But even though Xu Chen finally wanted to contact Xia Zhiyi, it was too late.
After filming began, the production team for "Life" had confiscated all the guests' phones to keep them from learning about the outside world through their phones during filming, so Xu Chang hadn't been able to contact Xia Zhiyi directly.
Early that morning, around six, it was already mostly light out.
The time the production team had agreed on was eight in the morning, but in reality...
"Ahem, hello, everyone. I'm one of the follow directors for Incredible Life. You can call me Xiao Yang."
The follow director named Xiao Yang appeared on the livestream camera at six in the morning. Many of the viewers trickling into the stream at this hour were actually night owls who had stayed up all night and clicked in out of curiosity.
The Orchid App had opened the livestream rooms for the show's guests yesterday. Interested viewers could follow the rooms in advance and receive a special pop-up notification when the livestreams began.
But it went without saying that the ordinary guests wouldn't attract as many followers as the celebrities who already had fans. On that front, the show's director had pulled a real bastard move by not labeling the rooms with the guests' names or identities, keeping the mystery going to the very end.
So when all the livestreams went live at six in the morning, the viewers who noticed were still spread fairly evenly among them.
Until the guests appeared, none of the viewers would know whose room they were in, or whether it belonged to a celebrity or an ordinary person.
Yep, just like opening a blind box.
And sure enough, the earlier rumors that Fu Yunyi would be taking part in filming had drawn plenty of traffic to the show, since he was a young actor who had recently become hugely popular. With it being summer vacation as well, there were quite a few people in the livestreams even at this hour.
After all, if it was true, wouldn't they get to see Fu Yunyi's home?
They might even get to see Fu Yunyi getting out of bed!
[Whoa, they actually started livestreaming? The production team really went for it.]
[At this hour... didn't they say on Weibo yesterday that filming started at eight? It's only six, so... the production team's looking to stir things up, huh? Getting excited.jpg]
[Are they going straight to the guests' homes? Or are the guests already there?]
[Surprise raid!]
Xiao Yang saw the comments and smiled. "Yes, although we publicly said we'd come to their doors and start filming at eight in the morning, we'll actually probably arrive around seven..."
Before Xiao Yang finished speaking, he suddenly noticed that the colleague holding the camera had an odd expression and seemed to be looking behind him.
He paused, finished what he was saying, and only then turned to look behind him.
The comments also reacted to what had happened behind him.
[Wow, people really are out exercising this early?]
[What a healthy routine. I haven't exercised anywhere except at school.]
[...Am I the only one who thinks he's running a little too fast for morning exercise? Aren't you supposed to jog?]
Xiao Yang asked, "What happened?"
The cameraman said, "I think that was the guest who just ran past."
Xiao Yang: "?"
Xiao Yang hadn't expected that, after coming to conduct a surprise raid on the chief director's instructions, he would run into the guest out exercising before they had even officially started, while he was still explaining things to the livestream viewers.
Still...
He recalled that the person he had drawn this time was an ordinary guest, who probably didn't know about their sudden arrangement for today.
He had only thought about it for a second when the chief director's voice came through his earpiece. "Follow him and take a look."
Xiao Yang immediately said, "All right, we've run into an unexpected situation. We may have happened to catch our guest during his morning exercise, so we'll follow him now to confirm."
Meanwhile, Xia Zhiyi finished his morning run in a small square inside the residential complex and took a longsword that had yet to be sharpened from Xia Wanyi.
Xia Wanyi asked, "Half an hour again today? When the production team said eight, did they mean they'd come over at eight, or arrive at our place and start filming at eight?"
Remembering the people he had just passed and that impossible-to-miss camera, Xia Zhiyi blinked. "No idea. Anyway, as long as we're home before eight, we're not breaking any rules."
Xia Wanyi nodded. "All right. I'll head back and make you breakfast, then. Buy some soy milk before you come home."
Xia Zhiyi said, "Okay."
Morning exercise wasn't a habit Xia Zhiyi had picked up only after his rebirth. He had exercised in the mornings before, when his schoolwork had been fairly manageable. Later, as his studies grew more demanding, Xia Zhiyi was only an ordinary person who did a little better at school, so he had dropped it when he couldn't manage both.
He hadn't picked it back up after the college entrance exams, either. He had already forgotten what he had been thinking back then, but with that precedent, Xia Wanyi didn't find anything strange at all about him recently taking up morning exercise again.
The difference was probably just that Xia Zhiyi's morning exercise used to consist of running and practicing fist techniques, whereas now it consisted of running and practicing swordsmanship.
Xia Wanyi did have to admit that Xia Zhiyi looked better practicing swordsmanship, too.
Naturally, she didn't know that the fist techniques Xia Zhiyi had practiced before had been for fitness, while the swordsmanship he practiced now was for killing.
Aside from Xia Zhiyi, a few elderly men who had risen early to practice tai chi were in the little square. They stood on opposite sides without disturbing one another.
When Xiao Yang arrived with the cameraman after searching along the way, they happened to capture Xia Zhiyi practicing with his sword, and his eyes immediately lit up.
Xiao Yang thought, This ordinary guest looks like he's got some real skills!
Xiao Yang asked the cameraman, "That's definitely our guest, but he seems busy right now. We shouldn't just go up and disturb him, should we?"
The cameraman: "...?"
You're asking me?
Xiao Yang nodded. "You think so too, right? Then let's watch from the side for now. We can film our guest's morning routine while we're at it."
[Hahahahaha, I don't think I heard Xiao Yang's colleague say anything.]
[Wow, this little guy actually practices with a sword? He looks like he knows what he's doing. Pretty cool, too.]
[Who are they kidding? I can understand a morning run, but who swings a sword around first thing in the morning? This has to be scripted by the production team, right?]
[So which celebrity is this? He's pretty cute, and he doesn't have a forgettable face. How come I don't remember him at all?]
[They've confirmed he's a guest, so maybe he's some minor celebrity.]
[Not necessarily. Didn't the production team say they invited two ordinary guests this time? Maybe he's one of them.]
[So is nobody going to tell us whether this little guy is really practicing swordsmanship or just showing off? I think it looks pretty good.]
The comments gradually grew livelier. Some people had come to watch after hearing the news, while others had simply woken up early and dropped in for a look.
Just as Xiao Yang was about to interact with the comments, he suddenly heard his colleague behind him let out an "Ah!"
Xiao Yang asked, "What is it?"
His colleague said, "I remember now. I think he's the one who can fly!"
Xiao Yang: "?"