Chapter 17 Variety Show Registration

For the next three days, Chu Yi's WeChat was unusually quiet.

Zhou Ai's WeChat profile picture should be a photo of himself. He's walking on the beach with a large golden retriever. His face isn't clearly visible, but his impressive figure is clearly his.

His WeChat name is in line with his temperament, with a simple abbreviation - Z.AI.

Since the voice message was sent that day, no new messages have popped up.

There were no follow-up questions about the discomfort of the wound, no confirmation of the time for stitch removal, and no more of the previous small talk that was obviously tentative and teasing.

It seemed as if the brief, slightly strange online communication before was just an illusion created by Chu Yi after working the night shift.

Chu Yi still went to work and went home as usual. His busy work filled all the gaps in his time, leaving him no time to think about the "game" that a top star had suddenly become interested in and then quickly cooled down.

To him, Zhou Aizi seemed to have turned back into an ordinary patient name in the medical record system, waiting for an appointment, stitches removal, and archiving according to the process.

During this period, he overheard the young nurses in the department excitedly whispering together, saying that Zhou Ai had posted a Weibo to clarify the matter.

"I told you it was fake! How could my brother possibly fall for that internet celebrity face?"

"Ahhh, he said it was 'a friend's belongings'! What friend? Male or female? I'm still curious!"

"If I were to fall in love, I would tell everyone right away... Ooooh, bro, you're so honest!"

Chu Yi walked straight to the doctor's office without stopping, ignoring the excited discussions. It wasn't until he sat down and pulled out his phone that he saw the various push notifications, all of which were dominated by Zhou Aifa's statement.

Chu Yi clicked on the clarification post that topped the trending search list. Zhou Ai's account only posted a simple sentence:

"It's just a friend's belongings that happened to be with me, please don't read too much into it. If I were to become romantically involved, I would let everyone know immediately. Thank you for your concern."

The text was official and appropriate, with no faults to be found, perfectly defusing the controversy sparked by a puppy hairpin. The comments section was naturally filled with fan outcry and various interpretations, but the heat was clearly fading.

Chu Yi's gaze lingered for a moment on the words "a friend's belongings" and "just happened to fall into my hands".

friend?

He pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing a very faint, ambiguous arc. This definition was broad and vague, cleverly avoiding all risks.

As for "just falling"...

Chu Yi really didn't remember that the hairpin was still on his head at that time.

Zhou Ai chose to clarify the matter in a way that least involved others, thus putting an end to this farce.

This is in line with the routine procedure for a top star to handle a public relations crisis, and it also... saves him from any unnecessary trouble he might face.

Chu Yi closed Weibo, put his phone aside, and picked up the next medical record.

This is best.

He thought.

The bridge is the bridge, and the road is the road.

He was responsible for removing the stitches, and this brief, unexpectedly intertwined doctor-patient relationship was finally over.

The dialog box that exists in the mobile phone will probably soon sink to the bottom of the list and will never be lit up again.

The light in the hospital corridor was cold, white, and constant, illuminating his calm profile, completely smoothing out the slightest emotional fluctuation just now, leaving only professional indifference.

Chu Yi's phone vibrated in his pocket, interrupting him from flipping through his medical records. He took it out and saw it was a WeChat message from Cheng Yingzhi.

[Xiaoyi, did Zhou Ai... not harass you?]

It was a sentence without a beginning or an end, and the tone was tentative and strange.

Chu Yi frowned slightly and replied with his fingertips: [Harassment?]

Cheng Yingzhi replied quickly, seemingly glued to his phone: [Yeah! Didn't he add you on WeChat to get his stitches removed? I thought with his stubborn personality, he'd find all sorts of excuses to pester you with questions.]

Haunting me?

Chu Yi looked at these three words and felt that Cheng Yingzhi's choice of words was becoming more and more outrageous.

He replied: [Why are you bothering me? Just make an appointment to have your stitches removed.]

The message "Typing..." stayed on for a long time before a cryptic message came back: [Oh, anyway... you'll probably find out later. Just be happy you're alright for now!]

Chu Yi stared at the line of words and frowned even more tightly.

Why was Cheng Yingzhi so vague and evasive today? He replied with a simple question mark: [? ]

Cheng Yingzhi seemed to be choked by the question mark and immediately sent a "hehe" emoticon to pretend to be stupid, quickly ending the topic: [It's okay, it's okay, I'm just asking! You go ahead and do your thing!]

The conversation came to an abrupt end.

Chu Yi put his phone down, thinking Cheng Yingzhi might be under too much work pressure lately, and his behavior had become a little erratic. He shook his head and just as he was refocusing on the medical records, his phone buzzed again. It was Cheng Yingzhi again.

This time, what was sent was not a question, but a document titled "Project Plan for the "Heart to the Distant Mountains" Public Welfare Documentary Reality Show (Season 1)".

Then Cheng Yingzhi's message came: [Are you interested in this? ]

Chu Yi didn't even open the file and replied directly: [Not interested.]

Cheng Yingzhi's call came instantly, but Chu Yi pressed the mute button and didn't answer.

WeChat messages immediately bombarded me like a bomb:

【You didn't even click to watch it! 】

【Why are you so quick to say you're not interested?! 】

"Why don't you click on it and take a look! Just a quick glance! It's something medical! Not some random shit!"

Chu Yi was so annoyed that he had no choice but to open the PDF file. He had originally planned to glance at it casually and close it, then reject it with a more resolute tone, but the introduction at the beginning of the file made his finger pause slightly.

This is truly no ordinary entertainment variety show. The planning was meticulously detailed, with the core concept being a public welfare documentary model of "celebrity immersing themselves in the mountains to experience life" coupled with "resident amateur volunteer doctors."

Each season, the show invites five to six celebrities to form a "celebrity volunteer team," but they're not there for fun or showmanship. The plan clearly states that the team will travel to a remote mountain village with limited medical resources for a 15-20 day stay.

The stars' mission is to truly understand the local reality of the lack of medical care and medicine, and to participate in some auxiliary work within their capabilities. All proceeds generated by the program will be used as donations to support local medical development.

The core soul character of the program is set as the only rural doctor in the local area. He is the mentor, landlord and spiritual leader of the stars. The stars will follow him over mountains and across rivers, go to the countryside for follow-up consultations, and experience the most authentic daily life of a rural doctor.

In addition to this resident rural doctor, the plan also mentions a special role - "flying doctor".

The program team will hire a professional doctor in each episode, usually a young backbone from a Grade A hospital, as a flying guest to follow the celebrity team into the mountains. During the half month to twenty days, they will work side by side with the rural doctor to provide more professional medical support. At the same time, they will also be responsible for protecting the celebrity members from any health problems that may arise during the experience.

Chu Yi's finger paused on the job description and recruitment requirements for the "Flying Doctor" position, reading each line calmly. The plan also included some photos of the site survey.

The rugged mountain road, the simple village clinic, the longing eyes of the elderly and children, and the solo photo of the rural doctor with dark skin, a simple smile but a firm gaze.

The noisy sounds in the office seemed to fade away gradually. He stared at the screen of his mobile phone for a long time without moving.

Before Chu Yi had time to think more deeply about the plan, or even figure out how to word his rejection of Cheng Yingzhi's fantastic proposal, his phone began to vibrate rapidly again.

Cheng Yingzhi directly threw a picture over, which was a screenshot of a completed electronic registration form.

The column for the applied position clearly read "Flight Doctor", and next to the applicant's name, the two words "Chu Yi" were clearly written. Even his work unit, title and other information were filled in clearly.

Following this was a message from Cheng Ying that seemed to be seeking credit.

[Look! How efficient is my brother? I've already signed you up! No need to thank me too much!]

【？ 】

This was the nth time today that Chu Yi had questioned Cheng Yingzhi.

Did this guy take the wrong medicine today, or is he possessed by some strange thing?

Cheng Yingzhi seemed to be completely unaware of Chu Yi's speechlessness, or perhaps he felt it but chose to turn a blind eye.

The WeChat message was replied to quickly, and the tone was even a little smug: [How is it? Isn’t it thoughtful? It saves you from filling it out yourself!]

Chu Yi took a deep breath and tried to dissuade him with a practical question: "Cheng Yingzhi, there has to be a limit to your antics. I'm a doctor at the hospital. They wouldn't grant me such a long leave for a commercial activity like this, let alone allow me to participate in a program in this capacity."

He thought this was enough to wake Cheng Yingzhi up.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yingzhi's reply was even more confident and justified, even tinged with a hint of "You underestimate me!": "Don't worry about that! This isn't just any commercial variety show. It's a key support project spearheaded by the National Health Commission, in collaboration with several public welfare foundations and TV stations. It comes with official approval! It promotes primary healthcare and supports healthy villages. Both its political significance and its public welfare nature are clear! Your dean will naturally have someone to communicate and coordinate with you. Who knows, it might even be a glorious mission assigned to you by the hospital!"

Chu Yi was speechless for a moment after looking at this long list of explanations.

If it is a public welfare project endorsed by the government, its nature is indeed completely different. The hospital will not only not oppose it, but may even strongly support it, and regard it as a positive publicity that reflects social responsibility and the image of doctors.

Cheng Yingzhi strikes while the iron is hot: [So, just put your mind at ease! The issue right now isn't whether the hospital will approve you, but whether the production team will even choose you! Although I think my brother is so talented, there's definitely no problem!]

Chu Yi stared at the screen, unable to find any reason to object. Cheng Yingzhi had already laid the groundwork, even blocking any excuses for him to refuse.

He was silent for a long moment, then replied with a hint of self-abandonment and a lack of emotion: [...Fine. I don't guarantee I'll be chosen anyway.]

These words seemed to be spoken to Cheng Yingzhi, but more like comforting himself.

Perhaps the program team will have a more suitable candidate.

Perhaps, this was just Cheng Ying's impulsiveness and it would never succeed in the end.