Guan Ciyan was an exceptionally perceptive person. As he scrolled through his chat history with Jian Yang, he noticed the difference.

If Jian Yang had an early morning scene, he would always send a message, letting him know he was getting up first and approximately when he’d be back.

But ever since returning from the film set, Jian Yang had been distant and indifferent toward him. For half a month, they hadn’t shared any intimacy—not even once.

The only time they kissed, it was because he had initiated it.

“Director Guan? Director Guan?” His secretary’s voice came through the phone, but without receiving a response, they assumed it was a bad connection and quickly hung up before dialing again.

Guan Ciyan simply ended the call.

He wasn’t in the right state of mind to make decisions.

Lying in bed until three in the morning, he still couldn’t figure out what went wrong.

Jian Yang had even refused the private island he gifted him—he only wanted to be with him. That should mean he liked him a lot, right?

Guan Ciyan found Bai Shun’s number and dialed. It rang for a long time before Bai Shun finally picked up.

“Hello,” Bai Shun’s voice was slightly breathless and hoarse.

“What are you doing?” Guan Ciyan felt a twinge of bitterness in his heart.

“It’s the middle of the night—what do you think I’m doing? You better have a good reason for calling me, Guan Ciyan.”

Guan Ciyan had nothing to say. “Sorry.”

Bai Shun had a great temper—even at a time like this, he still answered the call.

Guan Ciyan was highly intelligent and quick to learn. Before even asking for advice, he had already drawn a conclusion—maybe he just wasn’t gentle enough. If he treated Jian Yang with a little more patience, perhaps Jian Yang would be happy again.

The Next Day

The variety show began filming.

Early in the morning, the production team sneaked into Jian Yang’s hotel room for a surprise wake-up shot. However, Jian Yang slept too soundly—not only did they fail to capture a startled reaction, but it took three staff members five attempts to wake him up.

The director watched from the side, his expression unreadable.

“I heard you’re really professional—why do you sleep so much?”

Jian Yang inwardly sighed. If you had told me in advance, I could’ve acted surprised. Wouldn’t that have been better?

But he also understood what this meant—this show was going to be truly unscripted, and things would only get harder from here.

“The footage isn’t great,” the director discussed with his team. “The only usable moment is Jian Yang being impossible to wake up. It’s barely a minute long, and if we stretch it to three minutes of him lying in bed, the pacing will be too slow.”

Jian Yang felt a little guilty for making things harder for the editors.

Arrival at the Set

The crew confiscated all the participants’ phones before sending them to the meeting point one by one.

Knowing that the moment they stepped out of the car would be a key shot, Jian Yang made sure to look good. He wore a cropped sweatshirt and cargo pants, accentuating his long legs. When stepping out, he deliberately placed one foot down first, pausing for three seconds before emerging completely.

His PD (personal director) praised him, “Nice, nice! That looked amazing!”

Jian Yang grinned. “Just making up for this morning’s blunder.”

He had a naturally sociable personality, making it easy to befriend people. The PD instantly felt his charm. “Good thing I got assigned to follow you. I heard there’s another contestant with a terrible attitude—whoever got stuck with them is really unlucky.”

“Well, filming big stars means capturing more dramatic footage. It has its perks.”

“Hold on—don’t move,” the PD raised the stabilizer and circled around him. “Wow, this lighting is perfect! You look like a college student. The sunlight matches your sweatshirt so well.”

“Don’t say that—it makes me sound inexperienced. College students don’t earn much, you know.”

The PD laughed, holding back so as not to ruin the footage. If they kept chatting, he wouldn’t have usable material.

Because of their conversation, Jian Yang was the last to arrive at the gathering point. As he pushed open the door, he smiled at the cameras and greeted everyone.

“Hey, everyone! Sorry, I’m a little late.”

Someone looked him up and down. “Did you change outfits?”

Jian Yang blinked. “What? No, I didn’t.”

Suddenly, a voice called out.

“Jian Yang—”

He turned around and froze. “Why are you here?”

Jian Buqing smirked coldly. “Of course—because I’m qualified to be here.”

“Whoa, are you two twins?”

“Are you a duo or something?”

Jian Buqing stepped past Jian Yang, bumping his shoulder. “Him? He’s already been disowned.”

The other celebrities hadn’t processed the situation yet. One of them gasped, “Damn, the production team is brilliant—getting twins on the show!”

Jian Yang calmly took his seat, his expression composed. “Yeah, I just found out too. I wasn’t told there’d be someone who looks like me here when I accepted the invitation.”

All eyes turned to Jian Buqing. He lifted his chin arrogantly, glancing at Jian Yang with disdain. “Doesn’t matter. I liked this show. If I want to be on it, no one can say no.”

“Alright, alright, we’re rolling now,” the director reminded them.

He had deliberately kept the reunion a secret, expecting either an emotional embrace or a heated argument. But neither happened.

Jian Yang’s sunlit, handsome presence was initially promising, but standing next to Jian Buqing’s elegant, classical demeanor, he seemed slightly overshadowed.

The audience would likely be more drawn to Jian Buqing. And now, having two identical faces on screen might end up distracting rather than enhancing the show.

The Challenge Begins

All contestants were led to an open field outside the variety show building. The director announced the first task.

“This is a two-day, one-night wilderness survival challenge! Your first mission is to choose a teammate. However, we have an odd number—seven participants. That means one person will have to complete the challenge alone, following a separate route from everyone else.”

“Now, everyone, take the cards in your hands and find your partner!”

“Whoa.” A white-haired young contestant immediately caught on. “They totally planned the odd number on purpose.”

The production team merely smiled without answering.

“Since there are no matching rules, let me perform something for everyone first.”

The white-haired guy snapped his fingers, and the production team started playing music. According to the information Jiang Ke had given Jian Yang, this white-haired guy had debuted in a boy group and was now transitioning into acting. His singing and dancing skills were quite strong.

Sure enough, after his performance, he received enthusiastic applause from everyone. He campaigned for himself, saying, “Everyone, feel free to like me! Come join my team, I promise it’s worth it!”

Without a word, Jian Buqing lightly pushed off with his toes and spun into the center of the camera, seamlessly transitioning into a classical dance. His movements were graceful, and the production team quickly switched the music. The director signaled the cameras to capture close-ups. Jian Buqing ended his performance with a mesmerizing turn, locking eyes with the camera like rippling autumn water—a breathtaking moment for the production team.

The others applauded appreciatively, and Jian Buqing bowed elegantly before returning to the group, glancing provocatively at Jian Yang.

The director beamed with satisfaction—this was exactly the kind of twin rivalry he wanted!

Jian Yang frowned slightly before relaxing his expression. He pulled the corner of his lips into a half-smile, his tone indifferent. “I’m Jian Yang. I just finished working on a film with Director Wen Ye. I thought coming to a variety show would be a chance to relax, so I didn’t prepare a performance.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

“Wait, you mean the Wen Ye? The one who launched an Academy Award-winning actor and three Best Actor winners?”

The speaker was Xu Ze, a veteran actor known for always playing supporting roles—good skills, but little fame. Jian Yang recognized him.

“Huh…” Jian Yang feigned surprise. “Did his films really produce Best Actor winners? He personally invited me, so I never really researched him beforehand. Guess I’m just lucky, haha.”

The director stepped in. “Jian Yang, why don’t you perform something as well?”

“I really didn’t prepare anything, director,” Jian Yang declined outright.

Rejecting the director so directly made the atmosphere awkward. The actors’ expressions shifted, but Jian Yang remained unbothered. He took out his phone and messaged Jiang Ke.

“What kind of person is this director? He has no bottom line for the sake of the show.”

Jiang Ke responded immediately:

“Did he give you a hard time? His shows are known for being bold and controversial—mixed reputation. I’ll go have a word with him.”

Clearly, even Jiang Ke hadn’t known that the production team had invited Jian Buqing. The director wanted to create drama between the twins, and their reputations and careers weren’t his concern.

If Jian Yang had performed, the post-production team would have definitely exaggerated the contrast between him and Jian Buqing. Jian Buqing had spent nineteen years doing nothing but training in performance arts—only a fool would go up against him.

Still, his earlier reaction had been too blunt. Offending the director might make things difficult for him later.

The remaining four contestants reluctantly showcased their talents, and then the free selection phase began.

Jian Yang wandered around, trying to find someone he clicked with.

The midday sun was too harsh, making his eyes uncomfortable. He moved into the shade of the building and, leaning against the corner, overheard a conversation happening nearby.

“Jian Yang seems like he’s got a strong background too. Wen Ye, huh? Last time I saw his name, it was in the news when Guan Ciyan, the CEO of Fuyu Sanctuary, threw him a comeback banquet. At the time—oh, oh, right!!! It was for a movie starring someone named Jian Yang. Could it be this Jian Yang?”

Jian Yang rubbed his forehead. If they were going to gossip, they should at least find a more discreet location.

“Really? But I thought he got famous from playing a supporting role in Director Xu’s drama? He hasn’t had any new projects in the past two months.”

“True. Whether Guan Ciyan helped him get into Wen Ye’s movie or not, that was half a year ago. Now, Jian Buqing is the one favored by Guan Ciyan. My agent tried to get my junior sister onto this show and failed, but Jian Buqing just waltzed in with a word from Fuyu Sanctuary. No way we can afford to offend him.”

“So what about Jian Yang?”

“Who else can he blame? They’re twins, but he just got unlucky.”

While they talked, three other people subtly glanced at Jian Yang.

Jian Yang pulled his baseball cap lower and moved to a different spot.

It didn’t matter. He had seen this outcome coming. Guan Ciyan would eventually fall for Jian Buqing. It was only natural for him to help his beloved.

Heh.

“Time’s up.” The production team gathered the actors. “Now, four of you will stand at the front. The remaining three, stand behind the person you want to team up with.”

Of course, Jian Yang was one of the four standing at the front. When the timer ended, he turned around—only to find no one standing behind him.

Meanwhile, Jian Buqing had three people behind him.

“Oh my god…”

“This is… wow.”

Jian Buqing covered his mouth, pretending to be flustered. “Oh no, what should I do?”

“Jian Yang, maybe I can help you out.” Jian Buqing glanced at Jian Yang before turning to the three people behind him, his voice dripping with sweetness. “I can only choose one teammate. Would any of you be willing to help out my poor little brother?”

“But Qingqing, I like you the most!”

“Yeah! If we don’t get to be on your team, that’s fine, but we’re not just going to settle for anyone.”

The white-haired guy stepped forward. “I wouldn’t lose, anyway. And honestly, I hate this whole hierarchy in the entertainment industry—just because someone plays a few prestigious roles, they think they’re better than idols.”

Jian Yang was stunned.

He hadn’t looked down on him before.

But now he did.