Xie Jianyuan's hand paused slightly in midair, and he wore a perfect smile, as though the awkward moment just now had never happened.
Xu Chun glanced at Jiang Xiuyan, whose expression was complicated as he stood behind Xie Jianyuan, then silently looked away and murmured his assent.
"Goodbye."
Although he was Xie Jianyuan's neighbor, Xu Chun didn't really want to go back with him. Xie Jianyuan was also very good at reading the room, so he didn't bring it up.
The three said their goodbyes without any apparent trouble.
On Saturday, Xu Chun had just finished recording a program when he took a photo of his teacup backstage, then logged into his Weibo account and made a post.
"Work's over. Taking a break."
After more than ten minutes, there were only a little over a hundred comments. Su Li watched from the side, her expression growing somewhat grave as she looked at the number of fan comments.
Because of the kinds of roles Xu Chun played, he appeared mostly in serious dramas. His company marketed him as an actor known for his acting skills. Although he was very well liked by the general public, his overall traffic was average, which could be seen from the number of comments on his posts. His comment and like counts consistently stayed at three or four thousand, putting him in the moderately popular category.
Although Xu Chun had won a domestic best actor award for an arthouse film early in his career, making him an award-winning actor of sorts, the works he appeared in afterward had struggled to reach the same heights. Of course, even so, his works were well received and popular; the shows were hits, but he himself wasn't.
Saying he wasn't popular was a bit of an exaggeration. More precisely, his popularity and traffic simply couldn't compare to those of the fresh meat entering the industry these days.
Su Li knew that Xu Chun was at a bottleneck. He needed to find a breakthrough now, or newcomers would very likely overtake him and push him out of his current position.
With that thought, Su Li quietly made up her mind to bring back a plan that had once been rejected.
"Xiao Chun, you've been in the industry for so many years now. I'm sure you know what kind of predicament you're in."
Xu Chun frowned slightly and said gently, "Sister Su, what are you trying to say?"
"Start a dating rumor." Su Li looked him straight in the eye and said each word deliberately. "I've already booked you for a travel variety show. There are four men and two women among the guests, and one of the actresses is the person you'll be paired with in the rumor."
"Of course, everything the team does must be on the condition that it won't harm you. And right now, this is the only path before us. This method works quickly and doesn't do any real harm." She paused, a trace of a mocking smile appearing on her lips. "Besides, even if things fall apart, it's the woman who'll suffer. The world is always a little more hostile toward women."
Xu Chun looked at her seriously. To Su Li's surprise, he pondered for a moment, then shook his head and refused. "I can go on the show, but I don't want to start a dating rumor."
Su Li frowned deeply. Then, seemingly remembering something, she relaxed her brow a little and smiled. "Don't worry. The actress and her team are willing. They were the ones who suggested it in the first place."
Xu Chun still shook his head.
Seeing this, Su Li said nothing more and turned to look out the window. Everything about Xu Chun was good, except that he was a little too pure. He saw things more clearly than anyone, but he simply wasn't willing to do it.
But this time, it wasn't up to him.
It seemed she would need to discuss it with the production team when the time came, to see if they could put some effort into editing his footage with the actress and use it to sell the rumor.
Thinking this, she dropped the subject and handed him the program schedule, contract, and other documents. Xu Chun flipped through the pages, and his gaze suddenly stopped on the line listing the guests.
"Xie Jianyuan."
He ran his fingers over the three black characters and murmured to himself with a slight frown.
Hearing the name, Su Li's expression also darkened. She didn't want Xu Chun to appear on camera with this young master either. After all, their fans had clashed somewhat unpleasantly before because of the two men's similar looks.
"Be careful around him," Su Li said. "Watch out for his team setting a trap for you. Once you're there, be careful what you say and do, all right?"
Xu Chun turned to watch the streetscape sliding past the car window, his heart gradually sinking.
"Got it."
Chapter 8: Variety Show
"Traveling on a Shoestring" was a popular travel reality variety show produced by a satellite television station.
In recent years, audiences had become increasingly inclined to watch celebrity reality shows, enjoying the chance to see the ordinary side of stars who otherwise seemed out of reach.
The travel variety show created by the production team had enjoyed enduring popularity and had already aired its third season.
The production team invited six regular guests, bringing these entertainers, who might not know one another, together to live and adjust to one another on the show.
And staff members would
livestream
the journey, with real-time viewer comments and interaction. Although it wasn't livestreamed in its entirety, only at certain times, it still made the audience even more enthusiastic.
But although variety shows like this were popular, they also had plenty of nasty fights. Entertainers who had participated in this show in the past had all gotten into arguments of varying degrees.
Entertainers weren't as flawless as audiences imagined; they had all kinds of little flaws in daily life too. When living together as a group, conflicts would grow and escalate further.
But variety shows could win people fans as well as attract haters, so the risks were high. On top of that, production teams could use malicious editing to generate buzz, so Xu Chun's team had rarely let him appear on variety shows, leaving audiences with the impression that he kept a low profile.
Ever since the fourth season of "Traveling on a Shoestring" had been announced, netizens had been guessing who the guests would be. After finally waiting for the day filming officially began, they all kept watch over the livestream to see whether their own idols were there.
When a staff member from the show knocked on the door, Xu Chun was still packing. He got up and opened it, then greeted the camera with a gentle smile.
A staff member carried the camera inside and began by filming every part of his home.
Xu Chun's home was decorated in a light, fresh natural-wood style. The tables, cabinets, and coffee table were all made of light-colored natural wood, while the sofa and curtains were also done in an off-white fabric style.