Li Wanbai sat up, vigorously rubbing her sore and numb cheeks as she eyed the production crew warily. “You’re not going to watch me change clothes, are you?”
The crew members looked horrified. The host forced a smile and tossed out, “Teacher Li, please get changed first!” before leading the camera team out in long strides.
After waiting briefly in the living room, Li Wanbai emerged wearing fresh clothes, having casually brushed her teeth and washed her face. “Do variety shows start recording this early?” she asked curiously.
Hearing this, the host turned around to see Li Wanbai bouncing down from the top of the stairs, making her heart pound rapidly.
Even as an industry insider, she had to admit that Li Wanbai’s beauty was unmatched by few in the entire entertainment industry.
While everyone has their own preferences, and there are many beauties in the entertainment industry, no matter how you categorize or rank them, Li Wanbai undoubtedly belonged to the top tier.
“Teacher Li, I’ll be your dedicated host for the next few days. Let’s take good care of each other!” Her host was a young, cute-looking girl who revealed two small dimples when she smiled with pursed lips.
Li Wanbai smiled back. “Hello! What should I call you?”
The host was taken aback. “Huh?”
This wasn’t in the script—was this part of the procedure?
“You already know my name. For fairness’ sake, I should know yours too,” Li Wanbai said with a wink.
[Seriously? Can’t Li Wanbai open her eyes and see how awkward she’s making the host? Can’t she just follow the script instead of changing things on her own?]
[But I think LWB is right. It’s just asking for a name—can’t we be reasonable? Why does it seem like everything LWB does is wrong?]
[I don’t care, I don’t care. Li Wanbai has zero impression points from me. Everything she does is animal-like in my book.]
[…]
“My nickname is Xiao Tian. Teacher Li can just call me Xiao Tian,” the host replied, looking somewhat flustered though unable to hide her delight. In all her time in this line of work, this was the first time a major celebrity had proactively asked for her name.
Li Wanbai nodded. “Xiao Tian, what should I do now?”
“Let me explain our variety show’s format to you, Teacher Li. Our show is divided into four episodes, all recorded via live stream. The company should have already clarified this with you. Each guest has their own dedicated live stream room, and when we gather later, there will also be a public live stream room.”
Xiao Tian grinned, her eyes curving into smiles. “Our show operates on a mixed-mission live format, meaning each day’s tasks and themes could be different. It might be a leisure-themed variety show today and a competitive one tomorrow. The way we determine each day’s theme is through a draw! The audience voted for Teacher Yu to be the one drawing for the first day. He should be selecting our first mission right now.”
Xiao Tian was correct. In Yu Baichuan’s live stream room next door, his host had already drawn six cards and handed them to him.
“Teacher Yu, please draw one card for today’s mission.”
Yu Baichuan nodded and randomly selected one. Written on it were just four characters: Peach Blossom Garden.
Simultaneously, a “ding” sound echoed through all six guests’ live stream rooms.
Li Wanbai nearly spat out the orange in her mouth, while Xiao Tian beside her almost choked on her watermelon. After a moment of stunned silence, Xiao Tian finally reacted and said, “It seems Teacher Yu has already drawn today’s mission.”
As if to confirm her words, the walkie-talkie placed nearby transmitted the program crew’s voice: “All units, attention! All units, attention! You may now bring the guest you’re responsible for to Mission Location 1! Proceed to Mission Location 1!”
Xiao Tian stood up, smiling cheerfully as she said, “Teacher Li, please come with me!”
Li Wanbai boarded a shuttle bus with Xiao Tian and the others. Initially, Xiao Tian had been worried that a celebrity of Li Wanbai’s stature might feel uncomfortable, but to her surprise, Li Wanbai got on the bus, looking around left and right with great curiosity. She didn’t seem uncomfortable at all and chatted with Xiao Tian throughout the journey.
[Honestly, Li Wanbai handled this situation much better than Ye Xiruo. Look at Ye Xiruo next door—who is she making that sour face for as soon as she gets on the bus?]
[Let’s not be so harsh. If I were woken up from sleep, I’d be in a bad mood too. Everyone has morning grumpiness, okay?]
[Can you stop picking on our little Ye Xi? I wish the world would love me as much as it loves men!]
[Can we not turn everything into a gender debate? Look at the six guests—aside from Ye Xiruo, who else is pulling such a long face? Even Li Wanbai is chatting back and forth with her host.]
[Alright, alright! If she stays silent on the bus, she’ll get no screen time and no buzz. That’s Ye Xiruo’s own loss. I really don’t understand why you viewers are arguing about this.]
Eventually, the bus arrived at its destination—a small villa in the suburbs.
Xiao Tian said with a cheerful smile, “Teacher Li, you can get off now!”
“You still haven’t told me what we’re actually going to do,” Li Wanbai asked, looking puzzled.
Xiao Tian winked at her. “Don’t worry, Teacher Li. You’ll find out what the mission is once we go inside.”
Li Wanbai nodded, though she only half-understood.
This was as far as Xiao Tian could accompany her.
Watching Li Wanbai leave, Xiao Tian muttered to herself, “Such a lovely girl—who on earth is slandering her?”
Li Wanbai cautiously pushed open the villa’s door. The layout of the first floor was quite distinct: a massive living room greeted her upon entry, with a semi-open kitchen to the left and a small bay window with two rocking chairs to the right. Further ahead stood a grand spiral staircase, beneath which seemed to be several rooms.
At a glance, aside from the variety show crew, Li Wanbai was the only person there.
The entire villa was so quiet she could hear the hum of the equipment.
Li Wanbai pointed at herself. “Am I the only one here?”
The program crew silently nodded. Internally, she cursed—originally, Su Chengzi was supposed to be her life assistant, helping her navigate interpersonal relationships. With Su Chengzi by her side, she wouldn’t feel nervous even while filming a variety show.
Who would have thought this program would break convention by not allowing assistants, offering no breaks, and even barging in early in the morning?
Su Chengzi? What Su Chengzi? No, not allowed in.
Feeling quite helpless, Li Wanbai chose a spot to sit down and waited obediently for others to arrive. After a moment’s thought, she turned to a cameraman nearby and asked with genuine sincerity, “Aren’t you tired? How about we chat or something?”
[“I can see it now, is this girl a chatterbox or what? She kept chatting with Teacher Xiaotian in the car, and now she’s even talking to the cameraman here!”]
[“What’s going on? Am I sick? Why do I find it kind of cute?”]
[“The person above me, I think you’re seriously ill!”]
[“When she first debuted, she built herself a ‘rich and glamorous’ persona, and now she’s going for a ‘chatty little angel’ persona? Everyone knows the ‘little angel’ persona belongs to our Xiao Yezi!”]
[“Thief girl steals everything, how disgusting.”]