It was no exaggeration to say that Ye Qingzhou was famous throughout the country.
It was worth mentioning that Ye Qingzhou had never taken part in a variety show. Over the years, directors of music talent shows, crime-solving shows, leisure and entertainment shows, and travel shows had approached him one after another. They had offered him extremely generous terms, but he had politely declined them all.
No one would have imagined that Ye Qingzhou would one day turn up at the filming location of a dating show.
Ye Qingzhou did not answer the director's question directly. Instead, he asked, "Lu Qi is part of your show, right?"
"Yes."
The director did not understand what this had to do with Lu Qi. If Ye Qingzhou had come for her, he might be disappointed.
"Lu Qi asked the production team for leave yesterday. She won't be taking part in today's filming, either..."
Before the director could finish, Ye Qingzhou interrupted him. "I know. Did she promise to invite another guest?"
"Yes..."
The director was still immersed in the joy of seeing Ye Qingzhou, and his brain had yet to catch up, but the viewers in the livestream had already figured it out.
[Could Ye Qingzhou be the guest replacing Lu Qi this time?]
[! So Ye Qingzhou really is going on a dating show?]
[Aaaaaah, I saw the trending topic on Weibo and scrambled over here. Are you saying Ye Qingzhou is going on a dating show?]
[...Trending topic? What trending topic?]
[The one about Ye Qingzhou going on a dating show, obviously. Weibo has already blown up.]
[Wait, you fans got the news this fast? Ye Qingzhou's been at the filming location for five minutes at most, and he's already blown up Weibo's trending list? That influence is terrifying [shocked.jpg]]
[That's the power of a top star. What did you expect?]
[Ye Qingzhou, dating show, debut-any one of those terms would be a huge draw on its own...]
Two minutes earlier.
A viewer of the Let's Fall in Love livestream had made a post in Ye Qingzhou's Weibo super topic, with the caption #Ye Qingzhou's dating show debut#. She had also included a link to the livestream beneath the post.
Half skeptical, the fans opened the livestream and actually saw their idol. The internet was a place where information spread rapidly. One person told ten, ten told a hundred, and the fans pushed #Ye Qingzhou's dating show debut# onto Weibo's trending list.
The number of viewers in the livestream kept rising.
When Let's Fall in Love had first gone live, it had only a few thousand viewers, barely breaking ten thousand at occasional peaks. From the moment Ye Qingzhou appeared, the audience had jumped from a few thousand to tens of thousands, reaching 100,000+ in just five minutes.
Ye Qingzhou said frankly, "I'm the guest Lu Qi invited."
The director: "!"
He stood frozen for a full five seconds before he grasped what Ye Qingzhou meant. "Y-you... Is that really true? But... I... we..."
"Hmm?"
The director's face flushed red with excitement. Looking at the handsome Ye Qingzhou, he stammered out an explanation. "Our production budget is limited. B-before we officially start filming, could we discuss your appearance fee first..."
[Hahahahaha, the director is so cute.]
[Seeing how nervous the director looked, I thought he was going to say something earth-shattering. I never expected him to be worrying about Ye Qingzhou's appearance fee.]
[It is a low-budget show, after all. Cut him some slack.]
[I think the director's concerns are absolutely necessary. To put it bluntly, even everyone's money on the production put together probably wouldn't cover what Ye Qingzhou gets for casually filming a TV drama.]
[Even adding our money wouldn't be enough. [finger heart.jpg]]
[We're just people online. You've crossed a line [smile][smile]]
Ye Qingzhou had not expected this to be what the director was worried about. He chuckled. "Actually, my sudden arrival disrupted your filming. Put that way, I'm the one at fault, so I won't charge an appearance fee."
The director: "!"
Hit with such good news, he felt rather dizzy. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Chu Ci, who was closest to him, and shakily raised his arm. "I... I'm not dreaming, am I? Y-you... pinch me..."
Chu Ci pinched the director's arm expressionlessly.
The director's arm reddened at a visible pace, and he could not help sucking in a sharp breath. "...Hiss."
Chu Ci looked so slender. How was he so strong?
While everyone's attention was on the director's reddened arm, Ye Qingzhou raised his eyes to look at the expressionless Chu Ci, his lips curving as he gave a soft laugh.
Shizun, long time no see.
"Since Mr. Ye has decided to join our big family, I'll briefly explain the rules again."
With his emotions gradually settling, the director began his brief introduction. "Our variety show is called Let's Fall in Love. As the name suggests, it's a dating show. Each episode has six people who pair up, choosing their 'one-day romantic partner' for the day."
"The production team will have our guests play a little quiz game. The guest with the highest score gets to choose their partner first."
"And so on, until every guest here has a partner."
"Before the quiz officially begins, the production team will give you fifteen minutes to look through the question bank for a test of short-term memory."
There were more than a thousand questions in the question bank.
The question the director had asked Chu Ci earlier-"What are the world's three oldest dramatic art forms?"-was one of them.
They would randomly select questions from the question bank to ask the guests.
Each guest would have five chances to answer. If any guests had the same score, it would trigger a hidden event-the "buzzer round," which would determine the final winner.
[Isn't this Ye Qingzhou's strong suit?]
[If I remember correctly, Ye Qingzhou has an incredible memory, practically photographic.]
[Although Ye Qingzhou has never been on a variety show, he's done media interviews. His knowledge and cultural literacy really are impressive. This game is practically tailor-made for him.]
[Wow, I can't wait to see how Ye Qingzhou does!]
[I'll carry Qingzhou's banner. Let's see who dares stand against him.]
[Girl above, rein it in a little. Saying that stuff in the Weibo super topic is enough. Don't embarrass yourself in someone else's livestream, okay?]
[I only looked away for a moment, and the livestream has already passed a million viewers? Ye Qingzhou really is the top of the top stars.]
[What's the relationship between Lu Qi and Ye Qingzhou? Ye Qingzhou is famously cold and distant in the entertainment industry and doesn't like socializing. Just how close would they have to be for her to get him on a variety show?]