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◎"How long is one night?"◎
A week later, the fifth episode of the variety show "Dear Mom" premiered on Saturday morning.
The day before, the show's official Weibo account began promoting the program.
@DearMomSeason2: Episode 5 is coming soon! This episode's theme is: Friends of Mom and Daughter. Which "good friends" are you looking forward to seeing on the show? Leave a comment below! Let's look forward to meeting the moms and daughters! @NingFei @NingYuXuan @QinMan @JiangNingAn
During the two-day recording, the production team will invite several friends of the regular guests to participate in the live broadcast of the program.
Of course, the criteria for "friends" are determined by the production team.
The production team informed Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan that the first day of the new episode would be filmed at the guests' respective homes, and that some guest stars would be invited to their homes.
Since the theme of this episode is "friends", the guest stars are all people that Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan know, but they won't be told who they are in advance.
Although Ning Fei retired from acting early, she still made many actor friends during her more than ten years in the entertainment industry. Many of these people are still active in the film and television industry, and quite a few of them occasionally appear on various variety shows.
Before recording "Mom", Ning Yuxuan had little contact with the entertainment industry, and her friends were all ordinary people.
When the production team invites guests, they will definitely prioritize celebrities with high popularity, so Ning Yuxuan guessed that the guest stars coming this time are probably all her mother's friends.
However, Ning Yuxuan didn't really care who it was.
Her emphasis was on the words "recorded at home," which meant that she could sleep in again.
She sent the photo to Xie Zhiyan but received no reply. She threw her phone on the bedside table, hugged the blanket, and fell asleep.
Ning Yuxuan was woken up by her alarm clock at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.
She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, changed into a comfortable dress, and when she came out of the bedroom, the production crew had already set up the camera in the living room.
When Ning Fei saw her daughter come down, she handed her a bag of steamed buns: "Xiao Wang heard you like them, so he brought them for you specially."
Xiao Wang is a recent graduate working in the directing team, specifically responsible for filming Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan's group. He has gotten along well with them over the past few episodes.
Ning Yuxuan took it and thanked Xiao Wang.
"You're welcome, Sister Yuxuan," Xiao Wang said with a smile. "Our program will start recording in fifteen minutes, so you can take your time eating, Sister Yuxuan."
Originally, Xiao Wang's salary as a recent graduate was not high, but due to the popularity of the second season of "Mom", her bonus last month exceeded her original salary.
While the show's popularity cannot be attributed to any single person, Ning Yuxuan's contribution is undeniable.
The entire production team now wishes they could worship Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan, these two gods of wealth.
Ning Yuxuan ate her steamed buns while listening to the staff explain today's recording process.
This morning and afternoon, two "guests" will be coming to my house to participate in the recording. The identities of the guests will be kept secret for now.
The two groups of regular guests broadcast live separately, and Jiang Ning'an and Qin Man followed the same procedure.
The live stream officially started at 10:00 AM.
[It's finally airing! I've been waiting so long, this show is what keeps me going every week!]
[I feel like time has flown by; it's already the penultimate episode! I'm going to miss it!]
[Yeah! Six episodes are definitely not enough! The show is so popular right now, doesn't the production team consider adding a few more episodes?]
As the live stream began, after the staff finished their opening remarks, they took out two blindfolds and put them on Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan.
Then, the first mystery guest of this episode entered from outside the door.
Wearing a blindfold, Ning Yuxuan could only make out that the footsteps sounded like either a woman's or a very thin man's.
"The first guest is now standing in front of you two," the staff member said. "Next, we'll have a little game to see if Teacher Ning and Yu Xuan can guess the guest's identity."
The staff led the guests to Ning Fei first.
"Teacher Ning," the staff member said, "now you can touch this guest's hand and guess if he is a friend you know."
Ning Fei nodded and extended her hand in a handshake gesture: "Hello."
The newcomer grasped Ning Fei's hand.
Ning Fei's brow twitched slightly: "It's a girl?"
According to the rules, the staff did not reply to Ning Fei.
However, Ning Fei could sense that the hand was rather small and the skin was quite delicate, so it should definitely belong to a woman.
Ning Fei would have been more cautious if it were a man, but since she knew it was a woman, she repeatedly touched the back of the other person's hand.
"Fifteen seconds are up," the staff member said. "Ms. Ning, you can now give your answer: do you think this is one of your well-known friends?"
After thinking for two seconds, Ning Fei said, "She seems to be a young girl. I think she's probably Xuanxuan's friend."
Staff: "Okay, we won't reveal the answer for now. Please take a short break, Ms. Ning. Next, Yu Xuan—"
The guest was brought before Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Yuxuan trusted her mother's judgment. Since the other party was a girl, she didn't hesitate to touch the other party's hand and pinch both the palm and the back of the hand.
Fifteen seconds later, the staff member said, "Alright, now both guests have touched this guest's hand. Next, you can each ask the staff one question to further confirm this guest's identity. Ms. Ning, you can go first."
After thinking for a moment, Ning Fei asked, "Is this guest Xuanxuan's friend?"
The staff member gave an affirmative answer.
When it was Ning Yuxuan's turn, she asked, "Is she my college classmate?"
Staff member: "Yes."
The answer is obvious.
The final step was for the two of them to guess who the guest was. Ning Yuxuan answered without hesitation, "Tao You."
After removing their blindfolds, both of them hugged Tao You.
When Tao You was in college, she visited Ning Yuxuan's house a few times, and Ning Fei also knew this good friend of her daughter.
After the guessing game ended, the staff invited the three of them to sit down on the sofa in the living room.
The staff asked Ning Yuxuan to introduce the new guest.
“Her name is Tao You,” Ning Yuxuan said. “She was my classmate and roommate in college, and also my best friend.”
Tao You also greeted the audience, and she seemed a little shyer than usual in front of the camera.
After the introductions, Tao You took out the gifts she had prepared in advance.
This is also one of the segments arranged by the program team, where each guest has to prepare a gift for the host.
Tao You brought a crystal ornament, which she showed to the camera and then placed in the Ning family's living room.
After displaying the gifts, the staff announced that they would move on to the next segment.
"As Yu Xuan's friend, we invited you here today hoping you could show the audience some of Yu Xuan's lesser-known sides. So, the name of this next segment is—"
The staff brought up a whiteboard and showed it to the audience. It read: Things Mom Doesn't Know.
The meaning is obvious.
[I get it, this is actually a scoop segment!]
[Hahaha, the production team is really something; they're going to expose Ning Yuxuan's secrets in front of Teacher Ning.]
The staff explained the rules: Tao You had to name three things related to Ning Yuxuan that Ning Fei didn't know.
Furthermore, all three things must be approved by both Ning Yuxuan herself and Ning Fei for the test to be considered passed.
Before the recording, the production team only told Tao You about the general process, and she didn't know there would be this segment.
Tao You looked to Ning Yuxuan for help: "Xuanxuan..."
Ning Yuxuan smiled and gave her an encouraging look: "It's okay, my mom is in good health and doesn't have heart disease. Go ahead and say it."
Ning Fei shook her head with a smile beside her: "You silly child, is there really something important you're hiding from me?"
Tao You pondered silently.
If there's anything she knows that Ning Yuxuan's mother doesn't, it's definitely something from her university days.
However, thinking of three items at once is indeed quite difficult.
After thinking for a while, Tao You spoke: When I was in college, Xuanxuan and I once... went to an internet cafe and played games all night.
Before the words were even finished, the director had already switched the camera to Ning Fei and Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Fei raised her eyebrows; clearly, the first thing was far beyond her expectations.
Ning Yuxuan blinked and glanced at her mother somewhat guiltily.
[Hahaha, Teacher Ning really didn't expect this; her expression changed.]
[Haha, Ning Yuxuan's reaction is kind of funny too. I'm so familiar with that look: every time my brother gets into trouble and my mom finds out, she gives him that look.]
[Speaking of which, so even the top students at University A go to internet cafes!]
Before the staff could even proceed with the process, Ning Fei couldn't help but ask her daughter, "Xuanxuan, when did Youyou mention this?"
Ning Yuxuan cleared her throat: "Freshman year..."
At that time, Tao You introduced her to an online game, which had a 2V2 mode.
One night, the two were playing at their best and were just a hair's breadth away from reaching the highest rank of the season.
But the school dormitory lights go out at 11 p.m. every night, so the two of them got together and went to an internet cafe near the school.
Ning Yuxuan and Ning Fei explained the whole story.
Ning Fei frowned and asked, "How long is one night?"
Ning Yuxuan herself couldn't quite remember, recalling, "It seems to be... from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning."
Ning Fei: "..."
[Hahahaha, Ning Yuxuan, you're too honest! Couldn't you have said less?!]
[Hilarious! This is the first time I've ever seen the gentle Teacher Ning with such a serious expression.]
[Teacher Ning's expression right now is just like when my mom finds out my exam results, hahaha]
Ning Yuxuan quickly added, "It wasn't on purpose that we stayed out so late. It's just that the dorm supervisor closes the building at 11 p.m. We were afraid of getting scolded by her if we went back in the middle of the night, so we just stayed at the internet cafe until the next morning."
Tao You chimed in timidly, "And also... the price for an overnight stay at an internet cafe is much cheaper than paying by the hour, so..."
Seeing Ning Fei's furrowed brows, Tao You quickly added, "But Auntie, we only went that one time, really!"
Ning Yuxuan nodded: "Yes, it was the first time for both of us to go to an internet cafe. When we got there, we found that it was full of smoke and very noisy. We never went there again after that."
[Haha, it's a bit unfair, but the way they're trying so hard to explain is really funny.]
I love this scoop segment, keep going!
Ning Fei remained silent for a while before finally speaking: "Xuanxuan, if you want to play games, you should bring Youyou home."
Ning Yuxuan: "I'm afraid of disturbing your rest."
Ning Fei: "Then book a hotel. You shouldn't have gone to an internet cafe. It's a mixed bag there, and it's not safe for you two young girls. Luckily nothing happened."
Ning Yuxuan quickly agreed: "I understand! Mom, I promise I will never stay out all night in such unsafe places again."
So, is Teacher Ning's concern not about her daughter playing games all night, but about her safety?
[What an amazing mom, Teacher Ning! She even seriously suggested where her daughter should play video games.]
[Waaaaah, the clown is me! I thought someone as open-minded as Teacher Ning would forbid her daughter from playing games, but it turns out that's not the case!]
The exposé about going to internet cafes is over; two things remain.
Tao You pondered for a while and finally remembered something else: "When I was a sophomore, a boy brought Xuanxuan breakfast for half a month, but I ate it all."
Ning Fei smiled and glanced at her daughter: "You didn't tell me about this either."
Ning Yuxuan made a face: "There were so many people pursuing me in college, I can't even tell you all about them."
When she was confessed to for the first time, she excitedly shared it with her mother.
After it happened many times, she got used to it and stopped telling her mother about it as news.
Tao You explained the specifics: "That boy said he liked Xuanxuan, and when he heard that she liked steamed buns, he insisted on bringing them to her every morning. He would even put them directly on the dormitory supervisor's table at the dormitory entrance, and Xuanxuan's refusal was useless."
Ning Yuxuan: "But I can't get up in the morning. Tao You doesn't like to waste food, so she often helps me eat."
Tao You: "I just felt it was a waste to leave perfectly good steamed buns sitting there uneaten and let them get cold, so I was forced to eat steamed buns for half a month. Fortunately, the guy eventually gave up, and I was able to have some different breakfast options."
After revealing two things, Tao You couldn't figure out the third one.
The staff relaxed the requirements: "We can broaden the scope a bit. Tell us about something that happened to you and Yu Xuan, as long as Teacher Ning Fei doesn't know about it."
With the help of the staff, Tao You had a sudden inspiration: "Oh, I remember now, there's one more thing... When we were seniors, Xuanxuan's younger brother had just become famous after participating in a talent show. When he came to the school to see Xuanxuan, he wore a mask and hat, fully disguised to avoid being recognized by fans, but..."
At this point, Tao You glanced at Ning Yuxuan.
Ning Yuxuan continued, "As a result, he was mistaken by the school security guards for a suspicious person trying to sneak into the school and was almost taken to the police station. I had to go to the security room to rescue him. He was too embarrassed and kept telling me not to tell you."
Ning Fei: "..."
[Ning Yuxuan's younger brother... isn't that Ning Shiyue?]
[Hahaha, what's going on? You were supposed to expose Ning Yuxuan, but you've ended up exposing Ning Shiyue instead.]
Ning Shiyue: Why am I always the one who gets hurt?
[Imagine Ning Shiyue being dragged to the security room by security guards, I'm dying of laughter]
[I've already come up with the marketing copy: A top celebrity almost got arrested and taken to the police station; the reason behind it is outrageous!]
The purpose of inviting the mothers and daughters' friends to participate in the recording is to showcase the lives of mothers and daughters from other people's perspectives.
After the revelation segment ended, Tao You talked about many things that happened when Ning Yuxuan was in college.
The three of them had lunch together at home at noon.
Each guest will only participate in half a day of recording. After lunch, everyone said goodbye to Tao You.
Ning Fei smiled and said, "Youyou, come to my house again next time."
Tao You: "No problem, Auntie. Bye-bye, Auntie. Bye-bye, Xuanxuan!"
After seeing Tao You off, everyone rested for a while, and then a short commercial break was shown.
Another guest came to our house in the afternoon.
Following the same procedure as in the morning, the two guests first had to be blindfolded and guess the identity of the person who came by touch.
After being blindfolded, a new mystery guest appeared on the live stream screen.
The live stream room immediately became lively.
[Who is this celebrity? He's so handsome! I don't even know his name!]
Judging from his aura, he might not be a celebrity? But looking at his appearance, he's definitely better looking than 95% of male actors.
Be bold, go for 99%!
[I need all of this man's information in three minutes!]
[So who exactly is this person? Could it be... Ning Yuxuan's mysterious boyfriend?]
[Oh right! Didn't Ning Yuxuan say on the show that she had a boyfriend? Is she going to take this opportunity to go public with it?]
Ning Yuxuan will go first in this guessing game.
Wearing a blindfold, she touched the other person's hand under the guidance of the staff.
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
If she had touched Tao You's hand that morning, she would have carefully examined it for a long time before confirming that it was probably her.
So, in that instant of contact, she knew who the hand belonged to.
She was all too familiar with that feel.
Throughout yesterday, this man held her hand with his distinctly shaped knuckles countless times.
Ning Yuxuan tried her best to control her expression and not show anything unusual on camera.
What's wrong with Xie Zhiyan? Why would he participate in this kind of variety show?
If it weren't for the cameras, Ning Yuxuan would have wanted to ask Xie Zhiyan directly: Aren't bosses of your level supposed to maintain a certain level of sophistication and mystery? Is it appropriate for you to participate in a variety show?
And he didn't even tell me about such a big thing beforehand.
They spent the whole day together yesterday, and the man didn't utter a single word.
The staff were still counting down fifteen seconds.
Ning Yuxuan pretended to touch it for five seconds, then withdrew her hand.
It failed.
Xie Zhiyan grasped her hand in return, applying pressure subtly.
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
The show is still live, what is this guy up to?
Ning Yuxuan silently exerted her strength once more, and this time the other party relaxed their grip, allowing her to finally pull her hand out smoothly.
The staff member asked knowingly, "Yu Xuan, do you have any clues? Can you identify this mysterious guest by touch?"
During the last episode, Xie Zhiyan personally came to pick up and drop off Ning Yuxuan at the recording site.
The news spread quickly, and within a day, everyone on the show knew that Ning Yuxuan's boyfriend was tall, handsome, and had an extraordinary temperament.
Later, the production team traced Xie Zhiyan's identity through the car he was driving and discovered that Ning Yuxuan's boyfriend was actually a well-known business tycoon in Beicheng.
Upon hearing this, the director immediately decided to contact Xie Zhiyan and ask him if he would like to participate in the program.
Given Xie Zhiyan's appearance and status, his appearance on their variety show would definitely add a lot of highlights, and might even generate a few more trending topics for the program.
The only problem is that it's very unlikely that a big shot like Xie Zhiyan would be willing to participate in an entertainment program like theirs.
Unexpectedly, everything went much more smoothly than expected, and the production team quickly finalized a half-day slot on Saturday afternoon with Xie Zhiyan.
Upon hearing the staff member's question, Ning Yuxuan remained silent for a second.
"I don't know," Ning Yuxuan replied without changing her expression. "It should be a man, but I didn't recognize who it was."
Just kidding, Xie Zhiyan appeared on the show without her permission, she's already being lenient by not scolding him.
It's impossible for her to acknowledge his identity or for them to show affection on TV.
The director switched the camera to Xie Zhiyan, whose lips curled up slightly, which triggered a wave of comments in the live stream.
[Ahhh, those eyebrows, those eyes, that aura!!! Absolutely one of a kind in the Chinese entertainment industry, so is he really not an actor?]
Three minutes have passed, and these netizens are hopeless! How come they still haven't dug up any information about him?!
So, is he really Ning Yuxuan's boyfriend? I need an answer urgently!
I guess not. Boyfriends and girlfriends should know each other very well, like how I can tell it's him just by touching my boyfriend's hand.
After Ning Yuxuan, it was Ning Fei's turn to guess the guests' identities.
After learning that the other person was male, Ning Fei tried to avoid suspicion and only shook his hand.
When the time came, Ning Fei shook her head: "I didn't recognize who this person was either."
Staff member: "Then the two guests can each ask a question to confirm the identity of the person who came."
Ning Yuxuan had already decided to pretend she didn't know Xie Zhiyan well: "I'd like to ask this gentleman's age? Forty? Forty-five?"
[Haha, Ning Yuxuan, can't you be a little more polite? Asking your age is one thing, but why guess so old right off the bat? Aren't you afraid of offending someone?]
This person doesn't look that old; they're probably around thirty.
Ning Fei: "Do I know this gentleman?"
The staff answered the two people's questions, but they still couldn't tell who the person was.
Therefore, the only option was to remove their blindfolds and reveal the answer directly.
Upon seeing Xie Zhiyan, Ning Fei's eyes flashed with obvious astonishment: "Zhiyan?"
Thinking that her daughter might not be willing to show her personal feelings on the show, Ning Fei suppressed her surprise and didn't look at her daughter immediately.
Xie Zhiyan smiled and nodded: "Aunt Ning."
Ning Yuxuan glanced at Xie Zhiyan, then looked down at herself and remained silent.
The audience observed the reactions of the group.
[Ah, so he's Teacher Ning's friend? It seems Ning Yuxuan doesn't know him.]
[What a pity! I thought he and Ning Yuxuan looked like a perfect match. Is he not her boyfriend?]
My focus is: Ning Yuxuan, how well do you usually eat?! How come you don't react at all to a handsome guy like him?!
[Perhaps our Sister Xuan has seen too many outstanding men; maybe her boyfriend is even more handsome than this one?]
The live stream was buzzing with discussion, and at the same time, some resourceful netizens finally uncovered the identity of the mystery guest.
Sisters! He's not just anyone, he's a big shot!! Our production team really has some connections.
Go search for "Xie Zhiyan" and you'll see just how amazing he is!
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