After discussing it with Xia Wanyi, Xia Zhiyi ultimately entrusted her friend with submitting an application.
Xia Wanyi said, "If they're only accepting students, this counts as going through the back door. You've been good-looking since you were little, Zhiyi, so your chances of getting accepted should be pretty good."
Xia Zhiyi smiled and nodded. "Yeah. It's fine if I don't get accepted. I'm only giving it a try anyway."
Now Xia Wanyi hesitated again. "But Zhiyi, you want to be an actor, and this variety show seems to be a lifestyle show. If you really do take part, will it affect how you're positioned in the future?"
Xia Zhiyi shook his head at that. "Don't worry. It won't."
Xia Wanyi looked at him curiously.
Xia Zhiyi said, "Just trust me, Sis."
Only after helping him finish the form did Xia Wanyi start muttering, "But why limit it to students? My friend said filming would wrap up in half a month, and looking at the dates, it won't interfere with the start of your semester, but I still feel like there must be another reason for only accepting students."
Xia Zhiyi sat down at the computer and answered while searching for information online. "There could be three reasons. First, students are young and more receptive to the livestream format. Second, students ask for less money. Third, it might be..."
Xia Wanyi looked at him.
Xia Zhiyi turned and smiled at her, stars sparkling in his dark eyes. "Orchid TV or one of its partners might be considering signing newcomers. Limiting it to students gives them a more suitable age range."
Xia Wanyi said, "You mean..."
Xia Zhiyi's fingers flew over the keyboard, and just as Xia Wanyi finished speaking, he pressed Enter.
"Although this is a trial run and no one knows whether it'll succeed, Orchid TV managed to get the project approved, so they must have contingency plans prepared. Orchid TV has a mutually beneficial partnership with another entertainment company. If an ordinary person becomes popular through this show, that company might consider signing them."
There were many considerations behind choosing a lifestyle variety show, but Xia Zhiyi only needed to consider the aspect relevant to him.
Xia Wanyi said, "...You know so much, Zhiyi."
Xia Zhiyi smiled. "If I want to be an actor, I have to know something about the industry. I can't just rush in blindly without knowing anything, can I?"
Xia Wanyi nodded. "True."
Then she picked up her phone, glanced at it, and told Xia Zhiyi, "My friend said she's already forwarded your information to the production team. We probably won't get an answer today..."
She had barely finished speaking when Xia Zhiyi's phone rang.
It was actually the production team calling.
Xia Zhiyi was a little surprised. Xia Wanyi crouched beside him, her eyes wide as she exchanged a look with her younger brother.
"Hello, this is the production team for Incredible 24H. We've received an application from you to participate in filming. May I ask if this is Mr. Xia Zhiyi?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "Speaking."
"All right. We'd mainly like to verify the authenticity of the application first and confirm that you personally wish to participate. If you did fill out this form and are certain you're willing to take part in filming our show, we'd like to ask whether you could meet with us in person to discuss it."
Xia Zhiyi exchanged a glance with Xia Wanyi. She looked at him a little nervously, biting her lip.
Something flickered in Xia Zhiyi's eyes, and he softly murmured his agreement.
He looked young, or rather, he was the cute type, and his voice was clear and youthful too. Even though there was little emotion in his response, it somehow gave the person on the other end the impression that he was very well-behaved.
A trace of amusement entered the caller's voice as well. "All right. We also need to confirm that you're definitely an adult, correct?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "...Yes, I'm already an adult."
He wasn't particularly surprised they had asked.
"All right, all right. We'll confirm a meeting time and send you the time and location by text shortly."
Xia Zhiyi said, "Okay."
After he hung up, Xia Wanyi stood up excitedly and grabbed his hand. "That really was the production team? They work that fast? I thought we'd have to wait at least a day or two, but they contacted you this quickly?"
Remembering that they had mentioned meeting in person, Xia Wanyi belatedly began to consider it. "Wait, Zhiyi, this isn't a scam, is it? I trust my friend, but we're talking online. What if her account was hacked? Could meeting in person be dangerous?"
Xia Zhiyi said, "...Sis, isn't it a little late to be thinking of that now?"
Xia Wanyi blinked. "Ah, well... I didn't think of it before."
Xia Zhiyi said, "..."
Despite saying that, Xia Wanyi wasn't actually very worried.
Although Xia Zhiyi was younger and looked very cute, Xia Wanyi knew he knew martial arts.
For most ordinary people, even a little rudimentary martial arts training was enough to let them throw their weight around among other ordinary people.
And Xia Zhiyi had received systematic training.
Although he had originally taken up martial arts because his health was so poor, the end result was that Xia Zhiyi was no slouch in a fight.
Xia Wanyi had never had a tangible sense of it before. After all, they lived in peaceful times, and even if a student studied martial arts, there was practically no occasion to use it in everyday life.
But after the car accident, Xia Wanyi had gotten a little sense of it. Her younger brother was amazing!
Well, Xia Wanyi had always thought her brother was incredible: cute, good at his studies, with a lovely personality, well-behaved, obedient, and sensible. In her eyes, he was number one in every way!
So when her brother said he wanted to become an actor, Xia Wanyi had never doubted whether he could succeed. If it was her brother, he could definitely do it!
Because her brother really was that outstanding!
The variety show matter was settled quickly. A few days later, Xia Zhiyi met with the person in charge of the supposed production team, who decided on him the moment they met.
Only then did the Xia siblings learn that the production team had indeed originally planned to recruit ordinary people publicly, but before they had even released the news, they had already received quite a few internal applications.
And since the production team wanted to stun everyone right from the show's debut, they naturally didn't want excessive exposure if they could preserve a sense of mystery, so they simply made their selections internally.
And so, the two slots for ordinary guests were filled just like that.
In fact, this was settled even faster than the matter involving the Song family. Xia Zhiyi had already signed his contract, while the investigation into the Song family was still ongoing.
Xia Zhiyi had kept their contact information. When he called afterward to ask, he learned that while investigating the Song family's attempt to kill him, the authorities had also looked into the Song Group.
"I'm not at liberty to disclose the details. All I can tell you is that although they're still refusing to admit guilt, we've collected most of the evidence. You don't need to worry too much, young man."
Well, well. Pull up a radish and bring up the mud.