Chapter 7 The Variety Show Begins
As the filming schedule for "Best Partners" approaches, the show's official Weibo account has begun releasing official photos of the guests to generate buzz for the program.
As the most popular group of guests, Meng Xian and her best friend Ding Manni's photos were met with a flood of compliments in the comments section as soon as they were released.
[Ahhh, she's so beautiful I could cry!]
[Xianxian and her best friend are such a good match, a super good-looking duo.]
Immediately afterwards, the topic in the comments section inevitably veered towards Gu Mingyan.
[Tsk tsk, why haven't Miss Gu's official photos been released yet? Are they afraid of being overshadowed in comparison?]
[Of course, Gu Mingyan's looks are definitely outshone by Meng Xian's group. Gu Mingyan is just trying to ride on Meng Xian's coattails with her face, but the two are not even on the same level.]
[It's also possible that her partner ran into trouble again at the last minute. With her temper, who could possibly be found to go on a variety show with her?]
[Haha, who would want to serve a spoiled young lady who could explode at any moment! Everyone knows Gu Mingyan has no friends.]
Just as netizens were discussing and waiting to see Gu Mingyan make a fool of herself, the official Weibo account of "Best Partners" released the official photos of Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing as the "Yan Qingyun Dan" (a play on words, meaning "light and calm") couple.
It was a photo of two people.
Gu Mingyan wore a rich, wine-red velvet dress, her chin held high with arrogance, but her fair cheeks were flushed, as if she were blushing at something.
The non-celebrity guest sitting next to her was wearing a fresh and elegant pure white tulle dress, with layers of tulle flowing like clouds.
She turned to the side, one hand affectionately linked with Gu Mingyan's arm, the other casually resting on the sofa. She tilted her head back, gazing at Gu Mingyan's profile with a smile, her eyes seemingly filled with twinkling starlight.
One is bright and flamboyant, like a rose with thorns; the other is sweet and lively, like a spring breeze.
The collision of two completely different styles does not create any sense of disharmony; on the contrary, it reveals an extreme tension.
Those netizens who were previously mocking the image fell silent the moment they clicked on the larger version.
A few minutes later, the number of comments under this Weibo post exceeded one thousand.
[...Simply put, I have nothing to say about the official photos [kneeling in admiration]].
Who is that girl next to me? She's so pretty and lively!
[Help! They look so good together! Is this the young lady and her sweet, healing little darling? Interesting.]
[I admit I'm a sucker for good looks, and I was completely blown away by these photos. Can someone as grumpy as Gu Mingyan really take photos like this?]
...
Before the variety show even started filming, the hashtag #GuMingyanYunQingqingMakeupPhotos# trended on social media.
This is the first time Gu Mingyan has become famous since then, not because of negative news such as being arrogant, stealing resources, or having a bad temper, but because of a set of stunning promotional photos, which made her a trending topic with a relatively positive image.
A few days later, filming of "Aces Go Places" officially began.
Several groups of guests arrived one after another at the pick-up point agreed upon by the production team, exchanging a few awkward and polite greetings with each other.
Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing arrived at the perfect time.
Gu Mingyan maintained her aloof demeanor, her sunglasses obscuring most of her face. Yun Qingqing followed beside her, observing the surrounding guests and busy staff.
Meng Xian, dressed in an elegant off-white dress, was smiling and talking to the guests who had arrived earlier. When she saw Gu Mingyan and her companion, her eyes flickered slightly, and then she gave them a flawless smile and nodded in greeting.
Gu Mingyan ignored her completely, while Yun Qingqing nodded calmly, as if indicating to Meng Xian that there was no need for such formalities.
Meng Xian: "..."
Once everyone had arrived, the director, holding a megaphone, announced: "Welcome, everyone, to 'Best Partners.' Our journey is about to begin. Before we set off, please say hello to our viewers in the live stream."
As soon as the director finished speaking, Meng Xian took the lead and waved gracefully at the main camera, her smile sweet and appropriate: "Hello, viewers in the live broadcast room! I am Meng Xian."
As she spoke, she affectionately took her partner Ding Manni's arm, "This is my best friend, Ding Manni. I'm so happy to be able to participate in 'Best Partners' together this time, and I hope our journey will bring joy to everyone!"
Ding Manni also smiled and waved at the camera.
Although Ding Manni's family background isn't as illustrious as Gu Mingyan's, it's still definitely considered a wealthy family. She currently fills her time by occasionally taking on short drama roles, purely as a hobby.
Ding Manni actually has a bit of a princess complex, but she gets along quite well with the gentle-tempered Meng Xian.
Compared to Ding Manni, who wears her heart on her sleeve, Meng Xian is much more reserved. Her gentle smile and approachable demeanor make her very likable to the audience.
Wow, my best friend and Xianxian look so good together! A gentle, pure beauty paired with a beautiful little princess—I'm totally shipping them!
I heard that Ding Manni's family is in the mining business and is extremely wealthy.
[As expected, true best friends from wealthy families are the sweetest.]
After Ding Manni and Meng Xian finished greeting each other, it was the turn of Ji Sihan, the e-sports world champion, and Nan Xu, the top agent, who were behind them.
The camera pans to a tall young man in a black hoodie. He waves to the viewers in the live stream, revealing a small tiger tooth: "Hello everyone, I am Apex, a former professional player of 'Zero Domain Out of Control'. My real name is Ji Sihan."
The young man next to him, dressed in a casual suit and with a gentle demeanor, smiled and said, "Hello everyone, my name is Nan Xu. I'm Si Han's childhood friend, and I currently work as a talent agent."
These two can actually be considered as brothers in misfortune.
Ji Sihan started playing e-sports at the age of 17, bursting onto the scene with his genius in the game "Lingyu Shikong" and leading his team to win numerous awards. However, in just a few years, his performance declined due to a hand injury, leading to criticism and his retirement.
Despite his young age, Nan Xu was once a well-known top agent in the industry, with a sharp eye and superb skills. He personally mentored two A-list artists.
However, due to a contract dispute with his artists, he was embroiled in scandals involving abuse and exploitation, leading to an extremely unpleasant termination of the contracts. This damaged his reputation and brought his career to a standstill.
In addition, he has extremely high requirements for his partners, preferring to have none rather than compromise on quality, to the point that he has not signed any new talent to date and is currently in a semi-retired state.
The two of them signed up for the variety show together just to get away and relax.
But Yun Qingqing, who had the advantage of the storyline, knew that this was just a short-lived low point in their lives.
In the future, Ji Sihan will find a more suitable playing style and strategy for himself and shine on the field again. Meng Xian, who had contact with him in a variety show, was selected as the spokesperson for "Lingyu Shikong" and became a goddess highly sought after in the e-sports circle.
Nan Xu will also sign Meng Xian in the near future, returning to the peak of his career. He will play a crucial supporting role in Meng Xian's subsequent pursuit of top-tier resources.
In any case, all the characters in the original book are set up to serve the female lead, Meng Xian. They either become the contrasting characters to highlight her or the tools to provide her with resources.
Next, singer Jiang Mingqian and his programmer friend Yu Ran introduced themselves to everyone.
When Jiang Mingqian greeted her, Yun Qingqing couldn't help but glance at him again.
This popular singer is actually a fan of Meng Xian. He fell in love with Meng Xian's campus photo that went viral online at first sight and created many singles for her, which made Meng Xian's fame rise again and again.
Jiang Mingqian played a part in paving the way for Meng Xian's smooth career path after returning to China.
As for his friend Yu Ran, his presence is much less prominent. In the novel's plot, he is only briefly mentioned as working for a Fortune 500 company.
Looking at the heavy dark circles under Yu Ran's eyes, Yun Qingqing couldn't help but feel a sense of kinship, confirming that the other person was undoubtedly a miserable corporate slave just like her in the past.
After all the other guests had finished introducing themselves, it was Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing's turn, who arrived last.
All eyes turned to her. Gu Mingyan then leisurely took off her sunglasses, revealing her flawless and radiant face.
She addressed the camera succinctly: "Gu Mingyan."
Three words, not one more.
Many haters in the live stream already disliked her, and now they seized the opportunity to launch a barrage of condemnations:
[Jerk, as expected of Miss Gu, she's got the airs she puts on.]
[What's with the attitude? Is it going to kill you to say a couple more words in front of the camera? How annoying!]
[Are all the other guests so polite, and she's the only one who's different?]
In that awkward silence, Yun Qingqing naturally took over the conversation: "Hello everyone in the live stream! I'm Yun Qingqing, Mingyan's partner. Please take good care of me on the journey ahead."
As she spoke, she grinned at the camera.
Seeing her expression, Gu Mingyan guessed that this person was thinking about her daily salary of over 100,000 yuan again, and couldn't help but be infected by that smile, and also curled up her lips.
To be honest, this combination is really good for the eyes.
Although Gu Mingyan is arrogant, there's a strange attraction between the two of them when they're together...
[This is Yun Qingqing! She looks even more radiant in person than in her promotional photos.]
I don't know why, but her smile is so infectious; it makes my lips curl into a wide smile too.
The director seemed to have a good understanding of the audience's psychology, as the main camera kept focusing on Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan.
Meng Xian's smile faltered slightly, and a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes.
Since the release of her official photos, she has spent a lot of money on publicity to promote her looks, but unexpectedly, most of the discussion on Weibo has focused on Yun Qingqing and Gu Mingyan.
However, after a brief moment of crisis, Meng Xian quickly calmed down again.
It's okay to be temporarily outmaneuvered by them. Who doesn't know that Gu Mingyan is a powder keg that can explode at any moment? This Yun Qingqing is obviously an ordinary person with no background. Living with someone with Gu Mingyan's temper day and night, it's only a matter of time before she's ordered around and becomes a lackey and errand girl.
If this continues, the conflict between them will inevitably erupt, and the audience will naturally prefer the harmonious and amicable atmosphere between themselves and Ding Manni.
Thinking of this, Meng Xian put on her impeccable smile again and cleverly positioned half of her body within the main camera's view: "It's so great to be able to record a program with everyone. To celebrate the start of our journey, I've prepared a small gift for everyone."
As she spoke, she took out several beautifully packaged small gift boxes from her elegant handbag and distributed them to the guests present one by one.
"These are products from Lumira, a skincare brand that I personally really like. This is a small gift for you, and I hope you like it."
Her fans immediately showered her with compliments:
[Xianxian is so thoughtful, she even prepared gifts for everyone!]
[Lumira is so expensive! Meng Xian gave away so many sets at once, she's so generous.]
Wait a minute, wasn't Lumira the high-end skincare brand that Gu Mingyan just officially announced a while ago?!
[She got robbed of her endorsement deal, yet she still bought their products as gifts. Meng Xian's magnanimity is truly admirable.]
The comments were all positive, while Ji Sihan looked at the small gift box handed to him and scratched his head in a dilemma.
Although he felt that he, a grown man, didn't need these bottles and jars, he accepted them out of politeness: "Thank you, Sister Xian, you've gone to so much trouble."
Meng Xian smiled and shook her head to indicate that she was welcome. Holding the last two gifts, she walked gracefully toward Gu Mingyan and Yun Qingqing.
"Mingyan, Qingqing, this is for you. I hope we can get along well from now on."
Gu Mingyan glanced at her, unsure whether she should reach out to take it.
If she accepts the offer, she'll realize she usually uses more expensive skincare products and wouldn't be interested in these basic ones; if she doesn't, the comments section will probably criticize her for being arrogant.
While she was hesitating, Yun Qingqing spoke first: "Thank you for your kindness, but I won't accept this gift."
Gu Mingyan immediately frowned, wanting to whisper a reminder that such a direct rejection would get her scolded.
Sure enough, Meng Xian didn't give anyone a chance to react and immediately seized the opportunity: "Qingqing, do you not like this brand? This is a product that I specially selected for everyone after a long time..."
She was well aware of the audience's tendency to sympathize with the underdog, so she put on a pitiful, tearful expression, successfully arousing sympathy in the comments section.
【What's wrong with this guest named Yun Qingqing? She's so disrespectful!】
Even if you don't like the gift, accepting it and saying thank you is basic courtesy.
[Birds of a feather flock together, what good could someone be if they hang out with Gu Mingyan?]
Meng Xian maintained her pitiful expression and glanced meaningfully at Gu Mingyan: "Qingqing, is there something you're worried about?"
Yun gently shook her head and said softly, "Teacher Meng, you misunderstood. I have no qualms, and it's not that I dislike this brand."
"I'm just sorry, I personally don't like using counterfeit products."
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