Chapter 087 Chapter 87
Initially, there were various speculations on the forums about how the two items would be obtained, including arm wrestling and multiplier challenges, which are more conventional ways to obtain items. Some also speculated that, to better align with the show's tone, the producers of the six songs might judge the trainees and select two groups.
The eighth episode of "Star Path 101" (VIP version) was released on time, much to the anticipation of netizens. However, the footage that aired almost made viewers wonder if the wrong clip was shown. Some viewers, watching the full VIP version for the first time, turned off the program in bewilderment, then took to Weibo to ask the production team if they had played the wrong video.
The first shot that appeared before the audience was far different from what they had imagined. Zhou Xiao had just turned on the program when he saw a long shot captured using a long-arm joystick. The subject in the shot was a man in a black suit and sunglasses!
After shaking all the sunglasses men, a huge subtitle finally appeared on the screen: "Star Path 101×Everyone is Running" A small test run
The camera now gave close-ups of the tall hunters. Zhou Xiao quickly noticed a familiarity among the faces wearing sunglasses, especially the black-clad man at the head, who looked remarkably like Ji Shao!
This scene was too different from the trainees' previous images. When the scene went back to the beginning with the cutscene, the PD of the director team appeared on the screen explaining the game settings to the trainees.
The fans and trainees on screen were all excited. This actually happened! This looked like fun! Zhou Xiao, on the other hand, was a little disappointed. Why hadn't this news been leaked? She really wanted to take a picture of Ji Shao in competitive form! Especially since he was still a suit hunter. She thought it would be fun to capture him in the act of catching prey.
After listening to the directors' detailed introduction to the game, the trainees on screen naturally expressed a natural curiosity and yearning for the Hunter role. Regarding the fact that many trainees were eager to become Hunters, the directors explained they had a strategy for dealing with the situation.
Soon, a staff member wheeled in a large wheel from outside. It was divided into two halves: "Hunter" and "Participant." The wheel began spinning, and the trainees' identities were drawn according to their rankings. Of course, the draw began with the trainees who wanted to become Hunters.
Seeing that the hunter in the VCR introduction needed to wear a suit, and in such hot weather, the trainees, who were already physically weak, were a little hesitant, so the voluntary drawing format was adopted.
Soon, the list of trainees who had been drawn as hunters began to be shown to the audience in front of the screen one by one, along with close-up shots of the eight hunters.
——【Forum】——[August 6, noon]
【Topic】Ahhh, the production team knows how to have fun!!!
[Main Post] Hunters are so handsome! I'm stunned!!! And who says the trainees on our talent shows are all little brats? I'm just posting pictures of the trainees as hunters! Look at their dongs under those suits. Thank you, production team! You're living Buddhas!
1L
I can only say that the production team really knows how to do it, what a thug in a suit! Ji Shao is so handsome that I'm stunned. Oh my god, how could someone smile at the camera and say "I want to be a hunter and catch people" and then spin the roulette wheel and actually let him win? Even though it's just a choice between two options, this really has a strong sense of destiny!
5L
There are very few shots of hunters in this episode. Most of them are shots of participants. I am crying silently.
12L
I saw this new show and it turned out to be from Japan. Is it going to be introduced in China? I think it's worth looking forward to. I'm quite fond of variety shows with this kind of competitive mode.
19L
As a side note, all the former members of Asuka (formerly known as Asuka) participated in the competitive show Neon… The implication is that Chu Cheng and Xiang Rui didn't even get to participate until the show disbanded. Who would have thought they'd end up on a talent show in China? It's hard not to sigh, fate is such a strange thing.
23L
The trainees being hunters really satisfies my personal taste, giving me a sense of wanton slaughter as a predator hunts its prey. Furthermore, the hunters in the program can only capture the trainees through the perspective of their glasses, which really gives me an AI-like feeling.
I have to give special praise to the "participants" for their impressive abilities, as they managed to complete the program's tasks while evading capture. The environment also required some creative thinking, although the mission plots weren't well-developed and the venues were relatively small, which is understandable!
......
The effect of inserting variety shows within variety shows was quite novel to both fans and ordinary viewers. Furthermore, the new variety show's gameplay also attracted a lot of attention. Curious netizens soon found the filing for the domestic version of "Run for Time" on a national public website, and the production team behind it was surprisingly the same production team as the current Star Path production team.
This screenshot was soon posted on a forum, and many commenters joked, "Wouldn't this be the Star 101 group's future variety show?" It also seemed like a retirement variety show for the production team, and when they reach their old age, they could rehash some of the old material if they can't find guests. Given the current popularity of Star 101, it's likely there will be nostalgic viewers willing to pay for it.
In response to this, the members of the Star 101 production team who were watching the comments on the forum thought in their hearts: I really would thank you! You guys are so nice, you have already started to think about the later years of their production team.
Overall, this episode differed significantly from the original, being more of a self-entertainment for the trainees. However, the trainees' performances left a lasting impression on many, such as Ji Shao's long strides and long-distance sprints, Chu Cheng's rigorous logical thinking, and Zheng Shulin's lackluster performance despite his impressive stamina.
Through this program, the trainees expressed their own vibrant attitudes and codes of conduct. Surprisingly, this playful episode also had a certain impact on their future resource allocation.
The props that were previously hung by the production team had long been forgotten by everyone at this time, but after the competition, the production team asked the trainees to vote for two outstanding representatives of today's competition.
Although he knew the result, Zhou Xiao also applauded excitedly in front of the screen when he saw the video of Ji Shao, the cold, sunglasses-wearing, ruthless, and long-time Star 101 captain, garnering the majority of the votes. The only other person who defeated Chu Cheng with a slightly higher number of votes was Liang Wendao, who sacrificed himself at a crucial moment to complete the mission.
The two then drew items from the lottery. Ji Shao won candy, while Liang Wendao won a guitar pick. Ji Shao, still wearing a suit, had already removed his sunglasses and was happily waving the candy in his hand at his teammates like a puppy, looking like a grinning little golden retriever.
The full VIP version of this episode also unexpectedly attracted a group of people interested in competitive gaming, unlike those who follow talent shows. They were attracted by the performances of the Star 101 trainees in these games. After learning that this program was just a trial run, many people took the initiative to follow the trainees they liked, waiting for them to appear on a real competitive variety show.
As the show ended, the Star 101 trainees’ fan clubs also received a unified message from the production team:
On August 7th, Star 101 will hold its third elimination taping. Fan clubs are asked to exercise some control over their fans. The elimination taping will be kept confidential, and fan clubs can inform fans that they do not need to attend the event.
In order to comply with the Shanghai Civilized City regulations, the offline fan meeting on August 8th can be simply watched offline without any support.
As soon as this announcement came out, many people were discussing it privately. Although I don't know what the system of the civilized city is, it's possible that the production team didn't allow the trainees' fans to cheer for them because they were concerned about their wallets. After all, the third public performance cheering had just ended not long ago.
August 8th arrived quickly. At noon, Zhou Xiao had already arrived at the specially designated fan zone with her camera, following the production crew's instructions, awaiting the start of the fan meeting. What made her burst into tears was that there were actually stools available this time!
Meanwhile, Ji Shao's fans were treated to another visual bomb. "Shang Ken" magazine released its preview at noon! Zhu Jian, having previously hinted at Zhou Xiao, knew this was a brand endorsement. As a longtime fan, Zhu Jian understood the relationship between brand endorsements and magazine invitations. Therefore, there was no need for fans to pay for the magazine's endorsement, as Ji Shao's credibility was no longer a matter of relying on sales to generate revenue.
——A certain blog——
@ShangKen Fashion Magazine V: #Ji Shao ShangKen Magazine Photoshoot# Please hold the perfume in your hands and smell the gentle comfort. Thanks to @Xingtu101-Ji Shao V for the wonderful performance! Preview mode starts on August 8th~ Special thanks to @XS Official Weibo V [heart]
Photography: Zhou Xiao
Styling: Cheng Zhihao
Makeup and Hair: Yu He
…
[video]
This video is a scene Zhou Xiao filmed for Ji Shao during the studio shoot. In the video, Ji Shao is completely immersed in the fantasy dream of pink interweaving.
[Thanks to @上·肯时尚杂志V for the shoot. Join @星路101-季韶V to showcase our fashionable charm and bring out the splendor of summer!]
The magazine photos are so great! I'm really looking forward to seeing the print version!
[Preview: The perfume Shao was wearing last season was our XS perfume! Our sponsor is truly awesome!]
After seeing Ji Shao in a suit, I immediately fell in love with Ji Shao in the magazine! I've successfully switched sides!
【……】
Before reposting the Shang Ken magazine trailer on a certain Weibo account, the person managing the XS promotional blog had already uploaded a compilation of promotional videos shot by a certain Douyin blogger to that platform. After she finished posting the blog post, she immediately posted Ji Shao's Shang Ken magazine trailer video on Douyin.
Because the time interval between the two videos was too short, under the attention of netizens, Ji Shao's fans soon found the previous video and started praising @摄影小周 who took the photo with Ster, "mistaking" her for Zhou Xiao, the photographer who took photos of Ji Shao on a certain blog.
For Ji Shao's fans, this photographer named Zhou Xiao was practically a newcomer. Many of them immediately started digging into the photographer's resume after the Shang Ken post was published. Unfortunately, there was basically no such person on the internet.
However, due to the newly released preview video and the photo of her back that the editor had previously posted, Ji Shao's fans were more curious than worried about her. When fans saw @摄影小周 on Douyin, they subconsciously mistook the two for the same person.
Someone even went to Ster's Douyin account and watched dozens of her videos, comparing the discrepancies between them. And the two videos that Ster has garnered millions of likes are surprisingly both from @摄影小周. This makes one think his photography skills are truly top-notch; no wonder he was hired by a magazine as a photographer!
Seeing the name Zhou Xiao prominently displayed on the magazine's blog post, Zhu Jian, even though she already knew Zhou Xiao was the photographer, couldn't help but get excited. But when she saw a fan in the official group chat claiming to have found the photographer's previous work, her brows twitched. Then, seeing the pictures posted in the group chat, Zhu Jian breathed a sigh of relief—luckily, they weren't screenshots of the account that had made her heart flutter.
After opening a certain Douyin account and giving a like to XS's official blog, Zhu Jian scrolled down and saw the commercial video that Ster had shot for XS. The more he watched the video, the more familiar it felt. Hmm, if this wasn't shot by Zhou Xiao, Qi Sisi would kick her in the head!
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