Director Chen sat silently behind the desk in the tiled house.

The assistant director, sensing his signal, pushed the open notebook in front of him and said carefully:

"I received many calls today from producers, agents and investors who recommended alternative guests. Here is a list."

"A top idol is willing to lower his status to participate in the recording of the show. The other two more prominent ones are an international supermodel and a national goddess. Director, you can take a look at the names circled on the script."

“Those agents said that they came here to work in the countryside, and they are not pretentious or artificial. They can definitely endure this hardship.”

Director Chen closed his notebook without glancing at it and said:

Did I say I was looking for a replacement guest?

"Director Chen, how are we going to explain this to Jiangsu TV?"

The assistant director reminded him, "In order to get it broadcast on satellite TV, we signed a contract with CCTV. If there are any changes to the regular guests, CCTV has the right to decide on the replacement guests."

“They have the right,” Director Chen snorted, “but that depends on how much power I give to the station.”

"So we have to strike first."

The assistant director was so anxious his face changed color. "Instead of letting the station send in someone with connections, like Nan Xi did last time, making a mess of the farming variety show, it's better for us to take the initiative and choose this person ourselves!"

He pointed to the notebook and said, "In terms of fame, ability, and character, these are the best of the best. You can just pick one."

Director Chen knocked a cigarette out of the pack, lit it, took a deep drag, and said:

There's a saying: "It's easy to invite a god, but hard to send him away." That's exactly what these big-name celebrities are like. Do you understand?

The assistant director looked at him, seemingly understanding but not quite, and dared not speak.

Director Chen exhaled a puff of white smoke and continued to instruct him:

"There's also a saying, 'the cuckoo takes over the magpie's nest,' do you understand now?"

The assistant director roughly understood what he meant and silently took back the notebook from the table.

Director Chen made his point clear:

"You need to think about what will happen to this replacement guest a month from now. Should she leave or stay?"

"Anyway, I definitely won't keep anyone here. They helped us in our time of need, and we're just kicking them away after we've served our purpose. The manager can use the contract as leverage, but what will you use to shut up the fans?"

"Director Chen, I was wrong. Knowing it was a hornet's nest, I shouldn't have tried to poke it with a stick in the first place."

The assistant director finally understood the intricacies of the situation. "What does the headquarters mean now?"

Director Chen stubbed out his cigarette, too frustrated to even smoke anymore.

"The station director personally called me and recommended someone to me."

"Whose backing is so strong that they could get the station director to call you?"

"Liu Yuxi".

Director Chen was unwilling to agree at the time, but he couldn't refuse outright, so he could only give a vague and perfunctory answer:

"The station director wanted me to use this person, both openly and covertly, and his attitude was very firm."

Assistant Director: "Liu Yuxi is a recognized fairy in the industry. Director, would you consider casting her?"

"You should ask me if I dare to use her."

Director Chen sees through everything:

“I didn’t even mention finding a replacement guest, but the comments online started flying everywhere. First, they held a poll to select the best candidate and put it on the hot list, and then the station director personally recommended him.”

"This matter is still in its early stages, and it's already caused so much trouble. How could I dare to use her?"

The assistant director then realized just how deep the water was behind this.

"What I'm most worried about is actually Jiang Hexi."

"Xi-mei?"

Director Chen said with concern, "She's had such a big incident here, I'm afraid her family won't agree to her participating in our farming variety show again."

This is also why he insisted on not replacing the guest; the seat of the regular guest had to be left empty to show the sincerity of the production team in inviting her back.

Jiang Hexi had a high fever for three consecutive days.

On the fourth day, her fever didn't reach 39 degrees Celsius. She leaned against the headboard and drank porridge, finally regaining some energy.

"In the future, don't be so stubborn in your work. If you take things too seriously, you'll easily get stuck in a dead end."

Jiang Wenze peeled an apple and said to her:

"Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your parents. When Mom saw you lying in the hospital bed, your face was whiter than the sheets, she cried so hard she almost fainted."

Jiang Hexi put down her spoon, feeling very uncomfortable. She raised her voice and said:

"Brother...I was wrong..."

"You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that you can't be too rigid in your thinking. Once you understand this principle, everything will be fine."

Jiang Wenze subtly tried to comfort her, never mentioning the farming variety show.

He handed her the apple, cut into pieces.

Jiang Hexi ate two pieces of apple, but couldn't taste anything in her mouth. She shook her head listlessly and refused to eat anymore.

"What do you want to eat? I'll go out and buy it for you."

"No...I don't want to eat it, my throat hurts..."

She kept her head down, just like when she made a mistake as a child, not saying a word, immersed in her own sadness and unable to get out.

Jiang Wenze immediately realized that he might have spoken too harshly, and was about to apologize when he heard her say in a hoarse voice:

"Brother, this time... I don't want... you to cover for me..."

Jiang Hexi looked at him resolutely and said, "I made this mess... I'll clean it up myself..."

Jiang Wenze thought for a moment before nodding to her, "I promise you, I will not interfere in this matter."

Jiang Hexi felt sleepy again and soon fell into a deep sleep on the hospital bed.

Jiang Wenze stayed in the ward, watching the IV drip into her body, finding it hard to swallow his anger.

This was originally an accident. My younger sister has a weak immune system and poor mental resilience, so it's no one's fault that she fell ill.

But now the online public opinion is becoming increasingly outrageous, to the point that he can no longer ignore it.

While the younger sister was still in the hospital, the production team couldn't wait to start hyping up the replacement candidate.

First, Liu Yuxi was voted out online, allowing her to stand out from many celebrities with a significant lead in votes. Then, Jiangsu TV came forward to acknowledge that it was in further discussions with Liu Yuxi regarding cooperation.

As a result, rumors are circulating online that it's a foregone conclusion that the younger sister will be replaced by Liu Yuxi. The production team is letting the rumors fester without coming forward to clarify the truth.

This clumsy marketing strategy is full of malice towards the younger sister.

He didn't tell his younger sister about these troubles because he wanted to step in and resolve the matter.

Jiang Wenze had scheduled a financial interview for the evening.

He spoke eloquently about many things related to business investment.

The host shifted the topic from career to life, naturally bringing up Jiang Hexi, and asked the question that everyone online was most interested in:

"Will Xi Mei participate in the next farming variety show after she recovers?"

Jiang Wenze spoke coldly to the camera:

“Ah-hsi is still not well, and I don’t know if she will participate in the filming of the show after she recovers.”

He paused, then said solemnly, "But as her older brother, I can tell you very clearly that I don't want her to participate in this farming reality show again."