Chapter 44

Parting is always sad—whether it's graduating and saying goodbye to classmates, moving out and leaving your roommates, heading off to school and leaving your family, or wrapping up a gathering and parting from friends.

Zhai Xingchen sat on the bus, leaning on the handle of his suitcase, the warm sunlight shining on his face.

The bus stopped on the main east-west road through Changping Village. Zhai Xingchen got off and wheeled his suitcase home.

His family had only moved here last year. First, because the rent was cheap, and second, because it was close to his dance school.

But as soon as he got home, he found all their relatives had come over.

Instant celebrity treatment.

"Xingchen's really made it, he's on TV now!"

Their TV was on, tuned to Star Sea Satellite TV. Right now it was playing a period drama, but a ticker at the bottom of the screen kept scrolling previews for The Red and Blue Signal. Every now and then a group photo of the eight guests would float by. The image was tiny, but he could still spot himself at a glance.

He was actually placed in the middle.

There were four on each side — four Blue Team Members and four Red Team Guests. He stood at the innermost spot as a Blue Team Member, just as Hu Ying held the deepest position among the Red Team Guests, and somehow both their profile pictures ended up the largest.

But there was plenty else that shocked Zhai Xingchen.

Like when he got home and logged into his Weibo account, only to discover he already had over eight hundred thousand followers!

It still wasn't anywhere near Hu Ying or Yan Zhi's numbers—not even a fraction—but his growth rate was the highest.

When he'd first started, he'd only had a handful of followers!

A breakout show really does have insane reach.

No wonder the Production Team had kept reminding him before he left to be careful what he said and not to post on Weibo.

And the Production Team wanted him to go online less, go out less, to cut down on leaks and exposure.

Love Variety Shows are usually recorded first and broadcast later—that way they can preserve the guests' 'ordinary person' quality as much as possible. And usually the contract requires them not to post on Weibo for a few months after the show airs.

No posting before the show airs—that's to prevent spoilers.

No posting after the show airs—that's because they're afraid the CPs will break up before the show's gotten maximum benefit.

After all, plenty of Love Variety Show couples split up not long after getting together.

But The Red and Blue Signal was filming and airing simultaneously, so the requirements were stricter.

No interviews whatsoever, no discussing the emotional situation in the Red and Blue house with any media or individuals—it was all written into the contract.

Whether the others followed it or not, Zhai Xingchen himself stuck to it strictly.

He didn't even step out his front door.

Mom and Dad Zhai protected him well, too.

Studying dance is a huge investment. Their family's circumstances were average; getting a Zhongwu Academy student through wasn't easy. For the sake of Zhai Xingchen's future, they both took this variety show very seriously.

Finding a relationship wasn't important; what mattered was getting famous.

Get famous, and the path after graduation would be smooth.

Zhai Xingchen stayed home the whole time without going out. At first he went online to look at stuff about himself, but later he stopped.

He realized watching his own videos was so awkward!

The kind you couldn't even look straight at. And when he watched the videos, the person on screen felt like a stranger—everything about it was weird. Add in the viewers' imaginative bullet comments, and it was instant toe-curling cringe. He planned to quit the internet for a year!

It wasn't just him who thought it was weird; Mom and Dad Zhai thought it was weird too.

But they watched everyone else just fine.

Older generations' tastes really are different from young people's.

Among the Red Team Guests, they liked Lin Qingning best, saying he looked really cultured, handsome, polite, and had great presence. They thought Duan Yihua was good too—mature and steady.

Of every Blue Team Member, they liked Yan Zhi the most, thinking he looked the most refined.

They both thought dating on a Love Variety Show wasn't very reliable, and since they were all a bunch of rich second-generation kids, it was even less likely they'd actually date. They kept telling Zhai Xingchen: "Go in with the mindset of joining a variety show, do your part well, don't get yourself hated, and whatever you do, don't get yourself tangled up in it."

After all, these rich second-generation kids were all just too good-looking.

"Don't worry, I'm just here to be a tool. I know my place very clearly."

Zhai Xingchen didn't dare get any delusions.

On Friday evening, the Production Team called him specially: "We're about to air. Post something on Weibo."

Zhai Xingchen logged into his Weibo account. The moment he did, his phone froze—he'd received countless private messages.

Most of them were just screaming, throwing confetti, sending kisses, but there were actually some not-so-nice comments too. Zhai Xingchen silently recited a few 'amitabhas,' quickly exited the private messages, and reposted the Production Team's Weibo post.

The official account had posted a trailer and tagged all of them.

Zhai Xingchen couldn't resist clicking the trailer open.

The Production Team was being evil—they'd included the pre-interviews of the three main male leads, Pei Xu and the others.

Watching those interviews now felt completely different.

He felt weird watching himself on video.

He felt weird watching the others on video too.

These people he'd spent day and night with—he knew their temperaments and true natures pretty well by now. But in the pre-interviews most of them were putting on an act, and it just looked funny.

He saw Pei Xu scowling and saying, "Like I said before, I'm just here to return a favor."

He saw Huo Cheng smiling and saying, "Personally, I don't really believe in these dating shows, but if you give me a script, I'll try my best to play along."

And Yan Zhi saying gently, "Hmm… I might be a bit slow to warm up."

But the one that made him want to laugh the most was Hu Ying.

In the trailer, Hu Ying was especially dazzling and bold. He faced the camera and said, "The Production Team said they wanted to find representative, good-looking, outstanding rich second-generation kids for the show. I thought, isn't that just me? I've always been bitter that I'm not the most famous rich second-gen out there!"

Then he saw himself.

He looked very stiff in the video, his words bland and official. He said, "It's an honor to be on this show. I hope to get to know more friends, and also let more friends get to know me."

Ah, he could curl his toes into a whole castle.

The bullet comments at that moment ignored him and the Red Team Guests, focusing entirely on the three main male leads.

"Are all you handsome guys ready to get your faces slapped?"

"I heard the guests get slapped pretty quickly later on."

"Slap the cockiest one first, Young Master Pei, then slap Yan Zhi and the others."

"Marking my spot. In a few episodes, this screen is gonna be flooded with 'face-slapping'!"

After all the guests' interviews finished, the song 'Angel Baby' started playing. The scene began shifting frame by frame: them moving into the Red and Blue house, them eating, Wen Nu opening the door for Yan Zhi, the eight of them walking on the beach at sunset. The song was perfect for a Love Variety Show—it had that romantic swell of love. Paired with the glances exchanged between the pairs, the looking back, the running, you pulling my arm, him wrapping an arm around his waist—eight top-tier handsome guys. Even Zhai Xingchen got excited watching.

The bullet comments were super excited too: "It's giving the vibe! It's giving the vibe!"

"BL Love Variety Shows are forever!"

"Who needs idol dramas when you have Love Variety Shows? This is way more intense than any idol drama!"

"The Love Variety Show ceiling is here!"

But just as he was getting excited, right at the last second of the trailer, when the music had already cut out, a shot of him suddenly appeared.

It was a shot of him dancing on stage, his skirt flaring out. A Cloud Bridge Spin, suddenly slowed down, frozen in mid-air, then whoosh—landing on the ground, his arm lifting gently as he turned. It was pure, fluid grace.

The bullet comments were all "AHHHHHHHHH."

Unlike Zhai Xingchen, Hu Ying was long used to seeing himself online.

His first time on a major network—how could he not take it seriously?

He didn't just watch it himself; he invited all his relatives and friends over for a big party to watch together.

His mental fortitude was strong; he didn't feel awkward at all.

The first episode of The Red and Blue Signal mainly served as an introduction, only airing up to their first Sea Voyage. The first part focused heavily on flaunting the wealthy lifestyle, taking up almost a third of the runtime. Later, when they moved into the Red and Blue house, the actual Love Variety Show content began.

Actually, less than a week had passed, but looking back at their first meeting now, Hu Ying felt like a lifetime had gone by.

When Zhai Xingchen arrived, he'd been so arrogant. That appraising look in his eyes looked so punchable.

Back then, he really hadn't paid Zhai Xingchen any mind. He'd just thought, this kid's not bad-looking.

But Zhai Xingchen, a complete ordinary person, actually stood out among the crowd of rich second-gens. He was fresh and natural, and compared to Wen Nu, who was also an ordinary person, he was more confident and bright, like a breath of spring breeze.

Viewers are easily swayed by first impressions. The previous dance live streaming had earned Zhai Xingchen a lot of fans, so the moment he appeared on screen, a bunch of fans were already there hyping him up and promoting him. Later, when Zhai Xingchen cooked, even more bullet comments were singing his praises.

"I thought my baby was amazing at dancing, but he's even better at cooking!"

"Can handle the hall and the kitchen!"

"Can be salty or sweet, can top or bottom!"

"Ever since I saw that last live stream, I've converted to being a Little Star!"

"What's a Little Star?"

"Zhai Xingchen's fans! The name Zhai Xingchen really gives him an advantage, huh?"

"Not only is his fan name nice and easy to remember, his CPs all sound great too. Like him and Huo Cheng—that's the Fire (Huo) Star CP. Him and Hu Ying—that's the Star Lake (Hu) CP. Him and Wen Nu—that's the Promise (Chen) CP. Him and Lin Qingning is even better—Ning Caichen (Chen)! And him and Yan Zhi—that's the Meteor CP…"

"I get the other CPs—they're homophones. But why is it Meteor CP with Yan Zhi?"

"Yan Zhi's nickname is Sixth Brother!"

"Ohhh, that's perfect!"

"Who was it that said Zhai Xingchen would be a background character at the start? Face slapped yet? I told you the Production Team putting two ordinary people in a rich-people Love Variety Show was setting up for a big move. Now it's like an idol drama come to life!"

"A poor, delicate little flower barging into high society and becoming a Ten Thousand Admirers—that's a classic romance novel trope! So cliché, so melodramatic, but so exciting!"

"That's why classics are classics. If it were just a bunch of rich second-gens flirting, it'd be boring. Throw a Zhai Xingchen into a crowd of rich second-gens, and wow wow wow, it gets swoony!"

"Every season of Red and Blue pushes a battle royale. So is it confirmed Zhai Xingchen is the center of the battle royale now? If so, I'm all in. I want to see a bunch of handsome guys fighting over him, him being universally attractive and torn not knowing who to choose, then everyone crying and trying to outdo each other, the battle royale going wild! I've even thought of a name for the battle royale: 'Who Can Pluck the Stars'!"

"Sis, you've completely spoken my heart."

"Sis, you've completely spoken my heart."

"Guests, please follow this script!"