I Joined a Fake Variety Show (GL) - Chapter 5

A light, drizzling rain had fallen in the early morning. It came and went quickly, leaving only the oppressive gray clouds overhead and asphalt roads a shade darker than usual to prove its passing.

The air held a slight humidity, and the temperature was also a few degrees cooler than in recent days. It wasn’t cold, but rather refreshing and pleasant.

This was the kind of weather Zhou Xi loved.

A gentle breeze blew, bringing with it the fresh scent of the post-rain air.

Zhou Xi raised a hand to smooth down the hair the wind had messed up, then looked toward the distant intersection.

Zhou Xi was standing by the roadside in front of the motel, surrounded by stacks of cardboard boxes.

She was waiting for someone.

She was waiting for Han Shutong.

Yesterday, if Zhou Xi had any slight thought of refusal before Han Shutong stated the payment, then the moment Han Shutong revealed the appearance fee, Zhou Xi’s wavering heart became unshakeably determined.

To help an old classmate in distress, Zhou Xi would certainly go all out.

Of course, to put it less righteously, Zhou Xi was simply being very pragmatic.

Being pragmatic is also a good quality, Zhou Xi reassured herself.

Yesterday, after Zhou Xi agreed to film the show, Han Shutong suggested she move in today to “get familiar with the environment.”

Zhou Xi thought about it and agreed.

It was indeed necessary to get familiar. Otherwise, if she couldn’t find anything during filming, wouldn’t her facade crumble?

Just as she was about to ask Han Shutong for the address, Han Shutong asked for hers instead.

A sedan slowly approached from the distant intersection.

The car gently pulled up in front of Zhou Xi.

Zhou Xi stared at her reflection in the car window, momentarily stunned.

When the car door opened, Zhou Xi, who was still staring at the window, met eyes with the person looking at her from inside the car.

Although the two hadn’t seen each other in three years since graduation, Zhou Xi frequently saw Han Shutong on various apps.

Yet, seeing her in person, Zhou Xi was still struck by a moment of awe.

Though she wore only simple eyeliner and eyeshadow, the woman’s eyes and brows were vividly depicted. Her long, dense lashes seemed to convey the emotion held in her eyes with every blink. Her pink lips were glistening, the most important and captivating part of her makeup, like a transparent jelly under the sunlight.

Zhou Xi didn’t notice the obscure light that flashed in Han Shutong’s eyes as she looked at the woman.

Unlike Han Shutong, Zhou Xi had no TV shows, no movies, and no one had ever edited short videos of her. Coupled with Zhou Xi’s infrequent social media use and lack of attendance at class reunions, there were simply no opportunities to see her.

She seemed different, yet somehow unchanged.

“Long time no see.” Hiding her thoughts, Han Shutong spoke first.

“I see you every day,” Zhou Xi laughed. “But it’s on TV.”

Han Shutong’s lips curved into a slight smile. “I watch your TV dramas too.”

“When did you become so polite? The total runtime of all the TV I’ve acted in isn’t even an hour combined,” Zhou Xi said self-deprecatingly, knowing Han Shutong was just being courteous.

What Zhou Xi didn’t know was that Han Shutong was telling the truth. There was a compilation of Zhou Xi’s TV drama appearances on the video platform Bilibili, and the video’s total runtime was one hour and five minutes.

This video was saved in Han Shutong’s favorites on Bilibili, and the video’s creator was Han Shutong herself.

She had even learned video editing just for this purpose.

Hearing Zhou Xi’s comment, Han Shutong didn’t refute but praised, “The acting is very good.”

Zhou Xi smiled slightly, offering no reply.

There was another person in the car, from the moving company.

When the car stopped in front of the apartment building, Bai Mo and two other movers were already waiting downstairs.

“Hello, Miss Zhou. I’m Bai Mo, Sister Tong’s assistant. You can call me Xiao Bai or Xiao Mo.”

“Hello, Xiao Mo. Just call me Zhou Xi.”

“How can I do that? You’re Sister Tong’s college classmate, so you’re my senior. How about I call you Sister Zhou?”

Zhou Xi smiled and nodded. “That works.”

After all of Zhou Xi’s boxes were moved upstairs, Bai Mo stayed downstairs to pay the moving company.

Inside the apartment, at the entrance hall.

Han Shutong retrieved a pair of light gray flip-flops from the shoe cabinet and handed them to Zhou Xi. “I’ve prepared slippers for you.”

Light gray, flip-flops.

Both were Zhou Xi’s favorites.

“Thank you,” Zhou Xi’s eyebrows arched. “You still remember that I like to wear flip-flops.”

Han Shutong pursed her lips. “My assistant bought them.”

Although I told the assistant to buy them, Han Shutong instinctively didn’t want Zhou Xi to know, for some reason.

Zhou Xi said, “Oh, is her name Xiao Mo?”

“Yes,” Han Shutong nodded.

After both had changed their shoes and entered the living room, Zhou Xi looked around, then turned to Han Shutong and asked, “Can I ask, do I need to sign a contract?”

Zhou Xi was meticulous, but in her excitement yesterday, she had forgotten to ask about this and only just remembered.

Han Shutong also knew Zhou Xi would ask about the contract and had already prepared it on the coffee table. “It’s ready. Take a look.”

Zhou Xi took it and quickly skimmed through, but she paused when she saw the signature at the end of the contract. “Why is your name the Party A on this contract?”

Before Han Shutong could reply, Zhou Xi voiced her guess: “Are you inviting me in a personal capacity?”

Han Shutong nodded. “Yes.”

“Then the 150,000… is one person paying me?”

“More or less.”

“I can’t sign this contract.” She couldn’t take Han Shutong’s money.

Zhou Xi’s reaction was within Han Shutong’s expectations. She handed Zhou Xi a gel pen. “Don’t worry. What I meant by ‘more or less’ is that a portion is actually paid by the company. Besides, I’ll be taking up three months of your time. This money is what you deserve.”

“But 150,000… that’s too much.”

To be honest, the unexpected happiness made Zhou Xi feel a little uneasy.

After Zhou Xi spoke, she looked up and realized Han Shutong was looking at her. Her light eyes were slightly curved, and a smile lingered on her lips.

Seeing the smile on Han Shutong’s lips, Zhou Xi realized that Han Shutong seemed different compared to before.

Han Shutong rarely smiled before.

But why did I just see a hint of tenderness in that smile?

I must have been mistaken.

Sure enough, when Zhou Xi regained her focus, she saw Han Shutong walking toward her with a look of cool composure.

One step, two steps, three steps.

The distance between them grew smaller and smaller. Just as Han Shutong took the fourth and final step to be right next to Zhou Xi, Zhou Xi asked, “What’s wrong?”

Han Shutong didn’t stop. After taking the last step, she leaned her head toward Zhou Xi’s ear and said something before Zhou Xi could retreat.

After hearing it, Zhou Xi awkwardly scratched her face. She knew that given Han Shutong’s fame, her appearance fee for a variety show wouldn’t be low, but she hadn’t expected it to be that much.

Han Shutong took a step back, maintaining a safe distance from Zhou Xi, and said, “Sign the contract.”

Zhou Xi shook her head. “You’re Party A. Why would I need to sign a contract?”

“For extra security.” With that, Han Shutong handed over the pen.

Seeing this, Zhou Xi took the pen and immediately signed her name in the space for Party B.

Han Shutong’s eyes flickered. “Aren’t you going to look through it?”

“No need.”

Zhou Xi placed the contract aside and walked toward the interior of the house. There were three bedrooms in total. Zhou Xi turned and asked, “Which room should I take?”

“Any one is fine,” Han Shutong said.

After choosing a room, Zhou Xi asked, “You didn’t buy this apartment just for the show, did you?”

“I bought it after graduation.”

Zhou Xi was secretly tearing up inside: This is the rich-poor gap.

After Han Shutong spoke, the room fell silent.

Before the awkwardness could fully set in, Zhou Xi cleared her throat and asked, “When does our show start filming?”

“In half a month.”

Zhou Xi blinked when she heard that. Half a month… that was exactly when her contract with the company expired.

She had been worried that the company would object to her secretly filming a variety show, but now that trouble was avoided.

“So, when are you moving your things over?”

“In one week.”

She had a few days of business travel first.

Right after she said this, Bai Mo came up and called for Han Shutong.

Han Shutong had work soon.

Zhou Xi: “Alright. You can have your assistant move your things over. I’ll help you organize.”

Han Shutong nodded. “Okay.”

After Han Shutong left, Zhou Xi put her hands on her hips, looked at the pile of luggage on the floor, and let out a long sigh.

Here we go again.

Just as she was about to touch the first box, Zhou Xi received a file from Han Shutong. It was about the initial setup of the variety show.

Reading the file, Zhou Xi understood the specific content of the program.

The variety show was called A Day’s Time, and its purpose, as the name suggested, was to record the daily lives of celebrities.

However, during the second half of the filming, the production team would organize a team-building event for all the celebrities in the moving segment, to observe what their life was like when they gathered together.

The initial plan was to film for three months, totaling 14 episodes. Besides Han Shutong, the current news was that they had invited a veteran celebrity couple, a female idol, and a male celebrity, making four groups of guests in total.

Just as Zhou Xi took out her phone, planning to check if any marketing accounts had revealed who the other four guests were, Qi Jie called.

“Sister Zhou, are you busy?”

Zhou Xi didn’t bother with pleasantries and asked directly, “What do you need to tell me?”

“Sister Zhou… a few directors saw the hot search and came to the company looking to cast you, but…” Qi Jie said, “But the boss gave those roles to other artists.”

“That’s understandable,” Zhou Xi said.

There were a few seconds of silence from Qi Jie’s end, then he asked, “Sister Zhou… are you really not considering renewing your contract? The boss called me in today and asked me to find out what you’re thinking. She said you’re still trending, and if we use this chance to promote you, you might become famous.”

“Ignore her,” Zhou Xi said flatly.

Qi Jie suddenly stammered nervously: “Ah… ah?”

Hearing this, Zhou Xi paused and asked, “Is she next to you?”

“She” referred to Zhou Xi’s boss, Yan Meng Nuo.

She had just been transferred to the company two months ago, and that’s when Zhou Xi experienced what it was like for a new official to take charge fiercely. Yan Meng Nuo immediately fired several underperforming artists who had been signed to the company for years. She then called those whose contracts were near expiration and weren’t making money into her office and stated bluntly that she wouldn’t renew their contracts and they should be ready to leave.

As Zhou Xi was recalling how dark the sky felt that day, a woman’s charming voice came from the other end: “Ha, darling, you’re so smart.”

Yan Meng Nuo leaned her hip against the desk, resting her hand on the surface. She looked down and asked, “Are you really going to break the contract with me? Do you want to know why those few agencies you interviewed with haven’t gotten back to you after two days?”

If Yan Meng Nuo hadn’t mentioned it, Zhou Xi would have forgotten she even went to those interviews.

But judging by Yan Meng Nuo’s tone, the situation seemed more complicated than simply failing the interviews…

But how did Yan Meng Nuo know she interviewed at new companies?

Zhou Xi narrowed her eyes. “You investigated me?”