Meanwhile, in a car.
"Mr. Fu, that person just now seemed to be one of the victims of the accident the young master mentioned before."
The car was silent. As the young man in the front passenger seat spoke, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the rearview mirror, toward the man sitting in the back.
The man sat by the window, pale, his eyelids half lowered as though he were resting his eyes. His exceptionally long lashes covered half his eyes, his pupils as black and deep as though steeped in ink.
His features were sharply defined, his brows and eyes handsome, his pale lips carrying a hint of cold-heartedness.
Hearing him, he merely raised his eyes quietly, seemingly looking at the speaker, yet also as though it were just a meaningless movement. An ambiguous hum slipped from his throat.
The young special assistant, who had only recently been transferred to his side, quickly withdrew his gaze and said respectfully, "The young master previously asked people within the company to keep a little watch on him. Young Master Xu Chang also called, hoping Tianhuan could sign him."
The man lowered his eyes without speaking, but it was quite clear that he was listening.
The special assistant said, "However, he hasn't contacted anyone at Tianhuan so far, so there hasn't been any progress on that for now."
"But he seems to know a little martial arts. The company previously handled a video-a surveillance recording of him leaping away with another person just before the accident happened, avoiding the danger in time."
"Xu Chen thought it would be best not to let this accident blow up any further, so he suppressed the buzz to keep the young master from getting dragged into it again."
"What's his name?"
The man spoke.
His voice was low, unhurried, and resonant, his manner casual. Even as he spoke, he sounded as though he were discussing something inconsequential, distant and indifferent.
"..."
The special assistant fell silent briefly before answering, "Xia Zhiyi."
"Mm."
The special assistant waited, but nothing more came.
Hesitating, he cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror again. The man sat in the back seat, his eyelids concealing his gaze, making his current expression impossible to discern.
It was as though... he had gone back to resting his eyes.
This left the special assistant a little bewildered. So... he only wanted to know the name?
That did seem reasonable. His boss had so much to do every day. Although everyone outside thought Tianhuan was a test before his boss took over the group's affairs, the truth was actually the reverse.
Tianhuan was the group's tentative foray into a new field, while his boss had already begun gradually taking over most of the group's affairs from the old chairman several years ago. It simply hadn't been made public.
He had only learned all this after being transferred to the young boss's side.
So... perhaps speaking up rashly just now to mention that young boy had instead disturbed his boss's brief rest.
At that thought, the special assistant felt his seat grow a little hot beneath him.
The special assistant thought, Th-this shouldn't count as a mistake at work, right?
After Xia Zhiyi returned home and had a detailed conversation with Xia Wanyi, he finally learned what this variety show was all about.
It turned out that after Xia Wanyi learned what sort of work he wanted to pursue, she had asked around her social circle and actually found a few leads. Although she hadn't figured out what was going on with Tianhuan, she had unexpectedly received some news.
Orchid TV had recently launched plans for a new variety show. Its name hadn't been finalized yet, but most of the preliminary procedures had been completed, and they were currently recruiting non-celebrity guests.
The reason they were recruiting non-celebrities was that the concept for this variety show was quite bold. It would combine live broadcasts with prerecorded footage, serving as Orchid TV's experiment with variety show formats.
If it went smoothly, Orchid TV might become the first to take the plunge into the field of livestreamed variety shows. The future returns were easy to imagine.
If it failed, Orchid TV might suffer losses, but they certainly wouldn't be crippling.
However, when it came to broadcasting live throughout, not all celebrities protective of their reputations were necessarily willing to participate. Moreover, this was a new experiment, and Orchid TV itself made no attempt to hide that it was only testing the waters. Naturally, few entertainers were willing to take part.
Filling all the guest slots still wouldn't be difficult, but most of those willing to test the waters were little-known entertainers. Those with any real standing were unwilling to come.
The reason was the same: protecting their reputations.
Who knew what problems a live broadcast might expose about an entertainer? Even if the entertainers themselves were willing, their agents and companies might not dare try it lightly.
If a moment of carelessness during the live broadcast exposed some problem, Orchid TV would gain a sensational talking point, but their own losses would be hard to calculate.
Yet with only minor entertainers, the production team, which had already been assembled, kept feeling that something was missing.
Then, for whatever reason, the production team simply opened up two slots to recruit non-celebrities.
After making the rounds, the news reached Xia Zhiyi.
Xia Zhiyi hadn't experienced this last time, so he was somewhat surprised when he heard about the variety show from Xia Wanyi.
However, after thinking for a moment, Xia Zhiyi understood where the difference came from-in his first life, he had entered the entertainment industry passively. Both siblings had been hurt in the accident, and they couldn't get much compensation from the driver, so he had only entered the entertainment industry to make a living.
Caught completely unprepared, how could Xia Zhiyi have had time to figure out so much? He had simply followed whatever arrangements the company made, blundering along until he was battered and bloodied before realizing he had entered a den of demons.
This time was different. His sister hadn't been hurt, and with her good relationships, even if she couldn't get a clear picture of the entire entertainment industry in a short time, obtaining a little information wasn't difficult.
Xia Wanyi looked at him earnestly. "My friend's older brother works there, so the information should be fairly accurate. Although this variety show is an experiment, Orchid TV has prepared thoroughly. It probably won't be some shoddily made program."
Xia Zhiyi said, "Thanks for all your effort, Sis. But this should still be confidential right now, shouldn't it?"
Xia Wanyi nodded slightly. "Yes, it's confidential, but they'll start recruiting non-celebrities in the next couple of days. They'll have to release some information then, more or less. We've just gotten the news a day before they release it, that's all."
Xia Zhiyi asked, "What are the requirements for non-celebrities?"
"Students who are legal adults."
Xia Zhiyi nodded. He scoured his memories, then quickly read through the original plot again, and actually dug up some details about the show from an obscure corner.
It was Orchid TV's first attempt at a livestreamed variety show, but the mark it had left in the plot was that it ultimately ended in failure. The reason was...
[A non-celebrity participating in the show's filming, unaware that the program was livestreamed twenty-four hours a day, attempted to molest a female entertainer in full view of everyone.]
Xia Zhiyi: ...Ew.
No wonder the show had vanished without a sound afterward. It had probably been canceled outright.
Xia Zhiyi murmured, "A livestreamed variety show, huh..."
Should he go?