Originally, the show was scheduled to air at 11 PM on Chrysanthemum Video Network.

However, since Zhan Qingyue spent 1 million to secure a prime slot, the production team used the money to buy a good time slot for the show.

The actual cost for the time slot was only a few thousand, and with no other expenses needed, they decided to broadcast it in the prime time slot at 8 PM.

So, at exactly 8 PM, “Daily Life with the Beautiful Bamboo Rat” premiered.

The Zhan family, seated comfortably in their spacious home theater, were excitedly waiting.

At 8 PM sharp, the Chrysanthemum Video Network began playing the opening of “Daily Life with the Beautiful Bamboo Rat.”

“It’s starting!”

Everyone, who had been chatting quietly, quickly settled down, eagerly watching the screen.

Even Zhan Qingyue, who had been looking at his phone, put it away and focused on the large screen.

Since they had the default live comment mode enabled, the screen was soon filled with comments.

As one of the top celebrities, Fang Jinran’s first reality show attracted a huge number of fans, causing the comments to scroll like a snowstorm.

If it weren’t for the villa’s high-quality internet equipment, the feed would probably have been overwhelmed.

Among the many comments praising Fang Jinran, some were particularly harsh.

[Why is Ning Qiuxiu on this show? Ugh!]

[Can Ning Qiuxiu please leave the entertainment industry? Her presence is always ruining things.]

[Is she trying to ride on Fang Jinran’s popularity? Like a sticky plaster you can’t shake off.]

[Ning Qiuxiu’s team must have been brewing a rumor with Fang Jinran for a long time. I can almost predict today’s trending topics.]

[#NingQiuxiuLeaveTheEntertainmentIndustry#]

…

The family, eagerly awaiting Ning Qiuxiu’s appearance, was shocked and confused.

They couldn’t understand why so many people were attacking their lovely wife!

Even Jingjing, who was quite knowledgeable but hadn’t encountered the “Tianhua Zhi Xiu” meme, was stunned by the hateful comments about Ning Qiuxiu. She couldn’t comprehend why someone as friendly and amusing as Ning Qiuxiu would be receiving such criticism.

The atmosphere in the room was tense and awkward as the housekeeper nervously asked the tech guy, “Xiao Wu, can we turn off the moving text? It’s quite distracting.”

“Sure, the bullet comments can be turned off,” the tech guy said, clearly knowledgeable.

He didn’t realize that the person being criticized the most in the comments was the Zhan family’s own Mrs. Zhan.

He added, “But these kinds of shows are more interesting with the comments. If they’re too much, I can set it to a simplified version. Do you need that?”

“Just turn it off! Turn it off!” The housekeeper was terrified of what he might see if he continued watching.

“Alright.” The tech guy was a bit disappointed but complied.

“Set it to the simplified version,” the tech guy was about to click the mouse when Zhan Qingyue, sitting in the center of the room, spoke up, “I want to understand more about the public’s opinion on my wife.”

Everyone: “…”

Why did that sentence make them feel so cold?

Jing Jing, hearing Zhan Qingyue’s words, recalled Ning Qiuxiu mentioning that Zhan Qingyue was not only ruthless but also had a tendency to hold grudges.

Now, she could almost see Zhan Qingyue with a grudge notebook, meticulously jotting down every negative comment about Ning Qiuxiu…

Imagining this, Jing Jing’s anger at Ning Qiuxiu’s criticism dissipated instantly, replaced by excitement.

She wanted to put up a banner proclaiming Zhan Qingyue as mighty and impressive, with an unparalleled boyfriend power.

As the show progressed, it gradually zoomed in on the scenes.

Given the low budget, the show was neither spectacular nor outstanding, and the plot followed a conventional path.

However, the post-production clearly aimed to create a comical effect, making the otherwise normal reality show seem somewhat surreal.

For example, when Song Chu self-deprecatingly joked about being a typical Northeastern guy, the editing added a military coat and a hat, with the quirky background music of “Reform Spring Breeze Blows Across the Land”…

When Bai Ying was startled by a bamboo rat, the editing added effects of sunglasses, a cigarette, and a gold chain to the bamboo rat, along with amusing background music…

Although the family didn’t quite understand the humor, they couldn’t help but laugh.

The comments, which initially criticized Ning Qiuxiu and praised Fang Jinran, began to shift as the show went on, with viewers getting more involved in the comedic aspects and starting to laugh.

Jing Jing breathed a sigh of relief.

If Ning Qiuxiu had been criticized throughout the entire show, she felt it would have been disastrous, especially since she had announced the airing of the show and encouraged everyone to watch.

She glanced at Zhan Qingyue.

Despite the comfortable position he was lounging in, his face showed no particular emotion.

However, whenever there was a scene featuring Ning Qiuxiu, his gaze softened, as if he was connecting with her through the screen.

“Ugh,” Jingjing thought, “This is so painful to watch!”

The show quickly moved on to the part where the participants were assigned tasks.

When Ning Qiuxiu volunteered to cut bamboo, the housekeeper once again felt concerned: “How could Miss Ning, with her small frame, possibly cut bamboo?”

Servant 1: “This production team is so ruthless!”

Servant 2: “Yeah, cooking would have been so much easier.”

The cook was unhappy: “So you all think cooking is easy, huh?”

Housekeeper(Steward): “Cough, cough, quiet down, everyone. Let’s watch the show!”

As the family was about to argue while watching the show, the housekeeper quickly intervened.

Zhan Qingyue usually appeared quite serious and approachable in front of others.

As Lin Xitian mentioned, he was always very polite, especially to women he wasn’t familiar with.

So the household staff weren’t afraid of him and felt more relaxed while watching the show, occasionally discussing it aloud.

But when it came to someone like Ning Qiuxiu… well, they could only mourn for three minutes.

The family felt sympathetic towards Ning Qiuxiu and thought the production team was mistreating her.

But the comments on the screen were different.

[Ning Qiuxiu cutting bamboo?! Can she even lift a knife?]

[Haha, clearly she’s avoiding cooking by choosing to cut bamboo. Who would dare ask her to do it?]

[I’ve never seen a guest so blatantly shameless.]

[If you don’t want to do the tasks, don’t use up resources. Get out of this show.]

[Some fans are really something. They’re attacking her just because she chose to cook, but they’d complain if she was assigned to cook too. No matter what, you’re always right.]

[ Anyway, everything Ning Qiuxiu does in this show is wrong.]

…

Occasionally, comments from casual viewers and Ning Qiuxiu’s fans appeared, but they were quickly overshadowed by the large number of Fang Jinran’s fans.

However, these commenters soon found themselves proven wrong.

Ning Qiuxiu not only didn’t slack off but, while the two male guests struggled with cutting bamboo, she smoothly took the knife and chopped the bamboo in just a few quick strokes.

Her skill and speed completely outclassed the two burly men.

Everyone: “……”

Comments: “……”

“Wow, Miss Ning is so impressive! Her knife skills are amazing!” Jingjing cheered and praised loudly.

Servant 1: “Those people in the comments who accused her of being lazy must be so embarrassed now.”

Servant 2: “I love seeing these moments of instant karma. It’s so satisfying!”

Even Zhan Qingyue, who had been silent, couldn’t help but smile after the shock wore off.

Ning Qiuxiu really knows how to surprise people.

Thinking about the day she showed off her blisters in the video, it was probably from chopping bamboo.

No wonder she looked so proud despite the injuries.

It seems Ning Qiuxiu’s performance made the show, which had seemed boring before, more enjoyable.

But just as he started to find the show interesting, the camera shifted to Fang Jinran and Bai Ying, who were still at the market picking vegetables.

They were at a vegetable stall, selecting corn and cucumbers.

Bai Ying then picked up some okra and said, “These okra look so fresh and tender. Mr. Fang, let’s buy some.”

Fang Jinran replied, “Don’t buy it. Qiuxiu doesn’t eat okra.”

As soon as Fang Jinran said this, the screen turned pink with special effects, his words were replayed in slow motion, and he got a cute, blushing effect with pink flowers popping up.

The background music was a kissing sound effect.

The editors even showed a small photo of Ning Qiuxiu with a blushing effect, as if she was giving Fang Jinran a kiss.

Zhan family: “???”

Zhan Qingyue: “……”

This storyline… is not what was promised.

Instead of the bamboo rat-raising show they expected, it had turned into Ning Qiuxiu’s (so-called) romance.

Zhan Qingyue’s face darkened instantly.

This was the show he had invested 1 million in!

That day, he and Ning Qiuxiu had discussed how this production team was so poor that they couldn’t afford decent equipment, so Zhou Yang had looked into their financial situation.

It turned out that the show was in such dire financial straits, with no decent sponsors, that Ning Qiuxiu’s attention to the program led to a donation of 1 million from Qianwang to keep it going.

And this was the result!

If one of his subordinates had produced such a show, everyone would have been fired and forced to apologize!

The comments on the screen, which had calmed down a bit when Ning Qiuxiu’s bamboo-cutting skills temporarily improved her reputation, exploded once more.

[Are they seriously trying to force a fake couple? Did the production team lose their minds?]

[Fang Jinran has worked with Ning Qiuhou before and knows she’s not normal. I can’t believe this show.]

[Ugh, I want to blow up the production team right now. This is infuriating.]

[Post-production, screw the whole family. Post-production, screw the whole family.]

[Ning Qiuxiu is disgusting. Is Fang Jinran’s blood that appealing?]

[The show’s attempt to hype up Ning Qiuhou is too obvious. They should just rename it to Ning Qiuxiu and Her Bamboo Rats.]

…

Ning Qiuxiu, who had just finished work and was getting into the van, felt completely wronged when she saw these comments after taking the phone from Xiao Chi.

She was the biggest victim here.

She had tried to avoid interacting with Fang Jinran to prevent the show from exploiting their relationship, but the show still managed to use her.

She was quite frustrated.

The comments were now harsh and unforgiving.

Previously, people had pretended to be neutral to avoid making Fang Jinran look bad, but now they were boldly criticizing her.

Xiao Chi looked angry and said, “This lousy production team is desperate for attention, they’ve lost all their shame.”

Ning Qiuxiu sighed and rubbed her forehead in exhaustion.

The only thing she was thankful for was that Zhan Qingyue didn’t follow these things.

Otherwise, seeing her being paired up with someone and getting bashed would definitely damage his impression of her.

She wanted to be his little fairy, even if she was a bit silly, but now…

Little did she know, even that fairy role was slipping away.