For a nobody, reaching the required popularity score was nothing short of a pipe dream. The production team had no hopes for him either and had set up an official livestream. As long as Wen Feiran took a little initiative, he could get plenty of screen time.
But that was impossible.
As someone with social anxiety, Wen Feiran had a natural gift: a radar for detecting cameras. Even with a dozen or so dark cameras trained on him from every direction, he could twist and turn, avoiding every one of them in an uncanny pose.
Ning Tingyu got the most screen time. He had black hair and black eyes, and two dimples appeared when he smiled. He was exceptionally approachable and had the image of an innocent male idol. A video of him blushing at the sight of a pretty older woman had been reposted a million times, earning him quite a few fans.
He wanted to use the variety show to raise his profile further, so he found a lesser version of his own type to use as a stepping stone. But although Wen Feiran was dressed like a bumpkin, he was better-looking than Ning Tingyu had imagined. His face was what Ning Tingyu cared about most. After secretly comparing them for a while, Ning Tingyu felt a flicker of unease and became more hostile toward Wen Feiran.
He skillfully hid his thoughts and deliberately ignored Wen Feiran, looking instead at the other four celebrity guests. "I just read the card the production team left. What a shame. We have to split into three groups, so we can't all stay together."
"The Chasing the Moon Cottage sleeps two, so let's leave it to Sister Qianyu and Brother Haoran. You two can enjoy some time alone together," Ning Tingyu said considerately.
Mu Qianyu and Duan Haoran had been married for ten years and were still deeply in love. They had never experienced a seven-year itch.
Mu Qianyu was immensely talented. Shortly after her debut, a role had won her the title of Best Actress in one stroke. Just when everyone thought she had a brilliant career ahead of her, she had suddenly announced her marriage. She had rarely appeared in public over the years since.
Her husband was the young painter Duan Haoran. He was immensely talented, and each of his works fetched over a million at auction. He was also handsome, charming, gentle, and thoughtful. Everyone envied their marriage.
Hearing this, Duan Haoran gently put an arm around his wife's waist. "Thank you. I didn't want to be apart from Qianyu anyway."
Mu Qianyu didn't reply. She simply smiled and met his gaze.
Of the four remaining people, one had to be excluded from the group and stay alone at the Starry Cottage.
Zou Yuxing was a popular singer-songwriter, while Su Shangting was a young traffic star. They were the most popular of the guests and came from exceptionally good families, making them the central figures among the guests.
Sticking with them would mean plenty of screen time. He also had to keep an eye on Wen Feiran, lest he pull any tricks behind the scenes and try to climb over him.
Ning Tingyu looked at Su Shangting with stars in his eyes. "Shangting, I watched that movie of yours. Your acting was amazing! I loved it so much. I'm a huge fan, and I really want to stay with you!"
Su Shangting folded his arms without even turning his head. He merely glanced sideways at the two of them, seemingly dissatisfied. His tone was reluctant too. "You... I guess that's fine."
His family and Zou Yuxing's had been friends for generations, but the two had disliked each other since childhood. After they both entered the entertainment industry, they had become bitter rivals who bickered whenever they met. Su Shangting turned and glared at Zou Yuxing, looking as haughty as if the world revolved around him. "You can't stay with me. Stay away."
Zou Yuxing didn't care where he stayed, but he wouldn't pass up any chance to argue with Su Shangting. "Why should I? I'm staying right here!"
As soon as this scene played, comments flooded the livestream.
[This is infuriating. Who on earth likes someone like him?]
[Fans, stop explaining that Su Shangting is a young master. Does coming from a good family give him the right to look down on everyone else? Zou Yuxing's family has known his for generations, so why is Zou Yuxing's personality so much better?]
[For the ten-thousandth time, the young master is just tsundere and sharp-tongued. He's a really good person. He prepares gifts for every fan who picks him up at the airport and personally wishes fans happy birthday. What other celebrity have you seen do that?]
While fans and haters argued, the onlookers were discussing something else.
[The five guests only need two cottages, so why did the production team... wait, isn't there one more person?]
[We just switched between the different livestreams looking for him. It's incredible—he wasn't in any of them!]
[Hahaha, someone else did the same weird thing I did. I only saw a corner of his clothes in the bottom left of the official livestream.]
The scene made Wen Feiran look completely superfluous. Ning Tingyu had anticipated this outcome, but he pretended to be troubled. "With the way the production team arranged things, someone was bound to stay alone. If you don't want to, I can switch with you."
Wen Feiran: ?!!!
As far as he was concerned, staying alone was VIP treatment, not something an ordinary person like him could hope for. He hadn't expected the five celebrities to offer it to him of their own accord, or to apologize to him.
What good people!!
Wen Feiran's eyes lit up. Struggling to contain his emotions, he said, "It's all right."
Ning Tingyu was very satisfied with how sensible Wen Feiran was, though he kept up his troubled expression. "How about this? We'll come see you often so you won't be lonely."
Wen Feiran: "..." Thanks for the thought, but that really won't be necessary.
He was just about to speak when the camera suddenly swung around and pointed straight at him. Wen Feiran's brain short-circuited instantly. He forgot what he'd been about to say and simply nodded dumbly.
The room assignments went fairly smoothly. The six guests picked up their luggage and returned to their respective cottages.
Both Dreamlike and Chasing the Moon were like small villas, while Starry was small and in a remote location. Wen Feiran carried his luggage along a bumpy path for nearly twenty minutes. Even the cameraman couldn't be bothered to follow him.
Wen Feiran finally reached his Starry Cottage. It was the kind of log cabin he had only seen in movies, with vast, hazy mountains in the distance. The atmosphere was incredible.
He couldn't wait to push the door open. Though small, the cottage had everything it needed. The furnishings were
very
cozy
and tasteful. Although there were cameras, there was no way he would ever start his own livestream, so no matter how many there were, they were just decorations.
After unpacking his luggage, Wen Feiran pushed open the door, took a deep breath of fresh air, and went to explore the new map.
To keep up appearances, the production team sent a cameraman to follow him. But by the time the cameraman arrived, Wen Feiran was nowhere to be seen. He had vanished completely from every livestream.
Half an hour later, Wen Feiran lay amid an endless field of flowers and couldn't help humming a song.