing Jiang Fengjing to invest in his company to solve his immediate financial crisis, agreed without hesitation to join the show.

But there was one issue. He frowned and asked, “Does this variety show have character scripts? I’m gay. Wouldn’t it be a bit awkward for me to do online dating with female contestants? I mean, if you really want me to go, I’m fine with it, but just let my teammates know in advance. We don’t have to pair up in the end.”

In Huo Xingming’s mind, all variety shows had scripts and set personas. All he needed was for his script to end with a breakup. Of course, if they could assign him a boy as his online dating partner, that would be even better.

Huo Xingming started daydreaming happily.

Jiang Fengjing: “!!!”

Jiang Fengjing was dumbfounded. “What the hell?! You like men? How did I not know that?”

How was this friendship even real? They’d been friends for twenty years, and Huo Xingming hadn’t said a word about such a big deal!

Huo Xingming looked at him with utter sincerity. “I don’t plan on pursuing you, so why would I need to tell you?”

Jiang Fengjing: “???”

Jiang Fengjing glared at him. “Didn’t you just tip a female streamer one million yuan? If you don’t like women, why tip her? And listen to her call you ‘big brother’ every day?”

Huo Xingming changed his clothes as he replied, “She’s really talented. I want to sign her. You know, to get closer to her. Isn’t that what you taught me?”

After all, Huo Xingming’s animation company was newly established and still lacked recognition. Competing with bigger companies to recruit talent meant he had to rely on the power of money, right?

Building an empire was not a simple task!

This time, sneaking back to China was partly to scout for talented animators and voice actors. So far, he’d already shortlisted an outstanding voice actor.

Jiang Fengjing was speechless. Who “gets closer” to someone by tipping them one million yuan?

He refused to take the blame for this.

Jiang Fengjing was lost for words for a while.

Ten minutes later, Jiang Fengjing called Director Liu, explained the situation, and apologized profusely.

Jiang Fengjing: “Director Liu, I’m really sorry, but could you find another male contestant? This idiot won’t be going. Sorry again.”

Director Liu, holding his phone, stared at Bai Siyi’s resume on his computer screen:

19 years old, 178 cm tall, high school dropout… Sexual orientation: Male.

Director Liu: “…”

Director Liu: “Huh…”

Bai Siyi had deliberately marked his sexual orientation on his application. Since it was a dating show, it was crucial information. He didn’t want to hide anything from the production team and risk causing trouble later, which might end up being his responsibility.

By being upfront, if another male contestant freaked out later, it would have nothing to do with him!

Director Liu furrowed his brow and suddenly had a brilliant idea.

Originally, he had asked Jiang Fengjing to bring in someone he knew, mainly for easier coordination, pairing that person with Bai Siyi, and then scripting a breakup for them. But now, an unexpected opportunity had presented itself!

Jiang Fengjing was still apologizing on the phone. “Director Liu, no matter what, we can’t have a contestant who’s just a walking contact list. If he gets matched with a female contestant, she’ll lose her mind!”

The audience would ^[1]“Roast them alive” means the audience would harshly criticize or mock them, often in a humorous or brutal way, like how people roast someone in comedy or on social media. It’s an … Continue readingroast them alive.

Director Liu spoke slowly, “Not necessarily.”

After all, one of the female contestants was actually a male cross-dresser.

Online dating isn’t limited to male-female relationships—male-male, female-female, and even reversed roles could work too!

See? Expand the scope, and you’ve got explosive content ready to go in no time!

After hanging up, Director Liu rubbed his bald head. “Tsk tsk tsk, seems like I’ve been thinking too small all along.”

So much hair lost for nothing.