Not all viewers who follow "The Blooming Star" actually watched "Heartbeat Encounter." Qin Shuang and the others knew about it, after all, she was famous. But who was Xiao Shulang? A nobody whose name they had never heard of was also a guest star?
Immediately, some people became unhappy: "Who is this person? Is Blooming Star starting to use its popularity to promote its guests?"
However, some people were drawn to Xiao Shulang's face, and one person readily accepted it: "Never heard of him, but he's really good-looking."
Meanwhile, viewers who follow the heart-pounding encounter will have a completely different experience.
[So Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang met up on another show after the dating reality show ended? That means they were never apart at all!]
Let me see what sweet moments you two have been sharing behind my back!
After such comments appeared, some viewers who were unaware of the situation became curious, realizing that Xiao Shulang also had fans.
After editing, only a portion of the program was released backstage for the time being. The complete rehearsals of the contestants and the comments from the guest performers were not shown. This part will be shown interspersed before each group's stage performance to create an atmosphere.
After showing some everyday moments of the contestants, the scene shifted to the nighttime performance stage.
The mentors and guest stars reappeared, each dressed differently from their previous appearance in the video, especially Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang, whose outfits were so stunning that even passersby would drool over them.
"Holy crap, Xiao Shulang is so handsome! I need all the information on this man in one minute!"
"Qin Shuang is so handsome, hehehe, I want to crawl into his clothes. Don't praise me, I have to be modest."
Most people who came to watch "Shining Star" were there for the talent show itself, but after the show started, more people focused on the contestants.
Given that Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang's performances in the previous three groups, both backstage and live, were impeccable, the comments and bullet screen messages are currently quite harmonious.
However, after watching the previous performances, some fans couldn't help but worry, feeling concerned for Ji Mingming's group.
Some of them were fans of Ji Mingming, while others were fans of other contestants in the group. The disastrous performance last time was still fresh in their minds, and seeing that everyone's level had improved this time, they were all on tenterhooks.
After all, if they consistently finish at the bottom, some contestants will have to leave the stage. They are all newcomers, and for many, saying goodbye might mean never stepping onto the stage again, which is naturally heartbreaking for fans.
They are hoping that Ji Mingming's group can deliver a good performance and turn their reputation around.
With a mix of tension and anticipation, the production team finally began airing the backstage rehearsal version of Ji Mingming's group.
Now everyone could see Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang's comments.
Although Qin Shuang's attitude was also sharp, she didn't say much, while Xiao Shulang gave detailed advice from multiple perspectives, which was more eye-catching.
As a result, Ji Mingming's fans were immediately unhappy.
"I remember now, it's Xiao Shulang, right? He was trying to ride on Luo Tian's coattails during the ex-girlfriend scandal, and he even spoke up for Luo Tian, didn't he?"
"Oh, so this is the one. After piggybacking on Luo Tian, he's now piggybacking on our Mingming. Heh, does he really think he can make it in the entertainment circle just by riding on other people's popularity?"
Ji Mingming is notoriously arrogant and domineering, but he still has fans who call him "genuine" and love watching him argue.
The fans filtered out in this atmosphere are all incredibly venomous, and they don't hold back when it comes to being sarcastic, foul-mouthed, and insulting.
However, the contestants' fans had different opinions after watching it.
"I think he's absolutely right. Didn't you see how the contestants were initially dejected, but then listened very attentively when Xiao Shulang was speaking?"
"I'm so annoyed by Ji Mingming! What is he doing? He's just shifting the blame! He keeps criticizing the contestants and spouting nonsense. You're a mentor, why don't you give them some guidance?!"
The contestants' fans, who had been holding back their anger since the last performance, couldn't sit still any longer. They had previously thought that they should respect the mentors in order not to cause trouble for the contestants, but did Ji Mingming deserve to be respected? No!
As a result, the contestant's fans and Ji Mingming's fans started fighting fiercely. Viewers who came from the dating reality show originally wanted to speak up for Xiao Shulang, but seeing how fiercely they were fighting, they felt like they had no role to play.
Amidst the clamor of arguments in the bullet comments and reviews, Ji Mingming's group finally took to the stage for their performance.
There was no turnaround; they remained in last place.
This further fueled the anger of the players' fans. Although their numbers were far fewer than Ji Mingming's fans, they all became like fighter jets, typing in a barrage of octopus-like characters during the online battle.
Ji Mingming's group came in last place twice in a row. Ji Mingming's own fans couldn't argue about it, so they could only indirectly talk about Ji Mingming's personal ability.
Everyone watched for so long, and it was almost the end, but why hasn't the person who sang solo come out yet?
Just as I was thinking that, Xiao Shulang on the screen stood up after Ji Mingming's barrage of words: "Sure, can I have a guitar?"
——
Could it be that...?
The development was so sudden and unexpected that even those who were speaking up for Ji Mingming were stunned into silence. One moment they were shouting that Ji Mingming was right and that she was tearing down that pretty face, and the next thing they knew would happen in such an unpredictable way!
Could the heavenly voice in the trailer be Xiao Shulang? No way, no way.
If that's true, wouldn't Ji Mingming be publicly humiliated, and humiliated badly at that? They, who were just passionately speaking out, would all become clowns too!
Ji Mingming's fans all sensed something was wrong and stopped arguing, praying that it wasn't Xiao Shulang. Unfortunately, amidst their fervent prayers, Xiao Shulang took his guitar, stood on the stage, and began to showcase his singing talent.
Completely original, with a beautiful voice. The trailer only showed a short ten seconds of it, but after listening to the full version that lasted almost a minute, the screen, which was just filled with arguments, seemed to have been purified.
Moments later, the screen was flooded with comments of shock and praise, along with applause from the audience.
"66666!"
"Alas, I lack culture; all I can do is 'fuck'!"
"Who dares to call him a useless pretty face? Who?!"
"He could have made a living based on his looks, but he insisted on relying on his talent!"
A flood of praise poured in, but some, not forgetting the previous humiliation, immediately retorted to Ji Mingming's fans: "Does your face hurt?"
Judging from the overall length of the show, Xiao Shulang didn't have many scenes. As fellow guest stars, their popularity was worlds apart. It's obvious without even a detailed calculation that Qin Shuang's screen time far exceeded Xiao Shulang's.
But Xiao Shulang shone brightly with his limited screen time, and everyone who watched the episode remembered his name.
After the show aired, the "Blossoming Star" production team kept an eye on the feedback from online viewers. Some people even extracted Xiao Shulang's performance and listened to it repeatedly as a pure version.
Of course, the production team wouldn't miss the opportunity to generate buzz, so they immediately released different shots of Xiao Shulang's performance. Everyone flocked to the official Weibo account, and the number of reposts and favorites skyrocketed every blink of an eye.
More and more people are discussing Xiao Shulang online, from his songs to his looks.
No longer any scandals, nor any so-called "ex-partner disputes," this time, everyone sees him as himself.
The hashtag #XiaoShulangTalent# quickly became a trending topic due to a large number of searches, reposts, and views.
Seeing that more and more people were finally discovering his good qualities, Xiao Shulang's few fans were genuinely happy.
Some people immediately recommended it, urging everyone to check out "Heartbeat Encounter".
It all started when someone recommended "Blooming Star" in the Heartbeat Encounter live stream. Now that everyone has finished watching the talent show, they've followed the show to the Love Variety Show live stream. This is a win-win situation.
Both shows saw a surge in viewership, and the directors were overjoyed with the feedback from the logistics team.
The director of Blooming Star was also very savvy, and immediately started playing backstage clips. He didn't play them all at once, but rather in segments, including clips related to other guests and contestants, as well as clips related to Xiao Shulang and Qin Shuang.
They were together the whole time backstage, so whenever they appeared on camera, they were always seen interacting together.
Even when they walk together without speaking, a single glance between them seems to convey a silent communication.
The viewers of the dating reality show who came to enjoy the sweet moments were completely satisfied.
I'm rooting for them both this season. If any plot twist causes them to fall out, I'll cause a scene.
Seriously, just focus on the sweet moments and don't pull any weird stunts or arguments.
The show "Heartbeat Encounter" didn't prepare a script for the guests. So far, it's all about everyone's genuine feelings. It's precisely because they're acting on their own that the show feels more authentic.
Wang Hao and Xiao Jiang also noticed that Xiao Shulang was trending on social media immediately. Unfortunately, Xiao Shulang was still filming a program, otherwise they would have loved to tell him the news right away.
Xiao Shulang was unaware of the extent of the online reaction to his singing videos; he was still diligently focusing on his current work.
In the afternoon, the guests went together to Xingfu Village, where they enjoyed a relaxed and detailed tour of the village's cultural landscape, which also served as a promotion for the tourist area.
The morning is for competition and the afternoon for relaxation, which is a good balance between work and rest. It also shows the guests in different environments. The more ordinary the filming is, the more authentic everyone's performance will be, even if they know there are cameras around.
For example, Luo Tian was restless when he was in someone else's yard, and his disgust was almost impossible to hide.
This family had fenced off a section of their yard in a corner to keep a few chickens. The rest of the yard was kept very clean, but the chicken area, despite being cleaned frequently, still had some poultry droppings and a peculiar smell.
To be fair, it wasn't actually that heavy. They were sitting in the middle of the yard, quite far from the chicken coop, but Luo Tian felt uncomfortable because of the stench everywhere, and his interactions with them were very perfunctory.
A perfunctory performance means there's nothing interesting to watch. Plus, Xiao Shulang's popularity remains high today, attracting more and more viewers, and naturally, there are many more comments praising him.
Luo Tian and Xiao Shulang are now irreconcilable enemies. Luo Tian's fans were shocked to find that so many people suddenly liked Xiao Shulang. This was unacceptable, so they quickly tried to "educate" the new audience on how bad Xiao Shulang was.
He's just someone who's riding on Luo Tian's coattails; he has nothing to offer. What do you guys like about him?
[Slandering Luo Tian for being ungrateful and claiming Xiao Shulang is of poor character]
However, many people, out of curiosity about Xiao Shulang, had already searched for recent news about him before coming to the live stream, and scoffed at the claims made by Luo Tian's fans.
[Those who say he has nothing to offer are wrong. He's got both good looks and talent. Why don't you all go and open your eyes?]
[I just finished reading about my ex's scandal, and things aren't even settled yet, and you're already making false accusations?]
[I just want to ask, Luo Tian has been in the industry for several years, what is there to be proud of? Don't even mention his first role, is that all you can come up with to brag about?]
Even when there were arguments before, there weren't this many people speaking up for Xiao Shulang. Luo Tian's fans, who had been bullying the weak for so long, found it hard to adapt at first. But after they came to their senses, they regrouped and started arguing more and more fiercely about the "ex".
Another person angrily said, "Luo Tiancai can't possibly be a scumbag. If he is, I'll eat my keyboard live on stream!"
People were either arguing or praising each other, following the live stream until evening, when it was time for their daily "heart-fluttering" text message.
I thought all the text messages were going to be sent today, but then something changed at the last minute: Yin Xingzhi sent the text message to Luo Tian instead.
[What's going on? I thought he'd send it to You Ziang and go back to Luo Tian's side?]
[Not necessarily. Think about it, he teamed up with Luo Tian today and interacted with him the most throughout the day. Sending it to Luo Tian might just be out of politeness.]
Is it difficult to acknowledge Luo Tian's popularity?
Although Yin Xingzhi's actions were unexpected, upon reflection, they seemed appropriate. You Ziang and he didn't have any particular chemistry, and they barely interacted today. It was understandable that he sent the message to Luo Tian.
Xiao Shulang actually thought for a long time when editing the text message today. In the end, he wrote: "Thank you for your trust. You are invincible in the challenge."
He thought that if Qin Shuang's text messages today were similar to those from last night, then he could be pretty sure—
Qin Shuang's text message arrived with a ding. Xiao Shulang opened it and read: "I feel very reassured entrusting my hand to you."
—It seems that Qin Shuang really does have some feelings for him.
Xiao Shulang's ears turned bright red instantly.
The two people's hands were tied together with a strap, so how can it be considered "hands given to you"? That's too ambiguous! They only actually held hands briefly the whole time!
Having read the original novel several times and thoroughly understood the protagonist, Xiao Shulang knew that if Qin Shuang had no intention of doing anything, she would never have used such expressions repeatedly.
Because Qin Shuang is the one who least wants people to misunderstand and create false impressions.
The filming crew had already left the room. The live stream was over, and Xiao Shulang slumped onto the bed, holding his phone, looking somewhat bewildered.