December was destined to be a lively and remarkable month.

The long-awaited first domestic large-scale celebrity variety show 《Hi, My Friend》 was about to officially start its live broadcast.

Before it even started, this variety show made waves on the internet because of its unique way of selecting guests. And the closer it got to the live broadcast, the more attention the show received.

The twelve celebrity participants would all be selected by netizens through blind online selection.

When the vote was taken, only the back of the cards with similar patterns were shown. Not even the program team who released the poll knew which celebrity was on the front of the cards, let alone the netizens.

It must be said that the show’s director was extremely bold— enough to be considered a maverick.

Before him, no director had ever selected guests in this way. They didn’t have the creativity nor did they dare do so.

Only the director of 《Hi, My Friend》 have the courage.

However, his unique approach has also brought him rich returns.

The show became popular before it even aired, attracting a lot of attention at just the guest selection stage.

After twelve cards with the highest number of votes are selected, the program team will reveal its front so that the audience can find out which star they correspond to.

It was highly random.

Therefore, the celebrities participating in this variety show range from popular superstars to unpopular eighteenth-line stars.

It just so happened that Ning Xiaoyu belonged to this unpopular eighteenth-line star category. Before getting a spot on this variety show, she was kind of non-existent in the circle.

Right now, Ning Xiaoyu was leaning against the wall, looking down to check her account balance on the phone as she patiently waited for the recording to start. At that moment, some of the conversations around her inadvertently drifted into her ears.

“Did you see that girl over there? Her name seems to be Xiaoyu, the lesser-known one among the twelve guests.”

“She’s really lucky. No one knows her and she didn’t even have an assistant but she still got selected. If she can join, why can’t I?”

“I’m so jealous. It’s a large-scale variety show full of handsome men and beautiful women, so it might become a dating variety show as it goes on.”

“Who knows if the director is planning on pulling the strings?”

Ning Xiaoyu just pretended not to hear them.

The payment offered by the show was sufficiently generous, which was the main reason why she was there.

She had just closed the phone’s interface with its heartbreaking and depleted bank balance when a trending search popped up on the top of the screen.

She subconsciously clicked on it.

『《Hi, My Friend》 have twelve guests. Isn’t the lineup unprecedented and super grand? Are there any guests you like?』

Ning Xiaoyu casually scanned the list.

Most of the names on it were familiar even to her who usually doesn’t pay much attention to the goings-on in the circle.

In this group of people, each one was bigger than the other.

Some were simply outrageously big.

The least famous ones were all third-line actors who have been leads several times and have had small hit dramas.

This variety show can be said to be a gathering of stars.

So those two whispering just now were right. Among the twelve people, she was indeed the one with the lowest status.

Even the director was probably surprised when the netizens blindly selected her.

When she found a familiar name on the list, Ning Xiaoyu slightly paused before moving her gaze away.

Long after the other party followed their mother to remarry into a wealthy family without looking back, abandoning her and her father, there wasn’t much sisterly affection left between them.

Ning Xiaoyu stood there in a daze for a while. Not long after, she received a notification from the program team.

The show would be starting soon. It would be broadcast live, aiming to show the most authentic side of the guests to the audience.

However, there would be a few specific rooms in the Friends Lodge where guests could enjoy absolute silence and privacy. There would be no live broadcast all the time inside those rooms.

Soon, Ning Xiaoyu followed the staff’s instructions and came to the hall on the first floor of Friends Lodge.

When she arrived, many of the guests were already there.

The hall was roughly divided into four small groups, each clearly distinct from one another.

Everyone was socializing.

With a casual glance, she saw a top star, two starlets, and a well-known filmmaker in the industry.

Unlike them, an unknown star like Ning Xiaoyu was almost transparent. Apart from her nominal sister, she wasn’t familiar with any of the guests present. However, she didn’t want to get familiar with them either, as it would be too tiring.

Ning Yuwei only glanced at Ning Xiaoyu when she came in and then quickly moved her eyes away, simply pretending that she didn’t know her, this older sister.

Ning Xiaoyu looked briefly and found that Ning Yuwei was chatting excitedly with a certain top star. And after she arrived, what had been a small group of four became a small group of five.

She, this salted fish^[1]a person who has no intention of doing anything, stayed by herself.

It’s comfortable to not have to socialize, it’s just that her appearance looked a little pitiful in the eyes of some netizens.

【It’s a variety show about friendship! How come this eighteenth-line star isn’t going up to them and trying to make friends?】

【She probably feels out of place, after all, her popularity level is too low.】

【An eighteenth-liner is also in the hierarchy, but she…… must not know what to say.】

【I don’t know if she’s lucky or unlucky to be chosen to participate.】

【Pitiful.】

【Really pitiful.】

After a few viewers pitied Ning Xiaoyu, their minds quickly returned to their idols. They were just casually lamenting and didn’t have much energy to spare for Ning Xiaoyu.

A few minutes later, the program director appeared.

“Welcome guests to 《Hi, My Friend》. As the first large-scale celebrity variety show in the country, I hope that you can gain precious lo— no, friendship here.”

【The director wanted to say love, right? Hhh.】

【Sure enough, it’s called a friendship variety show, but it’s actually a dating show. Got it, got it.】

【How come I don’t see my family’s brother?】

It was then that netizens noticed that there were only eleven guests in the hall and the much-anticipated movie king, Lu Jingdu, wasn’t present.

Probably seeing the barrage of comments, the director specifically explained, “Your movie star brother just got off the plane and is resting in the lounge. He will appear in the evening.”

Having said that, the director carefully explained the rules of the show.

“As we all know, pure, unadulterated feelings are rare no matter where they are placed. In the colorful world of fame and fortune, it is even rarer. 《Hi, My Friend》 is a celebrity friendship variety show, which aims to help the guests find their true lo— no, true friend.

The rules aren’t difficult.

Send good morning and good night text messages to a guest every day so you can get closer.

You are responsible for your own three meals, and you can also work together with other guests.

Several mini-tasks will randomly drop to increase rapport.

Look forward to more exciting segments.”

As it was the first day of the show, the director gave the guests some time to settle in. After introducing the rules, the guests were free to move around.

Ning Xiaoyu had little interest in making friends and her entire salted fish appearance really made people exasperated.

She was the first to leave the hall after the director announced everyone was free to do what they wanted, but her appearance in the eyes of some people seemed like she was running away.

Xu Cheng, the top star, put both his hands in his pockets with a confused look on his face. “Don’t tell me that person just now is also a guest?”

Ning Yuwei retracted her gaze from Ning Xiaoyu and gave a light hum.

Xu Cheng smiled. “She doesn’t look familiar.”

Ning Yuwei also smiled but didn’t say anything.

The other party was just an unknown person, so it’s not normal that she didn’t look familiar.

———pr


After Ning Xiaoyu left, she finally relaxed.

That kind of active interaction just now where everyone was a social butterfly was really not suitable for a big salted fish like her who was just going through the motions. She still felt more comfortable in a non-social setting.

Wouldn’t it be nicer to lie in bed with all that effort?

The thought of lying down made Ning Xiaoyu wish she could go back to her room immediately. Just when she wanted to go back to rest, she accidentally passed by a room.

The doors weren’t closed and left half ajar.

She was momentarily curious. Was this one of the rooms mentioned by the crew? She took an exploratory look to see what was inside.

This lounge room of the program team, she didn’t know if its arrangement meets her, this salted fish’s, needs. As a result, she happened to see the popular movie king who was taking a nap in one glance.

The scene inside was very peaceful and quiet.

The man was leaning against the wide windows, his long legs stretched out casually. The afternoon sun shone through the glass and fell on him. The side of his face illuminated by the light was so handsome that he did not look like a real person.

Ning Xiaoyu didn’t expect the person who didn’t show up for the first guest gathering to be resting comfortably in there.

As expected of a big shot, he could afford to be wilful. If it was her who didn’t attend the gathering, she would probably be blown to bits by netizens by now. But if the person was Lu Jingdu, netizens didn’t seem to have a single opinion.

The audience didn’t see him in the hall earlier, but after learning from the director that he had just gotten off the plane, all they wanted was for him to get a good rest. Even if he stood people up, it’s not a problem at all.

Whether it was the director or the audience, they seemed to be exceptionally partial to this young movie king.

Comparing oneself to others would only torture oneself. She couldn’t compare, couldn’t compare.

Thinking of this, Ning Xiaoyu was about to politely retreat so as not to disturb the other party’s rest, when a line of words suddenly appeared in front of her——

【Girl, do you want to be popular? Want to enjoy the feeling of being in the limelight? You can have it all as long as you get the favor of the movie king. At this moment, the movie king is resting in the room, you can——

A: Steal a kiss from the movie king.

B: Secretly take a photo of the movie king’s handsome sleeping appearance.

C: Accompany the movie king tenderly for ten minutes.】

Ning Xiaoyu looked at the lines of words with a bewildered expression.

What is this?!