Traffic is traffic, but to ensure the variety show filming proceeds normally, the Flower Shop Group's live broadcast is elusive, to say the least.
The account is a newly registered burner account with no profile, no posts, and no followers. The cover is a casual snapshot of the Badong Night Market neon lights, and even the name of the live stream room has a forced sense of casualness: "superdarling77 is live, come and take a look~"
The audience in the local lifestyle section isn't large; it slowly climbed from single digits to a few hundred, with the peak being just over two thousand.
Unexpectedly, even so, it was quickly screenshotted by omnipotent netizens and posted on Weibo.
By the time everyone returned to the homestay, they were already dominating the real-time Hot Search. Many marketing accounts reposted clips from the live stream, and the comment section was on fire:
【This live stream room name must have been chosen by Qi Jiujiu, it's really hilarious, so "b" and so introverted and reserved, it suits our 77 so well】
【Who understands the charm of a tank top? Husband drives for work and sells flowers on his day off, working hard just for this family of ours】
【...Wearing a six-million-dollar watch to sell twenty-dollar flowers, your family really lives a very niche lifestyle】
【Sob, check out this thrifty good man who was still using a mineral water bottle to steep tea bags on Race Day. Husband's watch was a gift from a sponsor, the car belongs to the team, only his heart that loves me is real『tears』『tears』】
The Director Team hadn't even finished counting the money before they handed each guest a pack of Thai fried noodles from the night market. Qi Jiujiu sat beside Wen Wanning, devouring her food. After finishing the last two bites of meat, she scrolled through Weibo and laughed.
Wen Wanning was poked by her twice. She clicked on the link she sent and found it was a collection post with ten thousand reposts.
@Yuwan Cumian Burner Account: 【#Ling Ye Spontaneous Travel Behind-the-scenes footage##Ling Ye Abdominal muscles# How is this guy both so charming and so funny? Anyway, I don't think he was showing off his muscles on purpose. It feels like he just forgot he was recording a variety show and was as rough in private as he was on camera...】
The nine-image grid includes both moving and static content, featuring ultra-clear restored clips of him wiping sweat during the live stream, as well as candid shots from passersby at different angles. To pass censorship, the covers were all craftily cropped, freezing on a close-up of Ling Ye's face—
His expression is calm, his hand lifting his shirt rests near his jaw, and his gaze is aloof, as if he were just casually putting on a T-shirt at home.
But as soon as you click on it, you realize he is actually taking it off, not putting it on. The lines of his abdominal muscles are hidden in the dim, flickering blue stage light, tight and powerful, as beautiful as a 3D model.
The top comments are chaotic.
【Face is so cold, abdominal muscles are so hard, I love it so much】
【Dumplings should be eaten hot, men should be loved strong】
【I don't want to laugh on the back of a bicycle anymore, tonight I just want to cry while sitting in my husband's Mercedes-Benz】
【Don't let it happen again, Ling Ye, you aren't allowed to do this from now on. It's the middle of the night and I just wanted to sleep when my pants suddenly exploded『angry』】
...
Wen Wanning has become somewhat accustomed to the style of Ling Ye's fans. She wasn't as stunned as she was at the beginning. Just like that, while eating, she scrolled down through the comments and suddenly noticed some remarks from passersby.
【P6, the expressions of the others are really hilarious. So, do men also have male competition anxiety?】
【Xu Jiashu: Your abdominal muscles and my abdominal muscles seem to be different】
Following this thread, there were quite a few people paying attention to their group's reactions. She was originally focused on eating melon, but unexpectedly caught sight of her own name.
【To be fair, the direction Ling Ye lifted his shirt was quite subtle. Was he showing it off to our Sister Wanning on purpose? Sob】
【...Some people actually took it seriously when he politely called her "Older Sister" before? According to your logic, Teacher Jiang Yun was also standing there, and her position was more direct and closer】
Wen Wanning: ...
She was lost in thought when Qi Jiujiu muttered, "How about that? Everyone has their own specialty; for abdominal muscles, you still have to look at the sports student."
Wen Wanning made a "shh" gesture and glanced up at the kitchen.
Ling Ye was eating quickly. He helped the staff tidy up the lunch boxes and was taking water from the side of the refrigerator. Noticing her gaze, he shook the bottle in his hand, as if asking if she wanted some.
Wen Wanning withdrew her gaze, which had involuntarily drifted toward his waist, and hurriedly shook her head.
Six years have passed, and Ling Ye seems to have evolved past the emotion of embarrassment. Or perhaps, because his motivation was so upright, there were no twists and turns for others to over-interpret, so he didn't have any special reaction to these bizarre Hot Searches.
Even when Wei Yinghuai came over specifically to worship after seeing the GIF, he only replied with two questions regarding training intensity, without even a hint of showing off on his face.
The more Wen Wanning thought about it, the more she felt it was quite a pity. Her expression suddenly became serious, and she lowered her head to reply to Qi Jiujiu, "I'm just really worried about him."
Qi Jiujiu said "Ah," not understanding.
"I suddenly discovered he has a tattoo on his side waist," Wen Wanning said, focused. She used two fingers to magnify an image to show her, "This is such good material, but if it's hard to censor, it might not be able to be broadcast."
Actually, she had seen it back at the night market, but it was just a fleeting glance, and she was worried she had seen it wrong.
It was a long, serrated shape embedded in the shadow of his side abdominal muscles, exactly the same as the collaboration bracelet Ruan Jia showed her last time.
Compared to the full-sleeve tattoos of other racers in the paddock, the one on Ling Ye's body was already quite restrained. But with the image of that aloof young man at seventeen firmly in her mind, no matter how Wen Wanning looked at it, she felt it was out of place.
Besides the fact that the SARFT wouldn't allow it to be broadcast, there was also a bit of an elder's concern.
She always worried that the kid hadn't lived well in Europe all these years, and after falling in love and being dumped by a girl, he insisted on leaving some marks on himself to be able to let go.
Qi Jiujiu didn't understand her worries. She took a big gulp of iced lemon tea through a straw and let out a satisfied sigh, "Why do you care so much? Orange TV has already paid the money to invite him. If you run into such good footage, you definitely have to milk it for all it's worth."
"What's editing frame by frame? Once the ratings are out there, even the station head would be willing to do it himself."
At 11:30, the cash settlement ended. The Director sat opposite them holding a box and read out the upcoming arrangements.
"First of all, congratulations to everyone for reaping a bountiful harvest with a full day of hard work."
"There are still seven days of the itinerary left on the island. Excluding breakfast, if we calculate based on everyone eating out at mid-range restaurants for every meal, our income is already more than enough. From now on, we can focus on enjoying the island scenery."
"To reward everyone, there will be a luxurious late-night snack party by the swimming pool tonight. Paddleboards and water polo equipment are also ready. Everyone is welcome to come and play!"
Because of tonight's Hot Search, the Director looked at Ling Ye expectantly after finishing, practically writing "Take off your shirt, don't force me to beg you" on his face.
This was a temporary arrangement not written in the script, and Wen Wanning was stunned for a moment.
The people in the living room were also quiet for two seconds, followed by jubilation.
The most excited among them was Wei Yinghuai. He had been flipping skewers at the stall all night and looked a bit disheveled, but upon hearing this, he looked like he had been injected with chicken blood, eager to jump from the sofa and enter the water.
The guests went upstairs one after another to change clothes, and the accompanying photographers also began to move toward the swimming pool in the courtyard. There were few figures left in the living room.
Wen Wanning was the last to get up. She slowed down a few steps when she was about to pass the Director Team, tried to speak several times, but swallowed her words each time.
She didn't want to go.
But this was her first time on a reality show, and every word and action would be magnified in front of the camera. Compared to having to pretend to be happy while entering the water, she was more afraid of being out of place.
Ling Ye didn't leave either, but he had been specifically called over by the Director. Several chief directors, who were usually quite cold and aloof, were surrounding him, excitedly introducing the concept of the pool party, showing an attentiveness that made it seem like the show's direction was prioritized around him.
The lights in the high-ceilinged restaurant were turned off. Ling Ye's face was half-hidden in the shadow, his eyelashes lowered as he listened.
Sure enough, attention is the lifeblood of variety shows, Wen Wanning sighed. She lowered her head, trying to minimize her presence, and walked past quickly.
Until the next second after passing by, the person who had been quiet all along suddenly spoke.
"Sorry, I'm a bit afraid of water, I can't go."
Wen Wanning turned her head abruptly.
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