“This Jin Yan really knows how to show gratitude. Getting us both into this spot probably drained every ounce of primordial force he had,” Guan Hongyu sighed as he looked at the invitation letter for the pastoral life variety show.
Rural Life was a freshly launched and wildly popular variety show. The premise centered around the trendy celebrity transformation genre, where stars spent their time farming and cooking.
The production crew featured five regular, high-profile A-list guests, while each episode brought in a rotating lineup of guest stars. To maintain steady traffic and maximize exposure, these guest slots typically consisted of two minor trending idols paired with a handful of complete unknowns.
Securing one of these newcomer slots might have been relatively easy for idols who had already officially debuted, but for university juniors like Su Youqi and Jin Yan who had yet to make their formal debut, the opportunity was exceptionally precious.
Oh right, Guan Hongyu, the well-connected rich heir, was the sole exception.
“Honestly, though, this show and I share some serious fate. One of my uncles is actually involved with the production team, and he asked me before if I wanted to join. Since I don’t know how to cook or farm, going to a show like that alone would be totally boring, so I turned it down.” Guan Hongyu clearly found this second invitation landing in his lap rather interesting. He arched an eyebrow at Su Youqi. “Still, since you’re coming along this time, Third Brother, I think we should go check it out. With your culinary skills, you’ll absolutely crush everyone there!”
On a bright and sunny afternoon, Su Youqi had used a set of culinary skills honed from a young age to conquer everyone in the dorm all over again.
However, Su Youqi held zero interest in cooking in front of camera lenses for public viewing.
Just as he was about to say, No thanks, I really don’t want to, he heard Guan Hongyu press on, “My uncle mentioned that the location they scouted for filming this season is amazing. To hype up the ratings, they specifically picked a spot steeped in ghost stories called Two-Life Flower or something like that. Legend says it can bring the dead back to life. It sounds completely fake, but last year an actual resurrection supposedly happened over there. It’s giving off major supernatural vibes, and I have no idea if it’s true.”
Guan Hongyu’s voice brimmed with curiosity.
Clearly, a wealthy young master like him who had visited every exotic destination under the sun wasn’t looking to play along with a variety show or grind for exposure; his inner thrill-seeker had simply been triggered by the mystery.
Yet, what did that matter?
As long as their ultimate objectives aligned, everything was fine.
Su Youqi’s pending refusal instantly morphed into, “I agree we should go check it out. Such a magical place definitely warrants a visit.”
And just like that, the two young men and one lingering living soul arrived at the Rural Life production base.
All the participating newcomers gathered at the landing airport, where the production crew arranged transport to take them collectively to the recording site.
Since most of them barely knew one another, the atmosphere inside the vehicle remained rather subdued.
Guan Hongyu was simply incapable of sitting still. It took him all of five minutes to start chattering excitedly with Su Youqi about the scenery along the highway.
With someone breaking the ice, the other passengers gradually joined the conversation.
After brief self-introductions, everyone established a baseline familiarity.
Since Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu were still university students who hadn’t debuted or signed with any management agency, they were about as anonymous as newcomers could possibly get. Furthermore, Guan Hongyu wasn’t the type to go around shouting Do you know who my dad is?, leading their fellow castmates to entirely dismiss them.
One of the minor participants named Zeng Chu, who had already debuted but possessed a fanbase colder than falling snowflakes, caught wind that Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu were still university juniors and sneered with bitter envy, “People who haven’t even debuted are actually managing to land spots on shows these days.”
Guan Hongyu’s brows snapped together. “What’s wrong with not debuting yet? This show has featured ordinary people in past seasons!”
Zeng Chu lacked any sense of tact and fired back instantly, “How is that even comparable? Those ordinary people were industry elites invited precisely to generate gimmicks for the show, nothing like you un-debuted students…”
“Zeng Chu!”
Noticing Zeng Chu’s commentary veering rapidly off course, the idol sitting beside him, You Sangxi, chimed in with a warning.
You Sangxi leaned over to whisper something into Zeng Chu’s ear. After that, Zeng Chu glared resentfully at Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu, reluctantly clamped his mouth shut, and turned his head to stare out the window at the passing scenery.
You Sangxi offered Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu an apologetic smile, smoothly pivoting the conversation. “I heard the heavy-hitters joining our recording this time include pop princess Huang Jingyun and Best Actor Ji Liao. I’m a massive fan of theirs.”
“Me too, me too! I went to Huang Jingyun’s concert last month, and the live performance was absolutely legendary…”
“And Ji Liao’s currently airing drama Heavenly Demon Sword? I watch every single episode…”
The rest of the group chimed in, following You Sangxi’s lead to steer the dialogue away from the awkward tension. After all, they had fought tooth and nail for this recording opportunity purely to secure screen time, not to start feuds.
Arguments among top-tier stars generated good television, but petty spats involving minor unknowns usually just invited audience disgust.
Consequently, should Zeng Chu genuinely end up clashing with Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu, it risked alienating the production crew or ruining their public perception—a gamble with zero payoff.
Reflecting on this, the rest of the cast developed a subtle irritation toward Zeng Chu for starting the near-fight, while extending that quiet alienation toward Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu as collateral damage.
As the scion of the Guan family, Guan Hongyu was accustomed to being fawned upon wherever he went, making this his maiden voyage into enduring such petty snubs.
Operating under the mindset of if you ignore this young master, I’ll return the favor, Guan Hongyu simply stopped paying attention to the others and concentrated entirely on conversing with Su Youqi.
Su Youqi had zero objections. Having been constantly flattered post-success in his past life, he possessed no burning desire to subject his warm face to anyone’s cold shoulder.
The two of them were more than happy to enjoy the peace and quiet.
You Sangxi, however, deliberately slowed his pace upon arrival at the destination, drifting over to the pair to offer a gentle apology. “So sorry about that earlier, you two. Ah Chu didn’t mean to target you in the van just now. He fought so hard for this opportunity that seeing you guys land a spot while still in school made him crack a bit under the pressure, but he truly harbors no malicious intent.”
Su Youqi asked with genuine curiosity, “Are Mr. You and Zeng Chu friends?”
“To be precise, we’re bandmates,” You Sangxi explained. “Both Ah Chu and I are members of the FY boy group. I’m the main vocalist, and Ah Chu handles the dance choreography.”
“Ah, I see.” Su Youqi nodded. “Rest assured. University students or not, we’re legal adults; we aren’t going to hold a grudge over something so minor. Right, Second Brother?”
“Mhm,” Guan Hongyu replied with lukewarm enthusiasm.
Sensing the duo had zero interest in prolonged small talk, You Sangxi exchanged a couple of polite, perfunctory remarks before drifting away.
The second he turned his back, however, You Sangxi’s expression plummeted into a scowl.
Who do they think they are?!
Two un-debuted students daring to treat him with such aloof indifference!
They were seriously pushing their luck!
Yet the dark expression vanished almost instantly. The moment he stepped back into the range of active camera lenses, You Sangxi effortlessly morphed right back into his warm, amiable persona.
Guan Hongyu watched You Sangxi’s retreating silhouette from behind and scoffed softly, “Being a main vocal is a total waste of his talent; he should be pursuing acting instead. The script for a master-level white lotus character was practically written for him!” Guan Hongyu tapped his own chest. “Does this young master look like someone who’s that easy to fool?”
“Or maybe I look like it?” Su Youqi joked.
“What an absolute moron. At least brush up on your basic communication skills—the hostility was so glaringly obvious he practically screamed it out loud,” Guan Hongyu complained. “Now you finally understand why I didn’t want to come here initially. There’s always some weirdo crawling out of the woodwork to manufacture presence, treating everyone else like a fool. It’s so boring and utterly ridiculous.”
Su Youqi patted Guan Hongyu’s shoulder. “Don’t get mad. People usually have to pay admission to watch TV, but you get to watch live drama and get paid for it instead. When you look at it that way, isn’t this a pretty sweet deal?”
Guan Hongyu was thoroughly amused by this refreshingly unconventional perspective. He chuckled, “Holy shit, Third Brother, you’re a genius. Come on, let’s go grab front-row seats to the live show. If we blink, we won’t even have a replay function!”
With that, Guan Hongyu hauled Su Youqi along to watch the unfolding spectacle.
Little did they know, before they could even enjoy the show, they were about to become the targets of someone else’s performance.
Zeng Chu, who hadn’t gotten his fill of venting in the vehicle, let out a snide, passive-aggressive remark, “Are you two here to record a variety show or go on a leisure picnic? Walking so slow that Sister Jingyun and Brother Ji have been waiting ages for you!”
The two heavy-hitters had arrived unusually early today. In the entertainment industry, established stars typically kept others waiting rather than waiting around for subordinates.
Zeng Chu’s words clearly aimed to slap Su Youqi and the others with labels of lacking respect for seniors and ignoring time management—a narrative that, if it stuck, guaranteed backlash from the stars’ massive fandoms and the general public.
The rest of the cast threw sideways glances at Zeng Chu. Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu had lagged behind the group by barely a minute; calling that waiting ages was a blatant distortion of reality.
The malicious framing was too obvious to miss.
However, since the situation involved two heavyweight stars whose tempers were an unknown variable, everyone else kept their mouths shut like terrified chickens, terrified of being dragged into the collateral damage.
Huang Jingyun simply offered a gentle, forgiving smile. “We only just arrived ourselves.”
With Huang Jingyun taking that stance, Ji Liao chimed in with a brief concurring nod.
The underlying message made it clear they had no intention of making a mountain out of this molehill.
Following brief greetings between the veteran stars and the cast, the production crew outlined the core recording objectives for the day, and formal filming commenced.
The opening sequence slipped past smoothly.
Only Zeng Chu shot several more resentful glares at Su Youqi and Guan Hongyu before slapping on a fake smile under the director’s urging to resume shooting.
“Is this guy toxic? We never even provoked him; why is he targeting us this way?” Guan Hongyu was genuinely dumbfounded by the consecutive strikes. “What kind of deep, blood-feud trauma is this?!”
Su Youqi remained equally baffled. Even if Zeng Chu had cracked under pressure, there was zero reason to single them out with such overt hostility.
With heavy-hitters, minor unknowns, and production staff crowding the set, if Zeng Chu were an A-list star himself, maybe he could get away with bullying juniors. But he was a minor nobody himself; acting like a tyrant towards others would only tank his public image. Moreover, if the crew edited those moments into the broadcast or leaked them, it would only push him further into obscurity.
Anyone possessing even a shred of intelligence would avoid such a self-destructive move.
Failing to find any logical sense in it, Su Youqi simply shrugged it off. “Maybe it’s just a genetic defect in their group.”
First Zeng Chu, now You Sangxi—neither of them possessed an overabundance of working brain cells.