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Xianggua Entertainment was known for its hit variety shows, and almost all of their shows achieved popularity. Every year, the company aimed to produce at least one S+ tier variety show, which was highly anticipated by variety show enthusiasts.
However, in recent years, there had been an influx of talent shows, leading to a bit of aesthetic fatigue among the viewers. This year, the trend seemed to be in favor of romance-themed variety shows.
For instance, Yu Yuxing chose the latter option, appearing on a romantic travel variety show called “Tonight’s Moonlight” on a major television network, instead of starring in Zhang Miya’s S+ variety show “My Days in the Apartment Building”.
“My Days in the Apartment Building ” took a different approach compared to traditional variety shows. It openly acknowledged the scripted nature of the show, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. Guests were given predefined personas and character backgrounds, but there wasn’t a strict script to follow.
Guests were expected to extend their personas, especially if they were a couple. For real couples, it meant exploring different scenarios to spice up their relationships. For non-couple pairs, they had to play along and act their parts convincingly.
Even before its premiere, the show had generated immense excitement, thanks to the intriguing concept and the anticipation of how the guests would navigate this unique variety show experience.
The few celebrities revealed as potential guests for “My Days in the Apartment Building” were all high-profile figures, either renowned for their talents or their immense popularity. This led marketing accounts and fans alike to believe that Yu Yuxing and Sheng Xin’s participation was almost certain.
However, a surprise twist occurred when another romance-themed variety show, “Tonight’s Moonlight,” was suddenly announced to feature Yu Yuxing and Sheng Xin as its main guests.
This unexpected turn left fans in shock, prompting many of them to flood the official Weibo account of “My Days in the Apartment Building” with questions and confusion.
As discussions and speculations grew, Zhang Miya, the producer of “My Days in the Apartment Building”, found herself increasingly frustrated. A week passed, and even the show’s production team suggested finding a last-minute replacement from within the industry.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Miya managed to arrange another celebrity couple, even though Chi Yishen had agreed to participate and changed his stage name to Chi Yizhen, it was impossible to make people forget his complicated history with Yu Yuxing.
On the day the guest list was finalized and announced, it trended on social media throughout the night, creating a buzz that wouldn’t die down easily.
Whether due to some exceptional marketing strategy or the general public’s fascination with such controversies, the teasers for ” My Days in the Apartment Building ” surprisingly outshined those for Yu Yuxing’s “Tonight’s Moonlight,” despite the latter being scheduled to air on the upcoming weekend.
People’s responses poured in:
– “Zhang Miya is really something! No wonder she’s the boss of Xianggua Entertainment. I didn’t have high expectations for this show, but now this twist has got me hooked!”
– “This is hilarious! Now it’s Yu Yuxing’s turn to be bewildered! Why did Chi Yizhen change his name? It feels like ‘Chi Yizhen’ carries a deeper meaning. Original face, you rock!”
– “This morning, I was gossiping about Chi Yizhen visiting male host clubs, and now, two years later, he’s back in the entertainment industry? Could it have been planned all along this morning?”
– “My Days in the Apartment Building” was already intriguing enough, and with the first two pairs being so high-profile and generating a lot of buzz, the only thing missing was some extra star power, haha!”
– “Oh my E-God! Why?! Even someone like me who doesn’t watch variety shows is going crazy! You said you’d never reveal your face, so is this your debut?”
The anticipation and excitement surrounding “My Days in Apartment Building” seemed to overshadow all other news in the entertainment world, leaving fans eager to see how this star-studded lineup would play out in the show.
– “The gaming community is also buzzing tonight! Star Track has been putting out high-quality content these past few years, and now their mysterious boss is going on a variety show! And it’s a dating show! My brother just asked me when this show is airing, haha!”
– “So, was Chi Yishen really blacklisted, or is it just a rumor? If he was blacklisted, wouldn’t Zhang Miya bringing him back invite backlash?”
– “There’s no way it’s so brazen. Chi Yishen… oh, he said he’s changing his name to Chi Yizhen. He hasn’t done anything illegal, and he can’t be considered a bad artist. It’s all about personal connections… sigh, when the wall collapses, everyone pushes someone else. Back in the day, he was a pampered rich kid.
– “Chi Yishen’s fans outnumber the boss of that gaming company. This is insane. They’re not even from the same circles, right? How are they going to collaborate in two weeks?”
– “A variety show with 24/7 live broadcasting? I can’t believe it! Will there be content while they sleep? I can’t wait for the weekend to see these people meet for the first time!”
The upcoming untelevised variety show, “My Days in the Apartment Building,” featuring three pairs of celebrities, was dominating discussions and climbing to the top of the entertainment charts. The pairs included the recently returned Three Gold Award-winning actress Li Zhenhe and the emerging musician Liu Rumen, as well as the long-estranged couple Jiang Zhaoli and Wen Xiaoli, who were on the verge of divorce. The audience eagerly anticipated their interactions and developments in the show.
The remaining two pairs consisted of individuals whom the audience had little knowledge of. One had been out of the entertainment industry for a long time, and the other wasn’t even a part of it.
The trending discussions were making quite a stir, and there was no way Yu Yuxing, who was participating in another variety show in a different city, could be unaware of it. He had been angry since he received feedback in the morning.
He had instructed people to arrange a deal to photograph and film Chi Yizhen in a compromising position, creating news about him spending time at a male escort club. But what had he achieved?
Firstly, they ended up in a dimly lit room with the wrong person, someone who wasn’t Chi Yizhen but a bartender from the neighboring bar. The next day, they finally captured Chi Yizhen, but what was the use? Chi Yizhen had stayed overnight at the Spring Tide Hotel, and they didn’t even know who he had spent the night with. Plus, he had taken the wrong room key.
Yu Yuxing had a splitting headache. It was currently the break time during the recording, and his assistant was holding an umbrella while he stood by the country road refreshing Weibo.
No matter how Yu Yuxing’s team tried to manipulate the situation, Chi Yishen’s trending topic completely overshadowed the promotion of his own variety show for the week. Even the hired troll army couldn’t counter the curiosity of onlookers who were more interested in the trending topic.
Yu Yuxing took a deep breath and asked, “Do you have that rumored 500-page PDF?”
His assistant gasped and then shook her head in confusion.
Yu Yuxing clenched his lips. This episode of the variety show was set in a famous tourist city, and the market was visible in the distance. The security was well-controlled, and fans who wanted to get close were kept at bay. However, curious passersby would still approach and even try to console Yu Yuxing.
“Big brother, don’t be sad,” someone said, catching Yu Yuxing’s attention.
He turned to see another man standing there, quietly smoking. From a distance, the man had a tall and imposing presence, but he didn’t have the same gentleness as the others who were participating in the variety show.
As the system’s presence faded, the joy of completing the mission gradually dissipated for Yu Yuxing.
He also realized that controlling Sheng Xin wasn’t an easy task.
After all, he had forcibly redirected Sheng Xin’s feelings from Chi Yishen onto himself in the beginning, grafting Sheng Xin’s affection for Chi Yishen onto himself. He believed that with the support of the system, he could live a carefree life, starting from that point onward.
However, he hadn’t expected that it would lead to a new beginning after the initial conclusion.
What Yu Yuxing feared the most was people saying he looked like Chi Yishen. After all, his face was reconstructed to resemble Chi Yishen’s, and even his body shape, occasional expressions – if not a full eight, at least seven out of ten aspects matched.
If Sheng Xin genuinely loved him, then these seven out of ten would be enough.
But now… it was different.
Yu Yuxing opened the chat again, and the other person apologized.
– All I know is that the woman who booked the room is from a club, but they refused to disclose her identity.
Yu Yuxing: How much will it take to get the information?
The other person: I’m sorry.
Yu Yuxing angrily slammed his phone down, and his assistant hurriedly picked it up.
Yu Yuxing yelled, “Don’t pick it up!”
He bit his lip and asked his manager, who was standing nearby in a low voice, “Does Xing know about this?”
The manager nodded.
Yu Yuxing thought, “This is bad.”
There were countless rumors about him online, but Chi Yizhen didn’t have the time to pay much attention to them.
The day after, Zhang Miya arranged for a housing recommendation for Chi Yizhen and generously advanced his payment.
Chi Yizhen happily had Chen Linan take him to the apartment. It was a high-end complex in the third ring of S City, right next to a technology park and a large shopping district. It was convenient for daily life, had excellent security, and many residents were from the entertainment industry.
Chi Yizhen was very satisfied with his new place. He didn’t want to live in the rundown shared house the original owner had occupied.
On the other hand, Chen Linan, who had grown up being pampered, looked somewhat melancholic. He didn’t have many belongings now either, just one suitcase to his name.
With not much to move, as Saturday approached for the official recording of the variety show, Chi Yizhen, who had no company, had sent all the required materials to Chen Linan.
Chen Linan and Chi Yizhen sat in the empty apartment, staring at the screen with the show’s requirements.
Chen Linan asked, somewhat awkwardly, “Your ‘husband’… I mean, ‘boyfriend’ in the show. Aren’t you uncomfortable with that?”
Chi Yizhen didn’t mind at all. He had managed to solve the problem of having only 32.5 yuan left in his bank account. After receiving the advance payment, he paid off this month’s credit card debt and covered the medical expenses for the original owner’s mother. Finally, he could only afford a bottle of drink, which he sipped as he shook his head.
“What’s the big deal? If there’s money to be made, I’d even consider doing an adult film.”
He paused for a moment and continued, “Besides, nowadays, guys can get married to other guys, so what’s so strange about it?”
Chen Linan was momentarily taken aback. “Weren’t you interested in girls before?”
Chi Yizhen replied, “They didn’t say that the show’s boyfriend is my real husband, did they?”
The production team hadn’t provided Chi Yizhen with any information about his partner for the show. They only informed him of the general process. In this fifteen-day reality dating show, they would be live-streaming all day long, with about half a day of rest per week, and they wouldn’t even cut the audio when they slept.
There were prescribed couple missions, and they had to complete the weekend check-ins according to the program’s requirements.
“Earn the specified amount of money based on your character’s profession in the show…?” Chi Yizhen read and then furrowed his brows.
Chen Linan sighed and said, “You don’t really need to act, do you? We’re already here to make money.”
The big brother chuckled, “But you’re the one earning money in the show by being with your ‘boyfriend,’ while I’m making money relying on you.”
Maybe because he felt that Chi Yizhen was going through a tough time, Chen Linan, who had struggled to fulfill Chi Yiming’s wishes over the years, couldn’t help but criticize himself as useless.
Chi Yizhen responded, “I was so busy yesterday that I didn’t even have time to check that person’s Weibo. Let me see if he has any pictures.”
However, Chi Yizhen was surprised to find that there was not a single photo of his partner, the boyfriend he was going to live with for half a month, circulating on the internet.
Most of the comments and private messages he received on his new Weibo were from fans of Yu Yuxing who were cursing him.
The most retweeted message mentioning him was from a game streamer:
【Having more than one bowl for dinner: OMG! OMG! OMG! Starting from today, I have Chi Yizhen as my sister-in-law! Do you know what kind of person our E-god is? Can you tell us?! Why is he participating in a reality show?】
This particular post seemed to come with its own following, and the accompanying emojis were quite exaggerated. It even included a reality show hashtag and had been retweeted countless times.
The comments were filled with crying and curious onlookers.
– What? Sister-in-law? Is this already sister-in-law?! I bet E-god will probably skip his live broadcasts again this month!!
– I only know that our E-god isn’t even thirty yet! How can someone keep their personal information so well hidden in this world? His student ID photos were all memes! Nuts!
– I’ve been interning at StarTrail for half a year and I’ve never seen E-god. I asked the team leader who’s been there for three years, and he said he hasn’t seen E-god either!! They even have their own elevator, and unless you’re top-level, you can’t catch a glimpse! 5555
– This guy uses holographic projection even for company events!! But he does have an amazing voice, he sounds like a tough guy.
– A self-made genius!! He was a student entrepreneur who beat traditional gaming companies and now he’s a new industry leader! Single, isn’t he!
– As a fan for ten years, I really don’t know if this is a collapse or the start of something new. Just the thought of finally seeing our male god’s true face, but he has to cohabitate with another man for half a month…
– Shut up about the ten years! StarTrail hasn’t even been around that long!! At least it’s safe with another man, being someone’s sister-in-law for fifteen days might get you pregnant!!
Chi Yizhen calmly scrolled through the retweets and pondered for a while before responding solemnly in a retweet:
Starting today, I’m Chi Yizhen: Hello, I don’t even know what my husband looks like.