Chapter 25

On Saturday afternoon, the variety show “MuA” by the Mu group was updated.

It follows a format of recording four episodes and broadcasting one. Today is its final episode. The trailer was released last week, revealing the splendid performances of six guests in a minute and a half. For example, Ning Yunfan transformed into a prince, looking handsome and was even offered flowers by a little girl. Then there’s Yan Zhao, playing the role of a serious ghost, scaring two children to tears.

With such a comparison, discussions heated up. Clouds praised their idol for being beautiful, kind, and lovable, while subtly mocking the rival group, “They only have one face to show, and now even that’s gone.”

Salt soda, on the other hand, remained indifferent, being accustomed to the malice of this shoddy variety show. Many fans were eagerly waiting for behind-the-scenes footage and well-edited individual segments, rather than watching the main episodes.

Jia Qin, as a big fan, had to endure the discomfort and click on this program to contribute a view.

For the sake of Zhao Zhao, the feeling of nausea is nothing, let’s go watch it!

Jia Qin mostly used double speed, but when Yan Zhao appeared, even if it was just a silhouette or a small face, she would switch to slow motion, savoring every frame of her idol’s face.

Oh, Zhao Zhao looks so cute when daydreaming!

Oh my, that surprised expression is so adorable! Quickly zoom in on the screen!

Aaahhh, Zhao Zhao smiled. The only one who can rival the Mona Lisa’s smile is him!

Jia Qin chuckled while holding her face, but when the video transitioned to Ning Yunfan, her smile instantly collapsed, and she angrily dragged the progress bar.

My time is precious; you don’t deserve to waste it!

Yan Zhao’s part usually comes at the end of the program. When he appears, many people are startled by his makeup, and the barrage is full of high energy comments. Jia Qin, however, has a strong nerve and doesn’t feel much, even going as far as to judge the makeup artist’s skill: “My Zhao’s peach blossom eyes have been turned into panda eyes! Terrible rating!”

As the task begins, on the screen, Yan Zhao lurks in the cabinet, then jumps out when someone approaches. Many people are scared and flee in panic, accompanied by frantic screams. The audience suddenly thinks, [Hahaha, I’m not the only one who got scared], but for the next period of time, it’s the same routine, which becomes a bit boring.

[The reactions of the visitors are all similar. Can’t we have something interesting?]

[Without an interesting soul, of course, you can’t capture interesting scenes!]

[This segment seems to be shot with fixed cameras, very few close-ups, and the haunted house is dark, causing eye fatigue. Even post-production can’t save it.]

The variety show lacks humor, and even the live comments are losing enthusiasm until Ling Xiao appears, planning to sacrifice the unfortunate cameraman. The audience bursts into laughter again.

Ling Xiao has a strong sense of variety, often going against the norm, causing headaches for the production team, but the show’s effect is excellent. Many viewers feel that with him around, things are stable!

And then, in the next moment, the child who cried like a dog in the preview appears!

The audience perks up, as the mischief is about to begin!

Jia Qin has been paying attention to Yan Zhao’s condition and immediately notices when her idol starts sweating. Not only Yan Zhao, but even Ling Xiao is sweating profusely, even though both were perfectly fine just a moment ago!

Damn it, you edited out my Zhao Zhao’s scenes!

The children were fine moments ago, but with a sudden jump in the footage, they are now crying loudly, throwing bones at Yan Zhao, and the whole process lacks continuity.

The audience also felt something was off:

[I froze? Why does it feel like the screen is jumping a bit?]

[I deliberately rewound it, and indeed there was no scene of a child being scared to tears.]

[If it’s not interesting, just cut it. Do some people feel that editing should always follow your lead?]

[The previous part was weird, isn’t the editing here strange as well?]

Yan Zhao took a few steps back, as if to protect himself, covered his face, while Ling Xiao jumped out from the cabinet, squatted down to apologize to the kids, and during this time, Yan Zhao remained motionless.

[…Yan Zhao’s emotional intelligence is a bit low, isn’t it silly to just stand there at a time like this?]

[Some people have low Emotional Intelligence and it’s not the first time they’ve caused trouble. Fans still want to praise their genuine nature. Haha, being rude is genuine nature.]

[Speechless, can’t play along with the joke, can’t you just apologize? Really low compared to other guests.]

Jia Qin also didn’t have time to pay attention to those hurtful words, but instead re-watched the scene. In the originally dim graveyard, a lit apple lamp appeared out of nowhere. The lamp was very small, the light was very weak, easy to miss if not careful, but Jia Qin had long cultivated sharp eyes. As long as you appear, I can find you!

The following scenes became even more bizarre. After Ling Xiao stopped Yan Zhao and let the kids run away, three of the lamps in his basket disappeared?! Compared to when he had just entered the haunted house, the apple lamps were obviously missing by half!

Ling Xiao’s mission is to sell lamps, and there’s no need to think too much about why the lamps disappear, but in the haunted house, the scene of selling lamps has never appeared even once. Is this editing too silly? Or is it related to Yan Zhao, and is it an interesting segment that can attract fans, so it was cut out?

Jia Qin spread this speculation in the group, causing a huge stir. The girls pinched their noses and watched the program, confirming that the apple light mysteriously flew away, and many dialogues were not very smooth.

Salt soda had long suspected malicious editing by the production team but lacked evidence to confront them. With the program team’s actions, today they would show what real backlash is!

That night, a lengthy nine-grid Weibo post emerged, directly targeting the “MuA” production team. The team behind the Weibo post included Salt soda’s ace PS wife and anti-black team members. The layout was beautiful, the points were prominent, the arguments were strong, and the language was logically clear. With the continuous addition of reposts and lottery gifts from wealthy fans, this Weibo post quickly went viral!

Netizens looked and thought: Isn’t this the famous low EQ celebrity?

As they delved into the gossip, they realized : Huh? This apple lamp really came out of nowhere. It wouldn’t grow legs and jump out of the basket, right? The program team is really cutting randomly.

Reading to the end, Salt soda restrained their emotions but couldn’t conceal the bitterness in her complaint. Netizens couldn’t help but sympathize with them. They just wanted to see more of their favorite idol, but the program team maliciously edited, tarnishing the artist. Isn’t this too dark-hearted?!

The anger wasn’t just from Salt soda; Ling Xiao’s fans were also furious. Under Ling Xiao’s obligatory repost of the “MuA” official Weibo, some fans said this episode was too boring. Ling Xiao replied, “[If you look carefully, it’s quite interesting. The malicious wizard transforms into a righteous avenger. It seems I really have magic. I suggest that Hogwarts accept me.]”

Throughout the program, he was the only one who had anything to do with wizards. But his performance in the video couldn’t be considered malicious; he was clearly a good person! Obviously, this statement was a mockery of the program team’s random editing. As a result, Ling Xiao’s fans exploded too.

Under the “MuA” official Weibo, fans of various guests turned it into a chaotic battlefield. The video barrage was full of gunpowder, and various marketing accounts raced to repost comments, afraid of missing this hot topic.

The “MuA” directorial team was already in distress, and the Douban rating was plummeting. The platform even called them, warning that if they didn’t handle this unexpected incident well, the variety show would be taken down.

So, overnight, netizens discovered a completely new version of the video, now extended by half an hour, all focused on Yan Zhao!

Yan Zhao, besides participating in group variety shows, has been on other variety shows, with not much impact except for “Star Feast.” Netizens came to watch this not for relaxation, but for gossip. But when they saw the hanging ghost reminding him to be careful of getting hit, Yan Zhao sighed that this was a dangerous profession, and they started laughing without any scruples.

Next, the hanging ghost said that Yan Zhao’s character was a poor little star thrown away by the director, and the audience immediately exclaimed: [I see, you are the prophet!]

There were also fake prophets in the barrage who had watched the plot ahead and came back to spoil it: [Warning, coming out ahead!]

Oh, is it that thrilling? As the audience waited, they saw Yan Zhao jump out and scare the first pair of tourists, and the other person exclaimed, [Damn, this ghost just came out!]

[Damn, haha, he really came out for real!]

[Shocking, this celebrity actually came out in public!]

[This isn’t the coming out I wanted!]

[Yan Zhao is also stunned, haha, look at his expression!]

[Really haha, he’s shocked, poor thing.]

Soon, it reached the scene where Ling Xiao appeared! But after the cameraman was sacrificed, the screen didn’t flicker mysteriously but smoothly continued. In the cabinet, Ling Xiao said, “Brother, squeeze in, I’ll help you scare people.”

Yan Zhao: “Oh, I understand now.”

Ling Xiao: “Right? I’m so clever.”

The audience, scratching their heads and hearts, what consensus did you reach? Come on, spill the beans!

Then, an unsuspecting couple passed by, and Yan Zhao, with Ling Xiao, descended from the sky, acting out a scene of an evil spirit binding a wizard. Under their persuasion, the couple successfully believed in the lies about Vatican-blessed apples and purifying evil spirits with tears, contributing a small step to their mission.

[Goodness, these two celebrities teamed up to deceive people!!! Is there no one managing them?!]

[This ghost is not weak at all, he’s pretending, pretending!!!]

[So bad, these two! They even scripted a little play! Shameless merchants!]

[Zhao Zhao is truly an evil spirit who deceives with tears!]

After successfully fooling many tourists and causing a sand sculpture storm, the children’s legion finally appeared.

The audience, prejudiced to think they were scared to tears by Yan Zhao, found out that Yan Zhao hadn’t even jumped out yet. The little boy was scared by a prop and burst into tears, followed by the little girl crying too?!

[Wait, did you guys cry too early??]

[It wasn’t Yan Zhao who scared them? I can’t figure out this development anymore.]

[The production team is good, scaring them with props and blaming it on my Zhao Zhao directly.]

[Salt soda folks, don’t be upset, we want love & peace.]

[Ah, Zhao Zhao is here!]

Yan Zhao took out an apple-shaped lamp, and its small light illuminated a corner of the room. He said, “How about I give you this? Stop crying.” However, the little boy knocked the lamp out of his hand and picked up a bone to hit him. Yan Zhao just silently avoided, shielding his face.

Many fans of Yan Zhao felt sorry for him:

[So, the lamp was actually meant to comfort the kids.]

[Sobs, he’s shielding his face not to protect himself but to avoid scaring the children!!!]

[He’s a good ghost, don’t bully him!!!]

However, the visitors couldn’t hear his thoughts, and the little girl went to the side, joining the boy in hitting Yan Zhao.

Ling Xiao emerged from the cabinet, trying to defuse the situation, but parents and kids blocked their way back.

Many netizens couldn’t stand it:

[It’s normal to get scared in a haunted house. Why blame others? They were just doing their job, right?!]

[The real issue isn’t scaring the mischievous kids; it’s the props. Why target Yan Zhao and Ling Xiao?]

[As someone who works part-time in a haunted house, I can say this situation is common, and what the hanging ghost mentioned about being hit by visitors is true.]

Just as Ling Xiao said he would take them to see the surveillance, Yan Zhao stepped forward and said that only the little princess could hit him.

The audience’s attention was immediately drawn. It seemed like the storytelling was about to begin!

Yan Zhao slowly started telling his fairy tale, mentioning how cute the little girl was, similar to Princess Ah Mei. The camera focused on the pink skull Princess Ah Mei.

[Why can’t my gaze leave Princess Ah Mei?]

[After all, she’s a makeup influencer among the skulls.]

[Kids, don’t believe it. He’s just maxed out his skill points in fabricating nonsense.]

[Not only did the kids believe, but they were also deeply moved.]

[You never know what absurd things a person will say when pushed to the limit.]

After comforting the kids, Ling Xiao pretended to scare them. Yan Zhao blocked Ling Xiao, allowing the kids to run away. Just when this part was about to conclude with a perfect ending, Yan Zhao grabbed a basket and swiftly approached: “Original price 618, we have a special connection, I’ll give you a discount, now only 60 yuan!”

Even at such a moment, he didn’t forget to promote. Impressive!

In the final part of the show, Yan Zhao revisited the haunted house as a visitor. When the hanging ghost dropped down, the show’s producers finally realized their conscience and put a mosaic over it.

From the audience’s perspective, Yan Zhao expressionlessly pushed the mosaic aside, terrifying it into screams.

[I am Yan Zhao, a ruthless and cold-hearted big shot.]

[Is the mosaic about to spit out the mosaic? It’s so hilarious.]

[So, is this a story of a person being turned into a ghost by a wizard to scare people, then coming back to scare ghosts after lifting the curse?]

[You, the traitor in the ghost realm, actually harmed members of the organization!]

The audience was still eager for more, but the screen went black, and the progress bar had reached its end. They checked the time and realized that more than half an hour had passed, but it felt like they had only watched three minutes!

Many viewers started rewatching for a second time, and some even posted screenshots on Weibo: [How to spend the long night without tears for being bullied by the boss? I recommend this hilarious variety show. Take a look, you won’t regret it!]

With the promotion from tap water^[1]自來水(zìlái shuǐ) = Tap water, refers to the alias of a group of fans who volunteer to promote a certain event because of their heartfelt love and appreciation, either involuntarily or with … Continue reading, the viewership of this episode skyrocketed. The audience enjoyed it so much. Who said Yan Zhao lacked a sense of variety? Wasn’t his performance pretty good?