Going on a Variety Show

In the morning, warm sunlight spilled through the glass into the room.

Just then, the phone suddenly rang. Still bleary-eyed, Gu Nian'an picked it up and saw that the caller was saved as "Sister Li." He recalled who she was from the original owner's memories.

She was the original owner's manager, Li Manwen, who had always devoted herself to looking after him.

Unfortunately, the original owner's ambitions had later soared far too high, and he had nearly dragged her down over matters involving Fu Xiuyuan.

"Hello! You little handful! You finally answered!" A shrill female voice came from the other end.

Gu Nian'an rubbed his nose a little guiltily. "Sister Li, is something wrong?"

"Here's the thing. Remember that variety show the company got you? Filming is about to start, so hurry up and pack. You leave in three days." With that, the woman on the other end hung up with a snap.

Gu Nian'an's expression went blank for a moment as he abruptly remembered that the original owner was a small-time celebrity.

Only after thinking for a long while did he recall the variety show. Gu Nian'an had been spotted by a talent scout and entered an idol competition, gaining a small group of fans thanks to his outstanding looks.

The original owner had signed on to this variety show during his brief spell of modest popularity. It was called Leisurely Little House, a lifestyle variety show lasting thirty days.

Before long, however, a slew of scandals about him had surfaced: making snide remarks at teammates, acting like a diva, and so on. He was a talentless pretty face who coasted along, though the original owner really had been nothing more than a pretty face. He had entered the competition to make money in the first place and gained a bunch of fans through his looks. After marrying Fu Xiuyuan, the original owner, who had initially only been withdrawn and gloomy,

had become arrogant and dismissive of everyone. That was where those scandals had come from.

"Ah." Gu Nian'an sighed. Since he had taken over someone else's body, he might as well help him sort these things out.

Early the next morning, Gu Nian'an knocked on Fu Xiuyuan's bedroom door. They slept in separate rooms, and apart from breakfast, Fu Xiuyuan was usually out, only returning very late. If he wanted to go on the variety show, he needed to seize this opportunity to tell Fu Xiuyuan beforehand.

The door opened with a snap. The man's hair was still dripping slightly, and he had opened the door wearing only a casually draped bathrobe. Its slightly open front revealed his muscular chest, and he held a half-smoked cigarette in one hand.

Fu Xiuyuan looked lazily at Gu Nian'an and said flatly, "What is it?"

Before Gu Nian'an could speak, the acrid smell of smoke hit him, and he suddenly couldn't catch his breath.

Clutching his chest, he kept trying to breathe in. "Cough, sorry, my nose is a little sensitive." No matter what he did, he couldn't draw that breath, and Gu Nian'an's legs began to weaken.

Fu Xiuyuan frowned, stubbed out his cigarette, and pulled Gu Nian'an along to a downstairs window. His tone was somewhat cold and stern. "Better now?"

With fresh air reaching him, Gu Nian'an took several deep breaths.

Finally recovering, he continued to Fu Xiuyuan, "I'm going on a variety show in a couple of days. It'll last about a month."

After saying that, the young man looked at Fu Xiuyuan a little apprehensively. According to the protagonist's characterization in the original novel, he hated the people around him slipping out of his control. But not going would mean paying a penalty for breach of contract, and Gu Nian'an didn't have the money to pay it right now.

Fu Xiuyuan saw the apprehension in his eyes, and his icy expression softened slightly. "Go if you want to. You don't need to tell me," he said in a low voice.

Gu Nian'an ventured quietly, "Then I'll go get ready."

The man waved dismissively, indicating that the young man could do as he pleased.

Two days later.

Gu Nian'an wheeled his suitcase out of the airport. A fashionable, attractive woman approached him. Presumably, this was the original owner's manager, Li Manwen.

The moment she saw Gu Nian'an with his suitcase, she said, "Oh, you little handful, you're finally here. Come on, everyone else is waiting."

Gu Nian'an nodded slightly and hurried after the woman into the car.

Once they were in the car, the woman took out a laptop and handed it to Gu Nian'an. "You little handful, these are the guests coming on the show. Take a good look first, and don't go throwing another tantrum later. Some of these guests are pretty big names. If you act like you did last time, I won't be able to protect you."

Gu Nian'an tried to remember what had happened last time. After a long while, he finally recalled it from his memories. It had involved the original owner and Yu Songqing, a teammate who had competed in the same talent show.

Because they had worn the same outfit to an event, he had made snide remarks at the other man. But Yu Songqing's team had been no pushovers either and had clashed with the original owner on the spot.

Yu Songqing would also be taking part in this variety show. They had come out of the same talent competition, but their reputations were worlds apart. Yu Songqing excelled at both singing and dancing, while he was a lazy pretty face. Even though his looks had earned him a brief spell of modest popularity at first, his personality had later made everyone dislike him.

Yu Songqing was different. He had studied dance since childhood and had truly shone in the competition.

Gu Nian'an couldn't help feeling a little apprehensive. He hoped things wouldn't get too awkward between them.

They soon arrived at the filming location. Leisurely Little House was a very popular variety show lately. The production team had invited Yu Songqing, a popular young star skilled in both singing and dancing who had debuted through the same talent competition as the original owner; Mu Chen, a newly crowned best actor; Yun Bingxia, a currently popular young actress; Ji Baiwei, a singer who had once been a reigning diva; and Ji Baiwei's nephew Ji Yaozhi, a new-generation singer who had only recently debuted.

Leisurely Little House was a lifestyle variety show livestreamed in its entirety, with the production team arranging for the guests to stay in different cities.

They would also complete a few small tasks along the way, but the overall focus remained relaxed, everyday life. This time, the production team's destination was Orchid City.

Standing at the back, Gu Nian'an watched the others already chatting and laughing, feeling a little awkward. The original owner's reputation wasn't very good, and presumably these people knew that too. He could only pray he would get through this without trouble.

Ji Baiwei had already noticed the young man who had just arrived. She had heard of Gu Nian'an: bad-tempered, a pretty face, a diva. Yet seeing the young man left her a little surprised.

There was no other reason. It was simply hard to associate someone like that with the young man standing quietly there, looking a little awkward but not rashly interrupting their conversation.

Soft strands of hair fell beside his cheeks, and his eyes surveyed his surroundings a little nervously as he unconsciously kept pressing his lips together.

Pfft, he looks so much like my little dog when it's feeling wronged. Ji Baiwei laughed inwardly and walked over.

"Hello, I'm Ji Baiwei. You must be Gu Nian'an."

Gu Nian'an looked up. The woman before him was radiant and beautiful. Time had left a few traces on her face, but rather than making her look old, they added a distinctive charm. This was Ji Baiwei, the music diva from the book.

Gu Nian'an was briefly dazed, then hurried to reply, "Hello, Ms. Ji. It's an honor to be on the same variety show as you. I've always liked you very much."

When he had read the book, he had felt a great fondness for this fragile yet strong diva.

Her circumstances were somewhat similar to his mother's, but she was stronger than his mother, so Gu Nian'an had always had a special fondness for this diva.

Seeing the undisguised admiration in Gu Nian'an's eyes, Ji Baiwei couldn't help laughing. She ruffled the young man's hair. "Thank you for liking me."

Suddenly, someone ran up to Ji Baiwei and said something. "Please excuse me. The director needs me." Ji Baiwei smiled at Gu Nian'an. "See you when filming starts." With that, she turned and left.

Just then, another person approached Gu Nian'an and said, "Long time no see."

Gu Nian'an looked up. It was Yu Songqing.