Tsk, it seems like fate has other plans. I'll wait until she approves my friend request on QQ before adding her. As for the time being, since Zhou Paihuai doesn't want to chat in private messages, then let's not chat. After all, they're a celebrity and a hater; it's not like they need to chat every day like this. She needs to go edit a video now, to give these eager fans some treats.
Even as she opened the video editing software, Ji Anxi was still seething with anger. What?! This was clearly her QQ account, and it was banned just because she didn't log in! She couldn't swallow this insult; she was going to complain, she had to complain to customer service! But she searched through all of QQ's functions and couldn't find anything related to customer service. There wasn't even a customer service app anymore! This was infuriating...
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Author's Note:
********* is the censored QQ number.
Chapter 17: Did the production team prank me?
Is the production team messing with me?
Zhou Paihuai didn't lie to the haters; after their chat that day, she visibly became very busy. Although the start date for "Drama of Life" was still a week away, Cheng Minxin specifically arranged for Tang Xiaole to supervise her to watch all the previous episodes of the variety show in order to help her better adapt to the filming process. She would even check on her herself.
Zhou Huahuai, who had never been interested in appearing on variety shows, now felt even more resistant to what she was about to do. If it weren't for Sister Cheng's intimidating power, she definitely wouldn't have watched even one episode of this variety show.
Once she started watching, Zhou Paihuai realized how far the "Drama of Life" program was going. She had guessed from the title that it involved celebrity guests experiencing different lives, but it turned out to be a true life-swapping affair between two pairs of guests. However, celebrities usually only participate in variety shows when they have free time, so for a month, they essentially replace their paired guests and perform their jobs. Currently, the paired guests' professions include, but are not limited to: a five-star hotel chef, a programmer, a deliveryman, a food delivery worker, a sales clerk, a makeup artist, a mover… …basically, every episode makes the guests look ridiculous.
After watching at double speed for several hours, Zhou Paihuai's brows furrowed more and more. Finally, she couldn't help but ask, "Xiaole, do you think Sister Cheng is lying to me? Look at the comments, these guests are being criticized so much, how could they possibly gain fans?"
Tang Xiaole was also puzzled by this, but it's true that most of these guests gained fans after leaving the show. Perhaps it's because this reduces the mystique surrounding celebrities, bringing them closer to their fans and making them more popular.
"Many people did gain fans, but some not only failed to gain fans but also ended up with a lot of bad reputations," Tang Xiaole said, pointing to the TV. "Take Li Wen, for example. He was somewhat famous at the time, but he was unlucky when he appeared on this variety show. His paired guest was a programmer, and he knew nothing about coding. However, for the sake of authenticity, the production team insisted on making him write the code himself, which resulted in some financial losses for the company. Although the production team eventually paid compensation, his reputation plummeted..."
"Huh? How could this happen? This production team..." Zhou Paihuai shook his head and sighed, "This production team is so heartless!"
Tang Xiaole continued, "There are also those who just stumble upon success by sheer luck, like Zhu Qishan, who is more famous than you now. Her paired guest was an online store customer service representative. Without any pre-job training, she went straight to work and solved customer problems, making a lot of fools and receiving a lot of complaints. But the audience just liked her. Because that episode had high ratings, the production team arranged similar paired guests a few more times, and the results were all good."
After hearing these words, Zhou Paihuai understood the situation. Whether the audience liked a show or not mainly depended on their public image. Li Wen was popular at first, but like himself, he didn't have many die-hard fans, so his popularity faded quickly. Zhu Qishan, on the other hand, wasn't popular initially, but her public image remained consistently good. A secondary factor was also related to the show's arrangement. For jobs like Zhu Qishan's, which didn't cause particularly serious consequences, the audience was more forgiving. Li Wen, unfortunately, drew a job field he was completely unfamiliar with. He failed to provide the audience with any relevance to the profession, and coupled with his mishap, he naturally wasn't liked.
"So what kind of life do you think I would experience if I went?"
Tang Xiaole couldn't answer for a moment, so she asked her in return, "What kind of life do you want to experience?"
"A lazy bum who just loafs around and waits to die!" Zhou Paihuai said, then realized that Tang Xiaole was about to launch into a long lecture to persuade him, so he quickly said, "I was just kidding! But if I really had to choose, I'd like to experience the life of a college student. After all, you know I've never been to college." Actually, that wasn't true. She had been a lazy bum in college for four years and knew better than anyone how much she missed the life of a college student who just lay around and did nothing.
Tang Xiaole didn't realize that her voice was deliberately low; instead, she felt a pang of sadness and patted her shoulder to comfort her, saying, "If Sister Cheng tries to negotiate, there should be a chance. And even if there's no chance this time, we can wait for the next one. If all else fails, I'll go on a trip with Zhouzhou and try to visit every university."
Zhou Paihuai only heard the first half of the sentence before picking up his phone to make a call: "Then I'll tell Sister Cheng that we must negotiate before the production team makes their arrangements!"
Sister Cheng agreed to her request, but didn't give her any guarantees. However, Zhou Huaihuai felt that her agent was omnipotent, and since she dared to agree, she would just wait for good news.
… …
A week later, Zhou Paihuai joined the show, but she was stunned when she learned who her paired guest was. Esports players and ordinary college students aren't exactly the same, but they're practically unrelated, right? She and the other person are even of different genders! Was the show inviting her just to mess with her?
"Sister Cheng, I think I need an explanation." Zhou Paihuai was so angry that he could still speak calmly to people.
Cheng Minxin's face was grim; she had likely been tricked by the production team as well: "I need to explain more than you do." Esports players' time is incredibly precious; every minute and second symbolizes glory and honor. Moreover, it's a team competition, and no one's time represents just themselves. Unless Zhou Paihuai possesses game skills comparable to professional players and doesn't drag the team down—no, simply not dragging them down isn't enough—because most viewers don't have a deep understanding of the game. Unless Zhou Paihuai is the one carrying the team, he'll inevitably be bombarded with online criticism. And Zhou Paihuai participated in an exhibition match a few months ago as a celebrity; her game skills… were simply appalling. Under these circumstances, forget about gaining fans; Cheng Minxin couldn't even guarantee that her already meager fanbase wouldn't be lost to her poor performance.
The production team of "The Illusory Life" had a very simple plan: all they wanted was high ratings and buzz. Zhou Paihuai's repeated appearances on trending topics proved she wasn't lacking in popularity. Therefore, choosing an e-sports player as her paired guest was precisely to generate buzz. With both buzz and popularity secured, high ratings would naturally follow. As for whether they would offend Zhou Paihuai's team, they weren't worried at all. After all, their show's ability to attract fans was undeniable, and Genesis wouldn't refuse to cooperate with them because of Zhou Paihuai.
"The contract was signed a long time ago. Your walkout was a given, so it's really not a good time now..."
“I know it’s wrong to break the contract!” Zhou Paihuai finished her sentence, “Besides, even if I lose my reputation, I can’t afford the penalty for breach of contract. What I’m more curious about is, why would a professional player agree to… agree to such an absurd thing? I’ll lose fans because of this, but without a month of training and game experience, how will Jiang Fei return to the competition?”
"I heard that Jiang Feishou has run into some problems and seems to be retiring soon," Tang Xiaole said softly. She knew this because some of her roommates in the group liked e-sports and often shared things that others didn't know. "And since his club's performance was so poor, no one really cared about these things."
Because of his hand injury and his impending retirement, continuing to play was pointless. So Jiang Fei and the club opted to appear on variety shows to generate buzz… Zhou Paihuai smiled wryly and said, “They should consider their targets before trying to exploit others.”
Chapter 18 Know Yourself and Your Enemy, and You Will Never Be Defeated
For the next few days, although watching each episode of the variety show was painful for Zhou, she forced herself to keep watching. She even invited her assistant to live with her in her apartment so that the assistant could supervise her. Finally, the day before she was to join the filming, she watched all the available online resources, ending her painful ordeal.
On her last day of free time, Zhou Paihuai wanted to enjoy it all by herself, so she packed her assistant's luggage and prepared to send her away: "I'm going to join the crew tomorrow, and you probably won't have any holidays during filming, so enjoy your last day of free time!" Look, she even called it giving her assistant some free time.
Tang Xiaole, the "tool person," didn't feel used like a "matchmaker being dumped." Instead, she asked, "Zhou Zhou, since you and Sister Cheng are so disgusted with the show's approach this time, why are you forcing yourself to watch so many variety shows?" The matchmaker knew better than Zhou Zhou how much pain she had been in these past few days.
"You wouldn't know this!" Zhou Paihuai waved his index finger in front of her eyes. "There's an old saying that goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' I don't like the production team, so naturally I won't let them arrange my time for the next month. Only by understanding their nature can I do things effectively when they want to cause trouble." Cheng Minxin probably thought the same way, so after learning about what she had been doing these past few days, she didn't stop her.
Tang Xiaole nodded to indicate that she understood. She waved to Zhou Paihuai and said, "Then Zhouzhou, I'm going home now. See you tomorrow."
After seeing her assistant off, Zhou Paihuai checked her QQ account on her phone for messages. It had been almost a week since she last chatted with her hater. It wasn't that she didn't want to reach out to her hater during that week, but watching variety shows every day had left her dizzy and exhausted. Aside from sleeping to clear her mind, she had no energy left.
Zhou Paihuai wondered if his friend request had been accepted after several days. Upon logging in, he discovered that his friend request had indeed been accepted, but she was incredibly patient; despite him being offline for so many days, she hadn't sent a single message. Knowing her nature, Zhou Paihuai had no choice but to send the message first.
Nobody knows me in this foreign land: Little hater, it's been so many days and you still don't miss me? You haven't said a single word to me?
Zhou Paihuai had a lot to say to her hater, and she didn't expect the aloof and arrogant hater to reply directly after sending this message. However, when she was typing, the hater actually sent an emoji, although that emoji meant that the hater was speechless.
Nobody knows you here: So fast? Are you on your phone again?
A stream flows in front of the door: ... ...Aren't you playing on your phone too? If a big star like you can leisurely play on his phone, why shouldn't I?
Looking at her pointless conversation with Zhou Paihuai, Ji Anxi deeply regretted why she had bothered trying to contact customer service to log back into her QQ account. She must have had nothing better to do than argue with Zhou Paihuai like this.
A Stream in Front of the Door: I'm not talking to you anymore. So many people on my Weibo are urging me to update with videos exposing your dirty secrets. I'm busy editing them so as not to disappoint others.
Although the trolls weren't exactly friendly, and even dared to criticize him to his face, Zhou Paihuai was actually pleased. This meant the trolls were increasingly treating him like family. But why were the trolls going after those who messaged her? He chatted with them every day, his only wish being to get them to stop criticizing him; why couldn't he achieve even this small thing?
Nobody knows you in this foreign land: No wonder people often say that the most vicious heart is that of a woman; you are truly ruthless.
"Tch!" Ji Anxi uttered a single syllable with disdain, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.
Nobody knows you here: If you ask me, don't bother editing any videos. How much dirt do you have? Don't you know I'm going on a variety show? Wait until then, and you'll have plenty more material!
Zhou Paihuai is ruthless enough. One second he was hoping that his haters would turn against him, but the next second he immediately exposed his own dirty secrets to them, saving them the time of finding materials.
Ji Anxi stopped replying. No one had heard about Zhou Paihuai going on a variety show yet; it should still be a secret. How could she... how could she just tell her like that? Did she trust her that much?
A stream flows in front of the door: You really are... ...Does the company allow you to say these things outside?
Nobody knows me in this foreign land: It won't make a difference if I stay away for a little while longer, you'll soon be trending again!
A stream runs in front of the door: Do you have so little confidence in yourself?
Recently, I don't know if it's a case of things going to extremes or if Chuangshi has spent money, but there have been a lot more voices speaking up for Zhou Paihuai lately. If Zhou Paihuai chooses a good variety show, he might be able to gain more fans.
Of course, if Ji Anxi knew what Zhou Huaihuai was going to do on the variety show, this problem wouldn't exist.
Nobody knows me in this foreign land: I'm naturally full of confidence. I said it was certain I'd trend on social media, but I won't get criticized every time I trend.
Upon hearing this, Ji Anxi could no longer suppress her curiosity.
A Stream in Front of the Door: What variety show are you participating in? If you can't tell me, don't tell me now. You're just making things mysterious. Someone like you would never eat instant noodles without the seasoning packet.
Nobody knows about this in a foreign land: Your curse is too cruel! I still don't really want to say it right now, so how about this, I'll give you a hint: do you usually like playing games?
A stream runs in front of the door: Is it related to a game?
Nobody knows about this in a foreign land: More or less, you'll find out soon enough. The news is too explosive to say any more.
A stream flows in front of the door: ... ...
The two of them argued back and forth for a long time until Ji Anbo suddenly called Ji Anxi and asked her to come to the company, which stopped their conversation.
After finding no one to chat with, Zhou Paihuai downloaded the game she was about to play in for a professional player – Sky Peak. The name sounded powerful yet unfamiliar, but she had looked into this game before. It was basically the same as Honor of Kings, a popular mobile game that she enjoyed playing in her own world, except that the game characters were a bit uglier and their names were different. Even the character skills were exactly the same.
However, the game skills of the people in this world are not as good as those in her original world. National-level tournaments are played like low-star games in King of Glory that she used to play, and their teamwork is even worse than in her past ranked matches. It was precisely because of this that Zhou Huaihuai gained immense confidence, and she finally had the chance to say "I can do it, let me play" in front of professional players. However, the original owner of this body had only recently played in an exhibition match, and even her manager and assistant knew her gaming skills were terrible. If she suddenly performed so well, wouldn't it seem strange? But it's better if it seems strange; the production team probably never expected her to be a gamer!
... ...
The next day, Zhou Paihuai's door was knocked early in the morning. When she opened the door, she found it was her assistant.
"Zhou Zhou, let's head out now. The production crew's car is already waiting at the company!"
After Zhou Paihuai got into the car, he asked, "Does filming begin now that we've gotten into the production crew's car at the company?"
Tang Xiaole nodded and said, "Yes, so Zhouzhou, you must be very careful about your words and actions."
Zhou Paihuai gave an "OK" sign to indicate that she understood and soon arrived at the company. When she got out of the car, Zhou Paihuai, who had been smiling, suddenly turned cold. When the crew members greeted her, she was indifferent and seemed unwilling to respond.
Didn't I just tell her to watch her words and actions? Why is she showing her likes and dislikes so obviously? Tang Xiaole is really worried sick about her. Cheng Minxin looked at Zhou Hei Pai, not knowing what she was trying to do, but surprisingly didn't stop her.
As for the production team, seeing Zhou Paihuai's behavior, they were actually quite pleased. After all, they were the ones editing the show, and Zhou Paihuai himself was willing to provide the footage, so they shouldn't blame the production team for their poor editing. This would boost the variety show's ratings, increase the station's budget, and it seemed their year-end bonuses would be very generous.
After the production crew greeted Cheng Minxin, they took Zhou Paihuai and her assistant Tang Xiaole into the car, with staff following and filming throughout the process.
The closer Tang Xiaole got to the TKL club, the more nervous she became; her palms were sweaty. But when she secretly glanced at Zhou Zhou, she still seemed completely unconcerned.
"Are you feeling unwell?" Zhou Paihuai asked her, turning his head. Before she could answer, he turned to the driver and asked, "Assistant Director, how much longer until we reach our destination?"
"About five or six minutes left!"
Zhou Huaihuai said, "Hang in there a little longer, we'll be there soon!"
"..." What could Tang Xiaole, who was only feeling uncomfortable, say? Could she explain to the camera that she wasn't uncomfortable at all? So she could only nod helplessly.
Each episode of "Life Swap" features three to five pairs of guests, but the pairs never meet. Unlike other variety shows, there are no challenges, tasks, or resource allocation. Before filming begins, the production team exchanges information with the paired guests. During this time, the paired guests have no opportunity to meet. Then, each pair is sent to their assigned work location, and the entire process is filmed, with different camera angles used during broadcast. The celebrities are usually accompanied by assistants, but only until they arrive at their destination. Afterward, the assistants are only responsible for the celebrities' daily needs after filming ends and generally do not appear on camera during filming.
Upon arriving at the TKL club, only one person greeted the production crew and Zhou Paihuai at the entrance.
Just as Zhou Paihuai was about to greet someone, the accompanying host suddenly squeezed between the two of them, pointed the microphone at Zhou Paihuai, and asked, "Zhou Zhou, guess who's here to greet you? Could it be one of your fans?"
Simple opening questions like these are usually prepared in advance. Zhou Paihuai was supposed to answer with something like, "It's probably the fans, I'm so touched." But Zhou Paihuai, who had no intention of playing along, said directly, "It's probably the team manager. It's still early, the rest of the club shouldn't be up yet."
"..." The host was speechless, but still tried to maintain a smile. "Haha, Zhou Zhou, you're so smart! It seems you know TKL Club quite well! Are you looking forward to your month-long esports professional career?"
Zhou Huai gave the camera a half-smile: "Of course I won't—I'm looking forward to it!" This sudden pause made the host's expression change.
Seeing that the host was having trouble handling the situation, the team manager quickly said, "Hello Ms. Zhou, I am Xu Shilong, the manager of TKL Club and the manager of TKL team. On behalf of all members of TKL Club, I welcome you."
Zhou Paihuai took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with Xu Shilong, saying, "Manager Xu, you're too kind. I'll need your help during this time. By the way, when does our team start training? I'd like to prepare in advance."
Is it really necessary for this little girl to be so eager to participate in training? With her gaming skills, training doesn't seem to make much difference, does it? Xu Shilong mentally grumbled a couple of times, but then he thought that she was, after all, a celebrity, and she had to appear professional in front of the camera to avoid being criticized for being perfunctory. "It's usually at two in the afternoon."
"Where is my dorm? I'd like to go to my dorm and rest for a while while I still have some time!"
"I'll take you there!"
Chapter 19: How Bored Can a Person Be?
Club dormitories usually accommodate 2 to 4 people, but Zhou Paihuai was assigned to the men's team, so a separate dormitory was arranged for her. In case of any inconvenience, several empty dormitories were specially placed between her and the other dormitories.
Zhou hesitated, looking at the distance—only a few walls—and wondered what use it was. She thought for a moment and said, "Did Manager Xu emphasize to them that I was coming today?"